193 
Very much like AMStralis, and generally confounded with it 
by the fishmongers. The differences consist in the following ; — 
1st, the body is thicker. 2nd, the tail is broader at its end. 
3rd, the skin is much more rough. 4th, the pectorals are con- 
siderably larger, and the cleft of the mouth is not more than 
two-thirds their length. 5th. the dorsal begins on, or a little 
below the line of the anal, hut there is sometimes a little difficulty, 
with all these fishes, to ascertain correctly where a fin begins. 
6th, the teeth are shorter, thicker, and more blunt, particularly 
those situated towards the interior of the mouth. The lips are 
broader, more fleshy, and extend laterally ; the colour is almost 
black, with the lower parts of a dark grey ; the lips are of a 
reddish pink, and the eye is yellow with orange tinges. 
Trom 'Western Port, and, I believe, also from the Mordialloc 
river. Average size from twenty to twenty -two inches. 
CONGER. 
Genus formed by Cuvier, hut now restricted to three or four 
sorts, characterised by the absence of scales ; the dorsal fin com- 
mencing behind the base of the pectorals, and the jaws armed 
with an external series of closely set teeth. 
CONGEE WItSONI. 
Gymnothorax wilsoni ? Bloch; Schneid., it. 529. 
This sort attains very large dimensions, and its average size is 
from four to five feet long. It is sometimes found in Hobson’s 
Ray, but appears to he much more frequent near Hobart Town, 
being often brought salted from that town to the Melbourne Mar- 
ket. The height is about twenty times in the length, and the dis- 
tance from the anterior end to the opening of the gill is contained 
about eight times in the same. The head is elongate ; the teeth 
are all similar ; they are elongate, straight, blunt, and placed 
very near one another ; they form a small cluster in front of the 
jaws, the anterior ones being smaller than those placed back- 
wards. Inside of this line of teeth, there is a sharp, crenulated 
and ossified ridge. The tongue is smooth. The lateral line is 
w'ell marked to the end of the body ; it is rather curved over 
the pectorals, and, on the dry specimens, appears formed of a 
succession of notches. The dorsal fin begins behind the pectoral, 
