390 



ARABIAN TRICHOPUS. 



Trichopus Arabicus. T. virescens violaceo caruleoquc striatus, 



pinnarum ventralium radio secundo longissimo. 

 Greenish Trichopus, with violet and blue stripes, and second 



ray of the ventral fins extremely long. 

 Osphroneme Gal. Cepede. 3. p. J 22. 

 Labrus Gallus. Lin. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 

 Scarus Gallus. Forsk. arab. 



OBSERVED by Forskal in the Arabian seas, and 

 referred by him to the genus Scarus : considered 

 by the Arabians as a poisonous fish, owing, proba- 

 bly, to its feeding on some noxious kinds of Mol- 

 lusca, and sea-insects : size not particularized : 

 colour dull green, with violet stripes : on the ab- 

 domen two blue stripes, with a green one in the 

 middle : scales lax, membranaceous at the edges, 

 striated, and marked by a transverse purple stripe : 

 teeth in a single row, those in front larger than the 

 rest, and standing separate from each other: lateral 

 line slightly branched : pectoral fins ovate violet- 

 blue : ventral blue, with the second ray extremely 

 long : dorsal and anal greenish, edged with blue : 

 tail yellow in the middle, violet-coloured on the 

 sides, and bordered with blue. 



