58 ME MOWS OF THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM. 



We take this opportunity of thanking Miss Phyllis Clark of Sydney for the 

 evident care which she has taken in the production of the admirable drawings 

 which illustrate this paper; also to Mr. Allan R. McCulloch for many valuable 

 suggestions. 



DECAPTERUS Bleeker. 



Decapterus Bleeker, Nat. Tijds. Nederl. Ind., i, 1851, p. 352 * {hurra); Jordan & Evermann,. 

 Fish. North & Mid. Amer., pt. 1, 1896, p. 907. 



Eustomatodtis Gill, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1862, p. 261 (kurroides) . 2 



Gymnepignathus Gill, ibid, {macrosoma). 



Evepigymnus Gill, ibid, (hypodus). 



Body elongate-elliptical to elongate, subfusiform. Scales small and 

 cycloid, covering the whole body except the nuchal ridge. Lateral line feebly 

 curved, consisting of enlarged scales throughout its entire length, those on the 

 straight section wholly or in part spinigerous. Head moderate or large, com- 

 pressed, with pointed snout, the cheeks, temples, and occiput mostly scaly. Mouth 

 terminal, protractile, with rather small oblique cleft, the jaws equal or the 

 lower slightly projecting; maxillary rather short, strongly dilated distally, 

 with well developed supplemental bone. Dentition feeble; teeth in the jaws 

 minute, mostly in a single series; similar teeth on the vomer and the palatines, 

 and usually on the tongue. Nostrils small and contiguous. Eyes large, lateral, 

 median or nearly so, with well developed adipose lid. Spinous dorsal well 

 developed, persistent, with 7 to 9 flexible spines ; soft dorsal and anal lobes low, 

 each succeeded by a single pinnule, the former with 27 to 36, the latter with 

 23 to 30 soft rays ; free anal spines strong. Caudal small and narrowly forked. 

 Pectoral moderate and falcate, with 21 to 23 rays. Ventrals moderate, origin- 

 ating below the pectoral-base. Gill-rakers rather long and slender. (SeVa, ten; 

 7Trep6v, a fin : the pinnuloe being reckoned as separate fins, but the two anals 

 as one.) 



Small scombriform trevallies, frequenting nearly all temperate and tropical 

 seas. At least 20 species are recognised as valid. In all probability two other 

 species of Decapterus — D. leptosomus 3 and D. muroadsi* — occur on our coast, 



1 Since it has been proved that russellii (= hurra) possesses lingual teeth this subgenus 

 becomes merged in Decapterus. 



2 Authors have conspired to take Bleeker 's paper in "Verh. Batav. Gen., xxiv, 1852, as 

 the earliest exposition of his carangin genera (except Uraspis 1855), and Jordan, Evermann, 

 and Waite have even quoted it as "Decapterus 1855" (idd. supra and Eee. Austr. Mus., v, 

 1904, p. 199), but the paper quoted above antedates both these diagnostic keys. 



3 Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, xxii, p. 761. 



* Car ana. muroadsi Schlegal, Faun. Japon., Pise, p. 108. 



