11 I>'TRODUCTI()y. 



the fishes peculiar to the colder waters of the temperate zone, we 

 from our position combine both faunas, many tropical forms, such as 

 Liitianus and Cha^rops, finding their way to the Sydney market 

 from our northern fishing stations, while southern forms, such as 

 Scbastcs and Pscudophycis, occur as far up our coast as the Port 

 Jackson District. The author has had great difficulty in ascer- 

 taining even api^roximately the respective northerly or southerly 

 range of such forms, the absence of local lists and of reliable 

 correspondents proving a serious drawback. 



Where only a limited number of species were allowed it became 

 necessary for the author to confine himself to such species as 

 occurred in the Sydney market in greater or less abundance during 

 the prejDaration of the present work, and, except in the case of our 

 freshwater food fishes which were not obtainable by that means, 

 this arrangement has been strictly adhered to ; several well known 

 and excellent fishes have, therefore, been unavoidably omitted, 

 among which may be mentioned the Hairtail [Tn'cJn'ii-nis)^ Dory 

 [Zc2is), River Catfish [Copidoglanis], Giant Herrings [Mcgalops, 

 CJiaiws, and Elops], Conger [Co7tger), and vSilver Eel {Af//ravn'sox). 



The synonymy has also been a source of much trouble and 

 anxiety to the author ; it has, nevertheless, been made as full as 

 circumstances permitted, but there was not sufficient time to go 

 thoroughly into the subject, which is rendered doubly difiicult by 

 the careless manner in which some Australian writers describe 

 their supposed new species ; in the case of large genera many 

 of these descriptions are equally applicable to half a dozen well 

 known species. 



J. DOUGLAS OGILBY. 



Sydney, July, 1893. 



