EDIBLE EISHES OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 147 



Genus— GEERES, 



G-erres, Cuvier, Eegne Anim. ; Cuv. & Val. Hist. Nat, Poiss, vi. p. 



4i(5, 1830. 



Branchiostegals six : pseudobrancliiae present. Body oblong-ovate or ele- 

 vated, compressed. Mouth very protractile, and descending when produced. 

 Eyes rather large. Preopercle usaallj entire. Teeth in the jaws villiform : 

 hypopharyngeal bones firmly united. One dorsal fin, subequally divided 

 into nine or ten spines and ten or eleven rays, the anterior spines more or 

 less elevated : anal with three spines and seven to nine rays : caudal forked. 

 Scales of moderate size, eyelid or ciliated. Airbladder simple. Pyloric 

 appendages few. 



Geographical distribution. — Tropical and temperate seas, entering fresh 

 waters. 



GERRES OVATUS. 



Gerres ovatus, Gnth. Catal. Pish. i. p. 34^3, 1859, and iv. p. 257 ; Casteln. 

 Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, iii. p. 391 ; Macleay, Catal. Austr. Pish, 

 i. p. 76. 



Silver Belly. 

 B. vi. D. 9/10-10/9. A. 3/7. Y. 1/5. P. 15. C. 17. L. lat. 36-41. L. tr. 5/10. 



Ccec. pyl. 3. Vert. 10/13. 



Length of head 4- 60-4 90, of caudal fin I •00-4-50, height of body 3-00- 

 333 in the total length. Eye large, with an anterior adipose lid, its 

 diameter 2'75-3'i)0 in the length of the head, and 110-1"20 in the inter- 

 orbital space, which is convex : snout short, obtut^ely rounded, 1'10-1"20 in 

 the diameter of the eye. Nostrils oval, approximate, pierced on a level 

 with the upper fourth of the eye, the posterior a little the larger, and 

 slightly higher up. Jaws, equal. Cleft of mouth, small ; maxilla pyriform, 

 extending to beneath the anterior fifth of the orbit : intermaxillary processes 

 reaching backwards to between the middle of the orbits, tiieir length being 

 four ninths of that of the head. Breadth of preorbital two thirds of its 

 depth : preopercle entire. A slight concavity on the snout ; occiput convex. 

 .Taws with a broad band of villiform teeth in front, the outer row being 

 slightly enlarged ; the band narrowing to a single row laterally : inferior 

 pharyngeal teeth in the shape of an equilateral triangle, formed by the 

 coalescence of the inferior pharyngeal bones ; they consist of a central 

 patch of granular teeth, broadly margined by a band of acute cardiform 

 teeth. Dorsal fin slightly notched, the spines slender, flexible, and curved, 

 the anterior one being strongly compressed ; the second spine a little longer 

 than the third, 1'40-1'70 in the length of the head ; the remaining spines 

 grow gradually shorter, the last being five ninths of the length of the second, 

 and three fourths of that of the first ray ; all the rays j^rovided with a short 

 filamentous appendage ; the anal commences beneath the fifth dorsal ray ; 

 its spines are straight, stronger than those of the dorsal, the second the 

 strongest and compressed, the third the longest, 2'33-2'75 in the length of 

 the head : the length of the ventral is two thirds of the distance between 

 its origin and the vent, and three fourths of the length of the head : pectoral 

 elongate, sickle-shaped, not quite or onlv just reaching to the vertical from 

 the vent, its length one third more thnn that of the head : caudal deeply 

 forked, the least height of its pedicle two sevenths of the height of the 

 body. Snout, preorbital, maxilla, and interorbital space scaleless ; dorsal 

 and anal fins withotit basal scaly sheath. Lateral line gently curved. Air- 

 bladder large, bifid posteriorly, and with two short horns anteriorly. 



