APPENDIX. 491 



colours are described from a specimen preserved in spirits. 

 Length, 5 inches. 

 Habitat. — King George's Sound. (Bynoe). 



CHELMON MARGINALIS.— Richardson. 



Chelmon marginalis, Richardson, Annais and Mag. of Nat. 

 Hist. 10, p. 28, Sept. 1842. 



Radii.— D. 9 | 31 ; A. 3-21 ; C. 17f ; P. 16 ; V. 1 | 5. 



Plate 4. natural size. 



This fish is described in the Annals of Natural History from 

 a dried specimen brought from Port Essington by Mr. Gilbert. 

 It has very much the form of Ch. rostratus, but wants the 

 eye-like spot on the dorsal. Several examples in spirits were 

 brought by the officers of the Beagle from the north-west coast 

 of Australia, all of which shew a broad band passing between 

 the dorsal and anal fins, which was not visible in the dried 

 specimen. This band is bounded anteriorly by one, and pos- 

 teriorly by two whitish lines. In the Annals the anal fin is 

 described as being more angular than the dorsal, but in the 

 specimens in spirits the reverse appears to be the case. This 

 variation depends on the degree of expansion of the fins, and 

 both may be much rounded by pulling the rays apart. The 

 exact distribution of the bands may be clearly made out from 

 the figure, which is very correct. The rays of the fins probably 

 vary in number in different individuals, and our careful enu- 

 meration of those specimens kept in spirits, as recorded above, 

 gives two or three soft rays more in the dorsal and anal, than 

 we were able to detect in the dried skin. Length, 5^ inches. 



Habitat. — Northern and north-western coasts of Australia. 



