(Footnote.  The turtle that frequents the North-east Coast, in the neighbourhood of Endeavour River, is a variety of the Testudo mydas.  See Banks and Solander manuscripts.)

...

PISCES.

BY JOHN EDWARD GRAY, ESQUIRE, M.G.S.

1.  Tetraodon argenteus.  Lacepede, Ann.  Mus. 4 203.  Icon.  Ann.  Mus. l.c. t. 58. f. 2.

2.  Chironectes tuberosus, G. Cuvier, Mem.  Mus. 3 432.  Icon. —­

There are two other species of this genus in Captain King’s collection, which appear to be new.

3.  Balistes australis.  Donovan.  Naturalist.  Repos. 26.  Icon. l.c.

4.  Teuthis australis (n.s.).  T. fusca, fasciis sexta transversis nigro-fuscis, cauda truncata.  Icon. —­

Body brown, paler beneath, with six transverse blackish-brown bands; the first placed across the eye and front angle of the gill flap; the second obliquely across the pectoral fin, and the three next, nearly equidistant, straight across the body, the last band placed between the spine and the base of the rays of the tail; and with a black longitudinal line between the eyes.  Teeth flat, rather broad, rounded at the end, and denticulated.  The gills flat, unarmed; pectoral fin subacute, triangular; ventral fin triangular, supported by a very strong first ray; dorsal and anal fins rounded.  Tail truncated, spine on the side of the tail very distinct, imbedded in a sheath.

Pectoral fin, fifteen rays, first very short:  Ventral fin, five rays, one very strong, short.  Dorsal fin, thirty-one; anterior very strong, first short.  Anal fin, twenty-three; two first very strong and short.  Caudal fin, sixteen rays, divided.

Body 3; tail 1 1/4 inches long.  Body 2 3/4 high; dorsal fin 3/4; pectoral fin 1 1/4 inches long.

This fish belongs to the Genus Acanthurus of Bloch, adopted by Shaw (Harpurus, of Forster) but as that genus is apparently formed from the type of Linnaeus’ Genus, Teuthis, I have adopted the latter name for those Chetodons which have one spine on each side of the tail, and Acanthurus for those that have two.  They are usually called Lancet-fish, from the curious structure of the sub-caudal spines.

Captain King has presented to the Museum seven or eight other sorts of fish, in spirits, and several interesting drawings, which I have not hitherto been enabled to find in any of the works on Ichthyology, but so little is known of the genera and species of this department of Natural History, that I am not inclined to describe them as new, for fear of increasing the confusion at present existing.

Among the unnamed fish, there is one exactly similar to a species found by my late friend Mr. Cranch, in the South Atlantic.

5.  Squalus ocellatus.  Gmelin, Syst.  Nat. 1494.  Squalus oculatus.  Banks and Solander, manuscripts.

6.  Squalus glaucus.

Captain King observes, this fish is frequently found in the neighbourhood of the coast.