92 MEMOIES OF THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM. 



indicus, B. sutor, B. major, and Gallichthys chevola, the first and last representing 

 the Indo-Malayan, the others the Atlantic form. These latter, if they should be 

 separable, would of course have to be relegated to the synonymy of Alectis 

 crinita, to give in that case Mitchill's fish its correct name. Bleeker next added 

 his contribution to the confusion by giving it the totally unnecessary name of 

 Carangoides blepharis ; this name is doubly erroneous because, with the exception 

 of the similarity of the dentition, our fish has but little in common with Caranx 

 prceustus Bennett, 8 which is the type of Carangoides Bleeker, 9 not C. plagiotcenia 

 Bleeker 10 as stated by Jordan and Evermann (l). 11 In Gunther's (2) figure of 

 a young specimen (59 millim.) he depicts the body as being rather deeper than 

 long and nearly three times as long as the head, which is just what might have 

 been expected as compared with the same measurements taken from the larger 

 (99 millim.) example before me. The specimen figured by Giinther on the same 

 page as adult (ausgewachsenen) is, however, little more than if so much as half- 

 grown, as may be proved by the depth of the body being 1-1 in its length, instead 

 of 1-6, which is the case in the adult fish. The ventrals also by their length show 

 that his fish is quite immature, and it is very interesting to note how their decrease 

 in length coincides with the increase in the pectorals. 



Uses: — Most writers, having only seen young specimens, are silent as to 

 its edible qualities, but there is no reason to believe that it differs from those of 

 its congener, though Valenciennes, on the authority of Dr. Kcenig, remarks of 

 Blepharis indicus that " its flesh is poor, stringy, and insipid." 



Range: — Warmer parts of the Indian, Pacific, and perhaps West 

 Atlantic Oceans. On our coast we can only report it with certainty from Moreton 

 Bay, S.Q., and Edgecumbe Bay, M.Q. From the former we have seen about a 

 dozen examples, mostly young, in as many years ; from the latter seventy-two, all 

 young, were trawled by the " Endeavour" along with A. indica. Since, however, 

 it occurs as far south as Port Jackson and also throughout the whole of the 

 Malayan subregions, we may safely assume that it is found along our entire 

 coast-line though, possibly for reasons connected with its habits and as yet 

 unascertained, it does not come within the scope of our fishermen's operations. 

 The earliest Australian record that we can find is that of Macleay in 1881, 

 which simply runs "Port Jackson North Coast" without giving any indication 



8 Life of Baffles, 1830, p. 689. 



8 Nat. Tijds. Nederl. Ind., i, 1851, p. 352. 



10 Act. Soc. Sci. Indo-Neerl., ii, 1857, p. 59. 



11 Carangoides was first defined by Bleeker thus — " Denies supramaxillares et inframaxil- 

 lares pluriseriati, aquales. Denies vomerini, 'palatini, linguales. ' ' On the following pages he 

 gives a list of some extra-archipelagian species, commencing with "Caranx fusus Geoff roy" — 

 which, if Giinther 's account of the dentition be correct, is more of a Carangus. But as I 

 understand the recommendations in ' ' The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, 

 1905, p. 25 ' ' his Carangoides prceustus, being the first species described in the paper quoted 

 {p. 363), takes precedence as the type. 



