PISCES ABDOMINALES. POLYNEMUS. 
67 
POLYNEMUS. 
GENERIC CHARACTER. 
Caput compressum undique squamosum: roslro 
obtusissimo, prominente. Membrana bran- 
chiostega radiis vii. sen v. Corpus digitis 
liberis ad pinnas pectorales. 
The head compressed, and all over squa¬ 
mous : the rostrum prominent, and very 
obtuse. Seven or five rays in the bran¬ 
chial membrane ; free digiti at the pec¬ 
toral fins. 
No. CLXXXIII. 
Polynemus digitis qualuor brevioribus; pinna caudali bifida, sub-falcata, squamosa. 
The Polynemus with four shorter digiti; a bifid caudal fin, slightly falcate and covered 
with scales. 
Called by the Natives Maga Jellee. 
8 i ii 
B. vii. D. I". 77. P.17. V. H. A. 77. C. 22? 
The body oblong, thick, compressed, squamous, a little rough to the finger; scales middle size, orbicular, 
ciliate, not tenacious. 
The bead large, gently declivous, squamous excepting the nose, compressed, the front flatfish, rostrum obtuse, 
projecting. Mouth under the rostrum, transverse, rather wide, no lips. The jaws extractile, the under shortest, 
both rough like a file externally and internally, but no large teeth. Tongue oblong, point round, smooth, the 
rest scabrous. The palate smooth in the middle, rough on the sides. Eyes advanced, nearly middle, large, 
round. Nostrils double, nearer the rostrum than the orbit. The opercula rounded, squamous, margins ciliate; 
the membrane covered; the aperture lateral and gular. 
The trunk. The back arched, convex; the breast and abdomen straight, plane; the sides and tail compressed, 
the latter somewhat carinate. The exterior branchiae pectinate, the others rough, like the maxillae. The lateral 
line, from the edge of the opercula declines very gradually, afterwards middle and straight. The anus nearly 
middle. 
The fins. There are two dorsal: the first scapular, of eight spinous rays, the first ray very short, the others 
extend above the membrane; the second fin in the middle of the back, has one spinous ray, and sixteen ramous 
in a crescent form; the pectoral extremely low, broad, acuminate above ; the ventral contiguous, shorter than 
the pectoral; the anal exactly like the second dorsal, but rises a little nearer the tail; the caudal very squamous 
to the edge, rendering it difficult to count the rays, deeply divided, the lobes thick and slightly falcate towards 
the points. The longest of the four digiti, about two inches two lines; all are of a whitish colour. 
The colour of the head above, and of the back, a dusky blue; the parts below the eyes and the lateral line, 
gray ; the lips reddish ; and there is a yellow, lunate spot behind the orbit. The dorsal and caudal fins dusky, 
not black; the other fins glossy, light colour. 
Length of the subject described, one foot eight inches. 
