First Fleet artwork collection

Fish depicted in profile with its head to the left, against a plain background. Its body is of fusiform shape, with elongated rear dorsal and anal fins, and coloured predominantly pale blue-grey, overlaid with the semi-circular outlines of the scales and some brown and maroon patches. The face, dorsal and anal fins are grey overlaid with pale blue and lavender stippling, with yellow patches towards the tail. The pectoral and caudal fins are yellow ochre, with the caudal fin also tipped with pale blue. The pelvic fins are also elongated and coloured blue-grey. The drawing is signed by Watling and annotated in brown ink on both the front and the reverse.

• Thomas Watling]
• The drawing is inscribed in blue pencil at top right with the number "311", which refers to the pre-1984 numbering system for the Watling Collection.
• The drawing is annotated in brown ink at bottom centre in a copperplate script "Two thirds of the Natural size.", followed in what appears to be a different hand by "Native name Thorral Ga ne ra The only Fish of the kind ever seen at Port Jackson since our arrival,".
• The drawing is signed at lower right in brown ink "T. Watling, delt.", but is undated.
• The drawing is annotated on the reverse in brown ink "the only fish of the kind ever seen at Port Jackson since our arrival".
• The fish was identified by G.P. Whitley as a Roundhead, Paraplesiops bleekeri, in Hindwood K. A., 'The "Watling" drawings with incidental notes on the "Lambert" and the "Latham" drawings', Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales for the years 1968-69 (1970).
• The author of this catalogue record is Suzanne Stenning.
• By permission of the trustees of the Natural History Museum (London)
• Two sets of transparencies held in the Natural History Museum (London) Zoology Library and Picture Library: Picture Library reference number 12376
• James Lee of Kensington : purchased ; 1902
• Data sheet available.