EDIBLE FISHES OF QUEENSLAND.—OGILBF. 161 



Body elliptical, compressed. Scales moderate, adherent, ctenoid. Lateral 

 line tubes bifid, extending over the entire exposed surface of the scale. Head 

 moderate, with rather long pointed snout and narrow deeply cleft preorbital; 

 scaly, except on the snout, preorbital, and suborbital; preopercle more or less 

 naked ; cheek-scales in more than three series. Cleft of mouth moderate and a 

 little oblique, the jaws equal ; maxillary exposed posteriorly. Jaws with bands 

 of villiform teeth and two or three pair of small anterior canines. Eye moderate. 

 Opercle with a small spine. Dorsal fin with x 8 to 10 rays, the spinous portion 

 much longer than the soft, naked, and depressible in a groove. Caudal deeply 

 emarginate, one or both lobes sometimes produced in a filament. Anal similar 

 to the dorsal, with iii 7 to 10 rays, the 3rd spine longest. Pectoral short and 

 pointed, with 14 to 16 rays. Ventral inserted behind the pectoral-base ; accessory 

 scale present. 



Fishes of rather small size, inhabiting the warmer parts of the Indian and 

 "Western Pacific Oceans. 



PENTAPUS AURIFILUM Ogilby. 

 Pentapus aurifdum Ogilby, New Fish. Qiieensl. Coast, 20 Dec. 1910, p. 93. 



YELLOWLIP. 



(Plate XX.) 



Type locality: — North Reef. 



Body elliptical, the ventral profile more arched than the dorsal, its width 

 1-84 in its depth, which is 3 to 3-45 in its length and subequal to the length 

 of the head. Caudal peduncle twice as long as deep, its least depth 10 to 11-25 

 in the length of the body. Head about one third longer than deep, its upper 

 profile level from above the anterior border of the eye, its width 1-66 in its length, 

 which is 3-33 to 3-6 in that of the body. Snout rather short, with evenly convex 

 profile, its length 3-15 to 3-33 in the length of the head. Eye rather large, its 

 diameter a little more than the length of the snout and 2-6 to 3 in the length of 

 the head. Interorbital region feebly convex, its width 1-3 to 1-4 in the eye- 

 diameter. Jaws equal ; maxillary extending to below or slightly beyond the 

 anterior border of the eye, its length 2-9, that of the mandible 2-33 in the length 

 of the head. Preopercle entire or feebly crenulate, naked ; opercle with a small 

 sharp spine. 



Upper jaw with three pair of small canines, the outer the largest; 

 mandibular canines vestigial. 



Scales in 49 to 51 transverse series, in 3/1/10 in the series running 

 obliquely backwards from the origin of the dorsal fin. 



Cheek-scales in 3 series ; preopercle naked ; occipital scales extending 

 forwards to form a convex border between the posterior margins of the pupils. 



Dorsal fin with x 9 rays, the soft portion about two thirds of the length 

 of the spinous; 5th spine longest, a little shorter than the anterior rays and 

 2-15 to 2-33 in the length of the head. Middle caudal rays about 2-25 in the upper 

 lobe, without the filament, which is 4-5 in the body-length; 2nd ray of upper 

 lobe produced in a long slender filament. Anal fin originating below the 2nd 

 dorsal ray, with iii 7 rays, the spines evenly graded, the last one third of the length 

 of the head and a little shorter than the 1st ray ; last ray somewhat produced, 

 longer than the 1st. Pectoral fin with 16 rays, its length 3-75 to 4 in that of the 



