234 report— 1845. 



by its possessing a row of five or six irregular, whitish and indistinct spots on the flanks. Mr. 

 Reeves's figure shows vertical bands in pairs, faint, and merely a little paler than the rest of 

 the red colour, but no spots. There are Chinese specimens in spirits in the British Museum 

 and Chinese collection at Hyde Park, which offer no tangible difference when compared with 

 a dried specimen of Burger's, also in the British Museum. Neither could we detect any dis- 

 crepancy betwixt the Chinese specimens and one obtained at Copang, in the island of Timor, 

 by Mr. Gilbert. 



Judging solely from the description of & oceanicus in the ' Histoire des Poissons,' in the 

 absence of authentic specimens or good figures, it appears to be the same with marginalis ; but 

 the Percafasciata of Forskal, referred by Cuvier to oceanicus, is probably a different species. 

 Its dorsal and anal fins are edged with yellow, and it is evidently the same with the Perca 

 ruhescens of Solander, of which a drawing by Parkinson (No. 61) exists in the Banksian 

 Library. 



Hab. Javan, Chinese and Japanese seas. 



We have seen no specimen corresponding with Mr. Reeves's drawing 255 (Hardw. Acanth. 

 23), which looks like a less carefully executed representation of a young S. marginalis. Its 

 anal spines are however proportionally larger, and its cheek and gill-cover are glossed with 

 green. The Chinese name is Hing pau yu, "Red garoupa." 



Serranus moara, Temm. et Schl. F. J. Sieb. p. 10. f. 2. lower figure 

 (which is erroneously numbered). 



Hab. Sea of Japan. 

 Serranus dermopterus, Temm. et Schl. F. J. Sieb. p. 10. 



Hab. Sea of Japan. 



(Serrans propres. — Perches de mer.) 



Serranus vitta, Quoy. et Gaim. Voy. de Freyc. pi. 58. f . 3 ; C. et V. ii. 

 p. 239; Temm. et Schl. F. J. Sieb. (Diacope), p. 13. pi. 6. f . 1 ; Icon, 

 Reeves, /3. 27; Hardw. Acanth. 51. Chinese name, Ho tsaou (Birch); 

 Ho tso, " Fire tso " (Reeves); Fo tso (Bridgem. Chrest. 132). 



Two young individuals of this species, which Surgeon Bankier has sent from Hong Kong, 

 have the lateral stripe darker than in older individuals, and a black mark swelling round that 

 part of it which is under the middle of the soft dorsal, as in some Diacopes and Mesoprions. 

 There is scarcely any notch in the preoperculum either in the young or old, and the suboper- 

 cular knob is very indistinct. The dental plate of the vomer is rhomboidal, and the habit of 

 the fish is not that of Serranus, neither is it more like Diacope. 



Hab. North coast of Australia. New Guinea. Javan, Chinese and Japanese seas. Hong 

 Kong (Surgeon R. A. Bankier). 



Serranus kawamebari, Temm. et Schl. F. J. Sieb. p. 5. " Had. D. 12|12 ; 

 A. 2|10," &c. (Fauna Jap.) 



This is compared with hepatus in the ' Fauna Japonica/ and is described as possessing a 

 round black spot between the two upper opercular spines. 



The British Museum possesses a Canton specimen presented to it by Mr. Reeves, which we 

 are inclined to consider as the kawamebari, though it wants the black opercular spot. It has the 

 scaleless jaws and narrow, naked preopercular disc of the true Serrani. The upper limb of the 

 preoperculum is nearly vertical, slightly arched, finely toothed, with four or five stronger di- 

 vergent teeth at the squarish angle, and a horizontal toothless under limb. Lateral line slightly 

 arched. Fins delicate, rounded. Ground colour pale brown, marbled with irregular darker 

 confluent spots. The sides are traversed by six bars inclining forwards as they descend, and 

 rendered paler by the absence of the spots which fill the interspaces. On the head the same 

 colours, but the pale bands are longitudinal. Three dark lines cross the cheek obliquely from 

 the eye to the angle of the gill-cover. The dorsal is obscurely clouded with a dark point be- 

 hind the tip of each spine: the soft dorsal and anal are darkish, the pectoral nearly colour- 

 less. Length of specimen 6 inches. 



Hab. Seas of Japan and China. Canton (Reeves). 



