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Commonwealth of Australia.
DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND CUSTOMS.
Heel colteltenka tele:
Reo
Zoological Results of the Fishing Experiments carried out by F.I.S. “Endeavour” 1909-10 under H. C. DanNnevie,
Commonwealth Director of Fisheries.
VOLUME-T
PUBLISHED BY DIRECTION OF THE MINISTERS FOR TRADE AND Customs, Hon. FRANK GWYNNE TUDOR AND
Hon. LITTLETON E. GRoOomM.
SYDNEY, 1911-1914.
& Tv - r « « os = a = . 4 ew ‘ 4 = . i i
CONTENTS.
PART I.—PusuiisuEp 22ND Dxecemeper, 1911.
Page Plates
Report on the Fishes obtained by the F.I.8. ‘‘ Endeav- our’’ on the Coasts of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. Partl. By Allan
R. McCulloch ... ae oe 5s 385 ie 1 L.-XVI. Report on the Mollusca obtained by the F. I. 8. ‘‘En- deavour’’ chiefly off Cape Wiles, South Australia. Part 1. By Charles Hedley ... bs st wis 90 XVII.- , XX. PART IJ.—PuBuisHEep 9TH JuLy, 1912. Report on the Sponges obtained by the F.1I. 8. ‘*En- deavour’’ on the Coasts of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tas- mania. Partl. By. E.F.Hallmann _... sso AUN DO PART IIJ.—PusuisHep 29TH Aucust, 1912.
A new Species of Asymmetron from the Great Austra- lian Bight, South Australia. By Janet W. Raff... 304 XXXVII.
Report on a sample of Globigerina Ooze from 1122 fathoms, East of Tasmania. By F.Chapman ... 309
PART IV.—PusuisHEep 47TH Juty, 1914.
Title Page, Contents, and Index.
EIST SOR SHE CONTRIBUTORS:
With References and Catalogue Numbers.
Chapman, F.— 59.512 (26.5: 94.6).
Report on a Sample of Globigerina Ooze from 1122 fathoms, East of Tasmania. Zool. Res. End., i., 3, 1912.
Hallmann, E. F.— 59.54 (26.5: 94.2-5).
Report on the Sponges obtained by the F. I. 8. ‘‘ Endeavour’’ on the Coasts of New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, and 'l'asmania. Part 1.
Zool. Res. End. 1., 2, 1912,
Hedley, Charles— 59.4 (26.5: 94.2).
teport on the Mollusca obtained by the F. I. S. ‘* Endeavour’’ chiefly off Cape Wiles, South Australia. Part 1.
Zool. Res. End. i., 1, 1911.
McCulloch, Allan R.— 59.7 (26.5: 94.2-6).
Report on the Fishes obtained by the F. I. 8. ‘‘ Endeavour’’ on the Coasts of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. Part 1.
Zool. Res. End., v., 1, 1911,
Raff, Janet W.— 59.71 (26.5: 94.2), A New Species of Asymmetron from the Great Australian Bight.
Zool. Res. End., 1., 3, 1912.
‘snoumuolp—, ATWO[ ol, pod URID0 Atoyy UT dodf OYZ PUL BULTPLS oy} oto LOY] ‘Ajoy guq ‘poydeuun yods VW ROS UOT ‘OUOT 944 UO ST o1OTLY, ,.
Sn Memoriam
“Had I been any god of power, I would Have sunk the sea within the earth or ere It should the good ship so have swallowd and
The fraughting souls within her.”—The Tempest.
H. C. DANNEVIG, DIREcTOoR ; G. W. C. PIM, Masrsr ; C. T. HARRISSON, Browoeist ;
And eighteen others, comprising the crew of the F.LS. ‘‘ Endeavour,’ who were lost at sea December, 1914.
The pages of this Part are numbered in Roman numerals to enable the reader to insert the letterpress in any position in Vol. ILI. he may think fit.
HARALD CHRISTIAN DANNEVIG,
DIRECTOR, and the Work and Loss of the BsS. 7 Endeavour.”
“There dwells a wife by the Northern Gate, And a wealthy wife is she ; She breeds a breed 0’ rovin’ men And casts them oversea.”—Kipling.
On 20th November, 1914, the Fisheries Investigation ship left Hobart for Macquarie Island. She arrived there on Ist December, and, after a delay of two days occasioned by bad weather. fulfilled her mission of relieving an operator at the Wireless Station. She started on her return journey on 3rd December.
A brief view by the solitary officers stationed at the island of the staunch little ship as she disappeared into the sea mists, a terrific gale two days later, and that, perhaps, is all we shall ever know of the end of our friend, Harald Dannevig, who, in his knowledge of the mysteries of the sea knew no superior ; of Captain Pim, a capable navigator, whose pre- vious career in tropical seas knew every resource of defence from storm or danger; and of a good and true ship’s company. The sea has taken toll, and the ** Endeavour’s ”’ work is finished.
In years to come that work will be appreciated at its proper value. No more capable man could have been chosen to direct it than Harald Christian Dannevig, who combined a knowledge of the habits and of the life of fish, acquired from childhood, with the enthusiasm of one who loved his profession and lived almost solely for it. Out in all weather, in storm and sunshine, when he could have readily directed the work from a comfortable office on shore, his one thought and ambition was to succeed in bringing home to the many doubting minds in Australia that there is a rich reserve of food supply in the fisheries of our coast, simply waiting to be harvested.
From the coast of Queensland to those of Western Australia a great portion of the sea-bed has been explored, and extensive areas suitable for trawling and rich in food fishes have been surveyed and charted. There is no monopoly of the sea- bed; there are no fences. It waits for enterprise and industry ; and with care and reasonably good management must yield profit to the harvester and, what is of greater
Iv.
concern to our people, a certain and abundant cheap supply of fish food. That was the objective of the *‘ Endeavour’s ” work during the brief period of her existence—less than six years—and the foundations have been laid for what in time will prove to be a flourishing and permanent industry.
Harald Christian Dannevig was born at ‘‘ Flodevig Hiso,”’ an island owned by his father, on one of the fiords of Norway, near Arendal. His father, Gunnar Mathias Dannevig, was the first to introduce fish culture into Norway, and the Norwegian Government established the first fish hatchery on his island. Harald Dannevig was thirteen years old at the time, and he thus became familiar with the work from childhood. He studied at the Christiania University under the eminent Professor G. O. Sars, and chose those subjects most likely to be of practical value in the work of fish culture and acclimatisation. In 1894 he was selected by the Fisheries Board of Scotland to supervise the completion of the Marine Hatcheries at Dunbar, and later on he selected the new site at Aberdeen, designed the new plant, and constructed the tidal spawning pond. In 1895 he was consulted by the Lancashire Fisheries Board, and again designed the necessary plant, and in the same year visited Italy for a similar purpose at the invitation of the authorities.
Still engaged in the service of the Fisheries Board of Scotland, he spent a considerable portion of his time at sea on fishing vessels and trawlers, investigating the various methods of capture and the habits of fish life. In 1902 the Agent-General for New South Wales was requested to consult the best authorities and obtain, as far as possible, the most competent fisheries expert available. Harald Dannevig was recommended and appointed.
On his journey to Australia Mr. Dannevig conducted, with unqualified success, an experiment which until then was unexampled. He fitted in the between decks of an Orient mail steamer two tanks in which he succeeded in bringing to Sydney from England several hundred live adult plaice, turbot, and other fish. Hesecured sufficient fish food before leaving, which he kept in the freezing room ofthe ship. Sleeping alongside the tanks he regulated, as far as practicable, the temperature, and kept his charges under continual obser- vation. On arrival in Sydney the fish ponds provided were found to be ill-constructed and unsuitable; a heat wave occurred soon afterwards, and it became necessary to release the fish in the deeper and freer waters of the sea. That incident was characteristic of the man—patient and thorough, with only one thought, his work,
V.
He designed and constructed the Fish Hatchery at Gunna- matta Bay, Port Hacking, New South Wales. In 1906 he sueceeded in transferring from Hobart to the Hatchery 2.000 adult flounders, from which he hatched and liberated 20,000,000 fry. He conducted a later similar experiment with greater results.
Amongst the more important original works which, in addition to his work on the ‘“ Endeavour,” will prove an enduring record of his valuable services, may be mentioned investigation in regard to the reproduction of food fishes ; where fish eggs are deposited; the natural dangers and troubles of fish life ; periodicity in the abundance of fish and its causes (a paper on which he read before the Royal Society) ; fresh water fish culture in New South Wales ; the habits and migrations of the Mullet ; the life history of the Cray Fish, together with many Bther interesting a useful features associated with the history of fish life.
Harald Dannevig was an interesting man personally, as well as in regard to his particular work. Kind hearted, of splendid physique, he will be sadly missed by those who knew him. To the Government he has rendered good service. There was no necessity for him to visit Macquarie Island. The vessel was engaged in work apart from her ordinary responsibilities. He was, however, above all, a courageous man. Scenting danger, he thought his proper place was with his crew on board the ship. He went and died in what he conceived to be the performance of his duty. He leaves, mourning, a widow, a daughter of sixteen, and a son of five years of age.
Captain George Pim was in command of the “ Endeavour ” from 9th October, 1911, and she never had a more capable master. He had held a command since he was 22 years of age without an accident of any kind. He had considerable experience of the Pearl Shell and Beche-de-mer Fisheries in Torres Straits and Northern Australia, and for some time had sole charge of a number of vessels engaged in the pearling industry. He was a member of the Scientific Expedition to New Guinea in 1905 of Major Cooke Daniels, who wrote :— ““T count myself lucky to have found so good a skipper. Your loyalty to my interests, which were those of the whole expedition, and your enthusiasm of helpfulness, earned the reward of a very great deal of work. ‘Topography, Hydro- graphy, Technology and general Ethnography, you did them all more than well. So on the side of actual work you did not only all you ought to have done as the master of the “ Kori,” but all you could do as a man of many capabilities
vi.
in many directions.’’ High but deserved praise for a quiet, modest, capable man; and it is comforting to know, what- ever happened to the “‘ Endeavour ” two good men were in charge, and no accident which could possibly have been avoided by those on board contributed to the disaster. Some unforeseen disaster overwhelmed the ship and her crew.
Captain Pim has left a widow to mourn her sad loss.
There are sorrowing hearts for others who were on board the “‘ Endeavour,” and these equally claim our sympathy for their loss, and a kindly memory for those for whom they orieve.
The names of those on board were :—
Director of Fisheries... .. Harald Christian Dannevig Master .. ve — .. George William Charles Pim Mate - .. wt a .. Joseph Reynoldson Burkitt Biologist H ie .. Charles Turnbull Harrisson Second Mate & Chief Fisherman Alfred Ackers Fisherman ve a .. Herbert A. Farrant
ss aw: Fi .. L. Olsen
My ae oi .. George Cooper
43 sae Harold E. Samson Chief Hngineer a .. Angus Ross Mackay Second *) a .. Stanley Ditcham Third 55 gh .. Richard Charles Hoe Fireman Pe Bu .. Alfred Holmes
Nils Rasmussen
)
+ att a .. J. Byrne Ordinary Seaman oe .. Thomas Rice -; Yi is wat eo W.., Jackson: Chief Cook and Steward .. A. Wythe Assistant Cook a .. Harry Kitching Messroom Boy st .. Thomas Scott Clerk, Meteorological Bureau Harold Power.
They now rest in the depths of the sea, the mysteries of which they had been seeking to understand.
May they rest in peace ! N. LOCKYER.
GEORGE WILLIAM CHARLES PIM,
MASTER MARINER.
* And now the storm-blast came, and he Was tyrannous and. strong : He struck with his o’er taking wings, And chased us south along.’ °—Coleridge.
CapTraiIn G. W. C. Prov was born at Gloucester, England, on 9th March, 1866, the son of Mr. John Robert Pim, a gentle- man of means. He came of a well-known nautical family, the eldest son in every instance having been in the Royal Navy, a practice extending backwards for upwards of two hundred years. The subject of this notice was the first who, although he had been entered as a Naval cadet. was in conse- quence of unforeseen causes unable to continue a naval career.
The family of Pim, or Pym, as originally written, has left its mark in British history. There is reason to believe that Captain Pim is a lineally descended kinsman of the celebrated English parliamentarian, John Pym, who, with John Hampden, equally eminent in the same direction, was one of the ‘five members ” impeached by Charles I. in 1642. The name appears to have originally been Pym, but in the reign of James I. some of the younger and gayer members, it is said, became courtiers, but this step not meeting with the approbation of the older Quakers, the latter expressed their resentment by changing the family name to Pim.
The name is well known in naval history. From 1798 to 1810 one Lieutenant Samuel Pym (subsequently Captain and finally Admiral Sir Samuel Pym) did great service in the Anglo-French naval fights in the West Indies. His most important commands appear to have been the 74-gun ship ** Atlas,” and the frigate ‘“‘ Sirius.”’ In recent years the best known naval member of the family was Admiral Bedford Clapperton Pim (grand-uncle to Captain Pim), who was born at Bideford in Devonshire in 1826. He took part, amongst other achievements, in the Franklin Search Expedition to the Arctic regions under Sir EK. Belcher, in 1852.
After severing his connection with the naval training ship, George Pim, to use a colloquial phrase, “went to sea ”’ about 1881, serving in various capacities in at least three sea-going vessels agi 1886, when, being then in Queensland, he ente1 ed the Lighthouse service and was attached to the Proudtoot Lightship on the Proudfoot Shoal, Torres Strait. After some
vill.
months of this monotonous life Pim transferred to the Moreton Bay Pilot service. Henceforth tired of subordinate positions, he struck out for himself, and either alone or in partnership occupied himself for some years in “‘ sandalwood getting’ on the Queensland coast; then migrating to Thursday Island he entered the ‘‘ beche-de-mer ”’ trade, and to some slight extent that of ‘pearl shelling’ also. He successively owned, or part owned (it is uncertain which), and commanded, when not more than twenty-three years of age, in 1888 the ‘“ Violet,’ a cutter of nine tons; in 1889, the * Alice ” and the “ P.C.E.” respectively, a lugger of ten and a cutter of nineteen tons ; and finally the ‘‘ Whaup,” a ketch of thirty-four tons. In this last venture Captain Pim was in partnership with a Mr. Luff, of Thursday Island.
In these several voyages the subject of our notice made money, which was spent in scientific research in New Guinea and North Queensland. Towards the end of 1903 Mr. Pim was in Sydney with the view of obtaining a certificate ; he passed as “‘only mate” for fore-and-aft vessels on 11th February, 1904.
Towards the end of 1903 there arrived in Sydney Major W. Cooke Daniels, of the United States Army, who had been Adjutant-General of Division in the Cuban campaign, accom- panied by certain scientific friends. It was his purpose to rarry out anthropological and ethnological researches in South- east New Guinea. For this purpose a schooner-yacht of 67 tons, called the “ Kori,” with auxiliary steam power and a sea-going steam launch was brought from England. Mr. Pim was appointed master, and the expedition left Sydney in April, 1904. During the cruise he did excellent work by surveying and charting Tokunu, or Alcester Island, in the Trobriand Group, and Gawa Island, in the Marshall Bennett Group. He also furnished a description of Kwaiawata Island, in the same group, and this, with the above charts, appeared in the “* Geographical Journal ” for April, 1906, as portion of a paper by Drs.C. G. Saligmann and W. M. Strong, members of the expedition, the former of whom expressed his thanks to Captain Pim for the latter’s excellent services.
After navigating the “Kori” to Singapore on the break up of the expedition Mr. Pim, in 1906, became con- nected for a time with the Celebes Trading Company at the Aru Islands.
Mr. Pim was appointed master of the ‘* Endeavour ”’ on the 9th October, 1911, and so remained until disaster brought about the untimely death of himself and companions, some- where between Macquarie Island and either New Zealand or Tasmania.
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He is described as an indefatigable worker, a careful navi- gator, and ever on the watch for trouble when the “Endea- vour ’ was at work. The nature of her investigations called for much marine surveying and hydrographic work for the charting of rocks and other irregularities ; these duties had often to be carried out by Captain Pim under the most trying circumstances. The investigation of new areas called for unremitting care and attention, and he was to be seen in all parts of the ship watching the trawl-warps and controlling the soundings, etc., whilst at the same time keeping a sharp eye on the navigation. When Mr. Dannevig was not on board the whole responsibility of the trawling operations and scientific work fell wpon Captain Pim’s shoulders. The difficulties of working with comparatively so small a vessel in exposed areas made his task a very difficult one. He was a keen collector, with a sharp eye for anything unusual, and many interesting and new organisms in the “ Endeavour’s * collections were personally secured and preserved by him. Whilst master of the ‘“‘ Endeavour ” Captain Pim, in 1913, conveyed Captain Brewis, R.N., who was engaged in re- porting upon the lighthouses around Australia, from Fre- mantle to Busselton in Western Australia.
Captain Pim was a man of indomitable resolution, keen and persevering in his professional duties, quiet and rather reserved in demeanour, but, beneath all, of a kind and sym- pathetic nature. His end, and those of his companions, was, alas, only another exemplification of the fate of many “ that go down to the sea in ships—that do business in great waters.”
R. ETHERIDGE.
CHARLES TURNBULL HARRISSON,
BIOLOGIST.
“We bring no store of ingots, Of spice or precious stones, But that we have we gathered With sweat and aching bones.’’—Kipling.
THE zoological knowledge of Charles T. Harrisson was gathered not in a laboratory nor from lectures, but under the open sky, from beach, mountain and forest. This type of pioneer, to whom Biology owes so much, seems more and more rarely bred under modern conditions. Yet there is work to be done on the frontiers of science that none do so well as that self-taught, self-reliant, keen free-lance the field naturalist.
He belonged to a family long settled in Tasmania, which, like the Atkinsons and the Hulls, were mostly naturalists, and to whom such scientific leaders of the last generation as Tate and Tenison Woods expressed their indebtedness.
Charles was the eldest son of Frank Harrisson, who had an extensive orchard on the Brown River Road, south of Hobart, and for some years was a near neighbour of Lieut. C. EK. Beddome, the well-known Conchologist. The second son, Ernest Harrisson, was also a keen and successful collector. The brothers were smart yachtsmen, and explored with the dredge a wide area of the Derwent Estuary and D’Entrecasteaux Channel. As far back as 1882, Beddome dedicated Cemort harrissoni and Alexia harrissoni to Mr. Charles Harrisson “‘ one of my fellow workers.”
Ornithology was one of the first subjects to interest him, and he formed a large collection of Tasmanian birds and their eggs.
On the death of the parents, the home broke up, and Harrisson tried various occupations without much success. For a time he had a dairy farm at Long Bay. Then he set up a studio in Melbourne, but though a clever artist, with especial ability in landscapes, he failed to obtain sufficient recognition.
A small post in the Government service at Hobart was then offered him, in which position he lived pleasantly for several years, and during the tenure of which he married and had ason. The local Scientific Society found in him a zealous and active member. With success he entered on the study of Tasmanian Crustacea. So that when Sir Douglas
Xl.
Mawson required a good all-round collector for his Antarctic expedition, the services of Mr. Harrisson were recommended, and he was enrolled.
The position of Naturalist to the Western Party, under Mr. F. Wild, was allotted to him. Opportunities for zoological collecting were scarce, but what could be done was done. Ever cheerful, ever helpful, he was a comrade whose energy and good temper were proof against starvation and such miseries as Antarctic explorers endure. In the ‘““ Home of the Blizzard,’ Wild writes, “‘ many of the gusts must have exceeded one hundred miles per hour, since one of them lifted Harrisson, who was standing beside me, clean over my head and threw him nearly twenty feet.” A number of Harrisson’s coloured drawings of Antarctic scenery embellish Mawson’s book.
A shipmate on the “ Aurora ” (Mr. J. H. Collinson Close) has supplied the following information :—‘‘ Mr. C. T. Har- risson was deeply respected and liked by us all. He impressed. one, on my first acquaintance, as being one whom the Ex- pedition Leader and we, his comrades, would ill have afforded to dispense with. Usually preoccupied in thought, and of earnest, serious manner, his slow, deliberate conversation was listened to attentively by the most thoughtful among us. Whether it was heaving on the ‘ Noah’s Ark ’ windlass to weigh anchor, turning out in the ‘wee sma’ hours of a dirty morning to haul—in_ bitter icy gale—on frozen topsail- halliards and weather braces, or taking a trick at the wheel, manning a boat in a ‘jobbly’ sea or ‘shovelling coal in the stoke-hole, Harrisson was ever to the fore. Harrisson’s sledging exploits around the ‘ Second Base ’ of the Expedition need no comment here, beyond remarking that he did as much—if not more—sledging than anybody else in the party, or indeed in the Expedition, with the exception of our courageous leader, Sir D. Mawson, and his own Base-leader, Mr. Frank Wild.
“*His artistic work with brush, crayon and pastel excited universal admiration. The first icebergs we encountered, steaming south, he transferred to canvas, sketching with remarkable fidelity and rapidity the various shaded azure tints of the crevassed ice, and snow mantles of virgin white enshrouding the bergs. Harrisson was always ready to impart useful information from knowledge born of his years of practical training and experience, to any caring to avail themselves of the opportunity. In view of his many admir- able talents, and the circumstances that he was, in all things, a shining example to younger men, his presence on such an
Xl.
expedition was invaluable. The news of his loss with the ill-fated ‘ Endeavour’ throws an indescribable sadness over his comrades of other days, and it is safe to say the hearts of all beat with the deepest sympathy for his dear ones left to mourn his loss.”
On his return from the Antarctic he was appointed by the Federal Government Biologist to the Fisheries Bureau. In this capacity his work was admirable, large collections were sorted out, and despatched with a skill and neatness much appreciated by those whose duty it was to deal with them at a later stage. As an expression of this appreciation a new shark has been callel by Mr. McCulloch Centrophorus harrissoni. In the interests of Australian Marine Biology it was hoped that he would long continue such excellent work. When he embarked on the last cruise of the “‘ Endeavour ” he had reached the age of forty-seven.
Mr. W. L. May, a life-long neighbour, writes :—“‘ He was a man of most courteous and pleasant manner, and his loss will be deplored by a large circle of friends, of whom I am one.”
C. HEDLEY.
INTRODUCTORY NO BE:
The Reports comprised in the ‘‘Zoological Results of the Fishing Experiments carried out by the F.I.S. ‘Endeavour’ ”’ have been prepared at the Australian Museum, Sydney, under the authority of the Trustees, and at the request of the Hon.
The Minister for Trade and Customs.
The material for investigation is sent direct from the - “‘Endeavour’’ by the Director of Fisheries (Mr. H. C. Dan- nevig) to the Australian Museum, and, after elaboration, is
b)
distributed as follows :—-All ‘‘types’’ are held in reserve for the Fisheries Branch of the Department of Trade and Customs ; a set of ‘‘co-types’’ are retained by the Trustees; the remainder of the specimens are distributed to the other Aus- tralasian State Museums in the name of the Minister for
Trade and Customs.
The Reports deal with the Fishes collected on the coasts of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tas- mania. The Asteroidea and Sponges are from the same waters with the addition of those of the Queensland coast. The Mollusca are a more specialised series, chiefly obtained off Cape Wiles, South Australia. The new Asymmetron comes from the Great Australian Bight, and a sample of Globigerina
Ooze was obtained to the east of Tasmania.
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A 24/3.
I. Report on the Fishes obtained by the F.I.S. ‘* Endeavour,’ on the Coasts of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
BY
ALLAN R. McCULLOCH, Zoo_ocist,
Australian Museum Sydney.
Plates 1-xvI.; Text figs. 1-20.
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L—REPORI: ON SHE BISHES: PART Ele I.—INTRODUCTION.
The collections dealt with in this Report were obtained by the Federal Fisheries Investigation Ship ‘‘Endeavour,’’ under the direction of Mr. H. C. Dannevig. They were obtained at many localities along the New South Wales, Victorian, Tasmanian and South Australian coasts at various depths down to ninety fathoms. The present part deals with the greater number of the fishes forwarded for examination to the Australian Museum from this area, but the Scleroparei and Jugulares of the Acanthopterygii and the Pediculati and Plectognathi are reserved for a second part.
