i - 



2 EDIBLE nSHES OF NE^Y SOUTH WALES. 



localities as occasional visitors. In the Pacific and on the coast of Australia, 

 where but few largo rivers enter the ocean, they are extremely rare, and in 

 the Ked Sea they are absent. Many attain a large size, and almost all are 

 eaten." This statement, published in ISSO, regarding their extreme rarity on 

 the Australian coast is, of course, founded on error, one or more species, 

 forming a considerable portion of the food supply, being common on all the 

 explored parts of our shores. 



Genus I.— SCIiENA. 



Sclcena, .<tp (.\rtedi) Cuvicr, Kegne Anim. ; Cuv. & Yal. Hist. Nat. Poiss. v. 



p. 28, 1S30. 

 Corvina, Cuvier, Eegne Anim. ; Cuv. & Yal. Hist. Nat. Poiss. \. p. 81. 



Branchiostegals seven : pseudobranchiae present. Body oblong and rather 

 elongate, compressed. Eyes of moderate size. Interorbital sjDace broad 

 and convex. Snout rounded, sometimes overhanging the upjDer jaw. Jaws 

 equal, or the lower the longer. Cleft of mouth nearly or quite horizontal. 

 Teeth villiform, with an outer enlarged row : no distinct canines. Two 

 dorsal fins, the first with eight to thirteen spines, and connected at its base 

 to the second, which is of moderate length: anal with one or two spines. 

 Scales ctenid or eyelid, extending over the head and snout. Airbladder 

 present or absent. Pyloric appendages in small numbers. 



Geographical distribution. — Tropical and temperate seas, much more 

 numerous in the former ; absent from the South Pacific, except on the shores 

 of Australia and South America. Fresh waters of the United States 



SCLENA AQITILA. 



^Jjahriis JioJolej)iJotus, Lacep. iii. p. 517, pi. xxi. f. 2, 1802. 

 Scicena umbra, Lacep. iv. p. 31-1 ; Cuv. Mem. Mus. i. p. 1, and Eegne Anim. ; 



Bonap. Faun. Ital. Pesc. pi. — . f. 1. 

 Cheilodipten/s aquila, Lacep. v. p. GS5. 

 Perca vanloo, Eisso, Ichthyol. Nice, p. 298, pi ix. f. 30. 

 Scicsna aquila, Eisso, Eur. Merid. iii. p. 411 ; Cuv. & Yal. Hist. Nat. Poiss. 



V. p. 28, pi. c. ; Gruth. Catal. Fish. ii. p. 291, and Fiseh. Sudsee, p. 105 ; 



Day, Brit. Fish. i. p. 150, pi. 1. 

 Scicena liololepidota, Cuv. & Yal. Hist. Nat. Poiss. v. p. 53 ; Quoy & Gaim. 



Yoy. Astrolabe, Poiss. p. G97, pi. xii f. 1. 

 Sciaena capensis, Smith, Hlustr, S. Afric. ZooL Fish. pi. xv. 

 -.Scicena antarctica, Casteln. Proc. Zool. Soc. Yict. 1872, i. p. 100, and Proc. 



Linn. Soc. N. S. AYales, ii. p. 232, and iii. p. 381 ; Macleay, Catal. Austr. 



Fish. i. p. 151; Woods, Fisher. N.S. AYales, p. 53, pi. xvi. 

 rf Scicena (Corvina) novce-hoUandia, Steindachu. SB. Ak. AV^ien, 18GG, liii. p. 



415, pi. v. f. 2. 

 Scicena nff/lecta, Ems. and Ogl. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. AYales (2) i, p. 941. 



Jewfish. 



Plate XXII. 



B. vii. D. 10. 1 '27-28. A. 2/7. Y. 1/5. P. 17. C. 17. L. lat. 51-54. L. tr. 



9-10/19-21. Ccec. pyl. 8. 



Length of head, 4'10-4'50, of caudal fin, 5'50-G'25, height of body 

 4-33-5-33 in the total length. Diameter of eye 500-5-50 in the length of 

 the head, l-25-l"G0 in that of ihc snout, and from 80-1-30 in the slightly 

 convex interorbital space. Nostrils moderately approximate, the anterior 



