145 



BANDED DIACOPE. 



Diacope rivulata. Cuv. et VAL. 

 PLATE XXIII. 



La Diacope a lines flexueuses, Cuv. et Valen. Hist, Nat. 

 des Poissons, ii. p. 415. 



D. 10.15, or 16; A. 3.8, or 9; C. 16; P. 16; V. 1.5. 



THE Banded Diacope, found on the Coromandei 

 coast, reaches a size of three feet and a half, is 

 of a rich violet colour, changing to pink on the 

 lower parts ; on the opercles there are oblique 

 lines ; and on the head, and on each scale of the 

 body, there are small dots of a clear blue, but 

 which loses its delicate tint, and changes to white, 

 soon after it has been removed from the water. 



But one of the most gaudy is the D. octoli- 

 neata, found near the Isle of France, in the Red 

 Sea, and in the Pacific. The general tint of the 

 body and fins is a rich reddish yellow, upon the 

 belly nearly changing into white ; upon the upper 

 part of the body there are four longitudinal stripes 

 of clear blue, marked with black dots ; and some- 



