118 



ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



length of head, 1 to 1 J diameters from end of snout, and from 1J to 1| apart. The maxilla reaches to below the 

 middle or last third of the orbit. Preorbital and preopercle very finely serrated along their lower edges. Teeth — 

 villiform in the jaws, vomer, and palate. Fins — dorsal spines strong, the third the longest and equal to from If 

 to 2/5 in the length of the head. Anal commences below the first dorsal spine, the third spine the longest and 

 equal to from 2\ to 3|- in the length of the head. Pectoral as long as the head without the snout. Caudal 

 rather emarginate. Scales — 24 rows between the snout and base of the dorsal fin : five rows between the lateral 

 line and base of the last dorsal spine. Colours — brownish shot with .golden : four triangular black blotches 

 pass downwards from the back to the lateral-line, most developed in the young. Fins dark. 



Habitat. — Red Sea, seas of India, to the Malay Archipelago and beyond. The two specimens described 

 are 3| and 9| inches hi length from the Andaman islands. 



RUIN OF PORTUGUESE CATHEDRAL AT COCHIN (18G4.) 



