1849.] Catalogue of Malayan Fishes. 993 



Serranus bontoo, Cuv. 



Russell CXXV1II. Madinawa Bontoo. 



Serranus bontoo, Cuvier R. A. II. 141, (3) „ 



Serranus bontoo, Cuv. and Val. II. 334. 



Serranus bontoo : Bleeker : Verh. Bat, Gen. XXII, 9. 



Brownish grey, lighter on the abdomen ; head and body with nu- 

 merous round blackish spots ; fin membranes brownish grey ; the 

 dorsal blackish at the base and upper half. Iris pale greenish olive 

 with a narrow golden ring. 



D 11/17, C 17f, A 3/8, V 1/5, P 19, Br. VII. 



Habit. — Sea ofPinang. 



Madras, Vizagapatam, Java. 



Total length : 5 inch. 



A single individual with one soft anal ray less, but otherwise corre- 

 sponding to the description and figure of Russell, was observed at 

 Pinang in 1843. The lowest three teeth of the preopercle are larger 

 than the rest. On each side of the intermaxillary bone appears a ca- 

 nine, stronger than the rest of the teeth. The black spots of the body 

 become indistinct after death. 



Serranus coioides, (Buchanan Hamilton). 



Russell CXXVII, Bontoo. 



Bola? coioides, Buchanan Ham. 82, 369.* 



Serranus suillus, Cuv. and Val. II. 335. 



Serranus suillus, Bleeker : Verh. Bat. Gen. XXII, 9. 



Head, body and fins reddish ash-coloured, whitish on the abdomen, 

 with numerous rust-coloured or orange round spots, those of the dorsal 

 sometimes confluent, forming one or two longitudinal bands. Iris pale 

 golden with one or two rusty spots. 



D 1 1/15, C 17f, A 3/8, V 1/5, P 18, Br. VII. 



Habit. — Sea of Pinang, Singapore. 



Coromandel, Bay of Bengal, Gangetic estuaries, Java. 



Total length : 1 foot 6 inch. 



This species grows to a gigantic size. Russell saw one 7 ft. in length, 

 5 in circumference, weighing more than 300 lb. Smaller individuals 

 are highly valued as articles of food. It is not numerous at Pinang. 



* An unfinished coloured sketch in the duplicate series of Buchanan's Drawings 

 leaves no doubt of the species in question. 



6 M 2 



