36 ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



nouleni) is intended for this fish and not for a species of Mesoprion (? Serranus) to which Cuvier refers it "without 

 however having seen a specimen. His account of the colour corresponds exactly with that of the nouleni of 

 Madras. It is a very beautiful fish but one of very soft and flabby texture." The figure of nfruleni is 

 amongst Sir W. Elliot's drawings (No. 15), and to it Jerdon has attached the name of Serranus nouleni. 

 Irrespective of this he sent a specimen to the British Museum where it still exists, and is placed in the catalogue 

 (i, p. 206) as Mesojprion dodecacanthoides, a. Half-grown ; not good state. Madras. Presented by J. C. 

 Jerdon, Esq. 



In the unrivalled Paris collection, Cuv. and Val.'s two specimens of Serranus nouleni, C. V. still exist 

 and are, as suggested by Jerdon, identical with the species described above. 



Bleeker first pointed out that the lineolata Riippell and Russell's karooi are identical. I have figured both 

 varieties owing to the great difference I observed in their colouration, the size of the eye, &c. Pig. 1 is from 

 the coast of Sind (7| inches in length) and its tints resemble those shown by Riippell : fig. 2 is from Madras 

 (7 inches long) and its colours are as described by Russell. 



In the 'Fishes of Zanzibar,' three varieties are recorded, (1) yellow with pale blue streaks above the 

 lateral-line, and about seven below it : (2) olive-brown with the lines darker blue : (3) violet above, muzzle 

 rosy, the oblique and longitudinal lines yellow. The form, however, with blue streaks has a well-developed 

 interopercnlar knob, and can hardly be considered as a mere variety of this species. 



Habitat. — Red Sea, East coast of Africa, seas of India to the Malay Archipelago. It is very common off 

 Madras. 



9. Lutianus lemniscatus. 



Serranus lemniscatus, Cuv. and Val. ii, p. 240; Giinther, Catal. i, p. 155. 



Lictjanus melanotaznia, Bleeker, Obi, p. 245, and Atl. Ich. Perc. t. vii, fig. 2, and Lutjani, p. 66. 



B. vii, D. -J-f, P. 17, V. 1/5, A. f, C. 17, L. 1. 56, L. tr. 8/21. 



Length of head 3/10, of caudal 4/21, height of body 4/13 of the total length. Eyes — diameter 1/4 of 

 length of head, 1J diameters from end of snout, and 3/4 of a diameter apart. Dorsal profile more convex than 

 that of the abdomen, and slightly concave between the snout and the eye. The maxilla reaches to below the 

 front edge of the eye. Vertical limb of preopercle serrated and with a shallow emargination : interopercle 

 with a badly develojied knob. Teeth — canines large in the upper jaw. Fins — dorsal spines rather strong, 

 increasing in length to the fourth which equals the postorbital length of the head, and a little higher than the 

 rays : pectoral not quite so long as the head : the second and third anal spines of about the same length and 

 equal to the third of the dorsal fin : caudal emarginate. Scales — in oblique rows above the lateral-line, and 

 horizontal ones below it. Colours — appear to have been dark red or yellow, with a wide brown or black band 

 going from the eye to the centre of the caudal fin, and another less defined and narrow one below it but 

 parallel to it. The above description is from Valenciennes specimen in the Paris Museum, which is in a good 

 state of preservation. It was obtained from Ceylon. 



Habitat. — Ceylon to the Malay Archipelago. 



10. Lutianus chrysotasnia, Plate XI, fig. 3. 



Mesoprion chrysotmnia, Bleeker, Nat. Tyds. Ned. Ind. h, 1851, p. 170, and Act. Soc. Ned. Ind. Manado, 

 i, p. 40 ; Giinther, Catal. i, p. 192 ; Kner. Novara Fische, p. 34. 



Lutjanus chrysotmnia, Bleeker, Ternate, p. 233, and Atl. Ich. Perc. t. xxiv, fig. 4, and Lutjani, p. 22. ' 



B. vii, D. if, p. 16, V. 1/5, A. f, C. 17, L. 1. 52, L. r. ff, L. tr. 8/22. 



Length of head 2/7, of caudal 1/5, height of body 4/13 to 2/7 of the total length. Eyes— diameter 4/15 

 of length of head, 1| diameters from end of snout, and 1 apart. Abdominal profile nearly horizontal, that of the 

 dorsal more convex, but from the orbit to the nape it is straight, or slightly concave : snout pointed : jaws of 

 nearly equal length anteriorly : preorbital under the front third of the eye equals three-fourths of the diameter 

 of the orbit in height. The maxilla reaches to below the anterior third of the orbit. Vertical limb of 

 preopercle having a very shallow emargination, its angle rounded but not produced, both limbs finely serrated. 

 No interopercular knob. Opercular points indistinct. Teeth — a pair of large curved canines in the premaxillaries, 

 an outer row of curved canine-like teeth in the upper jaw more closely set but smaller than one which is present 

 in the lower jaw : villiform teeth on vomer in a T-form (or a lanceolate patch, Bleeker) : in a band on the palate : 

 and in an oblong patch, rather largest anteriorly, on the tongue. Fins — dorsal spines weak, increasing in length 

 to the third which equals that of the postorbital portion of the head, from thence they decrease to the last, which 

 is two-thirds in the same distance : soft portion of the fin rounded, the highest ray equals two-fifths of the length 

 of its base and is much lower than the spinous portion. Pectoral pointed, as long as the head, posterior to the 

 hind nostril and reaching to nearly above the anal spines : ventral reaches two- thirds of the distance at the anal : 

 second anal spine strongest but scarcely so long as the third which equals ljdiameters of the orbit in length, its 

 first rays highest and are as long as the base of the entire fin, its lower edge rounded, caudal emarginate. Scales 

 — in oblique rows above the lateral-line, and in horizontal ones below it : nine to ten rows across the cheek. 

 Colours — olive-green with a dark band passing from the upper edge of the eye to the end of the spinous dorsal : 

 a second through the upper fourth of the eye to the last few dorsal rays, and a third from the centre of the eye 

 to the upper half of the base of the caudal fin and having a golden band below it, inferior to which is another dark 



