WU wy Nees Vv : cis . ee a: aes 2 Loh See KN BUR ac) Ak coe, youve wee M oe wavy Vine Me V4 bi UM 4 V VY ittyuy LCE c Kee VIViVS wyuvi owe we WM UM MWY Be fare Wow Wye yy? heheh F fe eh hice NASM Weare d Vv Wy yy ig eae eee My ne | esis dviyyyyewvee Ws a < e 5 VU Vi atv, Ra uO A oS LG JAG oS ey ee A eo oul YY My Gh MG Mich a | 3 | LAS COMNCS yee a a Mae WW ee WY gee a ¢ : AGATE visa ed ANG WV ei ay oe ew ved bi vi" JAE p Sede hag ONO OT ee Ji Vg oN ay BAe She; WS il 3 " SREP: ine tg : dd Ss 7 vw WY MY \ H is Vig VY ay oe ay chute ayy cage Ee ge Pe, owt v pv Pe UAW ca BRS RAIS Peja) ee wn yi, er te ot Soy oyavyy Wve MeO jill meee : 4 ive Mra ve manana # ¢ Voues bo ig ee es re ee eenginaen Sey ae Whe ence nen Wd vy OAC Se \ / A wk Ne * , KG) oe, y See PSI Wey " Us | \ Goes, Ay LN yey out ¥ vw yy Yuy s SR fee Couey oe ogee Wey’ yyy? ee yi wie Oar ane Nod fee fae vidiee v pee aw v v" baa eee J es “www Wi. he A Jing ce UE ve BNNs SRP ca Conall ai Mow aco | 2 es ee AO A AAe ’ “UY Jats) A Niet MIS SV aN) vi ws / Meh AS) A cicmrare wag, VY ¥ We ve Mook side Waianae “yh hae cote iyi vygette OE ote hoes ‘ he ae. Wevweyvou* erccees rae Hs ‘ 558 By ty | yd . hy dh nee ” v itis Ok: A hid 2 ig J HO gaye et HOE ou ohne! Wien Tr aaaeineciOte tiie : , : aS : ide oh) i v) wy : Vv Wy VU, W vi v wi BY WY caiad VY NU WWM i SEO YY UMA MW MW | } \ nie . i ,. ; 4 ‘ ? ’, Department of the Guterior: U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM. PROCEEDINGS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Bh AL is 0 oedai al GR 1884. PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFIOE. 1885. ADVERTISEMENT. The extension of the scope of the National Museum during the past few years, and the activity of the collectors employed in its interest, have caused a great increase in the amount of material in its possession. Many of the objects gathered are of a novel and important character, and serve to throw a new light upon the study of nature and of man. The importance to science of prompt publication of descriptions of this material led to the establishment, in 1878, of the present series of publications, entitled “‘ Proceedings of the United States National Museum,” the distinguishing peculiarity of which is that the articles are published in signatures as soon as matter sufficient to fill sixteen pages has been obtained and printed. The date of publication being plainly expressed in each signature, the ready settlement of questions of priority is assured. The articles in this series ‘consist: First, of papers prepared by the scientific corps of the National Museum; SS of papers by others, founded upon the collections in the Natadual Museum; and, finally, of interesting facts and memoranda from the correspondence of the Smith- sonian Institution. The Bulletins of the National Museum, the publication of which was commenced in 1875, consist of elaborate papers (monographs of families of animals, &c.), while the present series contemplates the prompt pub- lication of freshly acquired facts relating to biology, anthropology, and geology; descriptions of restricted groups of animals and plants; the settlement of particular questions relative to the synonymy of species, and the diaries of minor expeditions. The Bulletins and Proceedings are published by the authority and at the expense of the Interior Department, and under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution. The present volume, constituting the seventh of the series, has been prepared under the editorial supervision of Dr. Tarleton H. Bean, curator of the department of fishes. SPENCER F. BAIRD, Director of the U. 8. National Museum. UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM, Washington, April 29, 1885. (a) TABLE OF CONTENTS. Pags. Alphabetical index ........-. .------------------- e222) e-ee nner een cerns ences 625 Appendix ....-. ...-.----2-- ------- +--+ 22-222 cent eee eee sete ee tees terete csr srs terees 555 Bean, Tarleton H. Description of a new species of whitefish ( Coregonus nelsoni), from PA arian 2 SE ano, Soeee Moeee ds sa decease sbeneesacepe=— sneha peneessleiee eee 48 ——— Descriptions of Physiculus fulvus and Lotella mazillaris, new species of fishes collected in 1881 by the United States Fish Commission ...--..-.--.-----+----++-+-+----++--+-++----- 240-242 On the occurrence of the striped bass in the Lower Mississippi Valley. --.-------------- 242-244 See also under GOODE and BEAN. Bean, Tarleton H., and Dresel, H.G. A catalogue of fishes received from the Public Museum of the Institute of Jamaica, with descriptions of Pristipoma approximans and Tylosurus euryops, tWO DOW SPeCies .-----.---.------- +--+ +22 eee nee ee eee tree terete 151-170 Bendire, Capt. Charles, U.S.A. Circular No. 30, Appendix: A list of birds the eggs of which are wanted to complete the series in the National Museum, with instructions for collecting eggs ...-.--------------+-- 20-222 eee nent cent erent eter reese cweeseces--0 613-616 Clarke, F. W. Circular No. 26, Appendix: Plan for a collection of gems and precious stones, to be exhibited at the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition and the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition of 1884-1885, at New Orleans ..-........------.---------- 575-576 Dall, W. H. Contributions to the history of the Commander Islands. No. 3.—Report on the Mollusca of the Commander Islands, Bering Sea, collected by Leonhard Stejneger in 1882 and 1853 ........---- +--+ 2-2-2226 eee eee ene eee eee cee eee eee teen neers rere 340-349 (Lacunella reflexa, n. s., Plate IT, Figs. 1-3; Cerithiopsis stejnegeri, n. 8., Plate I, Fig. 4; Strombella callorhina var. stejnegeri, Plate II, Fig. 5.] New or specially interesting shells of the Point Barrow Expedition...........-.-.----- 523-526 [Bela harpa, n. s., B. murdochiana, n. s., Plate Il, Fig. 8; Chrysodomus Kroyert var. Ray- ana, var. nov., Strombella malleata, n. 3.) Dewey, Fred. P. Circular No. 31, Appendix: Plan to illustrate the mineral resources of the United States and their utilization, at the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition of 1884-1885, at New Orleans. .-.....----.------.-------++-+----- +--+ 2-+-+00+--- 617-624 Dresel, H.G. Notes on some Greenland fishes..---..-.--.---..----------+-----++---+++----- 244-258 Description of a new species of flounder, Citharichthys macrops, from Pensacola, Fla... 539-541 See also under BEAN and DRESEL. Fernald, ©. H. Circular No. 27, Appendix: Directions for collecting, preserving, and transporting tortricids and other small moths.-.........-..--.---.-----------------+---+---- 577-573 Gilbert, Charles H. A list of fishes collected in the east fork of White River, Indiana, with descriptions of two new species.......-.--------------------- +--+ +++ +--+ --2----+---- 199-205 (Hypargyrus, n. g., Forbes; Notropis boops, n. s. ; Nocomishyostomus, n.s.; Serraria, n. g.] - Notes on the fishes of Switz City Swamp, Greene County, Indiana..................--- 206-210 [Pecilichthys palustris, n. 8.} Description of three new fishes from Kansas ......---.-.-.----------+----+-+-++-+-----+-- 512-514 [Amiurus cragini, Oliola (Hybopsis) topeka, Minnilus (Lythrurus) nigripinnia, nn. 3s.] See also under JORDAN and GILBERT. Gill, Theodore. Synopsis of the genera of the super-family Teuthidoidea (families Teathi- did and'Siganidss) .-- 2-2. 22 = 5-2 oo aoe me ce cenn nine wane eon cana scene ees sceccee- n= -r=een= 275-281 [Ctenochetus, n. g., Colocopus, nu. g., C. lambdurus, new name.) Note on the Sternoptychids ...--..-- 2-2. -- cee. + = eons ne non eee en ns cae see en ne 349-351 {Iniomi, nom. nov. The figure of Sternoptyx diaphanus is not published.) —— The osteological characters of the Lutjanine.....-...--------------++-+----+-+e0--<-5---- 351-355 A contribution to the terminology of ichthyography..-.....---.---.-------+-------.---- 356-357 ——— Synopsis of the Plectognath fishes -........---.------------ ++ +++ ++ ---2+ seer esse ees eee - 411-427 (Triodontoidea, n. super-fam.; Masturus, n. g.] Gill, Theodore, and Ryder, John A. On the literature and systematic relations of the Saccopharyngoid fishes ...-.......- ..-------------- ++ eee eee eee eee ee ee ee eee eee ee eee eee 48-65 {With plate I (Ophiognathus ampullaceus) ex Harwood.] Goode, G. Brown, and Bean, Tarleton HI. Notes on some Florida fishes.......-...-. 42-AT (Lutjanus stearnsii, Lutjanus blackfordii, Oaulolatilus microps, Xyrichthys psittacus, Spa- rus pagrus. | rr IV TABLE OF CONTENTS. Gray, Asa. Contributions to the history ofthe CommanderIslands. No.4. A.—Notes upon sia the plants collected on the Commander Islands (Bering and Copper Islands), by Leonhard Dba NOPE) oa. paces 2+ ee em ee a sem eens ee Ree peed eter adn ete eed a Crm inte ele) late ia mee 527-529 Witchcock. Romyn. Circular No. 24, Appendix: Plan of a collection to illustrate the textile industries of the United States, to be exhibited at the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition of 1884-1885, at New Orleans ..<.....-..-...--.--------------------+ 557-572 Jerdan, David 8. Notes on a collection of fishes from Pensacola, Florida, obtained by Silas Stearns, with descriptions of two new species (Lxocetus volador and Gnathypope ATi RELCUIIULE coe oe SSRs ccs ees Sake Se We bite ce cere ee ars ge ah 33-40 Note on Alurichthys eydouxii and Porichthys porosissimus ------ - AWS fa. fea wn cae oaOOe 40-41 —— List of fishes collected at Key West, Florida, with notes and descriptions..-.----------- 103-150 [Narcine wmbrosa, n. 8.) An identification of the figures of fishes in Catesby’s Natural History of Carolina, Mion0ds. and the Bahams Wslands co... jp .csco cease ne ae Cen ene tema ae ete neater 190-199 Notes on fishes collected at Guaymas, Mexico, by Mr. H. F. Emeric, with a description GLGOULOSOMNG MtStT 10, ADEW SPCCHOS .< ~ moc ee eee ole wen een eee eee eee 260-261 List of fishes collected in the vicinity of New Orleans by’Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, U.S. A.... 318-322 List of fishes collected in Lake Jessup and Indian River, Florida, by Mr. R. E. Earll, with GSRGripiions Of bwO DEW. SPCClOS ... ose). So ean seme tenn neni ae eee ae ole amelie 322-324 [Heterandria ommata, Elassoma evergladei, nn. ss.} Deseriptions of four new species of Pecilichthys in the United States National Museum.. 477-480 [P. borealis, P. quiescens, P. swaini, P. beani, un. ss.] Supplementary notes on North American fishes .-............-..--------------2-2---0-- 545-548 [Pecilichthys beani, Jordan—Boleosoma maculatum.)} Description of a new species of Hybognathus (Hybognathus hay) from Mississippi..----- 548-550 Jerdan, David &8., and Gilbert, Charles Hl. A review of the species of the genus Oalamils 8s Ses ssh 52 2 2. So a Re eet ee eel a eea Onee a ome ales Sale eee 14-24 Descriptions of ten new species of Hahes frompKey West, WlOMdaet oop ous =< ~ on cece cle ear 24-32 [Dussumieria stolifera, Tylosurus sagitta, Querimana gyrans, Atherina area, Xyrichthys rosipes, Doratonotus thalassinus, Gobiosoma ceuthecum, Cremnobates nox, Platophrys nebularis, Achirus comifer, nn. ss.) Note on Caranaz ruber and Carana bartholoma@t ...--.------- ----2+ en nen nae ene ne ns conn ne 32-33 Note on Calamus proridens, a new species of Calamus... ..---------.+---------------- 150 Description of Scicena sciera, a new species of Sciena from Mazatlan and Panama ...---. 480-482 Jordan, David S., and Meek, Seth E. List of fishes observed in the Saint John’s River, at Jacksonville, Plovida.\<)-. <clc.2o-cce score eee eee ee eee ee ee ee eee 235-237 {Paralichthys lethostigma, nom. sp. nov.) Description of four new species of Cyprinide in the United States National Museum... 474-477 [Cliola camura, C. urostigma, Notropis metallicus, N, alabame, un. ss.) — — Description of Zygonectes zonifer, a new species of Zygonectes, from Nashville, Georgia. 482 Jordan, David S., and Swain, Joseph. Descriptions of Scaroid fishes from Havana and Key West, including fivemew species! 2. = 5-22 55-P---- een ee eee eens 81-102 {Scarus virginalis, Spwrisoma lorito, S. cyanolene, S. cystrodon, Oryptotomus beryllinus, e LD. ss.]} Notes on fishes collected by David S. Jordan at Cedar Keys, Florida ..-..-..-.--.------ 230-234 —— A review of the American species of marine Mugilide@ .......--.-. .----+----.---- sence 261-275 —— A review of the species of the genus Hemylon .-..-.------------ een ne enn ee ween 281-317 (Jythrulon, n. sg., Hemulon rimator, nom. nov.) A review of the American species of Epinephelus and related Cenersee eae seeeekecar 358-410 (Mycteroperca falcata var. phenax, var. nov., M. bonaci var. xanthosticta, var. nov.) —— A review of the species of Luljanine and Hoplopagrine found in American waters... 427-474 Description of three new species of fishes (Prionotus stearnsi, Prionotus ophryas, and Anthias vivanus), collected at Pensacola, Florida, by, Mr. Silas Stearms ..-..-..-----...---.- 541-545 Meek, Seth E. Description of a new species of Hybopsis (Hybopsis montanus) .-.-.------- 526-527 See also under JORDAN and MEEK and Swain and MEEK. Werrill, Geerge P. On prochlorite from the District of Columbia .....--.- -.----------- 67 Circular No. 25, appendix: Preliminary plan for a collection of the building and orna- mental stones and rocks of the United States, to be exhibited at the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition of 1884-1885, at New Orleans.......-..---------------2------ 573-574 Murdoch, John. Description of seven new species of crustacea and one worm from Arctic ABBE noi ie seas eRciaelnn nace des cee Soules cae cece a ebte Gee ee oe eee eee eee ee ee 518-522 {Pandalus aeifers Mysis rayii, Acanthozone polyacantha, Melita formosa, M. vila Dulichia arctica, Polyartemia hazeni, Arenicola glacialis, nn. ss.] Nelson, E. W. <A new geographical race of the mountain sheep (Ovis montana dalli, var. MOV) ANOM PAIASES 226 se Sy cass ws sin ke eee a rma see ane Sale Cee aE One eae ee ee 12-13 TABLE OF CONTENTS. ¥ Page. Prime, Temple. Description of a new species of Spherium -.....--.---------- ---0--++---- 102-103 [Spherium costaricense, n. s.] Rathbun, Richard. Annotated list of the described species of parasitic Copepoda (Si- phonostoma) from American waters, contained in the United States National Museum .... 483-492 Bidgway, Robert. Note on Selasphorus torridus Salvin ...---.--..----------------------- 14 1) MCIMelLa pusc®. (Ei0N-) 10 AlASK AN. -<—)o.- ac antcw nai scanaswaceeeh neleamcnponeasicessaecaus 68 — Description of a new snow bunting from Alaska.........-..---..-.----+--------------- 68-70 [Plectrophenax hyperboreus, n. 8. | On a collection of birds made by Messrs. J. E. Benedict and W., Nye, of the United States) fish Commission steamer. ‘Albatross ?). 22. osc cem ame = as eeee nner ee ceneannes es 172-180 [Mimus gilvus rostratus, n. subsp., Dendroica rufopileata, nu. s., Icterus curasoénsts, D. 8., Certhiola tricolor, n. s., Vireosylvia grandior, n. s., Vireo approximans, n. 8., Elainea cinerescens, 2. 8.] ——— Description of a new species of field-sparrow from New Mexico..-.....---.----------- b 259 [Spizella wortheni, n.s.] ; ——— Description of a new species of cvot from the West Indies......-..-...-.-.----.------- 358 [Fulica caribeea, n. s.} ——— Description of a new race of the red-shouldered hawk from Florida ..-...-------..---- 514-515 [Buteo lineatus alleni, n. subsp.] ——— Qn two hitherto nnnamed sparrows from the coast of California..........-.-.-..----.-- 516-518 [Passerculus beldingi, n.s., P. sandwichensis bryanti, n. subsp.) BRothreck, Dr. J. V¥.—List of, and notes upon, the lichens collected by Dr. T. H. Bean in Alaska and the adjacent region in 1880 ~ noe en San cence eccemannaaes meee 1-9 [Biatora Sibiriensis, Willey, n. sp.] Ryder, Pohn A.—On the chlorophylloid granules of Vorticella............-.-...------------ 9-12 See also under GILL and RYDER. Shufeldt, Dr. R. W. Concerning some of the forms assumed by the patella in birds..... 324-331 { With 7 figures in the text. ] —— Observations upon a collection of insects made in the vicinity of New Orleans, Louisi- PPE HG) VOCAL LO Se AIO LOSS: ones) ane cine is no sininl alata ia nine wale wie ate eal al eininin mn Clataent inte 331-338 [With 1 figure in the text.] Slade, Elisha. On domesticated hybrid ducks (Anas boschas + obscura) ....-------------- 66 Smith, Sidney I. On some new or little known decapod crustacea, from recent Fish Com- mission dredgings off the east coast of the United States........-.......-..------.----.--:- 493-511 [Anamathia, nom. g.n.; Munidopsis crassa, M. similis, Bythocaris gracilis, B. nana, Acan- thephyra microphthalma, A. brevirostris, nn.ss.; Ephyrina, n. g.; Ephyrina benedicti, un.s.; Benthonectes, n. g. ; Benthonectes jilipes, n. 8.) Smith, Rosa. Notes on fishes collected at San Cristobal, Lower California, by Mr. Charles Hy/Pownsends assistant, U.S. dish) Commissions. > -. > 5.2 eye conc cenin oe mcens eee inceosenian 551-553 Stejneger, Leonhard. On the use of trinominals in American ornithology.....----.....-. 70-81 Contributions to the history of the Commander Islands. No. 2.—Investigations relating to the date of the extermination of Steller’s sea-cow .--..-.-...0-.2-..----20-- 22-2 ee een eens 181-189 Remarks on the species of the genus Cepphus .--...---..-------0002-- nen nen eee eenens 210-229 Contributions to the history of the Commander Islands. No.4. B.—Additional notes on Lhe plantsiot the: Commander, Pelandss. sande obec po oean daecala an sise Jo's eleln cna sc cueencices wna 529-538 [Oassiope oxycoccoides, Asa Gray, n. 8.] Swain, Joseph, and Meek, Seth E. Notes on the pipe-fishes of Key West, Florida, with description of Siphostoma McKayi, a new species. ...-----------------2--+--2-- 22-20 237-239 [Siphostoma barbare, n. sp.) See also JORDAN and SwaIn. Thomas, Cyrus. Circular No. 28, Appendix: Directions for mound exploration ...-....... 581-583 Translation (from Der Naturforscher). Hermaphrodite fishes ..............---.-.-.-.. --» 339-340 True, Frederick W. Ona new muskrat, Neojiber alleni, from Florida ...-....-.--.------ 170-172 On the occurrence of Loncheres armatus, (Geoff.) Wagner, in the island of Martinique, VESTER eect Loe ER etl ed A EE AP Eee oes aera Hparaite, Sila * 550-551 —— Circular No. 29, Appendix: Peisiuaal plan for a collection of Aone to be exhibited atthe World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition of 1884-1885, at New Orleans.. 585-686 A provisional list of the mammals of North and Central America, and the West Indian Islands. 587-611 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. CUTS. Aptencdytzs pennantii, leg-bones and patella of ..........-..2----2-cer-eeeee-eee a es Ocrrus emericanus, femur and leg-bones of ........-......------------- a- == 5-3-2 Fe ben Podicepe cornutum, leg-bones and patella of.....-..-..--.---------eee------eeneeneee- ee Colymbus septentrionaliz, leg-bones and patella of. -....-.---.------ 2+ 22+ neee nee en eee e ee eeeeee Fulmarue rodgersii, leg-bones and patella of .............-..---.-- Soh oweiee st a Ee Heeperornis regalis, leg-bones and patella of -.........--.---.-»=--- oS een = Phalacroceraz bicristatus, leg-bones and patella of -......-....... a se ee tse PLATES. [Full explanations are given with the plates at the end of the volume.) L—Ophiopnethus empulleceus from Harwood. TL—New abells fom Commancer Islands an;i Point Barrew. seugeasy? LI®T OF CORRECTIONS. Page 15, lines 1 and 2, for Guichénot read Galehenot. Page 15, line 2, for Rév. read Rev. Page 19, line 25, for siullus read suillus. - Page 100, line 9, for Oryptotmus read: Oryptotomus. Page 100, line 10, for spinideus read spinidens. Page 100, line 27, for A. IIT, 9 (8) read A. I, 9 (8). Page 125, line 31, for Lone Snapper read Lane Snapper. Page 126, line 35, for parre (Desmarest) read acutum, Poey. Page 149, line 25, for bistrispinosns read bistrispinosus. Page 149, line 33, for psitttacus read psittacus. Page 155, line 26, for Thynuus read Thynnus. Page 194, line 31, for C. & B. read C. & V. Page 195, lines 33 and 44, for Cugupugnacu read Cugupuguacu. Page 215, line 29 from below, for 6 adults read 7 adults. Page 228, line 27, Oepphus g. should be moved up into the previous line in front of the word FLEM. Page 237, line 19, for McKayi read MacKayi. Page 239, line 13, for McKayi read MacKayi. Page 254, line 7 from below, for norwegcia read norwegica. ‘ Page 258, line 2, for Salvelinas read Salvelinus. Page 263, line 31, for Antiquarum read Antiquorum. - Page 303, line 26, for Poy read POEY. - Page 310, lines 27, 32, 34, 35, for Jéniguano read Jeniguano. ‘ Page 311, line 30, for Jéniguano read Jeniguano. ' Page 317, line 13, for parre (Desmarest) read acutwm, Poey. Page 327, line 15, for Pordieps read. Podiceps. Page 327, line 18, for fine read find. Page 332, line 18, the name Prionotus cannot be used in Hemiptera. Page 334, line 5 from below, for Tropistenuas read Tropisternus. Page 341, line 3 from below, after LIMAX insert (AGRIOLIMAX). Page 344, line 17, for Oapulacmed read Oapulacmea. Page 344, line 21, for Litorinna read Litorina. Page 344, line 29, for LACUNELLA (preoccupied) read LACUNARIA. f ; Page 344, line 34, for Lacunella refleza read Lacunaria reflexa. Page 348, line 25 from below, for Lacunella reflexa read Lacunaria reflexa. (The same change should be made in the explanation of Plate II, ff. 1-3.) \ Page 388, line 22, for cirnioides read cernioides. Page 398, line 30, for Epinephelus read Enneacentrus. Page 408, line 39 from below, for menzeli read mentzeli. Page 432, line 34, the clause ‘‘Scales above lateral line in oblique series” belongs under ‘‘ee” instead. of 66 p gh Page 432, line 4 from below, for Mahogoni read Mahogani. Page 476, line 15, for Altamaha read Allamaha. Page 476, line 25, for Lithrurus read Lythrurus. . Page 476, line 44, for lithrurus read lythrurus. Page 482, line 35, for Altamaha read Allamaha. \ Page 537, line 20, for Tojeldia read Tofjeldia. — Page 545, line 1 for Antheas read Anthias. Page 551, line 10 from below, for San CRISTOBAL read SAN CRISTOBAL BAY. (VIII) PROCEEDINGS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1884. Vol. VE, No. 1. Washington, 2. C. Jume 3, 1884. LIST OF, AND NOTES UPON, THE LICHENS COLLECTED BY DR. T. H. BEAN IN ALASKA AND THE ADJACENT REGION IN 1880. . By Dr. J. Tv. ROTHROCK.* Many new species of lichens from a boreal region were hardly to be expected, inasmuch as the similarity of the northern flora is great in all longitudes. It is not surprising, however, that we do find in this col- lection quite a number of interesting forms, which illustrate the laws of variation inside specific limits in connection with geographical distribu- tion. One new Biatora, however, from Kastern Siberia, rewarded Dr. Bean’s active search. For whatever accuracy in names this list may have I am indebted to my friend Mr. Henry Willey, who has kindly gone over the collection. It will be observed that there are no notes given in this list (save of locality, &c.) until the genus LBaeomyces is reached. This is because the recent publication of Professor Tuckerman’s invaluable “ North American Lichens” includes all the species before this genus, and hence renders anything more unnecessary. Considering how inconspicuous the lichens usually are, and also how varied Dr. Bean’s duties were, it is a matter of surprise that he has been able to obtain so satisfactory a collection. LIST OF SPECIES. Ramalina geniculata, Hook. and Tayl. Ramalina calicaris, (L.) Fr., var. farinacea, Fr. Little Koniushi Island, Shumagin group. Ramalina polymorpha, Ach. Saint Paul’s Island, Behring Sea. Usnea barbata, (L.) Fr. Locality not given. Sterile. *It is due to Mr. Willey to say that it was his desire to correct the proof. This, however, has been prevented by want of time in the printing. It is hoped that no errors of importance will be found.—J. T. R. 2 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Usnea barbata, (L.) Fr., var. dasypoga, Fr. Old Sitka. Alectoria ochroleuca, (Ehrh.) Nyl., var. sarmentosa, Nyl. Old Sitka. Sterile. Alectoria ochroleuca, (Ehrh.) Nyl., var. nigricans, Nyl. Chernofski, Unalashka. Sterile. Alectoria jubata, (L.) Ach. No locality given. Sterile. Cetraria Fahlunensis, (L.) Scher. No iocality given. Cetraria Islandica, (L.) Ach. Plover Bay, Siberia. Cetraria cucullata, (Bell.) Ach. Chamisso Island, Arctic Ocean. Cetraria nivalis, (L.) Ach. Plover Bay, Eastern Siberia. Cetraria lacunosa, Ach. Sterile specimens from logs on island in Cross Sound, Baranoff Island, Sitka. Cetraria glauca, (L.) Ach. Luxuriant but sterile specimens from Cook’s Inlet, Alaska. Cetraria aleurites, (Ach.) Th. Fries. Stein has said of this species that it is an evident transition, resem- bling Cetraria in its fruit and spermagonia, and Parmelia in its habit, and hence often placed by the later lichenologists in the latter genus. Cook’s Inlet, Alaska ; also, Eschscholtz Bay, on the bark of the Conifer. Cetraria juniperina, (L.) Ach. Small sterile specimens from Chamisso Island in Eschscholtz Bay; on bark. Theloschistes parietinus, (L.) Norm. Port Clarence, Alaska. Theloschistes parietinus, (L.) Norm., var. polycarpus, Ehrh. Widely diffused over the Arctic regions and apparently very com- mon, being obtained at a number of points. Parmelia saxatilis, (L.) Fr. Cape Lisburne. Unalashka. On logs in Cross Sound, Alaska. Parmelia saxatilis, (L.) Fr. var. omphalodes, Fr. Near Cape Lisburne. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 3 Parmelia physodes, (L.) Ach. Elephant Point, Eschscholtz Bay, Arctic Ocean. Port Mulgrave, Yakutat Bay. Fort Alexander, in Cook’s Inlet. Physcia stellaris, (L.) Nyl. Chamisso Island, in Eschscholtz Bay. Little Koniushi Island, of Shumagin group. Glacier Spit. in Cook’s Inlet, Alaska. Umbilicaria hyperborea, Hoffm. Plover Bay, Siberia. Unalaska. Umbilicaria proboscidea, (L.) Stenh. Saint Matthew’s Island. Sticta pulmonaria, (L.) Ach. Point Althorp, Alaska; tertile. Old Sitka; sterile. Nephroma arcticum, (L.) Fr. On Chamisso Island, in Eschscholtz Bay. Peltigera apthosa, (L.) Hofim. Port Mulgrave, Yakutat Bay. Peltigera canina, (L.) Hoffm. Old Sitka. Port Mulgrave. Unalashka. Port Chatham, Cook’s Inlet. Pannaria hypnorum, (Hofim.) Koerb. Unalashka Island. Pannaria brunnea, (Sw.) Mass. On logs on island in Cross Sound, Alaska. Chernofski Island. Collema pulposum, (Bernh.) Ach. Cape Lisburne, Alaska. Placodium elegans, (Link.) DC. Chamisso Island. Elephant Point, in Eschscholtz Bay. Chernofski Bay. Placodium murorum, (Hoffm.) DC. Plover Bay, Eastern Siberia. Placodium murorum, (Hoffm.) DC. var. miniatum, Tuckerman. Placodium crenulatum, (Wahlenb.) Plover Bay, Eastern Siberia. Sitka, on Baranoff Island. Placodium vitellinum, (Ehrh.) Naeg. & Hepp. Port Clarence, Alaska. Placodium cerinum, (Hedw.) Naeg. & Hepp. Icy Cape, Arctic Ocean. Placodium ferrugineum, (Huds.) Hepp. Port Clarence, Alaska, and elsewhere; not rare. 4 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Placodium variabile, (Pers.) Nyl. Port Clarence, Alaska. Piacodium nivale, Koerb. Locality not given. GLecanore muralis, (Schreb.) Scher. Cliffs on Saint Matthew's Island, Saint Paul’s Island, Sitka, Una- lashka, and elsewhere: apparently very common. Lecanora gelida, (L.) Ach. Chernofski Island, Unalashka. Belkofsski, Aliaska Peninsula. LLecanora pallescens, (L.) Scher. Chugachick Bay, Cook’s Inlet. Lecanore tartarea, (L.) Ach. Shumagin Group. UnalashkalIsland. Cape Lisburne, Arctic Ocean. Lecanora atra, (Huds.) Ach. Cape Lisburne, Alaska. Lecanora subfusca, (L.) Ach. Cook’s Inlet. Unalashka. Port Clarence. Lecanora subfusca, (L.) Ach. var. hypnorum, Scher. Port Clarence. Cape Lisburne. Lecanora Hageni, Ach. Cape Lisburne, Alaska. GLecanora varia, (Ehrh.) Nyl. Plover Bay, Eastern Siberia. Lecanora cinerea, (L.) Sommer? Port Clarence. Icy Cape, and Cape Lisburne, in Alaska. hecanora cinerea, (L.) Sommer?f. var. gibbosa, Nyl. Lecanora cinerea, (L.) Sommeri. var. lacustris, (With.) NyL Plover Bay, Eastern Siberia. GLecanora verrucosa, (Ach.) Laur. Eschscholtz Bay, Arctic Ocean. Lecanora giaucomela, Tackerm. Lecanora cervina, (Pers.) NyL Eschscholtz Bay. Lecanora cervina, (Pers.) Nyl. var. disecreta, Sommerf. Port Clarence. Alaska. Rinodina nimbosa, (Fr.) Th. Fr. Cape Lisburne, Arctic Ocean. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. a Rinodina sophodes, (Ach.) Nyl. Cape Lisburne. Rinodina sophodes, (Ach.) Nyl. var. confragosa. Nyl. Rinodina turfacea, (Wahl.) Nyl. Pertusaria communis, DC. Port Clarence, Cape Lisburne, and Port Althorp, Alaska. Pertusaria bryontha, (Ach.) Nyl. Unalashka Island. Pertusaria dactylina, (Ach.) Nyl. Plover Bay, Eastern Siberia, and Aliaska Peninsula, Alaska. Pertusaria velata, (Turn.) Nyl. Warm Springs, Sitka. Pertusaria glomerata, (Ach.) Scher. Port Mulgrave. Urceolaria scruposa, (L.) Ach. Stereocaulon paschale, (L.) Fr. Common and everywhere met. Pilophorus acicularis, (Ach.) Tuck. Saw-Mill Creek, Sitka. Cladonia py=xidata, (L.) Fr. Chamisso Island. Eschscholtz Bay, at Elephant Point. Aliaska Peninsula. Cladonia pyxidata, (L.) Fr. var. symphycarpa, Fr.* Cook’s Inlet at Fort Alexander. Cladonia vermicularis, Ach. (Thamnolia vermicularis, (Sw.) Scher. in Tucker man’s North American Lichens, part 1, p. 256.2] Cladonia cenotea, (Ach.) Scher. Island in Cross Sound, Alaska; and from Cook’s Inlet and Sitka forms, which Mr. Willey doubtfully refers here. Cladonia squamosa, Hoffm. Sitka, at Warm Springs. Cladonia rangiferina, (L.) Hoffm. Common, though collected sparingly and at few points. Cladonia cornucopioides, (L.) Fr. Eastern Siberia, at Plover Bay. Port Althorp, Alaska. Cladonia bellidiflora, (Ach.) Scher. Eastern Siberia, at Plover Bay. * See Tuckerman’s American Lichens, p. 239. 6 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Cladonia digitata, (L.) Hoffm. Old Sitka. Bzeomyces aeruginosus, (Scop.) Nyl. Sitka and Port Althorp, Alaska. Spores narrowly oblong acute at either extremity, colorless, unisep- tate, 19 x 5 mie. Biatora sanguineo-atra, Fr. Old Sitka, on logs. : Spores oblong, simple, colorless, 10 x 5 mie. Biatora milliaria, Fr. Shumagin Group of Islands. Spores 16-22 x 5-6 mic. Biatora Sibiriensis, Willey, sp. nov. Port Providence, Plover Bay, East Siberia. Thallus effuse, whitish or pale flesh-colored, granulose; apothecia pale flesh-colored, soon convex and immarginate; hypothecium pale; paraphyses conglutinate. Reaction of hymenium with iodine blue; spores acicular, few locular, 22-27 mic. long, 3-4 mic. broad. Heterothecium sanguinarium, (F1.) Tuck. Eschscholtz Bay; Yakutat Bay; Cook’s Inlet. Heterothecium sanguinarium, (F1l.) Tuck. var. alpinum, Fr. ‘ Shumagin Group of Islands. Lecidea albo-ccerulescens, Fr. “ Hypothecium nigrescent, spore magne.” (H. Willey.) _ (By my measurements the simple spores are 11-16 x 8-ll mic. J.T. R.) ? Lecidea albo-ccerulescens, Fr. var. flavoccerulescens, Tuckerm. In ed. Aliaska Peninsula. Spores colorless, simple 8-16 mic. long by 5-11 wide. (Peculiar for the brown color of the apothecium arising from oxida: tion.— Willey.) Lecidea contigua, Fr. Plover Bay, Kastern Siberia. Unalashka. Aliaska Peninsula. Cha- misso Island, Eschscholtz Bay. A specimen from Unalashka with hypothecium black and spores 138-19 mic. long x 6-7 mic. wide. Willey. | Aliaska Peninsula. Lecidea contigua, Fr. var. speirea (Ach.) Nyl. Lecidea enteroleuca, Fr. Chamisso Island in Eschscholtz Bay. Port Clarence. Cape Lis- burne. Old Sitka. Spores simple, colorless, 13-22 mic. long x 5-7 mic. wide. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 7 Lecidea enteroleuca, Fr. var. latypea (Ach.) Nyl. Lecidea spHota, Fr. Cape Lisburne, Arctic Ocean. Spores simple, ellipsoid or oblong 9-11 mic. long x 4-6 wide. Lecidea fuscoatra, Fr. Lecidea panzola (Ach.) Fr. Chernofski Bay, Unalashka Island. Spores large, in one instance as much as 27 mic. long by 22 broad, simple, colorless, or slightly tinged with dark, somewhat smoky-hued. In Mr. Willey’s notes I find he gives spores 23-30 mic. long x 11-16 wide. The epispore is very large and distinct. Buellia atro-alba (Fr.). St. Paul’s Island. Unalashka Island. Plover Bay, Siberia. Spores 16-23 mic. long x 11-13 wide, blackish-brown, (among them were a number of well-formed and colored spores aes of this species only 12 x7 mic.). Buellia atro-alba, Fr. var. chlorospora, Nyl. Chamisso Island in Arctic Ocean. Spores uniseptate, colorless, 18-25 mic. long x 11-13 wide. Buellia parasema (Ach.) Kbr. Port Clarence, Alaska. Plover Bay, Siberia. Spores 16-19 mic. x 5-8, brown, uniseptate, 2-nucleated. Buellia myriocarpa (DC.), Mudd. Port Clarence, Alaska. Spores 9-16 mic. long x 4-8 wide, oblong, brownish, uniseptate and with a distinct epispore. Buellia albo-atra (Hoffm., Nyl.) Th. Fr. Unalashka. Tuckerman (Gen. Lich., p. 188) writes of this species that it ‘mediates satisfactorily between the bi-quadrilocular B. parasema and papillata, and the distinctly uniform-multilocular B. oidalea.”——B. albo-atra, “the regularly quadrilocular spores of which soon exhibit plain indications of the next or muriform modification, is not uncommon.” Spores brown, usually 4-celled, sometimes 3-, or even 2-celled, oval to oblong, 11-19 mic. long x 8 mic. wide. Buellia alpicola (Nyl.) Anz. Head of Plover Bay, East Siberia. The solitary satisfactory spore 1 have been able to obtain was 25 mic. long x 10 mic. wide, brown and uniseptate. I had supposed it 8 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. was the same as Lecidea alpicola, Scher., but that, Leighton (Lichen Flora of Great Britain, p. 328) states, has colorless spores. Buellia petra, (Fl.) Tuck. Saint Paul’s, Kodiak. Port Clarence, Alaska. Plover Bay, Siberia. Apparently very variable. Th. with potassium hydrate and lime brown, with lime light yellow. Spores elliptical or oblong murali-locular (apparently); in my specimens only 1 or 2 in an ascus 50-55 mie. long, by 35 broad; epispore thick, interior light greenish brown. Buellia petrea, (Il.) Tuck. var. Montagnei, (Fl.) Tuck. Cook’s Inlet and Port Clarence, Alaska. Spore oblong-elliptical, murali-locular, 50 to 60 mic. long, by 15 to 30 broad, epispore usually very thick (5 mic.); somewhat distinctly con- stricted or transversely marked; interior greenish yellow. Buellia petrea, (Fl.) Tuck. var. Oederi, (Ach.) Kbr. Loeality not given. Buellia geographica, (L.) Br. & Rostr. Aliaska Peninsula. A widely diffused and variable species; spores dark-brown, irregu- larly 2-celled or murali-locular, 22-35 mic. long, by 13-16 mic. wide. Xylographa opegraphella, Nyl. Cook’s Inlet, Alaska. z Spores simple, colorless, oblong, obtuse or acutish, straight or very slightly curved, often somewhat clearly nucleated at each end. My own measurements give for the spores 11-12 mic.long by 2-4 mic. wide. Mr. Willey finds them varying from 9-15 mie. long by 4-6 mic. wide. Xylographa parallela, (Ach.) Fr. var. pallens, Nyl. Island in Cross Sound, Alaska. Spores simple, elliptical, colorless, 10-15 mic. long by 5-8 wide. Spherophorus globiferus, (L.) DC. Saint Matthew’s Island in Behring Sea; also at Port Mulgrave and Little Koniushi Island of the Shumagin Group. Spores globular, simple, with a dark violet epispore* 8-11 mic. ; when without epispore colorless or greenish, 5-8 mic. in diameter. *“Veighton describes the spores as hyaline and double-walled, and ascribes their black color and irregular granulated form to their contents, which are blackish or bluish-black granules, and which when they escape adhere to the exterior of the mother-cell. Tulasne speaks of the epispore as black and tuberculated, while the endospore is pale but thick; and the phenomena of germination prove the correct- ness of this view.”—Popular History of British Lichens, by W. Lauder Lindsay, M. D., p. 288. See also Leighton, Lichen Flora of Great Britain, 3d edition, p. 48. I have accepted here the view of Tulasne as that which my observation more fully confirms, but at the same time, find a large quantity of the same material as that of which the so-called epispore is composed, and which appears to have no relation to epispore.—J. T. R. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 9 Endocarpon cinereum, Pers. Saint Paul’s Island, Behring Sea. Verrucaria maura, (Wabhl.) NyL Fort Alexander, Cook’s Inlet. Spores simple, colorless, oblong, 12-15 mic. long by 6-8 broad. Verrucaria ceuthocarpa, Wahl. Fort Alexander, with the above species. Sterile. Verrucaria intercedens, Nyl. Cape Lisburne, Alaska. ‘ Paraphyses dissolving; gelatina hymenea vinous red with iodine. Spores 8, muriform, plurilocular, colorless, 23-32 mic. long by 11-13 wide.”—WILLEY. Verrucaria intermedia, (Th. Fr.) ‘*‘ Paraphyses dissolving ; gelatina hymenea vinous red with iodine. Spores 8, muriform, few-celled, 18-23 by 11-13 mic.”—-WILLEY. ON THE CHLOROPHYLLOID GRANULES OF VORTICELLA. By JOHN A. RYDER. In Science, No. 45, note 487, p. 772, the researches of Th. W. En- gelmann, of Utrecht, are noticed and criticised. Having had occa- sion several years since to study one of our American forms of green Vorticelle, which at the time was identified as V. chlorostigma, I would now take 'the opportunity to record what was then observed, inasmuch as the facts as interpreted by me seem to lead to conclusions differing very considerably from those reported by Professor Engelmann. Ob- servations which I have made within the present year on the relations of the Schizomycetes to living and dead Protozoa, have also led me to conclusions at variance with that author’s interpretations. In order to understand the points in dispute, it will be necessary to describe the morphology of the form studied by the writer, as well as the position and relations of the included chlorophylloid granules, all of which may be more clearly comprehended by reference to the accom- panying figure which shows the form in question enlarged 140 times, and taken from drawings made several years since from the living subjects. The form was similar to other Vorticelle in everything except the presence and orderly arrangement of the green granules. There was a hollow stalk, st, which ensheathed a muscle, m, which in turn was in- serted into the very faintly striated base b of the body of the animalcule. There was, as usual, an outer cuticular layer, c, covering the body and continuous with the stalk st. Within the cuticle the ectosare or ecto- plasm ec formed the outer or cortical portion of the body of the ani- 10 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. maicule, and in this the chlorophylloid granules were embedded with the most remarkable regularity, forming, indeed, a one-layered invest- ment; the individual grains often being pressed into a distinctly pris- matic form where they were much crowded together. Only now and then was it observed that there were spaces or areas of the ectoplasm in which none of these green granules were present. No chlorophylloid matter whatever was found in the endoplasm en after the most careful search for the same, and this indeed was also found to be the case with the free swarmers of the same species, which had the form of cylinders, truncated at both ends, but somewhat wider at the peristomal end and about three times as long as they were thick. An abundance of material kindly furnished me by Mr. W. P. Seal, and which that gentleman obtained near Wood- \M bury, N. J., enabled the writer to study the form in x40, question very thoroughly, and there remains no shadow Vorticella _chloros- of doubt as to the fact of the arrangement of the green tigma, seen in optic section so as ‘ i tpiislaythoans granules as here described. tum of chlorophyl. . The funnel-shaped pharynx ph led down into the en- loid granules, ch, embedded in the doplasm en in the usual way from the margin of the ectoplasm, ec,and ._~ ; zl pay incleeme ciliated peristome p. p. At its lower end food-vacuole after food-vacuole was formed by the slow dilatation of this part into a bulbous enlargement by the force exerted by the band of pharyngeal cilia, and after the enlargement of the globular space at the lower end of the pharynx had proceeded up to a certain point, its connection with the pharynx would be suddenly broken and the food-vacuole would be thrust into the adjacent endoplasm by the bulbous enlargement of the lower end of the pharynx, where a second food-vacuole was forming, and which would press against the one pre- viously formed and force it deeper into the surrounding plasma. It is this constant formation of food-vacuoles which is the cause, in part, of the movements of the food-vacuoles themselves. A large pinkish con- tractile vesicle or vacuole, v, was present near the upper part of the body of the bell close to the wall of the pharynx. Just below the contractile vesicle the nucleus or endoplast » was placed, and had the sausage- shape so often noticed in this type of protozoa. Below and on either side of the endoplast the food-vacuoles f were abundant. (Only a few have been represented below the endoplast in order not to sacrifice clearness of outline.) The existence of the green coloring matter in the ectoplasm of Infu- sorians has already been noticed by Stein in Stentor, and my only rea- son for writing this notice is to call attention to the fact that in V. chlorostigma, at least, the green matter is not “ diffuse” as stated by Engelmann in regard to the species studied by him, but is restricted with great regularity to individual granules as in plants, and that these PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Il11 grains form an exceedingly well-defined one-layered stratum which is restricted to the ectoplasm alone. ‘‘Hntz has discovered that he could cause colorless Infusoria to be- come green by feeding them with green palmellaceous cells, which, moreover, did not die after the death of their hosts, but continued to live, growing and developing within the latter until their total evolution proved them to be forms of very simple microscopic green alge, such as Palmella, Gleocystis, &c. (E. P. Wright.) * * * There may be parasites such as observed by Dr. Entz, but, judging from their super- ficial position [in V. ehlorostigma], their globular form, and behavior to- wards reagents, the absence of a nucleus, or of any cleavage stages, they must, it seems to me, be regarded as integral parts of the creatures in which they are found.” The above the writer quotes from a paper published by him two years since in Forest and Stream, and later in Bull. U.S. Fish Comm., I, 411, and in the interim no facts have been brought to his notice which have tended to shake his faith in the soundness of this view. It is true that there are certain Infusorians in which a bottle-green tint is diffuse and not confined to distinct grains, as, for instance, in Stentor Mulleri and Freia producta, both of which the writer has studied, but in Stentor polymorphus and the green species of Ophrydium the color is confined to distinct granules, as in the species of Vorticella which I have figured. The uncolored species of Ophrydium, found in Frank- ford Creek, and which has been named O. ade by Everts, does not dif- fer much in other respects from its congeners, but the colorless Stentor FKeseli does differ considerably in form and details of habit from its allies. These are facts which, it seems to me, are almost fatal to the theory of the existence of green parasitic vegetable forms in Infusorians, the only facts favorable to the idea that the green color is due to algous parasites being those noted of Ophrydium, a genus which affords an instance of green and colorless forms, differing otherwise but slightly. In fact, individual zodids of Ophrydiwm are sometimes met with which are only partly green, or have only one-half the body colored, while alongside of them in the same colony individuals are found which are wholly green. Then, again, how are the so-called red and dark-colored Stentors to be disposed of, both of which have been detected in the United States? lor these, indeed, it may be claimed that degenerating chlorophyll would be capable of producing the red color of the first, and that feeding on very dark colored alge might develop the latter. In spite of all this, however, there remains a residuum of facts which cannot be disposed of on any thecry of symbiosis or parasitism, and this is especially the case with these forms which, as in Stentor, show three distinct types of coloration, viz, the diffuse bottle-green, that caused by colored green granules, and the colorless; all of these differ- ences at the same time being indicative, ak hee with other features, of very distinct species. 