Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia Volume II Part 34

Head, three inches long.

Body, seven inches.

Tail, four inches.

Only one specimen of this exceedingly interesting animal was brought home by Captain King, but the spirits in which it had been preserved had unfortunately evaporated, so that it was considerably injured; there is, however, a specimen, apparently of the same animal, in the collection of the Linnean Society, which wants the end of its tail.

The above specimen was found at King George the Third's Sound, and is preserved in the Museum.

6. Agama muricata. Daud.

Lacerta muricata, Shaw, in White's Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales, 244.

Lacerta Agama, var. ? Shaw, Gen. Zool. iij. 211.

Muricated Lizard, Shaw.

Icon. Shaw, Gen. Zool. t. 65, and White's Journal t. 31. f. 2.

This lizard was first described in Mr. White's Journal, by the late Dr.

Shaw, who paid particular attention to that cla.s.s of animals; but he was afterwards inclined to consider it as only a variety of the common Lacerta agama, or American Galeote, from which, however, it is quite distinct.

It appears to be a young specimen, since its length is only seven inches, whilst that described by Dr. Shaw was more than a foot in length; and some have been caught even of a much larger size. The Doctor's figure is remarkably good, but rather more spinous than the specimen under examination, which is probably another proof of its youth. It was taken and preserved by Mr. James Hunter, R.N., who accompanied Captain King as surgeon during the Mermaid's third voyage, and has been presented by him to the British Museum.

7. Disteira doliata. Lacepede, Ann. de Museum, D'Hist. Nat. 4 199. 210.

Enhydris doliatus, Merrem, Syst. Amph. 140.

Icon. Lacep. Ann. Mus. 4 t. 57. f. 2.

The series of small hexagonal s.h.i.+elds on the abdomen of this curious animal appears to be formed of two series of scales united laterally. The length of the specimen brought home by Captain King exceeds four feet.

The figure by M. Lacepede seems to be too short, but his description agrees admirably with our specimen, which has been presented to the British Museum.

8. Leptophis* punctulatus (n.s.).

N. squamis laevibus apice uni-indentatis, spinae dorsalis triangularibus; cauda quadrantali, tenui, squamis aequalibus.

(*Footnote. I have adopted Mr. Bell's ma.n.u.script name for this genus since his paper was read at the Zoological club of the Linnean Society, before the publication of my genera of Reptiles in the Annals of Philosophy, where I erroneously considered it as synonymous with Dr.

Leach's genus Macrosoma instead of my Ahaetulla. J.E.G.)

Scales uniform, pale brown, with a minute black dot impressed on the apex: body slender, compressed: abdominal scutae rather broad. The series of scales on the side next to the ventral plates ovate and blunt; those on the sides narrow, linear, in five series; the series of scales along the centre of the back long, triangular. This arrangement of the scales gradually a.s.sumes a uniform appearance on the neck close to the head, where they are ovate. Head rather long with nine plates, frontal plate being divided; the snout very blunt, truncated; the upper central l.a.b.i.al scale octangular, with a deep concavity on the l.a.b.i.al margin; the anterior and posterior mental scales long. The tail one-fourth the length of the body, covered with uniform ovate quadrangular scales. Length, four feet.

This species appears to have a considerable affinity to the genus named Macrosoma by Dr. Leach, but not described by him, and is very much like Coluber decorus of Shaw. It belongs to the group called by English Zoologists, Whip Snakes.

The specimen above described was taken by Mr. James Hunter, at Careening Bay, on the north coast, and presented by him to the British Museum.

9. Leptophis spilotus.

Coluber spilotus, Lacepede, Ann. Mus. iv 209.

A specimen of this snake was brought home by Captain King, agreeing very well with the short description given by Lacepede, in his account of some new species of animals from New Holland. It has not been taken notice of in the modern works on Reptiles. It may, perhaps, be distinct from it; but upon considering that upwards of two hundred species of this genus have been already described, I thought it best not to increase the number without very good reason. This species forms a second section in the genus Leptophis, on account of the form of its scales, particularly those of the throat.

Captain King has informed me that turtles of two or three kinds are common on the coasts of Australia, particularly within the tropic; and Alligators were seen, in great abundance, in the rivers of the northern and north-western coasts, particularly in those that empty themselves into the bottom of Van Diemen's Gulf; but as no specimens of either of these animals were preserved, no further notice can be taken of them.*

(*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 ma.n.u.scripts.)

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 s.e.xta 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 a.n.a.l 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. a.n.a.l 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, ma.n.u.scripts.

6. Squalus glaucus.

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

7. Squalus. Captain King in his ma.n.u.scripts observes, that a species of shark was observed commonly near the sh.o.r.es, having a short nose, with a very capacious mouth; the body was of an ash grey colour, marked with darker spots, of a round shape, and about two inches in diameter. This shark was usually ten or eleven feet long.

ANNELIDES.

1. Leodice gigantea. Savigny Syst. des Annel. page 49. Lam. 5 322.

Eunice gigantea, Cuv. Reg. Anim. 2 524.

Nereis aphroditois, Pall. Nov. Act. Petrop. 2 229. table 5. figure 1.7.

Terebella aphroditois, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. 3114.

The specimen brought by Captain King is nearly five feet long, and was procured at the Isle of France.