CH.ETODON. CHiETODON, 



Generic Character. 



Caput parvum : Os exigu- 

 um : Dentes conferti, flex- 

 iles, setacei. 



Membr: branch: radii s tri- 

 bus ad sex. 



Corpus latum, compressum, 

 pluribusfasciatum; pinna 

 dorsi anique basi crassa, 

 carnosa, squamosa. 



Head small : Mouth small ; 



Teeth close-set, flexile, 



setaceous. 

 Gill-Membrane three, four, 



five, or six-rayed. 

 Body broad, compressed, 



and, generally, fasciated : 



dorsal and anal fin, thick, 



fleshy, and scaly at the 



base. 



The numerous genus Chsetodon is, in a general 

 view, distinguished by the great depth and highly 

 compressed form of the body, which, in most 

 species, is beautifully variegated by transverse, 

 oblique, or longitudinal bands, and covered with 

 strong scales, finely denticulated on the margins : 

 the dorsal and anal fin are remarkably broad, scaly 

 at the base or lower part, and in many species, of 

 an unusual length, and furnished, as in some of the 

 Dories, with rays projecting beyond the membrane: 

 the teeth are, in general, small, very slender, and 

 flexible. The species are very numerous, and are 

 mostly natives of the Indian and American seas^ 

 being very rarely, if ever, taken in those of Europe. 