12 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Finally, as to the aggregation and development of Bacteria about living Infusorians, this I have noticed in a colorless marine species, viz, Zobthamnium alternans, and the same fact has been observed by Stein. Both Stein and myself have noticed Bacilli mostly in this relation to other living colorless Infusorians, but in the case of dead and colorless Infusorians the remains of the animals are usually attacked at one side and gradually invaded by Bacilli and Micrococci, and altogether inde- pendently of any peculiarly local oxygen-yielding source in the vicinity. In conclusion it may be said that if there exist green Vorticelle which have the green coloring matter arranged diffusely in the ecto- plasm in one species, and in another confined to distinct granules as observed in the species here described, it is fair to presume that, as in the cases of the three species of Stentor alluded to above, that we also have to do here with two very distinct species of Bell-animaleules. It is also fair to assume that if the different species present their coloring matters in diverse conditions and modes of arrangement that such mat- ters may have correspondingly different functions, and that it does not necessarily follow that the green granules even are a sure indication of the presence of true chlorophyll, though it may simulate that of the plant in its relation to the stratum of plasma covering the cell-wall. Why not suppose that some of these coloring matters of Infusorians have a function similar to hemoglobin? It would, however, be much easier to suppose that the quasi-chlorophyll grains of V. chlorostigma were truly of the nature of chlorophyll than to assume as much regard- ing the diffuse green color as observed in the ectoplasm of a supposed variety or closely affiliated species of V. campanula, as has been done by Engelmann. WASHINGTON, December 20, 1883. A NEW GEOGRAPHICAL RACE OF THE MOUNTAIN SHEEP (OVIS MONTANA DALLI var. nov.) FROM ALASKA. By E. W. NELSON. During the course of my residence at Saint Michael’s, Alaska, and sub- sequent travel along the Arctic coast of this Territory, between July, 1877, and September, 1881, hundreds of skins were seen of the Mountain Sheep, which I here designate as a new geographical race. The types of the new race are two specimens brought me by Mr. L. N. MeQuesten, a fur-trader living at Fort Reliance, on the Upper Yukon River, uear the point where it crossesthe British boundary line. These specimens were killed by the Indians on some mountains south of Fort Yukon, and on the west bank of the river. From Mr. MeQuesten, and various other fur traders along the Yukon and elsewhere, and my own observations, I learned that the range of PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 13 this form covers nearly all the mainland of Alaska where there are mountains, excepting the vicinity of the Bering sea coast. It is limited strictly to the mainland and occurs only among the higher parts of the mountains south of about 68° of latitude, but north of this it is found on lower ground, and as the mountains give place to low hills and rolling plains near the Arctic coast, it descends nearly or quite to the sea-level. The southern limit is at present unknown, but is probably in about latitude 55° and north nearly to 70°. The Mountain Sheep found along the Lower Mackenzie River close to the Arctic coast, by Richardson, undoubtedly belong to this race, as do others found in the northern part of British America. Among the natives I have seen typical skins from the mountains south of the Upper Kuskoquim River; trom the headwaters of the Tanana ; from the Kaviak Peninsula near Bering Straits; also from the moun- tains east and northeast of Kotzebue Sound, and, during the summer of 1881, while cruising between Kotzebue Sound and Point Barrow we saw hundreds of skins among the Eskimos, who invariably pointed to the low range of mountains a few miles back from the coast, when asked where the sheep were found. While hunting near Cape Thompson, on the Arctic coast, the middle of July, 1881, I saw a pair of these animals within about five miles of the coast at an elevation of not over 300 feet above the sea. They were feeding on an open grassy plain at the foot of a series of low hills over which they ran the moment they caught wind of me, as I tried to ap- proach along the bed of a small gully. Among the skins seen by me I have been particularly struck by the uniformity in general coloration and appearance. In the present preliminary account only the most su- perficial peculiarities can be noticed owing to the writer’s absence from Washington; but in a general list of Alaskan Mammals in n preparation I hope to give fuller details. / — DESCRIPTION. OVIS MONTANA DALLI var. nov. Northern Mountain Sheep. This form can be recognized at once by its nearly uniform dirty-white color, the light-colored rump area seen in typical montana being entirely uniform with the rest of the body in dalli. The dinginess of the white over the entire body and limbs appears to be almost entirely due to the ends of the hairs being commonly tipped with a dull rusty speck. On close examination this tipping of the hairs makes the fur look as though it had been slightly singed. This form also has smaller horns than its southern relatives, but how the two compare in general size and weight _/ I am uable to say. / I name this form in honor of Mr. W. H. Dall, whose scientific work in Alaska is so well known. HAMILTON, NEw MExico, December 22, 1883. 14 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. NOTE ON SELASPHORUS TORRIDUS SALVIN. By ROBERT RIDGWAY. By an error of identification this species is given as 8S. flammula in Mr. Nutting’s catalogue of birds obtained on the Volcan de Irazt, Costa Rica (ef. these “‘ Proceedings,” vol. 5, p.497). The National Mu- seum has obtained additional specimens of S. torridus from Costa Rica, through Dr. Van Patten, and also of S. ardens, both species being ad- ditions to the fauna of that country. S. fammula is as yet unrepresented in the National Museum collec- tion. JANUARY 7, 1884. A REVIEW OF THE SPECIES OF THE GENUS CALAMUS. By DAVID S. JORDAN and CHARLES H. GILBERT. In a recent visit to Key West and Havana Professor Jordan has col- lected a large number of specimens of the genus Colamus, representing five species. In attempting to identify these we have had many diffi- culties, owing to the scanty and miserable character of most of the lit- erature pertaining to the subject. We have here redescribed the five species mentioned above, and have attempted to collate the synonymy of these as well as that of the remaining species.* Those features com- mon to all known species of Calamus are not repeated in the descrip- tions. A series of specimens representing each of these species is in the United States National Museum. The following is an analysis of the five species obtained at Key West: a. Scales comparatively small, about 55 in the course of the lateral line. b. Upper jaw with two strong canines directed forwards; body deep, the depth about half the length; preorbital with horizontal wavy blue lines. PENNATULA, 1. bb. Upper jaw without antrorse canines. ce. Anterior canines scarcely enlarged, about two to four in number in each jaw; body deep, the depth about half the length; cheeks bluish, with roundish PLONZe\SPObS ase e see ees oe eee ee eee ce eye eta alae aim ae =eote CALAMUS, 2. cc. Anterior canines strong, about 6 in number in each jaw; body rather oblong, the depth 27 in length; cheeks plain=2-22----2-------2-- 2 -- BaJONADO, 3. aa. Scales comparatively large, about 46 in the lateral line; anterior tecth rather small, uniform. d. Dorsal outline forming a comparatively regular arch, the back elevated; depth about 2 in length; ventrals dusky; a small, ink-like spot above base of pectoral o-255.5-). seo ee ae eee re eee eee ete ee eat eee MILNERI, 6. dd. Dorsal outline not forming a regular arch, the profile of the head being very convex, the back straightish; body rather elongate, the depth less than half length; preorbital usually bluish, with bronze spots and dashes; no black spot at base of pectoral above; ventrals pale.----.--.--.-.--- ARCTIFRONS, 9. * Chrysophrys taurinus Jenyns (=—Pagellus cyanopterus Val.), from the Galapagos Isl- ands, is omitted, as we are not sure that it belongs to this genus. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 15 1. Calamus pennatula Guichénot.—Little-head Porgy ; Pez de Pluma. Calamus pennatula Guichénot, Rév. Pagels, 116. (Martinique.) Poey, Monogr. Sparini 1872, 178 (in part). Calamus megacephalus Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 926. (Florida Keys.) (Not of Swainson. ) Head, 3} to 34 in length (44 in total); depth, 2 to 24 (22 to 3); D. XII, 12; A. III, 10. Scales 9-58-16, Body much elevated, more so than in any other known species except in calamus. In adults the anterior profile rises in a straight line very steeply to the nape, thence in a gentle curve to front of dorsal. In the young the profile rises less rapidly and is convex. Greatest depth of preorbital slightly more than half length of head in adults. Mouth not large, the maxillary scarcely reaching vertical from front of orbit, two-fifths length of head. Anterior teeth of outer series slightly longer and more robust than those of the cardiform band. In the upper jaw on each side one of these outer teeth becomes much enlarged, canine- like, directed obliquely forwards and downwards, and strongly curved, the upper surface concave; there are usually seven teeth of the outer series between these two canines. Noevident accessory series of molars. Eye moderate, 4 in head in adults (11 inches long), 3 in head in young of 6 inches. Dorsal spines-slender and high, the longest half head. Pectorals reaching vertical from origin of anal fin, one-third length of body. Ventrals 5 in length. Upper lobe of caudal as long as head, slightly longer than lower lobe. COLOR IN LIFE.—Silvery, with bright reflections above, much more brightly colored than in other species. Each scale above middle of sides with a spot of rich violet-blue on its basal portion, these forming dis- tinct longitudinal streaks along the rows of scales. On lower part of body these blue spots are replaced by pale orange spots, faint in the young, very distinct in adults. In life the sides have dark bands,which disappear after death. A diffuse, ill-defined horizontal violet-blue area above opercle extend- ing back onto the shoulder. A well-defined horizontal deep-blue stripe below eye; another, somewhat less distinct, above orbit. Preorbital region, snout, cheeks, and opercles brassy or bronze, crossed with bori- zontal, wavy, non-reticulating lines of violet-blue, these colors more marked on preorbital and snout; the streak crossing snout above nostrils wider and rather more conspicuous than the others. Dorsal marked with orange and very bright violet, its margin always orange, more or less bright in life. Caudal banded with dull orange. Anal distinctly blue shaded. Ventrals not dark, with more or less light yellow. Axil slightly dusky. Iris dark, with gilt ring. A single young specimen from Key West, 5 inches long, has all the teeth of the anterior row in the upper jaw uniformly small and vertical. 16 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. In all other characteristics it agrees with older examples of the present species, and we refer it here with Jittle doubt. The colors are as de- scribed above, and the eye is small, 35 in head. It is probable that the antrorse canine of the upper jaw is not developed in very young specimens. We find it perfect, though small, in one of 8 inches. In adults it becomes very large and conspicuous. This species is very abundant in the channels among the Keys about Key West, and is taken in great numbers by the hook and line fisher- ‘men. It is known to them as the Little-head Porgy. In life it is a very brightly colored fish, but at death its colors change and fade very rap- idly. This change of hue is in this species as striking as in any known to us, and far greater than that of the dying dolphin. This species is also constantly found in the Havana market, where it is known as Pez de Pluma. Neither at Havana nor at Key West is it as common as Calamus bajonado, but in both markets it exceeds in abundance all the remaining species combined. SynonrymMy.—Guichénot’s description of Calamus pennatula must have been based upon a specimen of this species as he mentions the char- acteristic canines directed forwards in the upper jaw, and the horizon- tal blue stripes on the preorbital. The depth assigned by him (3 in total length) is too small, but this is probably a slip of the pen, inas- much as he states that the height is greater in pennatula than in any other species of the genus except calamus. Calamus megacephalus Poey, l. ¢., includes characteristics of both cala- mus and pennatula. The characters drawn from the dentition are en- tirely those of pennatula, while the color and general description un- doubtedly refer to calamus ; the life-color being given in detail and very accurately. 2. Calamus calamus (Cuv. and Val.) Jor. and Gilb.—Saucer-eye Porgy. Pagellus calamus Cuvier and Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss. VI, 1830, 206, pl. 152. (Martinique: San Domingo.) Chrysophrys calamus Giinther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. I, 487. (Bahia; Trinidad; Cuba; Jamaica; two or more species evidently confounded. ) Calamus megacephalus Swainson, Nat. Hist. Fish., &c., II, 1839, 222 (name ~ only, after Cuy. and Val.): Guichénot, Révision du Genre des Pagels in Mém. Soc. Imp. Nat. Cherbourg, XIV, 112 (description from C. and V. with afew verbal changes). ? Pagellus orbitarius Poey, Memorias Cuba, II, 1860, 20]. (Havana.) ? Sparus orbitarius Poey, Syn. Pisc. Cubens. 1668, 308. (Havana. ) ? Calamus orbitarius Poey, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N. Y., 1872, 179, Pl. VI, f. 2 (Havana): Guichénot, Rév. du Genre des Pagels, 123 (name only). ? Calamus macrops Jordan and Gilbert, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 927. (Young, Garden Key, Florida.) Head, 34; depth, 1,% to 24 (22 in total). D. XII, 12 (XIII, 11); A. IIT, 10, or III, 11. Scales 9-54-16. Body elevated more than in any other known species of this genus, the depth in adults being slightly more than, half length of body. The anterior profile is less steep than in pennatula, the outline of snout PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. lagi being slightly curved ; in adults the antedorsal region is very sharply compressed and somewhat gibbous, forming above eye an angle with rest of profile. Greatest depth of preorbital more than half head in adults. Mouth small, the maxillary searcely reaching vertical from front of eye, 22 in head. Anterior teeth of outer series in both jaws enlarged and strong, well differentiated from the cardiform band within. In both jaws one or two pairs of these teeth are usually larger than the others, perhaps meriting the name of canines; they are occasionally wanting. The normal num- ber of these enlarged teeth seems to be 10 in the upper jaw and 8 in the lower. A small accessory band of molars behind the cardiform band above and below. Eye large, 33 in head in adults (12 inches long). Dorsal spines stronger and lower than in pennatula, the longest 24 in head. Pectorals reaching slightly beyond vertical from front of anal, rather more than 4 length of body. Ventrals 44 in length. Anal spines robust. COLOR IN LIFE.—Silvery with bluish reflections; the base and cen- tral portions of each scale golden, forming distinct longitudinal stripes, the stripes between these pearly or bluish; rows of scales on cheeks and opercles with the pearly stripe median, the golden marginal. A deep violet streak below orbit, not extending forward on snout nor backward on opercles. Preorbital deep dull violet like the snout, the ground color forming reticulations around conspicuous round brassy spots which cover half the surface. Naked part of preopercle some- times similarly marked, more often colored like the body. Edge of opercle gilt. Lower jaw dusky violet. Axil golden; base of pectoral above with a violet bar. Fins all pale, vaguely blotched with dull orange. Ventrals more or less dusky on inner rays. Commissure of lips yellow. Iris golden. This species is common at Key West, where it is taken in considera- ble numbers with the hook and line in the channels. It reaches a length of about 15 inches, and is known to the fishermen as the Saucer- eye Porgy. It is less abundant than C. pennatula, and much less brightly colored in life. But a single specimen was seen by Professor Jordan in the Havana market, it being far less abundant there, in the winter at least, than C. bajonado or C. pennatula. It is confounded by the Cuban fishermen with the latter as Pez de Pluma. The description and figure given by Cay. & Val. of Pagellus calamus agrees with this species in all respects except the color, which was taken from an old specimen in alcohol. Thus the ‘bluish points on the sub- Proc. Nat. Mus. 84——2 18 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. orbital” appearing on a darker background were in life the light bronze spots surrounded by the network of dark blue. The name megacephalus was given to the species by Swainson as a substitute only for calamus C. & V., in accordance with the common but very objectionable practice of altering the specific name when it resem- bles or is identical with the generic one. Guichénot’s description of the species is based upon that of Cuy. & Val., with some few corrections and additions. The descriptions of Professor Poey of his C. orbitarius seem to have been chiefly based on this species, but there is evidence of a confusion in his notes, some of his remarks applying rather to C. pennatula, which species is the common Pez de Pluma of the Havana markets. Thus his description of the canines (those of the upper jaw small, except the second, which projects; those of the mandible scarcely larger than the cardiform teeth) and the color of the preorbital (blue streaks, forming a network) indicate calamus, while the diffuse blue streak across opercular region behind eye is found in pennatula but not in calamus. NoTre.—lt has been a frequent custom in zoélogy, dating from the immediate fol- lowers of Linnzeus, to take for a generic name the original specific name of the typi- cal species, and then, to prevent the tautological use of the same word for both genus and species, to change the specific name, thus establishing a ‘* new species,” as well as anew genus. In such casesat least six different modes of procedure have been advo- cated and more or less consistently followed by different writers. These are the fol- lowing: 1. To change the generic name so derived from a specific one. This arrangement was once recommended by the British association, but after a time it seems to have been abandoned by common consent. In ichthyology it would necessitate the change of many of the generic names best known, as, for example, a large share of those of Cuvier in the Régne Animal. Again, and still more important, this rule is in itself a direct violation of the law of priority, as important in regard to genera as in regard to species. 2. To adopt the generic name, and to change the specific name to vulgaris without regard to previous synonyms. This rule was largely followed by Cuvier and Valen- ciennes, but the fact that it has not been generally followed is sufficient argument against its use. 3. To use the name typicus in the above case, without regard to previous synonyms. This has had no general acceptance. 4. To use in the above cases a genitive formed from the name of the describer of the original species as a specific name. This has been consistently followed by Professor Malm, who has changed the name of the typical species of many genera (Trachurus, Molva, Lota, etc.) to ‘‘ Linnwi,” without regard to other names or synonyms, 5. To choose as a new specitic name when the former specific name is used as generic, the specific name next oldest in the synonymy. This rule is the one generally fol- lowed by authors who have endeavored to be consistent in their nomenclature, and it is the one adopted by nearly all recentauthorsin America. If the original specific name is regarded as having become ineligible, this seems the proper course to follow. One important disadvantage is that in nearly every case it necessitates the revival of some forgotten and often doubtful and, in itself, worthless synonym. For this reason, proba- bly half the species so named have their proper nomenclature still unsettled. Incase, also, the genus in question is of doubtful validity, the confusion made by this pro- cedure is considerable. Thus if, with most European writers, we adopt the genus PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. iB) Pagrus, we should say Pagrus argenteus using the half-forgotten synonym argenteus ; but if, with the present authors, Pagrus be regarded as a subgenus only, its typical species should be Sparus pagrus. 6. In case of the adoption of a specific name as generic, to choose as the new spe- cific name whatever name the author of the genus may have himself chosen to call the species, without reference to previous synonyms. This rule seems to have been followed with more or less consistency by Dr. Giinther in his Catalogue of the Fishes of the British Museum. This rule has the advantage of definiteness, nor does it con- tain any injustice to earlier writers, for the earlier synonyms have no claims per se, being antedated by the specific name selected as generic. But no one has applied this rule in detail, and it seems not likely to receive general adoption. 7. To retain the earliest generic and earliest specific names, without regard to theirsimilarity. This is the dictate of the law of priority, which is steadily becom- ing more and more urgent. The best system of rules is that which permits of fewest: exceptions, and certainly exceptions to the application of this most important rule of priority should be very few indeed. It seems to us that no advantage worthy of consideration comes from the change of either specific or generic name when the two are alike, while the disadvantages are many and serious. There is, in fact, a certain degree of appropriateness in thus repeating the generic name for its typical species. Nor is this idea foreign to the Latinic languages, however uncommon it may be in class- ical Latin. The Cuban fishermen call all the species of Haemulon ‘‘ Ronco”; those of Harpe and Lachnolomus, ‘* Perro”; those of Echeneis, ‘‘ Pega.” Now, the typical or most important species of each of these groups is further distinguished by the repe- tition of the same word in an adjective sense. Thus, Hamulon plumieri is ‘‘ Ronco Ronco”; Lachnolemus siullus, ‘‘ Perro Perro”; and Echeneis naucrates, ‘* Pega-pega.” Thus, the true Eel, or Anguilla of the ancients, may be called Anguilla anguilla; the typical Calamus, Calamus calamus, and so on. This rule has been adopted in part by many authors. In his late publications it seems to have been fully adopted by Dr. Giinther, who, without any formal statement of reasons, writes Conger conger, Anguilla anguilla, &c., as be had formerly written Trachurus trachurus. Believing that the retention of the original specific name in all these cases will save much confusion, we. propose to call the present species Calamus calamus, instead of Calamus megacephalus. The adoption of this rule would necessitate changes in nomenclature of American fishes from that given in our Synopsis of the Fishes of North America— From— To— ,Catostomus longirostris. C. catostomus (Forst.). Anguilla vulgaris. A. anguilla L. Conger niger. C. conger L. Hippocampus heptagonus. H. hippocampus L. Menidia bosci. M. menidia L. Sphyreena spet. S. sphyreena L. Remora squalipeta. R.remora L. Sarda mediterranea. S. sarda L. Trachurus saurus. T. trachurus L. Calamus megacephalus. C. calamus C. & V. Hemilepidotus tilesi. H. hemilepidotus (Tilesius). Liparis lineata. L. liparis L. Molva vulgaris. M. molva L. Lota maculosa. L. lota L Merlucius smiridus. M. merlucius L. Hippoglossus valgaris. H. hippoglossus L. Achirus lineatus. A.achirus L. Mola rotunda. M. mola L. 20 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 3. Calamus bajonado (Bloch & Schneider) Poey.—Jolt-head Porgy ; Bajonado. Bajonado Parra, Peces y Crustaceos de Cuba, 1787, 13, lam. 8 (Havana). Sparus bajonado Bloch & Schneider, Syst. Ichth., 101, 284 (‘‘ species dubia”; description from Parra); Poey, Synopsis Piscine Cubensium, 1868, 308 (Havana); Poey, Rep. Fis. Nat. Cuba, ii, 160. Pagellus bajonado Poey, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1863, 177 (identification of Parra’s figure). Calamus bajonado Poey, Aun. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N. Y., 1872, x, 176, pl. vi, f. 1 (Havana); Poey, Enum. Pise. Cubens. 55,1875 (Havana); Poey, Anales Soc. Hist. Nat. Esp., x, 1881, 328 (Puerto Rico). Pagellus caninus Poey, Memorias Cuba, ii, 199, 1860 (Havana); Poey, Rep. Fis. Nat. Cuba, 160 (Havana); Guichénot, Réy. Pagels, 123 (name only). ? Calamus plumatula Guichénot, Révision Pagels, 119 (Martinique; young). Head, 3in length (4 in total); depth 22 (3 in ike DET Ae zx (II, 10. Scales, 7-54-17. Body less elevated than in the two species pacer dings the snout long and pointed, the anterior profile rising slowly in an even course to front of dorsal; in the young the anterior profile is more bluntly rounded, the supraorbital region more prominent, and the profile of snout steeper. Greatest depth of preorbital rather more than one-half length of head in adults 2 feet long, 24 in head in young of 6 inches. Mouth moderate, maxillary not reaching vertical from orbit except in the young; nearly half length of head in adults; 2} in head in speci- mens of 8 inches. Anterior teeth of outer series much enlarged and stronger than the cardiform band, even in the young; in adults these become very strongly developed, and are then nearly as robust as the molars; their number seems to be normally 2 or 3 on each side in the upper jaw and 3 or 4 on each side in the lower, but this is subject to much variation; the upper jaw has frequently one of these more enlarged than the others, and canine-like. The molars are, as usual in this genus, in three series in the upper jaw and two in the lower; besides these there is quite constantly towards the front of the jaw an interior supplemental series of molars, both above and below. Eye large, 23 (in young) to d (in adults) in length of head. Dorsal spines slender, the highest 28 in head, the soft rays low; anal spines robust; pectorals long, sdaeniae past origin of anal, 22 to 3 in length; ventrals nearly reaching vent, 13 in head. COLORS IN LIFE.—Brassy, rather dull, and with little blue marking, the middle of each scale shining, but scarcely bluish. A blue stripe below eye, narrower and duller than in the preceding species, and ex- tending well forward on preorbital; a second duller streak above this, the two meeting on forehead. Preorbital dull, coppery, often with ir- regular and obscure blue lines, these sometimes forming obseure vein- ing, and always growing duller with age. Lower jaw dull, purplish. Angle of mouth purplish and orange yellow. Axil yellowish; no violet band on base of pectoral. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 21 Fins plain, the ventrals sometimes slightly dusky, the caudal ob- securely barred. A young specimen had four or five faint orange blotches along back. This is the most abundant species of the genus at Key West, and it reaches a considerably larger size than any of the others. The largest specimen seen is 22 inches in length. It is known to fishermen as the Jolt-head Porgy. All the species are equally valued as food, ranking as average in quality with the Grunts (Hemulon), and rather below the Snappers (Lutjanus). ‘This species is in life duller in color than most of the other porgies. In the Havana market this species is proportionately about equally abundant, and it is known as Bajonado. The young are also obtained in considerable numbers in the seines at Cojtiinar and Marianao. Some ill- informed fish-dealers call the banded young of this and other species ‘« Sargo,” but that name is never correctly applied to the Calami. Poey’s identification of his Pagellus caninus with the Bajonado of Parra was made on the supposition that the common name, Bajonado, is still used for the same species in the Havana market. 4. Calamus brachysomus Lockington.—WMojarra Garabata. Sparus brachysomus Lockington, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1880, 284 (Magda- lena Bay, Lower California); Jordan & Gilbert, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1881, 277 (Pichelnogo, Lower California; name only). Calamus bajonado Jordan & Gilbert, Bull. U. S. Fish Comm., 1832, 107 (Mazatlan ; no desecr.; not of Poey) ? Chrysophrys calamus Giinther, Fish. Centr. Amer., 1869, 386 (name only; “Atl. & Pac.; Panama”). This species is abundant in the Gulf of California and in neighboring waters. Numerous specimens are in the National Museum, having been taken by Professor Gilbert at Mazatlan. 5. Calamus sp. indescr.— White-bone Porgy. Calamus bajonado Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 926 (Charleston, S.C.); Jordan & Gilbert, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 1832, 604 (Charleston, S.C.). (Not Sparus bajonado Bloch & Schneider. ) ; ? Calamus macrops Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 927 (Garden Key, Florida). (Not of Poey.) This species is at Charleston an abundant and well-known food-fish, reaching a length of 18 inches. There is no positive record of its oc- currence elsewhere. There is little doubt of its distinction from C. mil- . neri and CO. brachysomus, but as the published accounts of it above noticed are very meager, and as our own specimens of it have been destroyed by fire, we prefer not to give it a new name until we shall have been able to make a re-examination of specimens. 6. Calamus penna (C. & V.) Guichénot.—Little-mouth Porgy ; Sheepshead Porgy. Pagellus penna Cuv. & Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., vi, 209, 1830 (Brazil) ? Guiché- not, Ramon de la Sagra, Poiss. Cuba, 82 (Cuba). ? Calamus penna Guichénot, Révision Genre Pagels, 114 (Brazil; Cuba; Marti- nique). 22 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Pagellus milneri Goode & Bean, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., ii, 134, 1879 (Charlotte Harbor, Florida). Sparus milner’ Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 556 (copied). Calamus milnerit Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 928 (Southern Florida). 22? Calamus macrops Poey, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N. Y., 1872, 181, pl. vii, f. 3 (Havana). Head 3 to 34 in length; depth 23 (23 in total). D. XII, 12; A. III, 10. Seales 6-48-13. Body somewhat higher than in bajonado. Anterior profile evenly convex to front of dorsal, rising slowly, and not strongly arched. Pre- orbital low, 22 to 3 in head, about equaling interorbital width. Mouth moderate, the maxillary scarcely reaching vertical from front of orbit, 24 to 23 in head. Outer series of teeth anteriorly in both jaws somewhat enlarged, small and uniform in size, $ to 10 in each jaw. No accessory rows of molars in either jaw. Eye rather small, 5? to 44 in head in specimens from 6 to 11 inches long. Dorsal low, the highest dorsal spine about 24 in head; pectorals about reaching vertical from front of anal, 34 in length; ventrals 1% to 2 in head. Seales large, in about 5 vertical series on cheeks. COLOR IN LIFE.—Smutty-silvery, with some faint large pearly spots on the scales of upper parts of body; preorbital light bluish, plain or with pearly mottlings, but without bitie stripes; a faint pale streak above and one just below eye; sometimes a faint dusky bar on cheek below eye. Body with 4 to 6 dark cross-bars about as wide as the inter- spaces, very distinct in life, and never completely disappearing. Fins plain; the ventrals blackish, sometimes barred; pectoral yellowish, the axil with a small inky spot above. The Pagellus penna Cuv. & Val., from Brazil, may be this species, which it seems to resemble in form and coloration more than any other. The descriptions extant of penna are so inconiplete, however, that we prefer to retain the name milneri ae than to adopt one based on an uncertain identification.* The young of this species, from 4 to 6 inches in length, are very abun- dantin the alge on rocky bottoms about the island of Key West. Nu- merous specimens were obtained in the seine. These young fishes are called by the fishermen Little-mouth Porgies. A single large individ- ual about a foot in length was obtained from a hook-and-line fisherman. This adult is known as the Sheepshead Porgy. Its cross-bands are more distinct than in the other large species, giving it some resemblance to a Sheepshead (Diplodus probatocephalus). The small ink-like spot above the base of the pectorals, and the dusky ventrals, are good color marks of this species. *Since the above was written we have received from Dr. H. E Sauvage, of the Museum at Paris, an account of the typical specimen of Calamus penna. This has the small ink-like black spot in its axil which is characteristic of C. milneri. There seems, then, to be no ground for doubting the identity of C. penna and C. milneri. Les PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 23 7. Calamus macrops Poey. Calamus macrops Poey, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N. Y.,1872, 181, pl. vii, f. 3 (Havana). ? Calamus medius Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 328 (Southern Florida). This species is unknown to us. As Poey’s type had blue lines in the cheek, we refer with doubt the young fish from Southern Florida, described by us (Syn. Fish. N. A.,328) to the present species. The deep- blue spot above base of pectoral attributed to this species is one of the characteristics of C. milneri, but that species has the eyes small and the cheek plain. 8. Calamus microps Guichénot. Salgo (Sargo) Ramon dela Sagra, Album, Peces de Cuba, MSS., tab. 51, 1834. Pagellus microps Guichénot, Ramon de la Sagra, Hist. Cuba, 188, tab. 3, f. 1 (Havana); Giinther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., I, 417, 1859 (copied). Calamus microps Guichénot, Révision Pagels, 118 (Cuba); Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1823, 928 (copied). Pagellus humilis Eee say Pise. Cubens., 1868, 308 (Havana). Grammateus humilis Poey, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N. Y., 1872, 182 (Havana); Poey, Enum. Pisce. Cubens., 1875, 56. This species is unknown tous. Its very small eye (5 in head) would appear to separate it from the other large-scaled species. The water- color drawing of Senor de la Sagra, now before us, is extremely rude, and useless for purposes of comparison. 9. Calamus arctifrons Goode & Bean.—Grass Porgy; Shad Porgy. Calamus arctifrons Goode & Bean, Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus., 1882, 425 (Pensa- cola); Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 928 (description from original type); Jordan & Swain, Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus., 1884 (Cedar Key). Head 34 in length ; depth 23. D. XII,12; A.III,10. Scales 6-46= 12; Body comparatively little elevated, the anterior profile evenly curved, very strongly convex forward ; the head is narrowest above, becoming conspicuously wider below; profile rising but little from nape to front of dorsal. Preorbital deep, 24 to 24 in head. Mouth moderate, maxillary. scarcely reaching vertical from front of orbit, 24 in head. Outer series of teeth anteriorly enlarged, conspic- uously stronger than those of cardiform band, (8 to) 10 in number in each jaw. Molars in three series above and two below, without acces- sory inner series. Eye very small, four-fifths interorbital width, one- half width of preorbital, 44 in length of head. Dorsal spines compressed and rather strong, the longest 24 in head. Anal spines short, the third about 44 in head. Pectoral short, barely reaching vertical from vent, 32 in length of body. Ventrals about 5 in length. Seales large, in five vertical series on cheeks. COLOR IN LIFE.—Silvery, bluish or iridescent olive above, the centers 24 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. of many of the scales pearly, especially above and between the spots. A conspicuous black blotch on lateral line anteriorly. A row of about six salmon-olive spots along lateral line; above these and below base of dorsal is a row of large faint diffuse blotches of the same color, and below them a series of faint smutty tinges, the whole forming a series of about six obscure and broken cross-bars. Snout olive, mottled with bluish; a bright yellow band between eyes above, a very obscure pearly-blue streak below eye, and two or three similar ones before eye. Preorbital usually bluish, with more or less numerous longitudinal streaks and dashes of golden yellow, around which the ground color forms reticulations ; the preorbital sometimes pale salmon yellow, with a few light bluish streaks. Cheeks, preopercle, and opercle pearly, with yellow shades and spots. Opercular membrane coppery orange. Ver- tical fins bluish, marked with small dusky salmon spots, which form undulating cross-bars on caudal; several blackish spots along base of dorsal. Ventrals, bluish white, faintly barred. This species is rather common in the eel-grass about the Florida Keys, where it is known as the Grass Porgy, and sometimes as “* Shad Porgy,” from its occurrence with the *‘ Broad Shad” (Gerres cinereus). Itis taken in lessnumbers by the hook-and-line fishermen than the Jolt-head, Little- head, and Sancer-eye Porgy, and it reaches a larger size than any of these, the largest seen being less than a footinlength. <A few were taken in the seine near the shore. A single specimen was obtained by Profes- sor Jordan at Cedar Key. This specimen and one of those taken at Key West have the preorbital plain, as in the original type from Pensacola. Most of the specimens have the preorbital marked with bright dashes, somewhat as in C. calamus. 10. Calamus medius (Poey) Jordan & Gilbert. Grammateus medius Poey, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N. Y., 1872, 183, pl. vii, f. 4 (Havana); Poey, Enum. Pisce. Cubens., 1875, 56 (Havana). This species is unknown to us. INDIANA UNIVERSITY, January 25, 1884. DESCRIPTIONS OF TEN NEW SPECIES OF FISHES FROM KEY WEST, FLORIDA. By DAVID 8S. JORDAN and CHARLES H. GILBERT. The month of December, 1883, was spent by Professor Jordan in making collections of the fishes of Key West, Fla., in the interest of the United States National Museum and of the museum of the Indiana University. About 190 species were obtained, of which those enumer- ated below appear to be new. Typical specimens of each of these are | . ' PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 25 in the United States National Museum, bearing in the Museum Register the numbers indicated below. 1. Dussumieria stolifera. (Catalogue No, 34964.) . Tylosurus sagitta. (Catalogue No, 34965.) . Querimana gyrans. (Catalogue No. 34966). . Atherina area. (Catalogue No. 34967.) . Xyrichthys (Iniistius) rosipes. (Catalogue No. 34968.) . Doratonotus thalassinus. (Catalogue No. 34969.) Gobiosoma ceuthecum. (Catalogue No, 34970.) . Cremnobates nox. (Catalogue No. 34971.) . Platophrys nebularis. (Catalogue No. 34972.) . Achirus (Beostoma) comifer. (Catalogue No. 54973.) SIS OUR OO bo o HM fend —) 1. Dussumieria stolifera. Body elongate, slender, moderately compressed, with the shape and general appearance of slender species of Stolephorus ; belly not com- pressed to an edge. Snout very sharp, tapering, the jaws equal; cleft of mouth little oblique, the maxillary reaching slightly beyond front of eye, about 24 in head. Teeth minute, but evident in both jaws. Eye large, 24 in head. Insertion of dorsal slightly nearer tip of snout than base of caudal; the fin high, the longest ray two-thirds length of head. Insertion of ventrals under fourth or fifth ray of dorsal. Anallow. Ven- trals nearly half as long as head, slightly shorter than pectorals, which do not reach their base. Head 32 in length; depth 5§. D. 11; A. 17. Seales rather large, ca- ducous, probably about 36 in a longitudinal series, judging from the impressions on the skin. CoLor.—Translucent green, pale below; sides with a well-defined silvery band as in Atherina or Stolephorus, about one-fourth depth of body and a little broader than pupil; a double row of dots along back before dorsal fin, and a single row behind dorsal; fins plain. Very abundant in schools in the surf about Key West, in company with Stolephorus browni. All the specimens seen were of about the same size, about 13 inches in length. It is probable that it does not attain a larger size. We should identify our specimens with Clupea lamprotenia Gosse, from Jamaica, were it not for the difference in the numbers of fin rays. 2 Tylosurus sagitta. fe Very closely allied to Tylosurus scapularis J. & G. Body slender, not compressed, as broad as deep; caudal peduncle not strongly depressed, its depth about equaling its width; no keel on caudal peduncle; the lateral line not black, and not more conspicuous on tail than elsewhere. Jaws slender, of moderate length, the upper jaw from eye contained 44 times in length, and containing length of rest of head 17 times. Di- ameter of eye about 14 in interorbital width, 2} to 3 in postorbital part of head, about 74 in upper jaw forward from eye. 26 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Teeth slender and pointed, those of inner row about 25 to 30 in each side of each jaw. Teeth and bones of head not green. Maxillary not entirely concealed by the preorbital. Interorbital space with along, narrow, rather shallow groove, with a median longi- tudinal ridge; the groove is scaly and widens slightly anteriorly. Two parallel ridges on occiput. Cheeks and opercles everywhere closely scaled. No gill-rakers. Scales not green, of moderate size. Dorsal fin low, the posterior rays the shortest, the longest ray of an- terior lobe 14 in postorbital part of head. Anal higher than dorsal and beginning in advance of it. Caudal fin well forked. Pectorals about equaling length of postorbital part of head. Ventrals about half length of postorbital part of head, the insertion slightly nearer base of median caudal rays. Head 22 in length; depth about one-sixth head. D.I,15; A. 1,17. Lat. 1. about 225. COLOR IN LIFE.—Light green above, rendered dusky by fine dots; sides and below whitish silvery; a well-defined dark bluish lateral stripe, narrow and intense toward head, becoming much wider poste- riorly. Several dark streaks formed of single series of fine black dots on middle of back. Sides of head, and of body in front of ventral fins, with conspicuous coarse black specking; these forming a dark bar in front of opercle; angle of mouth dark blue; tip of lower jaw reddish. Fins all pale; caudal dusky at tip. Three specimens, from 10 to 13 inches in length, were taken in the seine at Key West. 3. Querimana gyrans. Close to Q. harengus, but differing in coloration, size of scales, fin rays, &e. Body compressed, especially below; upper anterior profile descending in a curve to the short snout; top of head transversely convex, mouth rather narrow, oblique, the symphysis of lower jaw forming an acute angle. Teeth in a single series in upper jaw, rather better developed than in species of JZugil, but not evidently of different character. Eye large, equaling interorbital width, 32 in head, about twice length of snout. Origin of ventral fins midway between snout and end of anal fin; pec- torals long, five times in length of body; vertical fins, apparently seale- less. Head 34 in length; depth 33. D.IV-I,7; A. I,7 (or 8?). Lat. 1. 28 or 29. CoLor.—Some specimens (perhaps females) green above; sides and belly, silvery; middle of back with a large pale area, shining silvery when in the water. Other specimens (perhaps males) with a broad cop- pery olive shade along the sides, extending on the back; color other- wise the same; the pale dorsal blotch as in the other. Fins, pale. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 27 This little fish was found to be very abundant about the market wharves at Key West, apparently feeding on the waste fishes thrown overboard by the fishermen. None of the many specimens obtained are more than three fourths of aninch long, nor is it likely that the species attains a much greater size. The fishes swim about in schools of about 50 at the surface of the water, the school having often something of arotary motion like a school of whirligig beetles (Gyrinidw). Whenso swimming the pale spot on the back is very conspicuous, and the bronze-colored ones (males?) are read- ily distinguished from the green ones. When alarmed, the whole school sinks to the bottom. All the specimens obtained were dipped up with a pail from the boats. It is probable that the specimens obtained at Charleston, and referred by us to Querimana harengus, belonged to this species. Unfortunately they have been destroyed. 4. Atherina area. Body very slender, compressed, the head slender and narrow, with sharply-pointed snout; mouth oblique, narrow, maxillary barely reach- ing vertical from front of orbit, 23 in head; eye large, equaling inter- orbital width, 2% in head; scales moderate, entire. Origin of spinous dorsal midway between tip of snout and base of caudal, much behind end of pectorals, about opposite tip of ventrals ; length of pectorals equaling depth of body; ventrals half length of head ; bases of vertical fins concealed in a sheath of scales. Head 43 in length; depth 6. D. VI-1,9; A.1,12. Lat. 1. 38 to 42. CoLor.—Translucent olive-green, the snout and mandible dusky ; back with a median series of black specks, one on each scale; a similar series on each side the median row; no dark specks on sides; lateral silvery band broad, occupying the greater part of the third row of scales, its width half diameter of orbit; a dusky area behind vent; a series of black specks along base of anal, and thence along caudal pe- duncele to tail. This species is rather common about Key West, in company with its larger and much more abundant congener, A. stipes Miill. & Trosch., (=A. laticeps Poey, A. veliana Goode & Bean.) None were obtained of more than 2 inches in length. ; 5. Xyrichthys rosipes. Body sharply compressed and of moderate height. the anterior pro- files not compressed to a sharp edge, the upper profile descending in a regular gentle curve from dorsal fin to end of snout, thus much less nearly vertical than in most species of the genus; the snout compara- tively long and pointed, the preorbital low; maxillary nearly reaching vertical from front of orbit, 34 in head; teeth as usual, no posterior canines; height of preorbital 54 in head; eye large, 14 times interor- 28 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. bital width, 52 in head (in young); distance from snout to eye one-third - head; a series of small scales below eye, head otherwise naked. Two anterior dorsal spines, much elevated, with filamentous tips, their length two-thirds that of head; the third or fourth spine is the lowest, the spines thence slightly increasing to the Jast; second spine con- nected by membrane with the third; longest soft ray of dorsal about 23 in head; caudal rounded, 12 in head; ventrals 13; pectorals 13. Head 32 in length; depth 33. D. IX, 13; A. III, 12. Lat. 1. 23 or 24, The specimen described above, 2 inches long, had the following color- ation in life: Light olive, scarcely paler below, the head more yellow- ish ; body with five irregular brownish cross-bars, the first obscure, at the nape; the last forming a blotch at base of caudal; a small yellowish spot at middle of base of caudal and a fainter one above it; a dark olive band downward from eye, with a spot-like band of the same color before it, and another, which becomes yellow, on the cheeks behind it; all three of these pass around the lower jaw; an olive blotch on opercle; some brown dots behind eye; dorsal cherry red, paler posteriorly, dark- est on the produced anterior rays; caudal pale, scarcely tinged with reddish ; anal cherry red, the lateral stripes forming two spots of deeper red on the fin; pectoral plain; ventrals deep cherry red. A second specimen, smaller in size, probably the female of the species, had a different coloration, as follows: Orange brown, everywhere much mottled, the edges of many scales being brown, the brown becoming yellowish on lower parts, five brown cross-bands darker and broader than in the other specimen, the first at nape, the last at base of caudal, ending behind in a sharply-defined convex curve. Two yellowish brown bands across from eye over lower jaw. Tip of lower jaw of the same color; two similar bands across breast before ventrals. Dorsal and anal transparent except where crossed by the bands. Caudal and pec- torals plain, ventrals deep brownish red. Two specimens were obtained with the seine in the surf at Key West. 6. Doratonotus thalassinus. Body much compressed, moderately elevated; its greatest width be- hind head two-sevenths of its height; caudal peduncle short and deep; its length but little more than half its height; profile from dorsal to nape convex, carinated ; occiput and supraorbital region depressed and flat, the snout protruding, the profile of top of head thus strongly con- cave. Snout slender, sharp, compressed, its length 34 in head; mouth wide; maxillary, 4 in head; teeth growing gradually larger anteriorly, the two front teeth in each jaw, distinetly the largest, canine-like, di- verging, opposed to each other; a small but distinct posterior canine in upper jaw, noue in the lower; eye moderate, little wider than interobital width, 5 in head; cheeks with a single series of large scales, 4 in num- -—---—. