14 
THE FISHES OF MALABAR. 
Mesoprion aurolineatus. Plate III. 
Mesoprion aurolineatus, Guv. Val. iii. p. 496. 
B. vii. D. yi.%. P. 16. V. l A. f. C. 17. L. 1. 46. L. tr. 
Length, of head yf, of pectoral §, of caudal f, of base of dorsal of base of anal of total 
length. Height of head f, of body f, of hard dorsal of soft dorsal f, of ventral f, of anal ^ of 
total length. 
Eyes—Situated close to the margin of profile : its diameter f in length of head, upwards of 
1 diameter from end of snout, \ a diameter apart. 
Maxilla extends to beneath the anterior margin of the orbit: openings of nostrils wide 
apart opposite its upper fourth. Preorbital entire. Preopercle, vertical limb very slightly 
emarginate, finely serrated, angle rounded where the serratures become coarser, but they diminish 
in size as they approach the anterior end of the lower limb, which is slightly oblique. Sub- and 
iuteropercles entire. Opercle with two points. Suprascapular denticulated. 
Teeth—An external row of conical teeth in both jaws, with several villiform rows behind: 
each intermaxillary crowded with villiform teeth and having two canines, the external of which 
is curved and very large in comparison to the size of the fish. 
Fins—First dorsal spine half the length of the second, which is one-tenth shorter than the 
third, whilst the fourth is slightly the longest, from thence they very gradually decrease to the last, 
they are all rather strong. Ventral spine weak. Anal, second spine much the longest and 
strongest. Pectoral pointed. Soft portions of dorsal and anal rounded. Caudal slightly emarginate. 
Ventral pointed, first ray prolonged. 
Scales—Above the lateral fine they pass in an ascending backward series of rows to the 
base of the dorsal, beyond the end of that fin they proceed parallel to the back : below the lateral 
line the first four rows pass horizontally, and terminate in it, whilst the next five or six pass direct 
to the caudal. 
Lateral fine—Is situated in the upper third of the body parallel to the back. 
Colours—-Back olive shot with yellow: abdomen yellow with several brilliant, horizontal, 
golden lines, which are divided by a darker one running along the centre of each row of scales, 
so that each golden one is on part of two rows. A large black finger mark is situated on the 
lateral line from the twenty-second to the thirty-first scales, extending for three scales below and 
one and a half above it. Dorsal and pectoral olive. Caudal and anal olive yellow. Ventrals 
golden. Iris golden. 
Very rare, has not been taken of a large size. 
Habitat—Malabar and Ceylon; in Sir Emerson Tennent’s drawings of the “Fishes of 
Ceylon,” already referred to, is one apparently of this species marked “ Taloorvah.” 
* Mesoprion Madras. 
Mesoprion Madras, Cuv. ty Val. vii. p. 446 ; Gunther , Catal. i. p. 200. 
B. vii. D. if. A. f. L. 1. 55-60. 
Length of head f of total length. Height of body qL of total length. Diameter of eye f of 
length of head. Preopercle finely serrated not emarginate. Interopercle entirely covered with 
scales. Spines of dorsal and anal fins rather feeble, fourth dorsal spine longest. Caudal truncated. 
Colours—Yellowish red, with reddish brown longitudinal streaks, cheeks reddish, fins yellow. 
Attains one foot in length at Mahe, and is good eating. 
Habitat—Malabar, Batavia, and the Seychelles. 