In all about 1070 specimens, representing 94 species, have been critically examined, which, in conjunction with the large collections in the Australian Museum, have afforded excellent material for a detailed study of variation in many hitherto little known species. With a series of forty or fifty specimens from wide-spread localities before one, it is often a simple matter to recognise the identity of fishes which have been regarded as distinct when isolated examples afford no clue. In the follow- ing pages I have endeavoured to clear up the synonymy of species of Coelorhynchus, Physiculus, Seriolella, Callanthias, Ce@sioperca, etc., while figures are given showing the remark- able variation of Zanclistius, Macrorhamphosus, Centriscops, Beryx and others. Many of the more striking variations were specially selected by Mr. Dannevig on board the ship, and it is largely due to his discrimination in this direction that so many extreme forms are here dealt with. When individuals were lacking to complete a series he has gone to considerable trouble to obtain them, and in the case of fishes in which the colours were of importance, he has sent me fresh material packed in ice. For this and other valuable help I owe him my best thanks.
I have also to acknowledge the kindness of the Com- mittee of the Macleay Museum who have allowed me to borrow some of Sir William Macleay’s type specimens for examination and comparison with the ‘‘Endeavour’’ collec- tions.
Ten species are described as new, and four others and two genera are recorded from Australia for the first time. Thirty- three are figured, and I have to acknowledge the very willing assistance of Mr. Dene Fry, of the Australian Museum, in the preparation of the plates.
2 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS. IIl.—DESCRIPTION OF THE GENERA AND SPECIES. Famiry HEXANCHID.
GenuS HEPTRANCHIAS, Rafinesque. HEPTRANCHIAS PERLO, Bonnaterre. Seven-gilled Shark.
(Plate 13pfie. 1-)
Squalus perlo, Bonnaterre, Encycl. Meth., Ichth., 1788, p. ro.
Squalus cinereus, Gmelin, Linn. Syst. Nat., 1789, p. 1497.
Heptanchus cinereus, Muller & Henle, Plagiost., 1839, p. 81, play.
Notidanus cinereus, Gunther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., vii, 1870, p. 398.
The collection includes seven examples which I am unable to separate from the European H. perlo, Bonnaterre. ‘Their teeth agree exactly with Muller and Henle’s figure, and they also fit the description fairly well. I forwarded a photograph of one of the specimens, together with some notes, to Mr. C. Tate Regan for his opinion, and he has favoured me with the following reply :—‘‘So far as I can judge from your photo- graph the shark is H. cinereus.”
These specimens are readily distinguished from H. indicus, Agassiz, the only other Australian species, by the following characters :—
Head broad, snout broadly rounded; a single median tooth in the upper jaw; colour greyish with darker spots :—indicus.
Head narrow, snout pointed; no single median tooth in the upper jaw; colour uniform grey :— perlo.
All the specimens were taken in the one haul in 60-70 fathoms, sixty miles south of Cape Everard, Victoria.
Famiry HETERODONTID.
Genus HETERODONTUS, Blainville. HETERODONTUS PHILIPPI, Bloch and Schneider.
Port Jackson Shark, Bullhead Shark, Oyster Crusher.
Squalus philippi, Bloch and Schneider, Syst. Ichth., 1801, PP: 737-
Cestracion phillipi, Regan, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8)p2 4-5 1908, p. 495-
FISHES.—McCCULLOCH. 3
Specimens of this common species were preserved from the following localities :—
Between Newcastle and Port Stephens, New South Wales, 22-60 tathoms.
Shoalhaven Bight, New South Wales, 15-45 fathoms.
Off the mouth of the Murray River, South Australia, 20 fathoms.
Fifty miles south of Cape Wiles, South Australia, 75 fathoms.
Spencer Gulf, South Australia, 70 fathoms.
GENUS GYROPLEURODUS, Gill. GYROPLEURODUS GALEATUS, Giinther. Crested Port Jackson Shark. Cestracion galeatus, Gunther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., viii., 1870, p. 416. Gyropleurodus galeatus, Regan, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8), 1., 1908, p. 495. Two specimens from 43 fathoms, six miles off Port Stephens, New South Wales.
Famiry SCYLIORHINID/-. GENUS SCYLIORHINUS, Blainville. SCYLIORHINUS ANALIS, Ogilby. Spotted Dog-fiskh, Spotted Cat-shark.
Scyllium anale, Ogilby, Proc. Linn: Soc. N.S. Wales, x., 1885, Pp. 445. Scyliorhinus analis, Regan, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8), 1., 1908, pp. 455 and 460. Scyllium maculatum, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, v., 1880, p. 97; id., Johnston, Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm., 1882 . (1883), p. 138 (nec. S. maculatum, Bl. Schn.).
The collection includes two males, one from Shoalhaven Bight, New South Wales, 15-45 fathoms, and the other from off Babel Island, Bass Strait. Ogilby! has suggested that the specimen doubtfully recorded from Tasmania by R. M. John- ston as Scyllium maculatum is really this species, and this view is confirmed by the second ‘‘Endeavour’’ specimen.
The size of the anal tin is variable in different specimens of this species and therefore cannot be relied upon as has been done by Regan in his key to the species of Scyliorhinus.
1 Ogilby—Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales (2), iv., 1889, p. 180.
4 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS. SCYLIORHINUS VINCENTI, Zietsz. (Plate 11., fig. 3, and fig. 1.)
Scyllium vincenti, Zietz, Trans. Roy. Soc. South Australia, XXxXI., 1908, p. 287.
Through the kindness of Professor E. C. Stirling, Director of the South Australian Museum, I have been able to compare one of Mr. Zietz’s specimens with another taken by the ‘‘En- deavour’’ in 20 tathoms off the mouth of the Murray River, South Australia. They differ slightly in the relative positions of the fins which, however, I find to be equally variable in allied species.
According to Zietz, the origin of the first dorsal is behind the middle of the total length. In both I have examined it is a little nearer the tip of the snout than the extremity of the tail. In the ‘‘Endeavour’’ specimen the base of the anal is shorter than that of the co-type and terminates below the anterior portion of the second dorsal instead of nearer the middle of that fin. ~The end of the bases of the ventrals is in advance of the origin of the dorsal, not below it, as described by Zietz, though in his specimen the flesh is shrunken around the base of the dorsal, making it appear farther forward than it really is. Finally, the colour in the better preserved example is a dark chocolate brown above, with numerous creamy-white spots all over the body and fins, except on the front half of the head. The dark cross-bands are ill-defined, and there appears to be a series of darker blotches on the sides. The belly is creamy-white in colour.
The following is a description of the ‘‘Endeavour’’ speci- men :—Head to last gill-opening 5.3 in the length, its width 1.5 in its length; eye 6.5 in the head and about equal to half the length of the snout which is 3.1 in the head. The inter- orbital space is greater than the length of the snout. Preoral portion of the head 1.5 in the width of the mouth which is 2.4 in the head and greater than the snout.
Body elongate, slightly compressed. Head depressed, flat above; snout rounded, blunt in profile, its width before the eyes one-third greater than its length. Eyes lateral, with the inferior fold well marked. Spiracle large, oval, and placed just behind the eye. Gill-slits decreasing in size back- wards, the last being about half as wide as the first and placed over the base of the pectoral. Nasal valves produced as lobes directed outwards and backwards, with emarginate posterior borders; they are separated from each other and from the mouth, the space between them being rather more than the
FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. 5
width of one lobe. No cirrus. A well-marked labial fold extends round the angle of the mouth, its anterior limb rather shorter than its posterior which extends less than half way towards the middle of the lower jaw. ‘Teeth similar in both jaws, arranged in several rows, tricuspid, with the median point longer than thg lateral ones.
FIG, 1.
First dorsal originating a little behind the posterior base of the ventrals and slightly in advance of the middle of the total length. The length of its base is much greater than its height ; its anterior margin is very oblique, and the posterior nearly vertical, and the lower angle is pointed. The second dorsal is a trifle higher than the first, and is of similar form, though the posterior angle 1s slightly produced; its origin is over the posterior portion of the anal, and the hinder angle is midway between the posterior insertion of the first dorsal and the tip of the caudal. The anal is considerably larger than either of the dorsals, and its base is longer than its dis- tance from the caudal; the posterior angle acute. Greatest breadth of the caudal a little less than one-third of its length. Posterior angles of the ventrals acute and the margins united in the male.
Scales quadrilateral and keeled on the head, becoming tri- angular and acutely pointed dorsally and tricuspid on the sides.
Colour.—Chocolate brown above, with ill-defined darker cross-bars. ‘There are indications of some dark blotches on the sides, and the hinder half of the head, body, tail and fins bear many creamy-white spots which tend to form rings.
Total length of adult male 414 mm.
6 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS. The tollowing key will serve to distinguish the four species of Scyliorhinus hitherto recorded from Australia :—
a. Nasal valves separated from each other and from the mouth.
b. Labial fold extending along the lower jaw half or less than half the distance to the symphysis.
c. Body lighter with brown spots and sometimes cross- bands. Ventral fins of males not directly in con- tact behind the claspers but with an intermediate integument :— analis.
cc. Body darker, with white spots and obscure cross- bands. Ventral fins of males in contact behind the * claspers :-—— vincentt.
bb. Labial fold extending along the lower jaw nearly to the symphysis.
d. Body with scattered darker spots:— maculatum. aa. Nasal valves overlapping the edge of the upper lip.
e. Body with darker spots, sometimes confluent into cross bands or ocelli :— marmoratus-
GENUS CEPHALOSCYLLIUM, Gill. CEPHALOSCYLLIUM ISABELLA, Bonnaterre. Swell Shark, Carpet Shark. L’ Isabelle, Broussonet, Mem. Acad. Sci. Paris, 1780, p. 648 (non binomial).
Squalus isabella, Bonnaterre, Encycl. Meth., Ichth., 1788, p: 6:
Squalus (i)sabella, Gmelin, Linn. Syst. Nat., 1789, p. 1489,
Scyllium laticeps, Dumeril, Rev. et Mag. Zool., 1853, p. 84, Pl. Ciil:.,. HB). 2%
Cephaloscyllium laticeps, Waite, Rec. Cantb. Mus., 1., No- 2, 1900,)p:! 6., ipl. xiv., fig igmand pl sexi.d thie: aie
Cephaloscyllium sabella, Waite, Trans. N. Zeal. Inst., xli., 1910, p. 384.
A small example is in the collection which was trawled off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait.
FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. 7
Famity ORECTOLOBIDZ:. GENUS PARASCYLLIUM, Gill. PARASCYLLIUM VARIOLATUM, Dumeril. (Plate ii., fig. 1.)
Hemiscylliium variolatum, Dumeril, Rev. et. Mag. Zool., 1853, Pol2h, plo tiene. 12 Parascyllium variolatum, Ogilby and McCulloch, Proc. Roy. Soc. N.S.Wales, xlii., 1908, p.260. Two fine female examples were taken off Port Phillip Heads in November, 1909.
PARASCYLLIUM COLLARE, Kamsay and Odgtlby. Collared Cat Shark.
Parascylium collare, Ramsay and Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soe. Nes Wales (2), -1., 1886s. p= 1310; 1d., “Ogilby and McCulloch, Proc. Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales, xlii., 1908, p. 267.
Three males from Shoalhaven Bight, New South Wales,
15-45 fathoms.
PARASCYLLIUM FERRUGINEUM, Sp. nov. (Plate 11., fig. 2, and fig. 2.)
Head to last gill-opening, 5.8 in the length, its width 1% in its length. Eye g in the head, 2.8 in the snout which is 3.2 in the head. Interorbital space almost equal to the snout. Preoral portion of head equal to half the width of the mouth which is 1.3 in the snout.
Body elongate, somewhat depressed anteriorly, cylindrical posteriorly. Head much depressed with its upper surface flat; snout broadly rounded, obtusely conical in profile and increasing in width backwards. Eyes lateral with a prominent fold below. Spiracle minute and situated half an eye-diameter from the infero-posterior angle of the eye. Gill-openings in- creasing regularly in size from the first to the fourth, the last very large, 3% the width of the first and more than half as long as the snout; the last two are placed over the base of the pectoral. Nasal cirrus short and thick, just reaching to the lips; exterior nasal fold with two or three small lobes posteriorly, the outer the longest and pointed. Lower labial fold extending about half way towards the middle of the jaw and continued round the angle of the mouth. Teeth similar in
8 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
both jaws, small, flattened, triangular and acute, with rounded projections on each side basally but not tricuspid.
First dorsal fin originating well behind the ventrals, but a little nearer the tip of the snout than the end of the tail; its posterior margin nearly vertical and forming a right angle
with the lower margin. Second dorsal subequal to the first and of similar form, its hinder angle about midway between the posterior insertion of the first and the tip of the caudal. Anal fin low with its outer border oblique and terminating below the anterior part of the second dorsal; the length of its base about 14 in its distance from the caudal. Greatest breadth of the caudal a little less than one-fourth its length. Pectorals longer than broad, with the angles rounded. Ven- trals quadrilateral, 1% as long as broad.
Colour.—Greyish brown above with indistinct darker cross- bands; the first narrow and extending between the eyes, the next broader and covering the space between the gill-openings. There are two more before the first dorsal and one in front of the second dorsal. Entire body with evenly spaced large brown spots which are darkest on the cross-bars and become elongate on the caudal. Three similar spots on each side of the nuchal band. Fins also with spots which are most numerous on the dorsal.
Type.—A female, 730 mm. long, taken outside Port Phillip Heads, Victoria, in November, 1909.
Of the two described species of Parascyllium this is nearest allied to P. collare, Rams. and Ogil., but it may be at once distinguished by its much broader head, more rounded snout, larger fins and different colouration.
FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. 9
Famity CARCHARIID. GENus GALEUS, Rafinesque. GALEUS AUSTRALIS, Macleay. School Shark. Galeus australis, Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, vi., 1881, p. 354. Six small examples, each about 110 mm. long, were obtained in Oyster Bay, Tasmania.
GENUS) PRIONACE, Cantor. PRIONACE GLAUCA, Linneus. Blue Shark.
y |
Squalus glaucus, Linneus, Syst. Nat., roth ed., 1758, p. 235.
A number of specimens of this widely distributed species were caught with hand-lines off the South Australian coast.
Famiry SPHYRNIDAE. GENUS SPHYRNA, Rafinesque. SPHYRNA LEWINI, Lord. Hammer-headed Shark. Zygena lewini, Lord in Griffith, Anim. Kingd., x., 1834, p- 640. One small male from the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass
Strait. Famity SQUALID.
GENUS SQUALUS, Linn@us. SQUALUS MEGALOPS, Macleay. Dog-fish. Acanthias megalops, Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, Vie LOOT, 0. 307. Numerous examples of this species were preserved from off Babel and Flinders Islands, Bass Strait.
Famiry PRISTIOPHORID-. GENUS PRISTIOPHORUS, Miiller and Henle. PRISTIOPHORUS CIRRATUS, Latham. Saw Shark. Pristis cirratus, Latham, Trans. Linn. Soc., i1., 1794, p. 281, pl. xxvi., fig. 5, and pl. xxvii.
Numerous foetal specimens and several young of this species are in the collection from Shoalhaven Bight, New South Wales, 15-45 fathoms, and north of Goose Island, Bass Strait.
Io “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
PRISTIOPHORUS NUDIPINNIS, Giinther. Saw Shark. (Plate 1., fig. 2.)
Pristiophorus nudipinnis, Gunther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., vili., 1870, p. 432; 1d., McCoy, Prodr. Zool: Vict.; 1881, pl. Ivi., fig. 2; id., Regan, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8), i1., 1908, p. 57. :
The collection includes several foetal and young specimens from off the mouth of the Murray River, South Australia, 20 fathoms, and from Flinders Island, Investigator Group, South Australia, 37 fathoms.
Plate 1., fig. 2, represents a young example, 445 mm. long, from the latter locality.
Famity SQUATINID. GENUS SQUATINA, Dumeril. SQUATINA SQUATINA, Linneus. Angel Shark.
Squalus squatina, Linnzeus, Syst. Nat., 10 ed., 1758, p. 233-
Rhina squatina, McCoy, Prodr. Zool. Vict., Dec. iv., 1879, pl. xacxiv.
Young and foetal examples were preserved from the follow- ing localities :—
Shoalhaven Bight, New South Wales, 15-45 fathoms.
North-west of Greenly Island, South Australia, 44 fathoms.
Forty-two miles south of St. Francis Island, South Aus- tralia, 35 fathoms.
Famity RAJID AE. GeENus Raja, Linne@us. RAJA AUSTRALIS, Macleay.
Skate. Raia australis, Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, viii., 1884, p. 461. Raja australis, Waite, Mem. Austr. Mus., iv., 1899, p. 40, pl. iv.
Two large males were preserved from the Shoalhaven Bight, N.S. Wales, 15-45 fathoms.
Raja nitipa, Giinther. (Fig. 3-) Raja nitida, Gunther, ‘‘Challenger’’ Rept., Zool. i., 1880, Po 27 Pi ive fie: a. This species has hitherto been known only from a small male, five inches wide, from off Twofold Bay, New South Wales, 120 fathoms. The ‘‘Endeavour’’ collection includes
FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. 11
three females and one male from seven and a half to eight inches wide, which present considerable differences from Ginther’s figure, but, in view of their larger size and the fact that they come from deep water, 90 fathoms, only one to two hundred miles from Twofold Bay, I have no hesitation in identifying them with this species.
The most striking difference lies in the teeth which are described as ‘‘with very small points, almost obtuse.’’ This description fits those of my female specimens which are almost pavement-like with blunt points, but in the male they are long and acute. The development of spines on the head and body, pectorals and tail, is much greater in the larger specimens, though less in the female than the male. None of my specimens have quite the same outward form as the young one figured, but this is variable in the different speci- mens and does not afford a specific character. Finally, the dark blotches shown in the figure are wanting in my four, though the clusters of white spots are similarly distributed.
The following description is drawn up from the four **En- deavour’’ specimens :—
Snout to anterior nostrils 3.3 in the head to the last gill-slit. Interorbital space less than two-thirds of the eye, which is 4.7 in the head. Width of the mouth about 3.5 in the head.
Disk very broad, its width greater than the length from the tip of the snout to its hinder margin; its anterior margin more or less undulated, the border of the pectoral either forming an unbroken line or distinct angle with the sides of the head ; hinder margin rounded and somewhat angular posteriorly- Snout with a small median papilla. The distance between the outer borders of the eyes is greater than that between the latter and the edge of the disk. Preoral length of the head equal to the width between the outer edges of the spiracles. Nasal lobes produced backwards and outwards, the space between them less than half the preoral length. Inner margin of the nostrils with two interior and one exterior lobe when folded, all of which form a broad-mouthed tube when ex- panded. Gill-slits decreasing in size backwards, much smaller than the spiracle which is-about half the length of the eye. Teeth small, with expanded though not confluent bases in the male, and long median points directed backwards. In the female they are rounded, flattened and juxtaposed, the median point being reduced to a small prominence only.
Entire upper surface covered with minute prickles directed backwards. ‘There are two large curved spines before each eye and three or four behind them. One to three are present on the mid-line behind the head, which may be surrounded by
12 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
several smaller ones also. Behind these are several irregular rows of thorns which range themselves in one median row and two lateral ones on the tail and extend to the first dorsal fin.
—_—
ae Ne SS
ne ——
a ~~
FIG. 3.
Sides of the pectoral without larger thorns in the female, but these are well developed in the male, the innermost ones being the largest. Entire lower surface perfectly smooth.
Dorsal fins subequal, the space between them half or less than half the length of their bases. In some the interval between the second dorsal and the caudal is equal to that between the two dorsals, in others the two fins are almost united. A skinny flap, which is widest posteriorly, extends
varying distances along the sides of the tail, sometimes reach- ing as far as the ventrals.
Colour.—Light brown above with very indistinct darker marblings. Clusters of white spots are scattered over the body, the most prominent of which is on the mid-line behind the head, two pairs on each side of it, and one near the middle of each pectoral fin.
Total length 350 mm.
Trawled in go fathoms, east Si East Sister Island, Bass Strait, and elsewhere off the Victorian Coast.
RAJA WAITH, sp. nov. (Plate iii., and fig. 4.)
Space between the nostrils equal to their distance from the tip of the snout. Greatest width of the mouth 2.5 in the head to the last gill-slit. Interorbital width 5 in the same, and a little greater than the length of the eye.
FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. rege
Disk broad and rounded, ‘its length 1.1 In its breadth. Snout broadly rounded, with a median rounded papilla, and confluent with the anterior margins of the pectorals which are almost straight. The lateral margins of the pectorals are rounded, as is the angle between them and the posterior border. The distance between the outer margins of the eyes is greater than that of the latter from the edge of the disk. Preoral length much less than the distance between the outer margins of the spiracles and 2.7 in the head to the last gill- opening. Width of the spiracles one-third the preoral length.
>—
FIG. 4,
Nasal lobes produced backwards and outwards, the exterior margins truncate, the posterior sinuate; the distance between them near the mouth about two-thirds of that between the nostrils. Nostrils with a raised tubular margin which forms a lobe posteriorly. Gill-slits decreasing in size backwards, the
14 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
first rather more than half the width of the spiracle. Teeth
small and rounded, scarcely juxtaposed, each with a small
median point.
Upper surface of disk quite smooth except for two pairs of spines above the anterior part of the eyes and four over the posterior portions. Several minute spines are also present on the upper eye-lid. ‘Tail with several rows of spines which are largest anteriorly but most numerous posteriorly. Both dorsal fins are also covered with minute spines.
Dorsal fins subequal, the space between them equal to half the length of their bases. Caudal absent. A broad skinny flap extends along each side of the tail as far as the end of the ventrals. Anterior lobes of the ventrals greatly produced, the gaps between them and the posterior lobes each with four small triangular lobes. On the upper surface, where the fins are covered by the disk, there is a pair of large fatty glands.
Colour.—Pale brown above with lighter patches which are covered with small brown dots. Body, fins and tail with numerous small bluish spots which are absent only on the lighter patches on the disk; in places they are confluent and form reticulate patterns. Lower surfaces slate-coloured.
Length of specimen 454 mm.
A single female specimen was trawled in 44 fathoms, north- west of Greenly Island, South Australia.
This species is at once distinguished from all other Aus- tralian species of Raja by its rounded and perfectly smooth body. Famity NARCOBATIDA.
GENUS NARCINE, Henle. NARCINE TASMANIENSIS, Richardson. Tasmanian Numb-fish.
Narcine tasmaniensts, Richardson, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1841, p:-22, and Trans. Zool. gSoe.,, 1i.,-0849, «ps 176, pl xt., heats
ae ent were preserved from the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait.
amity DASYBATID/E. Genus UroLopnuus, Miiller and Henle. UROLOPHUS CRUCIATUS, Lacépede. Banded Stingaree.
Raja cruciatus, Lacépéde, Ann. Mus., iv., 1804, pp. 201 and 210, lesan oo.) 2.
Urolophus cruciatus, Richardson, Zool. Erebus and Terror, Fishes, 1844, p. 35, pl. xxiv.
Two specimens from 4o fathoms off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait.
FISHES.—McCCULLOCH. 15
Famity AETOBATID. Genus AEtTOBATUS, Blainville. AETOBATUS AUSTRALIS, Macleay. Eagle Ray.
Myliobatis aquila, Gunther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., viii., 1870, p- 489; id., Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Soc. Vict., 1., 1872, p. 225 (nec Raja aquila, Linn.).
Myliobatis nieuhofii, Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Soc. Vict., 1., 1872, p. 226, and ii., 1873, p. 58 (nec Raja nieuhofi, Bl. Schn. ).
Myliobatis australis, Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, vi., 1881, p. 380; id., McCoy, Prodr. Zool. Vict., pl. Ixiil., 1882.
A young specimen is preserved from the Shoalhaven Bight,
New South Wales, 15-45 fathoms.
Gunther identified some very young Myliobatis from Sydney with M. aquila, Linneus, though he noted certain characters in their teeth which did not agree with those of that species. Castelnau (1873) suggested that this identification was in- correct and considered that they were probably the young of M. nieuhofi, Bl. Schn. Waite regarded them as M. australis, Macleay, as is evident from the fact that he omitted aquila from his list of the fishes of New South Wales.! In another paper? he expressed the opinion that WM. nieuhofi and M. aus- tvalis were identical, but it would seem that they differ in the forms of their snouts, it being somewhat produced in the former, and blunt and short in the latter.
McCoy showed that M. australis occurred in Port Phillip, and under the circumstances I have little doubt that Castel- nau’s specimens were really that species and not M. nieuhofi. I therefore arrange the synonymy as above.