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 29 ber; opercle covered with 5 or 6 similar scales; gill-membranes broadly united, free from the isthmus. Dorsal spines robust and pungent, the first three with conspicuous filamentous appendages; first and second spines with their filaments about equal, 14 in head; without their filaments the second spine is slightly the longest, equaling distance from end of snout to middle of eye; the fin rapidly descends to the fourth spine, which is one-half as long as the second, then gradually rises to the ninth and highest, which is, however, shorter than the following soft rays; longest soft ray, 13 in head; anal spines similar to those of dorsal fin, the longest about one- half head; caudal evenly convex, its longest ray 14 in head; ventrals short, about one-half length of head, an elongate scale between them at base; pectorals reaching beyond the ventrals, but not to vent, 13 in head. Membranes of vertical fins, with elongate scales on basal portion. Lateral line following outline of baek one scale beyond end of dorsal fin, thence interrupted and continued on four seales of middle of caudal peduncle. Head, 22 in length; depth, 2g. D. 1X, 10; A. III, 9; Seales 143—20 (pores)—63, COLOR IN LIFE.—Very intense grass-green, about uniform over the body; head more yellowish, slightly paler below; opercles mesially a little darker; iris red, with a green ring; dorsal, anal, and caudal grass-green, mottled with light orange; tips of longer spines green, of short ones orange; ventrals, deep green, the membranes largely orange ; pectorals, light yellowish. A single specimen, 23 inches in length, of this most beautiful species, was obtained with the seine in eel grass at Key West. 7. Gobiosoma ceuthcecum. Body slender; head depressed, flat a%o0ve, narrow and slender; eyes large, the interorbital space very narrow ; snout not blunt; mouth ter- minal, oblique, maxillary reaching to below eye, about one-third length of head; chin with a fringe of short, whitish barbels, arranged in two rows; eye large, rather more than one-fourth length of head, about three times interorbital width. Vertical fins high, none of the rays or spines produced ; membrane of last dorsal spine reaching origin of soft dorsal; pectorals long, reaching vertical from vent, one-fourth length of body; none of the upper rays silk-like. Ventral not reaching vent, one and five-sixths in head. Head and body scaleless. Depth one-half head, which is three and two-thirds in length. D. WELD .A0s 2Ac, 10. Upper half of head and body of a warm brown, being covered with very close-set, coarse, brown specks ; four oblong, colorless areas along base of dorsals, and a smaller one on back of caudal peduncle; head and body below translucent, this meeting the brown in a sharply de- 30 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. fined line along middle of sides; back with five or six blackish cross- bars from back to middle of sides, below which they extend in five or six short V-shaped projections; a short brown streak backwards and down- wards from eye; a small brown bar obliquely across base of upper pec- toral rays; a broad jet-black bar across base of caudal, not including uppermost and lowermost caudal rays. A single specimen 1 inch in length was taken from a cavity of a sponge at Key West. It is possible that it should be regarded as the type of a genus distinguished from Gobiosoma by the presence of the small mental barbels. 8. Cremnobates nox, Snout not very acute, the upper and lower profiles of head nearly evenly convex; mouth large, maxillary reaching slightly beyond eye, one-half length of head. Eye large, equaling length of snout, greater than interorbital width, 4 in head (to end of opercular spine) ; interorbital width, 4? in head; nasal, supraorbital and occipital tentacles present; those on snout and above the orbits, simple, slender filaments, the latter about as long as diameter of orbit, one of them divided to the base, the other simple; the tentacle on each side of nape is a compressed slip of skin higher than wide, the margin uneven but not fringed. Anterior dorsal spines not much elevated, not higher thansomeof the posterior spines ; the first and second spine about equal, 24in head; the third spine is shorter, about equal in length to the fourth, from which it is separated by a widemembrane, which is, however, notat all notched. The spines thence increase in length toward the last. Caudal 14 in head; pectorals reaching anal, nearly equaling length of head; ven- trals not reaching vent, 14 in head. Scales large, 4 series above lateral line and 4 below. Head 32 in length; depth 33. D. WI+XXVI; A. II, 18. Lat. 1. 34 (tubes). CoLor.—Body and fins uniform blackish brown; a few small sil- very-white specks on dorsal region, mostly along base of dorsal fin; head and base of pectoral fin with light pink areas and mottlings; snout pink above; nape with a pink cross-bar; a dark streak upwards and backwards from eye to nape; a light streak from eye backwards to opercle and one backwards and downwards; lower jaw mottled with light and dark. A small round, black spot, near base of dorsal be- tween twenty-third and twenty-fifth spines, and one between twenty- eighth and thirtieth, both very faintly ocellated with lighter. Slight whitish tips on ventrals and lower edge of caudal. This species is known from a single specimen, 13 inches long, taken with the seine in alge on a rocky bottom at Key West. Its conge- ners, C. marmoratus Steind., C. fasciatus Steind., and C. affinis Steind., were found in the same waters, C. marmoratus being much the most abundant of the four, and reaching the largest-size. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. a | 9. Platophrys nebularis. Body ovate, deep anteriorly, the profile descending steeply, rendered abruptly concave in front of interorbital space by the conspicuously pro- jecting short snout. Mouth very small and oblique, the maxillary reach- ing vertical from front of lower eye, 3? in head; tip of lower jaw en- tering the profile. Teeth fine, conical, in two series in the upper jaw, one in the lower; those of the outer row in upper jaw larger and more widely separated than those of the inner series. Snout very short, about one-fifth head, equaling interorbital width. Interorbital space narrow, deeply concave, closely scaled. Eyes large, the lower in advance of upper, its diameter 33 in head. Gill-rakers obsolete, 7 rudiments on horizonal branch of anterior arch. Seales moderate, not extending on the fins, those on colored side etenoid, those on blind side smooth. Arch of lateral line short and high, its base contained 43 to 5 times in the straight portion. Dorsal beginning opposite anterior nostril, the rays nearly uniform in length, the longest about half head. Pectoral of colored side 4} in length. Ventral of colored side beginning under middle of lower eye, with six rays; the right ventral with five rays. Head 4 in length; depth 14. D. 85; A. 64. L. lat. 75 (pores). CoLoR IN LIFE.—Light grayish with reddisa tinge, covered with small round spots of darker gray and with lighter rings inclosing spaces of the ground color. Vertical fins similarly colored, with a small black spot near base of each ninth or tenth ray. Two black spots on median line of body divide the length into nearly equal thirds; some other small black spots scatte:ed over colored side. This species is very common at Key West in clear, shallow water on sandy bottom. The largest of the numerous specimens taken is 3 inches in length. The name Platophrys has priority over that of Rhomboidichthys Bleeker. We have therefore adopted it instead of the latter. 10. Achirus comifer. Subgenus Beostoma Bean. Eyes small, nearly twice the interorbital space, 6 in head. Pectoral of colored side well developed, half as long as head; that of blind side wholly wanting in all our specimens. Dorsal and anal of equal height, the posterior rays longest, two-thirds length of head. Caudal rather sharply pointed, slightly more than one-third length of body. Seales small, those on front of head and along back anteriorly en- larged and spinous, the largest perhaps three times as large as those on sides. Right side of body beset with conspicuous black ciliz, some of them clustered together; six of these clusters are more evident than the others, three above and three below lateral line. Head 34 in length; depth 12. D.50; A. 37. Scales in 65 oblique series. Head, body, and fins somewhat mottled with varying shades of olive- gray, some of the darker marking with a tendency to form vertical lines ; 32 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. entire body and fins also with round blackish spots of various sizes. Posterior half of blind side dusted with fine dark points. Four specimens, varying from 1 to 24 inches long, were taken with the seine at Key West. They occur on sandy bottoms in shallow waters. INDIANA UNIVERSITY, February 15, 1884. NOTE ON CARANX RUBER AND CARANX BARTHOLOMZEI. By DAVID 8S. JORDAN and CHARLES H. GILBERT. In our Review of the American Carangine (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1883, 188-207), we have provisionally referred (p. 198) the names Car- anx bartholomai C. & V., Caranz cibi Poey. Caranx iridinus Poey, and Caranex beani Jordan, to the synonymy of Caranz ruber (Bloch)=Caranx blochi C. & V. An examination of many specimens collected by Profes- sor Jordan of the ‘‘ Cibi amarillo” (Caranez cibi Poey) and the “ Cibi car- bonero” (Caranz iridinus Poey) of the Havana markets shows that the two species are really distinct, although closely related. The ‘ Cibi car- bonero” is more elongate than the “ Cibi amarillo,” the depth in speci- mens a foot long, 34 in length; the head smaller, 32 in length, the straight portion of the lateral line longer, considerably longer than curved part, 24 in body. In color it is bluish olive, silvery below, scarcely tinged with yellow in life; a vaguely defined horizontal stripe of clear blue just below the dorsal fin. Dorsal yellowish gray; other fins dusky olive; a distinct blackish bar extending the length of the lower lobe of the caudal. In the * Cibi amarillo” (called Yellow Jack at Key West) the body is rather deep, the depth in specimens a foot long, 24 in length; the head 345 the straight part of the lateral line scarcely as long as curved part, 24 in head. The color is bluish silvery in life, everywhere strongly washed with golden; the young sometimes with round golden spots ; blue stripe along side of back very faint or obsolete; yellow brightest on back, on iris, and along base of anal; fins all pale yellow, the color most intense on anal and ventrals ; no blackish stripe on lower lobe of caudal. In numbers of fin rays and scutes, in dentition, and in form of the fins, the two agree very closely. The soft dorsal and anal, although very low anteriorly, are in both slightly faleate. Our analysis of spe- cies on page 194 is therefore erroneous as regards these species. The following is an outline of the synonymy of the two species, which may beamplified by reference to page 198: Caranx ruber (Bloch) Jor. & Gilb.—Cibi carbonero ; Cibi mancho. Scomber ruber Bloch, Ichth. taf, 342. Caranz blochi Cuy. & Val. ix, 69, 1833. Caranz iridinus Poey, Mem. Cuba, II, 226, 1860. West Indies. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. ao ton, D.C. 3, 1884. Caranx bartholomei, Cuvier & Valenciennes.—Cibi amarillo ; Yellow Jack. Caranz bartholomai Cuv. & Val. ix, 100, 1883. Carane cibi Poey, Mem. Cuba, IJ, 224, 1860. Caranz beani Jordan, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 1880, 486. West Indies, north to Key West, Fla., and Beaufort, N.C. We have also examined the original drawings made by Poey of his Hynnis cubensis. This is, we think, not identical with Caran crinitus, but a valid species, closely allied to Caranx alexandrinus (= Hynnis goreensis C. & V. = Gallichthys wgyptiacus Ehrenberg). It may stand as Caranx cubensis. The drawings of Scyris analis Poey, examined by us, are taken from a large specimen. This agrees with specimens of equal size of Caranx crinitus in all respects, except that the anterior anal rays are not ele- vated in a lobe. We do not know how to account for this, but cannot believe that it indicates a difference of species. The name “Chloroscombrus stirurus” on pages 206 and 207 is a lapsus for C. orqueta. It is the MSS. name by which we at first designated the latter species. INDIANA UNIVERSITY, February 25, 1884. : EN NOTES ON A COLLECTION OF FISHES FROM PENSACOLA, FLOR- IDA, OBTAINED BY SILAS STEARNS, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO NEW SPECIES (L£xocwtus volador and Gnathypops mystacinus. ) By DAVED 8S. JORDAN. About January 1, 1854, a tank of fishes was sent to the museum of the Indiana University by Mr. Silas Stearns, of Pensacola. This eol- lection was made up of fishes taken with hook and line on the “ Snap- per Banks,” in water of considerable depth, and also of small fishes taken from the stomachs of the Red Snappers or “spewed up” by the latter after being brought on the deck. Some of these small fishes in the present collection, as in others made by Mr. Stearns, are of special interest. 1. Letharchus velifer Goode & Bean. Plum color in spirits, the head paler, but the belly dark ; dorsal white, its edge abruptly blackish. 2. Ophichthys chrysops Poey. 3. Myrophis punctatus Liitken. 4. Clupea pseudohispanica (Poey) Giinther. This specimen seems to agree fully with others obtained by me in the Havana market. Proc. Nat. Mus. 84-——3 34 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 5. Parexoccetus mesogaster (Bloch) J. & G. (Fxocetus hillianus Gosse.) This species has teeth on the palate, as Dr. Liitken has observed, and is therefore a ‘ Parexocetus.” The second ray of the pectoral is di- vided, not simple as stated by us, (lapsus calami), Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1882, 263. 6. Exoccetus volador, sp. nov. Head 44 in length to base of caudal; depth 53. D.11; A. 11; Lat.1. about 45. Length of type, 94 inches. Allied to Pxocetus rondeleti, but with the first and second rays of the pectoral simple. Body rather stout, moderately compressed ; head broad, not very ob- tuse in profile; eye moderate, 34 in head; interorbital space slightly concave, its width 24 in head. Pectoral fin broad, reaching to the base of the upper lobe of caudal; first ray of pectoral barely half length of the fin; second ray also simple, about two-thirds length of fin; third ray divided, shorter than fourth, ventrals reaching to the next to the last ray of anal, 33 in body; insertion of ventrals slightly nearer gill-open- ing than base of caudal. Caudal long, its lower lobe 12 length of head; dorsal fin low, its insertion a little in advance of insertion of anal, the of of the latter being 14 times in that of the former; longest rays of dorsal 22 in head; longest of anal rather les. COLOR. Dae blaish above, belly white; dorsal and caudal plain dusky ; pectoral black, darker near the piles ; ventrals mesially black, the edges white. A single specimen in fine condition was sent by Mr. Stearns. It has been presented to the United States National Museum, where it is num- bered 34975. In Dr. Liitken’s excellent review of the Flying-fishes (Bid- rag. til Flyvefiskenes Diagnostik (Vidensk. Meddel. Naturh. Foren. 1876, 394), this species would be placed under ‘b. hadius secundus pectoralis, simplex,” but it differs in many respects from LH. brachycephalus Gthr. and, H. lamellifer Kner. & Steind., the two described species of that type known to Dr. Liitken. 7. Sphyreena guaguanche Cuvier & Valenciennes. 8. Echeneis naucrates Linnezus. 9, Buthynnus alliteratus (Rafinesque) Jor. & Gilb. 10. Decapterus punctatus (Agassiz) Gill. 11. Caranx amblyrhynchus Cuv. & Val. (Caranz falcatus Holbrook ; Caranx secundus and C, heteropygus Poey.) 12. Caranx setipinnis (Mitcbill) Jor. & Gilb. 13. Stromateus triacanthus Peck. One young specimen, apparently the first taken in the Gulf. 14. Chloroscombrus chrysurus (L.) Gill. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 35 15. Rhypticus saponaceus (Bloch & Schneider) Cuv. & Val. (Eleutheractis coriaceus Cope, Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. 1870, 467.) A single specimen from the stomach of a Red Snapper. This is the first record of this species from the waters of the United States. There is nothing in the description of Hleutheractis coriaceus Cope to indicate specific, much less generic difference. Our specimen agrees well with the figure of the latter, being, however, a little more slender. JD. ILI, 25; A. 15 or 16. 16. Rhypticus maculatus Holbrook. Dusky brown, somewhat clouded; sides with a few small, irregular white spots; fins dusky, the edge of the caudal pale. Body deep; maxillary reaching to below posterior margin of eye, 22 in head. Head 3 in length; depth 24. D. II, 25; A. 140r15. 17. Epinephelus stomias (Goode & Bean) Jor. & Gilb. 18. Serranus phebe Poey. A young specimen, the first recorded from the waters of the United States. It agrees very well with a Cuban specimen, but the white pre- anal band is rather narrower in the latter. 19. Serranus formosus (L.) Jor. & Gilb. (Serranus fascicularis C. & V.) A single young specimen. In the young of this species the edge of the preopercle forms a nearly even curve, armed with a strong spine. Only in the adult is the characteristic division of these spines in two sets, which suggested the name Diplectrum, developed. 20.. Lutjanus caballerote (Bloch) Poey. (Lutjanus stearnsii Goode & Bean; Lutjanus caris (young), and Lutjanus stearnsi (adult), Jordan & Gilbert, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1882, 275; Lutjanus caxis, stearnsi, and caballerote Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fishes N. A., 548, 549, 921.) I am unable to separate Lutjanus stearnsi from the common Gray Snapper, Mangrove Snapper, or Caballerote of the West Indies, a species to which we have hitherto applied the erroneous name of Lutjanus caxis. The latter species, the Dog Snapper, Schoolmaster, or Caji of the Florida fishermen, has not yet been noticed north of Key West. The synonymy of this and related forms has been much entangled. I hope later to give a review of this genus, in which the relations of these different snappers will be fully worked out. The true cazis has the posterior part of the body and the caudal fin bright orange or yellow. 21. Lutjanus campechianus Poey. (Lutjanus blackfordii Goode & Bean.) I have examined large numbers of specimens of the “‘ Red Snapper” or “Pargo Guachinango” in the Key West fishing smacks and in the markets of Havana, and I do not think that there is the slightest room for doubt of the identity of this fish with the Red Snapper of Pensacola, 36 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. or Lutjanus blackfordi. It is therefore certain that’in his account of the Mesoprion campechianus (Memorias Cuba, II, 149), Professor Poey in- tended to describe the Red Snapper, and that it is to this fish that all subsequent references made by him to Lutjanus or Mesoprion campe- chianus should be assigned. The original type of Professor Poey, No. 71, ‘370 mill.” long, is a stuffed skin of a young specimen, mounted by Poey nearly thirty years ago, and now preserved in the University of Havana. This has been cursorily examined by me, but it being locked behind glass doors at a considerable height from the floor, I took no notes save that it resem- bled a young Red Snapper, and that the eye appeared large, about 4 in head. Comparing Poey’s description with a young Red Snapper, I notice the following discrepancies: ‘ L’ceil est quatre fois dans la longueur de la téte. Je compte 65 écailles au-dessus de la ligne latérale, 53 au-des- sous.” In a specimen of similar size, I find the scales as above counted 33, and the eye 43 in head. The account of the color, as given by Poey, applies very well to the young Red Snapper. In these, the lateral dark blotch is large, disappearing when the fish is about 15 inches long. The bluish lines along the rows of dorsal scales disappear earlier. Speci- mens of 4 to 6 inches are olive rather than red. At present, I think that Professor Poey’s identification of his type with the “Pargo Guachinango” is correct, but I cannot consider this opinion positively established. 22. Rhomboplites aurorubens (Cuy. & Val.). (Mesoprion elegans Poey, Memorias Cuba, IT, 153. Aprion ariommus Jordan & Gilbert, Proce. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1883, 142.) There is not much doubt that the mutilated fishes from the stomachs of the Snappers described by us as Aprion ariommus, are the young of Kihomboplites aurorubens. The types of the former species were unfortu- nately destroyed in the burning of the museum building of the Indiana University, July 12, 1883. I have obtained numerous specimens of the ‘ Cagon” (Rhomboplites elegans Poey) inthe Havana market. I find no difference between these and the Pensacola specimens, nor do [ believe either to be different from the original aurorubens of Cuvier. As this species, in addition to its other peculiarities, has a well-de- fined patch of pterygoid teeth, the genus Rhomboplites may perhaps be be retained for it. 23. Sparus pagrus Linnus. I very much doubt the identity of this fish with the European species, but [ have as yet had no opportunity for making a direct comparison of the two. 24. Apogon maculatus (Poey) Jor. & Gilb. 25. Micropogon undulatus (Linnieus) Cuv. & Val. The West Indian JZieropogon is in my opinion a species distinct from M. undulatus. It should apparently stand as M. fourniert (Desmarest). ‘ PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. of Specimens from the Havana market differ from Pensacola specimens as follows: Body in M. fournieri more elongate, the depth 32 in length to base of caudal, in a specimen 16 inches long. Dorsal rays X—1, 30, A. II, 7. Latera) line with 54 tubes, the scales in 62 oblique rows; 7 scales ina vertical series from first dorsal spine to lateral line; 9 or 10 in an oblique series (9 in a vertical series in M. undulatus ; 13 in an oblique series). Dorsal spines higher, the longest 1? in head; pectoral shorter, 12 in head. The color is notably different. The short vertical bars exist along the lateral line in both species, but above these, in M. fournieri, are very distinct undulating lines, formed of dark centers to the scales, these making continuous dark streaks as wide as the pale interspaces. The streaks are distinct on the whole back. (In M. undulatus, the dark spots are fewer and scattered, not forming continuous stripes.) Opercle with a dusky shade. Both dorsals pale, without evident spots, the tips dusky. The outer teeth are rather weaker in MM. fournieri. The size of the eye and the form of the preopercle are essentially alike in both. 26. Chromis enchrysurus Jor. & Gilb. 27. Platyglossus caudalis (Poey) Giinther. Our specimens from Pensacola agree equally well or ill with Julis caudalis Poey, Mem. Cuba, II, 213, Julis pictus Poey, l.c. 214, and Platy- glossus poeyi Steindachner, Ichth. Notiz. VI, 49. It is possible that four closely related species exist, each with a blackish spot behind the eye, and the outer rays of the caudal produced. More probably, the four are identical. 28. Decodon puellaris (Poey) Giinther. A small specimen, in rather poor condition, from the stomach of a Red Snapper. ‘This is the first record of this interesting species from the waters of the United States. 29. Caulolatilus microps Goode & Bean. A large specimen, agreeing very exactly with the description given by Goode & Bean. The separation of this species from C. chrysops ap- pears questionable, but, until more is known of the latter species, it is best to consider the two as distinct. The small size of the eye in C. microps is doubtless due to the very large size of the only specimens examined. 30. Gobius soporator Cuv. & Val. 31. Ioglossus calliurus Bean. Specimens in good condition. 32. Gnathypops mystacinus sp. nov. Head 35 in length (33 to tip of caudal); depth 44 (5%). D. 23o0r24; A.11. Lat. 1. with about 54 tubes; 100 scales between gill-opening and caudal. Length of type 34 inches. 38 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Head rather elongate, not very blunt in profile; snout very short, not longer than pupil; eye large, about 34 in length; maxillary 1% in length of head, 5 in length to base of caudal, 64 in total length to tip of caudal; end of maxillary abruptly truncate, not ending in a flexible lamina, the supplemental bone well developed ; lower jaw slightly in- cluded. Teeth in both jaws in a narrow band, the outer slender, en- larged; vomer with about 4 slender teeth; palatines toothless. Gill- rakers long and slender. Gill membranes nearly separate, free from the isthmus. Seales very small; lateral line extending to below anterior part of soft dorsal, its length } that of head. Dorsal spines not distinguishable from the soft rays, the rays appar- ently fewer than usual, none of them very high, the last ray 24 in head. Caudal short, apparently truncate, 1; in head. Anal rather low. Pee- torals 2 in head. Ventrals 13. CoLor.—Somewhat faded; apparently plain olive green, without bands or spots on body or fins. Vertical fins tipped with blackish. Maxillary with a median blackish stripe. Pectoral with two dusky cross-shades. No black or white on lining membrane of jaws. A single specimen in good condition, spewed up by a Red Snapper at Pensacola. It is numbered 34976 on the National Museum Register. This species resembles O. lonchura in color, but is quite different in other respects. 33. Emblemaria nivipes Jordan & Gilbert. A large specimen sent us by Mr. Stearns was presented to the United States National Museum (No. 33915). It was carefully compared with our types of H. nivipes from Panama, by Dr. Bean, who found no differ- ence of importance. It is therefore provisionally identified with £Z. nivipes. The occurrence of this form in Florida waters is interesting. 34. Peristedium imberbe Poey. A small specimen, with the head and caudal fin mostly digested, was taken from the stomach of a Snapper. It does not altogether agree with Poey’s account; but as that, too, was taken from a mutilated speci- men, I attach little weight to the discrepancies. The lower jaw being destroyed, I can say nothing of the barbel; but from the presence of hooked spines on the lower row of plates, I think that this specimen must be different from P. brevirostre Giinther. Our specimen has four rows of spinous plates on each side; the occip- ital spines strong. D. VI—ca. 1, 9. Scutes 30 in each series. 35. Scorpzena stearnsi Goode & Bean. 36. Citharichthys pzetulus (Bean) Jor. & Gilb. Two specimens, each about a foot in length, in fine condition. The right side, in this species, is sooty-blackish, not pale as usual in floun- ders. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. og As two of the species of Hemirhombus (H. fuscus Poey, and IZ, ova- lis Giinther) have the narrow interorbital space, the short pectoral, and the general appearance of the species of Citharichthys, I cannot admit the genus Hemirhombus to be well founded. In Hippoglossoides are also species with one, and others with two rows of teeth. 37. Alutera schoepfi (Walbaum) Goode & Bean. A large specimen, apparently identical with others from Wood’s Holl, Mass; D. 1,34; A. 40. 38. Balistes carolinensis Gmelin. (Balistes vetula, 8. Balistes carolinensis Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1788, 1468. ? Balistes capriscus Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1788, 1471; based on references to vari- ous authors; several species evidently confounded. Balistes capriscus of most recent authors.) It seems certain that the Balistes capriscus of Gmelin is not specially based on the present fish, while the prior name, carolinensis, of the same author, refers evidently to this species. This is shown by the numbers of the fin rays, by which this species may be known from B. vetula. We therefore adopt the name carolinensis instead of capriscus. The following species, new to the fauna of the United States, are con- tained in the present collection: Hexocetus volador sp. nov., Rhypticus saponaceus, Serranus phoebe, De- codon puellaris, Gnathypops mystacinus, Emblemaria nivipes, Peristedium imberbe. Norr.—The following is a list of the species thus far found by Mr. Stearns in the stomachs of the Snappers and Groupers on the ‘‘Snapper Banks,” off Pensacola, This list represents the sum total of our knowledge of the fishes of the Gulf of Mex- ico, other than those living close to the shores, or those sought for food. Of the abys- sal fauna of the Gulf absolutely nothing is yet known. Sidera ocellata (Ag.). Serranus philadelphicus (L.). Myrophis punctatus Liitken. Ophichthys ocellatus (Le Sueur), Ophichthys schneideri Steind. Ophichthys chrysops Poey. Letharchus velifer Goode & Bean. Conger caudicula Bean. Myrophis punctatus Liitken. Clupea pseudohispanica (Poey). Synodus? cubanus Poey. (=S. interme- dius J. & G., Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1882, 249; not of Agassiz & Spix.) Parexocetus mesogaster (Bloch). Exoceetus volador Jordan. Exoceetus noveboracensis Mitchill. Apogon maculatus (Poey). Apogon alutus Jor. & Gilb. Serranus formosus (L.). Serranus pheebe Poey. Serranus subligarius (Cope). Rhypticus saponaceus C. & V. Rhypticus maculatus Holbrook. Rhomboplites anrorabens (C. & V.). Hemulon aurolineatum C. & VY. Stenotomus caprinus Bean, Mullus auratus Jor. & Gilb. Stromateus triacanthus Peck. Nomeus gronovii (Gmel.). Chloroscombrus chrysurus (L.). Decapterus punctatus (Ag.). Trachurus trachurus (L.). Scomber colias Gmel. Trichiurus lepturus L. Chromis enchrysurus Jor. & Gilb. Chromis insolatus (C. & V.). 4() PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Platyglossus caudalis (Poey). Guathypops mystacinus Jordan. *Platyglossus bivittatus (Bloch). Emblemaria nivipes Jor. & Gilb. Decodon puellaris (Poey). Blemnius stearnsi Jor. & Gilb. tXyrichthys? lineatus (L.). Ophidium omostigina Jor, & Gilb. Scorpzena stearnsi Goode & Bean. Ophidinum beani Jor, & Gilb. Prionotus scitulus Jor. & Gilb. Ophidium marginatum Dekay. Peristedium imberbe Poey. Citharichthys petulus (Bean). Toglossus calliurus Bean. Siphostoma zatropis Jor. & Gilb. Batrachus pardus Goode & Bean. Hippocampus stylifer Jor. & Gilb. Opisthognathus lonchura Jor. & Gilb. INDIANA UNIVERSITY, January 25, 1884. NOTE ON ZLURICHTHYS EYDOUXII AND PORICHTHYS POROSIS- SIMUS. By DAVID 8S. JORDAN. In the fifteenth volume of the Histoire Naturelle des Poissons, page 43, Valenciennes describes, in a very brief and insufficient manner, a Catfish from Guayaquil, under the name of Galeichthys eydouxti. Sus- pecting that this species might be identical with dlurichthys pinnimacu- latus Steind., | wrote to Dr. H. E. Sauvage, of the Museum at Paris, for information concerning the type of G. eydouxii. The following is a translation from the letter received by me from Dr. Sauvage: ‘‘T have before me the type of Galeichthys eydouxii Cuv. Val., com- ing from Guayaquil, through Eydoux. It is a fish of 0™.225 in length, the head 0".047, the breadth 0™.035. The species is very near to Alu- richthys pinnimaculatus (Steindachuer Ichth. Beitr. IV, p. 25, pl. VIII). It is, however, distinct, and differs in the following points: “The head is broader in A. eydouxii; the ventrals and the anal are without spot; the anal is not emarginate in its median part, but cut squarely. The principal difference is in the shield which precedes the dorsal. In the species of Steindachner this shield is narrow, in the other it is as long as broad, the lateral edges being rounded. On the other hand the shield which precedes this is more narrow than in A. pinni- maculatus. Dee ae An a0. Po kai. “Length of head 43 in total length; predorsal shield broad, rounded on the edges, granulated and grooved. Teeth of the palate forming a * {n the Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1882, 608, we have retained for this species the name of Platyglossus radiatus. This isan error. The Sparus radiatus of the twelfth edition of the Systema Nature, p. 472, received through Dr. Garden, from Charleston, is this fish, as stated by us. In the tenth edition, p. 288, there is, however, a Labrus radiatus based on Catesby’s figure of the ‘‘ Pudding wife,” which is Platyglossus cyanostigma. The latter species must therefore be called Platyglossus radiatus, and the oldest tena- ble name of the other seems to be bivittatus. +A specimen of a plain crimson color, without blue spots or markings. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 41 transverse band subinterrupted at the middle. Four barbels, the max- illary barbel reaching to the middle of the pectoral spine. Dorsal spine grooved, granulated on its anterior edge; pectorals much pro- longed, the filament reaching to the end of the anal. Body and fins of uniform color.” In a paper in the Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1883, 291, I have stated my opinion that the original type of Batrachus porosissimus Cuv. & Val., xii, 501, would prove to be identical with Porichthys plectrodon, as all Atlantic specimens of Porichthys thus far seen by us belong to the latter species. That this view is correct is shown by the following paragraph from the letter of Dr. Sauvage: “The Batrachus porosissinus (Brazil, Delalande), the type of which I have before me, has a strong canine on each side of the vomer; on the palatines are seen at first a strong tooth, then some small teeth, and finally a stroug curved tooth. “There is also a strong tooth on the vomer in Porichthys porosus (Chili, Gay), but the band of palatine teeth is longer, and in consequence these teeth are more numerous.” Three species of Porichthys are therefore known at present, as follows: 1. Porichthys porosissimus (Cuy. & Val.). Batrachus porosissimus C,. & V., xii, 501. Porichthys porosissimus Gthr., iii, 176 (in part). Porichthys plectrodon Jor. & Gilb., Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 1882, 291. Hapitat.—West Indian fauna ; Charleston ; Pensacola; Galveston ; Brazil; Surinam. 2. Porichthys margaritatus (Richardson). Batrachus margaritatus Rich., Voy. Sulphur, Fishes, p. 67. Porichthys notatus Girard, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sei. Phila., 1854, 141. Porichthys porosissimus Giinther, iii, 176 (in part; specimen from Van- couver Island). Porichthys margaritatus Jor. & Gilb., Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 958. HABITAT.—Californian fauna; Lower Californian fauna; Van Cou- ver Island; Puget Sound; California; Gulf of California; Gulf of Fonseca (Richardson); Panama. 3. Porichthys porosus (Cuv. & Val.). Batrachus porosus Cuv. & Val., xii, 506. Porichthys porosus Giinther, iii, 177. HABItTat.—Chilian fauna, coast of Chili. INDIANA UNIVERSITY, February 20, 1884. 42 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. NOTES ON SOME FLORIDA FISHES. By G. BROWN GOODE and TARLETON H. BEAN. At various times, in the publications of the United States National Museum and elsewhere, the validity of some species of Florida fishes described by us has been called in question by Professors Jordan and Gilbert, and several of our names have been referred to the synonymy of older species without adequate show of proof. In a preceding paper Professor Jordan reiterates some of these statements, and we now feel called upon to give our reasons for adhering to the names proposed by us. The fishes immediately concerning us at present are the following: Lutjanus stearnsii, Lutjanus blackfordii, and Caulolatilus microps. In addition to these three, we have studied Sparus pagrus and Xyrichthys “ lineatus,” upon which we have some remarks to make. 1. Lutjanus stearnsii Goode & Bean. Lutjanus stearnsiti GOODE & BEAN, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., I, 1878, p. 179; JORDAN & GILBERT, Syn. Fish., N. A., 1883, p. 549. Lutjanus caballeroie POEY (specimen in U. S. National Museum, number 9862). 2? Anthias caballerote SCHNEIDER, Bloch Syst. Ichth., 1801, p. 310. We have been aware for some time that the species of Lutjanus called stearnsii by us occurs in the West Indies, and upon comparison of our type with an example of caballerote, as determined by Poey, we find that the two are identical. We cannot understand, however, the ap- parent ease with which Schneider’s description has been interpreted ; to us it is completely useless for the purposes of identification. We prefer to use the name stearnsii for the present, and until one of the older names, cynodon or griseus, is demonstrated as applying to our species. The example received from Professor Poey, measurements of which are given farther on, exhibits the following among other characters: There are only eight developed gill-rakers on the first arch, one above and seven below the angle; the longest is one-half as long as the eye. There are seven rows of scales on the cheeks. The single patch of lin- gual teeth is twice as long as it is broad. The vomerines are in a tri- angular patch on the head, with a long, narrow backward extension. The palatines are in a broad band. The scales extend upon the mem- branes of the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins for about one-half their height, or rather more on the caudal. There are two very strong canines in the upper jaw, and two much smaller ones between these and the sym- physis. The mandible is without enlarged canines. The edge of the spinous dorsal membrane is black. The caudal has a narrow black margin. The included portion of the maxilla is brown. The scales of the body below the jateral line have median golden stripes, as in some species of Mugil. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 43 Measurements. Species, LUTJANUS CABALLEROTE Poey. Current mumberioiis peCune nce sean. eee cee ener omen sean sa anes mee en teenie eae | 9862. TDG COIR sono ace ct aoootsodcagetectioreaoed todéeouds cdsos4 osdoos donned thes iccnieaase Cuba. Mani. |; 00ths, i) | meters. | length- =| fe = | Extreme length without caudal................-.--....-- Boosotisact sedan tea saspasesse DAs Eats Wengthstovend) of middleicaudal rays... 2.5. Js sos sie discs ca wccteebesacsiccseensee sss: DAR ON |e ae Body: CMBATES NGO Gre ct a8 <<a ois me tera iotm tele sia alam srals aime mnate cine oteraimatal diver ateiateimee steers mas 82 34 Is Genel, Don Waste ote ese oontios coca beseechoossd actos qebecoauoossurodeesosd 82 3 WezsnNerr nor tatlesseeee a smaecnaee ace sine lene ce ne neato ap natste aa stele ees etae as 31 | 12.4 Head: Grcabestilen cine ss. % 2200 stains eo aot Secale aaa alecioe Gone eisminulessawirdeie aes singe mince ewer, 90 37 Mencthonloncesy, oill-taker i 2-2. enna eta s con tieanians sace- scaise an stee tise meeenee OF si lSccerte ate Wadtie th interonbital areas secacase eee mel a= aden tale ale eeeesee re oe Ect enem eres 19 8 IPEIRUIYG SITO DIT SA Gato esc maar ROcRCr ECE CORS SS BUCCI CCE Ser ErREase sate erie ees 27 11 Eee rary Oye ee 6 oS A ee ee bie cette SosSe re Scns pocesac one henbociodciatcae 27 11 en eth) ofeMmas ery eee eee a enna o-oo eee een esa Carine GEM OE Aaa eee 31 | 12.4 LOGS GSP TT TEN cos coadseon os acaS asc Soo nS sEoodeoosenosses sonpepevabsnesssascs 36 15 Henethvote mandible eo. 2) <1 -)=/=<= sm = > === ie = 43 17.8 Distance from snout to orbit 32 | 13 WE TGG MOL Meth. 15.0 o5 soe aoe See na s4055 660s DES CEOE O nen SnoISCOos pes was eee aeece)| 20 8 Dorsal (spinous) : | IDISiAMeeH LOM SOM beecsecrmeh tains ese rene else bi emsoeito cess oa oo nese case ea aaace 100 41.3 IMGT GL WES) sc seas asdene Seatese See anccse see secee en Iocs couse Subbeeacnboeseae ip POSH) suae.. Ibn a Gie TETH OUeK) Sooeeoaecoes CotooS bsoS Secon Sbg sc Hoa basa eC oneEOSeeooboceese se Seileoesenee IESG OE RGEC TOYA DINO soe os Sones ac cscon cob ssosescee nencas Hots oecHeeseeeereeose | TL Hoeeoasee Men aTHrOnM ONT hs pIVvey (LOL ESE) \s aso ce inictesins sale a esiei= eleleinisela ee eae a mineie eee ae 31 | 12.4 en eunOn ast SPIN be .oc sia — = acne ancissien/= siden sas saipmionic/aaiclslesiom sine seaetee elses sine | 20 | Dorsal (soft) : | Thermal Pip, ERG) eee dco Seo seeped pecocscccepuauass adesess Somoocccenesesecosetiasese 52 | 21.5 TDi Saat Sid aR hs Soares eee ese Oeora=- Soares sc ceaseeS Pap boncn oA Length of longest ray 32 | 13 LGWYEHIN Git ETRE es2cogcge cash ae conde Sennioen ao ncSdine sooo berbentadadsecsooes ane 18 |} 7.4 Anal: DINAN COMGCOMPS DOUG ses eal sale cles seiem a aeloniseiale tee ace eines cs elree= np aeis stares 173° | 71.5 ILENE) INGE [SNS 3 cs ceases yeee ISO ako sede dao oe SaSsoooe bee Seep PEE rn sadioe ede 4ooREse 35 14.5 Meno Pato hetinsops DINGE eer eeee a aaa ca sale rise eo raseitoe sae ae eee ance ee ee ee Oi |e ee E Wen StihyvotesecOnges Pin Gra an seca. cncemetaee tare ce teas eelsets deer dacttenmen\- cee eae ee 22 | 9 Menowiy OfmuniRa spine aera or econ som se ae coelantaeriam scence a saa eee Sak eee 21 | 8.7 MONE TNO MACs Une ee soe omae alee alate eioeciea fe seins ee clea eres mein aeicineees doen ec cmaem nee 33 13 engihiotdoneestirayy (SECOND) occas ace steno anl cninsiae inca c eceelte cag seiecsenses ace 37 15 EN iO sunl a yee seacacae sala nae sa esia sme se ancl cremacise aes sine sicinere = cetera Ae 21 8.7 Caudal : ; | Meneunlonemid Glog ay Seeeasce natn eaeatines ee ecree clses see sattatcsomae. seme Seas 51 21 ene h Ove ternal Tay Gia aon. mens once oe cee omiewsmatee acee tint hae maa deh costes ee 57 23. 5- Pectoral: DistancestromysNOUh) jon = sacciaae n= ace a-a)o nei jaeee ae oie ante = seam earls see 84 | 34. T TEAS SaaS Se Be Be ceed o JB OS Se SBOE EOC OO GE IGe SOR CHD ERS CUBE E Se aee ne deSnaeeabers 61 25 Ventral; Digan CoLtcCompsnoOUs)seccse nl ais ssa sehr aeae sexicins Seat elo wancReeeeciee cs tena 94 39 ISTE. nove pee de Sols seeooe Sg asncedoseus sr coced sCenIene SHReboRoees cen erodacecas 48 20 PSTN CHIOSGGP AS tan tees a ais dan aa Seimei e Nees wen Sapa a sec ce ch ser ocean ee WIE peste = TOT Salles So retain cee ie iartatsictalare sere ch SA Simo ae wee a Suet ys wheeee dee es cues teat Tes eee Bey Ye eee ae BATT OS yee ed ere ee atte an etal tei Satara feet reread aainrce roars omen ae ret Ra ie eS RS pr es ME CtOral es Las eos me he cates eee nob wisleciaeeomlcaace see eeees seeees csmeeah eau ateescue pea etek Oey eam arsie MWENLED Dep wane contac cere en incins ooo cerale anni «eluate ae oc wae welsnGeemecinccoch ae aacee Heide Or cc | Mee eaae Nomberotiscalesiinilateraliline- 224.32 2b eles hes Asa cn feawnd a ew aee se ekeaeeen Ze eee ae Noniber of transverse rows) above lateral line) 2020 0235. --cn ccs abe cab ccc asco lecsatees y Alay Vane Se Number of transverse rows below lateral line... .- 2.2... sc 25.22 cence ence cceeccecs 1a eciees 2 2. Lutjanus blackfordii Goode & Bean. Lutjanus blackfordii GOODE & BEAN, Proc, U.S. Nat. Mus., I, 1878, p. 176, (full description of adult); II, 1879, pp. 137, 138 (characters and measure- ments of young); GoopE, Game Fishes N. A., 1878, p. 16, with colored plate. JORDAN & GILBERT, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, p. 549. Lutjanus campeachianus JORDAN & GILBERT, l. ¢., p. 971 (not Mesoprion cam- peachanus Poey, Mem. Cub., II, 1860, p. 149); Jorpan, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., VII, 1884, p. 35. When we described the Red Snapper as a new species under the name Lutjanus blackfordii we were in possession of all the information concern- 44 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. ing Poey’s campeachianus that was then available, and no one has, since that time, added anything but conjecture upon the relation of the Gulf form to the original of Poey’s description. Indeed it is by no means cer- tain that the type of that description is in existence. There is some ground for the belief that the specimen now purporting to be the basis of Poey’s account is a later, erroneous identification of the Red Snapper. Any one who will compare our measurements of Lutjanus blackfordii on page 179 of Vol. I and 138 of Vol. II of the Proceedings above referred to with the description of Z. campeachianus will observe the important discrepancies between our fish and that of Poey. It will be found that the eye of L. campeachianus is very much larger, and that the scales above the lateral line are much more numerous than in L. blackfordii. We are not concerned with Poey’s recent interpreta- tion of the Red Snapper, and we do not consider that this should be al- lowed to enter inte the thediscussion. In Lutjanus blackfordti we have a species fully described and accurately figured. It is quite as impossible to reconcile our species with the description of L. campeachianus now as it was six years ago, and we cannot see the supposed necessity of uniting the two on the basis of our present knowledge. 3. Caulolatilus microps Goode & Bean. The following notes were obtained from an example of C. chrysops in the British Museum: The length of the longest gill-raker is 44 millimeters. The opercular spine is short, but sharp. The preoperculum is finely denticulated on its posterior margin. Theblack axillary spot is not quite solong as the pupil. The twenty-first ray of the dorsal is somewhat produced, as well as the twentieth anal ray; and these rays are only once divided and not twice, like all the others. If the scales be counted obliquely upward and for- ward from the anal origin to the lateral line, we shall find 31 or 32 rows ; if counted upward and backward, 28. The most important differences between C. microps and C. chrysops will be observed in (1) the length of the snout, (2) the length of the dorsal spines and rays, (3) the length of the longest anal rays, (4) the length of the paired fins, and (5) the number of scales in the lateral line. We cannot attribute these discrepancies to a difference in age, and we believe that nothing is to be gained*by attempting to estimate the rela- tions of the species by an examination ofthe literature alone. It will be best to consider microps as an established species until its claim to dis- tinctness can be more successfully controverted. An examination of the table of measurements which follows will show the relations of the West Indian and Gulf forms under discussion. We believe that three clearly marked species are indicated. PROCEEDINGS OF UNI TED Measurements of species of Caulolatilus. STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 45 C. micreps, 20971. C. ehrysops (Brit.Mus.).. C. eyanops, 4750. Jub Pensacola, Fla. | Barbadoes. Milli- |100thsof Milli- 100thsof | Milli- | 100ths of meters. | length. | meters. length. meters. | length. Length to origin of middle candal MAYS) Soesieta!scteeetsls nies winls's = mini G20 aatetele == PHY ome seracecs OBO = aap eelale Body: } eteatant HEH La Dobe gos odo scRoblaciee fee Bec 281 PA MISS apiece P4135) | ee oeeraree 24.3 (Gorrie wali eo ee Reoescoscedl| eee seccope nf Gy eee aecoae Seeae sete 12 Helens ah VOUUNRIS tam nee ess ae |Peeee ace 28%) soses dice Q8-FFA eer eee 24, Beas Neen Of Tall yee neta <cteiaiel|| mere aie varie 8 Eee eae ae BoA eee eee T Length of caudal peduncle. ---.