27. PLECTEOPOMA. 163 



twice as high as the preceding lowest part of the spinous dorsal, and 

 has an entirely rounded upper margin. The cavdalis is rounded. 

 The soft part of the analis is partly enveloped by a thick encroach- 

 ment of the scaly integument, and forms an oblong flap with a roimded 

 inferior edge ; the second spine is exceedingly thick, and even longer 

 than the longest dorsal spine, also somewhat curved ; the third spine 

 is not quite twice the size of the second. The pectoraUs extends 

 rather farther than the ventral, to the third cross-band ; it is com- 

 posed of eighteen rays, rounded, and enveloped in a thick mem- 

 brane. The ventralis, rather short, does not extend to the vent ; 

 it is rounded, with a thick membrane between the rays, and has a 

 spine half the length of the fin. 



There are three pairs of canines in each jaw, of rather small size ; 

 the vomerine and palatine teeth stand in very narrow series. 



The ground-colour is a reddish brown, darker on the back. The 

 dark-brown cross-bands and the interspaces of the ground-colour 

 are nearly of the same breadth ; the first passes from in front of the 

 dorsal to the gill-opening above the operculum ; the second from the 

 interspace between the fourth and sixth dorsal spines vertically to the 

 belly ; the third from the twelfth to the fourteenth ; the foui'th from 

 the middle of the soft dorsal fin to the middle of the anal ; the fifth 

 fi'om the end of the dorsal roimd the taU ; the sixth, narrow and 

 indistinct, round the root of the caudal. The second to the fifth bands 

 extend also more or less on the fins. On the side of the head a 

 dark-brown streak runs from the back edge of the eye to the supra- 

 scapula, and a second oblique one from beneath the eye to the angle 

 of the praeoperculum ; a brown streak behind the maxillary. The 

 opercles and soft fins are indistinctly dotted with brown. All the 

 fiins, except the spinous dorsal, have a blackish-bro^vn white- edged 

 margin. 



Length of the specimen 10". 



12. Plectropoma serratum. 



Cuv. (§• Val. ii. p. 399 ; Qiioy 8f Gaim. Voy. Astrol. Poiss. p. 662. pi. 2. 

 f. 1 ; Dumont d' Urville, Voy. au Pule Sud, Poiss. pi. 3. f. 1. 



]).J|. A.|. Caec. pylor. 8. 



Praeoperculum strongly serrated behind, and with two large spinous 

 teeth below, the anterior of which is the strongest. CaudaHs trun- 

 cated. Brown : an obKque blackish band from the eye to the angle 

 of the praeoperculum, and some black spots on the sides of the body. 



King George's Sound. 



13. Plectropoma aculeatum. 

 Ckv. 8f Val. vi. p. 523. 



D. i^. A.-i. 



H 8 



Posterior limb of the praeoperculum with coarse denticulations, 

 gradually becoming larger towards the angle, the horizontal Hmb 



M 2 