Famity CHIMAERIDE. GENUS CHIM&RA, Linn@us. CHIMERA OGILBYI, Waite. Ghost Shark. Chimera ogilbyi, Waite, Mem. Austr. Mus., iv., pt. 1., 1899, p. 48, pl. vi. ; id., Shigeho Tanaka, Journ. Coll. Sci. Imp. Wniv. Vokio, xxau., Art: 7, pote:
1 Waite—Mem. N.S. Wales Nat. Club., ii., i904. 2Waite-—Mem. Austr. Mus., iv., 1899, p. 47.
16 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
Two males are in the collection which were trawled in 40 fathoms off the East Coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait. Waite’s specimens were all females, but the males have been well described by Shigeho Tanaka from Japan.
Famity CALLORHYNCHID-. GENUS CALLORHYNCHUS, Cuvier. CALLORHYNCHUS CALLORYNCHUS, Linn@us. Elephant-fish.
Callorhynchus callorynchus, Waite, Rec. Cantb. Mus., i., Nor 2)-1900,, p. 23, pl. sau, figs 2.
A small specimen is preserved taken off the east coast of
Flinders Island, Bass Strait, and six others from the Victorian
coast: Famity CLUPEID. GENUS CLUPEA, Linneus. CLUPEA (POMOLOBUS) BASSENSIS, sp. nov.
Australian Sprat. (Plate iv., fig. 2.) Clupea sprattus, Gunther, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1871, p. 672 (nec ’. sprattus, Linnzeus). DP 185, Av 18-207 0P. 17>) Vanes © 1914 Scales) a4eore:
Body elongate, its greatest breadth less than half its height, which is 4.4 to 4.8 in the length from the snout to the hypural. Belly somewhat rounded, the scutes small, twenty-one between the head and the ventrals, and eleven more to the vent. Scales large, cycloid, commencing above the preopercle and extending onto the base of the tail.
Head 3.5 to 4 in the length, and either very little or con- siderably longer than the body is deep. Eye 3.1 to 3.6 in the head, with a narrow adipose lid before and behind. Inter- orbital space flat, equal to about two-thirds of the eye. Maxillary very large, its greatest width one-third its length, reaching to below the anterior third or almost to the middle of the eye; supplemental bone very large. Upper posterior border of the operculum emarginate; hindermost portion formed of a skinny flap. Cheeks and upper portion of oper- culum covered with translucent flesh, the rest of the head naked. Lower margin ,of the maxillary microscopically denticulate. A few microscopic teeth are placed at widely- spaced intervals on the anterior part of the jaws.!
Origin of the dorsal well in advance of the middle of the total length and just behind the vertical of the ventral fins ;
1 Gunther stated that he found palatine teeth in his specimens “as well developed as in Cl. sprattus.’’ I have failed to find any in either species, but this character is generally admitted to be inconstant.
FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. 7 the length of its base is just about equal to the distance from the tip of the snout to the hinder margin of the eye and longer than the anterior rays. Anal low, its length much greater than that of the dorsal. Ventrals as long as half their distance from the vent.
Colour.—Silvery, the upper third of the body dark blue. Scattered darker specks are found on the jaws and preorbitals and on the caudal peduncle. Rays of the dorsal, caudal and pectoral fins also dark spotted.
Length of largest specimen 117 mm. Described from two specimens from off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait. Others are from the entrance to Storm Bay, Tas- mania.
It is only after a detailed comparison of these specimens with many others of C. sprattus from the London markets that I venture to regard them as distinct. They appear to differ by their more elongate form, my deepest specimen, the one figured, having the depth of the body less than the length of the head, whereas in C. sprattus it is considerably deeper. That species further seems invariably to have but seven rays in the ventral fin without counting the imperfect short one in front. All of C. bassensis have eight. C. antipodum, Hector, is a very distinct species with a much shorter body, well developed abdominal scutes, and with the ventral placed below instead of just in advance of the anterior portion of the dorsal. From C. sajax, Jenyns, the new species is at once distinguished by the position of its ventral fin.
In 1867 a note from Mr. J. E. Calder was published! in which he recorded an immense shoal of these Herrings being driven ashore in Simmons’ Cove, Bruni Island, Tasmania, by Barracouta, Kingfish and others. He considered there were about one hundred tons of them on the shore and fully two hundred more at the bottom of the water, all dead. Carts and boats were used to take them away for manure, yet they were scarcely lessened in quantity. Mr. Allport also noted that a similar shoal had been observed in 1844, and numbers of the fish had passed far up into the Derwent River.
CLUPEA (CLUPANODON) NEOPILCHARDUS, Steindachner. Pilchard. Clupanodon neopilchardus, Steindachner, Denk. K. Akad. Wass. Wien xii: 1970; p. iz: Three specimens from 26-30 fathoms, eight miles off Wooded Bluff, Clarence River, New South Wales, are of
1 Calder—Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm., 1867, p. 5.
18 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
interest as showing how far north this species extends on our coast. It extends around southern Australia and up to Hout- man’s Abrolhos on the west coast, and is also known from Vasmania and New Zealand.
Famity ARGENTINIDZ. GENUS ARGENTINA, Linn@us. ARGENTINA ELONGATA, Hutton.
Argentina elongata, Hutton, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (5), iii., LO7Owpeiseu td-, VWaitemwec, Cantb.sMins:5 45, moninep: TOL ple xiv.
Thirteen examples of this species, 65-125 mm. long, differ from a larger one from New Zealand only in the colour-mark- ings. All have a dark band above the silvery lateral line on which are arranged six to nine blackish spots. Near the tail there is a second series on the lateral line and more or less alternate to those above them. There is also a dark mark on the side of the snout. Though they can be traced, these markings are very indistinct in the larger specimen.
They were taken at the following localities :—
Entrance to Oyster Bay, Tasmania.
Off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait, 30 fathoms.
Fifteen miles off Norah Head, New South Wales, 45-58 fathoms.
No species of this genus has been previously recorded from Australian waters.
Famity SYMBRANCHID&. GENUS CHEILOBRANCHUS, Richardson. CHEILOBRANCHUS RUFUS, Macleay. Red-banded Shore Eel.
Chilobranchus rufus, Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales,
Wiss OOL spy 200, Cheilobranchus rufus, Waite, Rec. Austr. Mus., Vi1., 1906,
Dros asplimexxivicy fies om
Numerous specimens were obtained in Oyster Bay, Tas-
mania.
Famity LEPTOCEPHALID@. GENUS CONGERMUR-ENA, Kaup. CONGERMUR-ENA HABENATA, Richardson. Little Conger Eel. Congrus habenatus, Richardson, Zool. Ereb. & Terr., Fishes,
[846; P- "209, plod, Gea ey.
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. 19 Congromurena longicauda, Ramsay & Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales (2), ii., 1888) p. 1o22.
A single specimen from Port Arthur, Tasmania, belongs to the long-tailed form of this species. Comparison with five other Australian specimens and one from New Zealand shows that the lengths of the body and tail are variable and have no specific value. As this is the only character which can be relied upon to distinguish C. longicauda from C. habenata, the former name can no longer stand.
Famity MYRID. GENUS MuR-ENICHTHYS, Bleeker. MuUR-ENICHTHYS TASMANIENSIS, sp. nov. (Fig. 5.)
Body worm-like, the depth 3.3 in the head. Head 12.8 in the total length, and 4.3 in the space between the gill opening and the vent. Eve 3.2 in the snout, which is long and obtusely pointed, and 4.8 in the head. Cleft of mouth extending far behind the eye, and 2.7 in the head; a longitudinal fold below the end of the mouth. Tube of anterior nostril with a minute exterior lobe; flap covering the posterior nostril overhanging the lip and placed below the anterior portion of the eye. Teeth in single rows on the jaws and palate; three or four larger ones on either side of the vomer. Rows of widely- spaced pores extend along each jaw, on the upper surface of the snout and behind the eyes. Gill-opening narrow, about as wide as the eye. The lateral line appears to be almost straight anteriorly, but the sides of the head between the gill-opening and the preoperculum are considerably damaged and render this character uncertain. Vent well in advance of the middle of the length, its distance from the tip of the snout 1.4 in the tail. Dorsal and anal fins very low, almost rudimentary. Origin of the dorsal a trifle nearer the tip of the snout than the tail, its distance from the vent equal to the length of the head.
+SEE = reer 5
fe a Nn rar er ae Si a a A ne OSes
3) - ae oS y] SS < Se
FIG. 5.
Colour.—Pale green in formalin, the upper portion speckled with minute brown dots which are of uniform size. Anteriorly they are confined to the upper half of the body, but posteriorly they approach the lower surface. On the head they extend onto the sides and the lower jaw.
Length 170 mm. One specimen from the entrance to Oyster ‘Bay, Tasmania.
36 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
This species differs from the specimen I have identified as M. breviceps, Gunther, in the position of the origin of the dorsal which is behind instead of far in advance of the vent. It has also a much longer and sharper snout, smaller eye, and more rudimentary fins; the colour-marking is different, the spots on the back being similar to those on the sides, and they extend onto the sides of the head and the lower jaw.
It is very closely allied to, and possibly identical with M. australis, Macleay, but differs from the five specimens I have examined of that species in having the origin of the dorsal far instead of only slightly behind that of the anal. The snout is also somewhat longer, being 4.8 in the head instead of 5.3.
MuR2&NICHTHYS AUSTRALIS, Macleay. (Fig. 6.) ?Murenichthys gymnotus ?, Gunther, Chall. Rept., Zool., 1., 1880, p. 30 (nec Bleeker). Murenichthys australis, Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, vi., 1881, p. 272.
Body terete and vermiform, its depth behind the gill open- ing 3.3, behind the vent 3.9 in the head. Head 13 in the total length, and 4.5 in the trunk. Eye very small, nearly 3 in the snout, which is obtusely pointed and 5.3 in the head. Cleft of mouth extending far behind the eye, its length from the tip of the snout 2.7 in the head; a longitudinal fold below the end of the mouth. Tube of anterior nostril with a minute exterior lobe; flap covering the posterior nostril overhanging the lip and placed below the anterior margin of the eye. Teeth in single rows on the jaws and palate; three or four larger ones on either side of the vomer. Rows of widely-spaced pores extend along each jaw, on the upper surface of the snout, behind the eye and up towards the origin of the lateral line. Gill opening as wide as the eye. Lateral line a little arched over the branchial sac. Vent wel! in advance of the middle of the length, its distance from the end of the snout 1.35 in the tail. Dorsal and anal fins very low except near the end of the tail where they are a little broadened out and extend around the point. The origin of the dorsal is a little behind that of the anal, not over the vent as stated by Macleay.
——— ]
FIG. 6.
Colour.—After long preservation, uniform brown, with minute darker specks above the lateral line and on the head where they extend onto the sides and lower jaw.
FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. 21
Described from the type, 248 mm. long, from Lane Cove,
Port Jackson. Two other specimens are in the Macleay
Museum without data, and two in the Australian Museum from Port Jackson.
I am indebted to Professors W. A. Haswell and T. W. E. David for the opportunity of redescribing and figuring Macleay’s original specimen.
It is very probable that the specimen from Port Jackson which Gunther doubtfully identified as M. gymnotus, Bleeker, is not that species but is M. australis. The two may be easily distinguished, the latter having but a single row of maxillary teeth instead of several, and its mouth extending not slightly but far behind the eye.
Ogilby has proposed the genus Scolecenchelys! for this species, and in a letter he informs me that it ‘‘differs from Murenichthys in the much more slender and elongate body and the origin and dev elopment of the dorsal fin (as comparing australis with breviceps).’’ I regard these as specific rather than generic characters.
MUR4ENICHTHYS BREVICEPS, Giinther. (Fig. 7-) ?Murenichthys macropterus, lunzinger, Arch. Nat., XXXViil., i., 1872, p. 43 (nec Bleeker).
Murenchthys breviceps, Giinther, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (4), XVile 1970, AO
A nam specimen, 195 mm. long, from South Auceraka, is possibly the young of this species. As will be seen by the figure, its proportions do not quite agree with those of the type, which is twenty inches long, but the differences may perhaps be accounted for by its small size. The following is a description of the ‘‘Endeavour’’ specimen :—
Body worm-like, the depth 4 in the head. Head 10.8 in the total length and 2.7 in the trunk. Eye 2.6 in the snout, which is 44 in the head. Cleft of the mouth extending far behind the eye and 2.7 in the head; a longitudinal fold below the end of the mouth. ‘Tube of the anterior nostril very large, with a minute external lobe; flap covering the posterior nostril over- hanging the lip and placed just before the eye. Rows of large widely-spaced pores extend along each jaw, on the upper sur- face of the head and behind the eye. Lateral line arched above the branchial sac. Dorsal and anal fins very low, extending
1 Ogilby—Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, xxii., i897, p. 240.
22 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS. around the end of the tail. Origin of the dorsal a trifle nearer the tip of the snout than the vent, its distance from the gill
opening 2.3 in that from the vent.
—= oe
FIG. 7.
Colour.—Pale green in formalin, speckled with minute brown dots which are very small and crowded on the upper surface, and larger near the lateral line; anteriorly they scarcely extend below the middle of the body, but posteriorly they approach the ventral surface. Extreme end of the dorsal and caudal darker, the fins otherwise colourless.
Trawled in 35 fathoms, south of St. Francis Island, South Australia.
The specimens identified as Murenichthys macropterus, Bleeker, from Port Phillip and the Murray River, are probably not that species, but are M. breviceps, which is said by its author to differ from the former by its comparatively shorter head and longer snout.
Famity AULOPID/E. GENUS AULOPUS, Cuvier. AULOPUS PURPURISSATUS, Richardson. Sergeant Baker. Aulopus purpurissatus, Richardson, Icones Piscium, 1843, p- Wie ipl iis ihe. 3.
Already known from western and eastern Australia, this species is now recorded from South Australia, a specimen
having been trawled in 75 fathoms, fifty miles south of Cape Wiles. Famity SUDID/Z.
GENUS CHLOROPHTHALMUS, Bonaparte. CHLOROPHTHALMUS NIGRIPINNIS, Giinther. Cucumber Fish.
Chlorophthalmus nigripinnis, Gunther, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (5) il 1878, p. 182, ande@nall. Rept.) Zool) scxiit, ap: 193, opls lt whic. “a; id. VWeate,, Proc. "NoZ. inst. woTo; p. 25) and Rec. Cantb. Mais 1.) 1911, p: 164, "plo xxv.
This species exhibits considerable variation in its markings according to age, young specimens of about five inches long having the sides blotched and spotted with bluish-grey, whereas others of eleven inches are immaculate. The mark-
FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. 2
H
ings on the fins also differ in intensity in a large series of specimens.
C. nigripinnis was, until recently, known only from the deeper waters of New South Wales. Waite has recorded it from New Zealand, however, and it must now be added to the Victorian and Tasmanian lists, about one hundred and fifty specimens having been preserved from the following localities :—
Oyster Bay, Tasmania, 40-60 fathoms.
Off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait, 40 fathoms.
Between Port Stephens and Newcastle, New South Wales, 22-60 fathoms.
Famity MACRORHAMPHOSIDE. Genus MACRORHAMPHOSUS, Lacépede. MACRORHAMPHOSUS ELEVATUS, Waite. Bellows Fish. (Figgs83) Macrorhamphosus scolopax, var. elevatus, Waite, Mem. AUIStE MUS. piv sLO90, Pa SOmple Vile, 2. Ti Macrorhamphosus gallinago, Ogilby, Proc. Roy. Soc. Qld., Mexia) LOGS. ips 10:
In the Report of the ‘‘Thetis’’” Expedition, Waite noted certain characters in which his specimens differed from the published descriptions of M. scolopax, but in consideration of the variations to which members of this genus are subject, he regarded the Australian representative as but a variety of that species. Having compared specimens of each, I am able to point out that there are well marked specific differences between them. Examples of M. elevatus of the same size as others of M. scolopax are much deeper and have shorter and thicker snouts. The variations in the lengths of the spines in different specimens of M. scolopax have been tabulated by Gunther,! and I find similar though less striking variations in the Australian species, but it is always longer and usually much longer than the snout in M. elevatus, whereas it appears to be usually if not always shorter in M. scolopax.
The large series of specimens available to me shows that the relative depth of the body increases considerably with age, but it is also clear that the exact form of the body differs even in specimens of the same length. Under these circum- stances I have no hesitation in “regarding M. gallinago, Ogilby, as identical with M. elevatus, especially as there are ‘“Thetis’’ specimens which only differ from Ogilby’s descrip-
1 Gunther—Brit. Mus. Oat. Fish., iji., 1861, p. 519. ;
24 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
tion in having eighteen instead of sixteen anal rays.1 The last dorsal spine is minute and often rudimentary, while the position of the base of the second spine is altered by the development or otherwise of the hump on the back.
In order to show the change with growth more clearly I give a figure of the smallest specimen of the series for com- parison with Waite’s figure of the adult. It is 66 mm. long and was trawled off Cape Three Points, New South Wales, in 32-40 fathoms.
As Centriscus scolopax, this species has been recorded from Tasmania by Johnston,? and there is a specimen in the Aus- tralian Museum collection from Ulverstone. The ‘‘Endea- vour’’ trawled it at the following stations :—
Twenty miles off Babel Island, Bass Strait, 68 mene
Off the east coast of Bide Island, Bass Strait, 60 fathoms.
Disaster Bay, New South Wales, 45 fathoms.
Between Port Stephens and Sydney, New South Wales, 22-65 fathoms.
Ogilby’s specimen of M. gallinago came from the Tweed River Heads at the northern boundary of New South Wales.
GENUS CENTRISCOPS, Gill. CENTRISCOPS HUMEROSUS, Richardson. (Plate v., and! fig.-9.) Centriscus humerosus, Richardson, Voy. ‘‘Erebus’’ and = error, | Fishes, 1846, pegs6, pl xxxiv., figs. 5-0; d-- Giinther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., ii1., 1861, p. 522.
1 Mr. J. D. Ogilby has very kindly compared “Thetis” specimens with his type and he informs me that he considers them to be identical. He further notes that the latter has eighteen and not sixteen anal rays as described, a mistake due to a printer’s error.
2 Johnston—Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm., 1882 (1883), p. 123.
FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. 25
As Richardson’s description and figure of this species were prepared from a dried specimen which had apparently shrunk considerably, they are very inaccurate. Certain errors were corrected by Gunther in his later description of the same specimen, so that it only remains to give reliable figures to place the species on a sound basis.
My specimens differ from the original description in the following details. None show the mesial row of small scutes before the dorsal spine, while those on the sides and around the vent are so differently arranged that they must have been considerably distorted in the type. The ‘‘acute curved teeth at the base in front’’ of the dorsal spine really represent a small detached spine anteriorly, and a pair of lateral ones, the latter being only occasionally developed. Finally, the skin is not nearly so rough as figured, but is covered with closely-set microscopic spines which give a veivety feel to the touch.
te >
LO IG. 9.
The form of the body changes greatly with growth, the body becoming much deeper and the snout longer, while the dorsal spines are greatly reduced. The eye is comparatively larger in young specimens. Full grown specimens develop a peculiar patch of bristles on the dorsal line just before the hump of the back. They are also very beautifully coloured in life, though the only tints remaining in my specimens are delicate rose-pink areas on the breast and upper portion of the sides which bear numerous large silvery spots and bars. A silvery pink bar is present on the snout below and before the eye. A broad oblique dark bar extends from behind the
26 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
pectorals to the origin of the anal, behind which is a similar lighter band, and both are bordered with silvery streaks.
The smallest and largest specimens in the collection are the two selected for illustration, and measure 70 mm. and 265 mm. respectively. Mr. Dannevig says this species is exceed- ingly abundant in the deeper waters of southern Australia, and one hundred and seventy-eight specimens were preserved from the following localities :—
Oyster Bay, Tasmania, 40-60 fathoms.
Off Storm Bay, Tasmania.
Babel Island, near Flinders Island, Bass Strait, 68 fathoms.
East from E. Sister Island, Bass Strait, go fathoms.
Sixty miles south of Cape Everard, Victoria, 60-70 fathoms.
Famiry SYNGNATHID. GENUS CORYTHROICHTHYS, Kaup. CORYTHROICHTHYS PHILLIPI, Lucas. (Fig. 10.) Syngnathus phillipi, Lucas, Proc. Roy. Soc. Vict. (n. ser.), ill. LEOISnps kes
Four specimens of this species were obtained in Oyster Bay, Tasmania. They differ from Lucas’ excellent descrip- tion only in having the osseus rings and fin rays rather more numerous which brings the formula up to the following :— D. 25-28, osseus rings 18-19 + 44-48.
This species is very closely allied to the more northern C. margaritifer, Peters, but is distinguished by having a larger number of tail rings, the dorsal fin placed a little farther back in relation to the vent, and by the greater development of the ridges of the head and body, particularly the ventral keel.
FIG. 10.
| Corythroichthys intestinalis, Ramsay.
Having had occasion to compare the above-mentioned specimens with Syngnathus intestinalis, Ramsay,! I dis- covered that the types of that species were not Australian, as has been generally supposed, but came from Bougainville Island in the Solomon Group. Ramsay gave no locality, but merely stated that they were taken from the intestinal cavity
1 Ramsay—Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, v., 1881, p. 494.
FISHES.—MCOULLOCH. 27 of Holothuria. Duncker! considers this species to be syn- onymous with C. cons picillatus, Jenyns,?2 together with several other species described by Jordan and his colleagues. Having examined all the material available to me, I am sure that C. intestinalis and C. waitei, Jord. & Seale,3 are identical, and, as I have recorded? the latter from Cooktown, Queens- land, Ramsay’s species is rightly included in Australian literature. |
GENUS SOLEGNATHUS, Swainson. SOLEGNATHUS SPINOSISSIMUS, Giinther. Spiny Sea-Horse.
Solenognathus spinosissimus, Giinther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish. Vili, LOZO,)p: 195); 74-, Waites Proc) Linn: Soc. iN:S. Wales, ix. (2), 1894, p. 222, pl. xvii., figs. 5 and 8.
Sixteen specimens of this species were preserved. They
were obtained in 15-45 fathoms in Shoalhaven Bight, New South Wales.
SOLEGNATHUS FASCIATUS, Giinther.
Solenognathus fasciatus, Ginther, Chall. Rep., Zool., i., Teco, p. 20, pl xiv., fie. Bo; 1dyy Waite, Proc. Linn. ‘Soc: N.S. Wales, ix. (2), 1894, pp. ‘220 and 227.
Duncker® considers this species to be identical with the pre- ceding. I have carefully compared the thirteen specimens obtained with those of S. spinosissimus and have endeavoured to find some more definite character than the form of the scutes to distinguish the two. They are, however, identical in every other respect, and though this one difference holds good in a large number of specimens, yet the species cannot but be considered to be based on a very uncertain footing. The scutes are well shown by Waite in the figures quoted.
Though several specimens have the pseudo-marsupium in such a condition that it is evident that they were carrying eggs when obtained, only two have them still attached. The most perfect of these bears forty-five eggs, and it would seem that only a very few are missing. ‘They are very similar to those of S. spinosissimus as described by Waite, but are in a less advanced stage of development, and are arranged in about five very irregular rows commencing directly behind the vent
1 Duncker—Faun. Sudwest-Austr., ii., 1909, p. 237.
2 Jenyns—Zool. Beagle, iii., 1842, p. 147, pl. xxvii., fig. 4.
3 Jordan and Seale—Bull. U.S. Bur. Fish., xxv., 1905 (1906), p. 212, fig. 17.. 4 McCulloch—Proe. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, xxxv., 1910, p. 432.
5 Duncker—Faun. Sudwest-Austr., ii., 1909, p. 235.
28 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
and occupying thirteen tail-rings. “They were collected in the latter part of November, 1909.
The specimens are from the following localities :—
South-east from Babel Island, off Flinders Island, Bass Strait.
Disaster Bay, southern New South Wales.
SOLEGNATHUS ROBUSTUS, sp. nov. (Platesec, tice 725)
D. 34, P. 24-25. Body rings, 26 + 50.
Head 6'4 in the length and 3°7 in the trunk. Length of tail a little less than the distance between the vent and the pec- torals, its depth behind the dorsal 3'2 in the base of that fin. Snout 1°7 in the head, its depth nearly 5 in its length, and less than the diameter of the eye which is 4°1 in the snout. Narrowest interorbital width a little less than half the diameter of the eye. Dorsal fin occupying ten body rings, the length of its base almost equal to the distance between the tip of the snout and the posterior border of the eye. The lateral row of scutes is not continued along the side of the tail as in S. hardwickii, but passes upwards and merges into the supero-lateral row, though, owing to the upper surface being very convex, this is less conspicuous than in S. spinosissimus and S. fasciatus. Scutes of the body with radiating lines of well-developed spines, and each with a stronger flattened one in the centre. On the anterior portion of the body and sides these central spines are higher than broad and_ widely separated, but before the dorsal on the mid-line they become broader ; on the tail, especially along the median superior and inferior lines, they are much broader than high, and are arranged so closely together as to form an almost continuous keel. The whole head and space before the pectorals is covered with uniform upstanding spines which are arranged in radiating lines on the opercles. The last thirty tail rings are prehensile and are provided with fleshy excrescences on their inferior surfaces.