|........-. DOM Mee oe Sea a aces sea ees. sae 2 11 Head: Greatestiloneth! sates sccstmssctls cae keees QGithe| Rau eee PASAY eee ses 28 Distance from snout to nape ... 13. 4 Eee ai 15 Grestest widtivt sso. 52 2.22ces: =. L204) see Ae 13. 5 Width of interorbital area...--- 8.6 8.5 Length of snout .-....-------...- 8 10 Length of maxillary _..-.-----.- [is Be air 10.3 Length of mandible -.--.------.- 12.4 12.5 Distance from snout to center OiOUDIGNEE a eee a na eae loocoeaaee 14, 7 | 22 - eons ence | --eneseen== [een nnmnw ne 11 Diametemotorbitssc--no-5-- 2-2 occas aa = AUB | uriep rely tas a GSU leeesencteee 7.5 Dorsal (spinous) : Distance trom! snouts -)2 5+ ----—5|-ceses a5 = 2 Bae Pa leocecise scr: CaaS: Jeers oee 32.5 MOH SGOT DASOs ee cisoci = =istecsicle o | eeyae oe aes AO easacertcaciet UHC Fee senna 13 enesthvot rst Spin@ sa. ae cea eeeeee ee ee BHU lESEsconparse bi Pl lecerteeecre 5 Length ofsecond’spine:.:--..-2-).0.022.02: SUD |Saone sees ae 629 | teense ae 6 Length of last spine ....-..-.--- eS eD [sero tts alesetetos|| TOY Oat es hee 9.5 Dorsal (soft): Benethiotibase vc. -t-sesecee-toe|_<coce ee AAS HS sector atelte ASY Oi oe hares 46 ihengimiotdirstiraye-.-2seemes a6). oe ace Fibs Weds azine Td) pls asad eis 10.5 Length of longest ray.-<-----.--|.-ccecs ee BS5 is se'cn sees 1G) Weise stcccrec 13 Hen guhvon lasted yeosnse)- cise -a1<| see ceeeeee ASS es Sethian 4 ETT tacepee ae 5 Anal: | Distance from. SNOUt 22s ces Nes dle. 55 51.5 Length of base .._...-.- SEA E ee 35. 37.5 Hensth Of first spines: - ee .2ks.- |e 2 Looe 3 3 Men Soblomhrs trays be seac escalate cme ane 6 7.5 Leneth of longest ray......-----|..:...... 8. 12 Mengunofleastira yi: saosin. ss be oes cea: 4. 5 Candal : Length of middle rays..-.....-.. see BO RGM Moerman: 1 OSE sees 11 Length of external rays .....--.|....:..--- Te Rae a a PA A ee sae 17.5 Pectoral: Wistancertrom snout-=----\eeoss|42co soc ee. BOSON | ose ae ccna 28.5 |loesae eet 27.5 Wen pth sae tsa ec ane ellle oo aaeee Dopey ie Oe ee 2736. ek ea saer 26 Ventral: | Distance from snowt=. sss s—n|t ce Je. JO Sai Ae SB eis GA SHEE sera Bul leit ei tess Branchiostegals 2.2.2 -.25.<25..0-. VI MW OVSAMG tse tenes see ie ae oe ne eciee ViE25 Anal . R23 Pectoral i, 16 iViertrals 225 espe 1 ey. eos ee ae ca 15 Number of scales in lateral line ....! Abt 120 Number of transverse rows above | lateralline -.. {RS See z3 DOr aeeeecisesse 2 Th I eereneeeesec 11) | oe ene Number of transverse rows below Iatoralline 0c eet aa en k Shree eset SONS acasee's weiss Q5i cece easiness Nianber ofc illralkkers ese aaa celia ee Se etre SPL TON SE SS Rae oe RE | os acce * This means the upper jaw; the maxilla alone is 9. 6. 4. Xyrichthys psittacus (L.) Goode & Bean. Coryphena psittacus LINN, Syst. Nat., ed. xii, 1766, p. 448. Coryphana lineata GMELIN, Syst. Nat. The type of Coryphena psittacus, labeled by Linné, and marked No. 20 (evidently the No. 20 referred to on page 313, Correspondence with Linné by Garden; as a fish of surpassing beauty), is the species which we have for some time known as Xyrichthys lineatus. Linné’s descrip- 46 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. tion agrees fully with this example except in the count of the dorsal, which, for some unknown reason, is 3 instead of 3, as Linné would have made it. All the other fin-rays are correctly given. The length of the type to the caudal base is 151 millimeters, and the characters are as follows: D. IX, 12; A. III, 12, the last of the dorsal and anal rays double; V. 6; P. 11; C. 14; scales 2 above lateral line; tubes about 24 in all. The lateral line is interrupted under the 10th ray of the dorsal; the accessory line begins on the median line, under the end of the upper lateral line, and consists of five short tubes. The height is one-third of the length to caudal base; the head one- fourth. The eye is about equal in length to the upper jaw, and is placed at the top of the head. Coryphena psittacus has been supposed to be a Pseudoscarus (Giinther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus:, IV, 225), but we must now find another name for the species to which the Linnzan name has been wrongly applied. 5. Sparus pagrus Linné. Pagrus argenteus GOODE & BEAN, Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus., II, 1879, p. 133. Sparus pagrus JORDAN & GILBERT, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, p. 556. We have again examined the Gulf Porgee, and compared it directly with a specimen of about equal size which was recently obtained from Leghorn. Although there is some difference in the general appearance of the two forms, we cannot distingush them as separate species. The life colors we have not observed, but so far as the condition of the two in spirits is concerned we believe that the subjoined table of measure- ments, together with the remarks now to follow, will substantiate our original statement of the identity of the two. The example from Leghorn has 17 gill-rakers on the first arch, 9 of which are below the angle; it has 7 rows of scales on the cheeks; 4 canines in the front of the upper jaw; 6 in the front of the lower jaw; 2 rows of large molars in the upper jaw, and a short, imperfect inner row, consisting of a few small molars developed only anteriorly; 2 rows of molars in the lower jaw, with an accessory inner row of minute ones similar to those in the upper jaw. The Pensacola specimen also has 17 gill-rakers on the first arch, 8 to 9 of them below the angle. It seems almost unnecessary to add more than to call attention to the close correspondence in the measurements of the two individuals which we have recently compared. FRUCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 47 Measurements. Species, SPARUS PAGRUS Linné. Gurrentaiamber et specimen sce = --- <2 <a oe ena awa ae won awe sano n> (34) 21339. PPE a Re lee ee Dh 2 eae en a en Per aoe ee ee Leghorn, Pensa Italy. cola, Fla. Milli- Milli- meters. meters. Length to end of middle caudal rays --..-.....------------..---+.----------------- 382 390 zener 1OrIP TOL mindglS GANMtG TYR. see ee a ee Se i wean eee ae eae 340 346 ¥: Sper PEP prey Sa 133 133 Prcunterdi midis <2 oe ate eee gene ee eee Eee 53 4 Height at ventrals -...--...-.-..--.... 133 133 Least heicht of tail -.......-.---. 2 38 34 Length of caudal peduncle 50 52 Head : SareatPe ALT Dae oo Ee ee ee ee ee 108 112 DisiMese {rom KnOUs 10 BAPC.-—-- o-oo na ee a ae 53 59 Fugees | i 57 Height of preorbital.....-..-- # so52sec tree sees seec secs eocecseos-: f= secrsi--- 33 35 US PS STS ES a 34 32 DPS Ve Ch SIO A stone 32 sas sot ee ae ae eee a a ee ae 36 43 PiU ih Pe DPT rl re a eR Ee eS 30 30 PEs SR Te a te se a ee Oe ae 45 45 PEPE PE SEG) 8-8 Se ee ee E 45 45 DIStANES <OR SBGU 6 i) OF Die a a one ae = oa a ee ee oan 50 54 TOTES ETE GSB ee 26 26 Dorsal (spinous) : | DEDT SEE DT SOT ee es 2 re se se ee se ee ee ee 146 145 PeEPE Eh Gis Pi? esas Sek oe ee ee a ee ee ae 115 109 Length of longest spine (4th) 48 43+ Length of first spine.--.............- 15 20 Length of second spine ..-.-.-........--- 37 26+ Deb SDP SPe Syren eee 44 37+ Dorsal (sqft) : UPS EP GiB] RS oS a eee ae 66 | es LUPE PSE SSDS ee en se a a 34 29 LEP e BG BP 22 ns a 40 | 39 eneLD Of last FAYE =< 26 oo soem onan = a2 ooo eck seesoes cocsanaee deecsasscessstecce 36 | 39 Anal: DRARSREE FRONT NOG a2} 2-5 oe agen aes newer eer asc os aoe an ae ae woe eeeeescoas | 230 | 226 PEDO OT D2 ye esse Se Ss eo ee ce ee eee sss i 60 63 LESH ry NESS Sg are ee oe a en See Ree 15 12 UEPT ih CRG ET pir Rete ea eS ae ee 31 | 26 CP er gs ST ees | 31+ 27 Gir Se Ses) Se ee a ee eee eee 38 | 30+ Length of longest ray-.--...-...--...----.---..- Be ee ee nee ee 38 | 35 SESE TET PE be eS ee ee a a | 31 35 Caudal: | Length of middle rays ..... -252---- | 42 as USE e in Tiere eet a = ee ee ee 88 85 Pectoral : | i LEP APTS UIT ST ee ese See Se ee Se Be 110 115 enp eee a ereeee a ht. 8 ee Sa) a Peas es A Eee 126 122 Ventral: | nee r PENT NNGUh aon as nae e le ee ee ee | 126 127 LEADS Ub soe sede soccer sn | T 72 Pepe PSP SS oe = Se er Se eS 23 24 Da PEST ene 2 22 no snk Sn Se ns rts sce: X1,10 ; X11,10 oe SP oo oS sad elo nas tec cce tes ee 2 ee So en ee FEET 8 Lbs ea eo een coc eects acct agc tse codes fetes snes esses ii,13 | i,14 RT iia eee 0 ee Se es be Sa ss ne ee eee i,5 L5 Rn NGEGt SALON Mn aeOrAD NG on 302 fo on (Se Sere soe eo oe ee ae eee eee 56 56 Number of transverse rows above lateral line 7 | 7 Number of trans\erse rows below lateral line | 15 15 Te Pas OPE Ge eT ey te SE ee ee ee eee 7 | 7 SIFTED PP SG SN Sea ee ae a EN a ER eee 17 17 48 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF WHITEFISH (Corcgonis nelsonii), FROM ALASKA. BY TARLETON H. BEAN, Curator of the Department of Fishes in the United Staies National Museum. Coregonus nelsonii Bean. Hump-back whitefish. This species is known from Alaska only, occurring from the Bristol Bay region northward to the extremity of the Territory. This whitefish, which appears to be still undeseribed, has long been known from Alaska, but it has been confounded with a Siberian spe- cies, C. syrok, from which it is really very different. The Russian name of the species is Korabati; the Tinneh tribes of the Yukon call it ‘ Avolo- kith.” Mr. Dall,in the report of the Commissioner of Agriculture for 1870, page 386, speaks of it as a common species, characterized by the strongly arched back and broad tail. He says it is rather bony and “inferior in flavor, and that it is generally used for dog-feed, except in times of scarcity. This species is related to C. clupetiformis and C. labradoricus. From clu- peijormis it may readily be distinguished by its greatly arched and much compressed back. The body is oblong and compressed; the head is one-fifth as long as the fish without the caudal; the maxilla extends to the front margin of the eye, and is about one fourth as long as the head; the gill-rakers are only moderately long, the longest a little more than one-half length of eye, and their number is about 26. The great- est height of the body is a little more than one-fourth of the total length in the typical example, which is about 145 inches long to caudal ‘base. The adipose fin is large and scaled for nearly half its height. The ventrals are a little nearer the tip of the snout than the root of the caudal; they are about as long as the head without the snout. D.12; A. 12; scales 10—88—10. The type of the species is No. 29903, taken at Nulato, Alaska, by Mr. E. W. Nelson, to whom the species is dedi- eated in recognition of his important zoological researches in that Ter- ritory. ON THE LITERATURE AND SYSTEMATIC RELATIONS OF THE SACCOPHARYNGOID FISHES. By THEODORE GILL and JOHN A. RYDER. About sixty years ago a most remarkable fish was first introduced into scientific literature under the generic name Saccopharynx. Other examples have been found in the meanwhile, and yet until the present the form has had no established place in thesystem. Notwithstanding the alleged existence of two specimens in one of the richest ichthyolog- ical collections extant, under the eustody of one who has professed to give the most complete system of fishes, the type has been involved in PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 49 Vol. VII, No. 4. Washington, D. CC. Jume 11, 1884, much uncertainty. The recent discovery of an even more remarkable form in the deep seas of the North Atlantic has directed our attention to the older known species, and by reason of the light reflected by the newly-discovered one, we are enabled to interpret much that was am- biguous and inexplicable in the descriptions of the old ichthyologists. We here give an historical sketch of Saccopharyne and the fishes that have been referred to that genus. Li BIBLIOGRAPHY. 1824—Description of an extraordinary Fish, resembling the Stylephorus of Shaw. By S. L. Mircuitt, M. D. Read February 3, 1824. <Annals Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York, v., 1, pp. 82-86. k $2'7—On anew discovered genus of serpentiform fishes. By Dr. J. HARwoop, Pro- fessor of Natural History in the Royal Institution of Great Britain. < Phil. Trans. Royal Society, 1827, pp. 49-57, pl. 7. 1829—Le Régne Animal distribué d’apres son organisation, pour servir de base & Vhistoire naturelle des animaux, et d’introduction 4 ’anatomie comparée, par GEORGES CUVIER. [2° éd.] Paris, 1829. 1836—Fauna Boreali-Americana; or the Zoology of the Northern Parts of British America: containing descriptions of the objects of Natural History collected on the late northern land expeditions under command of Captain Sir John Franklin, R.N. Part third. The Fish. By JoHN RICHARDSON, M. D., F. R.8., F. L. S. [ete.].—Ilustrated by numerous plates.—Published under the authority of the right honourable the secretary of state for colonial affairs.—London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington street, MDCCCXXXVI. [4°, pp. xv, 327 (+1), 24 pl. (numbered 74-97). ] 1845—Encyclopxdia Metropolitana; or, Universal Dictionary of Knowledge on an original plan; comprising the twofold advantage of a philosophical and an alphabetical arrangement, with appropriate engravings. Edited by the Rey. Edward Smedley, M. A., the Rev. Hugh James Rose, B. D., and the Rey. Henry John Rose, B. D. Vol. xxiv [and vol. vii]. London: B. Fel- lowes; [etc.]. 1845. 1846—A Synopsis of the Fishes of North America. By Davi HUMPHREYS STORER, M.D., A. A.8., .... < Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and Sci., new series, vol. li, pp. 253-550, Cambridge, 1846. A Synopsis of the Fishes of North America. By DaviD HUMPHREYS STORER, M.D.,A.A.8., .... Cambridge: Metcalf and Company, printers to the University. 1846. [4°, 1 p. 1. (title), 298 pp.] {A reprint, with separate pagination, title-page, and index, of the preceding. ] 1856* Institut Impérial de France. Ichthyologie analytique ou essai d’une classifi- cation naturelle des poissons, 4 laide de tableaux synoptiques, par A. M. C. DUMERIL, [ete.]. (Extrait du tome xxvii des Mémoires de l’Académie des Sciences.) Paris, Typographie de Firmin-Didot ftréres, fils et Cie, [ete. ]. 1856. [4°, viii, 507 pp.] 1859—Envmeratio specierum piscium hucusque in archipelago indico observatorum, [etc.], auctore PETRO equite a BLEEKER, [etc.]. Bataviwe, typis Langii & “soc. 1859. [4°, xxxvi, 276 pp. ] Proc. Nat. Mus. 84——4 50 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 1862—Notes on rare and little-known fishes taken at Madeira. By JAMES YaTr JOHNSON, cor. mem. Z. 8. No. II. <Annals and Mag. Nat Hist., (3,) v. 10, pp. 274-287, Oct., 1862. 1870—Catalogue of Fishes in the British Museum. By ALBERT GUNTHER, M. A., M. De vebes fins .Volume eighth. London: printed by order of the trustees. 1870. {—Catalogue of the Physostomi, containing the families Gymnotide, Symbranchide, Murenide, Pegasidz, and of the [orders] Lophobranchii, Plectognathi, [and sub-classes] Dipnoi, Ganoidei, Chondropterygii, Cy- clostomata, Leptocardii, in the British Museum... . . London: printed by order of the trustees. 1870.—#°, xxv, 549 pp. ] 1872—Arrangement of the families of Fishes, or classes Pisces, eateinc nian and Leptocardii. Prepared for the Smithsonian Institution. By THEODORE GILL, M. D., Ph. D. Washington: published by the Smithsonian Institu- tion. November, 1872. (Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. 247.— 8°, xlvi, 49 pp. ] 1873—Catalogue of the Fishes of the east coast of North America. By THEODORE Git, M. D., Ph. D. Washington: published by the Smithsonian Institu- tion. 1873. (Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. 283.—2p.1., 50 pp.) [Published originally in ‘‘ United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. —Part I.—Report on the Condition of the Sea Fisheries of the South Coast of New England in 1871 and 1872. By Spencer F. Baird, Commissioner.— With supplementary papers.—Washington: Government Printing Office 1873.—Pp. 779—822=pp. 1—44 of Catalogue.” ] 41877—The Museum of Natural History, being a popular account of the structure, habits, and classification of the animal kingdom, [ete.]. By Sir JOHN RICHARDSON, [etc.]. With a History of the American Fauna by Joseph B. Holder, M. D. [etc.]. Vol. II. New York: Virtue & Yorston. 1880—An Introduction to the Study of Fishes. By ALBERT C. L. GUNTHER [ete. ]. Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black. 1880. 1882—Synopsis of the Fishes of North America. By Davip 8. JoRDAN and CHARLES H. GILBERT. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1883. [&°, lvi, 1018 pp.=Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., No. 16. ] 18$83—On the anatomy and relations of the Eurypharyngide. By THEODORE GILL and JOHN A. RYDER. <Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., v. 6, pp. 262-273, December 13, 1883. 1884—What are the Saccopharyngoid Fishes? [Signed THEO. GILL.] <Nature, v. 29, p. 236, January 10, 1884. There are also a number of works in which Saccophary ngide& are cas- ually mentioned, but it is here noteworthy that they find no place in the systematic essays of Bonaparte, Kaup, Richardson, Cope, et al. In the later zoological manuals (eg. Carus, Claus, Duncan) the views of Dr. Giinther are copied. Il. HISTORY. In 1824, Dr. S. L. Mitchill, in the Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York (v.1, pp. 82-86), contributed a ‘ description of an extraordinary fish resembling the Stylephorus of Shaw.” The fish in question was presented to Dr. Mitchill by Capt. Hector Coffin, and ‘‘ was taken during a voyage from Londonderry to New York, in leteatio D2 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 51 N. and longitude 30 W. It was discovered afloat about twenty yards from the vessel. A boat was hoisted out for the purpose of raising it. The creature was raised from the water without any resistance, and died in fifteen minutes after being taken on board.” ‘* When first seen, the belly was distended, as if blown up to the size of a quart decanter, or the crown of a hat. The stomach contained a fish ten inches long, which, from its sound state, appeared to have been recently swallowed. That fish was not preserved. ‘“‘The length was six feet ; of which fourteen inches belonged to the body, or the space between the extremity of the upper lip beneath to the vent. The tail was flagelliform, or like the lash of a whip, and grad- ually tapered away in the course of fifty-eight inches to a point. To- ward the end it was flexible enough to be tied into knots, after the manner of a string or a cord.” (P. S54.) ‘¢ The distance trom the mouth to the vent was fourteen inches. All the rest of the length, amounting to fifty-eight inches, tapered away gradually from an inch in depth almost to a point.” (P. 34.) “‘The skin was smooth and scaleless, and susceptible of being easily moved and pinched up, like that of some species of Lophius.” (P. 84.) “* Filiform processes, or excrescences, about an inch in length, depended oneach side of the whitish stripe [along the side of the fish] all the way Srom the head down to the back of the tail. The space between them is nearly an inch, so that they probably amounted to fifty pairs. These cirrhi or threads have no expansion or enlargement at their extremities.” (P. 85.) “* The head was smaller than is usual in fish. It would seem that its principal use was to give origin and insertion to the bones and muscles of the jaws. Atits foremost point is a small knob or projection forward of the eyes; and from it proceeded a sort of frenum sustaining the upper lip. From this inconsiderable head proceeded the vertebral column, which, in its progress to the tail, gradually tapered away and seemed to lose its bones and joints, and to be converted into a sort of tough and grisly appendage.” (Pp. 83, 84.) ‘The eyes were situated about half an inch from the point of the upper jaw, one on each side, and looking forward. They were small, and did not exceed in diameter the sixteenth of an inch.” (P. 83.) ‘The mouth had an enormous gape; and the throat, for the space of six inches, was buta membranous bag. It was capacious enough to receive my hand without difficulty. The internal surface was black. There was no appearance of a tongue. ‘From the upper part of the mouth, or the spot where the upper maxillary bones unite, to the angle of the jaw, was three inches, and from that angle to the tip of the lower jaw, three inches. “ The symphysis of the chin had a very flexible joint, that was capable of opening or expanding from a most acute angle to a right line, or as nearly so as the curvature of the bones permitted. This construction, with a Be PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. corresponding laxity of the jaws, gave the mouth an extraordinary power of expansion. Yet, when the angles of the jaws are approximated, and the bones of the lower jaw brought to their parallelism, the mouth closes with exactness, and in that state gives no indication of the size to which it spreads when open. “¢ The lower jaw was toothless; but the upper jaw for about an inch and a half was furnished with a row of teeth, bony and hooked.” (P. 83.) ‘There were two gill openings, one on each side of the neck below, resembling slits, about an inch and a half long. The gills themselves are situated within the duplicatures of the openings in three bundles or divisions, suspended by membranes and skin.” (P. 84.) ‘“ The dorsal fin begins about 11 inches from the tip of the upper jaw, and reaches, like a fillet or a narrow riband, quite to the tail, and at its extremity joined the anal. “ The anal fin commenced just behind the vent, and was continued also quite to the tail, and there joined the dorsal. “ The caudal fin was so-faint or indistinct that I have hardly thought it worthy of notice. JI ought to remark that several hair-like rays may be distinguished. The rays of these were very numerous, but it was impos- sible to count them. “ Thus the dorsal and anal fins are united with each other or are con- nected with the caudal. “The pectoral fins are situated immediately behind the gill openings. They are very small and feeble, of a squarish shape. and from one-half to one-quarter of an inch long. They were of a fleshy consistence, and contained about thirty slender rays.” (Pp. 84, 85.) ‘* From the head a whitish line extended on each side of the back, as far as its bony constitution could be traced. Two similar stripes, one on each side, proceed from the vent backward to the tail, but they are less distinct, and disappeared sooner. Between the former is situated the dorsal fin; between the latter, the anal fin.” (P. 84.) ‘The specimen was a female, and the colour a dusky brown, resem- bling that of a dark eel.” (P. 82.) “The roes were very distinct, the ovaries being large and full of eggs.” (P. 82.) The fish thus described was considered to be identical with the Stylephorus of Shaw, now found to be a representative of the family Trachypteride. Dr. Mitchill observed that ‘the points of resemblance between this animal and the Stylephorus described by Shaw may be easily gathered even from his bad description and worse figure. They are both furnished with the same curiously organized mouth, the same fins and elongated caudal process. The lateral line described above corresponds with the “double fibre” of Shaw, and they are both seale- less. In the Stylephorus the dorsal is described as not being continu- ous. He says, however, “Iam not without my doubts whether it might not, in the living animal, have run quite to the tail, and whether the specimen might not have received injury in that part.” ; PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 53 ‘““The colour of Shaw’s fish is described as silvery, but those who are acquainted with the fugacious nature of metallic colours in this class of animals are aware that nothing positive can be deduced from this acci- dental circumstance. The fact of their being captured in different lat- itndes, and the difference in their size, is of little importance. ‘“The eyes of the Stylephorus are described as being large and pe- dunculated; in the animal noticed above they are small and sessile. Shaw examines carefully to find marks of a reticulated structure, but without success. The circumstance of their standing on peduncles or foot-stalks is so much at variance with what occurs in other animals that I should hesitate little in declaring their unusual form to have been the result of accident or disease. ‘As the generic name proposed by Shaw is probably derived from an accidental character, I venture to substitute for it the name of Sac- copharynx, in allusion to the pouch-like form of its throat.” (Pp. 85, 86.) It will thus be observed that Mitchill manifests little or no doubt as to the identity of his fish with the Stylephorus of Shaw, and that the name of Saccopharynx proposed by him was given simply as a substi- tute, and on account of the impropriety of Shaw’sname. Itis quite evi- dent, however, that there is no relation between the two forms, and that they belong even to widely distinct orders. it might then be questioned whether the name Saccopharynx should be admitted for the new genus, and whether it should not rather be considered as a synonym of Stylephorus ; but this doubt is at once dis- sipated when we recur to the generic diagnosis of Mitchill, where it ap- pears that his description was based upon an entirely different form, and is not interchangeable with one framed for Shaw’s species. The diag- nosis of Mitchill is as follows: “Genus. SACCOPHARYNX. ‘“ Jaws capable of great dilatation. © “Throat wide like a bag. “Tail flagelliform, tapering away to a point, and beset with many pairs of cirrhi. ‘‘ Dorsal, caudal, and anal fins united.” No specific name was given by Dr. Mitchill to his fish, but he would probably have called it Saccopharynx chordatus. In 1827, Dr. J. Harwood, “ professor of natural history in the Royal Institution of Great Britain,” communicated to the Royal Society, in whose *“‘ Philosophical Transactions” it was published (for the year 1827, pp. 49-57, pl. 7) a memoir “ on a newly discovered genus of serpentiform fishes.” This memoir was devoted to an account of ‘a newly discovered, and a very extraordinary marine animal, which was obtained in the autumn of 1826. 54 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. “Whilst Captain Sawyer, of the ship Harmony, of Hull, was in pursuit of the bottle-nose porpoise, in latitude 62° north, by about 57° west, he observed a body floating on the surface of the water, which was at first mistaken by himself and his seamen for an inflated seal’s skin, such as the Esquimaux employ in the destruction of large aquatic animals, by attaching a harpoon by which they are speared, and thus tiring them out by its floating property. Ona nearer approach, however, the object which had excited their attention proved to be a marine animal. The “creature” was preserved by Captain Sawyer, who “obligingly afforded” to Dr. Harwood ‘‘an opportunity of examining it.” “Its capture was occasioned by its being, when first observed, almost worn out by unavailing efforts to gorge a fish of about seven inches in circumference, with which it appeared to have been long contending, as it exhibited very feeble signs of life. Its organs of motion being ex- tremely small and its body greatly elongated, this creature would, on a cursory view, be by all considered as an extraordinary kind of sea ser- pent,” in the opinion of Dr. Harwood. (P. 50.) ‘The total length of the specimen taken is 4 feet 6 inches. The en- larged and extremely elastic pharynx communicates with the enormous sac or air vessel, which extends in length from the extremity of the snout about 20 inches. The great delicacy of the parietes of this sac, and its apparent liability to rupture from the action of the spirit, prevented my inflating it to its full extent, but when partially filled with air, it meas- ured about 9 inches in circumference below its union with the tail, and its greatest diameter, including the slender body to which it pertained, was 4 inches. At about one inch below the last point of its attachment with the body, the rectum was observed to perforate the sac, the tenuity of which rendered the course of that intestine, as indeed that of all the digestive organs, readily traced.” (Pp. 52, 53.) “The skin all over the body of the Ophiognathus is particularly soft and slimy, yet it has a slightly granulated appearance.” (P. 55.) “The body exhibits no apparent lateral line.” (P. 56.) No lateral filaments were observed. ‘* Perhaps the most curious structure which the creature presents to our notice is connected with the head and jaws. The almost entire ab- sence of a tongue, might perhaps prove one of its characteristic distince- tions, were we as yet sufficiently acquainted with the condition of this organ in those nearest allied to it. The teeth are disposed in @ single row above and below ; above, they exist only along the margins of the intermaxillary bones; below, they extend almost the whole length of the maxilla; but the ossa palati are entirely destitute of teeth. Lastly, the jaw bones are so long, and their articulation is such, that their capa- bility of expansion exceeds what I have seen in any other animal, the rattlesnake not excepted; and as in snakes, when fully distended, the edges of the jaws describe a large circle, and then appear but as the hemming of an ample sack, the pharynx, which usually occupies so PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 55 small a space, being an equal participant in this extensile property. When the jaws were gently opened, they measured 24 inches across, and 34 inches from the front teeth above to those below; but while they possess this capability of distension, their contractile power is no less remarkable, as may be observed in Plate VII, Fig. 1, which repre- sents the usual appearance. Fig. 2 exhibits the jaws and pharynx more depressed and expanded. Fig. 3 represents an anterior view of the same.” (P. 56.) ‘The spiracula are of large size, of an irregular oval form, and are unprovided with externally perceptible branchiostegous rays; their edges partially conceal on each side three branchie. When the sat is con- tracted, these apertures are placed almost under the body, as in the Sphagebranchus, having a narrow commissure between them; they are placed at about 54 inches from the snout.” (P. 55.) ‘* All the fins of the Ophiognathus are extremely small.” (P. 55.) “The dorsal fin, which like the rest is very narrow, and provided with simple rays, commences at about 18 inches from the snout, and ter- minates insensibly upon that slender, tape-like filament, into which the twil becomes converted, and which is continued 204 inches in length be- yond the posterior extremity of the dorsal fin. About this part of the dorsal fin a few other minute filaments take their growth from it.” (P.55.) “The anal fin commences at the posterior union of the sae with the body, and ends at about 14 inches from the extremity of the caudal fila- ment.” (P. 59.) ‘In the formation of the pectorals there is a peculiarity not mentioned, I believe, in other apodal genera, they being principally composed of an adipose disk, which is terminated and nearly surrounded by a narrow radiated membrane, instead of this latter taking its origin immediately from the body.” (P. 55.) Dr. Harwood was unacquainted with the description by Dr. Mitchill of Saccopharynx, and compared his fish only with the generally recognized generaof the apodal fishes. He remarked that “although, in the present day, the term ‘ sea-serpent’ would be ill applied to any animal which breathes by means of branchiz, yet among such creatures, excluding the Hydrus and Hydrophis, and other true water snakes which inhabit the tropical seas, I doubt if the subject of this communication be not at least as well entitled to the appellation as any hitherto described. From the several genera of animals however nearest allied to it, it offers points of disagreement so important, as to entitle it to a distinet place in classification, and especially from the formation of the jaws, which, with the exception of the apparent want of serpentine inter- articular bones, are truly analogous to those of snakes; and, secondly, from the possession of an enormous elastic sac, which is seemingly a receptacle for air only. The first of these latter characters appearing to be the one of all the least liable to vary, I would suggest the term Ophiognathus as applicable to the genus; its characters are as follows: 56 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. ‘‘OPHIOGNATHUS. Corpus nudum, lubricum, colubriforme, compres- sum, sacco amplo abdominali. “Caput anticé depressum, maxilla superiore (paulo) longiore. ‘‘Dentes, in maxilla inferiore, et ossibus intermaxillaribus, subulati, retroflexi. ‘* Maxillae elongatae, patulae, dilatabiles, (serpentium instar) ‘‘ Lingua vix conspicua. ‘Spiracula ante et sub pinnas pectorales, magna. ‘*Pinnae pectorales, dorsales, analesque radiis mollibus; ventrales nullae. ‘*Oculi mimimi, prope extremitatem maxillae superioris positi. ‘‘Cauda elongata, in filamentum apterum producta.” (Pp. 51,52.) In 1829, Cuvier, in the second edition of his Régne Animal, adopted the genus Saccopharynx of Mitchill, referred it to the ‘‘ Malacoptéry- giens Apodes,” gave a new diagnosis, and placed it after the true Apodal fishes or Eels, and before Gymnotus, &c. He called attention to the discrepancies as to the dentition between the animals of Mitchill and Harwood, and suggested that they may prove to be distinct species. He noticed the fish of Mitchill under the name of Sacco- pharynx flagellum, but this name first appears in his work, Mitchill having given no specific name, and doubtless he would have called it Saccopharynx chordatus. The text of Cuvier is as follows: ‘‘OC’est dla suite de ce grand genre des murénes qu’il nous parait convenable de placer un poisson nouvellement découvert, et ’un des plus singuliers que l’on connaisse. ‘LE SACCOPHARYNX de Mitchill ; ‘‘OOPHIOGNATHUS de Harwood. “Dont le tronc, susceptible de se renfler comme un gros tube, se termine par une queue tres gréle et trés longue, entourée d’une dorsale et Wune anale tres basse, qui s’unissent a sa pointe. Sa bouche armée de dents aigués, s’ouvre jusque loin en arrieére des yeux, qui sont tout pres de la pointe trés courte du museau. Ses ouies s’ouvrent par un trou au-dessous des pectorales qui sont trés petites. “Ce poisson devient tres grand, et parait vorace. On n’en a vu que dans l’Ocean atlantique, ot ils flottaient a la surface, au moyen de la dilatation de leur gorge.”* In 1836, Dr. (afterwards Sir) John Richardson, in his “Fauna Boreali- Americana” (v. 3, p.271), incorporated the Mitchillian fish with the Har- woodian and under the name Saccopharynx ampullaceus, and admitted it as a species of the North American fauna. * Le Saccopharynx flagellum, de Mitchill, était long de six pieds, ’ Ophiognathus am- pullaceus de Harwood, Trans. phil., de 1827, en avait quatre et demi. Le premier ne paraissant pas avoir eu de dents 4 la mdachoire inférieure, il se pourrait que ces deux poissons, bien que pris dans les mémes parages, ne fussent pas identiques par l’espéce, mais ils appyrtiennent manifestement au méme genre, ee ee es PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 57 In 1845, in the 24th volume of the *‘ Encyclopedia Metropolitana,” an article, ““Saccopharynx,” appeared, in which the genus was redefined and two species recognized and renamed, the fish of Mitchill being called S. Mitchilli, and that of Harwood 8S. Harwoodi, especial attention being called to the fact that “the intermaxillary bones and the branches of the lower jaw were in Dr. Harwood’s specimen furnished with fine sharp teeth curved backwards, but in Dr. Mitchill’s the lower jaw was toothless.” The author of the article is not specifically designated, but as indicated in the table of ‘‘ Contents to Vol. XXIV,” the ‘ Zoology ” was prepared by “J.T. Stephens, esq., F. L.S., F. Z.S.; and J. ’. South, esq., F. L. 8., assistant surgeon, St. Thomas’s Hospital.” In 1846, Dr. D. H. Storer, in his ‘Synopsis of the Fishes of North America” (p. 237(, incorporated the Mitchillian fish under the name “ Saccopharynx chordatus Mitchill,” among the fishes of North America, retaining it in the family ‘“‘Anguillide.” The genera admitted in that family by Dr. Storer were (1) Anguilla, (2) Conger, (3) Mureena, (4) Ophidium, (5) Fierasfer, (6) Saccopharynx, and (7) Ammodytes. In 1856, Prof. A. M. C. Duméril, in his “ Ichthyologie Analytique,” (p. 217), included the genus Saccopharynz in his family of ** Pantopteres Jdiapodes,” an unnatural assemblage of the genera (1) Alabes, (2) Sae- copharynx, (3) Anguilla, (4) Conger, (5) Ophidium, (6) Fierasfer, (6) Mas- tacemble, and (7) Ammodytes. A single species (‘‘une seule espece, tres- grande, péchée dans ’Océan atlantique”) was recognized. In 1862, Mr. James Yate Johnson communicated * notes on rare and little-known fishes taken at Madeira,” in which an example of the same typeis described under the name Saccopharynr ampullaceus. The speci- men obtained by Mr. Johnson “ was taken in the month of March, off the coast of Madeira, but under what circumstances [Mr. Johnson] could not learn. The man from whom {he] obtained it stated that he had a fish with two heads, two mouths, four eyes, and a tail growing out of the middle of the back, which had astonished the whole market, and the fishermen one and all declared they had never met with anything like it before. At first sight it really did appear to be the monster described; but a short examination brought to light the fact that one fish had been swallowed by another, and that the features of the former were seen through the thin extensible skin of the latter. On extracting the fish that had been swallowed, it proved to be a Gadoid | Halargyreus John- sonii|, and to have a diameter several times exceeding that of its enemy whose stomach it had distended to an unnatural and painful degree” (p. 277). “The Madeiran fish is 32 inches in length. It has a thin, soft, scale- less skin, whichis jetblack. Fromits narrow, elongated form, and from the absence of ventral fins, it would be referred at the first glance to the Eels; but from that tribe it is distinctly separated by the structure 58 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. of its singular jaws. The upper jaw is apparently composed of the maxillary or premaxillary—bones which are invariably wanting in the tribe of true Eels. The bones of both jaws are slender and curved ; those of the under jaw meet at an acute angle in front, and they are armed with a single row of small, sharp, delicate teeth, similar to those of the upper jaw, but rather more numerous. There are no teeth on the palatine bones or elsewhere in the mouth. ‘The gape is of an enormous extent; and the animal had the power of throwing down the lower jaw until it was almost in a line with the upper, the two being subequal and 21 inches in length. There is no tongue in the mouth, nor are there any branchiostegal rays. A conical snout projects nearly four-tenths of an inch beyond the upper lip; and the small oval eye, which is covered with skin, is placed on the head not far from the base of the snout. In front of each eye is a single small nostril which does not issue in a tube. “The gill-openings are small slits, seven-tenths of an inch in length, on the underside of the body, placed only one-sixth of an inch apart, and at a distance of about 33 inches from the tip of the snout. What is very remarkable about these apertures is that, within the lips of each, the opposite sides are connected by three narrow cutaneous bands—two near the anterior end of the aperture, and one near the posterior end. “The minute pectoral fins are placed immediately behind the gill- openings, but a little above them. Each is about one-fifth of an inch in length and has about thirty-two delicate rays. In reference to the pectoral fins of the fish described by Dr. Harwood, he mentions that they were principally composed of an adipose disk terminated and nearly surrounded by the rayed portion of the fin. In my fish I do not see anything of this kind; but that may be owing to the specimen being young. ‘‘ A low dorsal fin, having extremely slender rays, commences in front of the vent, and at a distance of about 74 inches from the tip of the snout. There is no trace of ventrals. The vent is about 84 inches from the snout; and behind it begins a low anal, which, though it may be traced for a considerable distance, stops, like the dorsal, short of the end of the tail. ‘““The hinder part of the body tapers off gradually; and the finless tail is characterized by extreme tenuity, being reduced to the thinness of athread. Two bluish-white, parallel, closely approximated lines be- gin at the distance of rather more than an inch from the tip of the snout, and are traceable for a considerable space along the back, one at each side of the dorsal fin. Dr. Mitchill speaks not only of a whitish line extending on each side of the dorsal fin of his fish, but of a similar stripe at each side of the anal fin” (pp. 278, 279). As to the relationship of these three fishes (Mitchill’s, Harwood’s, and Johnson’s) Mr.. Johnson ealls attention to the description by Mitchill of the filiform processes, and distinctly says that in his fish PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 59 “there is no trace of such processes,” and he therefore says: ‘‘ Hence I venture to conclude that if Dr. Mitchill’s fish retains the name Sacco- pharynx flagellum, Dr. Harwood’s and mine ought to be designated Sac- copharynx ampullaceus” (p. 279). In 1859, Dr. Pieter von Bleeker, in the *‘ Syste matis Piscium Naturalis Tentamen,” prefixed to his “ Enumeratio Specierum Piscium hucusque in Archipelago Indico observatorum,” gave a family name (Saccopharyn- goidei, p. Xxxiil) to this type, and isolated it as the representative of a peculiar tribe (Saccopharyngichthyini) contrasting it with another tribe (Murenichthyini) which contained all the other families of true apodal fishes, or such as were unprovided with maxillary bones, and which formed the order ‘‘Murene” of his system. In 1870, Dr. Giinther published the eighth volume of his ‘“‘ Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum,” and ranked the genus Saccopha- ryne as the representative of a peculiar “group,” “Saccopharyngina” (p. 19) of his family ‘‘Murenide.” He characterized the ‘“‘Saccopharyn- gina” as ** Murenide platyschiste ;” which have “the tail exceedingly long; muscular system very feebly developed; bones very thin; stom- ach extremely distensible; gill-openings separate.” The genus Saccopharynx was defined (p. 22) in the following terms: ‘Second group. SACCOPHARYNGINA. 9, SACCOPHARYNX. ‘¢Saccopharynx, Mitchill, Ann. Lyc. New York, i, 1824, p. 82. ‘“Ophiognathus, Harwood, Phil. Trans. 1827, p. 277. ““ Deep-sea Congers, with the muscular system very feebly developed, with the bones very thin, soft, and wanting in anorganic matter, con- nected by a lax, easily torn fibrous tissue. ‘Head and gape enormous. Snout very short, pointed, flexible, like an appendage overlapping the gape. [Only one nostril can be found in front of the eye.*] Maxillary and mandibulary bones very thin, slender, arched, armed with one or two series of long, slender, curved, widely set teeth, their points being directed inward; palate toothless. Gill- openings wide, at some distance from the head, at the lower part of the sides; gills very narrow, free, and exposed. Trunk of moderate length. Stomach distensible in an extraordinary degree. Vent at the end of the trunk. Tail band-like, exceedingly long, tapering into a very fine fila- ment. Pectoral small, present. Dorsal and anal fins rudimentary; the former more so than the latter, and indicated by a groove bordered by a whitish line on each side, and commencing at a short distance behind the head. Now and then a short fine ray occasionally visible towards the end of the trunk. Anal rays distantly placed, commence behind the vent, and are visible for some distance. *“This part of the head is not in a good state of preservation, and the other nostri is most probably near the end of the snout.”