58 MEMOIRS OF THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM. 



ICHTHYOLOGICAL ITEMS. 



By Allan R. McCulloch, Zoologist, Australian Museum, 



(Plates VII. to IX. and Four Text-figures.) 



The following contribution consists of miscellaneous notes on fishes v/hicli 

 hav^e come to hand from various sources. In the endeavour to elucidate some of the 

 problems relating to our fishes, manj^ scraps of information concerning them are 

 accumulated, which, though disconnected and imperfect in themselves, serve as 

 stepping-stones towards the greater object in view. Some of these, together with 

 descriptions of several species, are therefore submitted as items of ichthyological 

 interest. 



A feature which largely facihtates the accumulation of these notes is the 

 advancement in recent years of our several Austrahan museums, and the vastly 

 improved condition and storage of their contained collections. An appreciation of the 

 extreme importance of typical specimens and of others which have been described 

 or illustrated in literature has been generally developed, and invaluable material, 

 hitherto largely neglected or lost in a maze of unsorted miscellanea, has been redis- 

 covered and vahied at its proper worth. Faded and dilapidated remains of specimens, 

 valuable only because of their histor}^ have been given pride of place over others 

 more showy and of more general interest. This improvement has come none too soon, 

 since not a few tj^pes and other specimens of equal value have either been lost or are 

 decayed beyond redemption. It is fortunate for Austrahan ichthyology that the 

 specimens on which Castle nau, Macleay, de Vis, and Johnston founded their numerous 

 species are now being diligently sorted out of the various collections in which they 

 are contained, and made available for examination. 



intimately associated with this advancement is a freer interchange of material 

 between the various institutions in the different States. Until recently, ichthyological 

 papers published in Australia have dealt almost exclusively wdth limited collections, 

 and large series for comparative study and illustrating variation have been rarely 

 obtainable. The conditions having improved, however, the collections of all the 

 museums may now be called upon when occasion demands such a course. Ever 

 ready to assist in this direction is Dr. R. Hamlyn-Harris, Director of the Queensland 

 Museum, to whom I am indebted for many courtesies, and it is due to him that I have 

 been able to investigate some of the matters referred to in the following pages. I 

 also wish to express my thanks for the loan of specimens to Mr. Edgar R . Waite, Director 

 of the South Australian Museum ; to Mr. J. A. Kershaw, Curator of the National 

 Museum, Melbourne ; and to Mr. W. B. Alexander, Keeper of Biology, Western Aus- 

 tralian Museum. 



