148 



ONE SPOTTED MESOPK1ON. 



Mesoprion uninotatus, Cuv. et VAL. 

 PLATE XXIV. 



Le Mesoprion dore, Cuv. et Valen. Hist. Nat. des 

 Poissons, ii. p. 449. 



D. 10.12; A. 3.8; C. 17; P. 16; V. 1.5. 



THE one spotted Mesoprion is a native of the 

 American seas, and is one of the most beautiful ; 

 the back, upper part of the head, and cheeks, are of 

 a rich steel blue ; the lower part of the cheeks and 

 sides of a rich rose colour, and the belly silvery ; 

 the whole body is striped with seven or eight 

 bands of a golden colour, on the dark part of the 

 back irregular and disconnected. The dorsal fin 

 has three yellow bands on a rose-coloured ground, 

 and the others are gamboge yellow. The colour- 

 ing is subject to considerable variety in tint, from 

 golden orange to silvery. It seldom exceeds a 

 length of thirteen or fourteen inches. 



The members of this genus are of an elegant 

 form, and are as remarkable for the richness and 

 lustre of their colours as any of the preceding. 

 They live solitary in the seas around the isles of 

 India, China, and Japan, concealing themselves 



