FAMILY, I— PERCID.^. 93 



specimens from the Red Sea and East coast of Africa, in the former the height equalling almost 1 diameter of 

 the orbit ; in the latter 1/2 or 2/3 of a diameter. 



Habitat. — Red Sea, East coast of Africa, and seas of India. 



5. Synagris notatus, Plate XXIV, fig. 3. 



? Bentex furcosus, Cuv. and Val. vi, p. 244. 

 Synagris furcosus, Giinther, Catal. i, p. 373. 

 Synagris notatus, Day, Pro. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. G84. 



B. vi, D. V°, P. 15, V. 1/5, A. f, C. 17, L. 1. 47, L. tr. 3|/10. 



Length of head 3| to one-fourth, of caudal 2/9 to one-fifth, height of body one-fourth of the total 

 length. Eyes — diameter 3| to 1/4 in the length of head, If diameters from the end of snout, and nearly 1 apart. 

 Height of the head nearly equals its length. The maxilla reaches to below the front edge of the orbit. Preorbital 

 under the commencement of the eye is nearly as high as the transverse diameter of the orbit, whilst its hind 

 edge is more angular than in S. Bleekeri. Preopercle entire. Opercle with a small flat spine. Teeth — viHiform 

 in the upper jaw with four large curved canines in either premaxillary, and laterally an outer conical row which 

 are not very large : villiform ones in the front third of the lower jaw with six well-developed anterior canine- 

 like ones, laterally a row of conical teeth which become small in the last fourth of the jaw. Fins — dorsal spines 

 weak, interspinous membrane very slightly emarginate, the spines increase in length to the fifth from whence they 

 continue of about the same height or 1/3 of the length of the head to the last which is a little longer being 2f 

 in the same distance : the length of the last rays equal that of the postorbital portion of the head. Pectoral 

 equals 3/4 of the height of the body. Caudal forked, upper lobe the longer. Colours — rosy with a brilliant 

 spot on the first five scales below the lateral-line, the upper half red, the lower yellow. Five or six longitudinal 

 yellow bands are present below the lateral-line, and three silvery- white ones : fins pinkish, with a yellow band 

 along the bases of the dorsal and anal. 



This appears to be a slight variety of S. furcosus, Giinther, in which latter the dorsal spines increase in 

 length to the third from whence they slightly decrease to the last which equals the length of the head behind 

 the eye. 



Dentex furcosus, C. V. has an elongated body and the caudal lobes very prolonged. 



Habitat. — Seas of India. 



Genus, 24 — Pentapus, Cuv. 



Leiopsis, Bennett : Gnathodentex, pt. Bleeker. 



Branchiostegals six : pseudobranchice. Body oblong. Byes of medium size. Cleft of mouth more or less 

 horizontal and not deep: jaws of about equal length: a serrated ridge may extend along the upper jaw. Preopercle 

 entire: opercle without any or with a very feeble spine: preorbital narrow, entire, the distance between the eye and 

 the mouth small. Villiform teeth in the jaws with canines, palate edentulous. One scaleless dorsal fin receivable into 

 a groove at its base, having ten spines and from, eight to ten rays : anal with three spines and from eight to ten 

 rays : caudal forked. Scales ctenoid, of moderate or small size, with three or more rows on the preopercle. Air-vessel 

 simple. Pyloric appendages few. 



Dr. Bleeker separates Gnathodentex from Pentapus due to its possessing a serrated longitudinal ridge on 

 the upper jaw, &c. 



Geographical distribution. — Seas of India to Australia. 



SYNOPSIS OP INDIVIDUAL SPECIES. 



1. Pentapus aurolineatus, D. \%, A. -^3^, L, 1. 74-78. Golden bands along the body, a white spot on the 

 back behind the last dorsal ray. Ceylon to the Malay Archipelago and beyond. 



1. Pentapus aurolineatus. 



Sparus aurolineatus, Lacep. iv, p. 132. 

 Bentex lycogenis, Benn. Proc. Zool. Soc. i, p. 127. 



Pentapus aurolineatus, Cuv. and Val. vi, pp. 269, 559, pi. 157 ; Bleeker, Halma. p. 55 ; Giinther, Catal. i, 

 pp. 381, 507, and Fische d. Sudsee, p. 33, t. xxv, f. B. 



Gnathodentex aurolineatus, Bleeker, Atl. Ich. Perc. t. xl, fig. 3, and Revis. Dentex, p. 49. 



B. vi, D. i%, P. 16, V. 1/5, A. ^, C. 17, L. 1. 74-78, L. tr. 6/20. 



Length of head 4J to one-fourth, of caudal nearly one-fifth, height of body two-sevenths of the total ■ 

 length. Eyes — diameter 2/5 of length of head, 3/4 of a diameter from end of snout, and 1 apart. The maxilla 

 reaches to below the front nostril, a serrated ridge extends along the centre of the upper two-thirds of its outer 

 surface. Teeth — about six canines in the front of the upper jaw, and an equal number in front of the lower, the 

 outer of which is enlarged. Fins — dorsal spines rather weak, increasing in length to the fourth which is two- 

 fifths of the height of the body below it, the hind ones are a little shorter, the rays are rather higher than the 

 spines, interspinous membrane slightly notched : pectoral nearly as long as the head : ventral nearly reaches the 

 anal, the spines of the latter are not strong, the third the longest but not quite equal to the fourth of the dorsal : 



