the Ichthyoloyy of Australia . 355 



Dimensions. inches, lines. 



Lengtli from end of snout to end of caudal 38 6 



base of caudal 35 6 



■ anal fin 22 



anus 20 6 



ventral 13 



dorsal 12 G 



pectoral 10 3 



edge of gill-cover 10 3 



centre of eye 5 6 



Height of first dorsal spine 1 6 



^ fourth and fifth 2 2 



ninth 1 G 



eleventh 1 9 



longest soft ray of dorsal 5 G 



first anal spine 2 



■ second ditto 2 3 



third ditto 2 6 



longest soft ray of anal 5 6 



body about 12 or 13 



Labrus cyaxodus {Nob.), Azure-toothed Wrasse. 



No. 16. Mr. Gilbert's list. 



This wrasse bears the name of "ngurmin" among the Ab- 

 origines of Port Essington, and is very abundant in that har- 

 bour, where it inhabits deep water with a rocky bottom. The 

 specimen was captured at Black Point. It seems to have the 

 closest affinity with the Labrus maa^odontiis of Lacepede and 

 japonicus of the * Histoire des Poissons/ differing from them 

 only in the arrangement of the shades of colour, in the want 

 of a canine tooth at the angle of the mouth, and in the minor 

 development of the bony edges of the upper and lower jaw'S. 



The profile rises in a straight line from the upper lip, at an angle of 

 45° with the axis of the fish, and then curves abruptly to join the 

 very slightly arched dorsal line. The curve of the belly is similar to 

 that of the back, and the body, which is highest in the pectoral 

 region, tapers from thence to the trunk of the tail, whose height is 

 about one-third of that of the body. The length of the head mea- 

 sured to the tip of the gill-flap equals the height at the breast, and 

 somewhat exceeds one-third of the length of the fish, excluding the 

 caudal fin. The canine teeth, strong, curved, and of an azure blue 

 colour, stand in a pair on each side of the symphysis of each jaw. 

 In the upper jaw the outer or posterior tooth of each pair is compa- 

 ratively short and small ; in the lower jaw the corresponding tooth 

 is as tall and strong as the one next the symphysis, from which it 

 diverges by a lateral curve. The naked bony edges of the upper and 

 lower jaws are thin, of a blue colour, and are armed with minute 

 granular teeth ; the upper ones, with the exception of one within the 

 base of the canines, scarcely perceptible to the naked eye ; the lower 

 ones resembling crenatures of the bone, and amounting to about 

 sixteen in number, the four next the angle of the mouth being 



