EDIBLE FISHES OF QUEENSLAND.— OGILBY. 131 



of eye a little less than the iuterorbital width and 2-25 in the postorbital head. 

 Upper surface of head with a shallow groove, the borders of which converge 

 anteriorly ; supraciliary and supranasal regions striated. 



Enlarged teeth short and slender, the series commencing a short distance 

 behind the tip of the premaxillary crest, and rapidly fining down towards 

 the tip, near which they become obsolescent ; tongue smooth. 



Scales small and adherent; cheeks, upper anterior portion of opercle, 

 parietal region, and anterior part of the cephalic groove scaly. Lateral line 

 extending to the caudal fin, not keeled posteriorly. 



Dorsal fin with 23-24 rays, originating above the 6th anal ray, the 

 space between its origin and the caudal fin equal to the length of the snout ; 2nd 

 ray longest, as long as the postorbital head and two and two thirds times the 

 length of the 7th and shortest ray, beyond which they increase gradually to 

 the 15th, which is about one sixth less than the 2nd; last ray not produced, 

 not quite extending to the caudal. Caudal fin emarginate, the middle rays 2-25 

 in the lower lobe, which is half as long as the snout. Anal fin with 26 or 27 

 rays, as long as the snout, terminating a little in advance of the end of the dorsal ; 

 2nd ray longest, one sixth higher than the dorsal lobe, and as long as the head 

 behind the middle of the eye; last ray short, extending rather more than half 

 way to the base of the caudal. Pectoral pointed, with 14 rays, as long as the 

 head without the snout, and 12-5 in the length of the body. Ventral originating 

 about one eighth nearer to the eye than to the root of the caudal, its length 

 equal to the postorbital head. 



Distance of vent from anal 3-33 in that from the origin of the ventral. 



Back with a narrow dark-green vertebral stripe from the occiput to the 

 dorsal fin; below^ this is a broad sea-green band extending to the tail; below 

 this again is an equally broad plumbeous band, w^hich throws off about 13 rather 

 obscure vertical shoots into the pearly M^iite of the sides and lower surface. 

 Upper edge of opercle, hinder border of preopercle, upper eye, preorbital, and 

 premaxillary crest black. Dorsal fin posteriorly sea-green with a blackish border, 

 the posterior produced area uniform black ; caudal greenish gray, the bases of 

 the middle rays plumbeous; outer half of anal lobe dusky; upper ray, outer 

 half, and posterior base of pectoral blackish ; ventral with a black basal spot and 

 broadly tipped with blackish, {cccruleus, blue; fasciatus, barred.) 



Described from a fine specimen, 600 millim. in length, obtained in Moreton 

 Bay, and secured for the Queensland Museum through the acumen of Mr. 

 William Gr. Beach, Secretary to the Brisbane Fish Market, who recognized it 

 at once as a species of ' ' Long Tom ' ' with which he was unacquainted. 



Historical: — Prior to Mr. Beach's discovery of this species in a consign- 

 ment of fishes sent to the Brisbane Market from Moreton Bay, our only knowledge 

 of it consisted of the account given by Stead in the paper to which reference is 

 made above. He there writes as follow^s: — "In the month of April, 1904, four 

 specimens of a remarkable Long- Tom, of a species hitherto imknown, were 

 received (through the observation of Dr. James C. Cox, M.D., F.R.C.S.E., 

 Commissioner of Fisheries) from Mr. J. E. Chinnery, fishmonger of this city. 

 From the latter gentleman's evidence, as well as from that of one of the Depart- 

 ment's Inspectors, it transpired that they had been captured in the one haul 

 Avith Garfish {Hemirliainphus) at Port Stephens." Only one of Stead's 

 specimens, a fish measuring 470 millim., was perfect. 



