286 Sir J. Richardson on Australian Fish. 



Mr. Neill's figure represents the fish as having a pale l)rown colour, 

 much lighter on the belly, and thickly studded with irregular dark 

 liver-brown spots, most crowded along the back and becoming much 

 smaller and more scattered on the belly. The fins are rather of a 

 redder brown, and the soft dorsal, ventral and caudal are minutely 

 spotted. Length !) inches. 



Tautoga parila, Richardson. 



Paril and " Common Rock-fish," NeiWs drawings, No. 9 ; Richard- 

 son, Ichth. Erebus and Terror, p. 127, sub Labro fucicola. 



Radii.— ^r. 6 ; D. 9|11; A. 3|10; C. 13f ; P. 13; A^ 1|5, spe- 

 cimens. 



This species of Labrus or Tautoga approaches Labrus tetricus 

 (lohth. of Erebus and Terror, pi. 55. f. I) in general form, but there 

 is only a single row of scales on the teni])les, and they do not descend 

 lower than the middle of the upper limb of the preoperculum. The 

 scales covering the operculum and suboperculum are, as in the allied 

 species, large. The cheek, preoperculum and the broad thin iuter- 

 operculum show no scales, but, in common with the top of the head, 

 are covered with a thick skin full of mucous canals and open pores. 

 The diameter of the orbit is less than the length of the preorbital, 

 and is contained five times and a half in the length of the head when 

 the jaws are retracted. The preorbitar lips are only slightly de- 

 veloped, but the intermaxillary and mandibular ones are thick and 

 plaited. Teeth arranged in each jaw in a series gradually decreasing 

 towards the angle of the mouth, the anterior pair above and below 

 being considerably larger and more curved. In the upper jaw there 

 is a complete interior series of small rounded teeth which are on a 

 level with the soft parts. On the mandible the interior row is con- 

 fined to the fore-part of the jaw, and is less regular. The tubular 

 ramifications on the scales of the lateral line are more numerous and 

 crowded than in L. tetricus, or any of the other Australian species 

 figured in the ' Ichth)' ology of the Erebus and Terror.' There are 

 twenty-four scales on the lateral line having these clusters of tubes, 

 and the clusters do not diminish in size towards the tail, though one 

 or two less bushy occur under the soft dorsal. The line is as usual 

 suddenly bent downwards under the end of that fin. 



In the dried skins dark brown lines radiate from the orbit over the 

 temples, cheek, and preorbitar, and there are dark spots on the jaws, 

 top of the head and gill-plates. There are also some white blotches 

 and bars on the cheek, preoperculum, interoperculum and lower jaw. 

 The body is variegated with brown spots, crowded along the back, 

 more scattered on the sides, and mixed with small round dots of the 

 same tint. The dark marks extend to all the vertical fins. These 

 spots have an umber-brown colour in Mr. Neill's drawing. 



No. 37 of the same drawings represents the " Black-fish of the 

 sealers" and the " Paril" or " Knhoul" of the natives, which is con- 

 sidered to be a variety of the preceding. There is no specimen of it 

 in the collection, but it has the back and upper part of the sides 

 thickly sprinkled with reddish-brown dots without any larger spots. 

 This variety or species is said to grow to the size of 15 or 20 lbs. 



