216 



Dr. Richardson's Contributions to 



broad border, occupying nearly a third of the depth of the fin, is 

 minutely speckled with yellowish green. The ventrals are crossed 

 by five crimson bars alternating with four yellow ones, and the first 

 ray is streaked with vermilion. 



Scorp^na panda (Nob.), Saddle-skull Scorpaena. 



No. 9. Lieut. Emery's drawings. 



The drawing was made from a specimen procured at Abrol- 

 hos, and measuring sixteen inches and a half in length. It 

 differs from any described Scorpama in the form of the head 

 and size of the scales covering the body, as well as in its 

 colours. 



The body has the usual generic form : its height is rather less 

 than one-fourth of the total length of the fish, caudal included. The 

 head is short, its length scarcely equalling the height of the body, 

 and its height being one-fourth less. The orbit projects up wards, 

 and behind it there is a saddle- shaped depression, followed by an 

 occipital rise much like that of a dried example of Synanceia horrida. 

 The orbit is surrounded by irregular angular projections, three 

 above and as many behind. The occipital rise is margined laterally 

 by a curved ridge, joining another waving one which flanks the base 

 of the rise, and reaches the upper angle of the gill-opening. There 

 are also apparently spines and ridges on the sides of the head, but 

 not sufficiently intelligible to be described. The scales of the body 

 are unusually large for a Seorpama, there being only thirty-five in a 

 row between the gill-opening and caudal fin, and about sixteen in a 

 vertical line. There are none on the head. 



The dorsal shows only eleven spines, but it is probable that a 

 short one has been omitted at the commencement of the fin. The 

 second of those seen is the tallest, overtopping the one before and 

 behind it by a fourth part. The succeeding ones diminish rather 

 rapidly, the penultimate one not having one-fifth of the length of the 

 tallest : the last one rises to the level of the first or third. The mem- 

 brane slopes deeply behind the anterior spines. The soft part of the 

 fin, which is rounded, overtops the tallest spine by about a fifth part. 

 The anal is of the same height with the soft dorsal, but is less 

 broadly rounded : its third spine is stronger and longer than the 

 second one. The pectorals, ventrals and caudal are also rounded. 

 Rays:— D. 11(12 ?)|10; A. 3|6 ; C. 15; P. 16; V. 15. 

 The head and body have a nearly uniform vermilion tint, the 

 branchiostegous membrane alone being paler. There are two dark 

 hyacinth-red bands on the side, the anterior one descending from 

 nearly the whole of the spinous dorsal and tapering away behind the 

 pectoral ; and the other, rather narrower, running from the soft dor- 

 sal nearly to the anal, tapering also as it descends. The body is 

 spotted pretty regularly with round drops of dark orange-brown, 

 which do not extend to the belly. Smaller drops of the same colour 

 are scattered over the sides of the head, lower jaw, and branchioste- 

 gous membrane, being intermixed in the two latter localities with 

 whitish spots. All the fins are reddish brown, and except the ven- 



