6. HdCMULON. 315 



The dorsal fin begins above the base of the pectoral, and terminates 

 above, or a little behind, the end of the anal ; the base of the spinous 

 portion is one-half longer than that of the soft ; both portions are 

 separated by a deep notch. The spines are slender, but not flexible ; 

 the first is two-fifths of the length of the second, the second three- 

 fifths of the third, the third rather shorter than the fifth ; the fourth 

 longest, one-half of the height of the body. The following spines 

 gradually decrease in height to the eleventh ; the twelfth is longer 

 than the preceding, and it belongs apparently to the soft dorsal, being 

 closely attached to the adjacent ray. The soft dorsal is covered with 

 transparent scales from the base to the upper margin, which is nearly 

 straight and obliquely descending backwards ; this portion of the fin 

 is much lower than the spinous. The distance between the dorsal 

 and caudal fins is shorter than the base of the soft dorsal. The 

 caudalis is deeply forked, the upper lobe (which is rather longer than 

 the lower) being 4| in the total length, and three times as long as 

 one of the middle and shortest rays. Series of small scales extend 

 over one-half of the lobes. The distance between the caudal and 

 anal fins equals the length of the base of the soft dorsal. The origin 

 of the anal falls below the second dorsal ray, the end a little before 

 the vertical from the end of the dorsal. The first spine is small ; the 

 second and third are nearly equal, and rather stronger than the 

 dorsal spines, the eighth of Avhlch they equal in length. The soft 

 portion of the fin has the margin slightly emarginate, and is thickly 

 covered with minute scales ; it is higher than the soft dorsal, the 

 first ray being nearly one-half of the length of the head. The pec^ 

 toral fin is slightly pointed, scaly at the base only, and nearly one- 

 sixth of the total length. The ventral is much shorter ; its base 

 falls immediately behind that of the pectoral ; the spine is two-thirds 

 the length of the first ray ; there is a narrow series of minute scales 

 along the outer side of each ray. 



The scales are of moderate size, one of the largest covering one- 

 sixth of the eye ; they are finely serrated, and rather higher than 

 long. 



The teeth form villiform bands, with the outer series of the upper 

 jaw containing rather larger ones. 



The colours are beautifully preserved in the specimen from Trinidad. 

 The ground-colour is silvery, with a greyish-green hue on the back. 

 A narrow golden longitudinal streak descends from the origin of the 

 dorsal to the centre of the crown. There are on each side five golden, 

 parallel, longitudinal bands, not much narrower than the intermediate 

 stripes of the ground-colour : the first from the snout above the eye 

 to the middle of the base of the soft dorsal ; the second from the 

 upper margin of the orbit crossing the lateral line to the en J of the 

 dorsal ; the third from the posterior margin of the orbit along the 

 middle of the body ; the fourth from the inferior margin of the orbit 

 across the base of the pectoral to the base of the lower caudal lobe ; 

 the fifth from the inferior margin of the praeorbital to the end of the 

 anal. The upper part of the iris and the inside of the mouth are 

 red. The dorsal and caudal fins blackish ; the spinous portion of the 



