DENTEX RUPESTRIS. — Cuv. & Val. 
Pisces. — Plate XIV. 
D. supcrne rubra, cyaneo, viridi, purpureoque umbrata ; inferne pallide flavo-alba, pallide cyaneo- 
umbrata ; labio superiore purpureo, inferiore orisque angulo aurantiis ; pinna dorsali purpureo-rubra, 
rubro-tincta ; oculis aurantiis, pallide flavo, caeruleoque variegatis ; capite magno ; linea fasciah declm ; 
corpore antice valde crasso versus pinnam caudalem gracile ; dentibus caninis, utraque maxilla, quatuor, 
fortibusque curvatis. 
Longitgdo adulti 3 ped. 10 unc. 
Dkntex Rgpestiiis, Cuv. Sf Val. — Hist. Nat. des Poissons, tom. 6, folio 231. 
Roode Steen Brass of the Cape Colonists. 
Colour. — The ground colour of the hack and sides, above the lateral line, 
aurora-red, irregularly clouded with ultra-marine blue, oil-green and dull 
lavender-purple; towards the tail there is a distinct orange tint; below the 
lateral line the ground colour, anteriorly, towards the gills, is pale lemon- 
yellow, — posteriorly, pale aurora-red, tinged with orange-yellow, and the 
whole clouded with ultra-marine blue. The ground colour of the upper part 
of the head is pale hyacinth-red, clouded with light orange, ultra-marine 
blue, and lemon-yellow, the lateral and under parts of the head aurora-red, 
clouded with lavender-purple and lemon-yellow. The upper lip is a pale 
plum-purple, the lower lip and the angles ot the mouth light Dutch-orange. 
Dorsal fin brownish purple-red shaded with light tile-red. Pectoral fins 
aurora-red, darkest above, and at the base clouded with ultra-marine blue, the 
ventral, anal, and caudal fins, are pale reddish-orange, shaded with light 
brownish red. Eyes deep reddish orange, pale yellow and. ultra marine blue, 
the colours disposed in irregular circles which pass into each other. The 
whole of the fish, with the exception of the fins, has a mother-of-pearl gloss. 
Form, &c— Body large, thick, and bulky, between dorsal and caudal fins 
rather slender ; dorsal outline slightly curved, abdominal outline as far as 
anal fin nearly straight, the portion on which the anal fin rests is inclined 
upwards, the remaining part sloping slightly to the caudal fin. The profile 
of the face strongly declining and broken, or rendered irregular by a large 
projection or bulge over the anterior and superior edge of the orbit. Lower 
