154 MR. J. D. oGiLBY ON FISHES [Mar. 19, 



slightly beyond the upper, and the cleft of the mouth is very oblique; 

 the maxilla reaches to the posterior fourth of the orbit in one 

 example, while in the other it only extends to beneath the middle 

 of the eye ; it is very much dilated posteriorly, its greatest breadth 

 being five sixths of the diameter of the eye, while it is twice as 

 broad as the preorbital. The nostril is provided with two openings 

 placed close together, the posterior of which is very much the 

 larger. The opercle is armed with three spines, of which the 

 middle is much the longest, and the upper so completely hidden as 

 to be difficult to find ; the vertical limb and angle of the preopercle 

 are evenly seriated, the horizontal limb being entire. Teeth — there 

 are two or three small canines in front of each ramus of the lower 

 jaw, and one or two much longer and stronger lateral ones, while 

 between and behind these is a broad band of villiform teeth ; in the 

 upper jaw there are two canines in front of each ramus, one placed 

 behind the other, the inner being much the stronger, and there is a 

 row of stout cardiform teeth outside the villiform band ; the vomer 

 is furnished with a triangular patch, and the palatines with a narrow 

 band of minute teeth, the tongue being smooth. Fins — the dorsal 

 commences above the middle of the opercle ; the spines are rather 

 weak ; the first four sevenths of the length of the second, which is 

 about three fifths of that of the elongated third spine ; the remain- 

 ing ones are subequal in length, and not so high as the rays, some 

 of which, near the end of the fin, exceed even the third spine; the 

 base of the spinous is slightly less than that of the soft portion of 

 the fin, and the interspinal membrane is but little notched and 

 possesses a short filiform appendage. The third anal spine is the 

 longest, rather less than one half of the length of the head, while its 

 anterior rays are produced, so as to be three eighths longer than the 

 longest dorsal ray, thus causing its outer edge to be deeply concave. 

 The ventral spine is one fourth longer than the third anal, and the 

 second ray is greatly prolonged, reaching, when entire, to the end of 

 the base of the anal fin, and being one and a half times the length 

 of the head. The pectoral fin is rather pointed, reaches to opposite 

 the vent, and is equal in length to the head. The caudal fin is 

 deeply forked, with the outer rays of each lobe filiform, and its 

 length is three and two fifths in the total. Scales — of moderate 

 size, finely ctenoid, and firmly adherent ; the soft dorsal and anal 

 fins are set in scaly sheaths, and, along with the other fins, are 

 covered with smaller scales upon their basal half, and the entire head 

 is clothed with scales of less size than those of the body. The 

 lateral line has a gradual curve parallel to the line of the back. 

 Colours — reddish brown, the fins with a yellowish tinge, especially 

 on the outer half; a curved silvery (pale blue in life) streak runs 

 from the cheek to the base of the caudal fin, near and parallel to 

 the ventral profile, while a second is present, but not so strongly 

 marked, from behind the base of the pectoral to that of the caudal 

 fin'. 



^ Both these lines have entirely disappeared in my specimens, ■which have 

 been two years in spirit. 



