EDIBLE nSHES OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 167 



much the larger ; vomer and palatines with similar teeth biserially arranged, 

 those of the latter being the largest in the mouth, and with an anterior and 

 lateral row of much smaller teeth ; pterygoids with an oval, tongue with an 

 elongate, patch of villiform teeth. The dorsal fin commences above the fifth 

 scale of the lateral line, and ends above the twenty fifth ; the length of its 

 base is rather less than the distance between its origin and the tip of the 

 snout ; the first ray is short, two sevenths {in the 9 ) of the second, which is 

 the longest, l'90-2"00 in the length of the head ; the middle rays are the 

 shortest, one or two of the posterior ones being as long as the third or fourth 

 rays, the outer margin of the fin being thus concave ; in the cf the second 

 and third rays are produced into long filaments, the length of the second 

 being equal to the distance between its base and the adipose fin or between 

 that and the base of the last ray ; the adipose fin is small and rounded, three 

 times as high as long, and situated above the thirty sixth or thirty seventh 

 scale of the lateral line : the anal commences slightly behind the termination 

 of the dorsal, and the length of its base is equal to the space between its 

 origin and the base of the last dorsal ray ; the second ray is the longest, not 

 equal in length to the middle dorsal rays ; its outer margin is slightly convex : 

 the ventral reaches to the vent ; the four outer rays are simple, the fourth 

 the longest, 1'20-1'33 in the length of the head : pectoral rather small, 

 reaching to the twelfth or thirteenth lateral line scale, l'75-l"90inthe same : 

 caudal forked, the least height of its pedicle equal to its breadth immediately 

 in front of the fin, and about one third of the height of the body. Scales 

 moderate, eyelid, adherent ; occiput, snout and preorbital scaleless : basal 

 two thirds of adipose fin scaly, the other fins without scales. Lateral line 

 straight, the tubes unbranched. 



Colors. — Upper surfaces purple with a more or less prevailing tinge of red 

 and with the edges of the scales crimson, and the top of the head sometimes 

 spotted with the same color ; back and sides with large irregular crimson 

 spots or transverse bands covering two or three scales in width, not reaching 

 across the abdomen ; the sides are of a paler purplish-red than the back, 

 and gradually merge into the pearly white of the abdominal region : dorsal 

 and caudal tins pale yellowish-red obliquely banded with rows of crimson 

 spots, which are frequently confluent on the caudal lobes ; adipose fin 

 basally purple, terminally crimson ; anal white or pale straw-color with 

 orange longitudinal bands ; ventrals and pectorals yellow with crimson trans- 

 verse bands. 



The Sergeant Baker — so named probably from having been first obtained 

 after the founding of the settlement by a sergeant of that name — frequents 

 moderately deep water on the outside reefs, but is rarely taken inside Port 

 Jackson. It is not an uncommon fish, but as those which find their way to 

 the Sydney market are with rare exceptions taken by the Snapper fishers 

 the supply is never equal to the demand. In examining a series of fresh 

 specimens taken at all seasons of the year two points are likely to strike the 

 observer, namely, that the stomach is almost invariably empty, and that it is 

 exceedingly rare to find ova in any stage of development in the ovaries ; in 

 the few cases in which we have been able to detect such the ova were in a 

 very eai'ly stage, and these occurred during the spring months. It is a good 

 fish for the table, the flesh being white, firm, flaky, and well flavored. 



The range of this beautifiul fish is very imperfectly known ; so far it has 

 only been recorded from the coast line of New South Wales south of 

 and including the metropolitan district, and it is omitted from the lists of 

 Queensland and Tasmanian fishes, while McCoy states that it is rare in 

 Hobson's Bay. 



The Sergeant Baker attains to a length of twenty four inches. 