—Giinther’s note. 60 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. ‘Temperate parts of the North Atlantic.” The several forms described by Mitchill, Harwood, and Johnson were combined under the same specific name, Saccopharynx flagellum, which name was ascribed erroneously to Mitchill. In 1872, Dr. Gill, in his ‘“‘ Arrangement of the Families of Fishes,” gave the family name Saccopharyngide to the type in question, and placed it in the order of Apodes, but as a doubtful constituent of that order (under the caption *‘ Apodes ? incert sedis”). In 1880, Dr. Giinther published his “Introduction to the Study of Fishes,” and therein reiterated the description and opinion given in 1870. In 1882, Messrs. Jordan and Gilbert, in their “‘ Synopsis of the Fishes of North America,” adopted the family Saccopharyngide, contrasting it in their phyletical table with all the other families of Apodes, and es- sentially accepting as the diagnosis of the family the characters given by Dr. Giinther, simply correcting some verbal and grammatical infe- licities of Dr. Giinther. In 1883, the authors of the present sketch, in an article ‘on the anat- omy and relations of the Eurypharyngide,” in their search for the other members of the order Lyomeri, referred to the Saccopharyngide in the following terms: ‘‘ Whether any of the other known types of fishes belong to this order is very doubtful, and, in fact, we have sufficient data respecting them to be tolerably certain that none do, unless it may be the Saccopharynx flagellum. Saccopharynx is a very peculiar type, the representative of quite an isolated family, but its structure is almost unknown. The last systematic writer who has referred to its characters (Dr. Giinther) has described the genus as consisting of ‘ deep-sea congers, with the mus- cular system very feebly developed, with the bones very thin, soft, and wanting in organic matter; head and gape enormous’; ‘maxillary and mandibulary bones very thin, slender, arched, armed with one or two series of long, slender, widely set teeth, their points being directed in- wards,’ &e. Dr. Giinther’s ‘maxillary’ bones are doubtless palatines,* and his description is very deficient in precision, but supplemented as it is by the descriptions of Mitchill and Harwood, it is evident that the genus Saccopharynx, or family Saccopharyngide, is quite remote from the Eurypharyngidie. More than this can only be surmised at most till its structural characteristics are determined.” This paragraph was written at Wood’s Holl, and reliance was placed on the memory of the senior author, who had not read the descriptions * Dr. Giintber, we are now inclined to believe and gladly confess, was probably correct in following those authors who had called the homologous bones maxillary, rather than those (e. g., Owen, Richardson, Kaup, Bleeker, et al) who have regarded them as palatine. (See next page.) PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 61 of Mitchill and Harwood since 1871. These descriptions were read then, with the volume of Dr. Giinther in view, and naturally the description of the modern author was regarded as counterbalancing those of the older ones, although there was sufficient doubt in the mind of our senior to cause him to regard it even then as a strange form of doubtful perti- nence to Apodes. At first, in our recent communication, we were dis- posed to collocate the family Saccopharyngide in the order Lyomeri, but Dr. Giinther’s positivestatement respecting the ‘enormous .... head” and his utter silence respecting the weighty characters signalized by the oider authors, finally restrained us from so doing. On our return to Washington, we availed ourselves of the opportunity to investigate the literature of the subject, and not only read but studied the descriptions of Mitchill, Harwood, and Johnson. These, which previously had little significanee or were regarded as perhaps erroneous, were then found to be more valuable than was at first thought, and to be susceptible of being perfectly understood in the light of our recent researches. We cannot now doubt that the older authors were correct in most of the characters that they assigned to the forms examined by them, and in- deed the changes which the oral parts may undergo, and the allusions made can only be understood when we concede that a fish of the Lyom- erous type was under examination by them. Even the peculiar aspect of the pectoral fins, as described by Harwood, which was not appre- ciated by Johnson, is now capable of explanation, inasmuch as the seap- ular arch is quite broad and has tumid muscles, which, by the contrac- tion of the surrounding skin, would present élie appearance of an adi- pose disk, such as was honiced by Harwood. In 1883 also, Dr. Gill, in our joint behalf, communicated a letter to Nature, in which he besought from English naturalists a re-examination of the specimens of Saccopharynx claimed to be in the British Museum, and gave the results of our studies up to that time in the following terms : “The Lyomeri are fishes with five branchial arches (none modified as branchiostegal or pharyngeal) far behind the skull; an imperfectly ossified cranium, deficient especially in nasal and vomerine elements, articulating with the first vertebra by a basi-occipital condyle alone ; with only two cephalic arches, both freely movable, (1) an anterior dentigerous one, the palatine,* and (2) the suspensorial, consisting of the hyomandibular and quadrate bones; without opercular elements ; without maxillary bones, or distinct posterior bony elements to the mandible,t with the scapular arch imperfect (limited to a single carti- “We tea at first adopted the Henoide wa identification of Owen fee denen for the anterior upper dentigerous bones of the Lyomeri, but a study of the histology and in- neryation of the bones and a consideration of the mode of development of the pala- tine bones in typical fishes compel us to regard them now as maxillary. t Indistinect bony elements have since been detected in the mandibular rami of a larger specimen. 62 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. laginous plate) and remote from the skull, and with separately ossified but imperfect vertebre. Whether other than the two genera men- tioned, Kurypharynx and Gastrostomus, belong to this order is not en- _tirely certain, but there is little doubt, in the opinion of Mr. Ryder and myself, that the family Saccopharyngide also belongs to the order, and it is for the purpose of calling attention to this doubtful and still little known type that in behalf of Mr. Ryder and myself I address the present communication. No satisfactory information has been given as to the Saccopharyngide, except by Dr. Mitchill in 1824 and by Dr. Harwood in the Philosophical Transactions for 1827. The plate pub- lished in the volume cited represents the head of Ophiognathus with the mouth closed as well as open, and the differences in the relation of the posterior angles of the mouth to the axis indicate that Ophiogna- thus (as well as Saccopharynx) has a movable suspensorium, and would therefore exhibit the Lyomerous peculiarity of structure. It appears from Dr. Giinther’s ‘Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum’ (vol. viii, p. 22), that in 1870 there were two specimens of a Saccopha- ryngoid fish—probably the Ophiognathus ampullaceus—in the British collection. (It is possible that the so-called young mentioned in the catalogue may be a Eurypharyngoid.) The question whether that spe- cies belongs to the Lyomeri can therefore be readily settled negatively or affirmatively. Assuming that the family Saccopharyngidz belongs to the order, the two families would apparently be distinguishable as follows: ‘The Eurypharyngidze are Lyomeri with the branchio-anal portion much shorter than the rostro-branchial; with the tail very elongated and moderately attenuated backwards; the head flat above, and with a transverse rostral margin, at the outer angles of which the eyes are exposed; with the palatine jaws excessively elongated backwards and the upper parallel, and closing against each other as far as the articu- lation of the two suspensorial bones; with minute teeth on both jaws; the dorsal and anal fins well developed and continued nearly to the end of the tail, and with minute, narrow pectoral fins. ** The Saccopharyngide appear to be Lyomeri with the branchio-anal portion much longer than the rostro-branchial; the tail excessively elongated and attenuated; the cranium unknown; the eyes antero- lateral; with the palatine bones moderately extended backwards (in comparison with the Eurypharyngide), and apparently not closable against each other; with enlarged teeth in one or both jaws; with the dorsal and anal fins feebly developed, and with pectorals small but broad. Saccopharynx is considered by Dr. Giinther to consist of ‘ deep- sea congers,’ but evidently it is not at all related to the congers or any other allied fishes.” PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES. NATIONAL MUSEUM. 63 yee CONCLUSIONS. It will be seen that naturalists had apparently settled down within the last few years to a consideration of the Saccopharyngide as a type of fishes having no exceptional characters, or even, in the words of Dr. Giinther, as being simply ‘‘ deep-sea congers,” and yet, when we study the works of the older authors, from whom we would naturally expect to glean little information to correct the later ones, we find a number of remarkable characters alluded to. Such are, (1) the general form and the relations of the parts to each other, for which the Saccopharyn- gidee are so peculiar, therein differing very widely from all the true eels; (2) the head, which was specifically described by Dr. Mitchill as be- ing “smaller than is usual in fish”; the lower jaw, indicated by the old authorsas (3) having its rami not only very movable and divergible from each other, but as (4) also being itself capable of anterior and back- ward extension ; (5) the tongue, which was declared to be entirely ab- sent; (6) the branchiostegal bones also, in the most positive terms, said to be absolutely wanting; (7) the gills, alleged to be visible in a certain peculiar manner through the branchial apertures; (8) the pectorals, stated by one of them at least to have a very exceptional structure, and to present an appearance of being composed of an adipose disk, bounded posteriorly by the rays; and (9) the vertebral column, specifically stated, “in its progress to the tail, to lose its bones and be converted into a sort of tough and grisly appendage.” All these characters are so extraordi- nary and deviate so much from any exemplified in true apodal fishes, that it might seem inevitable that the attention of any scientific ichthy- ologist at the present day would be specially arrested by such attributes, and that an examination of the form would be provoked on the part of any one having access to specimens. And yet it will be noticed that Dr. Giinther, in his Catalogue published in 1872, as well as in his Intro- duction to the Study of Fishes, published as late as 1880, absolutely ig- nores all of the characters thus adverted to, and from his description no one would suppose that the fishes in question had any anomalous char- acters, or were especially noticeable on account of structural modifica- tions. VE SYNOPSIS. Saccopharyngide. =Saccopharyngoidei, Bleeker, Enum. sp. Piscium Archipel. Ind., p. xxxiii. (Not characterized: isolated as the only representative of a distinct tribe —Saccopharyngichthyini—of the ‘‘ordo 49, Murenex,” which latter is co-ordinate with the ‘‘ordo 48, Synbranchi”.) 1859. =Murenide Saccopharyngina, Giinther, Cat. Fishes in Brit. Mus., v. 8, pp.19, 22. 1870. 64 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. placed with ‘‘ Apodes incertz sedis.”) 1872. =Saccopharyngide, Holder, Museum Nat. Hist., Am. Fauna, p. cc. 1877. = Saccopharyngide, Gill, Arrangement Fam. Fishes, p. 21, (Not characterized; = Saccopharyngide, Jordan § Gilbert, Syn. Fishes N. Am., p. 365. 1883. | There is still doubt as to whether the fishes examined by Mitchill and Harwood belong to the same species, or even genus. There are | several notable discrepancies between the descriptions of the two observ- q ers, and while it is quite possible that they are the result of imperfect examinations, it is premature to assume that they are such. A careful study of the specimens in the British Museum may resolve the ques- tion. Meanwhile, without the expression of opinion as to the probabil- . ities of the dilemmas, we formulate, under the respective names of Mitch- ill and Harwood, the most salient characters alleged to distinguish the two from each other. In case such differences are confirmed, the two fishes will probably be generically separable. Saccopharynz. Saceopharynx, Mitchill, Ann. Lyccum Nat. Hist. N. Y., v. 1, p. 86, 1824. Saccopharyngids with the dorsal and anal fins continued backwards and confluent with a slightly developed caudal fin [?], and with the lower jaw toothless. Ophiognathus. Ophiognathus, Harwood, Phil. Trans, Royal Soc., 1827, p. 52. Saccopharynx sp. auct. Saccopharyngids with the dorsal and anal fins obsolete backwards, and without a caudal fin, the extremity of the caudal portion simply flagelliform, and with the lower jaw armed with teeth like those of the upper. Saccopharyn=x flagellum. SYNONYMY. 1824. Saccopharynx [—Stylephorus chordatus], Mitchill, Annals Lyceum Nat. Hist. N. Y., v. 1, p. &6. 1829. Saccopharynx flagellum, “‘ Mitchill,” Cuvier, Regne Animal, 2. ed., t. 2, p. 355, (ed. de luxe, t. 4, p. 321.) 1836. Saccopharynx ampullaceus, Richardson, Fauna Bor.-Americana, Vv. 3, p. Qi. 1836. Der Geisselaal,* Oken, Allgemeine Naturgeschichte, v. 6 (Thierreich. v. 3), p. 126. (In part: abstract of Mitchill’s description. ) 1845. Saccopharynx, Mitchilli, Anon. (Stephens?), Encyclopedia Metropoli- tana, v. 24, p. 250. 1846. Saccopharynx chordatus, Storer, Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and Sc., (2,) v. 2, p. 489; Syn. Fishes N. Am., p. 237. 1862. Saccopharynx flagellum, Johnson, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., (3,) v. 10, p. 279: 1870. Saccopharynx flagellum, Giinther, Cat. Fishes in Brit. Mus., v. 8, p. 22 (in part). * Geisselaal, anglice Whip-eel. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 65 Vol. VIE, No.5. Washington, D.¢. June 11, 1884. 1873. Saccopharynx flagellum, Gill, Cat. Fishes E. coast N. Am., p. 34. (Named with place of capture—‘‘ lat. 55° N., long. 30° W.”) 1877. Saccopharynx flagellum, Holder, Museum Nat. Hist., Am. Fauna, p. ccl. 1879. Saccopharynx Hagellum, Goode § Bean, Bull. Essex Inst., v. 11, p. —. Sep. copy, p. 27. (In part: referred to the Essex co. (Mass.) fauna on account of the capture of Mitchill’s fish in lat. 52° N.; long. 30° W. 1882. Saccopharynx flagellum, Jordan § Gilbert, Syn. Fishes N. Am., p. 365, Ophiognathus ampullaceus. (Pl. I, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1884,) ec Harwood. SYNONYMY. 1827. Ophiognathus ampullaceus, Harwood, Phil. Trans. R. Soc., 1827, p. 52,” pl. 7; f. unnumb. (entire fish); f. 1 (head with mouth closed); f. 2 (head with mouth open) ; f. 3 (head below). 1829. Saccopharynx [ampullaceus ?], Cuvier, Regne Animal, 2 ed., t. 3, p. 355, (ed. de luxe, t. 4, p. 321). 1845. Saccopharynx Harwoodi, Stephens (?), Encyclopedia Metropolitana, v. 24, p. 250; v. 7, p. 388; Pisces, pl, 9, f. med. (lat. view entire fish, copied from Harwood). 1862. Saccopharynx ampullaceus, Johnson, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., (3,) v. 10, p. 277, 279. 1870. Saccopharynx flagellum,t Giinther, Cat. Fishes in Brit. Mus., v. 8, p. 22 (in part). 1879. Saccopharynx flagellum, Bean, Bull. U. 8. Nat. Mus., No. 15, p. 138. (in part; inserted on account of the identification with O. ampullaceus which ‘‘ was captured in the entrance of Davis Strait’). Saccopharynx flagellum also appears in Messrs. Goode and Bean’s “Report on the Fishes,” collected in 1880 by the United States Coast Survey steamer Blake, as the name of a fish obtained by that vessel. The fish in question, ‘‘a single badly mutilated example, was secured” in north latitude 30° 44’ 40” and west longitude 74° 40’ 20”, at a depth of 898 fathoms. Suspecting, from a rough outline sketch Dr. Gili had seen, that it might be a Gastrostomus, we requested Mr. 8S. A. Garman to examine the specimen now in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, and he has written that it is a specimen of the species described as Gastrostomus Bairdit (Gill & Ryder, Proce. U. S. Nat. Mus., v. 6, p. 262). Dr. Bean also had previously thought that the specimen might be a Gastrostomus, and informs us that the identification witii Saccopharynx was provisional. *The reference to ‘ Ophiognathus, Harwood, Phil. Trans. 1827, p. 277,” given by Dr. Giinther and quoted by Jordan and Gilbert, is erroneous; as will also be noticed no plate is referred to by Dr. Giinther. t The reference to ‘‘ Saccopharynx flagellum, Mitchitl, l.¢.,” i. e., ‘Ann. Lyc. Nem York, i, 1324, p. 82,” is entirely erroneous. As has been before stated, no such name as “‘Saccopharynx flagellum” is to be found in Mitchill’s memoir, and the name Saccopharynx is only recorded at p. 86. Proc. Nat. Mus. 84 5 66 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. ON DOMESTICATED HYBRID DUCKS (ANAS BOSCHAS + OBSCURA). By ELISHA SLADE. The Mallard (Anas boschas) and the Dusky Duck (A. obscura) breed regularly in this neighborhood (Bristol County, Massachusetts). A brood of ducklings of the latter, about a month old, was caught in the summer of 1876. They bred in 1877, one female laying eighty-four eggs in eighty-five days before she wanted to set. During the year 1877 the drakes were destroyed by accident, and of the young which were raised all were ducks. In 1877 young wild Mallards (A. boschas) were caught; and, being unable to procure a dusky drake (1 wanted very much to have a flock of A. obscura), the Mallard drakes were mated with the dusky dueks. I now have in my yard one of the dusky ducks of 1876, and one Mallard drake of 1877, and the rest of the birds are lineal descendants of this pair. 'The hybrids show in color a very nearly equal blending of the two species in each sex, and are perfectly fertile inter se. The birds mate regularly without quarreling, and in every instance have remated each spring—the union lasting for life, probably. The only restraint on the birds since 1877 has been an annual clipping of the left wing; otherwise they have full liberty. When the ducks set, every egg hatches, and the period of incubation does not vary thirty minutes from twenty six days and four hours. The eggs set under hens thatch on the twenty-sixth or twenty-seventh day, according to cireumn- stances. The ducks lay from sixty to ninety eggs each before wanting to set, sometimes in one p!ace, but occasionally in different places; and if not indulged in setting will lay again in a few days. They have av- eraged ninety-six eggs apiece for the spring and summer term, and twenty for the fall term of laying. Prior to 1850 the young ducks were difficult to raise, probably from the changed condition of food and en- wironment, but since then they are as hardy as common ducks. Rats «Mus decumanus) are a scourge, in fact are very destructive, and have destroyed ten to twenty or more ducks, from a day to a week old, in a single day and night. If there was avy possible way of protection from this source of loss, I should as much expect to raise the same per cent. of ducks as of chickens. The later-hateched birds have increased in size to some extent, have somewhat thicker legs, and, from abundance of food and lack of flight exercise, are slightly less graceful in movement than the earlier birds. 3ut they are not yet demoralized by domestication nor denaturalized by the tribute they are paying to the science of natural history. There are no ponds nor streams on my premises, and their supply for drinking * and bathing is furnished two or three times daily in shallow dishes. I have one pair of birds mated and fertile, of which the male is three- fourths Mallard and one-fourth Dusky Duck, the female three-fourths Dasky Duck and one-fourth Mallard. f ) a PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 67 ON PROCHLORITE FROM THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. By GEORGE P. MERRILL. The presence in the schists of the District of Columbia of a chloritie mineral not apparently resulting from the alteration of the included hornblende or mica was recognized by the writer a year or more ago, but until lately no sufficient amount of the material was found for an exact determination of its mineralogical species. While searching for rutile on Foundry Run, some 14 miles northwest of the city of Wash- ington, not long since, he was, however, fortunate enough to find a mass of this mineral of sufficient size and purity to admit of satisfactory ex- amination. The mineral occurs in the form of a compact aggregate of small scales of a beautiful deep green color, the individual laminz of which are from one to two millimeters in diameter and of very irregular outline. Examined by the microscope it is found to be biaxial, though the axial divergence is not large. Sections across the cleavage show a fan- shaped or radial arrangement of the laminz, which are of a yellowish- green color, becoming green whenever the cleavage lines correspond with the plane of vibration of the ight. The polarization colors are dull and of a greenish-gray hue. In hardness it is about 1.5, and its specific gravity, as determined by a Jolly balance, is 2.835. Before the blow- pipe it fuses with difficulty on the thin edges, and becomes slightly magnetic. Chemical analysis by Prof. F. W. Clark, chief chemist of the Geological Survey, resulted as follows: Per cent. SOIC Ee saa tate MN ar Stat thane a eet ape Sa Rte wal iuhotgt ELLE Maes oy, ponds RACHURTIDENN GA) Cretec terete tte erate AS) 0a ete, gd ol nS Sead SE UN h) 2 an oh 17.88 HNO N Aree ei skiake hole tbe eich s eth d a saint. Ae balan le 15. 04 UDO) OM) :.0) 00-4100 (Saas A MMI eA Re ERR ANC SO ee a 24, 98 SOON Arie Madey Nees Atta cals LAS As oleae! Lat aide pakke veel 8 . 67 PVC Da eee ie ae Sct Si aie tae aR ei derek eet ies eee eta: 14. 43 98. 45 The associated minerals are very dark green hornblende, a yellowish- gray finely granular crystalline mineral which is believed to be zoisite, much iron pyrites, and, in the more quartzose portions of the rock, black tourmaline and rutile. NATIONAL MUSEUM, April 10, 1884, 68 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. MELANETTA FUSCA (LINN.) IN ALASKA. By ROBERT RIDGWAY. Among the birds collected by Mr. C. L. McKay, U.S. Signal observer at Bristol Bay, Alaska, is a fine adult male of the European Velvet Scoter, obtained at Alloknagik Lake, July 20, 1882 (Nat. Mus. No. 92149, collector’s No. 104). This species may be readily distinguished from its American repre- sentative, M. velvetina (Cass.) Baird, by the longer culmen, the distance from the tip of the bill to the frontal feathers being greater than from the same point to the most anterior loral feathers; the relative meas- urements being reversed in J. velvetina. This character holds good in both sexes, and also in young birds. In the adult male of M. fusca the side of the base of the maxilla (near the rictus) is much more swollen than in M. velvetina, but at the same time the base of the culmen is decidedly less elevated. The colors of the bill are much the same in the two species, but J. fusca has a distinet black line running on each side of the nail, connecting the upper and lateral black areas. This is the second known occurrence of M. fusca in America, the first record being that of Dr. Reinhardt in Vid. Medd. Nat. For. Kjobenhavn, 1869, p. 1, where a specimen from Southern Greenland is reported. It is true that Mr. Nelson, in his ‘‘ Birds of Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean” (Arctic cruise of the revenue steamer Corwin in 1881, published in 1883, p. 102), gives M. fusca as the Alaskan species, but he, in com- mon with some other writers, does not distinguish the two species. All Mr. Nelson’s specimens which I have had the opportunity of examining in this connection, are M. velvetina, as are all other Alaskan examples that have come under my notice, except the one above referred to. M. fusca is the species of Eastern Asia, and may, therefore, like some other Palearctic birds, straggle more or less frequently to the American side. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SNOW BUNTING FROM ALASKA. By ROBERT RIDGWAY. Plectrophenax hyperboreus Ridgw. McKay's Snow Bunting. SuBsp. cH.—Adult ¢ in spring (No. 78551, Saint Michael’s, Alaska, April, 1879, E. W. Nelson): Entirely pure white, except the terminal portion of the five outer primaries, which are chiefly black, for the space of about 1.40 inches from the tip of the longest quill. Tail pure white, the middle rectrices with a very small blackish spot near the end of the inner web (almost obsolete on one feather). Bill dull brownish, Xx ee PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 69 the tip dusky ; legs and feet deep black. Wing 4.65, tail 3.10, culmen .45, tarsus .90, middle toe .60. Adult 3 in winter (No. 92090, Nushagak, Alaska, December 10, 1882, C. L. McKay): Like the spring plumage as described above, but pileum strongly tinged with rusty brown, the auriculars washed with a paler shade of the same, and jugulum with a very faintly marked pale rusty collar, more distinct (but still faint) on each side; lower back and rump also faintly washed with pale rusty. Black spots near ends of inner webs of middle rectrices more distinct, and black on ends of primaries rather more extended, that on inner web of outer quill reaching about 1.70 from the tip. Bill wax-yellow, with dusky tip to the maxilla. Wing 4.60, tail 3.15, culmen .40, tarsus .95, middle toe .60. Adult 2 in spring (No. 78556, U.S. Nat. Mus., Saint Michael’s, Alaska, April, 1879, E. W. Nelson): General color white, the pileum and au- riculars tinged with rusty, the nape and back faintly washed with pale buff-yellowish, and back very narrowly streaked with dusky, but these narrow streaks rapidly widening toward the roots of the feathers so as to form the predominating color of the concealed portion; scapulars more strongly tinged with ochraceous, and with still broader concealed dusky acuminate spots, but without distinct streaks on the surface. Tertials with the central part of the exposed portion blackish, the very broad marginal part light dull] ochraceous, becoming nearly white at the tips of the feathers; alule dull black, bordered with white; primary cov- erts similar, but greater portion of inner webs white ; longer primaries chiefly dusky grayish, distinctly bordered with white and with basal half or more of inner webs wholly white; on the shorter primaries this dusky rapidly decreasing in extent until on the innermost quill there is a mere trace near the tip of the outer web. Four middle rectrices brownish dusky, bordered with white; rest of the tail white, but all the feathers with more cr less of a dusky streak near end of the outer web. Bill brownish wax-yellow, the culmen dusky; feet brownish black. Wing 4.25, tail 2.90, culmen .45, tarsus .85, middle toe .60. Adult 2 in winter (No. 92091, Nushagak, Alaska, November 16, 1882; C. L. McKay): Similar to the spring plumage, as described above, but upper parts much more strongly washed with rusty, this deepest on the pileum and auriculars, but also pervading the nape, whole back, and scapulars, and, but less uniformly, the rump; an interrupted or broken jugular collar of rusty touches or cloudings; broad margins of the tertials deep cinnamon. Bill paler and purer wax-yellow, without black on culmen; feet deep black. Wing 4.25, tail 2.90, culmen .40, tarsus .87, middle toe .58. Of this remarkably fine and easily recognized species I have examined altogether seven specimens, three adult males and four females, all of them obtained in Alaska in winter and early spring. The summer home of this bird is probably the unknown region to the north of the Artic mainland, since at the extreme northern point of Alaska only the true 70 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. P. nivalis breeds, Messrs. Murdock and Smith, of Lieutenant Ray’s party, having brought back with them from Point Barrow numerous specimens of the latter, together with the nests and eggs. The fully adult male may be at once distinguished from that of P. nivalis by the total absence of black except on the terminal third (or less) of the primaries and near the ends of the middle rectrices. In P. nivalis the primaries are black nearly to the base, the alule, primary coverts, and tertials also black (though bordered with white), the dorsal region mainly black (wholly black in summer), and the six middle rectrices black to the base. The rusty wash is also much paler in the new form. In its summer plumage, the entire plumage, except the black quill- tips, would evidently be snow-white, the bill black instead of yellow. The females are distinguished from those of P. nivalis by their much paler coloration, with the dark markings far more restricted, and the rusty wash of the winter dress much less distinct. All of the four spe- cimens of this sex have the back white, more or less tinged or stained with yellowish (more rusty on the scapulars), and narrowly streaked with black, although these streaks are nearly obsolete in one specimen. The vernacular name of this new species is bestowed in memory of Mr. Charles L. McKay, who sacrificed his life in the prosecution of nat- ural history investigations in Alaska, and in whose collections the new species was first noticed. The specific name hyperboreus needs no expla- nation. ON THE USE OF TRINOMINALS IN AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. f By LEONHARD STEJNEGER. Ornithological trinominals, although at present more generally em- ployed in America than elsewhere, are neither an American invention nor were they first applied in America to the extent which they are now occupying in this country. That trinominals for varieties occasionally are found in some early works, even in those of Linnzeus, is of very little significance, although Pallas came pretty near being a trinominalist in the modern sense of the word. Nor do I intend in this connection to call attention to the numer- ous trinominals of C. L. Brehm, as he used them in a somewhat different sense from what we do. The father of modern trinominalism in ornithology was the famous Swedish ornithologist, Carl Sundevall, who in 1840 commenced to treat systematically the ill-defined species as geographical varieties, which he provided with a third name in addition to the specific appellation. Of groups treated by him in that manner may be quoted the genera Acanthis, Budytes, Lagopus,Dendroeca and the family Picide. He him- self styled these varieties “local forms” or “ races,” as an example of ; PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 71 which may be enumerated the varieties of Dendroeca petechia, recognized by him in 1869 (Ofv. Vet. Akad. Férhandl., 1869, pp. 607-609): Dendroeca petechia: a. bartholemica. b. cruciana (=ruficapilla Baird). ce. barbadensis. d. cubana (=gundlachi Baird). e. jamaicensis (=petechia Baird). f. gallapagensis (=aureola Gould). g. peruviana ? h. aequatorialis ? i. panamensis? (=vieilloti Cass). All of which he properly described. He was closely followed by Herman Schlegel, who, in 1844, applied the system to all the European birds in his “ Revue critique des oiseaux d’Europe.” In this catalogue he enumerates 489 species, plus 27 sub- species or varieties, the latter designated by trinominals, e.g.: Anthus pratensis rufigularis. Motacilla alba lugubris. Motacilla flava rayi. Motacilla flava cinereocapilla. Motacilla flava melanocephala. Garrulus glandarius melanocephalus. Sturnus vulgaris unicolor. Passer domesticus cisalpinus. Uria grylle mandtir. From this enumeration it is perfectly clear how “modern” Schlegel was as early as 1844, not only in adding the subspecifie name without any connecting word or letter, but also by acknowledging the law of priority in the use of the trinominals, which Sundevall failed to do. For every 18 binominals this first trinominalistic list of the birds of Europe contained 1 trinominal. : From that moment it is difficult to find ornithological writers of any prominence on the continent of Europe who have not, at least occa- sionally, used trinominals, while several authors applied three names to geographical races quite freely, for instance, Bonaparte, Middendorff, v. Schrenck, Malmgren, ete. But the idea of Sundevall and Schlegel was further developed by faithful followers. In 1861 J. H. Blasius printed in the German lan- guage a list of the birds of Europe for his own private use. The fol- lowing year (1862) this list of ‘one of the highest authorities in this branch of the science” was reprinted in England with the authovr’s ad. ditions, and edited by Prof. Alfred Newton under the title “A List of the Birds of Europe.” This list enumerates 523 species (420 breeding or regularly visiting + 103 accidental visitors), designated by binomi-. 72 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. nals, besides 92 subspecies designated by trinominals and quadrinomi- nals; in other words, for every 53 binominals we find 1 tri- or quadri- nominal; quite a progress since Schlegel’s list! A few quotations from this ‘“check-list” will convince us that the theory of the geographical races and the applications of the rules now en vogue here in America were thoroughly understood and employed. ‘“ Falco peregrinus Brisson.—Eur. 3. anatum Bp.—Am. y. melanogenys Gld.—Oceanica. 6. peregrinator Sund.—Asia. é. minor Schleg.—Afr. Cinclus aquaticus, Briss.—Centr. South. Eur. 3. melanogaster Brhn.— North. ‘“ y. leucogaster Eversm.— a AR: 6. pallasti Temm.—N. As. Lovia curvirostra L.—Eur. 3. americana Wils.—N. Am. L. leucoptera Gm.—N. Am., Engl. Z. taenioptera Glog.—N. Eur. Charadrius pluvialis L.—N. Eur. 8. virginicus Bk.—N. Am. y. longipes T.—As.” Ete., ete. As already mentioned, in some instances he applies quadrinominals, an example of which may be given here: “ Budytes flavus L.—Eur. a. melanocephalus Leht.—S. Eur. 8. kaleniczenckit Andr.—kE. S. Eur. b. borealis Sund.—N. Eur. f. cinereocapillus Savi.—Centr. & 8S. Eur, y. flavus L.—Eur. e. flaveolus Gld.—Centr. & W. Eur. 3. campestris Pall.—E. Hur.” Blasius’s List of the Birds of Europe was not the first in which tri- nominals were used, nor was it the last. It was followed by the ‘“Con- spectus Systematicus and Geographicus Avium Europawarum, Auctore Alph. Dubois,” which was published in 1871, a year before Coues’s Key. “ Varietates climacterice cum litteris italicis sunt impress et comitatze littera greeca.” Five hundred and seventy-five species, designated by binominals, are enumerated plus 125 “climatic varieties,” designated by trinominals, or 1 trinominal for every 43 binominals. In the mean time the American ornithologists had not failed to appre- ciate the advantages, or rather the dire necessity, of trinominals for geographical races in many cases. John Cassin is probably the first American writer using trinominals, as he as early as 1854, distinguished PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 73 the races of Bubo virginianus as follows (Illustr. B. Calif., Tex., ete., p. 178): Bubo virginianus Variety, atlanticus, [new name}. Variety, pacificus, [new name}. Variety, arcticus, |b. Arcticus Swains. |. Variety, magellanicus, |S. magellanicus Gmel.|. Although the trinominals are rather few in “The Birds of North America,” (1858), still that work and that date are of great interest, be- cause they show that Professor Baird, in using them and inventing new ones, favored the principle, which, afterwards, on his great authority, was so generally accepted by North American Ornithologists. In fact, the trinominals of present American ornithology can with great propri- ety be said to date from 1858, when that great work was published, which still exercises its influence through the “ History of North American Birds,” an influence strong enough to retain for the present epoch of American ornithology the name of “the Bairdian Period,” and which has formed the ‘‘ American school,” if such a term is admissible. Of trinominals dating from 1858 may be mentioned :* Turdus pallasi var. silens. | Picus villosus var. major. var. medius. var. minor. Bonasa umbellus var. umbelloides. The principle thus accepted was not discarded in the same author's, unfortunately unfinished, ‘Review of American Birds” (1864-1866), from which we select the following list: Thryothorus bewickii, var. bewickii. Thryothorus bewickii, var. leucogaster. Thryothorus bewickii, var. spilurus. Thryophilus rufalbus, var. rufalbus. Thryophilus rufalbus var. poliopleura. Troglodytes «don, var. aztecus. Troglodytes hyemalis, var. pacificus. Cistothorus palustris, var. paludicola, Atticora cyanoleuca, var. montana. it was not long before the example thus set was followed. In Janu- ary, 1865, Henry Bryant, in describing Parus hudsonicus, var. littoralis, expressed himself thus: “I am inclined myself to consider P. atricapil- lus, septentrionalis, meridionalis, and occidentalis, as varieties of one species ” (Pr. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., 1865, p. 368), and in the beginning of the following year, he said, “‘The West India Islands possess peculiar forms generally recognized by ornithologists as species, but which it, seems to me more rational, in many instances, to consider as local forms «© “We should not forget that Prince Max von Wied also is found guilty of using trinominals in that very year, for instance, Hirundo riparia americana, (Journ. f. Orn., 13858, p. 101). 74 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. or varieties.” (Pr. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., 1866, p. 248.) In the paper in which we find the above words he applied the following trinominals : Certhiola flaveola Var. portoricensis. Fringilla zena Linn. 1758 Var. portoricensis. Icterus dominicensis Var. portoricensis. Icterus dominicensis Var. hypomelas Dubus. Saurothera vieilloti Var. rufescens. In his additional *‘ List of Birds seen at the Bahamas” (Pr. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., xi, pp. 63 seqv.) he uses: Psittacus collarius var. bahamensis. Tyrannula stolida var. lucaysiensis. Mimus polyglottus var. bahamensis. And in a paper on Birds of St. Domingo (I. ¢., pp. 89, seqv.), the fol- lowing trinominals: Tyrannula stolida var, dominicensis. Tyrannula carribea var. hispaniolensis. Turdus ardosiaceus var. portoricensis. Fringilla zena var. marchii. Hirundo euchrysea var. dominicensis. So great was the power of the example, that even at that early date few of the ornithologists could resist using—although more or less spo- radically—trinominals, an effort especially visible in the younger gen- eration, which may fitly be termed ‘ Baird’s school.” It is unnecessary in the present paper to go into details, but a few instances may be men- tioned. In 1866 Dr. Coues, in a paper on “ the Ornithology of Arizona Terri- tory” (Pr. Phil. Acad., 1866), instituted several trinominals: Chrysomitris (Pseudomitris) mexicanus. A. var. mexicanus. B. var. columbianus. C. var. arizona. Mr. Ridgway (Pr. Phil. Acad., 1870), enumerates the following Amer- ican forms of Tinnunculus sparverius var. sparvertus. var. australis. var. isabellinus. var. dominicensis. var.? cinnamominus. In fact, trinominals were in the air infecting all, so that we find them where least expected. They make their way into Mr. Lawrence’s pa- pers on birds from South and Central America, Mexico, and the islands of Tres Marias and Socorro (1871), partly as manuscript names of Pro- fessor Baird, partly without his name appended, for instance: Conurus holochlorus var. brevipes Baird, M.S. Buteo borealis var. montana Nutt. Falco peregrinus var. nigriceps Cass. Hadrostomus aglaie var. affinis (Elliot). Haliplana fuliginosa var. crissalis Baird, M.S. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. tor The trinominals in Dall and Bannister’s paper on the Birds of Alaska (Tr. Chieg. Acad. I, 1869,) rest also evidently mainly on Professor Baird’s authority. Buteo swainsoni var. insignatus. Pyrrhula coccinea var. cassini Baird. Pelidna alpina var. americana Cass. Bernicla canadensis var. occidentalis Baird. But while thus most of the American ornithologists of that date had their attention drawn to the establishment of varieties or local races, one of them, Prof. J. A. Allen, looked at che other side, pointed out the value of the species, and determined the difference between the species and the subspecies. Although no trinominals are found in his great work “On the Mammals and Winter Birds of East Florida” (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. II, No. 3, 1871, pp. 161-450), still that article promoted trinominalism in America more than any before by treating the subspe- cies as Synonyms under the species, applying to the latter ‘the test of intergradation.” It is his great merit to have formulated this principle, without which Sundevall’s and Schlegel’s idea would not have gained so easy a victory in America. Subspecies are distinguishable forms which intergrade, while species do not intergrade: Here was the clue found, here the guidance to a methodical and consistent trinominalism. Others have tried to define similar principles, involving them in obscure theoretical and philosophical phrases, while he, a true and sound ‘“ American,” fixed the only practical rule in a few and simple words. The effect of his work in promoting trinominalism is very patent in the review of it written by Dr. Elliott Coues (American Naturalist, June, 1871, pp. 364-373), as shown by the following quotation (p. 371): ‘¢ But we insist upon the advisability, in the present stage of our science, of recognizing geographical and some other differentiations by name,” and in the appended foot-note heremarks: ‘‘ Not necessarily a ‘ specific’ name, but some one additional word, with or without the sign ‘ var.,’ that shall stamp the form we wish to signalize. Perhaps this would be a judicious middle course, most applicable to the present state of the science.” We have now in our sketch reached about the year 1871. This year and the next following ones were marked by an unusual activity on the side of our ornithologists; new countries were disclosed, and new mate- rial was coming in rapidly, and the large series now accumulating in the museums proved intergradation between many forms which had been regarded as valid species. At this same time two great works on North American ornithology were in preparation, Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway’s ‘“‘ History of North American Birds,” and Dr. Elliott Coues’s ‘‘ Key.” It is almost a matter of course that from what is said above trinom- inals should become a prominent feature of both these works. The sys- tematic application of trinominals to the whole North American ornis 76 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. had simply become a necessity. Coues’s ‘‘ Key,” as the less voluminous work, was published (1872) before the “ History,” thus becoming the first list of North American birds in which trinominals are generally and systematically applied. In the ‘‘ Key” we meet 1 trinominal for every 4.9 binominals. The history of trinominalism in North American ornithology after that date is familiar to every one. We all know howit, like many nov- elties in the beginning, was carried too far, good species being reduced to varieties on insufficient evidence, or on no evidence whatever, the mere supposition of intergradation, in many cases, being enough to bring the change about, while a more recent time has witnessed a sound re- action and a more rigorous application of Allen’s golden rule, “ the test of intergradation” being now thus interpreted, that no reduction of a species shall take place unless the intergradation is clearly established. In that, as in so many other respects,* R. Ridgway’s Nomenclator of 1881 was a great progress. The proportion in the latter between tri- nominals and binominals is as 1 to 43. In order to show how close the American trinominalists come to their European predecessors, the proportional numbers are put together in the following table: Schlegel (List of European Birds, 1544).. 1 trinominal to 18 binominals. Blasius (List of European Birds, 1862).. 1 “ “ 5.6 - Dubois (List of European Birds, 1871)... 1 Se A - @omes( Key, 1672): 3 Shea sae ee i: * ae a) s Ridgway (Nomenclator, 1881) .......-.-. 1 A ape | “i It is plain from the above that the ornithological trinominalism cannot be spoken of as “ the American idea.” But also in other directions Sundevall has exercised a great influence on the so-called ‘American school.” He was the vigorous and persistent advocate of Linnzeus’s tenth edition (1758) as the starting point of zoo- logical nomenclature, a view now accepted by almost all American or- nithologists, and it is his system—amended and somewhat changed by his countryman, Prof. W. Lilljeborg—which is the arrangement adopted by the Smithsonian Institution, and still met with, with some altera- tions in the details, in the publications of Coues and of Ridgway, and consequently of most other American writers. I do not see how the name “ the American school” can be maintained in view of these facts. Nevertheless there is a feature in which the American writers after 1858 differ from their European brethren, both English and Continental, and it is this peculiarity which led me on a previous page to adopt the name ‘the Bairdian school,” as Professor Baird most certainly was the originator of this particular feature. I shall try to express what I mean by giving an example. When treating of two forms and their * As for instance, in doing away with the cumbersome ‘‘var.” between the specific and subspecific name. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NAT{ONAL MUSEUM. 