10 
NOTES OF THE EDIP.LE FISHES OF VICTORIA. 
The Bretim {Chr]fmphri^ A never attains large dimen- 
sions, but it is esteemed as an article of food, and is always 
plentiful on the Melbourne market. 
The Melanu'hikfjfi i ncAtspUbda^ called here Black perch on 
account of its colour, ap[>ears frefpTcntly on the market, and is 
also considered good for the table ; another sort, veiy nearly allied 
to it, but of a dark grey, with broad trausvcrso black bands, is 
more rarely seen; 1 believe this to be the Oreniderif^ zebr(c, of 
Richai*dson ; I had formed on it a genus Xmfephroiop-^, but as I 
have already stated it in the errata of my pai>er in the Trans- 
actions of the Acclimatisation Society of Victoria, I believe it to 
be identical with Mehrmhtfphes of Di-. Gunther. 
The Squampinnes form a family of lishes remarkalile not only 
by the beauty of their colours, but also ]>y the elegancy of their 
forms, but they are not generally fit for human food ; several 
sorts inhabit the shores of Northern, Eastern, an<l Western Aus- 
tralia, but none have yet been found in the Victorian waters. 
CiRRHiTiD.E on the contrary liave liere rather numerous ro]>resenta- 
tives, and a few of them are much esteemed as food. The kcl}) fish 
often attains rather large dimensions, and is remarkable by its 
brown colour, marked all over with numerous irremilar, but 
pretty, concentric dark lines; it is the Chinmemtts MarmoratuSj 
and is but rarely eaten. 
OheilodactyliLS is a genus characterised by its pectoi’al fins 
liaving some of their rays prolongated like long tingers ; this 
conformation is paiticiilarly remarkable in Macropterus. Nigri- 
cans is the butter fish^ which is one of the commonest of all sorts 
on the Melbourne market. Glhbosw^ is so called on account of its 
gibbous form; it is of a pretty light purple, crossed ly two broad 
transverse black bands. 
Lafrki contains one of the sorts the most esteemed by tlie 
Melbourne gastronomers, the Hobart Tovm iritmpder {Latris 
Ilecateia), wliich is often from two to three feet long, and is 
remarkable by thi'ee or four broad longitudinal bands, which 
extend over its generally grey colour ; large quantities are brought 
fresh and salted from Tasmania, but it is also found in the 
Victorian sea. Another sort {Latris Forsteri) is called bastard, 
trumpeter; it is not so much praised as the preceding, perhaps 
because it is not so well known ; it is found in gi-eat numbers on 
some parts of the coast of Gipps Land. 
The Triglid^ are singular, and sometimes hideous-looking 
fishes. The first I -will mention is the gurnet, as being very 
common on the market. Following the opiniem e.xpressed in the 
essay for ISbG, I liad considered it as granted that it was the 
Centropogon Australis of the authors, but I find that this is a 
mistake; it is the Seosehastes scorpceyioides, of Guichenot, and 
