428 Mr. A. Alcock on undescribed Shore-Fishes 



Encephaloides *, a large Oxystonie crab near Philyra ; a deli- 

 cate mussel, the carnivorous Gastropod Mollusk Rostellaria ; 

 and the fishes Parascomhrops pellucidus and Scianectes. In 

 the class of fishes, indeed, almost everything appears to be 

 new, and everything is interesting. Here have been found a 

 species of Centroprisfi's and a species of Fn'onotus, both being 

 types not hitherto regarded as Indian. The occurrence of 

 Tricjla hemisticta must also be noticed. 



It is unfoitunate that for this zone too we have no con- 

 tinuous temperature readings ; but, so far as occasional 

 experiments go, the temperature at the bottom appears to be 

 from 15° to 1(3° Fahr. lower than the temperature at the 

 surface. 



The new fishes from this zone have been described in 

 previous papers. 



§2. Descriptions of New Species, 

 ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



Family Scorpsenidse. 



MiNOUs, C. & V. 



Minous coccineus, sp. n. 



D. IO/t^^. a. 12. 



Head broad, its length about 3f in the total. Body com- 

 pressed, its height just over j of the same. The bones of the 

 head strong, massive, rugose, " carious " in appearance ; 

 praiorbital with two strong spines, of which the posterior is 

 recurved and much the longer ; the infraorbital ring forms a 

 broad, massive, salient buttress, ridged and furrowed, but not 

 spiny ; preoperculum with a strong sharp spine at its angle 

 and two smaller coarse ones below ; interoperculum serru- 

 lated ; operculum small, with two diverging weak stays ; a 

 deep crescentic " carious " excavation across the occiput ; 

 occipital and temporal spines strong, coarsely serrated. 



Snout truncated ; its breadth is greater than its length, 

 which is less than that of the eye ; lower jaw the more 

 prominent, each limb with two or three barbels. Eyes deep- 

 set, their major diameter one third of the head-length ; 

 a short bioad tentacle above the pupil ; supraorbital margin 

 coarsely crenulated ; infraorbital margin thin, sharp, very 

 salient, incomplete behind and also in front, where there is 



* Encephaloides Annstrongi, Wood-Mason, MS. 



