FAMILY, I— PERCIDiE. 23 



Habitat. — Red Sea, East coast of Africa, seas of India, Malay Archipelago and beyond. The specimen 

 figured is 9^ inches in length and from the coast of Sind. 



24. Serranus grammicus, Plate V, fig. 4. 

 Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1867, p. 700. 



B. vii, D. ii P. 19, V. 1/5, A. |, C. 17, L. 1. 85, L. r. yV 6 , L. tr. 17/44. 



Length of head about 2/7, of caudal 1/6, height of body 2/7 of the entire length. Eyes — diameter 1/5 

 of length of head, 1^- diameters from the end of snout, and 1 apart. The maxilla reaches to below the posterior 

 edge of the orbit. Vertical limb of preopercle oblique, finely serrated in its upper two-thirds, becoming coarser 

 lower down, and having several large denticulations at its angle, which is slightly produced : its lower lim b 

 entire as are also the sub- and inter-opercles. Opercle with three spines, the central one the strongest. Teeth — 

 a small canine on either side of the upper jaw : a slightly enlarged outer row in the maxilla, and an inner one in 

 the mandible. Fins — dorsal spines of moderate strength, the fourth slightly the longest, and equal to one and a 

 third diameters of the orbit in. length, but not so long as the rays : pectoral as long as the postorbital portion of 

 the head, and longer than the ventral, which latter only reaches half way to the vent : second anal spine the 

 strongest, the third one-fourth longer, and equal to the second in the dorsal fin : soft portions of the dorsal and 

 anal somewhat rounded : caudal very slightly rounded. Scales — cycloid, with raised roughened irregularly 

 disposed lines upon them, those between the pectoral fin and the lateral-line being the largest. Snout and 

 suborbital ring of bones scaled, very few on preorbital or maxilla. Colours — greyish with a golden gloss about 

 the head. A narrow black line runs from the upper margin of the orbit to the last dorsal spine : a second passes 

 from the upper third of the orbit to the superior opercular spine and on to the base of the sixth dorsal ray : a 

 third from the lower edge of the orbit to below the central opercular spine and on to the upper third of the 

 caudal fin, where it assumes the form of rounded blotches : an intermediate band exists on the head between 

 the second and third. Dorsal fin with a row of black spots along its centre and tipped with black : caudal 

 yellow, with numerous black spots, and the extremities of its rays black, anal with a black edge. Eyes golden. 



Dr. Jerdon, in the Madras Journ. Lit. and Sc. 1851, p. 130, remarks : " I possess a drawing of another 

 Serranus of a reddish-fawn-colour, brownish on the back, with three longitudinal brown lines," otherwise as 

 described above. The figure he alludes to is amongst Sir Walter Elliot's illustrations. 



Habitat. — Madras, where the above single male specimen, 15 inches in length, was taken in 1867- 



25. Serranus boenack, Plate VI, fig. 1. 



Boclianus boenach, Bloch, iv, p. 44, t. 226 ; Bl. Schn. p. 330. 

 - Perca rahtee bontoo, Russell, Fish. Vizag. ii, p. 22, pi. 129. 

 Sciama formosa, Shaw, Zool. Misc. p. 23, t. 1007. 



Serranus formosus, Cuv. & Val. ii, p. 311; Richards. Ich. China, p. 233; Bleeker, Perc. p. 31; Ghnther, 

 Catal. i, p. 154 ; Day, Fish. Malabar, p. 7 ; Kner, Novara Fische, p. 26. 

 Serranus boenach, Cuv. & Val. ii, p. 362. 



Serranus boenacJc, Peters, Monats. d. Akad. Berlin, 1865, p. 105. 

 Epinephelus formosus, Bleeker, Epinephelini, p. 59. 

 Epinephelus boenach, Bleeker, Fish. Madagascar, p. 8. 

 Verri-cullawah, Tarn. 



B. vii, D. y^, P. 15, V. 1/5, A. 5 J M , C. 17, L. 1. 90-95, L. tr. 22/43. 



Length of head 2/7 to 3/8, of caudal 1/5 to 1/6, height of body 1/3 to 3/10 of the total length. Eyes— 

 diameter 1/5 to 2/11 of length of head, rather above 1 diameter from end of snout, and 3/5 of a diameter apart. 

 The maxilla reaches to below the last third or hind margin of the orbit. Vertical limb of preopercle rather 

 convex, and a little emarginate above its angle in the adult but not in the young, its upper two-thirds finely 

 serrated, more coarsely so at its angle, where the serrations are rather irregularly disposed : lower limb entire, 

 as are also the sub- and inter-opercles (in one specimen both sub- and inter-opercles are serrated). Three strong 

 opercular spines, the central being the most developed. Teeth — one or two strong canines or either side of both 

 jaws, the upper being generally somewhat the larger : the outer row in the upper jaw, and the inner in the lower, 

 being larger than the others. Fins — dorsal spines from the third are of about the same length, the longest being 

 3/4 the length of the longest ray : soft portions of the dorsal and anal obtusely angular : second anal spine the 

 strongest, equal in length to the third in the adult or even longer in the young : caudal rounded. Scales — 

 ctenoid, covering the forehead and preorbital but none on maxilla. Colours — when alive very brilliant, but fading 

 after death. Generally yellowish-brown, snout pale blue, lips and throat spotted with a deeper blue, whilst 

 about five fillets of the same colour diverge from the orbit and cross the opercles and branchial membranes. 

 Blue and rather tortuous horizontal lines pass from the head towards the tail below the lateral line, whilst above 

 it are about eight more directed backwards, upwards, and continued on to the dorsal fin throughout its whole 

 extent ; these blue lines are likewise continued on to the other fins, except (occasionally on) the ventrals, which 

 however become nearly black at their extremities. Some blue spots exist anterior to the base of the ventral 

 fin (male), also occasionally on the jaws. 



There are three figures of this fish amongst Sir W. Elliot's drawings, termed Noma panni, Keela panni, 

 and Panama kullawaie ; one was captured at Waltair, March 24th, 1853. 



