206 EDIBLE FISHES OE NEW SOUTH WALES. 



On page 9G we quote Castlenau as stating that in his S. antarcticus the 

 air-bladder is absent, and make some remarks thereon ; these remarks are 

 justified by the publication in the following year (1S73) of an essay by 

 Castlenau — which we had pi'eviously overlooked — entitled "Notes on the 

 Edible Pishes of Victoria," in which he states, as dogmatically as he in his 

 former paper denied it, that S. atitarcticus "has an air-bladder," without, 

 however, making any reference to or correction of his former error ; he does 

 not, nevertheless, relinquish his opinion as to the specific value of his 

 S. antarcticus, but as, the absence of an air-bladder having perforce to be 

 given up as a means of discrimination, he relies mainly on the difference in 

 coloration, a very unstable character in this genus. We still prefer to 

 consider it as synonymous with S. pneumatopJwrns. 



In his British Eishes, i, p. 91, Day, writing of S. colias — of which he aad 

 others consider ^. fneumatopliorus to be a mere variety — says : — " The 



posterior adipose lid crossing over the lower edge of the anterior 



lid, is inserted into the suborbital ring of bones." A reference to our des- 

 cription (p. 9i) will show that the reverse is the case in our fish ; presuming, 

 therefore, that Day's account is correct, it would be interesting to know 

 whether the same difference occurs between the Atlantic and Mediterranean 

 forms of 8. colias and S. pneumatopliorus, or whether this character is 

 confined to the Pacific form. 



This species occurs on the coast of the Western States of America, the 

 jSTorth Atlantic, and the Mediterranean. 



PELAMTS CHILENSTS. 



(Page 97.) " ■ 



During the early part of May, 1893, numbers of these fishes were brought 

 to market from Port Jackson and the neighbouring bays ; these were of 

 much larger size than is usual with us, some individuals measuring as much 

 <is twenty four inches ; since then small examples of twelve inches and even 

 less in length have been abundant. 



The generic name Pelaviis having been formed for a genus of Sea Snakes 

 by Daudin many years previously to that on which the authors of the 

 Histoire Naturelle des Poissons used it, it becomes necessary to look for 

 another name applicable to this species, and we, therefore, follow Jordan 

 and Gilbert in calling our Horse Mackerel Sarda cJiilensis. The generic 

 quotation is : — Sarda, Cuvier, Regne Anim. 2nd. Ed, ii. 1829. 



