40 EDIBLE FISHES OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 



Family VIII.-SPARID^. 



Brancliiostepjals five to seven : pseudobranehijie present. Body oblong or 

 oblong-ovate, compressed. Eyes of moderate size, lateral. Moutli in front 

 of tlie snout, with lateral cleft. Bones of the head with a rudimentary 

 muciferous system. More or less broad and trenchant or conical teeth in 

 front of the jaws, with or without lateral series of molar teeth : palatines 

 generally smooth. One dorsal fin formed by a subequally developed 

 spinous and soft portion : anal with three spines : lower pectoral rays 

 branched : ventrals thoracic, with one spine and five rays. Lateral line 

 continuous, not extending along the caudal fin. Scales eyelid or feebly 

 ctenid. 



Geograpliical distribution. — Seas of temperate and tropical regions ; some 

 species entering fresh water. 



Genus I.— PIMELEPTERUS. 



I'imeleptevus, (Lacep.) Cuvier, Eegne Anim. ; Cuv. & A^al. Hist. Nat. 

 Poiss. vii. p. 254, 1S31. 



Branchiostegals seven : pseudobranchia? present. Body ovate and but little 

 compressed. Preopercle with or without serrature. Yilliform teeth in the 

 jaws, with an outer row of strong incisors : vomer, palatines, and tongue with 

 small teeth. One dorsal fin with eleven spines : anal with three. Scales of 

 moderate size, the soft portion of the vertical fins scaly. Airbladder divided 

 posteriorily into two horns, and sometimes notched anteriorly. Pyloric 

 ajDpendages few or very numerous. 



Geographical distribution. — Tropical and subtropical seas, more especially 

 of the eastern hemisphere. 



PIMELEPTEEUS SYDNEYANUS. 



Faclnjmetopon grande, Macleay, Catal. Austr. Fish. i. p. 106, 1881 {nee GnfJi.). 

 FimeJepterus sgdneganys, Grnth. Ann. Nat. Hist. (5) 1886, xviii. p. 368. 

 PimeJppterus meridionalis, Ogilby, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1886, p. 539. 



Drummer. 

 Plate XYI. 



B. vii. D. (10)— 11/12 A. 3/10. Y. 1/5. P. 17. C 17. L.lat. 57-59. L. tr. 10/19 

 Coec. pyl. very num. Yert. 11/15. 



Length of head 4-85-5-15, of caudal fin 4-25-5-00, height of body 

 "300-3-20 in the total le^igth. Eyes moderate, 3-75-4-00 in length of the 

 head, 1-33-1-75 in that of the obtusely rounded snout, and 1-80-2-30 in the 

 convex interorbital space. Upper profile of head rather flat, with a trans- 

 verse rounded protuberance in front of the eyes. Upper jaw rather the 

 longer. Cleft of mouth small and transverse, the maxilla extending to beneath 

 the anterior margin of the orbit. Opercular bones entire. A single row of 

 strong curved teeth in the jaws, the posterior horizontal portion equal in 

 length to the vertical ; behind these a narrow band of similar but smaller 

 and non-functional teeth, intended to replace losses in the outer cutting 

 series ; vomer, palatines, and tongue densely crowded with minute teeth. 

 Dorsal spines of moderate strength, increasing in height to the sixtli and 

 seventh, which are 1-75-2-10 in the length of the head, and much higher 

 than the rays : third anal spine the longest and strongest ; anterior anal rays 