Total length, 300 mm. One specimen from 37 fathoms off Flinders Island, South Australia, August 30th, 1909.
This species is easily distinguished from the others by its broad snout and very thick tail, and also by the form of the scutes. The following is a key to the Australian species :-—
a. Lateral row of scutes extending along the sides of the tail, not merging into the upper row.
b. Scutes rugose but with scarcely any spines :— hardwicki.
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. ; 20
aa. Lateral row of scutes merging into those on the upper edge of the tail behind the dorsal fin.
c. Depth of the tail behind the dorsal 4 or more in the base of that fin. Depth of snout 6 or more in its length.
d. Scutes intensely spiny and convex :—spinosissimus. dd. Scutes rugose with one spine and flatter :—
fasciatus.
cc. Depth of the tail behind the dorsal about 3 in the base of that fin. Depth of snout 5 in its length.
e. Scutes with rows of spines and little convex :— robustus. GENus Hippocampus, Rafinesque. HippocAMPUS ABDOMINALIS, Lesson. (Plate vi., figemu)
Hippocampus abdominalis, Lesson in Ferussac, Bull. Sci. Nati xl. erO2 7 pe et27; td. Gunehers Brit.) Mus. Cat: Fish., viii., 1870, p. 199; id., Klunzinger, Sitzb. Akad. Wiss. Wien., Ixxx., i., p. 420; 1d., Johnston, Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm., 1882 (1883), p. 135; id-, Waite, Rec. Cantb. Nisa Noy skoo7,.p. 16sntdemloc. cit. TOM. ps 175. pl. xxviii. ; id.. Duncker, Faun. Siidwest-Austr. ii., 1909, P24 7-
The specimen figured is a very large one from Merimbula, near Twofold Bay, New South Wales, where this species is. said to be common. It is recorded from New Zealand, Tas- mania and Victoria, while Gunther records a specimen in the British Museum from Sydney which was presented by Sir John Richardson. If this specimen really came from Port Jackson the species must be very rare here, as it has not been included in any of the catalogues of New South Wales fishes, nor have any local specimens come under my notice.
HIPPOCAMPUS GRACILIFORMIS, Sp. nov. (Plate-vi., figemen}
Din 27 coke LO INI Ss h2) =} 452
Body slender, its greatest depth being only 1°5 the width behind the pectorals. Tail nearly twice as long as the dis- tance between the tip of the coronet and the vent. Snout very short and thick, as long as the postorbital portion of the head. Eye 12 in the snout. Supra-orbital spines low and triangular, converging before the eyes where they form a prominent keel on the proximal portion of the snout. Behind the eyes the profile extends obliquely upwards to just before
30 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
the coronet where it is notched. The coronet is quadrangular with very indistinct tubercles and ridges. Tubercles of the body almost uniformly obtuse, the lateral row a little more developed than the others; below the dorsal fin those of the back are somewhat enlarged. On the tail the fifth, ninth and twelfth are prominent. None of the tubercles bear filaments. The dorsal fin stands on four body and three tail rings; its- anterior portion is damaged but it appears to have had twenty-seven rays.
Colour.—Light brown, the tail with nine darker cross- bands. The head has large scattered dark spots arranged around the eye and on the snout, and there are others on the sides and under surfaces of the anterior portion of the body.
Total length 87 mm. One specimen taken somewhere near Bass Strait, but the exact locality is unknown.
The large number of rays in the dorsal fin distinguishes this from all other Australian species except H. abdominalis, Lesson. From that species it is easily separated by its slender body, the form of the supraocular spines and coronet, and the poor development of the tubercles.
Famity SCOMBRESOCID. GENUS SCOMBRESOX, Lacepede. SCOMBRESOX FORSTERI, Cuvier and Valenciennes. Scombresox forsteri, Cuvier and Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., xvili., 1846, p. 481. A single specimen was taken in a landing net at night,
one hundred and twenty miles south-south-west of St. Francis Island, South Australia.
Famity EXOCCETIDAS.
GeNuS Exonautes, Jordan and Evermann. EXONAUTES SPECULIGER, Cuvier and Valenciennes. Flying Fish.
Exoceetus speculiger, Cuvier and Valenciennes, Hist. Nat.
Poissa. XIx.,, 1526, (p: 194k Cypsilurus speculiger, Jordan and Seale, Bull. U.S. Bur. Hisht, xxv.,.1905 (1906)*ipa zoo, fig. 13" A single specimen agreeing perfectly with the descriptions
and figure quoted was obtained between Port Stephens and Newcastle, New South Wales.
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. 31
Famity ATHERINIDA. GENUS ATHERINA, Linneus. ATHERINA DANNEVIGI, sp. nov. (Plate xvi., fig. 2.) Dee vintsine i en Ae i: Seales 173-75:
<2=03. Meet o=TA cat Ni 1.) Ge edie
Body very elongate, the depth 6’5 to 7°3 in the length to the hypural. Head 4 to 4°3. Eye 3 to 3% in the head, equal to or longer than the snout.
Mouth oblique, not very large, the gape reaching almost to the anterior orbital rim; maxillary continued backwards to below the anterior third of the eye. The teeth are exceedingly minute and appear to be present on the jaws, vomer and palatines. Gill-rakers slender, equal to about half the length of the eve, sixteen on the lower limb of the first arch. Upper surface of the head flat, the interorbital width equal to the diameter of the eye. Muciferous system well developed, with large open pores. A row of about nine commences on the snout and extends over the eye, then downwards and along the upper margin of the opercles. Nine more are arranged from behind the eye, around the angle of the preoperculum to the mouth, where they join another row running along the margin of the preorbital. Five more pores are found along each ramus of the lower jaw.
Scales extending forwards on the back as far as the hinder portion of the eye, and there are about thirty-nine along the mid-line of the back to the first dorsal, and twenty-four between the two dorsals. Those on the sides of the body are rounded but for a small median lobe which gives them an angular appearance. ‘There are three rows on the cheeks and about seven on the operculum. They also extend well onto the base of the caudal fin.
Origin of the first dorsal behind the ventrals but well before the middle of the distance between the tip of the snout and the base of the tail; second spine longest, equal to two-thirds or more of the space between the tip of the snout and the hinder orbital margin. Soft dorsal commencing over the first third of the anal, its third ray a trifle shorter than the longest spines. Anal similar to the soft dorsal but with a longer base. Origin of ventrals almost midway between the snout and the end of the anal, or a little nearer the latter. Pectorals reaching to above the base of the ventrals. Vent between the ventrals and rather nearer their tips than their bases.
Colour.—Sandy yellow (in formalin), each scale of the back margined with a row of minute brown dots. A silver
32 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS
band, which is rather wider than the row of scales it covers, is uniformly dotted with minute brown specks, and may or may not be defined by a black line above. Occiput darker.
Described from three specimens 75 to 85 mm. long from two stations—Spencer’s Gulf, South Australia, 20 fathoms, and the entrance to Oyster Bay, Tasmania. Selected type 75 mm. long from the latter locality.
This is distinguished from all other Australian species by its very small scales. It is apparently nearest to A. hep- setoides, Richardson,! but the description of that species 1s so imperfect I am unable to compare it satisfactorily. Richardson, however, compared his species with A. hepsetus, Linn., to which, as his name denotes, he considered it very similar. The ‘‘Endeavour’’ specimens are so very different in appearance from the latter that I have little doubt they are distinct from Richardson’s species also, and this, together with the fact that they come from somewhat deep water induces me to describe them as new.
GENUS TA:NIOMEMBRAS, Ogilby.
T@niomembras, Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, xxiii. 1898, p. 41.
Ogilby has erected this genus for Atherina microstoma, Gunther, considering that it differs from Atherina by (1) its more elongate body, (2) pointed snout, (3) small mouth, (4) stronger dentition, (5) shorter, stouter and fewer gill-rakers. I regard 1, 2 and q as being of specific value only, but 3 and 5 may perhaps be conveniently used to split up the large number of Australian species of Atherina. Notwithstanding Ginther’s statement, ‘‘teeth conspicuous in the jaws and on the vomer,’’ Ogilby describes the latter as smooth, while he finds a single row on the palatines. These are lacking in the specimens described below, but the vomerine teeth are well developed.
‘TENIOMEMBRAS MICROSTOMA, Giinther. (Plate xe. 2.)
Atherina microstoma, Ginther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., ii.,. 1861, p. 401; id., Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, Vi.; Loot, p. 395 2d., Johnston, Proc. Roy. /Soc.)iasm., 1882 (1883), p. 122, and 1890 (1891), p. 34. Br. (627.5 (D-ewi.-vil. 10-DT seaeeti-12 5 P. raotae Wie Bi oe C207; sc. lat 38-40; Sc. trae:
1 Richardson—Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., xi. (1), 1843, p. 178.
SE ee Ee ay 23
Height of the body 52-7, length of the head 4-44 in the length to the hypural. Eye 3, a little wider than the inter- orbital space, snout 44 in the head. Depth of the caudal peduncle a little less than the width of the eye.
Body moderately elongate, somewhat compressed, its breadth equal to about two-thirds of its height. Head flat above with a series of very large pores extending from the snout, over the eye, to a canal above the operculum. A second series crosses the snout in front of the eye and follows the preorbital, joining another which extends around the margins of the preoperculum. There is a series on each ramus of the lower jaw, and a single pore behind the eye. A few large scales on the upper surface of the head extending forward to the eyes, snout and preorbital region bare. A single row of large scales on the cheek, and three rows on the operculum; a single row on the sub- and interoperculum. Mouth small, the maxillary not reaching the anterior margin of the eye; jaws subequal. Teeth minute but distinct, in several rows on the anterior parts of both jaws, none on the sides; a well-developed patch on the vomer, palatines tooth- less. Gill-rakers short and stout, the longest less than a third the length of the eye; about fifteen on the first arch.
Scales of the body large, cycloid and concentrically striated. There are thirty-eight to forty on the silvery lateral band from behind the base of the pectoral to the hypural, and eight in a transverse series not counting the median ones on the back and belly. There are fourteen to fifteen between the nape and the first dorsal fin.
Origin of the dorsal a little behind that of the ventrals, and a little nearer the end of the snout than the hypural. The spines are very weak and flexible, the second and third the longest, subequal, and about half as long again as the eye. The distance between the first spines of the two dorsals equals that between the end of the second and the hypural. Anal originating well in advance of the second dorsal, the length of its base once and a half in its distance from the hypural. Margins of the pectorals rounded, the second and third upper rays the longest, not quite reaching the vertical of the ventrals. Ventrals reaching back a little more than half their distance from the anal, the vent placed between their tips.
Colour.—Whitish in formalin with a broad dark silvery lateral band along the fourth row of scales. The upper parts of the head and back are densely spotted with minute olive green dots, which also border the scales of the body above the lateral band and sometimes those below it as well. All the fins with more or less numerous scattered dots on the rays.
34 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
Described from five specimens, about 63 mm. long, taken in the estuary of the Derwent River, Tasmania, by Mr. E. F. Lovett, who presented them to the Australian Museum. Two other very battered specimens are in the ‘‘Endeavour”’ collection from Storm Bay, Tasmania. They differ from Gunther’s description only in being rather more slender, in having one ray less in the anal fin, and in the position of the silvery lateral band, but I do not regard any of these as being of much importance.
Famity STROMATEIDA.
GENUS SERIOLELLA, Guichenot. SERIOLELLA BRAMA, Giinther. Snotgall Trevally, Trevalla.
(Plate 1x yiies 1.)
Neptonemus brama, Gunther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., ii., 1860, p:! 390;)7¢d-5) Johnston, (Proce Roy. Soc, asm.) s1s82 (1883), pp. 85 and 120.
Neptonemus? travale, Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Soc. Vict., i., LO72 5p los
Seriolella brama, Regan, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7), x., 1902, Pp. 1295102, Waite, Ree!?Cantb, Muss,/1-. 1911.) 9.82295 pls:
Notwithstanding the numerous differences appearing in the two descriptions of S. brama and S. trevale, | agree with Regan that they represent but one species. I think there can be no doubt that my specimens are correctly identified with S. brama, while the fact that they were recognised as the common trevalla or trevally of the Melbourne markets by Mr. Dannevig bears out their association with S. trevale which was originally obtained from that source.
I have examined over a dozen specimens from various localities extending from Tasmania to Port Jackson and find the variation in the number of fin-rays and spines to be con- siderable, as the following selected examples will show :— (i) Der wais, oi.) 30';A., ii., se2nmbered-.) (2) 1) avi iigyesia rine Hines set.) (3) Di vil. ue eoreA- Pil. 2p 5 Ps eon (Aaa ii. 32; A. ill. 23; P. 20. The lengths of the spines before the second dorsal are very variable, and the second may be replaced by a jointed ray. The disagreement in the propor- tions of the head and body, as given by the two authors, is doubtless accounted for by a different system of measuring adopted by each. The depth in my specimens is about 2°6 in the length to the hypural and 3°4 in that to the tip of the tail. The only other important difference is in the armature of
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. 35 the preoperculum, as described by Castelnau, but I find this to be a very unreliable character, some specimens having the ridges and denticulations distinctly, though feebly, developed, while in others there is no trace of them.
The following description is drawn up from all the material available to me :—
DO Vi=Vily i.-t. 820-3300 0A. lil. vemeass Bs 20-27) Vi t5 5 C. 17; 1. lat. about 90. Depth 2°6, head 34 to 34, pectoral 3 to 3°4, base of dorsal 1°7, base of anal 3 to 3°2 in length to the hypural. Caudal peduncle 3'5. Eye-opening 4 to 4°5. Vertical diameter of orbit 3°4 to 4 in the head.
Body compressed, rather deep, its dorsal and ventral pro- files almost equally arched, covered with moderate cycloid scales, those of the lateral line somewhat smaller than the others. Caudal peduncle narrow. Whole upper surface and sides of the head covered with a thick fleshy skin which largely hides the scales and other characters beneath it. Snout tumid, the nostrils placed close together and nearer the end of the snout than the eye, the anterior the largest and rounded, the posterior slit-like. Mouth oblique, maxillary small and weak, and reaching to or a little beyond the vertical of the anterior margin of the eye. Preorbital narrow, its margin smooth or crenulated. Eye large, placed in the middle line of the head. Bones of the head very weak, their margins either feebly denticulated or smooth; posterior margin of the preoperculum emarginate, the angle produced and broadly rounded. Oper- culum terminating in a very thin flat point margined with skin. Teeth extremely fine and small, arranged in a single row on each jaw; vomer, palatines and tongue toothless.
Dorsal fin commencing a little before, over, or behind the base of the pectoral; the spinous portion is low and the middle spines the longest. If present, the second spine of the second dorsal is generally higher than any of those of the first; the second and third rays are the longest and about as long as the distance between the tip of the snout and the hinder margin of the eye. The two first spines of the anal are short and thick and somewhat detached from the rest of the fin; third spine longer and weaker and adpressed to the first ray. Soft portion of the fin similar to, but lower than, the second dorsal. Pectoral falcate reaching to or beyond the vertical of the first anal ray. Ventrals rather small, placed below the posterior base of the pectorals, and reaching about two-thirds of the distance between their insertion and the vent. Caudal deeply forked.
Colour.—Body with large somewhat irregular blotches dis- tributed over its upper half, of which the most conspicuous is a
36 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
dark rounded one at the origin of the lateral line. Two large and less distinct marks descend from the origin and middle of the second dorsal to below the lateral line, and besides these there are numerous smaller markings scattered over the body. These markings have not been noted by Castelnau, whose description was prepared from fresh specimens, and as all mine have lost most of their scales it may be that they are not shown or are indistinct in perfect examples. A dark bar extends vertically across the eye which is otherwise golden. Dorsal, anal, pectorals and ventrals dusky, especially towards their margins.
Fifteen specimens were preserved from the following localities :—
Spencer Gulf, South Australia, 20 fathoms. Forty miles west of Kingston, South Australia, 30 fathoms.
Off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait, 40 fathoms.
Oyster Bay, Tasmania.
SERIOLELLA PUNCTATA, Forster. (Plate: x. teat. )
Gasterosteus punctatus, Forster, in Bloch and Schneider, Syst. [chthe. reo, ‘p. 36:
Neptonemus bilineatus, Hutton, Trans. N. Zeal. Inst., v., RO7Z2— (P- e20leupla Vall. Seriolella bilineata, Regan, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7), x., 1902, .P-, 120: Seriolella punctata, Waite, Rec. Cantb. Mus., i., 1911, p. 231, pl. li. Di ivi--vils 34-39; A. ii. 22-24 eee 2o0-22— Vou. 55°C. 17: Depth 3°3 to 4, head 3°4 to 3°6, pectoral about 4, base of dorsal 1°7, and base of anal 3°8 in the length to the hypural.
Caudal peduncle 4 to 4°5, eye-opening 4°8 to 55, vertical diameter of the orbit 3°4 to 3°8 in the head.
Body compressed, elongate, the dorsal and ventral profiles evenly arched, upper parts covered with large pores. Caudal peduncle narrow. Upper surface and sides of the head covered with a thick fleshy porous skin which hides the scales and other characters beneath it. Snout somewhat fleshy and rounded. Nostrils close together, nearer the tip of the snout than the eye; the posterior longer than the anterior which is round. Mouth oblique; maxillary rather narrow and weak,
FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. 27,
extending to or beyond the vertical of the anterior margin of the eye. Preorbital narrow. Eye moderate, placed a little above the mid-line of the head. Opercular bones very weak, and with smooth margins in all my specimens, but they are doubtless subject to the same variation as in S. brama. Posterior margin of the preoperculum oblique and usually a little emarginate, the angle produced and broadly rounded; operculum terminating in a very thin flat point margined with skin.
Dorsal fin commencing a little behind the vertical of the base of the pectoral; the spinous portion is low and the middle spines are the longest. The third or fourth rays are the longest, but are shorter than the distance between the tip of the snout and the hinder margin of the eye. The two first spines of the anal are very small and more or less hidden in the skin; the third is longer and adpressed to the first ray. Soft portion of the fin similar to, but lower than that of the dorsal. Pectoral falcate not nearly reaching the vertical of the vent. Ventrals small, inserted just behind the pectorals and reaching one-third or more of the distance between them and the anal. Caudal forked.
Colour.—Body with numerous small round spots along the middle line, and a large dark mark behind the head, near the base of the lateral line, which is deeper than broad. A dark vertical bar across the eye. Pectorals, dorsal and anal fins dusky, especially towards their margins. Ventrals and caudal lighter.
Longest specimen 280 mm.
Seriolella porosa, Guichenot,! is said to differ from S. punctata in being more slender, the depth being 4 to 44 in the length as against 33 to 33. The original figure of that species, however, agrees very well in this respett with my specimens of S. punctata. Regan* considers the Tasmanian S. dobula, Gunther, to be synonymous with S. porosa, and I think it possible that both will prove to be merely variations of Forster’s species, though I have seen no specimens in which the depth is 44 in the length as described by Gunther.
Two specimens were preserved which were taken between Port Stephens and Newcastle, New South Wales, 22-60 fathoms, and seven others from the Victorian coast and from Oyster Bay, Tasmania.
1 Guichenot in Gay—Fauna Ohilena, Pisces, 1847, p. 238; Atlas ii., Ichth. pistvil-; Le) 2: 2 Regan—Ann. Mag. Nat Hist. (7), x., 1902, p. 128.
38 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
Famity GADIDA. GeENnuS PuysIcuLus, Kaup. PHYSICULUS BARBATUS, Giinther. Rock Cod, Cape Cod, Red Cod.
Pseudophycis barbatus, Gunther, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3), XI, 1663, p. 116; id., Gastelnau, Proc. Zool.-Acclim. SoCs Vict, 1872, p.mio2;-id.. (McCoys Jerodry Zool: Vict ppl xx.)31578; tdee|ohnston, Proc: Royse soc: Tasm., 1882 (1883), pp. 88 and 126.
Physiculus palmatus, Klunzinger, Arch. fur. Naturg., XK ielo7e. Pp. 3o:
Lotella grandis, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, v 1881, p. 462.
Physiculus barbatus, Waite, Mem. N.S. Wales Nat. Club, 1904, p. 24.
Only one specimen of this common southern species was preserved. It is fifteen inches long and was obtained off Cape Everard, Victoria, in 70 fathoms.
There seems to ine little doubt that P. pialmoalns Klunzinger, from Hobson’s Bay, Port Phillip, is identical with the common Victorian Rock Cod since the description agrees perfectly with that given by McCoy of the latter species. The fact that Klunzinger compared his fish with P. breviusculus, Richard- son, only, indicates that he was unaware of Gunther’s species.
wt i
Famity MACROURID. GENUS CGLORHYNCHUS, Guiorna. Cc:LORHYNCHUS AUSTRALIS, Richardson.
Lepidoleprus australis, Richardson, Proc. Zool. Soc., ae p. 100, and Trans. Zool. Soc., m., 1849, p. 151, pl. Vill. ree ae ;
Macrurus australis, Gunther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., iv., 1862, Pp: 301; 1d.4 Johnston, Proce, Roy. Soc, Lasm., 1982 (1883), p. 127; id., Giinther, Chall. Rept., Zool., xxii., 1807. Pp. '27.
Celorhynchus mortoni, Ogilby, Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm., 1896 (1897), p- 83. ;
Ceelorhynchus australis, Waite, Rec. Cantb. Mus., 1., 1911, Boul] Zane ys pl. XXUKS neal
When recording Optonurus denticulatus from New South
Wales I noted! that several specimens lacked the ends-of their
1 McCulloch—Rec. Austr. Mus., vi., 1907, p. 346.
FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. 39
tails, and that in one the dorsal and anal fins had grown together around the injured portion, thereby giving it the appearance of being perfect. Many examples of C. australis in the ‘‘Endeavour’’ collection exhibit this same peculiarity, some having the tail so truncated and the anal rays so com- plete around it that they almost seem to have heterocercal instead of leptocercal tails. Dissection shows that the injured vertebra spreads out into a cartilaginous fan somewhat resembling a true hypural bone, to which the rays are movably articulated.
A large series of specimens, seventy-five in number, con- clusively proves that C. mortoni, Ogilby (the type specimen of which is lost), is identical with Richardson’s species, and that the differences noted between the two are nearly all due to the one having a more perfect and therefore longer tail than the other. The only character that cannot be so explained lies in the armature of the scales, Ogilby counting 18 to 23 ridges in C. mortoni, while C. australis is said to have 12 to 18 only. I find that the number varies according to the size of the specimens, my smallest having only six ridges, whereas a large scale in a big example has twenty-two.
When fresh, the specimens were greyish with darker bands extending along the body and occupying the overlapping por- tions of each row of scales. There is a more or less distinct dark band between the eyes, and the operculum is blackish. Upper half of the first dorsal black with a lighter margin. Anal dark with a white border. Pectorals and ventrals dusky with lighter edges.
Specimens were preserved from off Storm Bay, Tasmania, 60 fathoms, and from Oyster Bay, Tasmania.
FaMiLty BERYCIDA:. GENUS AUSTROBERYX, gen. nov.
Body rather deep, compressed, covered with moderately large, ctenoid scales which are regularly arranged. Abdomen trenchant, with a row of slightly enlarged, keeled scales. Head large, with thin bones and high ridges which have deep muciferous cavities between them; the exposed bones rough with raised striz. Snout short, mouth oblique, the chin prominent. Eye large. Jaws, vomer and palatines with villiform teeth. Opercles serrated ; operculm with two spines, preoperculum with more or less strongly developed spines on its inner border. Dorsal with six or seven spines which in- crease regularly in height, and eleven to fourteen soft rays. Anal with four spines and twelve to fourteen rays, its base shorter than that of the dorsal. Ventrals with one spine and seven rays.
