206 
RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 
advance of it at the base of the first spine. On the throat is a 
series of large, pale brown blotches arranged alternately, the 
dorsal and anal fins are margined by an extremely narrow edge 
of dark brown and there are two small spots of this colour on the 
14-15 dorsal rays, one near the base, the other nearer the 
margin. On the caudal pedicel the dark bands of the body are 
represented by spots and on the middle caudal rays are five series 
forming interrupted vertical bands. 
Total length of specimen 195 mm. 
The species to which our specimen is nearest allied is H . 
meicmospilus, Bleeker,* (from the sea of Amboyna) which indeed 
in many particulars it closely resembles. I have not access to 
the original description, and my conclusions are formed from 
Gunther's epitomised description,! and a comparison with 
Bleeker’s figure. | 
In II. melanospilus the body bands are very close together, 
eighteen or nineteen in number, and are continued to the ventral 
surface ; there is a large, round, black, white-edged spot on the 
thorax, and the vertical fins have small, white rings. In H. 
semicinctus the body bands are widely spaced, do not exceed nine 
in number, and are not continued below ; there is no prominent 
spot on the thorax, and the caudal is marked with dark blotches. 
The horizontal preorbital spine which forms a noticeable feature 
in our specimen is not so represented in Bleeker’s illustration. 
Acanttiocaulus, gen. nom. nov. 
This name is suggested to replace Prionurus , Lacep&de, 1830, 
preoccupied by Ehrenberg, in Arachnida, 1829. In 1898, 
Jordan and Evermann instituted a genus Xesu rus || to receive 
certain American species, some of which had been described 
under the name Prionurus; the authors write “ This genus is 
close to the East Indian genus Prionurus , Lacepede, differing 
chiefly in the character of the caudal armature, the plates in 
Prionurus being small, sharper, and in greater number.” Messrs. 
Gilbert and Starks also admit the validity of the genus by adopting 
it for their species Xesurus clarionis . I have therefore no choice, 
in pointing out that the term Prionurus is inadmissible in 
Ichthyology, but to propose a new name. Acantliocaulus will 
include P. microlepidotus , Lacepede, an Australian species, and 
P. scalprum , Langsdorf, from Japan, but P. maculatus , Ogilby, 
* Bleeker — Act. Soc. Sci. Indo-Nederl., ii. Ainboina, p. 56 (fide Gunther), 
f Gunther — Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., ii., 1860, p. 48. 
X Bleeker — Atlas Ichth., ix. pi. ccclxviii. fig. 2. 
|| Jordan and Evermann — Hep. U. S. Com. Fish and Fisheries, 1895, 
p. 421, (name only); and Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 47, 1898, p. 1694 
(description). 
