1, THEEAPON. 283 



the head 4^ ; the diameter of the eye is nearly five times in the 

 length of the head, and 1| in that of the snout. Praeoperculiim 

 finely and equally serrated throughout ; opercular spines very feeble. 

 No vomerine or palatine teeth. Dorsal scarcely notched, with 

 slender spines ; the fifth and sixth are longest, their length being 2| 

 in the depth of the body ; the last two spines much longer than the 

 first two ; anal spines feeble. Caudal very slightly notched. Four, 

 five, or six longitudinal bands ; fins immaculate. 

 Coasts of Australia ; Sea of Timor. 



a. Half-grown : skin. N. S. "Wales. 



b. Half-gro^vn: skin. Port Jackson. From Mr. Gould's Col- 



lection. 



c. Adiilt. Sydney. From the Haslar Collection. 



d. Adult. Sydney. From the Haslar Collection. 



e. Adult: skm. Port Essington. From Mr, MacgiUivray's Col- 



lection. 

 /. Adult. Australia. From the Haslar Collection. 

 g. Adult. Austraha. From the Haslar Collection. 

 h. Adult. Austraha. From Mr. Gould's Collection. 

 i. Adult : stuffed. Australia. From Mr. Warwick's Collection. 



15. Therapon argenteus. 



Datnia argentea, Cuv. ^ Val. iii. 139. pi. 54 ; Bleeker, Perc. p. 52. 

 Mesopristes macracantlius, Bleeker, Topogr. Batav. 

 Datnia cancellatoides, Bleek. Sumatra, i. p. 5 (yoimg with longitu- 

 dinal bands). 



Cuvier quotes t6 this species Coim datnia, Ham. Buch. Gang. Fish, 

 p. 88. pi. 9. f. 29, creating for this species the generic name of Datnia. 

 By comparing Buchanan's figure of the fish, and stiU more his 

 description, one may easily see that this is quite a different fish. 

 Hamilton's figure has thirty-three scales in the lateral line ; Cuvier's 

 fish has nearly sixty. Ham. Buch. describes the posterior teeth as 

 " blunt and crowded together; the palate is smooth, and has behind 

 the teeth a short membranous veil ; above each ventral fin is a long 

 scale-like appendant.*' Neither such -a membranous veil nor such, 

 an appendix is to be foimd in Cuvier's fish ; and this species of Ham. 

 Buch. is identical with Sparus hasta, Schneid., or Chrysophrys lon- 

 gispinis, Cuv. & Val., Chrysophrys hasta, m. 



B. 6. D. J|. A. |. L. lat. 56. L. transv. 25. Csc. pylor. 11. 



The height of the body is more than one-third of the total length, 

 the length of the head nearly one-fourth ; the diameter of the eye 

 is 3^ in the latter. The upper maxillary does not reach to the an- 

 terior margin of the eye ; snout much longer than the diameter of 

 the eye. Suprascapulaiy and coracoid serrated ; operculum with two 

 spines, the lower of which is the longer. The fourth and fifth dorsal 

 spines longest, longer than half the height of the body ; the second 

 anal spine still stronger and longer. Caudal sHghtly notched. Scales 



