EDIBLE FISHES OF QUEENSLAND.— OGILBY. 85 



maxillary extending little more than midway along the snout, its length 3 to 3-2 

 in that of the head, the width of its distal extremity 34 to 3-7 in its distance from 

 the eye and 2-5 to 2-25 in the eye-diameter. Preopereular border entire. 



Young with minute teeth on the jaws, vomer, palatines, and tongue; 

 these gradually disappear, so that a specimen of 15 in. merely has the jaw bones 

 coarsely ridged and a feebly crescentic series of deeply imbedded teeth on the 

 head of the vomer. 



Lateral line strongly curved to below the 10th dorsal ray, the length of 

 the curved section 1-3 to 14 in that of the straight, which is armed posteriorly 

 with from 8 to 12 weak scutes. 



Dorsal fin with vi to 0, i 19 rays ; procumbent spine small and concealed ; 

 spinous dorsal consisting of six low unconnected spines in the young; with 

 advancing age these disappear from the front until all have been absorbed in 

 the muscular tissue. Soft dorsal originating midway between the tip of the snout 

 and the root of the caudal or slightly nearer to the latter ; anterior 10 to 5 rays 

 gradedly filiform, extending in the young well beyond the tip of the caudal, 

 but decreasing considerably with age; behind the filamentous rays, the others 

 are of equal length to the last, which is slightly produced. Caudal fin deeply and 

 widely forked, the lobes equal, one third of the body-length. Anal with ii too, i 16 

 rays, similar to but not so long as the dorsal, with only 4 or 5 filamentous rays, 

 of which the first extends to the tip of the caudal. Pectoral with 18 rays, its 

 length 245 to 2-6 in that of the body ; 5th ray longest, extending to above the 

 11th anal ray. Ventral inserted well in advance of the pectoral, the two outer 

 rays filiform in the young, reaching to the root of the caudal; the filaments 

 rapidly disappear with age, and in specimens over 10 in. the fin is normal, 

 1-9 to 2.33 in the length of the pectoral and 5 to 5-85 in that of the body, with 

 the outer ray the longest, reaching midway to between the 6th and 8th anal rays. 



Gill-rakers short and stout, 22 on the lower branch of the anterior arch, 

 the longest one tenth to one twelfth of the length of the head. Vent about one 

 and a half time nearer to the origin of the ventral than to that of the anal. 



Upper surface golden bronze, shading imperceptibly into the iridescent 

 silvery of the lower sides and the breast ; young lighter in color than the adult, 

 with five or six broad dull blue bands extending from the back to below the 

 middle of the sides ; nuchal ridge blackish. Upper surface of head, snout, and 

 jaws light brownish yellow, the cheeks and opercles silvery ; opercular spot small 

 and inconspicuous or absent. First dorsal ray, tips of the produced rays, and a 

 narrow bar along the base of each interradial membrane black ; caudal washed 

 with gold ; anal and pectorals colorless ; ventral colorless, the elongate rays 

 blackish in the young, (inddm: a native of India.) 



Described from four specimens, measuring respectively 165, 275, 290, 

 and 338 millim. (from tip of snout to root of caudal) , obtained from Raine Island, 



