FAMILY, XXI-TRACHINID^. 263 



serrated along its posterior limb : opercle witli a well marked spine, tlie edge of the subopercle serrated. A 

 shoulder spine. Teeth— ahove the symphysis of the lower jaw an outer enlarged row of about eight curved 

 teeth, the external of which is the largest : a villiform band on the vomer. J'ms— spines of first dorsal of 

 moderate strengA, the fourth the longest equalling l^ diameters of the eye in length, the third is a qus^rter 

 shorter, the fifth spine midway between the height of the first and second. Pectoral as long as the head 

 excluding the snout : ventral reaches the vent. Caudal cut square or a little rounded. Scales— iour entire and 

 two half rows between the lateral-line and the base of the first dorsal fin. Colours — whitish with reddish-brown 

 vertical bands and blotches above the lateral-line, which are interrupted along the middle of the body ; on these 

 bands are a few black spots. A bright golden line goes from below the orbit to the base of the dorsal fin, and 

 another from the centre of the eye to the snout. Spinous dorsal with or without a row of black spots : soft 

 dorsal with three rows on the rays : caudal with two grayish bands, one at its base the other at its posterior 

 third, and sometimes an ocellus at the upper part of the base of the caudal fin: anal yellowish: ventrals 

 slate-coloured. 



There are three objections to uniting P. ^punctata with Dr. Giinther's fish, (1) its having five instead 

 of four spines to the first dorsal fin, but the latter being only a single specimen such may be an individual 

 anomaly : likewise (2) the height of its body is 6—6-1- instead of 7f in the total length : lastly (3) the colours 

 difier. But as Dr. Giinther's type is, at least, semi-putrid, the existence of colours could not be expected. The 

 preopercle and opercle are both serrated in P. millepunctata, whilst the fish described above is common along the 

 Coromandel coast of India, and would doubtless extend to Ceylon. 



A figure of this fish exists amongst Sir W. Elliot's drawings termed Eul ooloova. 



P. punctata, C. V., has no characters or colours assigned to it that do not exist in this species. 



Habitat. — Coromandel coast of India and (? Ceylon) : attaining at least 6 inches in length at Madras. 



2. Percis pulchella, Plate LVIII, fig., 2. 

 .'' Percis maculata, Bl. Schn. p. 179, pi. 38. 



Percis pulchella, Temm. and Schleg. Fauna Japon. Poiss. p. 24, pi. 10, f. 2 ; Richards. Ich. China, p. 211 ; 

 Giinther, Catal. ii, p. 240. 



B. vi, D. 5 1 21-22, P. 18, V. 1/5, A. Jl, C. 17, L. 1. 60-62, L. tr. 5/18. 



Length of head ^ to 4^, of caudal 7, height of body 6i in the total length. Eijes — diameter 3f in 

 length of head, 1 diameter from end of snout, and 1/4 of a diameter apart. Greatest width of head equals its length 

 behind the middle of the eye, its height equals half its length. Snout not so pointed as in P. punctata. Cleft 

 of mouth somewhat oblique, lower jaw slightly the longer, the maxiUa reaches to below first third of eye. 

 Greatest depth of preorbital equals half the diameter of the eye. Preopercle entire : subopercle with two or 

 three serrations just below the opercle, which latter has a well marked spine. Teeth — anterior row in front of 

 upper jaw enlarged as are likewise those in the lower consisting of 6 or 8, which are strong and recurved, also 

 there are some enlarged teeth laterally in the mandibles : in a band on vomer. Fins— spines of first dorsal 

 rather strong, first short, the fourth the longest and equal to the diameter of the eye, the fifth about equals the 

 second. Pectoral as long as the head without the snout. Ventral does not quite reach the vent. Caudal cut 

 square with its upper ray a little prolonged. Scales — four entire and two half rows between the lateral-line 

 and the base of the first dorsal fin. Colours — reddish, with six crossbands of a darker colour : a light pinkish 

 band along the side, becoming yellow along the centre of the caudal fin, head spotted with dark purplish black 

 marks superiorly : three well-marked vertical blue bands across the sub- and inter- opercles, and sometimes a 

 fourth crosses the breast in front of and to below the pectoral fin. Dorsal fins yellow, black in their lower 

 halves : the soft with a single row of spots along its upper half : anal yellowish in its lower two-thirds, with five 

 rows of round canary-coloured spots : its outer third reddish : ventrals reddish, stained at their edges. Caudal 

 yellow along its centre, dark reddish in its lower half, some fine vertical bars in its upper half. 



Both P. punctata and P. pulchella are found at Tranquebar, from whence P. maculata, Bl. Sch. was 

 obtained. Its preopercle is shown serrated as in P. punctata, the markings on the head, body, and caudal fin 

 agree with P. pulchella, but the colours on dorsal and anal fins resemble neither. Dr. Giinther, Catal. ii, p. 237, 

 refers it with doubt to P. nebulosa. P. pulchella is the fish referred to by Jerdon (M. J. L. and Sc. 1851, p. 144,) 

 " Rupiscartes — one of Swainson's subgenus occurs at Madras." Sir W. Elliot's figure is thus named by Jerdon, 

 it is said to be termed Varna natiooli, Tam. 



Habitat. — East coast of Africa, seas of India to Japan. The specimen figured (life-size) is from Madras. 



3. Percis hexophthalma, Plate LVII, fig. 4. 



(Bhrenb.) Cuv. and Val. iii, p. 271, vii, p. 507 ; Giinther, Catal. ii, p. 239, Fish. Zanz. p. 68. 



Percis cylindrica, Riipp. Atl. Fische, p. 19, t. v, f. 2, (not Soicena cylindrica, Bl.^P. cylindrica, C. V.) 



Percis coAidimaculata, Riipp. N. W. Fische, p. 98 ; Bleeker, Perc. p. 54. 



Pa/rapercis hexophthalmus, Bleeker, Guebe, 1868, p. 2. 



Percis polyophthalma, Klunz. Verh. z. b. Ges. Wien, 1870, p. 816. 



B. vi, D. 5 I 19-21, P. 17, V. 1/5, A. 17-18, C. 15, L. 1. 62, L. tr. 7/21. 



Length of head 4, of caudal 6^, height of body 6^ in the total length. Eyes — diameter 1/6 of length of 

 head, li diameters from end of snout, and nearly 2/3 of a diameter apart. Greatest width of head equals its 



