128 



Dr. Richardson's Contribution* to 



lower edge of that bone, nor on any other of the opercular 

 pieces, the suborbitars or humerus. This has probably arisei) 

 partly from the drawing having been made while the fish was 

 just taken from the sea, and consequently when the soft parts 

 concealed the bones of the head more perfectly, and partly 

 perhaps from the bones above mentioned being less strongly 

 armed than in others of the genus. No radiations of the frontal 

 bone are indicated, nor are there any teeth shown in the jaws. 



The head is proportionally smaller than in servus or theraps, its 

 profile is arched above, but the nape rises more suddenly in a slightly 

 concave line to the commencement of the dorsal ; the line of the 

 back is nearly straight to the beginning of the soft dorsal, whence it 

 descends and curves gently into the trunk of the tail, whose upper 

 profile is on a line with the top of the head. The body is higher 

 than in the preceding species, its height under the spinous dorsal being 

 exactly equal to one-third of the whole length, measured to the end of 

 the central caudal rays. The height of the tail is less than one-third 

 of that of the body. The ventrals are larger than in servus or the- 

 raps. The fourth dorsal spine is the tallest ; and the third anal 

 spine is represented as considerably longer than the second one. 

 The membrane is not so much curtailed at the eleventh spine as in 

 theraps. B. 6 ; D. 12)10 ; A. 3|9 ; V. l|5, &c. 



The markings on the fins are dark reddish brown. One spot in- 

 cludes the tips of the fourth, sixth and seventh dorsal spines ; there 

 is a small one on the tip of the tenth spine, a still smaller one on the 

 eleventh ; a fourth extends from the tip of the twelfth spine to that of 

 the second soft ray, a fifth reaches from the tip of the fourth soft ray 

 to that of the sixth, and there is a sixth spot on the posterior angle 

 of the soft dorsal. A paler spot covers the hinder half of the anal. The 

 ground-colour of the caudal is imperial purple, and it is crossed by 

 three broad bands of dark liver-brown, the upper and lower tips of the 

 fin being also marked with the same. The back and sides are deep 

 tile-red, which graduates into carmine on the head, the belly being 

 whitish with a yellow tinge. The longitudinal bands are narrow, 

 and have a honey-yellow colour. One commences just before the 

 dorsal spines, and terminates at the middle of the soft fin, as in 

 servus ; another runs from the nape to the end of the soft dorsal, 

 whence it is continued along the trunk of the tail to the upper 

 base of the caudal. A third runs from the gill-opening, at the 

 opercular spine, to the middle caudal bar, which has more than twice 

 its breadth. There is a fourth very pale, and not complete stripe, 

 at the junction of the red sides with the pale under surface, on a 

 level with the lower third of the pectoral. The length of the indi- 

 vidual, which the drawing represents, is noted by Lieutenant Emery 

 as having been six inches. 



Sillago burrus (Nob.), Crimson-backed Sillago. 

 No. 37. Lieut Emery's drawings. 



The drawing was made from an individual 8-J inches long, 

 which was taken on the north-west coast. The species evi- 



