QUEENSLAND FISHES.— McCULLOCH. 165 



gg. Atlantic Ocean si^ecies .. .. .. .. .. synodus and a'lanticus. 



ff. L.lat.68. 



i. 10 anal rays ; light -coloured with dark cross-bars . . . . . . dermatogenys . 



a. 8 anal rays ; black with dark cross-bars .. .. .. .. lacertinus, 



ee. 3^ scales between lateral line and dorsal fin. 



j. 11 dorsal and 10 anal rayr, : snout slightly longer than l)road; ej'e about 

 4J in the head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kaianus. 



jj. 13 dorsal and 8-9 anal rays. 



k. Snoiit as broad a ; long ; dorsal and caudal finr, spotted, gill- membranes 

 plain . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . indicus. 



kk. Snout broader than long ; dorsal and caudal fins plain, upper part of gill- 

 membranes with black blotches . . . . . . . . similis. 



cc. Anal fin with 11 or more rays . . acu'.us, altipinnis, saurus, scituliceps, jenkin&i, 



fcetens, and lucioceps. 



The characters of S. erythrceus Kluiiginger, from the Keel Sea, are 

 unknown to me. 



SYNODUS JAPONIC US Houttuyn. 



Cohitis japonica Houttuyn, Verb. Holl. Mat. Har.'em., xx, 1782, p. 450. 



Baluio variegatus Lacepede, Hist. Nat. Poiss., v, 1803, p. 157. 



Saurus varius Giinther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., v, 1864, p. 395 — part. 



Synodus JGijonlcus Jordan & Herre, Pro3. U.S. Nat. Mas., xxxii, 1907, p. 517 — synonym}'. 



A single specimen 131 mm. long, from ^Murray Island, Torres Strait, enables 

 me to add this species to the Australian list. Nine others from Lord HoAve 

 Island and one from Amboyna agree in having the postoral portion of the cheek 

 naked as in .S'. dermatogenys Fowler, but have eight or nine anal rays instead of 

 ten as in that .species. The two species are evidently very similar. 



SYNODUS HOULTI sp. nov. 

 (Plate VIII, fig. 1.) 



Br. 15 ; D. 12 ; A. 9 ; P. 13 ; V. 8 ; C. 19 ; L. lat. 59 ; L. tr. 4-|/7. Depth of the 

 body before the ventrals less than its breadth, and 6-5 in the length to the hypural 

 joint; head 3-3 in the same. Eye 1-8 in the snout, and 8-1 in the head; 

 interorbital width 1-1 in the eye. Third dorsal ray 24. and pectoral fin 3 in 

 the head. 



Body subcylindrical, a little broader than deep, tapering backwards. Snout 

 pointed, its width at the base distinctly greater than its length; jaws subequal. 

 Nostrils close together, nearer the eye than the end of the snout ; the opening 

 of each is quite small, and the first has a posterior cutaneous lobule. Eye with 

 very narrow adipose membranes anteriorly and posteriorly. Interorbital space 

 concave. Cranium with some radiating ridges behind the eje and across the 

 occiput. ]\Iouth oljlique, the premaxilla extending about two eye-diameters 

 beyond the eye. Preopercular margin rounded, with a membranous border 

 bearing mucigerous canals. Operculum unarmed, with a membranous border. 



