FAMILY, XXII— PSEUDOCHROMIDES. 267 



Lengtli of head 1/4, of caudal 1/9 to 1/10, height of body 1/6 of the total length. JByes— diameter 1/4 

 of length of head, 1/2 a diameter from end of snout, and 1/4 of a diameter apart. Greatest width of the head is 

 rather above 1/2 its length. Snout obtuse : cleft of mouth commences anteriorly opposite the middle of the 

 eyes : the maxilla is elongated and reaches at its posterior extremity to the base of the pectoral fin, it has a 

 membraneous connection with the cheek. Opercles entire. Teeth—in a rather large row of curved ones in 

 either jaw, with a few vUliform ones posteriorly at the symphysis. Fms — dorsal spines weak, not quite so high 

 as the rays. Pectoral as long as 4/9 of length of head : ventral slightly longer. Caudal rounded. Scales — 

 small. Lateral-line — ceases below middle of dorsal fin. Colours — yellowish marbled with brown, inside of upper 

 iaw with two deep bluish bands on a white ground, one of which shows along the upper edge of the maxilla. 

 Dorsal fin with a dark blue ovate spot between its fourth and eighth spines, cloudy marks and spots over the fin : 

 base of anal light coloured, externally dark. 



Habitat. — Red Sea, seas of India. 



2. Opisthognathus Rosenbergii, Plate LVIII, fig. 5. 



Bleeker, Nias, p. 220 ; Glinther, Catal. ii, p. 256. 



Onaihypops Bosenbergii, Bleeker, Opisthognathoidei (1873), p. 9, fig. 1. 



Natsooli, Tarn. 



B. vi, D. if, P. 21, V. 1/5, A. T^, 0. 12, L. 1. 76. 



Length of head 4j-, of caudal 6-|, height of body 5 in the total length. Eyes — diameter Sj in length of head, 

 1/2 a diameter from end of snout, and 1/6 of a diameter apart. Greatest width of head equals 4/7 of its length, 

 and its height its length excluding the snout. Snout obtuse. Cleft of mouth commences anteriorly opposite the 

 middle of the eye : the maxilla (the length of which equals that of the postorbital portion of the head) reaches to 

 rather beyond the vertical from the hind edge of the eye, it is truncated and does not nearly extend to the angle 

 of the preopercle. Opercles entire. Teeth — villiform opposite the symphysis in. either jaw, with an outer row of 

 enlarged and somewhat curved ones in either jaw (largest in the upper), which are continued along their rami. 

 _j%5 — dorsal spines weak, and not so high as the rays. Pectoral as long as the head behind the eye. Ventral 

 reaches more than half way to vent. Caudal rounded. Scales — about 26 rows below the lateral-line to the 

 commencement of the anal fin, none above it so far as the end of the spinous dorsal. Lateral-line — on raised 

 scales, smaller than those on the body, the tubes are short and unbranched. Colours — appear to vary somewhat, 

 the one figured (life-size) from Madras, has the body somewhat blotched, the dorsal and anal fins edged with 

 black, and four large black blotches on the lower two-thirds of that fin : ventrals black. In a drawing amongst 

 Sir W. Elliot's collection the dorsal and caudal are blacker, with five white bands on the former, and two white 

 spots on the latter fin. Bleeker's figure shows five black blotches along the lower half of the dorsal fin, and the 

 caudal white with two wide black bands. 



Habitat. — Seas of India to the Malay Archipelago. The one figured is the only one I obtained at Madras. 

 It is probably a smaU species, and apparently rare. 



Genus, 2 — ^Psetodocheomis, Biipp. 

 Labristoma, Swains. ; Leptochromis, Bleeker. ' 



Branehiostegals six : pseudohranchioe. Body rather elongated and compressed. Eyes lateral. Cleft of mouth 

 sligUh) oblique, lower jam) the longer. Jaws with a single row of teeth laterally, am, outer enlarged row anteriorly in 

 premaxillames, canines in the lower jaw : teeth on vomer and palate. Preopercle entire. A single dorsal fin having 

 a few (2-7) spimes amteriorl/y : pectoral rays branched : ventrals thoracic. Scales of moderate size. Air-vessel present. 

 Pyloric appendages absent. 



Geographical distribution. — Red Sea, seas of India to the Malay Archipelago. 



SYNOPSIS OF INDIVIDUAL SPECIES. 



1. Pseudochromis xoMthocUr, D. ^, A. ^, L. 1. 41, L. tr. ¥i'- Eirst six dorsal rays unbranched. Olive 

 colour : dorsal vnth yellow spots, anal and base of caudal with brown ones, outer half of caudal yellow. 



1. Pseudochromis xanthochir, Plate LVIII, fig. 6. 



Bleeker, Celebes, p. 443, andRevis. Pseudochr. p. 17, t. 1, f. 3, 4; Giinther, Catal. ii, p. 257. 



B. vi, D. A. P- 1?, V. 1/5, A. A, C. 17, L. 1. 41, L. tr. ^^. 



Length of head 3f, of caudal 6i, height of body 3| in the total length, ^j/es— diameter 4| in length of 

 head, 1 to 1^ diameters from end of snout, and 1 apart. Greatest width of head equals 1/2 its length, and its 

 height equals its length excluding the snout. The maxilla reaches to below the first third of the eye. Preopercle 

 slightly crenulated at its angle : four rows of scales between the eye and angle of the preopercle. Teeth— va. a 



blackish with white spots, and a large blue ocellus, having a circular white edge extending from the fourth to the ninth dorsal spines. 

 Anal, black, with a white base. Caudal light in two specimens, dark in the third. They are from 4^ to 5 mches m length. Jerdon. 

 from his remarks, evidently considered that this is merely a variation iii the colours of 0. BmneraAii=0. nigromargmatm ; Dr. trunther 

 considers it " a very different species." 



2 II 2 



