AUSTRALIAN OORIIDJE McCULLOCH ANO OfilLBY. 209 



Body strongly compressed, naked ; twenty-four myotomes are distinct 

 in the preserved specimens between the axil and the hypural joint. 

 Genital papilla large. The whole surface of the head and body is covered 

 with a thick granular mucous which obscures the characters beneath it. 



First dorsal commencing above the base of the pectoral. The spines 

 are weak, and increase in length to the fifth ; the sixth is separated from 

 the fifth by a wide interspace, and is broadly united with the first ray by 

 membrane. Soft dorsal rounded, all its rays except the first branched, 

 the ninth longer than the postocular portion of the head. Anal commencing 

 behind and terminating before the soft dorsal, to which it is similar in 

 form. Caudal broadly rounded. Pectorals rounded, the median rays 

 longest and reaching to below the third dorsal ray. Ventrals small, cup- 

 shaped, with a broad basal membrane ; their length is variable, the 

 median rays reaching from half to three-fourths of their distance from 

 the vent. 



Colours. — Bleached after long preservation in alcohol, with only faint 

 indications of the five broad darker cross-bars on the head and pectoral 

 base, which are disposed as illustrated in the accompanying figure ; there 

 are also traces of about five irregular undulating longitudinal stripes on 

 the body in some specimens. Opercular lobe with or without a dark spot. 



Described from the six cotypes of the species, 39-46 mm. long, in the 

 Macleay Museum. The figure represents a well preserved example 47 

 mm. long, from Green Island off Cairns. 



Variation. — The brilliant green and scarlet colouration of this species 

 in life is wholly lost in preserved specimens, and only occasionally are 

 traces of the colour-marking retained. In some specimens from Murray 

 Island, the broad dark bars on the head and base of the pectoral, which 

 are usually indistinct or wanting, are well defined : the scarlet spots 

 are represented by areas defined by microscopic grey dots, and may 

 be irregularly distributed as in the figure or may coalesce to form more 

 or less regular longitudinal lines. The dorsal and anal fin-rays vary 

 from 11-12 and 10-11 respectively. 



8yno7iymy. — The original description of EUerya unicolor, Castelnan, 

 is inaccurate and superficial, and although emended later by its author, 

 is too general to allow of the species being definitely recognised without 

 reference to the type. The specimens recorded by Macleay as G. unicolor 

 from the Endeavour River do not differ from his cotypes of G. verticiilis, 

 and suggest that the two species are identical ; if this be so, Castelnau's 

 name will take precedence. Kent's figure of Gohius douglasi leaves no 

 doubt as to the identity of that species with G. verticalis, and illustrates 

 the characteristic brilliant colouration of the living fish. The similarity 

 of the cotypes of G. vertirali.'^ and Cuvier & Valenciennes' figure of G. 

 histrio^ is very striking, and the two species are very probably identical ; 

 but as we lack Bleeker's important paper on the synonymy of the several 

 closely allied species of Gohiodon, we prefer to use Macleay's name until 

 further details of the characters of G. histrio are available. 



a Cuvier & Valenciennes— Hi.st. Nat. Poiss., xii., 1837, p. 132, pi. cccxlvii. 



