EDIBLE FISHES OF QUEENSLAND.— OGILBY. 
61 
Upper surface dark blue to glaucous, shading harmoniously on the sides 
into the iridescent silver of the breast and abdomen ; axillary spot absent or small, 
but the hinder base of the pectoral blackish. Snout, anterior part and edges of 
interorbital region and borders of cranial grooves blackish ; a black opercular- 
spot. Fins hyaline, the soft dorsal, caudal, and pectorals stained with yellow. 
(Named after Dr. Patrick liusscll, an early student of Indian ichthyology and 
author of the '' Pishes of Vizagapatam.'') 
Described from two spi^cimens, each 245 millim. long, one of which was 
collected at Darnley Island by Dr. J. R. Tosh and presented by him to the 
Queensland Museum, the other the property of the Amateur Fishermen’s. 
Association of Queensland, by whom it, along with others hereafter mentioned, 
was kindly lent to us for the purpose of this Review; it was taken by hook in 
Moreton Bay. 
Historical : — Tlie earliest notice of this fish is to be found in Russell’s- 
'' Fishes of Yizagapatam,” where it is described and figured under a native 
name, Avhicli is variously spelt ‘‘ AYodagawah ” and “ Wodagahwah.” Of 
his description and figure little need be said, except that he failed to find the 
scales on the sides of the head, the 7th branchiostegal ray, and the lingual 
teeth, Avhile the figure is much too deep. From RusselFs time nothing was heard 
of the species until 1828, when RLippell claimed to have obtained a single example 
from El Tor, a town on the Red Sea littoral near iMount Sinai, which he described 
in his Atlas under the name Iiore adopted. Five years later Valenciennes, though 
Avell aware of Rlippell’s action and though he had never seen a specimen of the 
fish, gave anew name to Rirssell’s figure, and until lately this name has been 
in general use. Bleekor in 1849 again described it as new from Celebes; two 
years later he selected it by its Valencienuean name as the type of his new genus 
Decapfcriis. In his description of D. hurra he makes no mention of the dentition,, 
but Giinther in 1860 follows Russell in asserting that th(‘ tougu(‘ is edentulous; 
he had, however, only a half-grown exaTiiph^ in such bad condition that his 
description, with the exception of the part dealing witli the dentition, is a trans- 
lation of Bleeker’s, Avhile the dentition itself may well hnve been copied from 
Russell. Be this as it may Day is certaiidy correct in stating that there is a 
band of teeth along the middle of the tongue as described above. Finally, in 
1884, the first example recorded from Australian Avaters Avas described as neAV 
from Cape York by de Vis. 
llangc: — Frmm the Red Sea through those of India and the Malay 
Archipelago to Easteim Queensland. With us in South Queensland it is certainly 
scarce, but Ave have handled two examples from Moreton Bay, the one, above- 
referred to. caught by Mr. Chris. Dahl, the other by Mr. JMatt. Colclough. The 
only other Queensland localities are Cape York and Darnley Island, the latter 
being at present the limit of its easterly range. From Malaysia Bleeker obtained 
it at Ternate, Celebes, and Java, AA’hile American collectors have extended its 
