122 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



who, by the valuable work he accomplished more than 30 years 

 ago, under what must have been very great difficulties, no doubt 

 laid the foundation of our knowledge of our local species. The 

 results of his labours, consisting of the descriptions of over 180 

 species, were publishe'd in the two first volumes of the " Pro- 

 ceedings of the Zoological and Acclimatization Society of Vic- 

 toria " for 1872 and 1873. Many of the species he then created 

 have failed to stand the test of time, still his work has con- 

 siderably lightened the labours of those who have followed after- 

 him. 



In his report on the zoology of Victoria in the " Intercolonial 

 Exhibition Essays, 1866-7," Professor (afterwards Sir Frederick) 

 M'Coy recorded a large number of species, but confined himself 

 chiefly to the edible sorts. This was followed later by his 

 detailed descriptions and coloured figures of about 58 species in 

 the " Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria," most of which had 

 not been figured in the colours of life before. 



In 1890 Mr. A. H. S. Lucas* published a " Systematic Census 

 of Indigenous Fish Hitherto Recorded from Victorian Waters," 

 compiled from the various papers published on the subject by the 

 above authors, together with those of Richardson, Giinther, 

 Kllinzinger, and many others whose names it is not necessary to 

 repeat here. The " Census " comprises 233 species, and was, no 

 doubt, fairly complete up to that time. Many have since dropped 

 out as synonyms, while a number of additional species have been 

 recorded. Since the publication of the " Census " changes in the 

 nomenclature have been numerous. The common Gippsland 

 Perch, listed under the family Percidse as Lates colonorum, 

 Giinth., is now placed in the family Serranidse as Percalates 

 colonorum^ Giinth., while (?) L. similis, Casteln., L. antarcticus, 

 Casteln., and L. victorice, Casteln., are all regarded by Boulenger 

 as synonyms of the former. Murrayia gilntheri, Casteln., M. 

 cyprinoides, Casteln., i/. hramoides, Casteln., M. riverina, KrefTt, 

 and Eiverina fluviatiils, Casteln., have all been sunk by Bou- 

 lenger as synonyms of Macquaria australasica, Cuv. and Val. 

 The well-known Murray Cod, Oligorus macquariensis, Cuv. and 

 Val., formerly included in the family Percidse, comes in the 

 Serranidse, while Castelnau's 0. mitchellii drops out as a synonym 

 of the former. Many other changes might be cited did space 

 permit. 



The most recent paper dealing with our Victorian marine fishes 

 is one by Mr. E. R. Waite,t in which he records five species as 

 additions to the Victorian fauna, while one of these is described 

 as a new species. Of the above, however, Cheilobranchus ru/us, 

 Macl., from Port PhiUip, which Waite says " constitutes a record 



* Lucas, Proc. Roy. Soc. Vic. (2), ii., 1890. 

 t Waite, Rec, Aust. Mus., vi., p. 194, 1906. 



