188 
perch. 
small but firmly-attacbed scales. Eyes large; nostrils, as in all 
this family of fishes, double, and between the eyes and point 
of the upper jaw. The first gill-cover (preoperculum) finely 
serrated ; the hurdmost furnished with a flattened spine. Eatei al 
line passing along nearer the back. The first dorsal fin rounded 
and well developed, with firm and prickly rays, of which the 
fourth and fifth are commonly the longest; the second dorsal 
near the first, and opposite the anal; the latter with two firm 
rays at its commencement. Tail concave. The colours are lively, 
but subject to variation. The back a rich brown, sometimes 
greenish; cheeks and sides yellow, the beUy white. A variable 
number of broad bands of the colour of the back pass round 
the sides. The first dorsal fin flesh-coloured at the base, bluish 
near the margin; the first and last borders dark, almost black. 
Pectoral fins pale; the ventrals, second dorsal, anal, and tail 
red. Fin rays — first dorsal fourteen, second dorsal fourteen, 
pectoral twelve, ventral one to five, anal two to five, caudal 
eighteen. 
