DENTEX RUPESTRIS.— Cuv. & Val. 



Pisces.— Plate XIV. 



D. superne rubra, cyaneo, viridi, purpureoque umbrata ; inferne pallide flavo-alba, pallide cyaneo- 

 umbrata ; labio superiore purpureo, inferiore orisque angulo aurantiis ; pinn& dorsali purpureo-rubra, 

 rubro-tincta ; oculis aurantiis, pallide flavo, cseruleoque variegatis ; capite magno ; linea fascial! declivi ; 

 corpore antice valde crasso versus pinnam caudalem gracile ; dentibus caninis, utraque maxilla, quatuor, 

 fortibusque curvatis. 



Longitudo adulti 3 ped. 10 unc. 



Dentex Rupestris, Cuv. $ Val. — Hist. Nat. des Poissons, torn. 6, folio 231. 

 Roode Steen Brass of the Cape Colonists. 



Colour.— The ground colour of the back and sides, above the lateral line, 

 aurora-red, irregularly clouded with ultra-marine blue, oil-green and dull 

 lavender-purple ; towards the tail there is a distinct orange tint ; below the 

 lateral line the ground colour, anteriorly, towards the gills, is pale lemon- 

 yellow,— posteriorly, pale aurora-red, tinged with orange-yellow, and the 

 whole clouded with ultra-marine blue. The ground colour of the upper part 

 of the head is pale hyacinth-red, clouded with light orange, ultra-marine 

 blue, and lemon-yellow, the lateral and under parts of the head aurora-red, 

 clouded with lavender-purple and lemon-yellow. The upper lip is a pale 

 plum-purple, the lower lip and the angles of the mouth light Dutch-orange. 

 Dorsal fin brownish purple-red shaded with light tile-red. Pectoral fins 

 aurora-red, darkest above, and at the base clouded with ultra-marine blue, the 

 ventral, anal, and caudal fins, are pale reddish-orange, shaded with light 

 brownish red. Eyes deep reddish orange, pale yellow and ultra marine blue, 

 the colours disposed in irregular circles which pass into each other. The 

 whole of the fish, with the exception of the fins, has a mother-of-pearl gloss. 



Form, &c— Body large, thick, and bulky, between dorsal and caudal fins 

 rather slender ; dorsal outline slightly curved, abdominal outline as far as 

 anal fin nearly straight, the portion on which the anal fin rests is inclined 

 upwards, the remaining part sloping slightly to the caudal fin. The profile 

 of the face strongly declining and broken, or rendered irregular by a large 

 projection or bulge over the anterior and superior edge of the orbit. Lower 



