87. MESOPEION. 189 



of the rays of the vertical fins. The preceding species, Mesoprion 

 sparus, appears to be closely allied to the fish of the present -de- 

 scription ; and it is a very remarkable fact in the geographical dis- 

 tribution of fishes, that we find several species, described by Schlegel 

 in the ' Fauna Japonica,' represented in the Atlantic by others, not 

 or scarcely different, — viz., among the Serranina, Anihias ocidatus, 

 Serranus tsirimenara and margaritiferus, Mesoprion sparus and den- 

 tatv£. 



The height of the body is 3^ or ^\ in the total length, the length 

 of the head four times. The eye is situated m the middle of the 

 length of the head, in which its diameter is contained 4^ ; the inter- 

 space between the eyes equals the diameter. The snout is li as 

 long as tlie eye is wide ; the cleft of the mouth moderate, slightly 

 obhque, with the ^ower jaw rather prominent. The upper maxillary 

 reaches to, or slightly beyond the vertical from the anterior margin 

 of the orbit. The front head, the snout, and the praeorbital are 

 completely scaleless. 



The praeopercvdum has a naked margin, broadest at the angle ; the 

 remainder is scaly, there being seven rows of scales between the eye 

 and the lower Umb of the praeoperculum. The posterior limb is 

 slightly curved, and furnished with an exceedingly fine serrature ; 

 there is a very slight notch immediately above the angle ; the angle 

 and the lower limb form one curvature, with distinct denticulations. 

 The operculum is nearly twice as high as wide, with the base naked, 

 as in many fishes ; it is covered with seven oblique rows of scales, 

 and terminates posteriorly in two obtuse points with a notch between. 

 The suboperculum has two or three rows of scales, one of which 

 extends over all its length. The interoperculum is elongate, cres- 

 cent-shaped, with two series of small scales. 



The origin of the dorsal fin correspond* to the 6th scale of the 

 lateral Hne, the end to the 39th, the origin of the soft portion to the 

 26th: — consequently the base of the spinous is much longer than that 

 of the soft. The upper margin is slightly undulating, the fourth and 

 fifth spines and the fifth ray being equal in length, and 2-| in the 

 total ; the last dorsal spine is one-fourth shorter. All the spines are 

 slender and equal in strength. The dorsal fin is entirely scaleless. 

 The caudal fin is moderately forked, the middle ray being half the 

 length of the longest ; small scales cover about one-half of the fin. 

 The origin of the anal fin corresponds to the vertical from the 28th 

 scale of the lateral fin, the end to that from the 4l8t. The spines are 

 feeble ; the first is one-half the length of the second, the second two- 

 thirds the length of the third ; the third is three-quarters the lensrth 

 of the first ray, which equals the ninth dorsal spine ; the last ray is 

 slightly elongate and prominent beyond the margin of the fin. The 

 pectoral fin is elongate, pointed, and extends backwards to the first 

 or second ray of the anal fim ; a short triangiilar patch at the base is 

 scaly. The ventral fin is sJmilar and extends to the vent. 



The lateral line follows the outiine of the back, and is formed by 

 scales rather smaller than the others. 



The lateral series of teeth in the jaws contain larger .ones than 



