14. 



SPARUS DECUSSATUS. 



PJ?oJ^ 



\\rr'\ 





Order, Thoracic. 



Native-Name, ^g^S^T Hembili-Girawah- 

 C _V ; Basket Parrot. 



S. decussatus. The back green, gradually softening into a yellow tinge 

 towards the lower fins ; the body regularly marked, like wicker-work, by 

 graduated purple and grey tints. The head green, ornamented with 

 orange-coloured stripes and spots. Tne fins and tail yellow. 



Branchiostegous rays 4. Dorsal2l, nine spinous. Pectoral 13. Ventral 6, 

 one spinous. Anal 14, eleven spinous. Caudal 16. 



The Hembili-Girawah of the Cingalese derives its name from a 

 sort of pouch or basket in which the natives carry their Betel-Leaf, 

 (Piper Betel), Chunam, (Shell Lime), Tobacco, and Areka-Nut, 

 (Areka Catechu), called Hembili. Girawah, the Cingalese name for 

 Parrot, is a term indiscriminately applied by the natives to a variety 

 of splendid fishes with which the coast of Ceylon abounds. 



The Hembili-Girawah is edible, but is never sought after as an 

 article of food. It inhabits rocky situations, and seldom exceeds 

 fourteen or fifteen inches in length. 



Figure — The natural size of the Specimen. 