40 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS
Type Beryx affinis, Gunther. B. gerrardi, Gunther, and B_ lineatus, Cuvier and Valenciennes, also belong to this genus. They are distinguished from Beryx, Cuvier (type B. decadactylus, Cuv. and Val.), by having the anal shorter than the dorsal and composed of only 12-14 rays instead of 26-30. The bones of the head also appear to be more strongly armed, and the suborbitals are broader.
Regan! has placed Beryx affinis, Gunther, and its allies in the genus Hoplopteryx, Agassiz?, of which most of the species are Cretaceous fossils. Judging from Woodward's restoration of H. lewesiensis,3 Mantell, however, the recent forms seem to differ in having the opercular bones more strongly armed and in having much smaller scales.
Note on the genera Trachichthys, Shaw and Nodder, and Hoplostethus, Cuvier and Valenciennes.—It would seem that Trachichthys (type T. australis, Shaw & Nodder) is a mono- typic genus characterised by having three dorsal and two anal spines which are placed close together, and, like the rays, are entirely covered with minute asperities. Minute tuberculiform teeth are crowded on the jaws, vomer and palatines.
Gunther‘ counted three spines and twelve rays in the dorsal, and two spines and ten rays in the anal of the type specimen Obi. vadstvalis: McCoy® describes iv./11 and iii./g (10) respectively, but has mistaken the anterior rays for spines, while Waite® expressly states that there are three and not two anal spines in Trachichthys. I have counted nine specimens of T. australis, and find the number of spines and rays to be as stated by Gunther.
Boulenger’ has united Hoplostethus with Trachichthys, re- garding some Australian and New Zealand species (T. inter- medius, Hector, and T. elongatus, Gunther) as intermediate between the two. Both these fishes, however, bear little resemblance to T. australis, haying four and six dorsal spines and three anal spines which are well separated, and which, together with the rays, are not covered with minute asperities. They are much nearer to Hoplostethus (type H. mediter- vaneus, Cuv. & Val.), but both differ from that genus, as
2 Agassiz—Poiss. Foss., iv., 1838, p. 4.
3 Woodward—Brit. Mus. Cat. Foss. Fish., iv., 1901, p. 398, fig. 31. 4 Gunther—Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., i., 1859, p. 10.
5 McCoy—Prodr. Zool. Vict., 1886, pl. cxiv.
6 Waite—Mem. Austr. Mus., iv., 1899, p. 66.
7 Boulenger—Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7), ix., 1902, p. 202.
8 Jordan & Fowler—Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., xxvi., 1902, p. 7.
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. 41
vomerine teeth, while T. elongatus also has only four instead of six dorsal spines. In all other respects, however, they agree with Hoplostethus, T. intermedius indeed being very closely allied to H. mediterraneus, so that I think it better to expand the limits of that genus to include them rather than form an unnatural group by uniting Hoplostethus and Tra- chichthys. AUSTROBERYX GERRARDI. Giinther. (Plate viii.). Beryx "Gerrardt, (Gunther, Ann. Mage Nat. THuist:) (5), xx, 1887, p. 238, fig.
BEmocw OY Viena nA. ive, 12-1 Jemeaeiar Ws 15. 7s. Gs l. lat. 36-39; 1. tr. 6 + 11. Height 118-2, head 24-22 in the length to the hypural. Eye 24 in the head. Interorbital width slightly less than % of the eye, and equal to the length of the snout. Base of the anal 2 that of the dorsal which equals the length of the head. Caudal peduncle # of the eye and almost equal to the post-orbital portion of the head.
Body short and deep. Upper profile very convex from the snout to the first dorsal spine which marks its highest point. The curve from the snout to the ventral fin is much less than that of the back; the line between the ventrals and the anal is straight and bears 9-11 keeled scales which decrease in size backwards.
Maxillary reaching to below the posterior third of the eye, stiliform anteriorly but very broad behind; there is a small rough patch of spines on the narrow portion which is in con- tact with the supplemental bone, but the rest is smooth. Supplemental bone with numerous ridges each ending in spines. Turbinal bones bilobed and margined with sharp spines. Preorbital denticulated, without a curved spine but with a slight notch at its upper end to receive a blunt spine projecting from the maxillary. Bones of the infraorbital arch spine-like and roughened. Interorbital space narrowest above the middle of the eye, becoming a little wider forwards, then narrowing again towards the nostrils. Supraciliary edges finely denticulated, terminating anteriorly above the nostrils; between these are two curved, slightly roughened ridges which approach each other at either end and enclose a some- what elliptical area, with truncate ends, which is 34-4 times as long as broad. Above the first third of the eye these ridges each give off a branch which again divides and passes back- wards ending in some rather strong spines some distance before the suprascapular.
Preoperculum with two parallel margins, the hinder borders of which are serrated ; the angle of the inner margin is formed
42 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
of two flattened, denticulated spines, while that of the outer is armed with smaller simple spines. Both lower borders. finely denticulated. Operculum narrow, its anterior half covered with scales, the posterior portion with coarse striz ending in marginal points; two strong spines on the upper portion of the bone. Subopercle with one or two small spines at its lowest point. Interoperculum with a broad notch near its junction with the subopercle, its angle and lower border striated and finely denticulated. Margin of the suprascapular denticulated, its lower portion with an oblique ridge terminat- ing in some enlarged spines.
Nostrils more widely separated than in A. affinis, the hinder ones being very close to the orbital margins. First bran- chiostegals very slender, second to fifth broad and denti- culated below, the others smooth. Gill-rakers very long and slender posteriorly, about half as long as the eye; twenty-two on the lower limb of the first arch. Exceedingly fine villiform teeth on the jaws without larger ones near the middle. A small triangular patch on the vomer and a long cuneiform band on each palatine bone.
With the exception of the form of the ridges on top of the head, the position of the nostrils and the absence of enlarged teeth, all the characters of the head are almost exactly similar to those of young A. affints.
Dorsal spines gradually increasing in length, the last 14-14 as long as the eye and 2 the length of the second ray; all are more or less angular and striated. Second ray the longest, about 24 as long as the last. The first anal spine is placed below the third dorsal ray, the fourth equals the fifth dorsal spine in length and is about # as long as the second ray; the last ray is placed far behind that of the dorsal. Pectoral not quite ? in the head and reaching to above the base of the anterior anal rays. Ventrals with strong, flattened, striated spines, 3 as long as the rays which extend to the base of the fourth anal spine. Caudal deeply forked, the lobes somewhat pointed and about equal to the head in length.
All the scales rather coarsely denticulated, the external half of their exposed surfaces with smooth ridges ending in mar- ginal teeth. Bases of the dorsal and anal fins protected by sheaths formed of several rows of scales, the outermost of which is the largest. A small patch of scales on the cheeks. A large angular scale at the axil of the ventral fin. Lateral line straight, each scale with a median excavation.
Colourless in formalin. Described from twelve specimens, 150-200 mm. in length.
FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. 43
This species is distinguished from A. affinis and A. lineatus by its small number of scales on the lateral line, different fin formulz and by its short and deep form.
Trawled in 37 fathoms off Flinders Island, Investigator Group, South Australia.
AUSTROBERYX AFFINIS, Giinther. Nanny gai. (Bites oa 1.)
Beryx affinis, Gunther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., i., 1859, p. 13; and Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (5), xx., 1887, p. 238, fig. ; id., Ogilby, Ed. Fish. N.S. Wales, 1893, p. 60, pl. xxi. ; id., Stead, Ed. Fish. N.S. Wales, 1908, p. 48, pl. xvii.
Hoplopteryx affinis, Regan, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8), vii., Piss el):
This species is extremely variable with age, the young being short bodied and round, and the depth only 22 in the total length, while large specimens are much more elongate with the depth 34. The form and armature of the bones of the head is essentially the same in both, but those of the young have much more spinate edges, and their surfaces are smooth and with but few ridges. The same remarks apply to the
ms
a7 iG 4
OBB "SRE.
FIG. 11.
scales which have very coarsely denticulated edges and almost smooth surfaces; in the adult the denticulations are much finer and they are continued back as ridges almost half way across the exposed portions of the scales. The accompanying figure represents my smallest specimen (7o mm. long).
44 “ENDEAVOUR” SOIENTIFIC RESULTS.
Constant characters appear to be afforded by the number of spines and rays in the dorsal and anal fins, and the number of perforated scales along the lateral line. In nine examples 23-16 inches long, I find them to be as follows :—D. vii./11-12, A. iv./12, lateral line 42-44.
Gunther has stated that the length of the head equals the height of the body. As this character has been used in com- parison with other species, it is worth noting that it is con- siderably shorter in all the specimens I have seen, and is shown to be so in all the figures published.
Only three specimens were preserved in the ‘‘Endeavour”’ collection which came from the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait, and sixty miles south of Cape Everard, Victoria, 60-70 fathoms.
GENUS PARATRACHICHTHYS, Waite.
PARATRACHICHTHYS TRAILLI, Hutton..
Paratrachichthys trailli, Hutton—Waite, Mem. Austr. Mus., iv., 1899, p. 65.
Waite noted that the number and form of the abdominal scutes of his single specimen differed slightly from the des- criptions and figure of Tvachichthys macleayi, Johnston, and T. trailli, Hutton. In the ‘‘Endeavour’’ specimens I find from twelve to sixteen scutes, and the first either divided or single, and with one median or two lateral spines. This, therefore, proves the identity of T. macleay: with Hutton’s species.
Referring to the vomerine teeth, Waite states that the patch could be covered by a pin’s head. This agrees well with most of my specimens, but in others they are entirely wanting.
The collection includes seventeen specimens from off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait, 40 fathoms, and Oyster Bay, Tasmania, 40-60 fathoms.
Famity MONOCENTRID/. GENUS Monocentris, Bloch and Schneider. MONOCENTRIS GLORIA-MARIS, de Vis. Knight Fish.
Monocentris gloria-maris (de Vis.)—Waite, Mem. Austr. Mus., iv., 1899, p. 67, pl. vili., figs. 1-2, and Rec. Austr. Mims: Vi... 1905,,p. GO:
Two specimens were obtained fifteen miles off Saddle Hill,
New South Wales, in 35 fathoms.
FISHES.—McCULLOCH.
FaMILy PEMPHERID. GENUS PEMPHERIS, Cuvier. PEMPHERIS MULTIRADIATA, Klunzinger.
Pempheris multiradiatus, Klunzinger, Sitzb. Akad. Wiss. VER px. Iw rOZO. p.. 3S1. Pempheris macrolepis, Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, v., 1881, p. 516; id., Waite, Mem. Austr. Mus., IV LOGO, Ps 735. Plax Pempheris lineatus, Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, x., 1886, p. 447. Having carefully examined all the material at my disposal, I have no doubt that P. multiradiata is identical with P. macrolepis, as has been suggested by Macleay.1 Klunzinger’s description agrees exactly with my specimens which come from various localities between the Bellinger River, New South Wales, and Kingston, South Australia. In twelve examples I find the following number of fin-rays and scales :-— D. v./11-13, A. i1./32-38, lateral line to the hypural 46-so. Waite (loc. cit.) has suggested that P. multiradiata is identical with P. compressa, Shaw, but I can see no reason for this conclusion. The former has most of its scales cycloid, only those on the anterior and lower portion of the head, breast, and on the back before the dorsal fin being ctenoid. In P. compressa all are very distinctly ctenoid, and they are much smaller, there being 62-64 along the lateral line instead of only 46-50. The *‘Endeavour’’ specimens were taken at the following stations :— Off Bellengen, New South Wales, 40-52 fathoms. Between Port Stephens and Newcastle, New South Wales, 22-60 fathoms. Shoalhaven Bight, New South Wales, 15-45 fathoms. Off the east coast of Flinders Island and north of Goose Island, Bass Strait. Forty miles off Kingston, South Australia, 30 fathoms.
PEMPHERIS AFFINIS, sp. nov. (Plate vii., Fig. 1.)
De yepplO-Lin Aamo; P. 16a 62 °C. rei lat: 60-62; |. tr. 7 + 19. Depth 23-23, head 33-34 in the length to the hypural. Eye 2-2} in the head; interorbital width 14- 1} in the eye and about twice as wide as the snout is long. Depth of caudal peduncle # of the eye.
1 Macleay—Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, ix., 1884. p. 21
46 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
Body rather deep; the profile arched to the first dorsal, thence straight to the tail. Lower profile forming an even curve to the origin of the anal, the base of which is very oblique. Interorbital space convex. Maxilla reaching to slightly behind the middle of the eye, and covered with large, rough ctenoid scales. Preoperculum with a very strong spine at the angle and one or two weaker ones on each border. Operculum with two very small flat points separated by a broad excavation ; above and close to the upper one are several small points which may be indistinct. Whole head, with the exception of the tip of the snout and the lips, covered with moderately large scales which are mostly cycloid, only those of the preorbital and lower portion of the head being ctenoid. Upper jaw with an outer row of large canines which increase in size as they approach the median toothless excavation; anteriorly there is an inner row of smaller teeth behind them. Lower jaw with a few large teeth directed outwards anteriorly, and two rows of smaller teeth along the sides which become united into one about half way back. A row of small conical teeth is present on each side of the vomer, and still smaller ones form bands on the palatines. Posterior gill-rakers long and slender, more than one-third the length of the eye; there are twenty-three on the lower limb of the first arch.
On the back, in front of the dorsal fin, and also on the ventral surface, except on the bases of and between the ven- trals, the scales are extremely rough and ctenoid; their edges are turned obliquely outwards from the body, and they are firm and adherent. The rest of the body is covered with large, flat, cycloid scales which are only marked with very fine con- centric striz, and are very deciduous. ‘The lateral line is continued to the end of the middle caudal rays, and has 60-62 scales as far as the hypural and fifteen more to the end. The exposed portion of each scale is smooth and smaller than those on either side of it, and the edges are broken both above and below the canal by small rounded indentations.
Origin of the dorsal well behind the vertical of the ventral spine; the distance between it and the end of the snout is slightly less than half that between the same point and the end of the middle caudal rays. ‘The fifth spine is more than two-thirds the length of the second ray, which is equal to three-fourths or more of the length of the head. The base of the anal is 24 that of the dorsal, and its anterior rays are as long as the last dorsal spine; the first spine is placed below the last dorsal ray. Third pectoral ray the longest, reaching to above the fourth anal ray. Ventrals placed beneath the pectorals and reaching backwards to the vent.
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. 47 Colour.—Body everywhere closely speckled with minute red- ‘dish-brown dots which are more crowded on the back and head. Dorsal, caudal and ventrals tipped with black, while the anal also has a narrow black border. With the exception of these markings and some crowded dots on the anterior portion of the dorsal and on the caudal lobes, the fins are colourless.
Described from four specimens 96-135 mm. long.
Length of type (B. 7332) 135 mm.
This species is very closely allied to P. multiradiata, but may be at once distinguished by its much smaller scales. It has also a somewhat different number of rays in the dorsal and anal fins, and the tail portion of the body is longer, while a good recognition character lies in the black tips to the fins.
Three small specimens were taken by the ‘‘Endeavour’’ in thirteen fathoms off Nobby’s Head, Newcastle, New South Wales. A larger and somewhat better preserved example is in the Australian Museum collection from Port Jackson, and has been selected as the type.
PEMPHERIS KLUNZINGERI, nom. nov. Pempheris miilleri, Klunzinger, Sitzb. Akad. Wiss. Wien., Xxx O79, p. 1360, pl. vin (Mec smullert, Poey. 1860). Both Macleay! and Waite? have suggested that this species is identical with P. compressa, Shaw, but it appears to be distinguished by its much more elongate form, somewhat larger number of anal rays and smaller scales. I have counted eight specimens of P. compressa and find the number of fin-rays and scales to be as follows:—-D. vi./9-10, A. iii./ 35-38, lateral line to the hypural, 62-64. Klunzinger gives for the same in his species :—D. v./10, A. iii./39-40, lateral line 75. he different forms of the two species may be seen by comparing Klunzinger’s figure with that of Stead of P. com- pressa.4 The type came from King George’s Sound. It was not obtained by the ‘‘Endeavour,’’ nor have I seen any specimens.
PEMPHERIS ELONGATA, Sp. nov. (Plate iv., Fig. 1.)
De ive-Ven 10-82 Ami: 24-27) eel Ve tee S 5 Co 178 i. lat. 68-71; 1. tr. 8-9 + 18-20. Height 3:1 to 2°7 in the length to the hypural. Profile slightly arched to the dorsal fin, thence straight to the tail; lower profile considerably more curved than the upper one. Caudal peduncle narrow, ied inthe eye:
1 daciode Pree Linn. soe. N.S. ae ee 1884, p. ‘a. 2 Waite—Mem. Austr. Mus., iv., 1899,
3 Shaw in White—Voy. N.S. Wales, fan a4 267, fig. 2a 4 Stead—Ed. Fish. N.S. Wales, 1908, p. 49, pl. xviii.
48 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
Head 2°8 to 311 in the length. Orbit 2°4 in the head, much greater than the interorbital width which is rather more than one-fourth of the head, convex, and one-third longer than the snout. Operculum with two very weak spines which are almost hidden by scales. With the exception of the snout and lips the whole head is covered with small scales set in a fleshy skin, beneath which are numerous muciferous canals with small pores opening onto the surface. Teeth minute, in a single row on the jaws and in very narrow bands or almost single rows on the vomer and palatines.
Median portion of the scales of the body more or less pro- duced and usually with several microscopic points which are variable both in number and degree of development. There are from sixty-eight to seventy-one scales along the lateral line to the hypural and about ten more extend onto the base of the caudal; they are enlarged, those of the anterior portion being almost twice as broad as long, and have either truncate or excavate spiny margins. Below the lateral line the scales are arranged in oblique rows which descend backwards towards the lower surface of the body.
The distance between the origin of the dorsal and the end of the snout is usually somewhat less, sometimes rather more than half that between it and the tip of the caudal. The first spine may be either well developed, small or absent ; the others increase regularly in height, the last being about two-thirds the length of the first ray. The latter is simple and a little longer than the space between the end of the snout to the hinder orbital margin. The length of the base of the anal is 1°5 to 1°7 that of the dorsal; its anterior rays are much higher than the posterior ones, but are only two-thirds, or less, the length of the first dorsal ray. The first spine is placed either below the hindermost portion of the dorsal or entirely behind that fin and is often minute and hidden in the scales. Third upper ray of the pectoral the longest, reaching almost to or a little beyond the vertical of the anal. Ventrals placed below the pectorals and not reaching so far back as the vent.
Colour.—Upper surface of the head, back and upper portion of the sides closely speckled with microscopic brown dots ' which give them a greyish colour. Breast, lower jaw and lips more or less similarly dotted, and the specks also-extend onto the dorsal and caudal rays. Otherwise colourless in preserved examples.
Described from sixteen specimens go to 132 mm. long, the longest of which is selected as the type.
This species is allied to P. unwini, Ogilby, but is at once distinguished by its much less spiny and more numerous
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. 49
scales. The dorsal and anal fins also have several more rays each, but otherwise the two are very similar. The specimens were trawled off Flinders Island, Bass Strait, in 4o fathoms, and off Wilson’s Promontory, Victoria. The following key will serve to distinguish the Australian species of Pempheris :— a. Anal fin with more than 30 rays; body rather deep. b. Scales mostly cycloid, ctenoid anteriorly, deciduous. c. Seales large, 46-50 on lateral line (to the hypural) :—
multivadiata.
cc. Seales smaller, 60-62 on the lateral line:— — affinis. bb. Scales ctenoid, adherent.
d. 62-64 scales on the lateral line :— compressa.
dd. 75 scales on the lateral line :— klunzingert.
-aa. Anal fin with less than 30 rays, body rather elongate.
e. Edges of the scales with minute, irregular points, though scarcely ctenoid :— elongata.
FaMILy SERRANIDZ.. GENUS EPINEPHELUS, Bloch. EPINEPHELUS SEPTEMFASCIATUS, Thunberg. Grey-banded Rock Cod. Plectropoma susuki, Giinther, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1867, p. 100. Epinephelus septemfasciatus, Boulenger, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., 1., 1895, p- 226; :d., Waite, Mem. Austr. Mus., tv., 1899, p. 75; id., Jordan & Richardson, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., XxXxXvii., 1910, p. 458.
Jordan and Richardson have recently expressed the opinion that the Australian records of this species are probably in- correct. I have compared the specimen taken by the ‘“Thetis,’? another of unknown origin, and two in the ‘‘En- deavour’’ collection with the description given by these authors of Japanese specimens, and find that they differ in two small details only. None show the small patch of very fine scales near the tip of the maxillary, nor in any is the sixth band divided as described. Gunther stated, however, that the colouration of his Port Jackson specimens was as in that figured by Schlegel, so that, though I think it possible that the Australian fish represents a distinct subspecies, it is best to leave the matter open until examples from both localities can be compared.
Two specimens trawled off the Clarence River, New South ‘Wales, in 26-30 fathoms.
50 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
GENUS HYPOPLECTRODES, Gill. HYPOPLECTRODES SEMICINCTA, Cuvier and Valenciennes. Half-banded Sea Perch.
Gilbertia semicincta, Boulenger, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., 2nd
diner OOK, Ps, 3075 A single specimen was preserved from six miles off Port Stephens, New South Wales, 43 fathoms.
Genus Anrtuias, Bloch. Anthias, Boulenger, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., 2nd ed., i., 1895, paegZo:
A careful examination of fourteen specimens of A. pulchel- lus, Waite, shows that the differences between this genus and Cesioperca are very slight. Comparing the definitions of the two, as given by Boulenger (loc. cit., pp. 311 and 320), it appears that the only reliable differences between them are as follows :—
Scales rough on the border, denticulated; tubes of the lateral line bifurcate, short. Dorsal with 19-23 rays. Anal with 9-10 rays :— Ce@sioperca..
Scales ciliated, smooth. ‘Tubes straight or with an ascend- ing tubule and) extending along nearly the entire scales. Dorsal with 14-18 rays. Anal with 6-8 rays :-— Anthias.
In A. pulchellus I find the number of fin rays agrees with Anthias, while the characters of the scales are distinctly those: of Cesioperca. In the fourteen specimens the number of fin- rays and scales is as follows:—D. x./16-17; A. ui./8; P. 15-16; 1. lat. 41-45.
My colleague, Mr. E. F. Hallmann, very kindly pre- pared microscopical mounts for me of the scales of Anthias pleurotenia, Bleeker, A. pulchellus, Waite, C@sioperca rasor, Rich., and C. lepidoplera, Forster. In the first-named only are they smooth with ciliated edges. Those of the other three have their borders roughened for varying distances
FIG. 12.
within the ciliated edges. In none do I find the tubes of the lateral line bifurcate, as stated by Boulenger, though they extend further across the scales in A. pleurotenia than in the: others.
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. 51
It follows, therefore, that if A. pulchellus be admitted as a true Anthias, the differences in the number of fin-rays alone can be used to distinguish C@sioperca from that genus.
ANTHIAS PULCHELLUS, Waite. (Fig. 12.) Anthias pulchellus, Waite, Mem. Austr. Mus., iv., 1899, Pi-7775) Dla xt
Of eleven specimens preserved only three bear the black spot on the dorsal fin. They were obtained off Norah Head, New South Wales, in 65 fathoms, and 60 miles south of Cape Everard, Victoria, 60-70 fathoms.
GENUS CALLANTHIAS, Lowe. CALLANTHIAS ALLPORTI, Giinther. Allport’s Perch.
Callanthias allporti, Giinther, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (4), xvil., 1876, p. 390; id., Boulenger, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., 2nd Cdr in mroOs ep. 335) pl. xvid Waite, Prelam. Rept. ppihetis; Exped’) 1898, p:331., pl:
Callanthias platei, Boulenger, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7), iii, 1899, p- 346; id.. Waite, Mem. Austr. Mus., iv., 1899, p2co;td.. ibid. Rec: Austr. Mus.,w2; 1903, p. 56 (nec C. platei, Steindachner).
Callanthias platei australis, Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales; xxiv... 1899,°p: 173.
In 1898 Waite (Prelim. Rept. ‘‘Thetis’’) recorded six speci- mens from the New South Wales coast as C. allporti, Gunther, but noted that they did not wholly agree with the published descriptions of that species. Boulenger (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.), with Gunther’s type before him, considered that Waite’s figure represented a distinct species and identified it with C. platei, Steindachner,! which had just been described from Juan Fernandez. Later, Ogilby (Proc: Linn Soc. N.S.W.), noting certain differences between Steindachner’s figure and the Australian fish, proposed to separate the latter under the varietal name australis, but this name was not adopted by Waite, who referred to it simply as C. platet (Mem. Austr. Mus., iv., and Rec. Austr. Mus., v.).
