FURTHER ICHTHYOLOGICAL MISCELLANEA, 
115 
Maxillary reaching vertical of anterior margin of eye. A spade-shaped 
supplemental bone. Jaws, vomer and palate toothless (only No. I. 5337 has some 
teeth on palatines). Intermaxillaries meeting at an acute angle. Operculum,, 
preoperculum and interoperculum of about equal depth. Operculum without marked 
radiating striae, these ai3parently obsolescent or reduced to a single anterior one. 
Several venules on opercules, preorbital and scapular region. A wedge-shaped patch 
of striae on each side of vertex. Nostrils near end of snout. About 37 long, slender, 
minutely denticulate gill-rakers on lower portion of first branchial arch ; they become 
markedly smaller anteriorly and do not appear to be overlain by the gill-rakers of the 
upper portion of the arch. 
Form robust, fusiform, belly not markedly compressed. There is a median 
row of keeled scales or scutes along the belly from isthmus to vent. No such keeled 
scales on back. Scales deciduous, uniform, not covering smaller auxiliary ones. Large 
alar scales at ventral and pectoral fins. Other scales on bases of dorsal and anal fins 
and two large leaflike scales on each side of the caudal. Scales with ragged edges but 
not perforated and the vertical radii are not continued across each scale but interrupted 
medially. Origin of dorsal before vertical of ventral origin and much nearer to snout 
than to caudal fin. Anal rays short except the last tw'o which are enlarged. Pectoral 
equal in length to head without snout. 
Colour, in formalin, bluish grey above and yellowish below ; the fins w^hiter. 
About eleven more or less distinct dark spots along upper part of sides. A dusky 
brown blotch on snout. A few minute fuscous spots at tip of dorsal and caudal lobes, 
but no prominent dusky blotches on any of the fins. 
Described from three specimens, about 140 to 190 mm. in standard length. 
Qld. Mus. regd. Nos. I. 5309, 5336, and 5337. 
Locality , — Thursday Island, North Queensland ; Pres. E. W. Saranealis. 
Differs from 8, neopilchardus as described and figured by McCulloch (Rec. 
Austr. Mus. xii, 1919, p. 172, pi. xxvi, fig. 1.) in having different scale-counts, fewer 7 
gill-rakers, and in several minor details. 
Named after Professor W. J. Dakin, Dean of the Faculty of Science, University 
of Sydney, who discovered the eggs and young of the allied 8. neopilchardus in New 
South Wales, 
