12 
PISCES THORACIC!. LABRUS. 
palate a little tuberculate. The eyes middle, forward, oval, prominent. Nostrils near the orbit, and near each 
other, round, equal. The posterior lamina of the opercula squamous, acuminate. Branchial membrane half 
covered; the aperture wide. 
The trunk. The back carinate, arched ; the sides convex, compressed; the belly convex. The tail thin, 
roundish. The lateral line conspicuous, at first high, arched, then straight to the middle of the caudal fin. 
The anus remote. 
The fins. The dorsal solitary, composite, interrupted, consisting of one short, and ten long, soft, declining 
spines, with twenty four soft assurgent rays : the whole ramentacious. The pectoral long, falcate: the ventral 
shorter than the pectoral, without a spine; the anal has two spines, and its seven rays exceed in length those 
of the dorsal; the caudal broad, angular, and pointed. 
The colour. The prevalent colour a dusky gray; the head and back have a cast of dark blue; the sides 
near the belly, the belly and throat, cinerious. The fins are darker than the back, but in some places have an 
obscure cast of yellow. There are sometimes in smaller subjects, a few black spots on the dorsal fin. 
The length, two feet six inches. 
REMARKS. 
This fish is esteemed, and, in like manner as the red Sparus, is caught by hook and line in deep water. It 
begins to appear after the middle of February. 
No. cxvi. 
Labrus cauda fientagona ; corfiore ovcito-lcmceolato, mciculato. 
The Labrus with a pentagonal tail; and an ovate-lanceolate, speckled body. 
Called by the Natives Katchelee. 
II 2 
B. vii. D. 35. P. 18. V. 6. A.J. C. 18. 
This does not differ in any material respect from the fish last described. It is universally of a darker colour, 
the back and shoulders are spotted, with numerous black, oval spots; and the pectoral, ventral, and anal fins 
are nearly quite black. The dorsal and caudal fins are constantly spotted, which is not the case in the last 
fish, though of equal size. 
The fishermen conceive it to be the female, and give it the same name. 
