J>4;2 SHORT SKA HRKAM. 



luul ill the cluM-ks for the most ]);irt resembling the C'ommon 

 Sea Bream; but sbghtly difieriiig iu the markings of the head. 

 The body thick and pbnnp; scales on the cheeks and body 

 large; those on the hinder part of the body, especially above 

 the lateral line, having -well-marked festooned edges; those of 

 the anterior part less regnlarly so. Lateral line at first movmting, 

 arched, sinking opposite the ending of the dorsal and anal fins, 

 waved in its course, and mounting again as it approaches the 

 caudal iiu: at its origin a large black spot. Pectoral fin very 

 long, reaching to within a short distance of the termination of 

 the anal fin; being in length four inches and thrcc-fouiths, and 

 passing two inches beyond the vent. Commencement of the 

 dorsal fin just above the origin of the rays of the pectoral. 

 Tail concave. The colour Avas much as in the Common Sea 

 Bream, but more vivid; top of the head rich brown, the back 

 scarlet, lighter on the sides; belly white, with slight mottlings. 

 Dorsal, pectoral, and caudal fins, and the inside of the mouth, 

 vermilion; ventral and anal fins paler. 



Compared with the Common Sea Bream, laid by its side, 

 besides the remarkable difference of the dimensions, it was 

 distinguished by a wider gape; by the teeth, although alike in 

 arrangement and structure, less thickly placed, especially the 

 incisors; by a less rounded muzzle, a much larger eye, and 

 longer pectoral fins; which being more arched, are differently 

 shaped. In a Common Bream of the same length these fins 

 measured three inches and three-fourths. The scales also were 

 more decidedly waved at their edge. In the stomach I found 

 a Comatula and the bait with which it was taken, which was 

 a slice of fish; but in the loAver intestine were pieces of brown 

 sea-weeds covered with Flustrcc, (encrusting corals,) still 

 continuing undigested. 



Fin rays — pectoral fifteen, dorsal twelve and twelve, ventral 

 one and five, anal three and thirteen, caudal about twenty. 



Scales of the Short Sea Bream. 



J 