With twenty-three specimens taken by the ‘‘Endeavour’’ and four others in the museum collection before me, I find that the ‘‘Thetis’’ specimens were correctly identified as C. allporti, and that C. platei australis is merely the young form
1 pond ennen nana Chilensis, Zool. Jahrb., Suppl., iv., 2, 1898, p. 284, plo xv:
52 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS
of that species. C. allporti varies greatly with age both in the depth of the body and height of the vertical fins, so that Waite’s figure represents the half-grown fish about 200 mm. long, while that in the British Museum Catalogue is the figure of an adult specimen.
Though closely approaching the figure of C. platei in its younger stages, C. allporti nevertheless appears to be dis- tinguished by its larger eye and higher vertical fins. The other characters used by Ogilby to differentiate the variety australis are dealt with below.
My series includes specimens from less than five inches to others over eleven inches long, and they show that the body is much more slender in young individuals than in adults. The greatest depth in the smallest specimen is 3°21 in the length from the snout to the hypural, and it regularly increases with age until in the largest it is 2°66 in the same.
The height of the vertical fins also varies with age, as well as individually. In the smallest specimen the longest anal rays are 7°3 in the above length, while a large example has them 5°04 in the same. In none are they so short as in the figure of C. platei which shows them to be about 8°3 in that length.
The length of the head varies from 3°88 (young) to 4°61 (adult) in the length from the snout to the hypural. In his comparison of C. platei with C. p. australis, Ogilby’s figures show the head to be much smaller in the first-named. My specimens, however, and a comparison of Steindachner’s and Waite’s illustrations show that this difference is not so great as is indicated.
The eye of the young is larger than that of the adult, being 2°77 as against 3 in. the leagtajot ‘the. head=a@heveve oteC: platei is proportionately smaller. The maxillary generally extends to below the anterior margin of the pupil, but in one specimen reaches almost to the middle of the eye. Ogilby’s counting of the fins and scales agrees with mine.
Ogilby has erected the genus Anogramma for C. allporti regarding the strength of the vomerine teeth to be of generic importance. I have large specimens agreeing in every other way with the figure of C. allporti in which these are either small or absent, while others of the australis form have them well developed. Anogramma is therefore unnecessary.
’
The ‘‘Endeavour”’ collection includes forty-three specimens, most of which come from off Flinders Island, Bass Strait. Six were preserved from eleven miles east of Rarrenjoey Head, New South Wales, 40 fathoms.
: FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. 53
GENUS C4:SIOPERCA, Castelnau. C4ESIOPERCA RASOR, Richardson. Red Perch.
Serranus rasor, Richardson, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1839, p- 95, and Trans. Zool: Soe:;\1i.; 1849; p2'73), pl: iv., fig. 1. Anthias rasor, Gunther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., i., 1859, p. 93;
td-> Macleay Proc. ‘Linn. ‘Soc NtS: Wales, v.; 1881, Po oitwid.. johnston, -Broc. GRoys soc. Pasm:, 1882 (1883), p. Se ii. Lucas,’ Proc: ixoya soc: Vict., 2 ser. -, 1890, p. ee vasOYr, espinal Proc. Zooalksoc) Vict-, 1., 1872 p-. 49; 7d., Boulenger, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., 2nd ed., 1895, P- 313- Anthias rasor var. extensus, Klunzinger, Arch. fur. Nat., WV is, O72, Pp. 17. ais Lo SSEG, ee , sitzb. Ak. Wiss. Wien, Ixxx , P- 339, pl. 1 epee: es Boulenger, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., 2nd Cdr pa LoO sos 213.
The ‘‘Endeavour’’ specimens show that the colour markings of this species are subject to great variation. The black mark on the side may be large or only moderately developed, or altogether absent. One specimen shows a large black spot on one side and none on the other, while in a second example it covers fifteen scales on the left side and two on the right. The blue bands around the eye and on the body are well developed in some and wanting in others. Having counted fifteen specimens I find the number of scales and fin-rays to be as follows:—D. x.-x1./19-22; A. ui./g-10; P. 14-15; V. Ser LS salvlat, 4o-s6.
In separating his Anthias extensus from A. rasor, Klunzinger considered that it had a, more slender body, longer pectorals, smooth preorbital, and lacked the characteristic markings of Richardson’s species. The above notes prove that the latter character has no specific value, while Boulenger shows that the length of the pectorals does not differ in the two. Castel- nau described the preorbital as strongly ciliated, but in all my specimens it is either entire or somewhat crenulate, and therefore agrees with both Klunzinger’s and Richardson’s figures. I find that the depth of the body varies from 2°75 to 30 in the length to the hypural, so that but one character, the smaller scales, is left to distinguish extensus. Klunzinger counted 62-63 scales on the lateral line, but it seems that he included some unperforated ones on the base of the tail, as his figure, which is by that most accurate artist, Konopicky, shows only 58.
54 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
Having disposed of these apparent differences I have ne hesitation in following Macleay! in uniting the two species.
The ‘‘Endeavour”’ collection includes fifteen specimens from the following stations :—
Off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait, 40 fathoms.
Oyster Bay, Tasmania.
Forty miles west of Kingston, South Australia, 30 fathoms.
Flinders Island, Investigator Group, South Australia, 37 fathoms.
Five others are in the Australian Museum from Tasmania and South Australia.
C4:SIOPERCA LEPIDOPTERA, Forster. Bastard Longfin.
Cesioperca lepidoptera (Forster), Boulenger, Brit. Mus. Cat. Bish endieds, 1.) 1805s pghe5 1d., Viale. brelim- swept. Uhetisqebxpeds, 1SQS, payer. ple.
Though a large black spot on each side below the lateral line is characteristic of this species, yet some specimens in the collection show that it may occasionally be absent. Others also are marked with many small greenish spots which some- times form short, irregular lines, and may be so crowded on the upper parts as to darken them considerably, while still others show three yellow longitudinal bands along the sides below the lateral line.
Twenty-two specimens were examined from the following localities :—
Shoalhaven Bight, New South Wales, 15-45 fathoms.
Off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait, 40 fathoms.
Oyster Bay, Tasmania, 40-60 fathoms.
Flinders Island, Investigator Group, South Australia, 37 fathoms.
GENUS ENnopLosus, Lacepede ENOPLOSUS ARMATUS, Shaw. Old Wife, Bastard Dorey, Zebra Fish.
Chetodon armatus, Shaw in White, Voy. N.S. Wales, 1790, pe 54,ue. 1.
Specimens of this widely distributed species were preserved from off the Clarence River, New South Wales, 26-30 fathoms, Shoalhaven Bight, New South Wales, 15-45 fathoms, and off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait, 4o fathoms.
1 Macleay—Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, ix., 1884, p. 4.
FISHES.—McCCULLOCH. ate
Famity APOGONICHTHYIDZ. Genus Apoconops, Ogilby. ‘lpogonops, Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, xxi., 1896, p- 23 (anomalus).
Ogilby’s definition of this genus requires amendment and correction. Studying his type specimen I find that whereas he saw no supplemental bone to the maxillary there is really a very distinct bone lying along the upper and inner margin of the maxillary. He writes, also, ‘‘vomer, palatines and tongue edentulous ;’’ both the first-named bear very minute teeth, and there are also some larger ones intermingled with
the others on the vomer. ‘The teeth on the jaws are as described in the type, but in large examples they are as described below. Instead of ‘‘a single dorsal fin, deeply
notched,’’ there are two dorsals separated by a short inter- space.
No scales remain on any part of the body but the lateral line in the type, but in one of the specimens taken by the ““Thetis’’ Expedition there are some on the upper portion of the head, body and base of the tail. Ogilby has stated that they are cycloid and concentrically striated. This applies to the head scales only, they being distinctly ctenoid everywhere else.
All these characters are much more easily detected in my largest specimens, 122 mm. long, than in the type which is only 54 mm. long, and, considering the care which Mr. Ogilby usually lavished on his descriptions, the differences detected are doubtless due to the want of sufficient microscopical appliances on his part.
Apogonops is apparently closely allied to Synagrops, Gun- ther, but is distinguished by having three instead of only two anal spines.
APOGONOPS ANOMALUS, Ogilby.
(Figs)
Apogonops anomalus, Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, RK LOO, "ps 24.510., Waite, Mem- Austr Mus... iv-, T8995 p- 74, pl. xin, die. 1.
Disixe tao loan 7). 13 ee oor Gre dat. 46-50 to hypural. Head 22-34, depth 4;4, in the length to the hypural. Eye 3-34 in the head, longer than the snout which is 3%. Interorbital space 44. Caudal peduncle 24-24, as long as broad, its depth equal to the length of the eye.
Body elongate-oblong, tapering posteriorly, compressed. Head large, some of the bones covered with membrane enclosing canals beneath it. Mouth oblique, maxillary reach-
56 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFi:C RESULTS.
ing to or not so far as the middle of the eye, its posterior border slightly emarginate ; supplemental bone distinct, lying along the upper margin of the maxillary and turned in towards its inner side. Preorbital entire. Preoperculum with two borders, the inner entire; the outer serrated at and near the angle which is a little produced; short ridges extend from each tooth across the bone. Operculum with two spines, the lower a little longer than the upper. Suprascapular rounded, with a dentate margin, and a ridge on its lower portion extending forwards. Nostrils situated on the hinder half of the snout, almost equal in size, the anterior with a skinny margin.
Teeth in villiform bands on the jaws, vomer and palatines, with scarcely any larger ones in the young. In the adult the premaxillaries bear crowded villiform teeth along their whole length, and have a pair of large curved fangs near their symphyses which may be double. Between these bones there is a median excavation which is toothless. Mandible with a narrow band of villiform teeth which is widest anteriorly. A strong pair of canines, corresponding to but smaller than those of the upper jaw, in front; on either side large curved teeth occur among the others which increase in size as they extend backwards, and terminate about half way along the length of the jaw. ‘These larger teeth are variable in size and number in different specimens. Vomer with two diverging bands of minute teeth, among which are some larger ones. Palatines each with a long, narrow band of minute villiform teeth. Gill- rakers of first arch long and slender, the hinder ones more than half as long as the eye and each with the inner margin minutely denticulated ; 21-22 on the lower limb.
FIG, 13.
Scales very deciduous, those of the upper part of the head, preorbital and mandible rounded, concentrically striated and cycloid. They also appear to have been present on the cheeks
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. 577
and operculum. On the body they are similarly rounded and striated, but ctenoid; those of the lateral line have a deep notch in their posterior margins. The scales extend onto the fleshy bases of the dorsal and anal fins and onto the caudal. Lateral line almost straight and extending onto the scaly base of the caudal.
First dorsal fin originating over or a little behind the base of the pectorals; the third and fourth spines are subequal, 2 or almost half as long as the head. The ninth spine is the shortest and 1s separated from the second dorsal by an inter- space a little longer than its own length. Spine of the second dorsal slightly less than half as long as the rays, which are about equal to the length of the longest spines. Anal com- mencing below the third or fourth dorsal ray; the first spine is short and stout, the second shorter than but usually much stronger than the third which is but little shorter than the rays. Ventrals placed below the anterior part of the base of the pectoral and not nearly reaching to the vent; the spine is about two thirds the length of the second ray which is the longest. Pectorals very long, 2-2 as long as the head, the upper ray rather longer than the others.
Colour.—Brownish or greyish above, lighter below; oper- culum, thorax and abdomen silvery. A series of about five: dark blotches along the sides which are less distinct or absent in large specimens. Two darker patches on the scaly portion of the tail. Upper portion of the dorsal fin with a blackish patch between the second and fifth spines.
Described from two specimens, 54 and 122 mm. long, the smaller one being the type of the species. Fin formula and lateral line counted in nineteen specimens.
Forty-three specimens were preserved from the following localities :—
Between Port Setphens and Newcastle, New South Wales, 22-60 fathoms.
Twenty-five miles south-west of Cape Everard) Victoria, 83-98 fathoms.
Thirty-six miles off Cape Everard, Victoria, 75 fathoms.
Famity AMBASSID. Genus Priopis, Kuhl and Van Hasselt. PRIOPIS RAMSAYI, Macleay, (Plate xvi., fig. 3.)
Pseudoambassis ramsayi, Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.
Wales, v., 1881, p. 340. Ambassis ramsayi, Ogilby, Cat. Fish. N.S. Wales, 1886,
jo hme
58 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
Chanda ramsayi, Waite, Mem. N S. Wales Nat. Club, No. 2, 1904, Pp. 29.
Ambassis gymnocephalus, Ramsay and Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, i. (2), 1887, p. 1102. (Perhaps not A. gymnocephalus (Lacépéde) Bleeker. )
Abasassis, sp., Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, iii. (2) 1889, p. 1559.
Chanda gymnocephalus, Waite, Mem. N.S. Wales Nat. Club, No? 2, 1904, p. 20.
Di wis-vile ro) Ay tigee@ar Te: ea Meier C58 Niro sc. lat. 25-26; sc. tr. 3 + 7. Depth nearly 24, head 3i in the length to the hypural. Eye 23-3, orbit 24 in the head, and twice as long as the snout. Interorbital width 14 in the orbit. Caudal peduncle 2 in the head.
Body rather deep, compressed. Upper anterior profile interrupted over the eye, the back between the nape and the dorsal more or less keeled. ‘Supraorbital ridge smooth anteriorly, armed with three to five spines on its posterior portion which is bent downwards. Antero-inferior orbital ring crenulate or spinulate. Preorbital strongly denticulate. Lower limbs of preoperculum denticulated, all the other bones smooth. Maxillary reaching to below the anterior margin of the eye. Two rows of scales on the cheeks, one behind the eye; operculum with large irregular scales, a single row on the interoperculum. Minute teeth on the jaws, vomer, palatines and tongue. Gill-rakers flattened, spinulate on their inner edges, the longest about half as long as the eye.
Scales of the body extending forwards to above the middle of the eye and onto the bases of the dorsal, anal and caudal fins. Lateral line interrupted below the spine of the second dorsal or farther forward, each scale with its free margin notched. There are ten to thirteen scales on the first portion which is arched, and twelve to fourteen on the straight portion.
Origin of the first dorsal a little nearer the end of the second than the tip of the snout. The first spine short, the second strong and subequal to the third and 1+ to rd in the head; the last is joined to the second dorsal by membrane. Spine of the second dorsal two-thirds as long as those of the first, shorter than the anterior rays. Anal commencing and terminating behind the second dorsal, its base either slightly longer or shorter than that fin; the first spine short, the second and third long and stout, the last as long as the rays but shorter than the second dorsal spines. Pectorals almost reaching the vertical of the first anal spines. Ventrals reach- ing to or slightly beyond the vent which is placed well in advance of the anal fin. Caudal deeply forked.
’
FISHES.—McCCULLOCH. ~ Se)
Colour.—Whitish, the scales of the upper portion of the body margined with olive-green dots. A thin dark line on the median line of the tail, and a silvery lateral band in specimens in spirits. Upper portion of the head, lips and lower jaw densely spotted with olive-green. Membrane between the second and third dorsal spines blackish, and the tips of the soft dorsal and anal are darker. Caudal more or less spotted, its margin darker.
Described from two specimens, 80 and 88 mm. long, recently collected in a prawn net at San Souci, Botany Bay, by Mr. J. H. Wright, and presented by him to the Australian Museum. ‘Two very imperfect specimens are in the ‘‘Endea- vour’’ collection which were taken near Sydney.
I have examined the type of Pseudoambassis ramsayi in the Macleay Museum. It is very shrivelled and has lost many of its scales, but leaves no doubt that the specimens described above are correctly identified. I have also examined the specimens from the Parramatta River, identified by Ramsay and Ogilby as 4. gymnoc ephalus, and find them to be identical with Macleay’ s species, though whether they are really gymnocephalus also 1 am unable to say. They appear, how- ever, to have a much deeper body and less slender caudal peduncle than that species.
Famiry SILLAGINIDAE.
References to the Australian species of this family are in an extremely confused state. I have endeavoured to sort some of them into the order I believe they should be, and furnish a key which is drawn up principally from an examination of a number of specimens of each species :—
a. Dorsal fins united, the first with 12-14 spines. Scales in
about 130 rows :— ISOSILLAGO.
b. D. xii.-xiv., 25-27; A. 24-25. Body with small dark Spots. punctata.
aa. Dorsal fins separate, the first with ro-12 spines. Scales in 65-75 rows :— SILLAGO.
Gap Etice ae dark mark at the base of the pectoral.
d. Caudal peduncle as broad as the postorbital portion of the head.
é. Do xa.. 18; A. 17-18 elat. 63-65 :— ciliata. dd. Caudal peduncle narrower than the postorbital por- tion of the head. Ae Xteoxll 9 2O-20ieteeed le, lab 70-70 3 maculata.
60 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS
cc. No black mark on the base of the pectoral. g. Ventrals placed below the origin of the first dorsal. h. D. X1GaUereA® 2071: lat-.65):—-robusta: Ventrals placed in advance of the origin of the dorsal. 1. 1D. xed. 18-20,. As h20-22F leat
JT?
660-68:-— bassensis. i: Dee 21-22. Ae i Qeone le ulate 69-74 :— bostockut.
ni. D. sxihe22-23.5 A. 24-25 1. lat. yo sthama.
Neosillago marmorata, Castelnau,! having only five spines in the first dorsal, is evidently not a member of this family, but possibly belongs to the Nototheniide.
Having had the opportunity of examining the types of Tsosillago maculata, Macleay,2 I find that the number of spines and rays in the dorsal and anal fins are incorrectly stated in the original description. There are thirteen spines in the first dorsal and one spine and twenty-four or five rays in the second; the anal has twenty-four spines and rays in all. In these and all other characters they agree with Sillago punctata, Cuv. & Val., but may very well form the type of a distinct genus Jsosillago, characterised by the union of the two dorsals, larger number of spines in the first, and by having very small scales.
I am unable to find any specimens marked as the types of Sillago gracilis, Alleyne and Macleay,> in the Macleay Museum, but there are two small specimens labelled ‘‘Sillago sp? Torres Straits,’’ which I have no doubt are the types. Through the kindness of Professor Haswell and Professor David, I have been allowed to borrow them for examination. One is a little larger than the other, and from the snout to the end of its broken tail is almost 82 mm. long, which is exactly the length of the figure of S. gracilis. In other details also, such as the form of the damaged tail and the pronounced shrinkage marks on the head, it agrees perfectly with the figure, though it has lost all trace of the colour markings with the exception of the silvery lateral band. Both differ from the description in the number of fin-rays in the dorsal and anal, there being only one spine and twenty rays in each instead of one, twenty-
1 Castelnau—Res. Fish. Austr. (Vict. Rec. Philad. Exhib.), 1876, p. 16. 2 Macleay—Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, iii., 1878, p. 34, pl. iv., fig. 3. 3 alley ne and Macleay—Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, i., 1877, p. 279, pl. vi.,
fig.
FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. 61
two as stated. I regard this of little importance, however, since Macleay also counted the same fins wrongly in his much larger specimens of Isosillago maculata, as noted above.
If these two specimens be regarded as the types of S. gracilis, that species must be sunk as a synonym of S. macu- lata, Q. & G., as both the specimens and the figure agree well with that species.
GENUS SILLAGO, Cuvier. SILLAGO BASSENSIS, Cuvier and Valenciennes. Bass Whiting, School Whiting.
Sillago bassensis, Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., ili-y Lo29, -p..412+ 1d. Ogilby .ed™ Fish. N.S. Wales, 1893, pp- 99, 101, 102; id., Waite, Rec. Austr. Mus., iv., [902 p. 190.20-— Stead, Proc) Bimn- Soe: ?NsS- Vales, xx LOGO, 4p. 574, ands Ed). Bish) (N-S. Wales, 1908; Pan0S5 u pl ex.
Sillago maculata, Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Soc. Vict., 1.,-1872, p- 94; td., Johnston, Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm., 1882 (1883),
116: 71d... eucas. Proc, ‘Roy-ssoc-, Vict. (m. ser), i. 1890, p. 26 (after Castelnau); id., Waite, Mem. Austr. Mus. 1V.2 1SO9..p. 109); (wee. Sa wnaculata, ©. & G.):
Sillago ciliata, Johnston, Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm., 1882 (1883), Pplco, tio (nec ’S.. ciliata, ‘Cuvues Vial>):
Many specimens of this common southern species were preserved. I have counted the fin-rays and scales of forty specimens from New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and West Australia and find them to be as follows: —D. x.-xi./18-20; A. 20-22; |. lat. 66-68.
The °‘Endeavour”’ stations :—
Off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait.
Off the mouth of the Murray River, South Australia, 20 fathoms.
specimens were taken at the following
South-east of Flinders Island, Investigator Group, South Australia, 37 fathoms.
SILLAGO MACULATA, Quoy and Gaimard. Trumpeter Whiting. Sillago maculata, Quoy & Gaimard, Voy. “‘Uranie,’’ 1824, p- 261, pl. li., fig. 2; id., Giinther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., li., 1860, p. 245 (part.); id., Steindachner, Sitzb. Ak. Wiss. Wien., liii., p. 444; td., Alleyne & Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, i., 1877, p. 279; 1d., Castelnau,
,
62 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, iii., 1879, pp. 380-381 ; id.., Klunzinger, Sitzb., Ak. Wiss. Wien., Ixxx. i., p. 370; id., Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, v., 1881, p- 566; 1d., Woods, Fish. N.S. Wales, 1882, p. 65, pl. xxiil. ; id., Ogilby, Cat. Fish. N.S. Wales, 1886, p. 31; id., Kent, Gt. Barrier Reef, 1893, pp. 292, B37 Oe Mto Ogilby» Ed. Fish) Nes) Wales, 1893) p-) 101, (pant): id., Waite, Rec. Austr. Mus., iv., 1902, pp. 190, 191; id., Waite, Mem. N.S. Wales Nat. Club, No. 2, 1904, Dp» Quinta. stead, Ed aiish. INS. Wales: 1908, p. 64, plo xxiv.
Sillago burrus, Richardson, Icones Piscium, 19435, P= (55) plain fig. 1; 1d., Castelnau, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, ii. LO7 Ow Oa 232r
Sillago gracilis, Alleyne & Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales imc, ai877, D.27G,mplbavias) tie 2:
’
These are all the Australian references I know of which can be definitely associated with this species. I have examined specimens from the neighbourhood of Sydney, the Gulf. of Carpentaria and Fremantle, West Australia.
SILLAGO CILIATA, Cuvier and Valenciennes. Sand Whiting.
Sillago ciliata, Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., iii.,. 1620, p» 415, -0¢., Gunthepaporit. Muss Cat.” Kish: sais 1860, p. 245; id., Steindachner, Sitzb. Ak. Wiss. Wien., liii., 1866, p. 443; 7d., Kner, Reise Novara, Fische, 1869, p.127 00. all & Macleseroc. Linn. Soc. Nis Wales: i., 1877, p. 279; 1d., Klunzinger, Sitzb. Ak. Wiss. Wien, IxkxeeieerS79, p. 3693 "d=aViacleay, Proc Linn: (Soc NESs Wales, ov.0 ‘1881 vose5e7.7d., Woods; Mish IN-S: Wales 1882)op. 65,» plies. 542d., Ogilby, 6@at. Bish. N.S. Wales, 1886, p. 31; 1d., McCoy, Prodr. Zool. Vict.,, 1889, pl. clxxxii.; id., Kent, Gt. Barrier Reef, 1893, pp. 2902 andi370, pl. xlv.,figaeema...Osilby.. Ed. Fish. NCS: Wales, 1893, p. 102, pl. xxvii. ; 1d., Waite, Rec. Austr. Mitisessivs, L901, *p..47 saidemevVaite,, Mem: N.S3 Wales: Nat. Club, No. 2, 1904, p. 31; 1d., Jordan & Seale, Bull. US. Burs ish, xxviqm@osn(1900), (p. 277 5 10., stead: Ed. Fish. N.S. Wales, 1908, p. 63, pl. xxxiil.
Sillago terre-regine, Castelnau, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, i elOZO, pr 52.32:
Sillago bassensis, Castelnau, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, ili., 1879, p. 381; id., Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, v., 1881, p. 567; id., Kent, Gt. Barrier Reef, 1893, p- 291; id., Tosh, Proc. Roy. Soc. Olds, xwit, 1903. p. 175, pls. viii-xiv. (nec. S. bassensis, C. & V.).
