48 



sions. In the Australian winter the specimens are small, and do 

 not measure more than from four to six inches ; but in the warm 

 months (December, January,) they are much larger, and some 

 are nearly a foot long. The ground colour of those large speci- 

 mens is of a fine reddish purple, and that of the fins red ; the 

 eye is yellow, with an external circle of an orange red. Those 

 specimens were generally females, with well-developed eggs. 



MICEOPEECA. 



Teeth numerous and sharp, disposed in several rows on both 

 of the jaws and also on the palatines ; no canines ; tongue 

 smooth ; operculum and prseoperculum not serrated, entire ; the 

 latter with two feeble points, of which the lower one is much 

 larger than the other ; the prseorbital very finely serrated ; two 

 dorsals, slightly continuous — the first triangular, with eight 

 spines ; caudal rounded ; anal with three spines ; scales large. 

 Form oval, rather high ; head attenuated ; body compressed ; 

 no scales on the upper part of the head nor on the snout. 



This genus is nearly allied to JPsammoperca ; but the prseoper- 

 culum without spines, and the absence of a scaly sheath at the 

 dorsals, oblige me to separate it. Its general form is very 

 similar to fig. 1 of pi. 57 of the fishes, Erebus and Terror. 



MICEOPEECA TAEE^!. 



Height three times and a quarter in the total length ; head 

 four and one-fifth times in the same ; eye four and a quarter 

 in the length of the head. There are about 29 scales on 

 the lateral line, and 12 on the transverse one ; the first dorsal 

 is situated rather backwards ; it is formed of eight very strong 

 spines — the first short, the second and third the longest, and 

 nearly equal, the others becoming gradually shorter ; the second 

 dorsal has one long and straight spine, and eight soft rays ; these 

 go on increasing in length ; the caudal has 17 rays ; the anal has 

 the same form as the second dorsal ; its spines are strong ; the 

 first is short ; the pectorals are small, and have 14 rays ; the 

 scales are large, rounded, and rather ciliated on their edge ; the 

 operculums are covered with similar but rather smaller scales ; 

 the mouth is rather protractile. The colours are subject to 

 many variations ; in some, the back is of a purple grey, and the 



