SOME AUSTRALIAN FISH SCALES.— COCKEEELL. 55 



APOGONID^. 



I do not believe that the nile§, correctly interpreted, require us to write Amia 

 for Apogon. 



Glossamia aprion Rich. Norman River. Scales transversely oval or oblong, 

 about 4 mm. long and 5 broad, some a little larger ; corners rounded ; nucleus a short 

 distance above middle ; basal radii delicate and numerovis ; basal margin only feebly 

 crenulated ; radii above the nucleus complete, rounded, not angled ; ctenoid patch 

 very distinct, the elements elongated ; marginal teeth numerous, small. The sub- 

 marginal ctenoid elements are much longer and more spine-like than in Cheilodip- 

 terus nigrotceniatus Sm. & Rad. (U. S. Nat. Mus. ; type). 



Apogon fasciatus Shaw. Moreton Bay. Scales transversely elongated, about 

 4-5 to 5-5 mm. long and 5-5 to 6-5 mm. broad ; differing conspicuously from Glossamia 

 in the subapical nucleus (which, with the obtusely angulate apical margin, recalls 

 the Gobiidae, although the ctenoid elements are in many rows), and also in the deeply 

 crenulate basal margin. The marginal teeth are small and very sharp; the submarginal 

 ctenoid elements are relatively broad and short, of the same general tjj)e as those of 

 Cheilodipterus . In this last feature Apogon, Cheilodipterus, and Apogonichtliys fall 

 together, apart from Glossamia. 



Through the kindness of Dr. H. M. Smith I have scales from the types of a 

 number of species of Apogon {Amia S. & R.) lately ]Dublished by Smith and Radcliffe. 

 They entirely confirm the generic characters ascertained from ^ /ascm^a. In A. uni- 

 notatus (S. & R.) the scales are unusually short and broad, and the basal circuli are 

 very fine and close. There are good specific characters in the structure of the ctenoid 

 elements, which are hard to describe. I figure those of A. vMinotatus, A. nigrocinctus, 

 and A. fasciatus. 



HJ5MULID.E. 



Pomadasis hasta Bloch. Moreton Bay. Scales subquadrate, about 5 mm. 

 broad and long, the nucleus far above the middle ; basal radii ordinary, about 12 ; 

 basal margin moderately crenulate ; ctenoid area large, marginal teeth small and 

 sharp ; ctenoid elements much like those of Apogon nigrocinctus, the submarginal 

 elements as broad as long, much as in the Percid Boleosomxi. There is no material 

 difl^erence from the scale of Orthopristis . Pomadasis macracanthus, from Balboa, 

 Panama Canal Zone (Meek and Hildebrand, U.S. N.M.), presents no material difference 

 in the scales. The Pomadasis scale represents a very conservative acanthopterygian 

 t\^e. 



THERAPONID^. 



Therapon Miginosus Macleay. Burdekin River. Scales longer than broad, 

 about 6 mm. long and 4-5 broad, but variable ; about 12 to 15 basal radii ; basal 

 margin scarcely crenulate ; ctenoid patch large. 



T. unicolor Gthr. Burnett River. Scales little longer than broad, or even 

 sometimes broader than long, the largest not over 5 mm. long ; basal margin hardly 

 scalloped or crenulate. 



T. percoides Gthr. Walsh River. Scales square, about as broad as long, the 

 largest about 4 mm. long ; basal margin finely scalloped. 