FISHES.—McCULLOOR. 63:
This species occurs all along the eastern coast of Australia, and has been recerded from Cape York to Port Phillip. A specimen in the British Museum is said to be from Tasmania.
The specimens recorded by Castelnau from Fremantle dis- trict, West Australia, as S. ciliata* are not that species. The Australian Museum has recently received some fine examples from the same locality, from Mr. A. Abjornssen, which differ from S. ciliata in having smaller scales, a much narrower caudal peduncle, more rays in the dorsal and anal fins, and in lacking the characteristic dark mark at the base of the pectorals. They are evidently identical with Castelnau’s specimens and must, therefore, receive the alternative name, bostockii, which he proposed in case they should prove distinct from the- eastern species.
Famity SCIAANIDZ. GENUS CyNOSCION, Gill. CyYNOSCION ATELODUS, Giinther. Teraglin. Otolithus atelodus, Ogilby, Ed. Fish. N.S. Wales, 1893, aye Wasp tidl eo.daile Cynoscion atelodus, Stead, Ed. Fish. N.S. Wales, 1908, p. 67, pl. xxxviil.
Three examples of this species, each about a foot long, were taken fifteen miles off Saddle Hill, New South Wales, in 35 fathoms.
Famity GERRID/. GENUS CHTHAMALOPTERYX, Ogziby. CHTHAMALOPTERYX MELBOURNENSIS, Castelnau.
Gerres melbournensis, Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Soc. Vict., 1.,. 1872, p: 159, andiil., 1873, Pp. 37. Chthamalopteryx melbournensis, Ogilby, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1887, p. 616, fig. The ‘‘Endeavour’’ collection includes many specimens of this species which were taken at the following stations :— Off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait, 4o
fathoms. Off the mouth of the Murray River, South Australia,, 20
fathoms. f Forty miles west of Kingston, South Australia, 30 fathoms.
Spencer Gulf, South Australia, 20 fathoms. South-east of Flinders Island, Investigator Group, South Australia, 37 fathoms.
1 Castelnau—Proe. Zool. Soc. Vict., ii., 1873, p. 133.
“64 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
Famity CHEILODACTYLIDA. GENUS GonustTius, Gill. GONIISTIUS VIZONARIUS, Kent. Magpie Perch.
(Plate xi.)
Cheilodactylus gibbosus, Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Soc. Vict., i., 1872, p. 75; id., Johnston, Proc. Roy Socy lasm. 1882 (1883), p. 112; id., Lucas, Proc. Roy. Soc. Vict., (n. ser.), il., 1890, p. 21 (after Castelnau) (necriG. gibbosus, Richardson).
Chilodactylus visonarius, Kent, Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm., 1887, pp. XxXx., xxxi. and 48; id., Johnston, Proc. Roy. Soe. Tasm., 1890 (1891), p. 31
~Chilodactylus bizonarius, Kent, Naturalist in Austr., 1897, pp. 165, 166, pl. xxvili., fig. 13.
DVillow25-205° A. ii Tos) bee See 6m Ve eer Oe
I. lat. 65-68.
Height of the body 2°6 to 2°8, length of the head 3°50 to 3°66 in the length to the hy pural Snout much longer than the hnee: of the eye which is 4°2 to 4°8 in the head. Nostrils large, close together, the anterior with two skinny lobes.
Mouth rather small, the maxillary reaching to below the
postertor nostril. A band of villiform teeth in each jaw;
vomer, palatines and tongue toothless. There is a large conical projection in front of each eye, extending slightly outwards and upwards.
15;
First dorsal originating a little behind the vertical of the preoperculum, the fifth spine generally the longest, and either equal to the distance from the snout to the preoperculum or considerably shorter. Anterior rays subequal in length, eradually decreasing backwards, the longest somewhat longer than the snout. Thee anal spine longer than the second; the second ray the longest and equal to the length from the snout to the preoperculum. The simple rays of the pectoral are very variable in their relative lengths; the second is always the longest and reaches either to the origin or middle of the anal fin. Ventral spine slender, generally equal to the fourth dorsal spine in length; the first ray reaches to, or almost to the vent. Caudal deeply forked.
Scales large anteriorly, becoming smaller behind. They form a sheath to the bases of the dorsal and anal fins. On the head they are very small and extend forwards to the -anterior margin of the eyes above and to the maxillary below, leaving the snout bare. They are very small on the breast
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. 6 =
also, and on a narrow band which extends backwards to the ventrals. Lateral line feebly arched, its course directed to the upper part of the caudal peduncle, whence it extends onto the base.of the tail.
Colour.—Silvery, the scales with or without darker margins. A broad black band occupies the space between the fifth and thirteenth dorsal spines and extends to the ventrals, narrowing considerably as it approaches them. <A second similar band extends from the soft dorsal to the anal, while there is another less distinct one enveloping the anterior por- tion of the head and defined posteriorly by a line descending from the nape, behind the eye to the throat. These two last bands are usually not so well defined as the first, and may be altogether absent. Pectorals, ventrals and anal blackish; dorsals and caudal light or dusky, the dark bands of the body sometimes continued onto the former.
Described from six specimens, the largest being 380 mm. long.
This species is so far recorded from Tasmania and Victoria only, but there is a specimen in the Australian Museum from Adelaide. Castelnau confused it with Cheilodactylus gibbosus, Richardson, and as such recorded it first from Hobson’s Bay and later from Port Jackson.1 The Victorian record un- doubtedly refers to G. vizonarius, while the second is based on the true G. gibbosus which is occasionally seen around piles, etc., in Port Jackson in small numbers.
This species is undoubtedly a member of the same genus as the Cheilodactylus vittatus, Garrett, described and figured by Jordan and Evermann.? but whether this really belongs to Lacépéde’s genus is doubtful. I therefore place vizonarius in Gontistius, to which genus Waite referred G. vittatus.§
The specimens preserved in the ‘‘Endeavour’’ collections came from Anderson Bay, Tasmania, 14 fathoms, and off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait.
GENUS DacTYLOSPARUS, Gill. Dactylosparus, Gill, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., 1862 (car- ponemus, Cuv. & Val.). This genus appears to be distinguished from Cheilodactylus,
Lacépede, chiefly in having the anal fin oblong and nearly uniformly high instead of short and highest anteriorly.
1 Castelnau—Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, iii., 1879, pp. 351, 363.
2 Jordan & Evermann—Bull. U.S. Fish. Comm., xxiii., pt. 1, 1903 /1905).. p. 447, pl. liv.
3 Waite—Rec. Austr. Mus., iv., 1902, p. 185.
66 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
DACTYLOSPARUS CARPONEMUS, Cuvier and Valenciennes. Morwong. Chilodactylus carponemus (Cuvier and Valenciennes), Ogilby, Ed: Mish: N.S. Walesaei8o3. 7p. 55, pl. xvi
The collection includes six young examples, 125-145 mm. long, which have much deeper bodies than adult specimens, and are marked with a round dark spot on the lateral line below the posterior part of the spinous dorsal. They were obtained off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait, and between Port Stephens and Newcastle, New South Wales, 22-60 fathoms.
DACTYLOSPARUS MACROPTERUS, Forster. Jackass Fish, Silver Perch, Terakiht. (Plate xii.) Chilodactylus macropterus (Forster), Ogilby, Ed. Fish. N.S. Wraless 1893), p- 57- This common species is represented from the following localities :-— Off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait.
Off the mouth of the Murray River, South Australia, 20 fathoms.
Forty miles west of Kingston, South Australia, 30 fathoms.
Famity TERAPONID. GENUS HELOTES, Cuvier. HELOTES SEXLINEATUS, Quoy and Gaimard. Butter Fish. Terapon sexlineatus, Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. *‘Uranie,”’ Pe2ap. 340; pl. Ix. eae Two specimens of this species were secured in the Mel- bourne market by Mr. Dannevig, which probably came from South Australia. They were called Butter-fish by the fisher- men. Famity MAS NIDAE.
GENUS EMMELICHTHYS, Iichardson. EMMELICHTHYS NITIDUS, Richardson. Emmelichthys nitidus, Richardson, Zool. Ereb. & Terr.,
Fishes, 1845, p- 47, pl. xxix., figs. 7-8. Two small specimens were obtained thirty-six miles off Cape Everard, Victoria, in 75 fathoms. It is probable that they
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. 67
-entered the net as it neared the surface, since the species has been taken in a surface net, swimming with pilchards and mackerels.! This fish has been recorded from West Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and New Zealand.
Famity HISTIOPTERIDA. GENUS ZANCLIsTIUS, Jordan.
Zonchisiius. jordan, «Proc, U.S.sNat. Mus.; xxxil., 1907; p. 236 (elevatus).
Anal spines three; soft dorsal very high, usually falcate, with about twenty-six rays.
ZANCLISTIUS ELEVATUS, Ramsay and Ogilby. Short Boar Fish. (Figs. 14-18.)
Histiopterus elevatus, Ramsay and Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales (2), ii., 1888, p. 1311; id.. Waite, Mem. Avistha Must dive, 1699.9. tid, pla xxvi.
Zanclhistius elevatus, Waite, Proc. N. Zealand Inst., pt. 1, 1QNO; pass manduxec. Cantby:Mitise. 14, 19rLp. 210) ta.; Kershaw, Vict. Nat. xxvill., 1911, p. 93.
Fifty-two specimens, of all sizes between 75 and 300 mm. long, exhibit a remarkable range of variation in certain of the characters that are usually relied upon to differentiate the species of this family. That these are not due to either age or growth is adequately shown by this splendid series, while it is also clear that they cannot be entirely connected with sex.
Figures 14-18 illustrate five selected variations, their relative sizes being shown by the inch-line accompanying each.
The most striking variation is in the angle and form of the dorsal profile. In some specimens the line from the first dorsal spine to the base of the snout is almost straight, being broken only by a slight convexity over the eyes. In others it is an irregular arch interrupted by a large bony boss on the occipital region, and another smaller one over each eye. From these last the profile may extend obliquely forward so that the nostrils are placed nearly an eye-diameter in front of the anterior margin of the orbit, or it may follow the curvature of the eye so that they are only very little in front of the eye. The size of the eye is also subject to variation.
1 Stead—Add. Fish Faun. N.S. Wales, No. 1 (Dept. Fish. N.S.W.), 1907, p. 16
“ENDEAVOUR” SOIENTIFIO RESULTS.
68
\
FIG. 14.
if
if i
Ais
FIG. 15.
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. 69
Two very young specimens have the bones of the head more strongly ribbed than in the larger examples, and they bear some prominent flattened spines on the occiput and above the eyes. Smaller spines are found on the lower end of the pre- orbital and on the suprascapular, and the angle and adjacent borders of the preoperculum are armed with strong teeth.
FIG. 16.
The dorsal fin may originate over the preoperculum or as far back as the extremity of the operculum. The spines vary greatly in length and are either short and thick or long and slender. When laid back the longest rays may reach to just beyond the base of the caudal or as far again. The third anal spine is either longer or shorter than the second, and the soft
70 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
portion of the fin may be rounded or else the anterior rays are much the longest. The ventral spine is placed below the middle of the pectoral in some specimens and well in advance of it in others. Notwithstanding the variable form and posi- tion of the fins, their numbers of rays and spines are fairly constant, and in twenty-five specimens I find them to be as followse—Deavi-/25-28, AL anges) ba 1A=16,) Veg ice. nny
FIG. 17.
A constant character is afforded by the black ocellus on the dorsal fin, it being present in all the ‘‘Endeavour’’ specimens. One very small example, 75 mm. long, is covered with large brown spots distributed evenly over the body and in no way correlated with the darker bands which appear in older specimens; others of the same size, however, show no such marking.
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. ~Y
The specimens came from the following stations :—
Shoalhaven Bight, New South Wales, 15-45 fathoms.
Disaster Bay, New South Wales.
Off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait, 40 fathoms.
North-west of Gree1ly Island, South Australia, 44 fathoms.
Flinders Island, Investigator Group, South Australia, 37 fathoms.
GENUS PENTACEROPSIS, Steindachner. PENTACEROPSIS RECURVIROSTRIS, Richardson. Striped Boar Fish.
Histiopterus recurvirostris, Richardson, Zool. Ereb. & Terr., Fishes, 1945, p- 34) pl. xxil., fig. 5-6, id., Canestrint, Arch Zool. sAnat., i. (2), p. D52saplei..< zd., Castelnau; Proc:Zool: Soc, Vict., i., 1872,p4.16e9; td.,. Klunzinger: SItZ.wAke Wiss Wien., Ixxx. i9p..370; id., Johnston; Proc hoy, soc. ‘Pasin., 1882) \(tsse)) py 110:
72 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
Prosoplismus recurvirostris, Waite, Rec. Austr. Mus., v., LOOAO eS oS. pl. V1;
Pentaceropsis recurvirostris, Waite, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Xi (7),, 1903, p. 288Gerbid. Ree: Austr: (Muss. .v.. 1905, corrigenda, p. xill. ; ibid., loc. cit., V1, 1905 0p- 02: ds, Jordan, Proc. U.S: Nat. Mus:) xxxil., 1907, ps 236:
This species has been recorded from southern New South
Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Fremantle,
West Australia. Three specimens are included in the ‘‘En-
deavour’’ collection which were trawled off the east coast of
Flinders Island, Bass Strait.
GENUS MAcCULLOCHIA, Waite.
Richardsoma, Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Acclim. Soc. Vict., 1., 1872, p. 112 (insignis =labiosa, not Richardsonia, Stein- dachner, 1866).
Richardsoma, Jordan, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., xxxii., 1907, pae2go:
Macullochia, Waite, Proc. N. Zealand Inst., pt. 1, 1910, p. 25 (labiosa), substitute for Richardsonia.
Maccullochia, Waite, Rec. Cantb. Mus., 1., 1911, p. 217. Anal spines two. Dorsal spines seven, the fourth longest and very high; soft dorsal low and short, with about seventeen rays. MACCULLOCHIA LABIOSA, Giinther.
Histiopterus labiosus, Gunther, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1871, p. 658, pllixe zd. Klunzinger, Sitz. Ak. Wiss) Wien. Ixexxelics p-| 370 aids; Ogilby, Ed. Fish. and Crust. N.S. Wales, 18925029) pl. vil.
Richardsonia insignis, Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Acclim. Soc. Wits, dni S72) ps 1p.
Histiopterus farnelli, Waite, Mem. Austr. Mus., iv., 1899, PatlO, pl xxval.
Macullochia labiosa, Waite, Proc. N. Zealand Inst., pt. 1, LQLOs -u 25
Eleven specimens, 170-380 mm. long, prove that H. farnelli, Waite, is the young of Gunther’s species. From the deep-bodied form, with striking dark colour-markings, this fish changes into an elongate and uniformly coloured adult.
The largest specimen in the collection is especially interesting
in that it is just intermediate between the two extremes.
While having the general appearance of labiosus, it has the
long spines and markings of farnelli, but these latter, instead
of being uniformly black, are composed of brown reticulating
FISHES.—MCCULLOCH. 72 lines enclosing spots of the lighter ground colour. Mr. Waite has examined these specimens with me and agrees that they leave no doubt as to the identity of the two species.
A point worthy of consideration is the difference noted by Waite in the number of scales on the lateral line as counted by Ogilby and himself. I find that the lateral line may either follow the curvature of the body in an even line or else pursue an undulatory and irregular course. Bearing this in mind, together with the difficulty of counting the scales of these fishes, the seeming discrepancy disappears.
Shoalhaven Bight, New South Wales 15-45 fathoms. Disaster Bay, New South Wales. Off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait.
Famity POMACENTRID.-#. GENUS CHROMIS, Cuvier. CHROMIS HYPSILEPIS, Giinther. Brown Puller.
(Plate xiv.)
Heliastes hypsilepis, Giinther, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3), xx. 1867, p. 66; td., Castelnau, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, iii. 1879, p. 388; id... Klunzinger, Sitzb. Ak. )Wiss. Wi ien, Ixxx. 1., 1879, p- 398; id., Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc.) Nos. Wales, vi., 1881, po 7uad., Ogilby, Mem. Austr. Mus., ii., ‘1889, p- 66.
Bio exit, PPAG Aca, 13; P 205 Vein Ge Corrs cel lat. ZO) SC. 2/7.
The height of the body is 24 to 24, the length of the head 37 to 34 in the length from the snout to the hypural. Eye 3 to 2%, caudal peduncle 24 in the head. Snout two-thirds as long as the eye.
Body ovate, compressed, the dorsal profile a little more arched than the ventral, and evenly curved from the snout to the first dorsal spine. Margin of the preoperculum striated, but smooth. Operculum ending in a single flat spine which is almost hidden by scales. Preorbital not very broad, equal to about one-third of the eye at its narrowest part. Inter- orbital space strongly convex, equal to or somewhat wider than the eye. Nostril round, a little nearer the eye than the end of the snout. Maxillary reaching a little behind the anterior margin of the eye; mouth small, oblique. Teeth conical, acute and spaced, arranged in a band in front, but gradually changing into a single series on the sides, the outer teeth larger than the others.
74 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
Entire body and head, with the exception of the chin and the tip of the snout, covered with ciliated scales; on the upper parts of the head they are small and irregular, larger on the cheeks, and very large on the operculum and body. They extend about half-way up the vertical fins between the spines and rays, and there is a scaly sheath at the bases of the spinous dorsal and anterior part of the anal; small scales also cover the base and sides of the tail and basal portion of the pectoral. A large pointed scale at the base of the ventral. Lateral line curved and terminating below the middle of the soft dorsal; a second, less distinct, series of tubes runs along the middle of the caudal peduncle, covering eight or nine _ scales. There are twenty-seven scales between the head and the hypural.
Origin of the dorsal over. or a little behind the opercular spine. ‘The first spine is short, two-thirds as long as the eye, the fifth and sixth the longest and half as long as the head; thence they decrease slightly, the last being three-fourths the length of the fifth. The soft dorsal is somewhat angular, its sixth ray the longest and one and a half in the head. Anal oblong, the first to the tenth rays subequal, one and a third in the head; second spine very strong and but little shorter than the rays. Upper rays of the pectoral longest, longer than the head. Ventrals pointed, the first ray produced and reaching beyond the vent. Caudal forked, the upper lobe longer and more pointed than the lower.
Colour.—Olive-green above, the head and lower surfaces yellowish, each scale of the back and sides with a darker centre. Spinous dorsal dusky, especially towards its margin. Soft dorsal. and anal each with an indistinct dark median band. Base of the pectoral with a conspicuous blackish spot covering its upper half. A whitish spot on the upper part of the caudal peduncle immediately behind the dorsal.
Described from three specimens, one 188 mm. long, from
the coast near Sydney, and two others in the Australian Museum from Lord Howe Island, 123-160 mm. long.
CHROMIS? IMMACULATUS, Ogilby.
Heliastes immaculatus, Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, *K., Toso; p. 446% 2d. eNVaite.~Mem., Austr aMiuss ive, 1899, p: 86, pl. xiv.
When writing on this species, Waite (loc. cit.) suggested that it was identical with C. hypsilepis, and later, in his
Catalogue of the Fishes of New South Wales,! he quotes his
1 Waite—Mem. N.S. Wales Nat. Club, No. 2, 1904, p. 37.
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. —-
Hey,
figure of Ogilby’s species under that name. C. immaculatus, however, is readily distinguished from C. hypsilepis by its much rounder body, shorter and broader caudal peduncle, larger number of rays in the dorsal and anal fins, and by the absence of the dark mark on the base of the pectoral and the white spot on the caudal peduncle. The teeth of the two species also are very different.
Ogilby has described the teeth as conical and arranged in a single series, but this is not altogether correct. In five specimens, including the type, there is an enlarged outer series of subcylindrical teeth with blunt points, arranged close together as in Glyphisodon. Behind these there is a second row of much smaller but similar teeth closely adpressed to the outer series, each tooth of which is placed behind the inter- section of two front ones; this is doubtless a growing set to replace the outer one as it becomes worn or damaged, and an exactly similar arrangement is found in many species of Glyphisodon and Hypsypops. Onthe median line of the palate there is usually a single large depressible tooth of the same form as, but more slender than those of the outer row. These teeth are very different from those of Chromis chromis, Linn., or C. hypsilepis, Giinther, which are conical, somewhat spaced, and arranged in a band; they approach much nearer to those of Glyphisodon, but are subcylindrical instead of compressed.
Three specimens were taken by the ‘‘Endeavour’’ at the following stations :—
Sixteen miles off the Bellenger River, New South Wales, 40-52 fathoms.
Six miles off Port Stephens, New South Wales, 43 fathoms.
Shoalhaven Bight, New South Wales, 15-45 fathoms.
GENUS Hypsypops, Gill. HYPSYPOPS MICROLEPIS, Giinther. Scaly fin.
Hypsipops microlepis, Giinther—Waite, Rec. Austr. Mus., Min TOS, ps C7. Plexi Two specimens are in the collection from the New South Wales coast, one from five miles off the South Solitary Light- house, 35 fathoms, and the other from six miles off Port | Stephens, 43 fathoms. It is surprising to find this common littoral species occurring in such deep water. It does not
appear to have been previously recorded north of Port Jackson.
76 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS. Famity LABRIDA. Genus PseupoLaBRus, Bleeker.
PSEUDOLABRUS CYANOGENYS, Ramsay and Ogilby.
Lilac-banded Parrot-fish. (Plate xiii.)
Labrichthys cyanogenys, Ramsay and Ogilby, Proc. Linn. Soe: gN.S) Wales (2)5mi, 1887, p. 242:
?Labrichthys ephippium, Ginther, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3), xi, 1603, p. i16;@ud., . Macleay, Procs/Linn. Sec N.S. Wales, vi., 1881, p. 84 (nec Labrus ephippium, Cuv. and Val.).
?Labrichthys vestita, Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Soc. Vict., i. DOT 25 iDatiGil-
?Labrichthys cuvieri, Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Soc. Vict., ii., 1873, p. 53; id.. Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, vi., 1881, p. 84.
The collection includes three specimens, one of which is figured, though, as all traces of the bands on the body have disappeared in formalin, these have been copied from the type specimen. A second example agrees exactly with the first, but the third is of a dark purplish tint in which the body bands can be traced, together with the blue markings on the pectorals, operculum and throat, while the ventrals, pectorals and spinous dorsal are yellowish. A careful comparison with the type specimen, which is badly stuffed, leaves no doubt that they are the same species.
The scales on the cheeks appear to vary somewhat, there being two rows in some specimens, while others have a single row of larger scales on the upper portion which splits into three below. The presence or absence of the posterior canines 1s unimportant since one, or even two may be well developed on one side of the mouth and wanting on the other. Apart from these characters, the original description fits the ‘‘Endeavour’’ specimens so well that it is unnecessary to redescribe them here.
P. cyanogenys is so far recorded only from the southern half of the New South Wales coast, but it is almost certain that it is identical with some of the earlier described species from Victorian or Tasmanian waters, though until the types can be examined it is impossible to be certain on this point. The ‘“Endeavour’’ specimens were obtained in Oyster Bay, Tas- mania, in 40-60 fathoms. The largest example is 410 mm. long.
[Since the above was set up I have examined a series of specimens 84-16 inches long from Tasmania and the Mel- bourne markets. The smaller ones have the dark brown
b)
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. 77 bands on the body and other characteristics of P. vestitus, while the larger ones are undoubtedly P. cyanogenys, and they also agree with the adults described by Castelnau. The others exhibit every intermediate stage between the two, so that there can be no doubt as to the identity of P. vestita and P. cyanogenys. |
PSEUDOLABRUS PSITTACULUS, Richardson. (Higsai9:)
Labrus psittaculus, Richardson, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1840, p. 26, and Trans. Zool. Soc., iii., 1849, p. 141.
Labrus, Tautoga, psittacula, Richardson, Zool. Ereb. and Wert: Kishes) 18485"p.'rz9,, pl. lui aigs. 7-10:
Labrichthys psittacula, Gunther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., iv., Teo2,p- 1143 7d., Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Soc. Vict., i 1873, Pp: 52-
Labrichthys rubicunda, Macleay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, vi., 1881, p. 89.
ca,
Labrichthys mortoni, Johnston, Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm., 1884 (1885), p. 256. Pisce ie AN Mie TON. ~5 >) bona ee wa: |i Mat. 25=26,: tr. 24-8. Height of body 3-34, length of head 34-34 in the length to the hypural. Eye 44-5, snout 3-34, caudal peduncle 24-24 in the head. Interorbital width #-1 in the orbit.
