228 WAITE 
Head short and blunt, the broad inter- 
orbital space is very convex, mouth small 
with reflexed lips, maxilla not reaching 
to below the eye, a broad frenum in 
both jaws; gill-rakers short and weak, 
about thirteen on the lower limb of the 
first arch; opercle with a large thin 
flap. The body is elongate, the upper 
and lower profiles beimg similar. 
Teeth—Wholly coalescent sub-equal 
in size not united on the mid _ line. 
4 Exposed portion of pharangeal teeth 
g.3. : E 
Pharangeal teeth of diamond-shaped, the central depression 
Contd edad Tas: being four times as broad as long. 
oe 
Fins.—The dorsal fin arises behind the opercle, and the spines 
are flexible, increasing regularly to the last, which measures 1.5 
in the length of the head; there is no apparent division between 
the spinous and the soft portion, and the rays regularly lengthen 
to the penultimate one, which is longer than the height of the 
body and one-half longer than the head: anal short, its base 
about one-seventh shorter than the head, the rays are a little 
shorter than the corresponding ones of the dorsal, the longest 
being one-third more than the head: the pectoral is sub-truncate, 
its fourth or longest ray being longer than the last dorsal spine, 
it extends nearly half the distance from its origin to the vent: 
the ventrals arise midway between the tip of the lower jaw and 
the vent: there is no trace of a spine, its office being taken by 
the first ray, which is simple, the third is the longest, measuring 
one-fourth more than the head; it extends to beneath the hinder 
dorsal spines: the caudal is slightly emarginate, its peduncle long 
and deep, its length from the dorsal rays being twice its depth 
or 1.1 in the head. 
Scales.—The head is smooth and naked, with the exception 
of three rows of scales behind the eye, four rows on the upper 
edge of the opercle, and a small patch of ten scales in the 
temporal region, these are scarcely discernible in fresh 
specimens. The scales on the body are small and cyeloid, the 
lateral line runs low, arising with a slight arch above the 
pectoral, thence it runs along the mid line of the body to the tail. 
No scales on the fin rays. 
Colours.—The whole body is dark olive green, the extreme 
lower edge excepted, which is white: a bronze band along the 
middle of the body, from the angle of the mouth to the base of 
the caudal: irregular blue wavy lines run longitudinally along 
the whole body. Lower portion of head with vivid violet spots 
