152 ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



spinate : occipital and temporal ridges spinate. Tentacles — none apparent over the orbit (?) : very distinct on 

 lower jaw and different parts of the head. Valenciennes observes that its most remarkable character is that all 

 the skin of the head between the spines is as if it were veined with small scooped out lines which join on all 

 sides, and thus form a network which has the appearance of scales. Teeth — none on the palate. Fins — fourth 

 dorsal spine the longest and equal in length to the second of the anal which is 2/5 of the length of the head. 

 Scales — none on head, those on body oblong, ctenoid with a single row of minute spines along its marginal 

 border. Colours — " head and body dark, with a mixture of dull red : the throat and belly are of a pink colour. 

 The fins irregularly streaked black and red : the ventral at its root is pink like the belly." — (Russell.) 



M. Sauvage, who has kindly compared Valenciennes' type specimen for me with a drawing I made 

 of S- rosea, has furnished me with the additional information detailed above. He likewise observes " S. venosa 

 differs from 8. rosea (according to your figure) by the head being more elongated : the body also more elongated 

 and the dorsal spines not being so high." 



Habitat — Coromandel coast of India. 



Genus, 5 — Pteeois, Guv. 



Macrochyrus, Pteroleptus, Pteropterus and Brachyrus, Swainson. 



Branchiostegals seven: pseudobranchice. Head rather large, armed with spines and having shinny flaps : no 

 occipital groove. Villiform teeth in jaws and on vomer, none on the palate. A single deeply notched dorsal fin, 

 hawing from twelve to thirteen spines : anal with tioo or three spines and few rays : rays, and sometimes spines, 

 elongated: no pectoral appendages. Air-vessel large. Pyloric appendages few. 



Geographical distribution. — Red Sea, coasts of Africa, through the seas of India to the Malay Archipelago 

 and Polynesia. 



It does not appear that any very great value can be placed on the comparative length of the dorsal spines, 

 or pectoral rays in this Genus of Fishes, as they are subject to considerable modifications, some being dependant 

 upon age, and others seem to be subject to variation in specimens of the same species. It has yet to be 

 ascertained whether the orbital tentacle is equally developed in both sexes. 



SYNOPSIS OF SPECIES. 



1. Pterois Pussellii, D. 12 | -rrli-2> ^. r. ■£-§-. A short supraorbital tentacle. Interorbital space and nape 

 scaled. Caudal unspotted. No white spot in axilla. Pectoral grey, with its two upper rays spotted. Seas of 

 India to the Malay Archipelago. 



2. Pterois miles, D. 12 | to-tt> 1". r. 92. A short supraorbital tentacle. Interorbital space and nape scaled. 

 Dorsal, caudal, and anal spotted. A white spot in the axilla. Seas of India. 



3. Pterois zebra, D. 12 | -J^, L. r. f£. A long supraorbital tentacle. Interorbital space scaleless. Dorsal, 

 caudal, pectoral and anal spotted. A white spot in the axilla. 



4. Pterois volitans, D. 12 | -j-o-tt, L. r. 90. A long supraorbital tentacle. Interorbital space and nape 

 scaleless, or with rudimentary scales. Dorsal, caudal and anal spotted. A white spot in the axilla. Red Sea, 

 East coast of Africa, seas of India to Australia. 



5. Pterois cincta, D. 11 | yy, L. r. 45. A long supraorbital tentacle. Nape scaled. Soft dorsal, caudal 

 and anal spotted. No white spot in axilla. Red Sea, seas of India and beyond.. 



1. Pterois Russellii, Plate XXXVI, fig. 5. 



Gasterosteus volitans, Russell, Fish. Vizag. ii, p. 25, pi. 133 (hodipungi), (not G. volitans, Linn.) 



Pterois Bmssellii, (Van Hass.) Bennett, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1831, p. 128. 



Pteroleptus longicauda, Swains. Fish, ii, p. 264. 



Pterois miles, Cantor, Catal. p. 42 (not Bennett). 



Pterois hodipungi, (Russell) Sleeker, Banka, p. 450; Giinther, Catal. ii, p. 124. 



Pseitdom-onopterus hodipungi, Bleeker, Fish. Madagascar, p. 87. 



B. vii, D. 12 I y&t, P. 13, V. 1/5, A. T ? ¥ , C. 14, L. r. fi, L. tr. 11/33. 



Length of head 1/4, of caudal 2/7, height of body 1/4 of the total length. Eyes— diameter 2/9 to 1/5 of 

 the length of head, If diameters from the end of snout, and 3/4 of a diameter apart. The maxilla reaches to 

 below the middle of the orbit. Preorbital with a spinate ridge traversing its centre, and continued over the 

 cheek to the upper preopercular spine, below which latter there exist two or three more on its vertical, and two 

 along its horizontal edge. A spine at the posterior-superior angle of the orbit and a short supraorbital tentacle. 

 Interorbital space deeply concave, it and the occiput scaled. Occipital and temporal ridges spiny ; a small 

 turbinal spine. A rather long fleshy tentacle at the angle of the preorbital, one at the anterior nostril, and 

 several more about the head. Teeth — villiform in jaws and vomer. Fins — dorsal spines increase in length to 

 the fifth which equals the height of the body and is longer than the rays : the pectoral, with its membrane, 

 especially between its four upper rays, deeply cleft, it reaches a little beyond the base of the caudal, or even further .- 

 ventral extends to the anal rays : third anal spine the longest, equalling the length of the snout : caudal pointed. 

 Scales — eleven rows between lateral-line and 6th dorsal spine. Colours — reddish, with from eleven to twelve 

 broad dark vertical bands, with intermediate narrow ones. A black spot on the shoulder behind the opercle, no 



