10 EDIBLE EISIIES OF NEW SOUTK WALES. 



Family VIII.-SPARIDiE. 



Braucliiostesals five to seven : pseudobninchia) present. Body oblong or 

 oblong-ovate, compressed, 3<]yes of moderate size, lateral. Mouth in front 

 of the snout, with lateral cleft. Bonos of the head with a rudimentary 

 mucifcrous system. More or less broad and trenchant or conical teeth in 

 front of the jaws, with or without lateral series of molar teeth : palatines 

 generally smooth. One dorsal tin formed by a subequally developed 

 spinous and soft portion : anal with three spines : lower pectoral rays 

 branched : ventrals thoracic, with one spine and five rays. Lateral line 

 continuous, not extending along the caudal fin. Scales eyelid or feebly 

 ctenid. 



Geographical distribution. — Seas of temperate and tropical regions; some 

 species entering fresh water. 



Genus I— PIMELEPTERUS. 



Pimehpfcnis, (Lact'p.) Cuviei", Eegne Anim. ; Cuv. & Val. Hist. Nat. 

 Poiss. vii. p. 254, 1831. 



Branchiostegals seven : pseudobranchin? present. Body ovate and but little 

 compressed. Preopercle with or without serrature. Yilliform teeth in the 

 jaws, with an outer row of strong incisors : vomer, palatines, and tongue with 

 small teeth. One dorsal fin with eleven spines : anal with three. Scales of 

 moderate size, the soft portion of the vertical fins scaly. Airbladder divided 

 posteriorily into two horns, and sometimes notched anteriorly. Pyloric 

 aj)pendages few or very numerous. 



Geoi/capliical distribution. — Tropical and subtropical seas, more especially 

 .of the eastern hemisphere. 



PIMELEPTEKUS SYDNEYANTJS, 



iPocliij met open grande, Macleay, Catfil. Austr. Fish. i. p. 106, 1881 {nee Gnth.). 

 Pimclepterus sgdnej/anus, Gnth. Ann. Nat. Hist. (5) 1886, xviii. p. 308. 

 JPimelepterus meridionalis, Ogilby, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1886, p, 639. 



Drummer. 

 Plate XVI. 



-E. vii. D. (10)— 11/12 A. 3/10. V, 1/5. P. 17. C 17. L.lat, 57-59. L. tr, 10/19 



Coec. pyl. very num. Vert. 11/15. 



Xength of head 485-5'15, of caudal fin 4'2o-5'00, height of body 

 3-00-3-20 in the total length. Eyes moderate, 3-75-400 in length of the 

 head, 1'33-175 in that of the obtusely rounded snout, and l'80-2'30 in the 

 convex interorbital space. Upper profile of head rather flat, with a trans- 

 s'erse rounded protuberance in front of the eyes. Upper jaw rather the 

 longer. Cleft of mouth small and transverse, the maxilla extending to beneath 

 the anterior margin of the orbit. Opercular bones entire. A single row of 

 strong curved teeth in the jaws, the posterior horizontal portion equal in 

 length to the vertical ; behind these a narrow band of similar but smaller 

 and non-functional teeth, intended to replace losses in the outer cutting 

 series ; vomer, palatines, and tongue densely crowded with minute teeth. 

 Dorsal spines of moderate strength, increasing in height to the sixth and 

 seventh, which are 175-2'10 in the length of the head, and much higher 

 than the rays : third anal spine the longest and strongest ; anterior anal rays 



