Art. XLI.—Contributions to the Ichthyology of New Zealand.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 9, 1876, Page 353

Art. XLI.—Contributions to the Ichthyology of New Zealand. By Captain F. W. Hutton, Director of the Otago Museum. [Read before the Otago Institute, 5th September, 1876.] Scorpis hectori, Hutton. Dr. Günther has identified this fish with his Anthias richardsoni, and it is also certainly the same as Perca lepidoptera, Forster (“Desc. Anim.,” p.138); so its name will have to stand Anthias lepidoptera. I agree with Dr. Hector in separating A. fairchildi; I should have done so, but was doubtful of the true form of the original specimen of S. hectori, which had been preserved in carbolic acid and dried. Pagrus unicolor, Quoy and Gaim. To this species belongs Sciœna aurata, Forster. Mendosoma lineata. Sciœna lineata, Forster, is identical with Latris hecateia, Richardson; so that this species should stand, Mendosoma lineatum, Gay. Latris ærosa, sp. nov. B. 6, D. 15 | 1/42; A 3/35; L. Lat. 116; L. Trans. 10/32. Length, three times the height, or three and three-quarter times the length of the head. No teeth on the vomer or palatine bones. Top of the head and cheeks, scaly; snout, naked. Nine simple pectoral rays. Above, coppery. Lateral line, and one or two irregular narrow streaks above it, lead-blue. Pectoral, anal, dorsal, and caudal fins, reddish-brown; blackish at the tops. Belly, silvery. Habitat: Otago Heads. Type stuffed in the Otago Museum. This fish has the same fin formula as L. bilineata, Castlenau, but it differs both in form and colour, and has no prolonged filament from the fourth anal ray. Sebastes percoides, Solander. To this species belongs Scorpœna cottorides, Forster. Gasterosteus punctatus, Forster. (Scomber punctatus, Bl. Schn.)

This species has not been recognized since Forster's time. Auchenopterus compressus, Hutton. I think that this fish is the same as Trypterygium fenestratum, Forster. Trypterygium nigripenne, C. and V. This is the same as Blennius varius, Forster. Trypterygium forsteri, C. and V. This is the same as Blennius tripennis, Forster. A specimen of this fish, obtained near Dunedin by Mr. Bourne, is in the Otago Museum. It is quite distinct from T. nigripenne, and easily distinguished by its large scales. The fin formula of the specimen is— D 3 | 16 | 13, A 23; L. Lat. 40; L. Trans. 6/12. Cyclopterus littoreus, Forster. This species has not since been identified. Labrichthys psittacula. This is the same as Sparus rubiginosus, Parkinson (Julius(?) rubiginosus, Rich., 1843), and Labrus coccineus, Forster (1844). As Dr. Günther has shewn that our fish is not identical with the type of the species from Tasmania, its name must be changed; and as Parkinson's name has been used by Schlegel for a fish from Japan, it will be better to adopt Forster's name for ours. I cannot agree with Dr. Günther that our fish may be the adult of L. celidota, because I have seen specimens of L. coccinea smaller than well-marked specimens of L. celidota; and the stations of the two are very different. Labrichthys Cincta, sp. nov. D 9/11; A 3/10; L. Lat. 25; L. Trans. 3/9. A small posterior canine. Cheeks with five rows of scales. Caudal, truncated, slightly rounded in the centre. Purplish-grey, getting darker on the back and head; a broad black transverse band on the body behind the tips of the pectorals, passing on to the dorsal between the sixth and eighth spine. Habitat: Coasts of Otago. Rare. Type stuffed in the Otago Museum. This species differs from L. richardsoni, Castlenau, in having five series of scales on the cheeks, and no black spot on the extremity of the operculum, as well as in general colour. Monacanthus convexirostris, Günther. This is certainly the Balistes scaber of Forster.