77 intergradation, a European ornithologist will usually express himself thus: ‘“‘ I have before me a specimen which in every respect is interme- diate between the two alleged species, thus proving them to be only different stages [or varieties] of the same specific type.” The Ameri- can, on the other hand, will say: “ I have before me a specimen, No. — of the collection, an adult male, shot on the of , and collected by Mr. at , which, by presenting such and such characters, is intermediate,” etc. In the first case you have to take the man’s word that there is such an intermediate link; in the second you can trace the statement back to its source, you can control and criti- cise, or, in other words, in the European school you have to deal with the person, in the “ Bairdian” with the fact, the specimen ; the differ- ence between the two and the scientific soundness of the latter process is too plain to require further comment. It has been said by one of the prominent promotors of trinominalism in this country that the great danger of the system is the opportunity for immature specialists to name as subspecies forms too slightly differentiated to require any such formal recognition, and that conse- quently our lists of synonyms would be overburdened. To me it seems as if this prediction is not warranted by past ex- perience. In Europe the system has existed, although not on a very extensive scale, for forty years or more; still, if we examine the synonymies of European birds, we will see that with the exception of the trinominals of C. L. Brehm, who was not an immature specialist, and whose trinominals do not belong here—very few trinominals mix with the formidable lists of synonymous binominals. The American synonymical lists show the same thing, because the rather numerous. trinominal synonyms are mostly put down to show the different “ com- binations” of the three names. We will have the same result if we go over the number of subspecies described in America during the ten years between 1871 and 1881. Consulting Ridgway’s “List of untenable species and races of North American birds described since 1858,” in his ‘* Nomenclator,” p. 80, we find that 11 trinominals are untenable, while of species described during the same period 9 binominals do not hold good. It is safe to say, however, that if trinominals had not come into use several of the forms described as trinominals would have entered our lists of synonyms as pure binominals. Itis further plain that the percentage of the untenable trinominals is vastly smaller than that of the binominals, as during those ten years an overwhelming majority of the new forms described consisted of trinominals. The untenable tri- nominals (according to the list quoted) rest on the following authori- ties: Baird; Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway; Cooper; Coues; Ridgway ; of these Cooper is guilty of only one. The danger, it will be seen, is not very formidable. Nor do I think that a swelling of the synonymies is of any real harm to science; it causes some inconvenience to those who have to compile or copy those 718 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. lists, but the harm done to science itself can be but slight. It is a pe- culiarity of the construction of an ornithologist’s heart that it takes a great pleasure in “ sitting down” upon the new forms described by any fellow-ornithologists. In fact there are writers who think it more inter- esting to reduce names than to establish new ones. Under sueh cir- cumstances the untenable forms will soon be disposed of and be given their proper place in the synonymies. The trinominal system involves another danger, however, which may be injurious to the true interest of science. I mean the untimely reduc- tion of good and distinct species to mere races or varieties. Not only <loes it cause great instability and uncertainty in our nomenclature, but it tends to prejudice the forms if once reduced, by an authority, on in- sufficient evidence. We still see almost every day undoubted species, the distinctness of which has long ago been proved over and over again, designated by the cumbersome and misleading trinominals. Here is real danger, real harm! Fortunately, however, the reaction has commenced in this country, but in Europe the latest and most eloquent advocate of trinominals tries to continue the work of Blasius. The necessity or desirability of trinominals has of late been questioned by nonprofessionalists. The replies in “The Auk” have beensothorough on that side of the question which they have treated that little needs to be said by me. But I have an impression that the inquirers have not got all their questions answered nor all their doubts solved. The above question is in reality a threefold one. (1.) Is it necessary to recognize those slight differences which are seen in the so-called local races? (2.) Is it necessary to have them designated by a separate name? (3.) Why is the tsinominal designation to be preferred? (1.) To the first question I would say that it is of vital importance to ornithology as a science that these minor differences be recognized. It may be well enough for those whose chief object is to label specimens in collections and museums to agnore these difficult cases in which the identi- fication has to be done by a trained eye and a trained mind, but it must be observed that such persons have no idea of what the science requires, nor are their services to science of particular value. It is confessedly, in many cases, very difficuit to distinguish between two closely-allied forms, but it is as important in ornithology that the differences be not overlooked as it isin any branch of the invertebrates, although nobody thinks of giving up specific distinctions among the small animals, be- cause an amateur ora dilettante is unable to tell animalcules of one order from those of another. Iam indebted to my friend RK. Ridgway for being permitted to quote the following abstract of a manuscript of his, which seems to me to illustrate more fully what I have hinted at above : ‘The most important advantage of trinominals is that they serve as convenient ‘handles for facts, in providing for the naming of forms which are known not to possess the requirements of true species, but PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 19 which it is equally evident demand, in the interests of science, proper recognition. Without trinominals it would be necessary to either name such forms as species, and thus convey an idea of their rank which the person bestowing the name knows to be false, or else ignore them alto- gether, which would be plainly a dereliction of duty and a positive im- pediment to the progress of the science. Every local or geographical variation of size, form, or color, no matter how slight, if reasonably con- stant, is just so much evidence affecting the question of the derivation of species, and no excuse for the exclusion of such evidence can be allowed. The inability of a person who has not aceess to specimens for comparison to discriminate between slightly differentiated forms—or the professed inability of the professional, whose ideas are “inspired,” and who therefore finds it unnecessary to descend to the drudgery of handling specimens—is not a matter to be considered. As well might one become a physician, and be able to diagnose correctly any disease, by simply having a taste for the medical profession and no opportunity to devote his time and thought to the subject—or, on the other hana, having the opportunity and means, yet discarding all the essential aids to his knowledge.” The importance of distinguishing between even slightly differentiated local fornis may be illustrated by an example. Suppose we knew a species the breeding range of which included the Eastern and Middle States of North America and the West India Isl- auds. Suppose, also, that we knew that it occurs during the winter in the West indian Islands (the species consequently being resident there), in Eastern Mexico, and Central America. Considering the migration of such a species, we would face several important questions: Do the birds living in the Eastern States during the summer pass the winter on the West India Islands, and on which? Or do they travel round the Gulf, uniting with those from the Mississippi Valley in going down to Mexiecé and Central America? It will be seen that the solution of the questions is rather difficult. How are we going to tell the birds coming down in winter from the States from those remaining the whole year in the Antilles? We might establish observers all along the coast to be on the lookout where the migrants were wending their way, but Iam afraid the evidence would be hard to obtain, as even the whole 4. O. U. “ecom- mittee on migration,” with all its observers, might look in vain for the passing birds. Or we might catch lots of the latter, and have them marked by differently colored ribbons, or the like. Trae,if we could possibly do it, the question might be solved in that way. Tf think, how- ever, we will agree that the project is not practicable. Brt if nature herself had marked the birds, then we could tell just as well! If we could possibly distinguish those living the whole year in the Antillean Islands from those breeding in the East, and the latter again from the inhabitant of the Mississippi Valley, no matter how slight the @istine- _ tion, no matter how expert the identifyer needs be, only let it be possi - 80 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. ble to distinguish them, then we would have the material for the solu- tion of a very important question in ornithology. There needs be no one on the spot to be able to distinguish them, but there should be col- lectors willing to furnish the expert with the material. We will, in order to show what we mean, furthermore suppose that collections of large series made during the winter were turned in to the National Museum from several of the Antilles, from the eastern coast of Mexico, and from Yucatan. Suppose the Antillean specimen belong to the form residing there during summer, and to that only, except the collec- tion made during the migrating season at the western point of Cuba, which, like winter birds from Yucatan, belonged to the form of the Kastern States, and finally that the winter birds from Eastern Mexico were identical with those from the Mississippi Valley. Anybody can now draw the conclusions, can now understand how extremely important the distinguishing of nearly allied races really is. it has been said that these are “small things,” but it must not be for- gotten that in science nothing is small which leads to finding the truth, and - that the great things are only the accumulation and the products of the small ones. To neglect “small things” is to neglect science itself! The time when our museums were content with having a few specimens of each species is a past one, and at the present date they require large series. It will therefore be seen that it matters very little if in a cer- tain local form the number of “pure-bred” or ‘‘typical” specimens should only amount to, say, 75 per cent., as these will be fully sufficient to recognize the form with certainty. So important is the minute distinction of Jocal forms, that the solution of the whole question of bird migration depends upon it. Prof. Johan Axel Palmén, the prominent tracer of the traveling routes of the birds and the great authority on all questions relating to their migration, the author of “Die Zugstrassen der Végel,” does not call these races geo- ‘eraphical or local forms, but “the migrating route forms.” (2.) The second question was whether it is necessary to have these slightly differentiated forms designated by a separate name, admitting. as we now do, the necessity of recognizing them. Before giving a direct answer I will make a counterquestion. No- body thinks for a moment of discarding the separate names of undenied species, the characters of which are just as minute as those of a sub- species, provided only they are absolutely constant. What is now the okgect of naming these by a separate appellation, forms which perhaps. are of less interest than a great many of the so-called subspecies? The whole thing amounts to this, that if- we do not give these forms. & separate name, then we will have to use a long phrase to express which form we mean. The discarding of separating subspecies by separate- names would bring them and their nomenclature just in the same condi- tion as were the specific names before Linnzeus. We designate the sub- species and species by a separate name for the same reason. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 81 Vol. VEE, No. 6. Washington, D. ©. July 1, 1884. (3.) Finally we will have to consider the question why the trinominal designation is to be preferred. I need not repeat the many good reasons admirably set forth by Prof. J. A. Allen in the first number of “The Auk,” but I will simply state why I have been of late converted to trinominalism. The question with me hinged on the consideration that in all probability we would have to give up the hope of seeing these forms recognized at all if we would not consent to having them designated differently from the species. There are still many ornithologists who would rather suffer the local races to be extinguished from our books than they would allow them to carry the “sacred” binominals. To them the subspecies are pariahs, which must not be admitted to the “ rank” of the aristocratic species. I, my- self, think better of the poor subspecies, believing that science in time, when they are fully understood, will derive great benefit from their ree- ognition, and consequently I accept the cumbersome trinominals rather than to see them go around without any name at all. I regard the trinominals as a nuisance, but as a very necessary nui- sance, unfortunately. However, I find I can get along with them very well. Before dismissing the subject I should like to eall the attention of American ornithologists to the fact that there are other conditions which may affect the differentiation of subspecific (first, and afterwards specific) forms than the geographical distribution of the present day. And in order to learn just what these conditions are it is very important to have the subspecies distinguished. The geographical range of a bird is by no means avery stable thing, and may change comparatively rapidly, for many reasons. It may therefore be that some of the variations date back to a—perhaps not so very—distant time when the range of the form was one quite different from the present one. The fact that the differentiation in a certain form does not agree with what we conclude it ought to do compared with other forms of similar geographical dis- tribution must not lead us to disregard their differences. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, Washington, D. C., Muy 12, 1884. - DESCRIPTIONS OF SCAROID FISHES FROM HAVANA AND KEY WEST, INCLUDING FIVE NEW SPECIES. By DAVID S. JORDAN and JOSEPH SWAIN. In a recent collecting tour to Havana, Cuba, and Key West, Florida, Professor Jordan obtained a considerable number of Scaroid fishes, rep- resenting fourteen species. Seven of these were secured at Key West Proc. Nat. Mus. 84-———6 82 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. and thirteen in the markets of Havana. Five appear to be still new to science, or at least not yet recognizably described. Our materials are not yet sufficient for a general revision of the Amer- ican Scari. Very few of the many species can yet be said to be well known, and the present paper is offered as a contribution toward an ex- act knowledge. We give descriptions and life coloration of each of the species included in this collection, with the synonymy of each, and a key by which these species may be distinguished. To species not included in this collection we make in general no reference. In our descriptions of the species we have generally avoided the repeti- tion of characters common to all, as well as those which are dependent on the age of the specimen and not upon specific difference. Most of the differences in form and proportions of the body belong to this latter class. Generally speaking, it is only the canine teeth, the scales of the head, the scales of the lateral line, the caudal fin, and the coloration which afford specific characters. The dorsal fin, the lower pharyngeals, and the isthmus afford generic distinctions, but are essentially similar in all the species of the same genus. In all the species the numbers are usually D. 1X, 10. A. Ul, 9. Scales 25—24—6. Three well-marked generic groups are represented in this collection. For these we should, in accordance with generally received laws of nomenclature, adopt the names Scarus, Sparisoma, and Cryptotomus. These correspond respectively to Pseudoscarus, Scarus, and Calliodon of Bleeker and Giinther. Of these genera, Cryptotomus approaches most nearly to the typical Labroids ; Sparisoma is closely allied to it, while Scarus represents a considerable differentiation. Most writers, with Dr. Giinther, have dis- tinguished Scarus and Sparisoma chiefly by the number of rows of scales on the cheek, a character in itself of no systematic importance. On ac- count of the trifling value of this character, several writers (Steindach- ner, Cope, Jordan, and Gilbert) have preferred to consider the groups thus defined as subgenera merely. An examination of many species leaves, however, no doubt that Sparisoma and Scarus are fully worthy of generic distinction, and, unless intermediate forms occur, Cryptotomus should be separated from Sparisoma. ANALYSIS OF GENERA. a. Lower pharyngeal spoon-shaped, much longer than broad; teeth of jaws fully coalesced ; each jaw divided bya distinct median suture; gill-membranes forming a fold across the isthmus; dorsal spines flexible; lateral line interrupted, &c.; scales about head rather numerous, lower jaw in- Clunded 425.22 2.028 Sete eRe ate eee rsa see Bee eras Scarus, A. aa. Lower pharyngeals broader than long, flattish, or basin-shaped; gill membranes broadly joined to the isthmus, not forming a fold across it; lateral line subcontinuous; scales on head rather few. b. Teeth chiefly coalescent, the jaws divided by a rather indistinct median suture ; dorsal spines pungent ; lower jaw projecting.......----- SPARISOMA, B. bb. Teeth coalescent laterally ; the anterior chiefly separate ; the median suture not evident; dorsal spines flexible. - 22... .:-22-\¢-2.-.-- CRYPTOTOMUS, C: Ee PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 83 A. Genus SCARUS. Scarus Forskal. Descr. Animal, &c., in Orient. Observ. 1775, 25 (psittacus, &c.). CALLYODON Gronow. Museum Ichthyol., II, 8 (non-binomial). CALLIODON Bloch & Schneider. Syst. Ichthyol., 1801, 312 (lineatus=croicensis). HEMISTOMA Swainson. Class’n. Fishes, &c., 1839, II, 226 (reticulatus Sw.=pepo Ben- nett). PETRONASON Swainson. Class’n, Fishes, &c., 1839, II, 226 (psittacus, &c.). ERYCHTHYS Swainson. Class’n, Fishes, &c., 1839, IL, 226 (eroicensis, &c.). CHLORURUS Swainson. Class’n, Fishes, &c., 1839, II, 227 (gibbus). CALLYODON Gronow. Systema, Ed. Gray, 1854, 83 (lineatus, &c.). PsEUDOSCARUS Bleeker. Versl. Akad. Wet. Amsterd., XII, 1861, Scaroid. 3 (chlorodon, psittacus, &c.). PSEUDOSCARUS Giinther. Poey, Guichenot et Auct. Scarus Jordan & Gilbert. Syn. Fish N. A., 1883, 938 (psittacus, guacamaia). The name Scarus was used by the ancients and by some pre-Linnzean writers on zodlogy for the Mediterranean species of Sparisoma, Labrus cretensis L. Its first use in any way as a generic name in binomial nomenclature is that of Forskal in 1775. The genus Scarus of Forskal was based on several species obtained by him on the coasts of Arabia. A few of these are not Scaroids. The others all belong tothe group called Pseu- doscarus by Bleeker. ForskAl had apparently no acquaintance with the Labrus cretensis, and this species cannot in any proper sense be taken as the type of his genus. One of the species mentioned by him should be so taken, and as all his Scari belong to the same group, it makes no special difference which one is selected. Jordan & Gilbert have re- garded Scarus psittacus Forskal as the type. If, however, Sparisoma cretense be taken as the type of Scarus, the proper name for the present genus would be Calliodon, and several of the useless generic names of Swainson have priority over Pseudoscarus. The genus Scarus contains the majority of the species of this group. It is more widely distributed than the other genera; its species reach for the most part a larger size, and in general they are more brightly colored than the others. ANALYSIS OF SPECIES OF SCARUS. COMMON CHARACTERS.—Lower pharyngeals spoon-shaped, ovate-oblong, trans- versely concaye ; teeth in each jaw fully coalescent, appearing as tessellations on the surface; jaws with distinct median suture; edges of jaws even; upper pharyngeals each with two rows of teeth ; gill-membranes scarcely united to the narrow isthmus, across which they form a broad fold; dorsal spines flexible, scarcely different from the soft rays; upper lip laterally double, the interior fold becoming very narrow or obsolete mesially ; lower jaw included in the closed mouth; lateral line interrupted posteriorly, commencing again on the next series of scales below; tubes of lateral line scarcely branched; scales on cheek in two to four rows; scales in front of dor- sal on median line 6 to 8. Species mostly of large size. a. Teeth deep green; no canine teeth; cheeks with two rows of scales, those of the upper row larger than those of the second; one scale below the lower row ; caudal subtruncate, the angles produced, especially in the adult. Olive green, with ill-defined green markings on head ; lower parts more or less reddish; vertical fins brownish orange, all edged with deep blue. PIZOMAPT Ogata aod cain Mercia cis ae Sores la ene seks nc'c<ee GUACAMAIA, 1 84 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. aa. Teeth whitish or rosy. b. Angle of mouth without canine. c. Third row of scales of the cheek of one or two scales only; scales of the upper row much larger than those of the second row; caudal subtruncate, its outer rays more or less produced ; adult with a fleshy hump above the snout; color bright blue, the young more or less shaded with reddish brown; fins mostly blue. Size large.....-.-.---...----. CG@RULEUS, 2 cc. Third row of scales of the cheek of three or four scales; scales of the upper row little larger than those of the second row: caudal slightly rounded, its outer rays not produced. Reddish, with three longitudinal blackish stripes, the second through eye to base of caudal; usually three whitish streaks on lower part of sides; fins chiefly orange.-.-..-.-- CROICENSIS, 3 bb. Upper jaw with a posterior canine (rarely duplicated) ; cheeks with two and a half rows of scales; caudal subtruncate, its outer rays scarcely produced; head with two bluish green stripes, the interspaces reddish or yellow ; general color bluish green, mixed with orange; dorsal and anal each with two green bands and one orange one. d. Outer rays of caudal chiefly orange ; yellow stripe above pectoral, below the level of the green stripes on head, which are nearly horizontal; orange stripe on dorsal and anal fins without blue spots.-....-- VIRGINALIS, 4 dd. Outer rays of caudal deep greenish blue; yellow stripe above pectoral (if present), above the level of green stripes on head, which are some- what oblique; orange stripe on dorsal and anal spotted or shaded with Dhue i). hos ease tere eee soe eter meee PUNCTULATUS, 5 1. Scarus guacamaia. Guacamaia Parra, Descr, Dif. Piezas Hist. Nat., 1787, p. 54, pl. 26 (Cuba). Scarus guacamaia Cuvier, Regne Animal, ed. ii, 1829, 265. (No descr. ; based on Parra. Not Scarus guacamaia Cuy. & Val. = Scarus pleianus Poey.); Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 938. Pseudoscarus guacamaia Giinther, iv, 233 (Jamaica, Puerto Cabello, Bahia) ; Poey, Synopsis Pise. Cubens., 1868, 348, 463; Poey, Enumeratio Pisce. Cubens., 1875, 117. Hemistoma guacamaia Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish., N. A., 1883, 607 (Key West). Head, 3 (34 in length to base of caudal); depth, 2? (32); length of example described (Key West), 74 inches. Body moderately elongate. Jaws deep bluish-green, the color not fading in spirits; no canine teeth; upper lip covering more than half of surface of upper jaw. Snout not very obtuse, 23 in head; eye small,6 in head; cheeks, with two rows of scales of five or six in each row, those of the upper row nearly twice as broad as those of the lower; a single scale below the lower row; six or seven scales on median line before dorsal. Caudal rounded when spread open, its angles slightly produced, its outer rays (in specimens 8 inches long), 4 in head. In adults the outer rays are longer in proportion, and in very old examples, none of which were seen by us, they are said to be greatly produced. Color in life, of specimens of moderate size, olive green, each scale edged with clear brown; its middle, especially above, bright verdigris green. Sides of head brownish-gray; belly white, tinged with brown; PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 85 a bright green stripe from eye around snout; another from eye to eye above; another undulating stripe below eye; several green spots and dashes behind eye; upper lip reddish; naked skin of middle of lower jaw green; teeth deep greenish-blue; vertical fins all brownish-red, verging on orange above; their edges, including sides and tip of caudal all bright greenish-blue; ventral flesh-color, tinged with orange, its anterior edge greenish-blue; pectoral very pale reddish,.the first and last ray light blue; a greenish dot at the base of each membrane of dorsal and anal; axil reddish. Older specimens are-similar in color, but with the head more pink- ish and its markings more diffuse. In spirits the green stripes and spots on head become fainter; the red of upper lip and axil and the orange of fins fade. This species is abundant about rocks at Key West, and is also not uncommon in the Havana market, where it is known still as Guacamaia. Our fish appears to be the Guacamaia of Parra, on which, so far as the printed record shows, the Scarus guacamaia of Cuvier was based. The specimens in Cuvier’s possession, afterwards decribed by Valenciennes under the name of Scarus guacamaia, have canines in the upper jaw, and apparently belong to a distinct and (to us) unknown species, to which Poey has given the name of Scarus pleianus. We have seen no specimens a yard in length, as mentioned by Parra, nor have we seen any with the caudal lobes prolonged to the extent shown in his figure. None of our specimens, young or old, show traces of canines. 2. Scarus cceruleus. Novacula coerulea (the Bluefish). Catesby, Nat. Hist. Carolina, &c, 174388, tab. 18 (Bahamas). ; Loro Parra, Descr. Dif. Piezas Hist. Nat., 1787, 57, lain. 27, f. 1 (Cuba). Trompa Parra, 1. ¢. f. 2. Coryphena cerulea Bloch, Ausliindische Fische, ii, 120, taf. 176, 1783. (In part, after Catesby and a figure by Aubriet, altered from a figure by Plumier.) Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1788, 1191 (copied). Scarus ceruleus Bloch & Schneider, Systema Ichthyol., 1301, 288. (After Cates- by, and Trompa of Parra.); Cuv. & Val. xiv, 186, 1839 (St. Thomas); Cuvier, Régne Animal, ed. IT, 1829. Pseudoscarus coeruleus Giinther, iv, 1862, 227 (copied). Guichenot, Scaridés, Mus. Paris (Proc. Soc. Imp. Nat., Cherbourg), 1865, 24 (St. Thomas, San Domingo); Poey, Repertorio, i, 373, 1867; Poey, Synopsis, 1868, 348; Poey, Enumeratio, 1875, 117 (Cuba); Goode, Bull. U. 8. Nat. Mus., v, 33, 1876 (Bermuda). Scarus loro Bloch & Schneider, Systema Ichthyol., 1801, 288. (After Loro of Parra). : ? Scarus trilobatus Lacépéde, Hist. Nat. Poiss., iv, 1803, 21 (on a drawing by Plumier). ? Sparus holocyaneos Lacépede, Hist. Nat. Poiss., iv, 1803, 45 (on a copy by Aubriet of a drawing of Plumier; the copy colored entirely blue in order to represent this species; the original drawing probably intended for Sparisoma chrysopterum ; the same copy by Aubriet, the original of . Bloch’s engraving of Scarus coeruleus). fo} 6) PROCEEDINGS: OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 2. Scarus cceruleus—Continued. Scarus obtusus Poey, Memorias Cuba, ii, 1860, 217 (Cuba). Pseudoscarus obtusus Poey, Synopsis, 349; Poey, Enumeratio, 117. Scarus nuchalis Poey, Memorias, ii, 1860, 220 (Cuba). Pseudoscarus nuchalis Poey, Synopsis, 348; Poey, Enumeratio, 117. Pseudoscarus chloris Giinther, iv, 1862,227 (Jamaica; Excl. Syn.). Pseudoscarus quadrispinosus Goode, Bull. U. 8. Nat. Mus.,v, 34. (Not Scarus quadrispinosus Cuv. & Val.) Head, 34 (32); depth, 54 (3%); length of example described (Ha- vana), 103 inches. Body rather elongate. Jaws whitish in the adult, rosy in the young; .no canine teeth; upper lip covering about half of upper jaw. Eye small, 5% in head; snout rather acute, 24 in head; cheeks with ‘two rows of scales, the scales of the upper row nearly twice as broad as those of the lower; below the lower row is a partial row of two scales; six scales on median line of back before dorsal. Caudal slightly rounded; when spread open its outer rays a little produced, 12 in head, in young of a foot in length, said to be much longer in adult; color in life, of partly-grown specimens from Havana, bright sky-blue eveywhere; some brown on upper scales; lower lip red- dish brown, edged with blue; fins blue, with some brown; teeth pale reddish. Color of young (4 inches), taken at Key West, light, livid blue- gray, tinged with brownish on back, quite bluish below; yellowish olive on top of head, but no sharp markings anywhere except on fins; jaws rather bright flesh-red, the snout bluish ; teeth pale; dorsal edged with bright blue; below this dull orange; its base livid; caudal grayish; faintly banded with olive, its upper and lower edge bright blue ; anal flesh-color, edged with light-blue; ventrals greenish-blue color fading on last rays; pectorals flesh-color, axil light blue. Color in spirits greenish-olive above, pale below ; dorsal dusky; caudal and anal grayish; fins otherwise pale. This species is common in the Havana markets. A single young specimen was taken at Key West. No specimens of more than a foot in length were obtained, and these show but slight traces of the fleshy hump on the snout, which is said to be very conspicuous in the adult fish. They correspond fairly to the Loro of Parra and to the Scarus obtusus of Poey. it is possible that these specimens are not the young of the large-humped cevruleus, but as no differences other than in the development of the hump and of the lobes of the caudal are to be found, we refer them, without much hesi- tation, to S.ceruleus. Thesame opinion is expressed by Giinther, who considers his chloris as probably the young of cwruleus. His chloris is evidently our fish, though not the chloris of Bloch. There is some confusion in regard to the original Coryphena cerulea of Bloch, which must be regarded as in part only based on this species. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. ~— 4(/ The Scarus ceruleus of Bloch & Schneider is, however, free from any confusion with chrysopterum or related species. Scarus trilobatus Lacé- pede is somewhat doubtful, and Sparus holocyaneos Lae. is involved in confusion with Sparisoma chrysopterum. The obtusus and nuchalis of Poey are probably forms of cwruleus. Scarus quadrispinosus C. & V.is evidently different, having two canines on each side of the upper jaw. 3. Scarus croicencis. Callyodon Gronow, Museum Ichthyol., I, 8. 1763; Gronow, Zodphylaceum, 244, t.7, f.4. (Sine patria). Scarus croicensis Bloch, Ichthyol., taf. 221, about 1785. (St. Croix; prob- ably more than one species included); Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish., N. A., 1883, 938 (copied). Erychthys croicensis Swainson, Nat. Hist., Class’n, Fishes, 1839, ii, 226 (name only). Scarus insule-sancte-crucis, Bloch & Schneider., Systema Ichthyol., 1801, 285, (copied). ? Calliodon lineatus, Bloch & Schneider, Syst. Ichthyol., 1801, 312, pl. 62, f. 2, after Gronow); Gronow, Syst., ed. Gray, 1854, 84. (Sine patria). Scarus alternans Cuy. & Val., iv, 1839, 200, (Martinique). Pseudoscarus sancte-crucis Giinther, iv, 226, 1862, (Jamaica; Trinidad; Puerto Cabello); Guichenot, Scaridés Mus. Paris, 1865, 29 (Martinique); Poey, Synopsis, 1868, 350, (Cuba); Poey, Enumeratio, 1875, 119. Scarus sancte-crucis Cope, Traus. Am. Philos. Soe., 1870, 461, (St. Croix). Pseudoscarus lineolatus, Poey,Repertorio,ii, 239, 186%, (Cuba); Poey, Synopsis, 350; Poey, Enumeratio, 1875, 119. Head, 3 (32); depth, 3 (32); length of example described (Havana), 7 inches. Body comparatively elongate. Jaws reddish; no canine teeth; lip covering most of surface of up- per jaw. Hye small, 54 in head; snout not obtuse, 2%; cheeks with three rows of scales, the lower with three or four scales, those of the upper row scarcely larger than those of the second row; seven scales on median line before dorsal; caudal slightly and evenly rounded, its outer rays 14 in head. Not at all produced in specimens examined. Color in life, of young of 2 to 4 inches, dark-olive, little mottled, rosy below, on bases of scales and lower part of head; two dark, lateral, parallel stripes, the upper passing through eye and about equaling it in width, being twice as wide as lower stripe, which meets base of pec- toral; teeth light-reddish ; dorsal orange yellow, its edge pale bluish ; caudal and anal similar, the former mottled; ventrals red-orange; pec- torals plain, the base yellowish without dark blotch. In spirits the rosy color becomes grayish, and all the fins pale. Older specimens, 7 to 9 inches in length, are dark, reddish-brown above, paler below; back dark, sides with two dark parallel stripes of the color of the back, separated by pale interspaces, the upper one backward from eye; snout above bluish-brown, a narrow whitish streak running from head along the middle line of belly; three similar 88 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. streaks on each side of breast, there being one on each row of scales; teeth dark red; a dusky blotch at base of pectoral ; caudal pale, orange- red, with dusky on tip and sides, the outer rays being somewhat barred with brown; anal light bluish-dusky, paler in front and on edge; ventrals and pectorals pale ; dorsal orange, edged with bluish. Several young specimens of this species were taken at Key West. In Havana it is rather common, and is known as Bullon. It seems never to reach a large size. Goode has suggested that it is perhaps the young of Scarus vetula (= superbus Poey), but we are very positive that this cannot be the case. The two are very unlike in dentition as well as in color. There is no warrant for the change of the original name, croicensis, into sancte-crucis, and we have, as a matter of course, restored the orig- inal form of the word. The Calliodon lineatus seems to us, as suggested by Valenciennes, as probably this species. Poey recognizes Pseudoscarus lineolatus with the three streaks along the side of the breast, as shown by our specimens, and P. sancte-crucis, in which these markings are obsolete. In the absence of other characters, we cannot regard such a color- mark as probably indicating specific distinction. 4. Scarus virginalis, sp. nov. Scarus vetula Cuyv. & Val., xiv., 193, 1839 (St. Thomas; not of Bloch & Schneider, based on a figure of Parra, representing Scarus superbus Poey). Pseudoscarus psittacus Giinther iv, 225, 1862 (Cuba; Jamaica; after Cory- phena psittacus L., which is a species of Xyrichthys; not Scarus psittacus Forskal, an Asiatic species); Guichenot, Scaridés Mus. Paris, 1865, 25 (Martinique; St. Lucia); Poey, Synopsis, 347 (Cuba); Poey, Enu- meratio, 116. Scarus psittacus Cope, Trans. Am. Philos. Soc., 1871, 461 (St. Martins; St. Croix). Head, 3 (32); depth, 22 (34); length of the typical example (Havana), 95 inches. Body oblong-elliptical. Jaws pale; a canine directed backward and outward above the angle of the mouth; upper lip covering more than half of surface of upper jaw. Kye small, 6 in head; snout rather acute, 2% in head; cheek with two nearly equal rows of about six scales each; one or two large scales below the lower series; eight scales on median line of back before dorsal. Caudal fin when spread open very slightly rounded; the outer rays very slightly produced, 12 in head, in specimens of 9 inches. Color in life dark orange-brown above; the centers of each scale greenish-blue ; rather abruptly paler below, where the blue predomi- nates as it does also on caudal peduncle; sides of head with two hori- PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 89 zontal stripes of deep Dbluish-green, running from angle of opercle through eye and meeting around snout, the interspace anteriorly yel- lowish, posteriorly brownish; head light-greenish below; two green stripes, with a yellowish interspace on lower jaw; a broad, bright yellow band below level of green stripes of head, running from base of pectorals backward nearly to middle of body. Dorsal fin greenish-blue on lower half; above this a broad orange band, the fin margined with sky-blue; caudal indigo-bluish, with some vague yellow shades; the outer rays bright orange, edged with indigo-bluish; anal greenish, blue at base, then a rather narrow stripe of orange, the outer half of the fin bluish; ventrals greenish and yellowish; pectoral light yellow, no dark blotch at its base. In spirits the orange fades to yellowish and the blue to bright green. The yellow lateral band is in spirits dashed with red. This beautiful species is not uncommon at Havana, where several specimens were obtained. The name psittacus has been used by recent writers for this species. The original type of Coryphena psittacus, sent by Dr. Garden from Charleston, is still preserved by the Linnean Society of London. It has been examined by Dr. Bean, who has found it to be a Xyrichthys. There seems to be also no doubt that the orginal Vieja (pl. 28, f. 1), of Parra, on which the Scarus vetula of Bloch & Schneider is based, is identical with the Scarus superbus of Poey, rather than With the pres- ent species, to which it has been referred by Cuvier & Valenciennes. The name vetula must therefore supersede superbus, as already noticed by Mr. Goode. (Bull., U.S. Nat. Mus., v, 32.) As described by Dr. Giinther, Scarus vetula (superbus) difters from the present species in the number of scales on the cheek, in dentition, and in ccloration, although #2 the latter respect the two have much in common. As neither vetula nor psittacus are available as specific names for the present species, we propose for it the new name of Scarus virginalis. 5. Scarus punctulatus. Scarus punctulatus Cuy. & Val , xiv, 1839, 195 (Martinique). Pseudoscarus punctulatus Guichenot, Scaridés Mus. Paris, 1865, 26 (Martin- ique). Pzeudoscarus tenioplerus Giinther, iv, 226 (Trinidad; excellent description ; not of Desmarest ?). Pseudoscarus diadema Poey, Synopsis, 347; Poey, Enumeratio, 116 (not Scarus diadema C. & V., nor ef Cope). ?? Scarus teniopterus Desmarest, Dict. Classique, xv, 244, pl. 12, 1851 (Cuba); ?? Cuv. & Val., xiv, 195 (same type). ? ? Pseudoscarus teniopterus Guichenot, Scaridés Mus. Paris, 1865, 26 (same specimen). j Head, 34 (332); depth, 34 (32); length of specimen described (Havana), 6 inches. Body oblong-elliptical. Jaws whitish; a canine directed outward above angle of mouth on 90 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. each side; a second small canine present on one side in the specimen described; upper lip covering about half of surface of upper jaw. Eye small, 54 in head; snout rather acute, 23 in head; cheek with two rows of scales, those of the upper row being about one-third larger than those of the second row; two scales below the lower series; seven seales before dorsal. Caudal fin truncate or slightly rounded when spread open, the angles not produced ; (in specimen of 6 inches) the outer rays 13 in head. In life orange-brown; the centers of most of the scales bright bluish- green, these blotches large, so that the green predominates over the orange on most of the body. On the anterior part of the back and on top of head there is little green, this region being more brown. A light-yellow longitudinal band, higher up than the similar band in S. vetula, and above the level of the green stripes on head, running backward from upper part of gill-opening nearly to end of pectoral; below this is a dark, grayish band about as broad as eye, extending about to end of pectorals; this is bordered above and below by bright green. These green stripes become very distinct on the head, where they extend forward on snout, one above and one below the eye, the lower meeting its fellow on the upper lip, the upper on the forehead ; interspace between these bands dark gray ; a grass-green band around lower jaw; lower half of head light yellowish-green ; beily pale-green- ish ; dorsal and anal bright green at base and tip, mesially orange, the orange with a median more or less interrupted band of blue, the corre- sponding band on anal forming a row of spots; caudal bright greenish- blue, the outer rays entirely blue, the inner with their membranes orange; pectoral pale yellow; the axil not dusky. This species is very close to the preceding, differing so far as we ean see only in the arrangement of the colors. But a single specimen was obtained. This answers almost exactly to ~Guichenot’s description of the typeof Scarus punctulatus and to Gunther’s Pseuodoscarus teniopterus. Scarus diadema C. & V. appears to be somewhat different, as also Scarus teniopterus Desmarest. It is possible, however, that the type of the latter is faded and has lost the markings of the head. In that case the appropriate name of teniopterus should supersede punctulatus. At present this identification is too doubtful to justify this change of name. B. Genus SPARISOMA. ScARUS, sp. Auct. SparisoMa Swainson, Nat. Hist. Class’n, Fishes, &c., 1839, ii, 227 (abildgaardi). Scarus Bleeker, Versl. Akad. Wet. Amsterdam, xii, 1861, Scaroid, 3 (cretensis). Scarus Giinther, Poey, Guichenot, et acct. (cretensis). SPARISOMA Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 938 (abildgaardi). We have elsewhere given the reasons which have led us to retain the name Scarus for the group (Pseudoscarus) to which the species origin- ally described by Forskal bélong. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 91 This being done the only name applicable to the present group is that of Sparisoma Swainson. As originally defined this generic name was a wanton synonym like nearly all the other generic names of fishes proposed by Swainson. It is supposed to differ from the Petronason of the same author in the presence of hexagonal scales, sharp incisive teeth, and obtuse canines. As, however, its type, S. abildgaardi, is a member of the present genus, the name should not be set aside. ANALYSIS OF SPECIES OF SPARISOMA. COMMON CHARACTERS.—Lower pharyngeal broader than long, subhexagonal, its surface moderately concave or flattish ; teeth in each jaw largely coalescent in the _ adult, their tips more or less separate in the young, the edge, especially of the lower jaw, remaining uneven; the median suture in each jaw present, but not well de- fined ; one to four radiating canines sometimes present on each side of upper jaw above its cutting edge; * gill-membranes broadly united to the isthmus; dorsal spines pungent ; upper lip double for its entire length; lower jaw projecting beyond upper; lateral line not interrupted, passing gradually from its row of scales posteriorly to the one next below it; tubes of lateral line much branched; scales about head large, those on cheek in a single row, those on the median line in front of dorsal 3 or4in number. Species of rather.small size, most of them American. a. Upper jaw without canines; caudal lunate in adult, subtruncate or mesially rounded in the young; head without bright stripe. b. Caudal fin with obscure bars and spots, its general color pale orange; no distinct green or blue anywhere; body olivaceous, much clouded, and washed with cherry red; lower fins mostly red; pectorals light orange; axillary spot usually distinct .----....---- FLAVESCENS, 6, bb. Caudal fin without bars or spots, its outer rays green, its inner ones red ; some greenish-blue on head; axillary spot very distinct; body olivaceous, nearly plain, yellowish below ss2-.25 ssssiscees= emia: FRONDOSUM, 7. aa. Upper jaw with one or more canines above its cutting edge. ce. Caudal fin deeply lunate, the upper lobe about as long as head and twice or more length of inner rays. d. Canines 3 or 4 on each side; pores of lateral line excessively branched, each with several (6 to 8) much divided branches; color bright green- ish-blue (the side sometimes with a blue band) ; caudal lobes blue, the middle rays red; dorsal and anal red; pectorals yellowish, the axillary spot large, black, edged with red.. CHRYSOPTERUM, 8. dd. Canines 1 or 2 on each side; pores of lateral line each with few (4 or 5) nearly simple branches; color in life chiefly light blue, without sharp markings, this color becoming reddish in spirits ; caudal lobes dull greenish ; the middle rays reddish; other fins mostly scarlet ; axaillaryispob wellidelined ess ces 2c 2 ace een aatee sce LorirTo, 9. cc. Caudal fin lunate, the outer rays exserted, but not twice as long as the inner rays and much shorter than the head; canine single on each side (rarely obsolete or duplicated). e. Head with a scarlet stripe from below eye to angle of mouth ; a small scarlet streak behind eye ; color chiefly purplish-brown; a round spot of yellow and black behind head, just below lateral line; fins chiefly red; angles of caudal black ; axillary spot obscure. AUROFRENATUM, 10. “In species normally possessing a single canine on each side (aurofrenatum ; abild- gaardi) it is occasionally absent on one or both sides, and sometimes specimens are found with one more than the normal number on one or both sides. We find no evi- dence that the disappearance of the canines is a matter of age, although in all species the edges of the jaw are less uneven in the adult. 92 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. ee. Head unstriped; color dark reddish-brown, with whitish mottlings; belly and fins mostly cherry red; axillary spot obsolete. ABILDGAARDI, 11. coc, Caudal fin subtruncate, the angles rounded, the outer rays not longer than the median ones; canines 2 to 4 on each side, the anterior pair near the median suture of upper jaw (perhaps obsolete with age); size small. f. Canines usually 2 to 3 (on different sides) ; color, olive-green, much mottled, reddish below; edge of opercle, axillary region and a blotch on base of pectoral deep greenish-blue; upper fins olivaceous ; anal and caudal] without black; axil without black....-... CYANOLENE, 12. Sf. Canines usually 3 to4 (on different sides); color, olive-green above, mot- tled and speckled with red; snout with blue lines; axil and base of pectoral black ; fins mostly light orange and yellow, the anal and caudal in the adult largely black ....---....--.-- XYSTRODON, 13. 