Body compressed, highest at the origin of the dorsal, the profile from the snout slightly convex or almost straight. Head conical, the snout somewhat pointed. Caudal peduncle very broad and flattened. Mouth slightly oblique, extending to below the nostrils. Anterior canines strong and curved, decreasing in size backwards; a second row of small teeth on the anterior portion of each jaw. Posterior canine strong and curved. Interorbital space convex over the eyes, flattened or slightly concave on the median line. Upper portion of the head, snout and space around the eyes, and the margin of the preoperculum covered with muciferous canals. Cheeks with four rows of small scales ; operculum with four or five rows of large irregular scales. A broad skinny flap on the end of the operculum..
Lateral line following the curve of the back to below the last two dorsal rays, where it bends abruptly downwards to the mid-line of the tail. Scales extending over the base of the caudal fin, and series of smaller scales are continued up between the rays.
78 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
Dorsal spines increasing in length backwards, the last once and a half to twice as long as the first and about as long as the snout; the filament of each spine is produced beyond its point. Rays of the dorsal longer than the spines, the second or third last the longest and 2-24 in the head. Anal similar to the dorsal. Second and third upper pectoral rays the longest; the upper portion of the hinder margin is either straight or slightly concave, while the lower angle is broadly rounded. Ventrals rather small and pointed, not reaching backwards to the vent. Hinder margin of the caudal truncate the upper lobe, and usually the lower one also, produced.
FIG. 19.
Colour.—Pink, with a large yellow spot in the centre of each scale on the sides. The head and back are darker, and there is a light green spot on the operculum. A black spot on the back at the base of the last dorsal rays may be present or absent, and may be followed by a second less distinct one on the free portion of the tail. After long preservation, the colour is almost uniformly whitish with only faint indications of longitudinal yellow bands along the rows of scales below the lateral line. There are very indistinct traces of light spots on the dorsal and anal fins which also appear to have had slightly darker margins with lighter inframarginal bands.
Described from eight specimens, 148-215 mm. long.
There are also three specimens in the Australian Museum which were received from the Tasmanian Museum as Labrichthys mortoni, Johnston, with the description of which they agree very well. They were afterwards identified by Ogilby as Pseudolabrus psittaculus, and they are certainly identical with the ‘‘Endeavour’’ specimens which I determine as that species.
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. 79 A specimen in the Macleay Museum ts labelled ** Labrichthys vubicunda, Macleay, Tasmania,’’ which, notwithstanding that that species was said to come from King George’s Sound, I have no doubt is the type. It agrees with the description in every detail, even in the colours of the scales and in having two dark spots on the back, the second being indistinct and situated on the free portion of the tail. Its length, however, is only 82 inches, or 813 to the extreme tip of the upper caudal lobe, not 9 as stated. It 1s undoubtedly identical with the ‘‘Endeavour’’ specimens, and I would therefore regard Tasmania as the correct locality of the specimen. The eight ‘‘Endeavour’’ specimens were taken at the following stations :—
Oyster Bay, Tasmania, 40-60 fathoms.
Off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait, 4o fathoms.
Twenty miles north-east of Babel Island, Bass Strait, 68 fathoms.
Famity CARANGID.. GENus TRACHURUS, Rafinesque. TRACHURUS DECLIVIS, Jenyns. Yellowtail, Horse Mackerel. Caranx declivis, Jenyns, Zool. Beagle, iii., 1842, p. 68, Die exv:
Two large specimens sixteen inches long were obtained off the mouth of the Murray River, South Australia, in 20 fathoms, and another nearly eighteen inches long from the Victorian coast. Two small ones are in the collection from between Port Stephens and Newcastle, New South Wales, 22-60 fathoms.
Adult examples of this species have the last rays of the dorsal and anal fins much enlarged and forming a semi detached finlet, thereby approaching Decapterus. This con- dition can also be traced in young examples, but it is much less striking than in the larger ones.
GENUS CaRANx, Lacépede. CARANX PLATESSA, Cuvier and Valenciennes.
Trevally.
Caranx platessa, Cuvier and Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., 1x., 1833, p. 84; id., Jordan and Seale, Bull. U.S. Bur. Fish., XXv., 1905 (1906), p. 437.
Caranx georgianus, Cuvier and Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. BOIS ix. LO3S. Da G5.
. Many young specimens were obtained off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait.
So “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
Famity SCOMBRIDEE. GENUS SCOMBER, Linn@us. SCOMBER JAPONICUS, Houttuyn. Mackerel.
Scomber japonicus (Houttuyn), Jordan and Evermann, Bull. WS) bash. (Comm. scxtit« pt. ©. 1903) (1605) jas utGor fig. 62.
Eighteen young examples, four and a half inches long, were preserved from sixteen miles off Port Stephens, New South Wales. The trawl was shot in 75 fathoms, but the mackerel doubtless entered it as it neared the surface.
FamMity TRICHIURIDA.
GENUS THYRSITES, Cuvier.
THYRSITES ATUN, Euphrasen.
Barracouta. Scomber atun, Euphrasen, Vetensk. Acad. Nya. Handl., xii., HGS) eyes) SHS Several young examples were preserved from off Flinders Island, Investigator Group, South Australia, 37 fathoms, and from forty miles west of Kingston, South Australia, 30 fathoms. The species does not appear to have been previously recorded from this State.
Famity BRAMID. GENUS SCHUETTEA, Steindachner.
Schuettea, Steindachner, Sitzb. Ak. Wiss. Wien., liii. i., 1866, p. 449 (S. scalaripinnis).
Bramichthys, Waite, Rec. Austr. Mus., vi., 1905, p. 72 (B- woodwardi).
The genus Schuetta, with scalaripinnis for its type, was described by Steindachner in 1866 from four small specimens taken in Port Jackson, but does not appear to have been again noted by later writers. The Australian Museum collection includes both young and adult examples which agree perfectly with the definition. In 1905 Waite described a new genus and species, Bramichthys woodwardi, from Western Aus- tralia, but a comparison of specimens of that species, recently received from Mr. A. Abjornssen, with others of S. scalari- pinnis shows that they are undoubtedly congeneric.
The two species may be readily distinguished by the differ- ent form of their bodies :—
a. Depth at the origin of the dorsal less than half the length to the hypural :— scalaripinnis.
aa. The same depth more than half the same length :— woodwardt-.
FISHES.—McCULLOCH. S1
SCHUETTEA SCALARIPINNIS, Steindachner. (Plate xv.)
Schuettea scalaripinnis, Steindachner, Sitzb. Ak. Wiss. WWhiensgeliin eyites TSoOO. 2 pl. /449; Tole mele, tes aT 4d... McCulloch, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, xxxvi., 1911, p- 82.
Bramichthys woodwardi, Stead, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, MEK LOOO, ps 400 q0d., stead, Add shish. Haun. N.S. Wales (Dept. Fish. N.S.W.), 1907, p. 23 (nec B. wood- wardi, Waite).
Diver 28-205. eeiit.2 8-336 IP tO: Neaimegs © patty dat: 53-50; |. tr. 8+ 28.
Height of the body about 24, length of the head, 34-34 in the length to the hypural. Eye very large, about 24, caudal peduncle 22 to 3 in the head. Interorbital width 2, snout rather more than 4 of the eye.
Body broadly ovate, compressed, the dorsal and ventral profiles almost evenly rounded. Back between the eyes and the dorsal fin with a well-developed keel in young specimens which is less marked in adults. Interorbital space more or less convex, snout flattened above, a slight concavity usually present over the nostrils. Maxillary reaching to below the anterior third of the eye; the distal end expanded, its breadth only a little less than the length of the snout, and either truncate or with the angles rounded. Preorbital narrow, smooth. Angle of the preoperculum broadly rounded, the inferior border minutely serrated in the young, almost or quite smooth in adults, the hinder border very thin. Oper- culum with two weak, flat spines separated by a broad, deeply concave interspace; above the superior one the bony margin forms three small points which are not always distinct. With the exception of the tip of the snout and the lips, the whole head is covered with small scales which extend backwards to the dorsal fin and form a marked line on the sides of the nape where they meet those of the body. Teeth minute, movable, in bands on both jaws but absent near the symphyses of each ; they form a triangular patch on the vomer and a band on each palatine. Gill-rakers long, compressed, the longest about half as long as the eye, and roughened on their inner surfaces ; there are about twenty-six on the lower limb of the first arch. A large pore is present on either side of the symphyses of the lower jaw.
Scales of moderate size, very thin, cycloid and finely striated. They are arranged in oblique rows on the sides and are largest above the pectoral fin; they cover the greater
82 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
portion of the dorsal and anal fins, especially anteriorly, and also extend onto the caudal and basal portion of the pectorals. Lateral line more or less arched anteriorly, thence straight to the hypural and continued to between the tips of the middle caudal rays. .
Origin of the dorsal over the interspace between the ven- trals and the anal, and about twice as far from the end of the middle caudal rays as from the snout. The spines increase regularly in height and are closely adpressed to one another. The second and third rays are the longest and are from two- thirds to three-quarters as long as the head; the next three or four rays become rapidly shorter, and the following decrease regularly to the last. Anal originating below the second or third dorsal rays and terminating well behind that fin; its base is a little shorter than, but the rays are of similar form and length to those of the dorsal. Pectoral pointed, the third upper ray the longest and reaching backward to above the anal spines or even as far as the third ray of that fin. Ventrals short, reaching to or a little beyond the vent. Caudal forked.
Colour.—Silvery, tinged with pink, the upper parts of the head and back darker. Most of the scales dark edged, par- ticularly at the bases of the dorsal, anal and pectoral fins. Tips of the dorsal and anal black. Caudal dusky, especially at the tips of the lobes, the outermost rays darker. Specimens long preserved in spirits are colourless, with the lower half of the body silvery.
Described from four specimens 100-190 mm. jong, from Port Jackson and its vicinity. The ‘‘Endeavour’’ collection includes two specimens from near Sydney, while nine others were presented to the Australian Museum by Mr. J. Blair, who caught them in a meshing net at Bondi, near Sydney.
Famity ZEID/E. GENUS ZeEuS, Linneus. ZEUS FABER, Linn@us.
John Dorey.
Zeus faber, Giinther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish., i1., 1860, p. 393; id., Day, Fish. Gt. Brit. and Ireland, i., 1880-4,.p. 138, pl. xviii. ; id., Klunzinger, Sitz. Ak. Wiss. Wien, Ixxx. 1., 1879, p. 370; id., Wamwe Rec. Cantho Muss wis gaz, p25, and loc: cit.) 19kipep- 13S.
Zeus australis, Richardson, Zool. Ereb. and Terr., Fishes, 1845, p. 36, pl. xxv., fig. 1; id., Castelnau, Proc. Zool. Soc! ‘Vict., 1., 1872.ep. 08's id.," Waite, Mem. Aust: Mus., iv., 1899, p. 89.
FISHES.—McOULLOOH. 83 Having compared fifteen specimens from New South Wales with the descriptions and figures of the European species, I fail to find any specific differences between them. As has been pointed out by Waite, the characters relied upon to dis- tinguish Z. australis from Z. faber are variable, and one must therefore follow Gunther in regarding the two as identical.
Eight small specimens, 63-140 mm. long, differ from the larger ones in having much deeper bodies, which are marked with many wavy, dark lines extending from the snout to the tail.
This species was taken between Port Stephens and New- castle, New South Wales, in 22-60 fathoms; in Disaster Bay, New South Wales; and thirty-six miles off Cape Everard, Victoria, 75 fathoms.
GENUS ZENOoPSIS, Gill. ZENOPSIS NEBULOSA, Schlegel. Mirror Dorey.
(Biate txvie: fig 4ir3)
Zeus nebulosus, Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Poiss., 1847, Poawi2a, pl. bevie
Zenopsis nebulosa, Jordan and Fowler, Proc. U.S. Nat. MISS xXKVe,, FOO2.p. (515.
DD Tavaiteatwn 2 -DSe WAG A. , (25527 Vitin 59) Ps ere=14" C, Ber 2k
Height of the body 1°6 to 1°8, length of the head 2°8 in the length from the snout to the hypural. Snout twice as long as the eye which is 4°3 in the head and a little wider than the interorbital space. Maxillary very large, its greatest width 075 to 0°85 in the eye. With the exception of the rough orbital margins, the head is quite smooth, though the pre- operculum ends in a broad spine below, and there is another more or less distinct flattened spine just below the end of the maxilla. Teeth small, conical, acute, arranged in two groups in front on the upper jaw, becoming rudimentary on the sides ; in the lower jaw, though they are largest anteriorly, they are also quite distinct laterally. They form two groups on the vomer.
Skin wholly naked except for the bony bucklers which are each armed with a central spine, curved backwards and out- wards, and ornamented with radiating ridges. There are twelve to fourteen bucklers along the base of the dorsal, the anterior ones being somewhat indistinct and commencing in advance of the third dorsal spine ; those beneath the middle of
84 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
the soft dorsal are the largest. Eight or nine are arranged. along the base of the anal. There are two or three median plates and two to four pairs in front of the ventrals, while between that fin and the anal there is one median and six to eight of the paired series. Generally the bucklers of one side do not correspond to those of the other but are more or less alternate to one another. Lateral line strongly arched anteriorly, straight posteriorly.
Dorsal originating over the middle of the operculum. ‘The second spine is usually the longest, and is either almost equal to the length of the head or somewhat shorter. The membrane of the spines is produced beyond their tips, the filament of the anterior ones being from one-fourth to one-half as long as the spine. ‘The rays are all simple, and increase rapidly in length to about the fourteenth, which is more than twice as long as the first; behind this they are more uniform. Anal spines decreasing in length backwards, the first equal to about three-fourths the length of the eye; the rays are similar in form to those of the dorsal. Ventrals large, reach- ing to the first anal spine in old specimens and to the first ray in younger ones; the first ray not closely adpressed to the spine. Upper pectoral rays the longest, once and a half to twice as long as the eye. Caudal truncate or slightly rounded when expanded, its peduncle about two-thirds the diameter of the eye.
Colour.—Silvery, the first dorsal, ventral and hinder portion of the caudal blackish. A large dark spot on the middle of the sides in fresh specimens, which disappears in preserved examples.
The above description is drawn up from thirteen specimens 230-360 mm. long. In large examples the profile from the chin to the vent is evenly rounded, but in the smaller ones it descends obliquely to the ventrals, where it forms a sharp angle with the belly line. The latter is either straight or convex. The specimen figured on plate xvi. is 242 mm. long, and represents the angular stage, while the rather crude figure in ‘‘Fauna Japonica’’ shows the rounded profile char- acteristic of the larger fish.
Relying on the descriptions and figure quoted above, and. with only the smaller specimens before me, I at first con- sidered the Australian examples distinct from Z. nebulosus, as none showed the clouded body markings of Schlegel’s figure, nor has the angular form been described in the Japanese works. Having since obtained a specimen from Tokio Bay, however, and larger ones from the Victorian coast, I find that they agree in every detail.
FISHES.—McCCULLOCH. 85
The thirteen specimens were trawled at the following stations :—
Off Cape Everard, Victoria, 70 fathoms.
Twenty miles north-east of Babel Island, Bass Strait, 68 fathoms.
Disaster Bay, New South Wales, 45 fathoms.
The genus Zenopsis is commonly regarded as pelagic, but this is obviously incorrect, though it would seem that some of the species pass through their earlier stages near the surface.
GENUS CytTTUus, Giinther. CYTTUS NOV 4#-ZELANDIA, Arthur. (Plate vii., fig. 2, and fig. 20.) Zeus nove-zelandie, Arthur, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xvi., 1885, Pets pl. xiv. hie: 3° Cyttus nove-selandia, McCulloch, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. NWiales ex xxv tQtO, p. 307" 10... Waite, Rec. -Canth: Mitts), :1- TO1r. ps 190, pli xxx:
Devitieeso eke ie 20,5b atl Santon. Tard Nat. Sars lta. 9+ 47.
Height 1°62 to 1°68 in the length from the premaxillary when the mouth is closed to the hypural. Head almost 3 in the same. Eye very large, 2°4 in the head and longer than the snout. Interorbital width at its narrowest point 1°4 in the eye. Orbit defined above by a curved ridge which is armed with microscopic denticulations and forms an angle at either end with the rest of the orbital margin. Another curved ridge, perforated with numerous pores, extends from the origin of the lateral line to the anterior end of a triangular
FIG. 20.
depression above the occiput, which receives the posterior processes of the premaxillaries. All the other bones of the head are very thin and have their edges smooth. When the mouth is closed, the hinder margin of the maxillary is slightly
86 “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
in advance of the anterior margin of the eye. The teeth are extremely small in both jaws, conical and arranged in several rows anteriorly. They are also present on the vomer, but the palatines and tongue are smooth.
The scales are of somewhat peculiar construction, consist- ing of two distinct parts separated by a constriction at either end.
The anterior portion is finely striated vertically, and lies flat upon the body. The posterior half is trilobed, and bears only five or six crenulated lines; it rises abruptly from the other portion and curls over upon the following scale, so that closed channels are formed beneath each transverse row. At the bases of the dorsal and anal fins the scales are slightly enlarged and rounded and armed with rows of denticulations. From the throat to the ventral fins there are two rows of angular scales defining a flattened ventral surface on which all the scales have denticulated edges. Behind the ventrals there is a deep groove, into which the fin can be folded, but its edges are not provided with specially modified scales. The lateral line is strongly arched anteriorly. A large triangular patch of scales covers the cheek, but the rest of the head is bare. The vent is situated somewhat in advance of the middle of the ventral groove.
The first dorsal fin commences vertically over a point mid- way between the ventral and anal fins. The first spine is very short, the second, third and fourth are subequal and slightly longer than the eye. The rays of the second dorsal increase regularly in length to a point behind the middle of the fin, where they are a little shorter than the longest spine; thence they decrease evenly backwards. First anal spine very stout and almost immovable and longer than the second, which is minute. The rays similar in form to those of the dorsal. Ventral spine strong, the longest rays not reaching to the anal spine. Pectorals rounded, the third ray longer than the eye. Caudal slightly emarginate, the outer rays almost twice as long as the eye.
Colour.—Silvery. First dorsal, ventrals and end of caudal black. Iris golden.
A very young specimen 39 mm. long differs only in having a deeper and more angular body, the depth being 1°3 in the length to the hypural. It is marked with large scattered darker blotches, the most conspicuous of which are two at the base of the anal fin.
Compared with specimens of C. australis of the same size, this species is at once distinguished by its much larger eye and its short dorsal and ventral fins. In C. australis these are
FISHES.—McCCULLOCH. 87
very elongate as in the adult. The lateral line is also more arched, so that there are fewer scales between it and the first dorsal (nine) than in C. australis (fifteen). Finally, the scales of the last-named are armed on their outer surface and edges with minute spines, whereas in this species the edges are smooth and the surface bears only crenulated ridges.
The specimens described above differ from Arthur’s descrip- tion in lacking the small roughened scales between the dorsal fin and the interorbital space and in having only 83 scales along the lateral line instead of 114. Mr. Waite, however, has kindly compared some that I have sent him with other New Zealand examples which he identifies as C. nove- zelandi@, and has further forwarded me a half-grown example for examination. ‘This last is undoubtedly identical with my specimens, the largest of which is 135 mm. long, and we are agreed that they are really Arthur’s species.
The collection includes fifty-six examples from the following localities :—
Twenty-five miles south-west from Cape Everard, Victoria, 83-98 fathoms.
Off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait, 40-70 fathoms.
Oyster and Storm Bays, Tasmania, 40-60 fathoms.
CYTTUS AUSTRALIS, Richardson. Silver Dorey.
Capros australis, Richardson, Trans. Zool. Soc., iii., 1849, pee aud Zool, Erebp. and Terr pyrg7, pl! lix,, fics: 1-5.
Very young specimens of this species differ from the adults in having a much shorter and deeper body and larger eyes. In an example 75 mm. long the greatest height is 14 in the length to the hypural, and the eye is 2? in the head. The largest specimen obtained is 380 mm. long.
It was taken at the following stations :—
Between Port Stephens and Newcastle, New South Wales, 22-60 fathoms.
Shoalhaven Bight, New South Wales, 15-45 fathoms.
Thirty-six miles off Cape Everard, Victoria, 75 fathoms.
Off the east coast of Flinders Island, Bass Strait, 7o fathoms.
Oyster Bay, Tasmania, 40-60 fathoms.
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1]. Report on the Mollusca obtained by the F.I.S. ‘‘Endea- vour,”’ chiefly off Cape Wiles, South Australia.
PARAS Ic
BY CHARLES HEDLEY, ASSISTANT CURATOR AND CONCHOLOGIST,
Australian Museum, Sydney.
(Plates XvII.-xx.)
go “ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
WLR IROIRAP COUN! TENE MI OILILIUSCAY. ARSnele 1.— INTRODUCTION.
Through the kindness of the Hon. the Minister for Trade and Customs, the writer, in August and September, 19009, enjoyed an opportunity of accompanying the Director of Fisheries on a cruise of the Fishery Investigation Ship, ‘“Endeavour.’’ The voyage extended from Melbourne to the Nuyts Archipelago, South Australia. At every opportunity Mr. Dannevig gave me facilities for using my dredge. By this means a large number of Invertebrates, not procurable by the trawl, were obtained. The largest collection was made on August 28th at a depth of 95-100 fathoms, south of Cape Wiles, South Australia, the precise position being thirty- nine and a half miles S. 43 E. from Liguanea Island, itself about four miles from Cape Wiles. eres three full loads of the bucket dredge were lifted and _ sieved. The bottom temperature here was not noted, but at 80 fathoms, a short distance away, it was 14'0 Cent. (=57°2 Fahr.), and the surface at midnight was 12°75 Cent. (=52 Fahr.). It was in this neighbourhood that in January, 1905, Dr. J. C. Verco, from the s.s. ‘‘Lady Diana,’’ made a successful haul thirty-five miles south-west of the Neptune Islands in to4 fathoms, and whence he has recorded so many new species.
Including fragments, illegible or undetermined forms, the Cape Wiles haul contained more than three hundred and fifty species, of which I record two hundred and twenty-six. This agrees with my experience in New South Wales and Tas- mania,! indicating that the molluscan fauna of a yard or two of the margin of the Australian Continental Shelf consists of from two hundred and fifty to three hundred and fifty species.
This is richer than usual. Based chiefly on American experiences, Dr. W. H. Dall? estimates that about four hundred species would constitute an entire fauna of shell- bearing molluscs from an ordinary region between the limits of 40-60 degrees Fahrenheit.
1 Hedley—Rec. Austr. Mus., vi., 1907, p. 273; Op. cit, vii., 1908, p. 109. 2 Dall & Harris—Bull. U.S. Geol. Survey, No. 84, 1892, p. 26.
MOLLUSCA.—HEDLEY. gl
The species identified from the Cape Wiles station are as follows :—
Nucula beachportensis, Verco. Nucula obliqua, Lamarck. Pronucula decorosa, Hedley. Leda miliacea, Hedley.
Poroleda ensicula, Angas. Limopsis erectus, Hedley ¢> Petterd. Limopsis eucosmos, lerco. Limopsis tenisoni, Tenison Woods. Limopsis tenisoni, var. penelevis, Verco. Cyrilla concentrica, Verco. Pleurodon maorianus, Hedley Arca pistachia, Lamarck. Bathyarca perversidens, Hedley. Glycymeris pectinoides, Lamarck. Glycymeris tenuicostatus, Reeve Philobrya fimbriata, Tate. Philobrya pectinata, Hedley. Trigonia margaritacea, Lamarck. Chlamys antiaustralis, Tate. Cyclopecten favus, Hedley.
Lima bassi, Tenison Woods. Lima bullata, Born.
Limea austrina, J ate.
Limea murrayi, Smith.
Limea parvula, Verco.
Modiola linea, Hedley. Modiolaria barbata, Reeve. Arcoperna scapha, Verco. Pholadomya arenosa, Hedley. Myodora albida, Tenison Woods. Verticordia ericia, Hedley. Verticordia setosa, Hedley. Ectorisma granulata, Tate. Cuspidaria alta, Verco. Crassatellites probleema, Verco. Crassatellites producta, Verco. Cuna atkinsoni, Tenison Woods. Cuna comma, Verco.
Cuna concentrica, Hedley.
Cuna delta, Tate & May.
Cuna hamata, Hedley ¢ May. Cuna obliquissima, Tate. Venericardia amabilis, Deshayes. Venericardia bimaculata, Deshayes. Venericardia delicata, Verco.
“ENDEAVOUR” SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.