148 ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



17. Pseudosynanceia.. Eyes directed upwards. Villiform teetli in jaws and vomer. Dorsal spines 

 strong (D. V°) : three anal spines : no free ray at base of pectoral. Articulated fin-rays unbranched. Scaleless. 



18. PolycavXis. Body anteriorly sub-cylindrical, posteriorly compressed. Eyes directed somewhat 

 upwards. Preopercle armed. Teeth villiform in the jaws, none on vomer or palate. A single dorsal fin 

 (D. fl-rf) : no anal spines (A. 11-15) : no free rays at base of the pectoral fin. Articulated fin-rays unbranched. 

 Scaleless. 



M. Sauvage in his paper on Triglidce, Cuv. and Val. (Sep. 1873) divides them as follows : 1, ScoRPiENiM: ; 

 2, Platycephalidj: ; 3, Triglidj: ; and subdivides the first family thus : 



( a. Body covered with ordinary scales as Sebastes, Scorpxna, Pterois, and group of Apistus 

 „ t \ — SCOEPJINI. 



lb. Body scaleless or with spinate scales, as Synancidium, Synanceia, Minous, Pelor, and 

 (_ group of Cottes, &c. — Cottini. 

 Dr. Giinther, "Pishes of Zanzibar," (p. xiv, errata) observes, "before Synanceia insert Family Cottidje," 

 &c. I must refer to M. Sauvage's paper for my reasons for placing all the foregoing Genera in the present 

 Family. 



Genus, 1 — Sebastes, Cuv. and Val. 



Branchiostegals seven : pseudobranchiod. Head and body somewhat compressed. No groove on the occiput, 

 usually a few small spines ; preopercle armed. Villiform teeth on the jaws, vomer and palatines. Fins not elongated : 

 a single dorsal, having the spinous portion more or less separated from the soft by a notch, spines twelve to fourteen : 

 anal not elongated, -with three spines: no free rays to the pectoral fin. Articulated fin-rays branched. Scales present 

 and of moderate or small size, extending as far forwards as the orbit or even beyond : no skinny appendages. Air- 

 vessel, as a rule, present. Pyloric appendages few or in moderate numbers. 



SYNOPSIS OP INDIVIDUAL SPECIES. 



1. Sebastes Stoliczlcce, D. -j-J, A. ■§, L. 1. 35. No spines on top of head. Reddish, marbled with brown : 

 fins spotted or blotched. Nicobars. 



1. Sebastes Stoliczkae, Plate XXXVI, fig. 1. 

 B. vii, D. ft, P. 14, V. 1/5, A. f, 0. 16, L. 1. 35, L. r. £§, L. tr. 5/14. 



Length of head 3/10, of caudal 2/13, height of body 3/11 of the total length. Eyes — diameter 3| in 

 length of head, 3/4 of a diameter from end of snout, and also apart. Height of head equals its length without 

 the snout. Interorbital space convex. The maxilla reaches to below the last third of the orbit. Vertical limb 

 of preopercle, serrated, and having three strong anteriorly- directed spines along its horizontal border : sub- and 

 inter-opercles entire. No spines on the head : no groove below the eyes : a moderately strong opercular spine. 

 A nasal tentacle nearly half the diameter of the orbit in length. Teeth — villiform in jaws, vomer, and palate. 

 Fins — dorsal spines strong, increasing in length to the fourth which is more than half (If) the height of the 

 body, they gradually decrease to the last which equals three-fourths of the diameter of the orbit in length, the 

 rays are almost of the same height as the spines. Pectoral as long as the head behind the front third of the eye 

 and longer than the ventral which just reaches the vent : second anal spine much the strongest and longest, 

 equalling the length of the pectoral fin : caudal rounded. Scales — finely ctenoid, those on the head and to below 

 the third dorsal spine much smaller than those on the body : upper surface of head scaled as far as the snout, 

 also along the suborbital ring of bones and on the cheeks and opercles : 4| rows between lateral-line and base 

 of sixth dorsal spine : 10 between the ventral and the lateral-line. Colours — reddish, marbled with brown : 

 some dark bands radiate from the eye : all the fins spotted, blotched and banded with brown or black. 



Habitat. — Nicobars, from whence the specimen figured (life-size) was brought by the late Dr. Stoliczka. 



Genus, 2 — Sebastichthts, Gill. 

 Sebastodes, Ayres. 



Differs from Sebastes in having no palatine teeth. , 



SYNOPSIS OF INDIVIDUAL SPECIES. 



1. Sebastichthys strongia, D. 11-12 | -§-, A. f , L. 1. 45. Seas of India to the Malay Archipelago. 



1. Sebastichthys strongia. 

 Scorpeena strongia;, Cuv. and Val. iv, p. 323 ; Quoy and Gaim. Voy. Astrol. Poissons, p. 688, pi. xi, f. 2 ; 

 Less. Voy. Duperr. Zool. Poiss. p. 213 ; Klunz. Verh. z. b. Ges. Wien, 1870, p. 803. 

 Scorpoena cyanostigma, Bleeker, Buru, p. 400. 

 Sebastes strongensis, Giinther, Catal. ii, p. 105. 



B. vi, D. 11-12 | i P. 19, V. 1/5, A. |, C. 15, L. I. 45, L. tr. 5/16. 



Length of head 1/3, of pectoral 1/4, of caudal 2/11, height of body nearly 1/3 of the total length. Wyes— 

 diameter a little more than 1/3 of length of head, 3/4 of a diameter from end of snout, 1/2 a diameter apart. 

 Supraorbital ridge spined : two spinate lines given off posteriorly from the orbit, one towards the occiput, the 

 other towards the lateral-line. A sharp spine on nostril : anterior edge of preorbital with obtuse spines. Ridge 



