DR. RICHARDSON'S DESCRIPTION OF AUSTRALIAN FISH. 165 



and pale gray or lilac, running from before backwards in a more or less wavy manner. 

 Beneath the orbit the pale and dark lines are of equal width, and there are about eight 

 of each, but posteriorly the brown stripes are wider than the pale ones, and encircle 

 and form blotches on the spines. There are three white stripes on the base of the 

 dorsal, as many on the base of the anal, and eleven on the tail, five of which cross the 

 base of the caudal. The membranes of the fins are colourless, except a slight cloudi- 

 ness in the fore-part of the anal and dorsal. The lines above the mouth meet their 

 fellows on the forehead and fore-part of the back, as in the preceding species. 



These colours are described from the dried specimens. Mr. Gray makes out the belly 

 and under lip to be yellow. 



OsTRAcioN ORNATus (Gray), Handsome Pig-fish. — Aracana ornata, Gray, Mag. of Zool. 



and Bot. and Brit. Mus., No. 36. 



Tab. X. Fig. 2. 

 Os. {Aracana) lateribus dorsoque lineis albidis tessellatis ; facie ventreque lineis pur- 

 pureis, fuscis et albis, numerosis, variis ; vittis sex projje finem pinna caudts anasto- 

 mosantibus ; naso mentoque convexo carinatis. 



The spines in this species are rather short, and in some individuals most of them 

 are merely rudimentary. The forehead between the orbitar spines is very convex, and 

 the sides and belly round into each other, not meeting at so decided an angle as in the 

 preceding species. The grains are more crowded on the plates of the cuirass than in 

 auritus. The nose from before the orbitar spines to the mouth has an elevated, obtuse, 

 and thickly granular keel, and the chin which is convex in profile is also keeled, though 

 less conspicuously. 



The sides and back are divided into small hexagonal spaces by pale or whitish lines, 

 the areas being dark brown with a white central speck. Seven short purplish lines 

 cross the sides of the head, running as far back as the eye : they are separated by 

 brown spaces, each of which is divided by a fine central white line parallel to the others. 

 None of the hues cross the facial keel. There are about as many similar stripes be- 

 neath the angle of the mouth, separated from their fellows by the mental keel, but con- 

 tinued along the belly to the anal, the white lines becoming wider posteriorly. The 

 lower lines encroach on the ventral keel, and also cross the bases of the fins ; but on 

 the membranes the colours appear to have faded, there being merely a few brownish 

 clouds remaining on the forepart of the dorsal and anal. There are six dark longitu- 

 dinal stripes united by a subterminal band in the same way as in spilogaster. The co- 

 lours are described from dried specimens. 



No examples of ornatus or flavig aster are contained in Mr. Lempriere's collection, 

 but he alludes either to them or to similarly striped Ostracions in his notes, and the spe- 

 cimens in the British Museum were actually brought from Van Diemen's Land. 



Mr. Gray also describes a Chinese species {Ostracion reevesii) which is allied to the 



VOL. III. PART II. z 



