FAMILY, VII— SCORP^ISriD^. 153 



wHte spot in tHe axilla. Pectoral grey, its upper two rays witli black spots, its lowest five pinkish, in the adult 

 all are spotted : veutrals grey, with obscurely marked white spots : dorsal spines grey, or white annulated with 

 grey, soft dorsal, caudal, and anal flesh-coloured without spots, but having in adults a narrow black edge. 



Bennett observes that Russell's fish, Oasterosteus voUtans, is identical with P. volitcms in Sir S. Raffles' 

 life, but not with P. volitcms, Linn. 



Habitat. — Seas of India, Mauritius to the Malay Archipelago. Very common in Madras, the specimen 

 figured is 7 inches long, the largest obtained 11^ inches. Jerdon (M. J. L. and Sc. 1851, p. 141) observes this 

 fish is termed Sin toumbi, Tam. at Madras. 



2. Pterois miles, Plate XXXVII, fig. 2. 

 Scorpcena miles, Bennett, Pish. Ceylon, p. 9, pi. 9. 



Pterois miles, Giinther, Catal. ii, pp. 125, 520 ; Day, Pish. Malabar, p. 4 0. 



Pterois mmicata, Cuv. and \al. iv, p. 363; Riippell, N. W. Pisohe, p. 107 : Kner, Novara Pische, p. 118 ; 

 Klunz, Verb. z. b. Ges. Wien, 1870, p. 807. r . , , i- , 



? Pterois geniserra, Cuv. and Val. iv, p. 666. 

 Macrochyrus miles, Swainson, Pishes, ii, p. 264. 

 Kurrwn toomhi, Tam. " Plying dragon." 



B. vii, D. 12 I Toi^T, P- 14, V. 1/5, A. ^5^, C. 14, L. r. 92, L. tr. 12/-, Vert. 10/14. 



Length of head 2/9, of pectoral 4/11, of caudal 2/9, height of body 2/7 of the total length. %es— diameter 

 2/7 to 1/4 of the length of head, Ii diameters from the end of snout, and 1 apart. The maxilla reaches to below 

 the front edge of the orbit. Preorbital covered in its lower third with spinate elevations which are continued 

 across the cheeks to the angle of the preopercle where they end in three spines in the young or clusters of them 

 in the adult : two strong turbinal spines : upper edge of orbit spinate as is also the temporal ridge as far as 

 the commencement of the lateral-line : interorbital space convex but not very deeply so : occipital ridge spinate, 

 most strongly so posteriorly where it ends in a flattened blade-like spine which has several more near its base. 

 A short orbital tentacle, one at the anterior nostril, a long preorbital one over angle of the mouth, and other 

 short ones about the head. Teeth — villiform in jaws and vomer. Fins — dorsal spines moderately strong, highest 

 from the 6th to the 12th, which equal the height of the body and are longer than the rays : pectoral with the 

 inter-radial membrane most deeply cleft between the flrst three rays, and reaching to below the end of the base 

 of the dorsal fln : ventral reaches the anal, the third spine of which last fln is the longest and equal to the 

 length of the snout : caudal wedge-shaped. Scales — present in the interorbital space and on the nape. Colours 

 — ^red, with many dark vertical bands much wider than the ground colour, in fact, in the first two-thirds of the 

 body the ground colour appears like narrow light bands : in the last third of the body the dark bands are wider 

 apart with from one to three intermediate narrow ones. Head banded, bands mostly radiating from the eye, 

 two of an S-shape over the chest. A white spot surrounded by black in the axilla. Dorsal spines with from 

 five to six dark rings : soft dorsal, caudal, and anal covered with small black spots : pectoral with large black 

 blotches on a lighter ground : ventral nearly black, with white and light brown spots. 



Habitat. — Prom the Red Sea through those of India, to the Malay Archipelago and beyond. The largest 

 specimen captured at Madras measured 14 inches in length. Klunzinger considers this another form of P. voU- 

 tans, from which it may be distinguished by its scaled- nape, comparatively short pectoral, and the numerous 

 spines on its head. In a specimen 9 inches long the pectoral reaches the root of the. caudal. 



3. Pterois zebra. 



Cuv. and Val. iv, p. 367 ; Bleeker, Amb. and Ceram. p. 265 ; Quoy and Gaim. Voy. Uranie, p. 329, and 

 Voy. Astrol. Poiss. p. 692, pi. xi, f. 6 ; Giinther, Catal. ii, p. 126. 



Brachyurus zebra, Swainson, Pishes, ii, p. 264. 

 Pseudomonopterus zebra, Bleeker, Pish. Madag. p. 87. 



B. vii, D. 12 I tV, P- 17, y- 1/5, A. ^V, C 14, L. r. U, I^- tr. 9/. 



Length of head 2/7, of caudal 2/9, height of body 2/7 of the total length. Eyes — diameter 2/7 of length 

 of head, (in a specimen 3^ inches long,) 1 diameter from end of snout, and 2/3 of a diameter apart. Interorbital 

 space deeply concave, traversed by two low ridges which posteriorly end in a strong spine : interorbital 

 space scaleless. The maxilla reaches to below the first third of the orbit. Preopercle with three spines on its 

 vertical border at and above its angle : turbinal spines present. Two or three spines along the upper edge of 

 the orbit, its hind margin likewise serrated. Ridges in a stellate form on the preorbital, one of which is con- 

 tinued backwards in '^ )inate form across the suborbitals and cheeks to the superior preopercular spine : three 

 strong spines on i.. pital and four along the temporal ridge. A long orbital tentacle equalling m.ore than 



half the length ot ad : fleshy tentacles along the lower edge of the preorbital, the hind one over the angle 



of the mouth being veij large. Teeth — villiform in jaws and vomer. Fins — dorsal spines increase in length 

 to the seventh, remaining about of equal height to the tenth, or as long as the height of the body and higher 

 than the rays : pectoral with 17 rays, the upper four having filamentous prolongations, and reaching as far as 

 the base of the caudal : ventrals reach the anal spines, the third of which is slightly the longest, and equal to 

 IJ diameters of the orbit in length : caudal wedge-shaped. Colours — ^body vertically banded with narrow inter- 

 mediate ones : a black blotch with a white central spot in the axilla : dorsal spines annulated with black : soft 



X 



