EDIBLE EISHES OP NEW SOUTH WALES. 



Old Wife. 



B. vii. D. 8. 1/14-15. A. 3/14-15. Y. 1/5. P. 13-14. C. 17. L. lat. 53-60. 

 L. tr. 14/30-10. Ccec. pyl. 15. Vert. 10/17. 



Leugtli of liead 3-50-4-00, of caudal fin 8-80-4-00, height of body 2-40- 

 266 iu the total length. Diameter of eye 3-25-3-00 in the length of the 

 head : snout short, its length from 1"10-1"40 in the diameter of the eye : 

 interorbital space flat, with a deep median groove, l'50-2'00 in the same. 

 Nostrils moderately close together, simple, the anterior round, the posterior 

 oval and slightly the larger. Upper profile of head very concave. Lower jaw 

 the longer. Cleft of mouth small and oblique, the maxilla extending a little 

 beyond the anterior margin of the orbit. Preorbital with five or six strong 

 teeth, tbe posterior one much the stoutest and pointed directly backwards : 

 preopercle with both limbs strongly serrated, and with the angle much pro- 

 duced, bearing two spines, the upper of which is the strongest, curved, and 

 directed upwards and backwards. Teeth in the jaws villiform with an outer 

 enlarged series anteriorly ; those on the vomer in a subtriangular patch ; on 

 the palatines in an elevated arcuate band ; tongue with a median band. 

 The dorsal commences above the posterior angle of the base of the pectoral 

 and ends above the tenth or eleventh anal ray ; the three anterior spines 

 are short and correspond diversely to the last three ; the fourth is strong 

 and greatly elevated, its length from one tenth to one third longer than that 

 of the head, and from l"33-2"00 in that of the first ray which is a little 

 longer than the second, and more than twice as long as the fourth, the third 

 being intermediate, and the remainder short ; the length of the base of the 

 first dorsal is from 1'15-1'40 in that of the second : the anal commences 

 beneath the origin of the second dorsal, its spines are strong, the third the 

 longest, from l*66-2'00 in the length of the head, to which the first ray is 

 equal : the ventral reaches to the third or fourth anal ray, and its length is 

 equal to or as much as one fourth longer than that of the head : pectoral 

 pointed, extending as far back as the ventral, and subequal in length to the 

 head: caudal emarginate with the lobes produced; the least height of its 

 pedicle equal to the distance between the last anal ray and the origin of the 

 caudal, tipper surface of head and preorbital scaleless. Lateral line strongly 

 curved to beneath the middle dorsal rays. 



Colors. — Silvery white, with eight blackish vertical bands, the first from 

 immediatel}^ behind the occiput passing obliquely forwards and downwards 

 through the eye, and sending two narrow branches along the interorbital 

 space to the snout ; the second from iu front of the first dorsal to the base 

 of the ventral ; the third very broad, beneath the first dorsal, and extending 

 on to that fin ; the fourth narrow, beneath the dorsal interspace ; the fifth 

 broad, between the soft dorsal and the anal, and continued to the extremities 

 of their elongated rays ; the sixth narrow, from behind the dorsal to the last 

 anal rays ; the seventh across the caudal pedicle, and the eighth across the 

 base of the caudal fin. 



Nothing is known of the breeding habits of the " Old Wife," by which 

 name this species is exclusively known in Port Jackson, although it is 

 excessively common there, frequenting wharves and sheltered places, and 

 probably attaching its ova to the tangle. 



Being an excellent little fish for the table it is to be regretted that it does 

 not appear iu the market in greater quantities, this being due to its 

 preference for rocky localities, where the seine cannot be used. 



