140 
MEMOIRS OF THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM . 
As soon as the postlarval Tar whine leave the plankton (11-5 to 12-5 
millimetres) and frequent the weedy shallows and creeks near the mouths 
of rivers, their pigment begins to change in pattern and coloration more adapted 
to the new surroundings. As in A. australis and other Sparidae of which the 
postlarvae are known, this change consists in the development of vertical light 
and dark banding. Like A. australis the ground colour is a greenish bronze 
and the superimposed banding is blackish. There are five or six equally broad 
bars interspaced with lighter areas of approximately similar width. These bands 
are broader and straighter than those of the Bream and extend downwards 
across the flanks fading away near the ventral margins. Two stages illustrating 
Text-fig. 2. — Post-larvae of Tarwhine, Austrospanis sarba (Forskal). 
A. — From a specimen 12.4 mm. long. 
B. — From a specimen 12.8 mm. long. 
C. — From a specimen 17.8 mm. long. 
