73 



insertion of the last ray ; the depth of the caudal peduncle 

 is taken at its shallowest portion, and its length is the inter- 

 space between the dorsal and caudal fins. In giving the 

 total length to which a fish attains the caudal fin is, as a 

 matter of course, included. 



Appended is a full generic and specific description of each 

 of the Tasmanian Gray Mullets taken, in the case of Myxus 

 and Agonostomus, entirely from specimens forwarded by Mr. 

 Morton, while that of Mugil dohiila was of necessity drawn 

 up from Port Jackson examples, both the Tasmanian speci- 

 mens received having been unfortunately destroyed, not, 

 however, before they had been carefully examined and 

 compared with our common Now South Wales Sea Mullet. 

 One of the Tasmanian examples was in the adult, the other 

 in the half-grown or "hardgut" stage. 



Mugil. 



Muqil, Artedi, Gen. Pise. p. 32, 1738. 



Body oblong, somewhat compressed ; head moderate, the 

 snout short and broad, not depressed ; mouth moderate and 

 transverse, the lips thin ; premaxillaries narrow, protractile ; 

 maxillary not bent downwards posteriorly, concealed except 

 at the extreme tip beneath the preorbital, the lower border of 

 which does not overlap it, without supplemental bone ; lower 

 lip included, the dentary bones of thelower jaw obtusangular 

 in front, separated at the symphysis by a shallow notch. 

 Adipose eyelid present ; preorbital minutely denticulated, 

 its lower border without notch ; opercular bones entire ; gill- 

 rakers short, slender ; six branchiostegals ; pseudobranchiae 

 present ; jaws toothless, fringed with minute cilia ; vomer, 

 palatines, and tongue without, pterygoids with a small group 

 of minute teeth ; two dorsal fins with iv. i 8 rays, the origin 

 of the first about midway between the base of the caudal 

 and the extremity of the snout ; anal fin originating slightly 

 in advance of and not more developed than the soft dorsal, with 

 iii 8 rays ; ventrals moderate, rounded, with a rather feeble 

 spine ; pectorals rather small, pointed, with 16 rays, the 

 upper ones the longest, the second undivided and not stronger 

 than the third ; caudal emarginate, with the lobes acute. 

 Scales moderate, cycloid ; snout and preorbital scaly ; an 

 enlarged scde in the axil of the pectoral ; a scaly process 

 between the ventral fins. 



Deriv. — Mugil ; the Latin name for a Mediterranean species, 

 from mulgeo, to suck, in allusion to their method of procur- 

 ing food. 



Type. — Mugil cephalus, Linnaeus, 



