75 



the length of the head ; caudal deeply emarginate ; caudal 

 peduncle rather short and stout, its least depth 2:^ to 

 2f in the depth of the bodj, and IJ to If in its 

 length. The axillary scales of the pectoral and ventral 

 largely developed, and about as long as those of the first 

 dorsal, which extend half way along the terminal membrane ; 

 a series of small scales between the anterior dorsal and anal 

 rays. Steel blue above, the sides and lower surfaces silvery ; 

 a small black spot in the axil of the pectoral, and a golden 

 spot on the upper angle of the opercle ; dorsal and pectoral 

 fins dark blue-grey, the latter with a large silvery iridescent 

 blotch covering the lower two thirds of its base ; caudal and 

 anal fins yellowish-green. 



This fine mullet has a much wider range than the majority 

 of our Australian species, for, in addition to its Tasmanian 

 distribution, which, according to Messrs. Johnston and 

 Morton, comprehends the northern and eastern coasts, it is 

 in all probability an inhabitant of the entire sea-board of 

 the continent. Owing to the want of local catalogues of the 

 fishes occurring along our southern, western, and northern 

 shores, we have to be satisfied with such meagre records as 

 are to be found in isolated papers, and in most cases, there- 

 fore, the exact limit of the range of a species cannot be 

 definitely ascertained ; in the case of this mullet, however, 

 we have precise records of its abundance along the whole of 

 our eastern and south-eastern coasts; westward of Victoria 

 a hiatus occurs until Perth is reached, from whence Dr. 

 Giinther, the author of the species, found examples in the 

 British Museum collection. As Macleay obtained specimens 

 at Port Darwin, it is safe to conclude that it is found at all 

 intermediate stations between that locality and Perth on the 

 one hand and Cape York on the other, and it would even 

 appear to extend north-westwards right through the Malay- 

 sian seas to the coasts of China, if Professor Kner is correct 

 in attributing to this species two mullets collected at Hong- 

 kong during the voyage of the " Novara." Both these 

 examples were, however, very young, the largest being only 

 five centimeters, and it scarcely seems advisable to me to 

 claim so great an extension of distribution on so slender a 

 foundation as the differences between this and any closely 

 allied species (such as oeur, which is a common Chinese fish) 

 at so early a stage of growth. To the north-east there is, 

 however, more definite information as to its range. Dr. 

 Giinther having recorded it both from the New Hebrides and 

 the Sandwich Islands. 



This species is ]jar excellence the mullet of our eastern 

 and south-eastern coasts, and to it assuredly should be limited 

 the name " Sea Mullet," as typifjing its habit of gathering 