6. Sparisoma flavescens. Vieja Parra, Deser. Dif. Piezas Hist. Nat. 1787, 59, pl. 28, f. 4 (Cuba). Scarus flavescens Bloch & Schneider, Syst. Ichth., 1601, 290 (after Parra); Poey, Enumeratio, 1875, 113 (identification of Sc. squalidus with Parra’s figure. Callyodon flavescens Cuy. & Val., xiv, 289, 1839 (after Parra). Scarus rubripinnis Cuy. & Val., xiv, 199, 1839 (San Domingo); Giinther, iv, 211 (copied) ; Guichenot, Scaridés Mus. Paris, 13; (copied),? Cope, Trans. Am. Phil. Soc., 1871, 462 (St. Croix). ? Scarus virens Cuy. & Val. xiv, 203, 1639. (Porto Rico; Martinique). Scarus squalidus Poey, Memorias, ii, 218, 1560 (Cuba); Poey, Synopsis, 356; Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish., N. A., 1863, 938 (Garden Key); Giinther iv, 212, 1862 (copied). ? Scarus chloris Guichenot, Scaridés Mus. Paris, 1865, 14 (San Domingo, type of Scarus virens; not of Bloch & Schneider). ? Scarus truncatus Poey, Synopsis, 1868, 339; ? Poey, Enumeratio, 1875, 114. Head, 34 (44); depth, 22 (34) ; length of the specimen described (Key West), 4 inches; body oblong’; jaws pale in color ; no canine teeth ; up- per lipcovering most of upper Jaw; eye rather small, 47 in head; snout bluntish, 2? ; cheek with a single series of about five large scales; tubes of lateral line dividing into about five branches, covering most of the scale; four scales on median line before dorsal. Caudal fin slightly Junate, the upper lobe longer and narrower than the lower, 14 in head; the prolongation of the outer rays varies some- what and is greatest in adult examples; the concavity of the fin is evi- dent in specimens 3 inches long, but in the very young the fin is trun- cate, or even slightly convex. A few specimens of 6 to 8 inches are in the collection in which the caudal fin appears fairly truncate when spread open, the angles remaining acute. In most cases, however, the fin is slightly concave. The caudal fin has essentially the same formin Sparisoma frondosum, flavescens, abildgaardi and aurofrenatum. In the other species men- tioned in this paper it is materially different. Color of adult in life olivaceous, so mewhat clouded with light and dark, and usually flushed with pinkish especially below, the edges of the scales more yellow olive; scales of belly and lower parts light orange- PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 93 red towards their bases, giving a decidedly reddish cast ; dorsal mot- tled with different shades of olive; caudal creamy, mottled and barred with darker orange, the markings more distinct on the outer edge; ven- trals and anal rich cherry red, mottled or barred with brown; pectorals light orange-red, the color formed by narrow orange cross-streaks on a paler ground; a light band across lower jaw, which is otherwise brown ; teeth white; a dusky or black bloch at base of pectoral. Sometimes blackish spots on the scales at the base of soft dorsal. In spirits the red of body and fins and yellow on scales become pale. Young specimens have small, bright, rosy spots on sides of back ; two faint darker longitudinal shades along sides. This species is excessively common at Key West, swarming every- where about the island, in the eel-grass. It rarely exceeds a foot in length. At Havana it is apparently equally common, the numbers seen in the market exceeding that of all the other species combined. It is the least brightly colored of the species mentioned in this paper. Asa food fish this, like the others, is held in low esteem. The flesh, although not unpleasant in flavor, is soft and rather poor. In the Havana mar- ket it is usually called Vieja colorada, but the species of this group are seldom distinguished by fishermen. We follow Poey in identifying with this species the Vieja of Parra, which is made the type of Scarus flavescens of Schneider. Valenciennes has made of this “ Vieja,” a Calliodon, and Bleeker a Callyodontichthys. Parra’s figure seems not unlike this species, but we should not have ven- tured so to consider it except for the authority of Poey. There seems to be little doubt that this species is the original Scarus rubripinnis as well asthe Scarus squalidus of Poey. The Scarns virens C. & V., and Scarus truncatus of Poey either belong to this species orto some one very closely related to it, perhaps distinguished by a truncate caudal. If the name jflavescens is considered too uncertain for adoption, the much more appropriate Sparisoma rubripinne comes next in order of time. There is considerable variation in the amount of redness in this spe- cies, large ones being usually more rosy than the young. 7. Sparisoma frondosum. Scarus frondosus Cuy. & Val. xiv, 204, 1839 (Brazil); Guichenot, Scaridés, Mus. Paris, 1865, 15 (Bahia) (not of Giinther = Scarus distinctus Poey). Scarus brachialis (misprinted bragnials) Poey, Memorias, II, 345, 1861 (Cuba) ; Poey, Synopsis; 337, Poey, Enumeratio, 113. Head, 3} (4); depth, 2% (54+); length of example described (Havana), 74 inches. Body moderately deep. Jaws pale. No canine teeth. Upper lip covering most of upper jaw. Kye rather large, 45 in head; snout rather acute, 3; cheeks with a single row of about four large scales. Each pore of lateral line with 94 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. four to seven branches, which cover most of the scale. Four scales on median line before dorsal. Caudal fin moderately lunate, the middle part a little convex when the fin is spread open; the outer rays moderately produced; the upper lobe 12 in head. Color in spirits dark olive green above, somewhat mottled; paler below. A faint greenish streak running backward from angle of mouth. No distinct spots or stripes on body. Teeth pale. Dorsal dusky gray. Caudal pale, immaculate, the outer rays above and below green. Anal dusky gray, somewhat mottled. Ventrals and pectorals pale, slightly greenish; a distinct dark blotch at base of upper rays of pectoral; the axil pale. A single specimen of this species was obtained at Havana. Its life colors were not noticed. In spirits its colors are quite different from those of S. jflavescens, though in other respects the two bear much re- semblance. Our specimen agrees equally well with the descriptions of frondosus and brachialis. We conclude, therefore, that the two are identical. The frondosus of Giinther is evidently not the same, and Poey is prob- ably right in identifying it with his Scarus distinctus. 8. Sparisoma chrysopterum. Vieja Parra, Descr., Dif., Piezas Hist. Nat. 1787, 58, pl. 28, f.4. (Cuba.) Scarus chrysopterus Bloch & Schneider. Syst. Ichth., 1801, 286, pl. 57 (American seas); Cuv. & Val., xiv, 185, 1839 (St. Thomas); Giinther, 1862, 12, (Martinique; Jamaica), Guichenot, Scaridés Mus. Paris, 12, 1865 (San Domingo; Guadeloupe) ; Cope, Trans. Am. Philos, Soc., 1871, 462 (St. Croix; St. Kitts). Scarus chloris Bloch & Schneider. Syst. Ichth., 1801, 289 (after Parra); Goode, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., v. 1876, 34, (synonymy). Scarus lateralis Poey, Memorias II, 219, 1860 (Cuba); Poey, Repertorio, I, 373, 375; II, 162; Poey, synopsis, 337; Poey, Enumeratio, 112. Head, 34 (44); depth, 23 (3); length of the example described (Ha- vana), 13 inches. Body oblong. Jaws pale. <A strong canine directed outward and backward toward angle of mouth in upper jaw; besides this about three smaller canines toward the front of the jaw; most of these turned forward. Upper lip covering about half of upper jaw. Eye 53 in head; snout not obtuse, 23; cheek with a single row of three or four large scales. Each pore of lateral line ramose, many times forked and covering most of the scale ; the pores more branched than in any other of our species. Four scales on median line before dorsal. Caudal deeply lunate. The outer rays much produced. The upper lobe longest, twice as long as inner rays, as long as head. Color in life bright blue, almost everywhere tinged with green. Dorsal and anal and middle of caudal brick red; edge of caudal blue. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. ae Ventrals bluish green. Pectoral greenish yellow; its base red around a large black spot. In spirits the blue is more or less faded, leaving the fish chiefly green, darker on head. The red and yellow of fins become pale grayish. According to Poey there is usually a dark blue horizontal stripe along sides behind pectoral fin. A single rather large specimen was obtained in the Havana market. There has been no disagreement among recent writers as to the sy- nonymy of this species. Goode, in adopting for it the name chloris, has overlooked the slight priority of chrysopterum, and Poey has preferred to set both aside on account of imperfections in the description and of the error involved in the name of chrysopterum, none of the fins being really golden. The identification of Parra’s figure has been rendered certain by a colored drawing of the original type of Parra, sent by Graélls to Poey, and by him presented to the present writer. The original figure of this species, published by Bloch & Schneider, 1s atrocious as to form, but not uncharacteristic as to color or dentition. It may have been made from a dried and distorted skin. 9. Sparisoma lorito, sp. nov. Head, 31 (4); depth, 2% (84); length of typical example (Havana), 10 inches. Body oblong, moderately deep. Jaws pale; one or two small canines on each side, directed outward and backward, in front of the angle of the mouth, one on one side, two on the other, in the typical specimen ; npper lip covering more than half of upper jaw. Eye rather large, 42 in head; snout rather acute, 2%; cheeks with a single row of large scales. Pores of lateral line less branched than usual in this genus, not covering nearly the whole surface of the scale; those on the caudal peduncle most branched ; those of the anterior re- gion mostly once or twice forked. Four scales on median line before dorsal. Caudal fin deeply lunate, the outer rays much produced, the upper lobe slightly the longer, nearly twice as long as inner rays and nearly as long as head. Color in life pearly blue, the color mixed with greenish and gray; teeth pale; dorsal reddish, tinged with gray; lobes of caudal green- ish-gray, washed with brown; center of fin reddish; posterior margin grayish; anal rather dull scarlet mixed with gray; ventrals pinkish; pectorals light yellowish-olive, a large black blotch at base above; color in spirits brownish-olive in dorsal region, grayish-olive mixed with crimson on sides, and light-green below; head greenish, purplish on cheeks, light-green below; lips green; dorsal and anal orange; the rays grayish-dusky; caudal pale orange, the outer rays greenish; the 96 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. posterior margin of fin dusky; ventrals flesh-color, tinged with pinkish ; pectorals orange-olive, the base of upper rays with a dark spot, its axil pale. A single adult specimen taken at Havana. This species is related to S. chrysopterum, differing in the presence of but a single canine, in the less branched pores of the lateral line, and in the coloration. We are not able to identify it with any of Poey’s species. The name Lorito is a diminutive of Loro, parrott, the name generally given to the blue Scari by the Cuban fishermen. 10. Sparisoma aurofrenatum. Scarus aurofrenatus, Cuv. & Val., xiv, 1839, 191 (San Domingo); Giinther, iv, 212 (Cuba, Jamaica, Trinidad); Guichenot, Scaridés Mus. Paris, 1865, 13 (San Domingo); Cope, Trans. Am. Philos. Soc., 1871, 46 (St. Croix; St. Martins). Scarus miniofrenatus Poey, Memorias, II, 279, 393, 1860 (Cuba); Poey, Re- pertorio, I, 1867, 374; II, 164, 1868; Poey, Synopsis, 337; Poey, Enu- meratio, 1875, 111. Head, 34 (4); depth, 23 (34); length of example described (Havana), 84 inches. Body elliptical-oblong. Jaws pale in color; teeth less distinct than usual in this type, the edge of the upper jaw nearly entire, the edge of the lower jaw more un- even. A small canine in front of the angle of the mouth on each side (this obsolete on both sides of one of the three specimens examined). A small canine near suture of upper jaw on both sides usually present; upper lip covering more than half of upper jaw. Kye rather large, 4% in head; snout not blunt, 13 in head ; cheeks with a single row of 4 or 5 large scales; four scales on median line before dorsal; pores of lateral line much branched, covering most of the scales. Caudal fin moderately lunate, the upper lobe the longer, 12 in head, 14 times length of middle rays. Color in life purplish brown, becoming reddish on sides, and finally livid greenish below; head purplish-violet about eyes; side of head with a stripe of vivid scarlet running from corner of mouth just below and slightly past eye, a second short streak of the same color above the first behind eye; a golden-orange spot rather smaller than eye on and be- low the fifth scale of the lateral line, its upper portion black; dorsal orange, slaty at base, posteriorly ; caudal, scarlet at base, then blood red, yellowish in the center, whitish behind, the projecting tips of both lobes black, the whole fin faintly mottled and barred with dusky ; anal crimson, its edge light blue; ventrals livid purplish; pectorals light yellowish, bluish in axil, dusky at base in front. In spirits the orange and red colors fade to light yellowish. A more or less distinct dark stripe on each row of scales below the lateral line, paler on lower rows ; pale greenish about eyes; dusky on snout above; edge of scales on body above, and on sides more or less dusky. | PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. VE Wolk. VEE, No. 7. Washington, b. Cc. July 7, ISS4. This species is rather common at Havana, where three specimens were obtained. In colorit is one of the most strongly marked and handsomest species. The name aurofrenatum is rather unfortunate, as the stripe on the head is bright vermilion in life. This, however, does not justify us in the substitution for awrofrenatum of the name miniofrenatus of Poey. 11. Sparisoma abildgaardi. Vieja Parra, Descr. Dif. Piezas Hist. Nat., 1787, 58, pl. 28, f. 2 (Cuba). Sparus abildgaardi Bloch, Ichthyol., taf. 259, about 1790 (‘‘ America,” from a specimen sent by Professor Abildgaard); Lacépéde, Hist. Nat. Poiss., iv, 55, 163, 1802 (copied). Scarus abildgaardi Cuy. & Val., xiv, 175, 1839 (St. Thomas; Bahia); Giinther, iv, 209 (Puerto Cabello); Guichenot, Scaridés, Mus. Paris, 10 (Bahia ; San Domingo); Poey, Repertorio I, 371, 1867, II, 160; Poey, Synopsis, 337; Poey, Enumeratio, 111; Cope, Trans. Am. Philos. Soe., 1871, 461 (St. Croix; St. Martins). Sparisoma abildgaardi Swainson, Nat. Hist. Class’n, Fishes, &c., II, 1839, 227. Scarus coccineus Bloch & Schneider, Syst. Iehthyol., 1801, 289 (after Parra); Cuvier, Régne Animal, 1829, ed. II. % Sparus aureoruber Lacépede, Hist. Nat. Poiss., iv, 55, 163, 1803 (on a drawing by Plumier). Scarus amplus Ranzani, ‘‘ Nov. Comm. Acad. Scient. Inst. Bonon., t. 5, p. 324, pl. xxv, 1842 ” ( fide Guichenot). Scarus erythrinoides Guichenot, Scaridés, Mus. Paris, 10, 1865 (San Domingo). Scarus oxybrachius Poey, Synopsis, 1868, 342 (Cuba); Poey, Enumeratio, 115, lam. 14, f. 2. Head, 31 (3g); depth, 2% (34); length of example described (Havana), 8 inches. Body rather deep. Jaws pale; a small, bluntish canine on each side of upper jaw in front of angle of mouth; upper lip covering most of upper jaw. Kye rather large, 43 in head; snout rather acute, 22; cheeks with a single row of large scales; each pore of lateral line with 5 to 8 branches covering most of the scale; four scales on median line before dorsal. Caudal fin slightly lunate; the middle a little convex when spread open; the outer rays slightly produced ; the upper rays 14 in head in the largest Specimens examined. Color in spirits almost plain dark brown, somewhat mottled with paler; a few dark dots on opercle, the edge of the opercle being more or less blackish; pale gray below, from tip ot lower jaw to caudal; teeth pale, tinged with reddish ; all the fins pale, the dorsal narrowly edged with dusky, the fin somewhat mottled with darker ; axil of pectoral pale, the base dusky above. In life the dorsal, caudal, lower fins, and belly are bright cherry-red ; rest of body brown, tinged with red; pale dots and mottlings on sides of head and on body. Proc. Nat. Mus. 834-——7 98 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Several specimens of this species were obtained at Havana, where it is not uncommon. We suppose this to be the original Sparus abildgaardi of Bloch, al- though none of the earlier descriptions are good or even accurate. The Scarus coccineus of Bloch & Schneider seems to belong certainly here. The description given by Guichenot of his Scarus erythrinoides fits our specimens well; better than his account of Scarus abildgaardi. We do not see that Poey’s Scarus oxybrachius éan be different. The sharpness of the pectoral is probably merely accidental. The pectoral is a little longer in proportion to the head in this species than in most others, but this difference seems to be due to the fact that the head is rather shorter. The description of Scarus amplus we have not seen. 12. Sparisoma cyanolene, sp. noy. Head, 3 (33); depth, 2? (32); length of specimen described (Key West), 54 inches. Body oblong. Jaws pale; a single stout canine directed outward and usually slightly backward on each side of upper jaw, in front of angle of mouth; a second canine often present in front of this; a small canine directed downward on each side in front of upper jaw above the cut- ting edge and close to the median suture; upper lip covering most of upper jaw. ; Kye moderate, 45 in head; snout rather obtuse, 3; cheek with one row of large scales; pores of lateral line each with 4 to 6 branches, which cover nearly the whole of the scale; four scales on median line before dorsal. Caudal slightly convex when spread open, the outer rays scarcely as long as the median ones, 14 in head. Lower pharyngeal nearly twice as broad as long; its upper surface almost flat, less concave than in related species. Color in life on upper half of body olive-green, the color very much mottled and specked, marbled with whitish and streaked with green ; lower parts fleshy-red, equally and similarly mottled; top and front of head most extensively mottled ; sides of head similarly mottled ; lower jaw usually more or less brown, with two whitish bands, the anterior continuous, the posterior of four separate whitish blotches; edge of opercle bright greenish-blue; axil extensively deep blue, with some reddish spots; a deep blue blotch on base of pectoral; dorsal colored like the back; caudal greenish at base, with a pale yellowish band and some small whitish dots; its edge blackish, the fin elsewhere translu- cent; anal dull gray with orange, mottled with brown; ventrals pale flesh color. The yellow and orange of fins and red of belly become grayish in spirits. The blue of the axil becomes dark green in spirits, but does not disappear. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 99 This little fish is very abundant about Key West, where many speci- mens were taken with the seine in the kelp. None of these were more than 6 inches in length, and as they were sexually mature at that size it is not likely that they grow much larger. The species does not appear to have been previously described. The prevalence of blue around the base of the pectoral is a striking color mark and has suggested the specific name. This blue does not disap- pear in alcohol. This species was not obtained at Havana. 13. Sparisoma xystrodon, sp. nov. Head, 3(32); depth, 32; length of an example from Key West, 43 inches. Body oblong. Jaws pale; upper jaw with three or four exserted canines on each side above the cutting edge, the largest in front of the angle of the mouth, curved outward and somewhat backward; the others farther forward, one of them being near the median suture ; upper lip covering most of upper jaw. Eye moderate, 44 in head; snout bluntish, 24; cheek with one | row of 4 or 5 scales; pores of lateral line, each with 3 to 6 branches, covering most of the scale; four scales before dorsal. Caudal fin slightly convex when spread open; its outer rays scarcely as long as middle ones, 14 in head. Color in life bright olive-green above, paler below; the upper parts very much mottled, speckled with white and marbled with coppery-red on various scales. Head similarly green, dotted with whitish above, a narrow ring of bright blue above eye, interrupted above; a blue stripe from it straight to angle of mouth; blue and coppery markings on opercle; lower parts of head light yellow; a blue band around lower jaw; axil and a spot at base of pectoral in front above deep blue-black ; dor- sal orange flesh-color, its tip paler; caudal yellow at base, paler be- yond, its posterior portion more or less jet black; the fin with a few whitish dots toward the base; anal light bluish and reddish, its tip dusky; ventrals pale; pectorals light yellowish; lining of opercle black- ish. Other specimens having the same markings were pearly-bluish rather than green above, livid below; the blue on head paler, the red of a light yellowish-carmine. Some highly-colored specimens are greener, with belly bright yellow, brightest at throat; anal and caudal chiefly jet black. In spirits this species is dark olive-green above, paler below; caudal and anal very broadly margined with black. Black bar across base of pectoral very distinct. The amount of black on caudal and anal seems to depend on age, the very young showing scarcely any. This species is found in the eel-grass and Fucus about Key West, in 190 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. cumpany with S. cyanolene, and it is equally abundant with the latter. It reaches a still smaller size, none of the many specimens obtained ex- ceeding 5 inches in length. These are sexually mature. This species is closely allied to several (radians, lacrimosum, atomarium, hoplomystax) found in the West Indies, but we think it distinct from all of these. One or two specimens thought to belong to this species were seen in the market at Havana. C. Genus CRYPTOTMUS. CALLIODON Cuvier, Régne Animal, 1829, ed. II. (spinideus) (not of Gronow, nor of Bloch & Schneider.) CALLYODON Cuvier & Valenciennes, Giinther, Guichenot, Poey, Stiendachner, Jordan & Gilbert. CryproTomMus Cope, Trans. Am. Phil. Soc., 1871, 462, (roseus). This genus is closely related to Sparisoma, differing from it in having the anterior teeth nearly separate at all ages and in having the dorsal spines flexible as in Scarus. The dentition approaches that of a very young Sparisoma., The genus Calliodon of Gronow and of Bloch & Schneider was based on a species which apparently belongs to the genus Scarus. The name was transferred by Cuvier from the type of S. croicensis to the present group. This transfer is inadmissible in our view, and the name Cal- liodon should not be used for the genus. The name Cryptotomus was proposed by Cope for a fish having the “dentition of Callyodon, but with the numerous dorsal and anal spines of the group of Harpe.” The fin raysare givenD. XI,8; A LI, 8. The numbers in all known species of Scarine are D. 1X, 10; A. LI, 9 (8). We do not believe in the existence of the genus Oryptotomus as thus defined. It seems to us almost certain, either that Professor Cope has mistaken two of the soft rays of the dorsal and one of the anal for spines, or else that these rays are in the sole specimen known, abnormally ossified. The difference between spines and soft rays in this group is very slight. We therefore regard Cryptotomus as a synonym of Callyodon Cuvier, and the latter name being ineligible, we adopt Cryptotomus as the name of the genus. ANALYSIS OF SPECIES OF CRYPTOTOMUS. COMMON CHARACTERS.— Lower pharyngeal and upper pharyngeais, isthmus, and lateral line precisely as in Sparisoma; lateral teeth of upper jaw coalescent into a more or less continuous cutting edge; the teeth more separate posteriorly ; free posterior canines often present; anterior teeth separate or coalescent at base only; lower jaw with a single series of partly coalescent teeth laterally, and two or more series of nearly separate teeth anteriorly ; median suture of jaws not evident; dorsal spines flexible ; jaws subequal; scales about head large, a single row on cheeks, four or five on me- dian line before dorsal. Species of small size. a. Posterior Canines, none; upper lip double for its entire course, the inner fold be- coming mesially very narrow ; caudal subtruncate; body slender; color oli- vaceous, much mottled, sides with faint whitish stripes; head with some greenish spots; fins pale, mottled with olive... ........---. BERYLLINUS, 14. ae PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 101 14. Cryptotomus beryllinus, sp. noy. Head, 31 (3%); depth, 34 (41); length of an example from Key West, 5} inches. Body more elongate than in related species ; compressed. Jaws pale, the median suture not evident; central portion of each tooth with a reddish-brown spot. Upper jaw laterally with a continuous eut- ting edge of coalesced teeth; this edge is eyen along the middle of the jaw and somewhat serrate posteriorly; anteriorly the cutting edge gives place to about two series of lanceolate, rather obtuse, compressed teeth, which coalesce at base only ; no posterior canines in any of the many specimens examined. Lower jaw laterally with a single series of com- pressed teeth, coalescent for a short distance and close set. In front are two or three series similar to those in the upper jaw. The chief difference between the teeth of this species and those of Sparisoma is in the separation of the anterior teeth of both jaws and in the distinctness of the lateral teeth of the lower jaw. Jaws subequal, the lower very slightly included. Upper lip double for almost its entire length, its inner fold narrow mesially; the lip cov- ering most of upper jaw. Isthmus moderate, the gill-membranes not forining a fold across it. Hye moderate, 44 in head; snout rather acute, 2? ; cheek with a single row of about 5 scales; four or five scales on the median line before dorsal. Lateral line subcontinuous, its tubes each with four branches, which cover most of the scale. Dorsal spines very slender, not pungent; caudal fin sightly rounded, its outer rays 14 in head. Lower pharyngeal formed exactly as in Sparisoma; not quite twice as broad as long, the surface slightly concave. Color in life, olive-green, or olive-gray, mottled above with darker and whitish with small blotches ; some whitish blotches above lateral line; some along lateral line; a row of five or six, smaller than pupil, in a straight line below lateral line; five or six faint greenish blotch-like areas along sides; two or three narrow, parallel whitish stripes more or less distinct along lower parts of sides bordered with brownish, the upper running from below eye straight to middle of caudal, the lower passing just below pectoral; some whitish bands radiating from eye; usually some dark green spots before and behind eye; top of head vermiculate and dotted with black; a brown band across chin; dorsal pale, mottled with olive; a dusky blotch on front of dorsal; caudal greenish, edged with brown, its outer rays barred with brown and light olive, speckled and barred with brown; ventrals pale, faintly barred with brown; pectorals pale; vertical fins in adult edged with light brownish-red. The whitish lines of sides become fainter with age. In spirits the brown coloration gives place to grayish or greenish, each scale often with a greenish blotch. 102 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. This species is common about Key West on muddy bottoms. Numer- ous specimens of various ages were obtained, the largest about 6 inches in length. A single rather large specimen was secured in the market at Havana. This species differs from C. ustus, and from the descriptions of C. den- tiens, &c., in the entire absence of posterior canines in both young and old examples. C. roseus, which has no posterior canines, is very dif- ferently colored. INDIANA UNIVERSITY, April 8, 1884. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF SPHZRIUM. By TEMPLE PRIME. Sphzrium costaricense Prime. Shell elongated, somewhat compressed, inequilateral; margins rounded, sulcations regular, deep; epidermis dark brown; cardinal teeth small; lateral ones strong. Longitude, 12.0; latitude, 9.0; diameter, 6.0 millimeters. Habitat.—Central America in Yuriria Lake, West Costa Rica; col- lected by the late Prof. W. M. Gabb, and presented to the United States National Museum by W. H. Dall. Number for the specimens on the Museum register, 37251. This species is allied to S. simile and S. striatinum. As far as I am aware this is the only instance known of the oceur- rence in Central America of the genus Spharium, properly so called. Asarule this genus is replaced south of Mexico by the genus Lim- osina, a section of the original genus Spherium. New localities for American Corbiculide. , Spherium striatinum Lam. San Joaquin River, California, near Stock- ton. H. Hemphill. Pisidium virginicum Bourguignat. Yukon River, Alaska, near the Rus- sian mission. W. H. Dall. Pisidium abditum Haldeman. Pools on the north part of Unga Island, Shumagin group, Alaska, between Popoff Strait and Coal Harbor. W. H. Dall. Pisidium equilaterale Prime. Bering Island, Commander group, Ber- ing Sea, in a pond near the Ladyginsk village. Dr. Leonhard Stejne- ger. Kotzebue Sound, in the clay covering the ice-cliffs of Elephant Point, Eschscholtz Bay ; fossilized. W. H. Dall. Dr. Carl Agardh Westerlund, of Rénneby, Sweden, who is working up the land and fresh water shells of the Vega expedition, has described the following species of Pisidium in the Nachrichtsblatt der Deutschen PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 103 Malakozoologischen Gesellschaft, 8° Frankfurt am Main, M. Diesterweg, 1883; vol. xv., pp. 58, 59. Pisidium arcticum West. p. 58. Pisidium nivale West. p. 59. Pisidium glaciale West. p. 59. All collected by the Vega expedition at Port Clarence, Alaska, near Bering Strait. LIST OF FISHES COLLECTED AT KEY WEST, FLORIDA, WITH NOTES AND DESCRIPTIONS. By DAVID 8S. JORDAN. Three weeks of the month of December, 1884, were spent by the writer on the island of Key West, in making collections of the fishes in the interest of the United States Fish Commission and of the Indiana Uni- versity. The following is a catalogue of the species obtained, with color notes and other descriptive items. One hundred and seventy-one species in all were obtained. None others are included in the list, and the vernac- ularnames here given are those only which are in use among the English- speaking fishermen of Key West. These fishermen are mostly from the Bahamas, where essentially the same nomenclature of the different spe- cies has long prevailed. Spanish names are also heard at Key West, but as these have been very exactly given by Professor Poey, I have not thought it best to introduce them here. The general character of the fisheries of Key West has been elsewhere discussed by me (Bull. U.S. Fish Comm., 1884). All the fishing is done with the hook and line. Most of itis for bottom fish (groupers, snappers, grunts, porgies, &c.,) in the channels between the Keys, at moderatedepths. In the season the larger scombroid fishes (notably the king-fish) are caught by trolling. The bottom fishes are brought to the market alive in the wells of the smacks, and killed to suit purchasers. Of these, the grunt, Hemulon plumieri, far exceeds in numbers all others. In collecting, I made all possible use of the aid of the fishermen. About half the species obtained, and all those new to science, were taken with a large “ Baird seine,” of fine mesh, which was worked by the writer and his volunteer assistant, Mr. William H. Dye, of Indianapolis, Indiana. Every portion of the shore of the island suitable for seining was thoroughly examined. Atno other point on the coast of the United States has the writer found small fishes so numerous and varied. The character of the fauna is in general similar to that of Cuba, but there are numerous differences. Several northern fishes occur at Key West, which do not cross the channel, and many of the most abundant of the Havana market fishes are still not known from Key West. There 104 PROCEEDINGS OF-UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. is a considerable difference in the temperature of the water at the two localities, and temperature is the chief factor governing the north and south extension of marine fishes. Most fishes as seen at Havana are more dusky in color than those of the same species at Key West the pale color of the bottoms (of coral sand) of the latter locality may account for this. Of the fishes inhabiting any considerable depth about Key West, ab- solutely nothing is known. All the species here named are shore fishes or else free-swimming oceanic species. The numbers given after the names of the different species are those attached to specimens from this collection inthe United States National Museum. CARCHARIIDZ. 1. Carcharias punctatus (Mitchill). Shovel-nosed shark. (Squalus (Carcharias) terre-nove, Richardson. ) Very common. Not eaten: 2. Carcharias lamia. Risso. Cub shark. (Eulamia longimana, Poey.) Very common about the wharves and keys. One 74 feet in length, taken with a hook from the wharf, showed the following characters : Head, 54 in total length; snout from mouth, 24 times in width of mouth ; tail, 4 in total length; base of first dorsal, 9; insertion of first dorsal close behind base of pectoral ; second dorsal in front of anal, and about equal to it in size, much smaller than first dorsal; base of first dorsal 13 in interspace between dorsals ; base of second dorsal, 43; pectoral fin, 5 in total.length; its greatest width 1% in its length; its base, 23. From a female specimen of similar size 5 or 6 nearly mature foetal examples were taken. Two of these are preserved; one is numbered 35053. This species is the Hulamia longimana of Poey, which most late au- thors have identified with C. lamia of the Mediterranean. Comparing the foetal examples above mentioned with a partly-grown specimen from Venice, we are unable to detect any difference at all likely to prove constant. 3. Carcharias brevirostris Poey. Rather common about the wharves with the preceding, feeding on the refuse fish thrown away by the fishermen. A female 63 feet long was taken with a hook. This specimen agreed fairly with the description published by Jordan & Gilbert (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1882, 245), the only differences being evidently due to age. Color pale olive; no black on the fins. First dorsal of moderate size, inserted well behind the pectoral ; pectoral rather long; very wide; its free margin concave, its top reaching to middle of first dorsal; base of first dorsal 24 in interspace between dorsals; base of second dorsal 24; second dorsal unusually large, nearly opposite the anal, and about PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 105 half larger; caudal fin moderate ; the upper teeth are distinctly serrate on both sides of the base. SPHYRNIDZ. 4. Sphyrna tiburo L. Sonnet-head Shark. Common. PRISTIDZ. 5. Pristis pectinatus Latham. Saw-fish. tather common, the saws often brought in by the fishermen. TORPEDINIDA. 6. Narcine umbrosa, sp. nov. Two young male specimens, 10 to 11 inches in length, taken. The color is exactly alike in both, and is materially different from that given in any of the descriptions of Narcine brasiliensis or of the related variety or species Narcine corallina Garman (=? Torpedo bancrofti Griftith). Light brown; tip of snout blackish; a large black triangular area before each eye, covering most of the front of the disk; space between eyes pale; space between spiracles mostly pale; a round black blotch on median line behind this; a round blotch behind and outward from each spira- cle ; another near this on the edge of the disk; another behind this on the edge of the disk; a large transversely oblong blotch in line with this on each side of the median line; posterior part of disk with a dark blotch near the edge; a large black blotch between angle of pectorals and ventrals; ventrals each with two dusky blotches, the posterior one on the claspers ; a dusky blotch on the back of the tail between them ; each dorsal in a distinet black cross blotch, which extends up on the fins; a dark blotch on the tip of each dorsal and three on the caudal ; in all about 30 distinct dusky spots and blotches above, all of them larger than the eye. There are also some rows of dark dots, apparently the nouths of pores, along each side of the tail above, near its base, and along the sides of the disk. General form of the body more like that of N. timlei than that of N. brasiliensis; the disk very nearly circular, very slightly broader than long ; the snout broadly rounded, and not at all exserted ; the greatest width of the disk at its middie or opposite the third gill-opening ; pec- torals extending: backward to base of ventrals, but scarcely covering them ; spiracles smaller than the eyes, and close to them, their poste- rior edges roughened. Length of snout from eye, 44 in length of disk, and double the interorbital width. Nasal valve with a rather distinct rounded median lobe and obscure lateral lobes; edge of valve a little denticulated. Width of mouth about 1% in preoral portion of snout. Teeth sharp. Tail about 12 length of disk. Second dorsal a little lngher and a little longer than first, the posterior margins of both sub- truncate ; that of the caudal lunate. - 106 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. This fish may prove to be simply a variety of N. brasiliensis (Olfers), but in any event, the differences which it shows in color and form ap- pear to justify a distinct name. Itis apparently not common at Key West, but two specimens being obtained, these being not well known to the fishermen. TRYGONIDZ. 7. Trygon sayi (Le Sueur). Stingaree. Not very common; one specimen seen. SILURIDZ. 8. Galeichthys felis (Linneus). Catfish. Very common about the wharves, where it is taken with the hook. It is seldom eaten. It seems impossible to retain Arius as a genus distinct from Galeich- thys. In several species of Arius (brandti; dasycephalus) the covering of the shields of the head by skin is a sexual character. The name Gal- eichthys is entitled to a few pages priority over Arius. 9. #lurichthys marinus (Mitchill). Rare; but one specimen obtained; considered a curiosity by the fish- ermen. ENGRAULIDIDZ. 10. Stolephorus browni (Gmelin). Sardine. Exceedingly common in great schools in sheltered bays and in the surf; largely used for bait. (Number 35000.) 11. Stolephorus perfasciatus (Poey). (Not Stolephorus perfasciatus Jor. & Gilb.). A few specimens obtained. 12. Stolephorus miarchus Jordan & Gilbert. A few specimens ; not distinguishable from the original types of this species from Mazatlan. CLUPEIDZ. 13. Dussumieria stolifera Jordan & Gilbert. Very common in schools in the surf in company with Siete aL abo browni. 14. Clupea sardina Poey. Not rare in schools in the surf. I doubt the identity of this species with either Clupea macrophthalma or Clupea humeratlis. Color in life, light green above; a lustrous band along sides ; " silvery below, with bright reflections, Ahibs often shaded with orange oF dot- ted with black; no black humeral spot, but a yellowish blotch in the scapular region; fins all pale; dorsal and anal yellowish, tipped with PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 107 dusky; lower jaw yellowish, dotted with black. Cuban specimens show more orange tinge, orange streaks being distinct along the rows of scales. Body comparatively deep and compressed; lower jaw projecting; teeth in broad patches on jaws, vomer, palatines, and tongue; maxil- lary nearly reaching middle of eye; its length, 22 in head; eye very large, considerably longer than snout, 23 in head; cheeks and opercles striate; gill-rakers rather few and not loug; scales large, firm, but not adherent as in other species of this group (Harengula), readily decidu- ous; each scale crossed by several conspicuous radiating ridges; in- sertion of dorsal little before that of ventrals, at a point considerably nearer snout than base of caudal; dorsal a little higher than long, its free edge concave ; anal low; pectorals nearly reaching ventrals, 14 in head. Head 34 in length to base of caudal; depth, 34; D. 1,15; A.18; Lat. ]). 36. Ventral scutes about 154 10. Length of specimen described about Sinches. Specimens in National Museum are numbered 34993. 15. Clupea pensacole (Goode & Bean). Pilchard. Exceedingly common, in large schools. Our specimens agree fully with others from Cedar Key and Pensacola. The species much re- sembles the Cuban one for which Poey has adopted thename Cl. clupeola. The latter is, however, constantly more elongate, and differs in some other respects. Key West specimens, in life, were light green above; a lustrous yellow streak along sides; no humeral spot; fins all pale; the caudal lobes dusky at tip; upper part of eye dark; scales of back dark-edged. ALBULIDZ. 16. Albula vulpes (Linnzus). Bone-fish. Not rare. The ‘“ bone-fish,” elsewhere in the United States, held in low esteem as a food-fish, is highly valued at Key West. ELOPIDZ. 17. Blops saurus Linnenus. Tenpounder. Not rare. A food fish of moderate value. 18. Megalops atlanticus (Cuv. & Val.). Tarpum. Occasionally taken. SYNODONTIDZ. 19. Synodus fcetens Linneus. One large specimen taken. 20. Synodus spixianus Pocy. Sand-jish. Common ; taken with the seine in sandy or muddy bottom. None of: the specimens seen are more than 9 inches long. | 108 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Sandy gray in life, light or dark, the upper parts much mottled with darker olive ; branchiostegals pale yellowish; top of head without ver- miculations ; dorsal scarcely barred; caudal dusky; other fins pale, with little or no yellow; lower parts of head mottled with dusky; no seapular spot; tip of snout not black. This species is very close to S. fatens, and may possibly be found to intergrade with it. In our specimens the teeth are rather stronger than in N. fetens, the jaws a little longer, the upper 14 in head ; dorsal shorter and higher than in S. fetens, the anterior rays when depressed extend- ing beyond the tips of the last rays, 1}in head. Scales asin S. fetens ; pectorals 2 in head; ventrals14. D.1,9; A.11 or12; Lat. 1. 60. Specimens from Cuba agree with these from Key West. One of the Key West specimens is numbered 35098. 21. Synodus cubanus Poey. Millers Thumb. (Saurus intermedius Giinther, v, 396, not of Agassiz and Spix; Synodus inter- medius, Jor. & Gilb, Proc. U. 8S. Nat. Mus., 1882, 249, and Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 889; Synodus cwbanus, Poey, Enum. Pisce, Cubens., 1875, 143.) Common about rocks, reaching a considerable size (18inches). Often taken with the hook but not used as food. Our specimens appear to belong to the same species as those from Pensacola, formerly called by us Synodus intermedius. They seem also to be identical with Poey’s S. cubanus, although differing in some slight respects. The fish called by Poey Synodus intermedius (Knum. Pisce. Cubens., 1875, 143) of which we have numerous specimens from Havana, is still another species, having the mouth smaller than in S. cubanus, the scales larger (lat. 1. 45), and the scapular region without distinct black spot. This species is ap- parently the original S. intermedius of Spix and Agassiz, not yet known from our coasts. The life colors of large specimens of Synodus cubanus are as follows : Back olive-gray, with blotches of dark olive-brown; these irregular in form and size and mingled with smaller ones; eight or nine on back, nine on sides; those on the sides not quite below the dorsal blotches, but more or less in advance of them, especially anteriorly; a dark blotch at base of caudal; an inky blotch on scapula, hidden by the opercle ; top and sides of head mottled like the body; no yellow below head ; jaws orange within; breast with a brown line along each series of scales; two rows of scales on lower part of sides, with an orange spot on each scale, forming continuous stripes; belly white; dorsal with olive bars formed of coalescent spots and with whitish spots; caudal yellowish, with olive-brown bars; pectorals similar; ventrals yellowish, the rays bluish white; anal yellow, whitish at base. A specimen from Key West is numbered 35045. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 109 CYPRINODONTIDZ. 22. Lucania parva (Baird & Girard). ain-water fish. (? Cyprinodon parvus Baird & Girard, Ninth Smithsonian Report, 1845, 345; Lucania parva, Jor. & Gilb., Syn. Fish. N. A. 893.) Very common in shallow waters and tide pools close to the shore, especially where fresh waters soak in to the sea. Length, 14 to 2 inches. Color in life: Males, olive, with bluish reflections; edges of the scales darker ; dorsal dusky orange, with a large black spot at the base in front, ocellated with orange ; caudal orange-yellow, tipped with black ; ventrals and anal orange-red, tipped with dusky; pectorals translucent. Females larger, the fins pale olive, without black spot or edgings. Our specimens have the body deeper than in L. venusta, the depth being about 34 in length. In other respects they agree closely with the latter. They are apparently identical with specimens from Eastern Florida referred by Dr. Bean to Lucania parva, a species described originally from Long Island, and known to me only from Dr. Bean’s notes. Head, 34 in length; D. 1,10; A. 10; scales 26—8. 23. Fundulus similis Baird & Girard. Sac-a-lai. Very abundant in lagoons and tide-pools, reaching an unusually large size. 24. Fundulus heteroclitus Linneus. Mud-fish. Fundulus grandis Baird & Girard. With the preceding ; less abundant than farther north. 25. Cyprinodon riverendi Poey. Trifarcius riverendi Poey, Memorias Cuba, ii, 306, 1860. Rather common in shallow waters near the shore ; reaches a length of 2s inches. This species is very close to Cyprinodon gibbosus B. & G. (the Gulf representative of C. variegatus), but with larger scales, smaller head, and the anal edged with black. The nominal genus, Trifarcius, based on the presence of six branchiostegals, is identical with Cyprino- don ; the same number being found in Cyprinodon variegatus, contrary to the statement of Valenciennes. Male in life with the antedorsal region lustrous steel blue, as in C. gibbosus ; the rest of the body olivaceous, obscurely clouded, but with- out dark cross-bars. <A black bar at base of dorsal; a dark shade be. low eye; anal and caudal edged with black; ventrals and anal red; dorsal dusky, edged with orange; pectoral plain, tipped with orange and blackish. Female more silvery; the back olivaceous and speckled; the sides with about 13 blackish bars, which do not reach the back; these alter- nately broad and narrow; no yellowish shades; a dusky bar through 110 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. eye; lower fins whitish; upper pale; dorsal fin with a black ocellus; a dark band across base of caudal. : Head 34 in length; depth, 2. D,10; A,9. Scales 24—12. 26. Cyprinodon mydrus Goode & Bean. Pussy gut. (? Cyprinodon carpio Giinther, vi, 306.) Exceedingly abundant in lagoons and shallow shores. <A strongly- marked species, larger than most others of the genus, reaching a length of 3 inches. Body comparativey elongate, rather strongly compressed ; head large . profile not very steep; fins rather low, the dorsal and anal not nearly reaching caudal; humeral scale not largeg than the others. Eye in adult 34 in head. Scales very thick and firm, those on lower parts of body less reduced in size than usual. Pectorals reaching middle of ventrals, which reach vent. Head,3; depth,22. D.11; A.9. Scales 24—9. Male in life, light olive; sides silvery, with six narrow faint bars of coppery ; sides with a number of spots of bright clear yellow, besides the blotches of orange found in the females. Lower jaw mostly golden; three bright yellow stripes obliquely across the cheeks to the jaws. Dorsal and caudal finely speckled with olive. Tip of dorsal orange, as also the lower edge of caudal and anal; ventrals orange-red; no ocellus on dorsal. Female pale, with numerous blotches of light bright orange, these mostly longitudinally oblong on upper parts and irregular or vertical below; sides of head marked with bronze; lower jaw whitish; fins plain; dorsal and caudal slightly yellow. Young females with traces of one or two dusky bars at base of caudal. Still younger specimens (as in the original types) nearly plain silvery. MURZNIDZ. 