EDIBLE FISHES OF QUEFNSLAXD—UGILljy. 83 



length of the head; length of its base 2-1 to 2-25 iu that of the body. Q'.iidal fin 

 bluntly cuneate, the eighth lowest ray the longest, 4-b to i-Q in the body-length. 

 Anal with ii 7 rays, originating below the fourteenth or fifteenth dorsal ray, the 

 spines strong and finely striated, the second 2-1 to 2-2 in the length of the head 

 and 1-25 in the first ray ; length of anal 3-7 iu that of the second dorsal. Pectoral 

 obtusely pointed, with 16 rays, the fifth and sixth the longest, 1-5.5 in the length 

 of the head, and extending! to below the last dorsal spine. Ventral inserted a 

 little behind the peetoral-base, and somewhat longer than that fin, the fii'st ray 

 longest, with or without a short filamentary appendage. 



Gill-rakers 6 + 8 with some rudiments on the lower branch, the longest 

 two fifths of the eye-diameter. 



Coloration, after long imuii'rsion iu preservatives, almost uniformly 

 silvery, with gray stripes extending obliquely upwards and backwards along the 

 middle of each series of scales on the upper anterior portion of the bodj'. 

 Anterior dorsal dusky, with microscopic brown dots ; soft dorsal somewhat 

 lighter, with a dark spot before each ray, forming a horizontal row just above 

 the scaly sheath, above which is a second but less definite row. (Soldado, the 

 Spanish term for a soldier.) 



Described from two specimens, one measuring 320 mm. taken at Dunk 

 Island by Mr. Kendal Broadbent, and acquired from him by the Trastees of the 

 Queensland Museum; Keg. No. I. 2901. The second from a 338 mm. example 

 captured in the Lower Burdekin, which belongs to the Australian Museum, and 

 has been chosen as the leetotype from seven specimens, which are co types of 

 Corvina argentea Macleay. 



Variation: — The six other cotypes, measuring 188 to 310 mm. in length, 

 exhibit some slight variation, the depth being a little less in the sm;iller 

 specimens than in the larger ones. 



Synonymy: — Jlr. McCulloch, who has kindlj' compared the specimens, 

 obtained from various sources, iu the collection of the Australian Museum, writes 

 to me as follows — "Corvina argentea Macleay is evidently synonymous with 

 Sciana sohludo (Laeepede) ; a comparison of one of the smaller specimens of 

 Macleay 's cotypes with an Indian example of S. miles {^ S. soldado) of about 

 the same size, from Dr. Francis Day's collection, reveals no appreciable difference 

 between them. S. miilleri Steindachner is said to differ from (S. soldado 

 principally in having the second anal spine somewhat shorter in relatiou to the 

 following rays, in the relative lengths of the dorsal spines, and in having the tip 

 of the first ventral ray filiform. All these dift'erenees are trivial and are not 

 consistently maintained either in our specimens or in the descriptions and figures 

 of aS'. soldado. It seems probable that S. miilleri is not distinct from Laeepede 's 

 species, though it should be noted that Klunzinger, with both forms before him, 

 maintained them as distinct." With Mr. McCidloch's conclusions I am 

 thoroughly iu accord. 



