FAMILY, I— PERCID^E. 75 



Caripe, Tel. : Erruttum corah, Mai. : Currutche, Tarn. 



B. vii, D. p^Snr, P. 17, V. 1/5, A. f, C. 17, L. 1. 52-56, L. tr. 8/12, Csec. pyl. 6. 



Length of head 2/7," of caudal 1/6, height of body 1/3 to nearly 4/13 of the total length. Eyes — diameter 

 2/ 7 to 1/4 of length of head, 1 J diameters from end of snout, and also apart. Maxilla extends to nearly or quite 

 below the anterior edge of the orbit. Vertical limb of preopercle slightly, emarginate and finely serrated, 

 angle rounded and having two or three very small serrations ; inferior limb crenulated or entire. Shoulder- 

 bone entire. Teeth — vill3brm in the jaws, the outer row slightly the largest. Fins — fourth dorsal spine the 

 highest, equalling the length of the postorbital portion of the head. Pectoral as long as the head : ventral 

 does not reach the anal. Second anal spine a little longer and much stronger than the third, it equals 1/3 the 

 height of the body : caudal emarginate. Scales — in oblique rows above the lateral-line and horizontal ones 

 below it. Colours — greyish, becoming white beneath, and having a purplish tinge about the head : a blackish 

 band over the snout : a second from the occiput touches the posterior edge of the orbit, and descends over the 

 opercles. A vertical black band, about eight scales wide, rjasses oyer the nape and terminates about three 

 scales below the lateral-line : posterior to this are six black blotches, three or four above, and two or three 

 below the lateral-line, not forming bands, but placed like squares on a chess board. Spinous dorsal with a 

 large black mark between its fourth and seventh or even eighth spines : soft dorsal with a dark band along its 

 centre, and both dorsals with their edges stained black, as is also the caudal. 



In young specimens, as 2 T 2 inches in length, the preopercle is strongly serrated along its vertical border : 

 at 3| the serrations are still strong : at 4| there is but slight difference, whilst at G\ they are even less apparent. 



Abnormal development. — In one specimen an extra spine is developed on one side of the second spine of 

 the dorsal fin. 



Habitat. — From the Red Sea and East coast of Africa, through the seas of India to the Malay Archipelago 

 and New Guinea : it attains at least 16 inches in length : the specimen figured is 9 inches long. 



7. Pristipoma Dussumieri, Plate XIX, fig. 6. 

 Cuv. and Val. v, p. 259 ; Giinther, Catal. i, p. 291. 

 Pristipoma Neilli* Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1867, p. 936. 

 Cut-tali-lee, Tarn. 



B. vii, D. if, P. 15, V. 1/5, A. a C. 19, L. 1. 50, L. r. f±, L. tr. 6|/15. 



Length of head 1/4, of caudal 1/5, height of body rather more than 1/3 of the total length. Eyes — 

 diameter 1/3 of length of head, nearly 1 diameter from end of snout, and 3/4 of a diameter apart. Jaws of 

 about equal length anteriorly. The maxilla extends to nearly beneath the front edge of the orbit. Preopercle 

 having its vertical limb slightly emarginate, its rounded angle being a little prodticed, and the whole serrated 

 but most coarsely so at the angle, its horizontal limb with a few serrations along its posterior portion. Teeth — 

 villiform in the jaws. Fins — dorsal spines strong, every alternate one being broader, interspinous membrane 

 slightly notched, the fourth spine the longest and equal to two-fifths of the height of the body : pectoral as long 

 as the head : ventral does not reach the anal, its first ray with a filamentous prolongation : second anal spine 

 strong, one-fourth longer than the third, and equal to two-thirds the length of the head : caudal emarginate, 

 being deeply lunated. Colours — greyish, becoming white on the abdomen : a brilliant golden band passes from 

 the eye to the base of the caudal fin, a second above it runs along a few rows of scales. Fins silvery dashed 

 with gold, a dark band along the base of the dorsal and its spinous portion with a black margin : upper portions 

 of soft dorsal and the last half of spinous dorsal dark grey. Stuffed specimens lose their golden bands and 

 appear uniform. 



Habitat. — Seas of India, more common on the East than on the West coast, but nowhere numerous. 

 Jerdon only ■obtained it on the Malabar coast (Madr. Journ. Lit. and Science, 1851, p. 132.) 



8. Pristipoma guoraka, Plate XX, fig. 1. 



? Perca grunniens, Forst. p. 294. 



? Anthias grunniens, Bl. Schn. p. 308. 



Perca guoraka, Russell, Fish. Vizag. ii, p. 24, pi. 132. 



Pristipoma guoraka, Cuv. and Val. v, p. 256 ; Cantor, Catal. p. 73 ; Bleeker, Seism, p. 23, and Revis. 

 Prist. 1873, p. 315, and Atl. Ich. Perc. t. xlv, fig. 1 ; Day, Fishes Malabar, p. 22 ; Kner, Xovara Fische, p. 53. 



Pristipoma argyreum, Cuv. and Val. ix, p. 485 ; Bleeker, Scisen. p. 22, and Atl. Ich. Perc. t. xlii, fig. 4, 

 and Revis. Prist. 1873, p. 313 ; Giinther, Catal. i, p. 292 ; Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 683. 



B. vii, D. ifiif, P. 16, V. 1/5, A. T 3 s, L. 1. 45-47, L. tr. 6/12, Case. pyl. 5 (Kner). 



Length of head 2/7, of caudal 1/6, height of body a little above 1/3 of the total length. Eyes — diameter 



' 3| to 3f in length of head, 1 to If diameters from end of snout and also apart. A considerable rise from the 



snout to the base of the first dorsal. The maxilla hardly reaches to below the front edge of the orbit. Vertical 



limb of preopercle coarsely serrated, as is also its produced and rounded angle, where the serrations are wide 



apart, along the horizontal limb they are much blunter. Shoulder-bone serrated. Teeth — -villiform, with the 



* In the Zoological Record for 1867, p. 159, Dr. Giinther obserres : "Pristipoma guoraka (Cuv. and Val.) is described as 

 Pristipoma Neilli (sp. n.) by Day." The type specimen is therefore figured, it is 6^q inches in length. 



