A NEW GENUS OF GANOID FISH. 465 



each side, have their anterior teeth laid in the forked terminations of the longitu- 

 dinal bars of each of the scales in front and above them, their lateral tubercles 

 being placed below the posterior and internal angles of these scales ; and this 

 arrangement is continued throughout the whole series, until we reach the mesial 

 scale of the abdomen below, which is somewhat of a battledore shape, having 

 a rounded body posteriorly, and a long projecting point, or handle, in front ; about 

 the junction of this handle to the body of the scale, are two small teeth-like 

 processes projecting outwards and forwards, one on each side of the handle ; 

 and the scale is placed like a wedge between the adjoining scales, so that each 

 tooth lies at the posterior extremity of the central bar of each of the scales in 

 front of it ; the series, or elongated loop of scales, which surrounds the body, 

 being thus firmly and beautifully locked together and completed by the 

 addition of the connecting tissue ; so that it is no easy matter to separate one 

 scale from another. The number of scales belonging to one of these loops or series 

 is about thirty, or sixteen scales, including those of one side of the body only, 

 and the median dorsal, and abdominal scales ; the whole series, their free margins 

 forming projecting lines, bend gently in an ogee-like manner, and run backwards 

 and downwards across the sides of the fish, at an angle of about 45 degrees. 



The scales generally are thin, especially towards their lateral and posterior 

 margins, where they are almost semi-transparent or translucent, so that, when 

 the specimen is moist in spirit, the toothed arrangement of the scales can be 

 easily detected by the eye, and from the white colour of* the fibrous attach- 

 ments of the teeth and edges of the scales, a finely mottled character is given 

 to the colour of the fish. These teeth-like processes appear to be present on 

 most of the scales, until you reach the posterior parts of the body at its caudal 

 extremity, where they seem to diminish considerably in size and in distinctness 

 of character. (Plate XXXII. figs. 1-12.) 



Beyond the origin of the first dorsal finlet, the oval-shaped scales in the 

 dorsal mesial line are wanting, the bony spines of the finlets, as it were, taking 

 their place ; and the adjoining lateral scales on each side of the mesial line are 

 laid together in a somewhat alternating manner; the sockets for the base of 

 the osseous spines of each of the dorsal finlets being deeply cut out of the posterior 

 margins of these scales, so as to give a shoulder or fixed support for the spine 

 to lean against, when the finlet is raised up. (Figs. 13, 14.) 



There are in all about 107 distinct rows of scales, between the nape of the neck 

 and the extremity of the body; some 8 or 9 shorter series or rows being- 

 added in front, on the under surface of the body, to complete its scaly covering 

 below, making altogether about 116 series of scales. Taking the number of the 

 rows of scales (107) on the dorsal aspect ; we find there are 50 series or rows 

 between the nape of the neck and the scales forming the socket at the base of 

 the spine of the first dorsal finlet ; 8 series of scales lie between that and the 



VOL. XXIV. PART II. GK 



