PISCES 189 
The nostrils are placed immediately in front of and on a level 
with the axis of the eye, the anterior one is directed forward, the 
hinder one, which is much larger, being placed laterally; gill 
openings extremely large, gills four, no opening behind the last; 
gill-rakers short and stout, twelve on the first arch, eight of 
which are on the lower limb: pseudobranchise present : edge of 
preopercle long, oblique, and feebly curved. 
Teeth.—A band of small teeth in each jaw and on the vomer, 
all directed backwards. 
Fins—The dorsal commences above the angle of the 
preopercle, which les about one-third of the distance between 
the snout and the end of the caudal rays; the spines are long 
and slender and markedly heteracanth; in all but the last the 
membrane is filamentous; the first spine is a little shorter than 
the second, which is the longest and slightly less than twice the 
length of the head; the rays are shortest anteriorly, and the 
longest ones are equal to the diameter of the eye; the anal 
commences beneath the fifth or sixth dorsal spine, the rays of 
both fins being similar; the pectoral is short, the third or longest 
ray being one-fifth longer than the head: the ventral is inserted 
in advance of the pectoral; the spine is as long as the longest 
pectoral ray, and its second, or longest, ray is twice the length 
of the spine, and extends to beyond the vent: the caudal is 
truncate, and the depth of the peduncle equals its length. 
Scales.—There are some deeply imbedded scales on the cheeks, 
otherwise the head is naked: the scales on the body are smooth 
and small, becoming a little larger towards the hinder vertical 
fins. There are eight bony plates at the base of the soft dorsal 
each bears a strong backwardly directed spine and also, the first 
excepted, a smaller one below the principal one; there are seven 
bony plates at the base of the soft anal, each bearing two spines, 
there are no plates at the base of the spinous portion of the fins, 
but the bases of the spines themselves have a laterally directed 
spine, the first of each fin respectively excepted; there are seven 
plates on the mid-line in advance of the ventral fins, each with 
a pair of spines, and eleven similar spinous plates between the 
ventral and the anal; the first two plates have each a single 
spine medially situated. The lateral line arises above the 
opercle, thence descends in an irregular curve to the mid-line of 
the body, whence it runs to the base of the caudal rays. 
Colours—Dark brown above, lighter beneath. <A _ large 
ocellated spot in the middle of the side, an eye diameter behind 
the opercle, it consists of a light coloured ring, enclosing a black 
area which contains an irregular and varying light-coloured 
figure; the filamentous rays of the dorsal black; the distal 
C 
