FAMILY, I— PERCID^E. 13 



4. Serranus undulosus, Plate II, fig. 1. 



Bodianus undulosus, Quoy and Gaim. Voy. Freycinet, Poiss. p. 310 (not Serranus undulosus, Cuv. and 



Val.). 



Serranus lineatus, Cuv. and Val. ii, p. 312 ; Jerdon, M. J. L. and Sc. 1851, p. 129 ; Giinther, Catal. i, 



p. 156. 



Serranus Amboinensis, Bleeker, Amb. and Ceram. p. 258 ; Giinther, Catal. i, p. 156. 

 Epinephelus undulosus, Bleeker, Epinephelini, p. 65, and Atl. Ich. t. 228, Perc. t. 10, £. 3. 



B. vii, D. yJ V9, P. 19, V. 1/5, A. ¥ 3 7 , C. 17, L. 1. ca. 90, L. r. iff, L. tr. 20/48, Csec. pyl. above 50. 



Length of head from 2/7 to 3/11, of candal 1/6, height of body 3/11 of the total length. Eyes — diameter 

 1/4 to 1/5 of length of head, from 1 to 1J diameters from the end of snout, and from 1/2 to 3/4 of a diameter 

 apart. The maxilla reaches to below the last third or even the hind edge of the orbit. Preopercle serrated along 

 its vertical edge, and with from two to four strong denticulations at its angle which is rather produced, especially 

 in the adult : sub- and inter-opercles entire. Opercular spines distinct, the central one the most developed. 

 In the fry a distinct spine exists at the angle of the preopercle. Teeth — one or two rather small canines on both 

 sides of the symphysis in either jaw, those in the upper the larger : outer row of teeth in maxilla, and inner in 

 the mandible larger than the vnliform bands. Fins — dorsal spines of moderate strength, the third to the 

 fifth the longest, equal to the distance between the hind edge of the orbit and the upper opercular spine, and 

 nearly as high as the rays : pectoral and ventral of about the same size, and equal to the postorbital length of the 

 head : second anal spine the strongest and nearly as long as the third, which equals one and a third diameters of 

 the orbit in length. Soft portions of dorsal and anal fins somewhat rounded : caudal cut square in the adult, but 

 rather rounded in the young. Scales — ctenoid. Colours — reddish-grey, becoming lighter on the abdomen: 

 numerous oblique narrow brown (blue ?) bands of varying length, and usually somewhat sinuous above the lateral- 

 line not following the course of the scales, whilst they are more or less horizontal below it : dots and yellow 

 lines on the head : fins rather dark, and stained at their edges. 



I place this species as S. undulosus, in accordance with Bleeker's observations. There is no doubt but 

 that it is identical with S. lineatus C.V, the type specimen of which (a skin) exists in Paris. 



Amongst Sir Walter Elliot's drawings is one of this fish, termed Seela panni, October, 1848. 



Habitat. — Seas of India to the Malay Archipelago and China. It is not uncommon at Madras where the 

 young are numerous during the cold season. The longest specimen obtained was 12 inches. 



5. Serranus merra, Plate II, fig. 2. 



? Peraa tauvina, Forsk. p. 39 ; Gmel. Linn. p. 1316. 

 Epinephelus merra, Bloch, t. 329; Bl. Schn. p. 300 (not Bleeker). 

 ? Holocentrus tauvina, Bl. Schn. p. 321. 



Serranus Gfilberti, Richardson, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1842, p. 19, and Ich. China, p. 230 ; Giinther, Catal. i, 

 p. 148. 



Serranus megachir, Richards. Ich. China, p. 230. 



Serranus pardalis, Bleeker, Perc. p. 37. 



Serranus Quoyanus, Giinther, Catal. i, p. 153 ; (? Cuv. and Val. vi, p. 519). 



Epinephelus pardalis, Bleeker, Ternate, p. 232. 



Serranus tauvina, Klunz. Fisch. d. Roth. Meer. Verh. z. b. Ges. Wien, 1870, p. 683. 



Epinephelus Gilberti, Bleeker, Epinephelini, p. 91. 



B. vii, D. riJrr, P. 18, V. 1/5, A. &, C. 17, L. r. ff, L. tr. 16/32. 



Length of head 2/7 to 3/11, of caudal 2/9, height of body 3/11 to 1/4 of the total length. Eyes— diameter 

 1/4 to 2/9 of the total length, 3/4 of a diameter from the end of snout, and also apart. Snout obtuse. The 

 maxilla reaches to below the hind edge of the orbit. Preopercle rounded, its vertical border coarsely but evenly 

 serrated, its lower edge and also the sub- and inter-opercles entire. Central opercular spine well developed. 

 Teeth — small canines in both jaws, the outer row of teeth in maxilla, and inner in mandible, slightly larger than 

 the villiform bands. Fins — dorsal spines rather strong, the fourth somewhat the highest, equalling two-fifths 

 of the length of the head, but not so long as the rays, from it they decrease to the last : soft portion of dorsal, and 

 anal fins somewhat angularly rounded : pectoral large, as long as the head, and longer than the ventral : second 

 anal spine strongest, and about as long as the third which slightly exceeds the second of the dorsal fin : caudal 

 fan-shaped. Scales — ctenoid. Colours — reddish-brown, covered with large brown spots, except on the pectoral 

 fin, on the head they appear to be usually somewhat hexagonal, with a light intervening reticulation : the 

 marks on the body are larger, and also are usually hexagonal : pectoral with a dark semilunar mark over its 

 base divided by a light band from the dark grey of the rest of the fin, which, as well as the ventral, and anal, has 

 a black margin. A fine specimen in the Berlin Museum has a light edge to the pectoral fin. 



Bloch's type specimen of Epinephelus merra (pi. 329) is 8| inches in length, and still in Berlin amongst 

 his fishes. 



S. Quoyanus, apud Giinther has its scales thus : L. r. ff, L. tr. 16/, and appears to me to be closely allied 

 if not identical with S. merra, whilst it does not disagree with Valenciennes diagnosis, whose type specimen, 

 however, I have not examined. 



Habitat. — Red Sea, seas of India to the Malay Archipelago and China. The specimen figured is 

 8^%- inches long, and was captured at the Andaman Islands. 



