158 ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE. 
and Gaimard, but in that the dorsal fin is said to extend to the caudal,* which is 
far from being the case here. I have named it velutinus, in respect of the minute 
bristles which cover the skin, somewhat resembling the pile of velvet. 
OstTRACION PUNCTATUS. Schn. 
L’Ostracion pointillé, Zacép. Hist. Nat. des Poiss. tom.i. p. 455. pl. 21. fig. 1. 
Ostracion punctatus, Schneid. Syst. Ichth. p. 501. 
—Meleagris, Shaw, Nat. Mise. pl. 253. 
This well-marked species of Ostracion, first described by Lacépéde from 
Commerson’s MSS., and afterwards figured by Shaw, in his “ Naturalist’s Mis- 
cellany,’ under the name of O. Meleagris, was obtained by Mr. Darwin at Tahiti, 
where it had been previously observed by Captain Cook. 
There are two specimens in the collection, both exactly similar, and of the 
same size, measuring a trifle more than three inches and a half in length. They 
also accord well with Shaw’s figure. Lacépéde, in his description, speaks of the 
anal fin as being more extended than the dorsal, and as having eleven rays ; but 
in both Mr. Darwin’s specimens, I find the number of rays in these two fins the 
same. The formula is as follows : 
ID Ro yey. Wy om ORE real cae ICE 
Schneider has noticed this species twice ; first under the name of lentiginosus, 
and again under that of punctatus. 
* This character, though mentioned in the description, is not, however, represented in the figure. See 
Freycinet’s Voyage (Zoologie), pl. 47. f. 2. 