27. Sidera funebris (Ranzani). Green Moray. (Gymnothoras funebris Ranzani, Nov. Comm. Ac. Sci. Inst., Bonon., iv, 1840, 76; Murena afra Giinther, viii, 123; apparently uot Gymnothorax afer Bloch; Murena infernalis Poey, Mem. Cuba, ii, 347.) father common, reaching an enormous size; a specijnen obtained be- ing about five feet in length, and it is said to attain double that length. It is not used for food. It is much disliked by the fishermen. as its bite is often serious, and it tangles or destroys their lines. It lives in crev- ices in the reefs, and it is said that it frequently bites off the heads of cormorants and other water birds who venture near its holes. In life it is bright yellowish-green, with some oblique dark streaks on the fins; after death the green rubs off readily, as a sort of slime, leay- ing the skin brown beneath. In spirits the color is a uniform purplish- brown. This is probably not the Gymnothorag afer of Bloch, described from a ‘specimen from the coast of Guinea, as afer is said to be brown, marbled SF Ee PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 111 and banded with white. After rejecting this name, the name funebris of Ranzani appears to have the right of priority. 28 Sidera moringa Cuvier. Moray; Helmet. (Gymnothorax rostratus Agassiz. ) Very common about the reefs. It reaches a length of two or three feet. It is seldom brought to the market, and is eaten only by the Cu- bans, although it has not the reputation of being poisonous possessed by S. funebris. Ground color, greenish-white above; quite yellowish-green on dorsal fin and back ; head and belly pearly tinged; anal and posterior part of dorsal with the edge slightly paler. Entire body and fins everywhere almost equally marked with dark olive confluent, roundish, but irregu- lar, spots, mostly smaller than pupil, but some of them larger than eye. These are sometimes so numerous as almost to exclude the ground color; at other times so sparse as to render the fish comparatively pale. Mouth spotted within; no black at angle of mouth or around gill open- ing. Specimens from Cuba are darker, the spots being more numerous, but they do not differ otherwise. The name Moray appears to be uni- versal for this species among the English-speaking fishermen. <A speci- men paler than usual was brought to me as a different species, under the name of ‘“ Helmet.” The darker variety is probably the original of Catesby’s “ Murena maculata nigra, the Black Moray,” on which figure the Murena moringa of Cuvier was founded. If this view should prove erroneous it will be necessary to again use the name rostrata for this species. A specimen from Key West is numbered 35036. ANGU LLIDZ. 29. Anguilla rostrata (Le Sueur). A single extremely young eel was taken in a seine in Enteromorpha in the harbor. The species seems to be entirely unknown to the Key West fishermen; nor did | find any who had ever heard the word “eel.” The species of this genus apparently seldom venture far from the brackish or fresh waters. SCOMBERESOCIDZ. 30. Tylosurus notatus (Poey). Gar-jish. Very common, in large schools close to shore. As many as four hun- dred were taken in a single haul of the seine. This species reaches but a small size, the largest seen being less than 18 inches long. Color in life, very pale greenish, the lateral line bluish, the edges of the scales with many dark points; a blue-black line bounding the base of lower jaw above. Tips of all the vertical fins of a pale brick-red; middle of caudal dusky. A deep blue-black spot on upper front of opercle. 112 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. This species is rarely used as food, from its small size. Three specimens from Key West are numbered 34998. 31. Tylosurus sagitta Jor. & Gilb. Not common. Three specimens taken with the seine at the same time. 32. Tylosurus crassus (Poey). Hound-fish. (? Belone raphidoma Ranzani, Novy. Comm. Act. Inst., Bonon., v, 1842, 359; Belone crassa Poey, Mem. Cuba, ii., 1860, 291; Belone jonesi Goode, Amer. Journ. Sci. Arts, 1877, 295; Belone jonesi Giinther, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. iii, 1879, 150; Tylosurus gladius Bean, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 1882, 430). Common in schools about Key West; the young very abundant. hh reaches a length of 4 feet, and the large specimens are occasionally brought to market. The variations in age with this species are consid- erable, the adults having the beak considerably more robust and pro- portionately shorter than the young. We have compared our Florida specimens with numerous others, young and old, from Cuba, and can find no difference. One of the larger ones corresponds exactly to the type of Tylosurus gladius as described by Dr. Bean. Body robust, especiaily in the adult, somewhat deeper than broad ; the tail rather depressed, broader than deep; beak rather short and stout, becoming proportionately shorter with age, and its length 13% to 14 that of rest of head; teeth strong, greeu; eye large, about 23 times in postorbital part of head; maxillary covered by preorbital ; top of head with a very broad and shallow median groove; the middle and posterior parts of the head covered with smooth transparent skin; supraorbital bones broad, prominent, finely striated ; two folds of translucent skin crossing preopercle above, and one near its angle; pectorals rather longer than postorbital part of head, their upper ray broad; anal and dorsal faleate, subequal, opposite, their posterior rays elevated in the young, but becoming very short in the adult; ventrals well developed ; caudal large, the lower lobe much the longer, 23 in head. Head 34 in length; depth 13 to 15; D.1,21 to1,24; A.22 to 24; scales minute, but evident. Color in life deep, clear green above, white below ; no lateral stripe ; sides with a row of large, round, dusky blotches, distinct only in the young, and fading in spirits; jaws with blue shades; axil dark; a dark bar behind cheek; pectoral broadly blackish at tip; more or less of dusky shading on dorsal, caudal, and ventrals ; no red anywhere; lat- eral line forming a low black keel on caudal peduncle; bones green. Three specimens from Key West are numbered 35039, 33. Hemirhamphus unifasciatus Ranzani. Balao (‘‘Bally-hoo’.) (Hemirhamphus richardi and? H, picarti Cuy. & Val.) (Hemirhamphus fasciatus Poey ; Hemirhamphus poeyi Giinther. ) Extremely abundant about Key West, in large schools in quiet water; taken in large numbers with the seine. Specimens entirely similar also obtained at Havana. ~ ‘-, ¢ ' f oe ‘ ‘ 4" : PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 113 July 7, W884. Washington, | D.C. Vol. VE, No. 8. Color in life clear, light greenish; the dots on the scales above lateral line all clear blue-black, these giving the fish a decidedly bluish cast; a bluish-silvery lateral band; head mostly light blue above, the brain cavity appearing yellowish; sides of head iridescent silvery; lower jaw bluish above, its flap white with a blackish edge, its tip scarlet; side of lower jaw blue at base; dorsal and pectoral bluish; caudal light red- dish edged with blackish ; ventrals and anal pale, the latter tipped with blackish. This species is very close to Hemirhamphus roberti Cuv. & Val. (H. unifasciatus of most late writers), from which it seems to differ chiefly in the shorter beak and the more robust and less compressed body. The number of dorsal rays is usually one or two less. Lower jaw from end of upper longer than rest of head and 6 to7 in total length from its tip to base of caudal (about 44 in H. roberti) ; head with lower jaw 3 in length; body but half deeper than broad; premaxillaries broader than long; eye less than interorbital width, three-fifths postorbital part of head; insertion of ventrals midway be- tween eye and base of caudal; dorsal and anal densely scaly; back broad above. Head, 4% in length; depth, 63. D.12 to 14; A.15; Lat.1.52. Length, 12 inches. I know from comparison of specimens that this species is identical with the Cuban one called by Dr. Giinther H. poeyi. H. richardi C. & V., distinguished from H. roberti and other species by the shorter snout seems to be the same, as is probably H. picarti also. The figure given by Ranzani represents the short-beaked form, which is apparently the common Hemirhamphus of the West Indies, while the H. roberti ©. & V., is best known from the southern coasts of the United States. There is not much doubt, therefore, that it is for the former that the name H. unifasciatus of Ranzani was originally intended. Both H. unifasciatus and H. roberti occur on the Pacific coast of Mex- ico and Pamama, but the latter is not yet known either from Key West or Havana. Young specimens of H. unifasciatus have the lower jaw proportion- ately longer and are not easily separated from H. roberti. Comparing specimens of the same size it will be found that the latter is always in all parts more slender, although the difference is not very great. Four examples from Key West are numbered 34999. 34. Hemirhamphus balao Le Sueur. Balad. (Hemirhamphus balao and marginatus Le Sucur; Hemirhamphus pleii Cuy. & Val.; Hemirhamphus filamentosus Poey ; Hemirhamphus brasiliensis Jor. & Gilb., Syn. Fish, N. A., 902; probably not Esox brasiliensis 1. ,or Hemi- rhamphus browni, C. & V.) Very abundant about Key West, in large schools in water of moderate depth. alwave aa Leth he Voy cri PaL EL sey) es) bE es ee Pe (ey ee , eens ia: ee re 114 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. reaches a length of about 15 inches. It is rarely brought into the mar- kets, although an excellent pan-fish. Color in life deep clear blue-green above, much darker than in H. unifasciatus; sides silvery. No distinct lateral band. Beak dark, its tip bright orange; its membrane edged with white. Lobe of dorsal and upper lobe of caudal always of an intense orange-yellow, which is deep- est toward the tip. Ventrals tipped with yellow. Fins otherwise pale. Sexes colored alike. Insertion of ventrals about midway between base of caudal and mid- dle of pectoral. We have elsewhere used the name brasiliensis for this species, but this arrangement seems hardly allowable. Hsowx brasiliensis L. is based on two descriptions, the one of a Tylosurus from Brazil, which suggested the name brasiliensis, the other of a Hemirhamphus from Jamaica. The last is thought by Valenciennes to be identical with his H. browni. H.- browni is said to have 65 seales in the lateral line. If so, it must be a species different from H. balao. In any event, the name brasiliensis should, I think, be restricted to that one of its component species which came from Brazil, that is, to the Timucu of Marcgrave. A Hemirhamphus of this type occurs on the Pacific coast of Mexico. As, however, it has no conspicuous orange on its fins, it will probably prove to be a different species. Two examples from Key West are numbered 35044. 35. Chriodorus atherinoides Goode & Bean. Hard-head. Excessively abundant in sandy bays on the sheltered side of the island. It reaches a length of about 10 inches, and is known to the fishermen as “hard-head.” It is an excellent pan-fish, but from its small size it is seldom brought to the markets. Like the Hemirhamphi, it feeds chiefly on green alge. Translucent greenish above, with dark dots on the scales; sides silvery, a bright silvery lateral band as in Atherina. This is broadest under the dorsal fin, where it is about as wide as the pupil. Head, 4% in length; depth, 5g. D. 1,15 or 1, 16; A.1,15; Lat. 1. 48. Interorbital space a little broader than eye in adult; eye, 33 in head; snout, 3. Scales rather firm; bones of top of head smooth, hard, translucent. Eleven specimens from Key West are numbered 35102. SYNGNATHIDZ. 36. Siphostoma floride Jor. & Gilb. Not rare. 37. Siphostoma affine (Giinther), Very common in alge everywhere about the island of Key West. 38. Siphostoma louisiane (Giinther). Common. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 115 39. Siphostoma mackayi Swain & Meek. Numerous specimens taken with the seine in eel-grass.. Types of the species are numbered 34989, from Key West. 40. Siphostoma miurum Swain & Meek. One specimen obtained, the type of the species. 41. Siphostoma crinigerum Bean & Dresel. Numerous specimens. 42. Siphostoma zatropis Jor. & Gilb. Several large specimens taken in eel-grass. 43. Hippocampus punctulatus Guichenot. Sea Horse. A single dried specimen, in poor condition, obtained from a fisher- man. 44. Hippocampus hudsonius DeKay. Two specimens, one nearly adult, one very small, taken with the seine in Fucus. The large specimen evidently belongs to the species described by Jordan & Gilbert (Syn. Fish. N. A., 907) as Hippocampus hudsonius. Color dusky, without distinct spots, but with irregular, sharply-de- fined grayish lichenoid blotches on head, body, and tail, not quite sym- metrical on the two sides, but nearly so, those on the tail forming irreg- ular pale bands. Head freckled with grayish. Eye withgradiating whitish streaks; snout with a narrow, whitish cross-band, a whitish longitudinal band behind eye. Dorsal mottled. Snout, 1§ in rest of head. Spines comparatively blunt, but some of them large, the four on median line of belly especially so. D.19, coy- ering 34 rings; 11 body rings. Opercle with radiating strize. It is not very certain that DeKay’s specimen belonged to this species. His description fits this better than it does any other of the four which are definitely known from our Atlantic coast (punctulatus, hudsonius stylifer, zosterw). The species described by Professor Goode (Proce. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1878, 45), from Saint George’s Bank, as Hippocampus an- tiquorum, is apparently more like the present species than like the European H. hippocampus (antiquorum, heptagonus). The latter species should probably be omitted from the list of American fishes. MUGILIDZ. 45. Mugil albula L. Callifavor Mullet. Common in the fall. Only salted specimens seen. I do not know the origin or the proper orthography of the name “ Callifavor” applied to this species by the fishermen. 46. Mugil brasiliensis Agassiz. Blue-back Mullet. Rather common in the winter in schools, in bays where the water is somewhat deep. The most valued as food of the species of mullet at Key West. 116 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. This is the species called by Poey Mugil gaimardianus and is appar- ently the Mugil gaimardianus, Desmarest, figured in 1831, but so far as I know never described. 47. Mugil trichodon Poey. Fan-tail Mullet. Very common about Key West, the young taken in large numbers in the seine. It reaches a smaller size (about a foot) than any of the other American species, is more robust in form, and has much larger scales than any other, except Mugil liza, which it resembles in no other re- spects. Color in life silvery, light olive above, unstriped; a narrow groove at base of each scale on back, top of head and on sides; base of pec- toral dusky-bluish. Soft dorsal and caudal narrowly edged with black- ish; middle of anal dusky ; eye very large, pale, its adipose membrane large and transparent. Body deeper than in related species, compressed; head short, not very obtuse. Interorbital space convex, its width 25 in head. Hye, 34 in head. Maxillary mostly concealed by the preorbital; lower jaw acute in front, the angle formed by the dentary bones rather more than aright angle; dentiform papille much longer than in Mugil brasiliensis (although much shorter than described in Mugil trichodon), rather stiff. Upper lip unusually thick; its depth in front half diameter of eye; tongue with asperities ; pectoral 14 in head, its tip not reaching front of dorsal by a distance equal to three-sevenths of its own length; soft parts of vertical fins densely scaly ; freeedge of dorsal and anal much concave ; first dorsal spine 14 in head ; caudal broad and rather short, its lobes as long as head. Head, 4 in length; depth, 34; D. IV,-1, 8; A.III, 8. Seales, 34-12. This is probably Mugil trichodon Poey, although his description in- dicates a fish with longer head, slenderer body, shorter dorsal spines, and longer dental cilia. 48. Querimana gyrans Jor. & Gilb. Abundant in small schools about the wharves. Swimming at the surface close together, like “ Whirlagig-beetles” (Gyrinide). It is not likely that these fishes reach a length of more than 2 inches and they are most assuredly not the young of any species of Mugil. ATHERINIDZ. 49. Atherina laticeps Poey. Sardine. ? Atherina stipes Miiller & Troschel. Atherina laticeps Poey. Atherina velieana Goode & Bean. | Extremely abundant everywhere about the island, swimming in | schools. Often used as bait. It reaches a length of less than 3 inches. It is readily distinguished from related species by its broad head, thick body and large eye. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 117 It is also not uncommon in Cuba, numerous specimens being seen in the Havana market. These are, as usual with Cuban fishes, somewhat darker in color than Key West specimens, but are not otherwise different. There is, therefore, no doubt of the identity of A. velieana with A. lati- ceps. The account of A. stipes given by Dr. Giinther agrees very well With our specimens, but it is hardly sufficiently detailed to warrant the substitution of tha name stipes for that of laticeps. In one or two slight respects the description of Poey (Memorias, II, 265) is erroneous. Thus the pectorals form rather more than one-sixth the length of the body, even including the caudal fin, and the insertion of the first dorsal is in front of the middle of the body, if this fin be included, and behind it if it be excluded. Color in life translucent green, silvery, below with a well-defined silvery lateral band; a series of dots along the side below this; back with dark dots forming streaks along the rows of scales; snout above with black dots; fins pale, nearly plain. A dusky shade at base of caudal. Eye, 24 in head; snout, 4; interorbital space, 24. Head, 3% in length; depth, 42. D. V-1,9; A. 1,11. Scales, 36-6. Insertion of first dorsal rather nearer anal than ventrals. Upper edge of orbit sharp, nearly smooth. Maxillary reaching front of pupil. 50. Atherina area Jor. & Gilb, Not very common. A small, slender fish, found in schools of the preceding. SPHYRAINIDZ. 51. Sphyreena picuda Bloch & Schneider. Barracuda. Very abundant, reaching a length of 4 or 5 feet or more. Considered an excellent food-fish, although regarded with a little suspicion, as it is said to be sometimes poisonous. The poisonous character of this and various other suspected fishes is said to be confined to those taken on the growing reefs, and it is thought to be due to some animal eaten by the fishes. In the sheltered places among the wharves at Key West are vast schools of Atherina, Stolephorus, and Dussumieria. These swim near the surface, and among them and feeding on them, likewise swimming at the surface, are the species of Tylosurus. Lower, down in the water are the Pilchard (Clupea pensacole), and among these are the Barracuda, little and big, the most voracious of all the fishes at Key West. They hover midway in the water, motionless, except for the undulations of the pectoral fins, finally darting with great swiftness into some school of smaller fishes. The resemblance of the Barracuda in habits to the fresh-water pike (Esow) is very great, and both are very destructive to small fish. Three specimens from Key West are numbered 35034. 118 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. POLYNEMIDZ. 52. Polynemus virginicus Linneus. (Polynemus plumieri (Lacépede). ) Two very young specimens taken in the surf. There is not much doubt that this is the species intended by Linnzeus, in his description of Polynemus virginicus, although the character ‘‘cauda integra” doés not apply to any Polynemus. Silvery, back and upper part of sides dotted with blackish; lower lobe of caudal and tips of dorsals partly black; pectoral pale; pectoral filaments reaching a little past vent. In older specimens from Cuba the speckled coloration disappears ; the pectoral becomes largely black, and the other fins grow more dusky, the markings on the caudal becoming more diffuse. ECHENHEIDIDZ. 53. Echeneis naucrates Linnus. Sucking-fish ; Sucker. Very common. Found attached to sharks, groupers, or any other large fish, without regard to species. Few large sharks are without them. Often caught with hook and line from the wharf, where they frequently forsake their host to take the bait. TRICHIURIDZ. 54. Trichiurus lepturus Linneus. Silver-fish. One large specimen taken; more abundant in summer. XIPHIIDZ. 55. Histiophorus americanus Cuv. & Val. Spike-fish. (? Histiophorus gracilirostris and ? H. ancipitirostris C. & V. , VIII, 1831, 308, 309. ? Makaira nigricans Lacépéde, IY, 688, 1803.) One large specimen tdken with trolling hook. As no description has yet been published of an American Histiophorus, I give the following notes on this specimen, the skin of which is preserved : Bluish-black, paler below; dorsal dusky-bluish ; its membranes with many almost perfectly round black (not blue) spots, which are from one-third to one-fourth diameter of orbit. Snout from eye 22 times length of rest of head. Lower jaw 24 in head. Front of eye nearly midway between tip of lower jaw and edge of operecle. Interorbital space broad, flattish, 12 in postorbital part of head. Maxillary reaching to slightly beyond eye, which in 34 in pos- torbital part of head and 10 times in length of snout. Sword narrow, regularly tapering, depressed, its upper and lower surfaces rounded, less rough than the blunt edges. Sword nearly twice as broad as deep for its entire length. Breadth of sword at a point midway betweem its tip and the front of eye contained twenty-five times in its length from the eye. Longest dorsal spine three-fourths length of head. Ven- trals, 1: in head. Pectorals, 22; caudal lobes, 14. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 119 Head about 22 in length (34 with caudal); depth about 6. D. XLI-7; A. 9-7. Length of specimen, 6 feet. This specimen differs considerably from the current descriptions of H. gladius. The sword is much longer and more slender, and the num- ber of dorsal spines is less. It is probable that this is, as recently suggested by Mr. Goode, a dis- tinet species, for which the name americanus should be retained. The much discussed Makaira nigricans of Lacépede (LV, 688, 1803) is probably the same species, but the description is altogether insufficient for identification. SCOMBRID&. 56. Acanthocybium solandri (Cuv. & Val.). Wahoo. (Cybium solandri Cuy. & Val., 1831. Cybium sara Bennett, 1849. Cybium petus Poey, 1860. Cybium veranyi Doderlein, 1872.) Not very common about Key West. A single large specimen taken. Called by the fishermen “* Wahoo,” by the Cubans “ Peto.” Iron gray, dark above, paler below; fins colored like the body; no distinct markings anywhere. Gape more than half length of head ; eye 5 in snout; premaxillaries in front produced in a sort of beak, which is nearly half length of snout ; teeth somewhat irregular, trenchant, ovate, or subtruneate in form, their edges finally serrate, the posterior teeth much the largest; villiform teeth on vomer and palatines. Dorsal spines mostly subequal, the highest behind the middle of the fin, 5% in head. Dorsal and anal lobes low. Caudal lobes short, very abruptly spread- ing, their length about two-thirds head. Pectoral not quite half head. D. XXIV-1, 12-IX; A. 1, 12-1X. 57. Scomberomorus cavalla (Cuvier). Hingfish. (Cybium cavalla Cuvier, 1829, after Marcgrave. Cybium caballa and immaculatum Cuy. & Val., 1831.) One of the most important food-fishes of the Florida Keys in the time of its runs (December to April). It is taken with a trolling-line, and is brought into the market in great numbers. It is justly considered one of the best of the food-fishes, having firm, well-flavored flesh. The first of the run (November, early December) sell at high prices. Later, however, they become cheap, and their abundance interferes with the profits of the fishermen who seek for *‘ bottom-fish” (Epinephelus, Hamu- lon, Lutjanus, &e.). The usual weight of the kingfish is from 6 to 40 pounds, but specimens still larger are occasionally taken. Iron gray, adult nearly or quite immaculate and without black blotch ou anterior part of spinous dorsal; young, paler, and with numerous faint round bronze spots, somewhat as in S. maculatus, the spinous dor- sal then more or less dusky anteriorly. This reaches a larger size than the others in the genus, and has stronger teeth. Under all circum- Stances it is readily distinguished by the presence of but 14 (rarely 15) 120 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. spines in the dorsal and by the direction of the lateral line, which de- scends abruptly below the second dorsal, instead of gradually, as in the other American species (regalis, maculatus, concolor), all of which have 17 or 18 spines in the dorsal. 58. Scomberomorus maculatus (Mitchill). Spanish Mackerel. Not common; two or three specimens seen. Not distinguished by the fishermen from the next species. Neither are held in special esteem at Key West, and both are less valued than the great kingfish, which reaches a much larger size than tuey. In this species the spots on the sides never coalesce into a lateral stripe. 59. Scomberomorus regalis (Bloch). Spanish Mackerel. Rather common; numerous specimens brought in with the kingfish. Also occasionally taken with hook and line from the wharves. The col- oration of this species is similar to that of the preceding, but the bronze spots are rather larger, aud one series of them coalesce to form a more or less interrupted narrow Jateral bronze stripe. The caudal peduncle and caudal lobes are distinctly sleuderer than in S. maculatus and the eye isa little larger; the angle of the preopercle is more produced back- wards in S. regalis and the mouth is perhaps a trifle smaller. There is no difference appreciable in the dentition. The two species are there- fore very close, but there is no reason to doubt their distinctness. 60. Buthynnus alliteratus (Ratinesque). onito. (Scomber alliteratus Ratinesque, 1310. Scomber quadripunctatus Geottroy St. Hilaire, 1509? Thynnus thunnina Cuyv. & Val., 1831.) Common, taken with the kingfish, but in much less abundance. A food fish of moderate value, the flesh being considered coarser than that of the kingfish. The black spots on the side of the breast which sug- gested the name quadripunctatus vary somewhat, five being often pres ent. Weare not sure as to the priority of date between quadripune- tatus and alliteratus. CORYPHAINID. 61. Coryphena hippurus L. Dolphin. Not uncommon; three adult specimens, taken with troll-hook by king- fish fishermen; one is a male, the other two are females ; all with sexual organs well developed. There is no difference in color in the two sexes, the only evident sexual difference being in the great development of the erest on the top of the head in the male. In life the ground color is a deep, clear yellowish, or olive-green, golden-green on the sides, paler below. In death the green and olive fade rather suddenly to a grayish-silvery, tinged with bluish and with bright reflections, the olive remaining in irregular patches on various parts of the body. The changes in the color in the dying dolphin have been, as Professor Gilbert has already (Proc. U.S Nat. Mus., 1882, 593) PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 121 stated, greatly exaggerated; neither in life nor death does the fish show ‘all the colors of the rainbow,” and its changes in death are not more than the average changes of brightly or delicately colored fishes. They are far less striking than the changes in some species of Calamus, espec- ically C. pennatula. The spots on the body remain unchanged in death. There is in the specimens now noticed a row of small ink-like spots of deep blue along the base of the dorsal; these much smaller than the pupil. Middle and lower part of sides with scattered roundish spots of clear blue, paler than those on the back. Dorsal blackish (with bluish blotches after death), and with scattered pale blue spots, most of them ill defined. Caudal plain, anal dusky, paler than dorsal, with blue spots. Pectoral blackish within, externally pale, its axil dusky, with blue reflections. Ventrals with the rays blackish, the membranes bluish and gilt. Measurements. | Male Female. — — ) — Times. | Times. ieleeg lon Vereyatda Of 0G hye econ soptoc coe nesesSodu En otmense ds cnae aoe ncbSdenscsa| Mase 5) leas 43 Wepthiataventralsani lengthy 2522s csc: scse bossa seisenes cease cece Aeaeeiee (gee 42 '| 352 4h MaxciltaryeinilencthiOcNead: 2-45 -cssnaceeeme apes sat se culmeser secect sasere ele ces 2%. <r 235 pases dorsaliraysini Neat esis fe 6 Sos ccc oe ae eae eerste eh ce Loe eee cette aes 12 |... 1} Weitimallaiinstn, Weyl 2 2. sade eeedenedecme anos egaunsueses asbous ens leencedosseeueS lees] 12 |... 17 Hectoral fintingne ademas Cesena) t-te eae aia ae alae ctaiae a eeteeiaat tates seer ee lose) 14 |.- 14 Bandallobesmnuhead ems. 2a. cans Gs acaene sic cise ee eee ee soon sas comiee ene sane Baer! 415. 4 Hive to first dorsal rayim Nheades-< “{Gcsesasenlees See Nee = ene e see ee ate eveteys a eae 23 Nam beromdorsalwrayses-5 2.245220 Gewcure cece nee cee peace ek orice cee eaabee es AGAR ee GOR Sse ee Number ofanalirays'2t2cs coast - scece ce tis ee cica ae Uetiees sen sce eepecneeceacatse | DTS See ae Va) ees aa CARANGIDZ. 62. Oligoplites saurus (Bloch & Schneider). Leather Jacket. Rather common about the wharves. Not used as food. 63. Caranx bartholomei Cuyv. & Val. Yellow Jack. (Caranz cibi Poey ; Caranx beani Jordan.) Not very common; a young specimen taken in the seine. Color in life deep bronze olive, darker than the adult fish, the ground color forming reticulations around blotches of light yellow. A dark bronze bar below eye. Fins yellowish. 64. Caranx chrysos (Mitchill). Runner. Rather common ; broughtin by hook-and-line fishermen. Specimens less golden in color than usual with this species. In life dull green above, silvery below; fins all pale; opercular spot obscure ; axil dusky; iris greenish-yellow. Some specimens showed faint yellowish shades below and traces of faint darker cross shades. 65. Caranx latus Agassiz. Horse-eye Jack. (Caranz fallax Cuv. & Val.) Very common; the young taken in seines along the shore; the adult Swimming in considerable schools, and often taken with hook and line from the wharves. 122 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Color in life silvery ; olive above, scarcely tinged with golden below; iris coppery, the adipose eyelid very large, and covering its posterior half. A very small, but distinct black opercular spot. A distinct shade of dusky on lower part of pectoral toward the base, suggesting the black pectoral spot of C. hippos. Caudal rather bright yellow; other fins plain grayish ; soft dorsal and caudal edged with darker. Ventrals white. This species rarely exceeds 15 inches in length. 66. Caranx hippos L. Jack. Common in the deep waters, and taken with hook and line. This species reaches a length of 3 to 4 feet, and is a food-fish of fair quality. 67. Caranx crinitus Mitchill. Sunfish. A single specimen about 15 inches long obtained. The species is not uncommon. 68. Selene vomer (L.) Moonfish. A single young specimen of the style known as “‘Argyriosus vomer” obtained. Probably not uncommon. 69. Seriola lalandi Cuy. & Val. Amber Jack. (Seriola gigas Poey.) Rather common; a food-fish of some importance ; taken with the trolling-line. Numerous large specimens (20 to 30 pounds) seen, and one small one obtained. It is said to reach a weight of 100 pounds. Coloration essentially as in S. dumerili. Dorsal fin dusky, with a light yellow submarginal band. Pectoral dusky yellowish; ventrals yellow and blackish ; anal blackish, with pale edge. Young and old specimens have essentially the same general form, being at all stages more slender than S. dumerili. Depth, 33 to 44 in Jength; head, 34 to 33. Soft dorsal, 1, 34; A. 1, 21. Dorsal lobe, 24 in head. Maxillary, 21. v 70. Seriola dumerili (Risso). Almicore; Amber fish. (? Trachurus aliciolus Ratfinesque, 1810. Trachurus fasciatus Rafinesque, 1810. Carane dumerili Risso, 1810. ? Seriola semicoronala Poey, 1860.) Rather less common than the preceding, and reaching a smaller size. Color in life pale grayish, silvery below ; a gilt band through eye to base of caudal; another through temporal region to front of soft dorsal. No traces of dark cross bands; fins plain. Body deep, robust, not strongly compressed; mouth larger than in S. dorsalis, about as in S. lalandi, the maxillary reaching middle of pupil, 21 in head; lobes of dorsal and anal low, not quite half length of 6] head; nape scarcely carinated. Head, 37, in length; depth, 3. D.1, 32; A.1, 21; length of specimen described, about 2 feet. Specimens apparently of this species have been obtained by Professor Gilbert at Aspinwall. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 123 The species of this genus are very closely related, and many of those current are very doubtful. Omitting all discussion of those described from farther south, I venture on the following analysis of the species of Seriola recorded from the United States. It may be that some of these are really not distinct from others, but at present I think them all valid: a. Dorsal and anal fins little elevated, the height of their anterior lobes less than half depth of body. b. Head longer than deep. ce. Soft dorsal very long, its rays 36 to 38; maxillary reaching middle of orbit. d. Body deep; depth 3 to 34 in length; nape carinated; black cross bands permanent. Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras...-......-...----- ZONATA. dd. Body comparatively slender, its depth 3% to 4 in length; nape, in adult, rounded; cross bands fading with age. Cape Hatteras to Texas and SOUGM WATS 2 22 eee ceeiaten/soheala nets aa Sisvisiaiete emtns sielae CAROLINENSIS. ce. Soft dorsal shorter, its rays 31 to 36. e. Mouth comparatively large; the maxillary 2 to 2? in head, reaching about to middle of pupil; nape rounded in adults; cross bands present only in very young. f. Body slender, its depth about 4 in length; head 34 to 3? in length; soft dorsal 32 to 34. West Florida to Brazil..........-.-..-.--- LALANDI. Sf. Body comparatively deep, its depth about 3 in length; head 35; soft dorsal rays 30 to 32. Florida Keys to West Indies and Mediterranean SER IGRS DOBBS S55 COE aE Soe EES Dee e HC eS eee Panne Ne aa aeee DUMERILI. ee. Mouth smaller; the maxillary 2% in head, barely reaching front of pupil; body rather slender, the depth 4 in length; soft dorsal rays 34 to 36; caudal fin yellowish. Point Concepcion to Cape San Lucas. DORSALIS. bb. Head deeper than long; body banded at all ages,the bands narrow, ar- ranged in pairs; soft rays of dorsal 30. South Carolina to West 1G XG SE ris eS sr Ane Sm ie ic oiare em iene moe FASCIATA. aa. Dorsal and anal fins much elevated, their anterior lobes more than half depth of body; body compressed, the back elevated, the occiput somewhat carinated ; soft dorsal rays 29 to 31. g. Body moderately deep; the greatest depth 32 in length (4 in total) ; temporal band pale yellowish-brown. West Indies, north to Pen- BEE) (BSB embooceaon soos Scho oeeaD 6 eas a5" SaomoeH anon ere FALCATA. gg. Body very deep; the greatest depth 34 in total length; temporal band nearly black. Mediterranean to Buenos Ayres and Florida Reysg:4nto3 Bena Eo Gale aa 22 SAS ue vith antes oh aoe at RIVOLIANA. All the above except S. fasciata and S. rivoliana have been collected and studied by the writer. These two I have never seen. 71. Trachynotus carolinus (L.). Pompano. Not very common; one specimen obtained. As elsewhere, highly valued as a food-fish, but irregular in its appearance. 72, Trachynotus rhodopus Gill. Permit. (Trachynotus rhodopus et nasutus Gill.; Trachynotus goreensis Goode & Bean, not of C. & V.; ZLrachynotus carolinus Poey.) Not very common; only young ones obtained. These taken with the Seine in the surf. This species reaches a larger size than the other American Pompanoes. Its common name, ‘“ Permit,” seems to be a cor- ruption of the common Spanish name ‘¢ Palometa.” The drawings made 124 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. by Poey of the species called by him Trachynotus carolinus have been examined by me. They represent this species. The occurrence of 7. carolinus in the West Indies seems uncertain. 73. Trachynotus rhomboides (Bloch). Many young specimens taken with the seine in the surf. Silvery, the very young dusky; soft dorsal tipped with black; ven- tral spines and anal lobe deep orange; eye pale orange. The voung of TJ. rhodopus are similarly colored. The latter species is, however, at all ages, much more elongate. 74. Trachynotus glaucus (Bloch.) Old Wife. One adult specimen taken; not very common. POMATOMIDZ. 75. Pomatomus saltatrix L. blue-fish. Not considered common; a few specimens seen; taken in the channels with the hook. SERRANIDZ&. 76. Epinephelus* falcatus (Poey). Scamp. A common food-fish, reaching a smaller size than most of the related species. Held in high esteem as food. Florida specimens (Key West, Pensacola, &c.) are more spotted in color and have the canine teeth more nearly vertical than Cuban examples. In the typical falcatus the upper canines are directed strongly forward, the lower correspondingly backward. 77. Epinephelus microlepis (Goode & Bean). Gag. Abundant; reaching a weight of 50to 40 pounds. Universally known as “Gag” at Cedar Keys and Key West. Has this name any connection with the Spanish name Aguaji? 78. Epinephelus bonaci (Poey). Black Grouper Equally abundant with the preceding, and reaching a similar size. The young are frequently taken near shore. 79. Epinephelus venenosus (L.). ock-fish; Yellowfin Grouper. Two large specimens taken; not abundant; said to reach a weight of over 50 pounds. 80. Epinephelus itaiara (Lichenstein). Jew-fish ; Guasa. One young specimen obtained ; a very large oneexamined. This spe- cies reaches a weight of 500 to 700 pounds. 81. Epinephelus morio (Crv. & Val.). JSted Grouper. The most abundant of the Serranoid fishes, and, next to Hamulon plumieri, the commonest market fish at Key West. Rarely exceeds 15 pounds. Found in rather deep water. * As the species of this genus form the subject of a separate paper by Mr. Swain and myself, I refer to them here only briefly, and without discussion of the synonymy. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 125 82. Epinephelus striatus (Bloch). Nassau Grouper. Similar to the preceding in size and habits, and not much less abun- dant. Most seen in the markets are small. 83. Epinephelus ascensionis (Osbeck). Jock Hind. Three seen; said to be much superior to the others (except HE. falca- tus) as a food-fish. Most of the species have tough white flesh, which is rather coarse. 84. Epinephelus guttatus (L.). (Lacépéede). . Coney. Three specimens taken; asmall fish, rarely exceeding a toot in length. No specimens of the crimson variety (apiarius, Poey) were seen at Key West. 85. Serranus formosus Linneus. Sand-jish. (Diplectrum fasciculare Auct.) Rather common; taken in the seine and with the hook. The char- acteristic division of the preopercle into two clusters of spines is not seen in the young. Color olive brown above, silvery below, with tinges of golden; sides with narrow horizoutal stripes of blue, bright above, pearly whitish below ; six of these present, with another at base of dorsal; a broken median stripe before dorsal; stripes on head bright blue; spinous dor- sal with two stripes of light blue bordered with darker, and three of light orange-yellow; three blue stripes and four yellow ones on soft dorsal; caudal with light blue reticulations around light orange spots ; ventrals and anal bluish white, shaded with light yellowish; pectoral transparent; posterior part of mouth tinged with yellow. SPARIDZ. 86. Lutjanus* chrysurus (Bloch). Yellow-iail Snapper. A common food-fish, reaching a weight of 5 or 6 pounds; the adult taken in the channels with the hook, the young with the seine near the shore. 87. Lutjanus synagris (L.). Lone Snapper. Still more common than the preceding, reaching a smaller size than any of the other snappers (2 to 3 pounds). The young are very abun- dant about the shores and wharves. 88. Lutjanus analis (Cuv. & Val.). Mutton-fish. Rather less common than either of the preceding, and reaching a larger size (§ to 12 pounds). It is found with L. chrysurus. 89. Lutjanus campechianus Poey. Red Snapper. Taken in deeper water than the others ; shipped in large numbers to the Havana market in live-boats; reaches a weight of 15 to 20 pounds, but the average is not much above 10. *The genera Lutjanus, Hemulon, and Calamus, being made ‘the stbjects of special papers, are only brietly treated here. 126 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 90. Lutjanus caxis (Bloch & Schneider). Schoolmaster. Rather common, mostly in shallow water; few large specimens seen, and none over 5 pounds in weight. 91. Lutjanus jocu (Bloch & Schneider). Dog Snapper. With the preceding and less common. The two are doubtfully dis- tinguished by most fishermen, and the name Schoolmaster is often given to either without discrimination. 92. Lutjanus caballerote (Bloch & Schneider). Gray Snapper; Mangrove Snapper. The most abundant of the snappers and one of the most important food-fish. It rarely exceeds 8 pounds in weight. The young abound everywhere near the shore, and are taken with hooks or with seine. They are particularly numerous in the mangrove bushes which grow in shallow water about the Keys; from this habit comes the name of Mangrove Snapper, which is given to this species in localities much farther north than the mangrove grows. This species has been wrongly called Lutjanus caxis by most recent American writers. 93. Hemulon plumieri (Lacépede). Common Grunt ; Sow Grunt. (Hemulon formosum Cuy. & Val.) Very common everywhere; the most abundant food-fish at Key West, the amount consumed in the market exceeding that of all the other ‘“bottom-fish” combined. It reaches a weight of 4 or 5 pounds, but most do not exceed 1 pound. By some fishermen it is thought to be the female of the yellow grunt, and is therefore called by them “ Sow Grunt,” the other being known as “ Boar Grunt.” 94. Hzemulon sciurus Shaw. Yellow Grunt. Hemulon elegans (Cuv. & Val.) Rather common, the young taken about the shores, the adult in deeper water, with the preceding. 95. Hemulon gibbosum (Bloch & Schneider.) Margate-fish. In deeper water; not very common. Much the largest of the Grunts, reaching a weight of 10 or 12 pounds. The name “ Margate-fish” is very old; I cannot guess its origin. ‘“ Maggot-fish,” a name given by Schopf, is evidently the same. 96. Hemulon parre (Desmarest.) Sailors Choice. Common; the young very abundant along the shores. 97. Hemulon flavolineatum (Desmarest.) Jrench Grunt; Open-mouth Grunt. (Hemulon heterodon Cuy. & Val.) Not common; but one specimen taken. 98. Hzemulon aurolineatum (Cuv. & Val.). Zom-tate. (Hemulon chrysopteron Cuv & Val.) Rather common; the young very abundant along the shore, and taken readily with hook and line. This species rarely execeds a pound in weight. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 127 99. Hemulon teniatum Poey. Not very common; taken with the seine along the shore. The small- est species rarely exceeding 6 inches in length. 100. Pomadasys virginicus (L.). Pork-fish. A common food-fish, taken with hook and line. It reaches a weight of about 2 pounds. Oblique bar from nape through eye, and vertical bar downward from dlorsal jet black; space before the anterior bar deep yellow ; interspace between bars pearly gray, with yellow spots, the spots confluent above into a yellow area; ground color of body plain pearly gray with about seven deep yellow longitudinal stripes; the pearly interspaces not edged with darker and not distinctly blue; all the fins deep yellow; iris gilt gray. A very young specimen showed the following coloration in life: Pale; anterior region from lower jaw and temporal region to spinous dorsal bright yellow; spinous dorsal, ventrals, and front of anal deep golden; other fins pale; a large round jet-black spot at base of caudal; a dark band from front of spinous dorsal downward, and two black stripes along sides, one from nape to last ray of dorsal and one from the eye nearly to the caudal spot. 101. Pomadasys chrysopterus (L.). Whiting. (Labrus fulvomaculatus Mitchill; Pristipoma fasciatum Cuv & Val, Orthopristis poeyi Scudder. ) Not very common; apparently identical with specimens from Cuba, and with others from Cedar Key and other more northern localities. Color in life light bluish-gray, everywhere with iridescent reflections ; sides with faint darker cross bars, which are scarcely visible; head grayish-blue; a small golden spot at point of junction of scales all over sides of body, these arranged in undulating rows which become straight on caudal peduncle only, where also they are somewhat con- fluent; fine spots on top of head, larger spots on sides of head, two of them before eye becoming oblique stripes; dorsal bluish-gray, with spots everywhere of bronze-brown; caudal bluish, its scaly portion with fine bronze spots; ventrals and anal whitish, the former dusky at tip; pectorals colorless; mouth yellow within. 102. Calamus pennatula Guichenot. Little-head Porgy. A common food-fish, taken with hook and line in the channels. Grows to be little more than a foot in length. 103. Calamus calamus (Cuv. & Val.). Saucer-eye Porgy. With the preceding; scarcely less common. 104. Calamus bajonado (Bloch & Schneider). Jolt-head Porgy. One of the common food-fishes, more abundant than either of the pre- ceding, and reaching a much larger size. Grows to a length of 2 feet. All are alike considered as food-fishes of fair quality. 128 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 105. Calamus penna Cuy. & Val. Sheep’s-head Porgy ; Little-mouth Porgy. (Calamus milneri Goode & Bean). The young very common, taken with seine along the shores; only a single adult specimen obtained. 106. Calamus arctifrons Goode & Bean. Grass Porgy; Shad Porgy. Common, with the preceding; the adult often taken in the channels. The smallest of our species of Calamus. 107. Diplodus probatocephalus (Walbaum ) Sheep’s-head. Rather rare; a few specimens seen. 108. Diplodus unimaculatus (Bloch.) ream. (Sargus caribeus Poey.) A few specimens 6 to 8 inches in length, taken with the seine along: the shore. These are identical with specimens obtained in Cuba. Bluish silvery in life, with faint traces of six dark vertical bars, the second of these forming a rather conspicuous dark humeral spot. Be- low the lateral line six horizontal golden stripes, narrower than the in- terspaces; about four stripes above the lateral line, these more broken and irregular, especially anteriorly; gilt shades on cheek and nape; dorsal plain, its edge dusky; pectoral and caudal plain light-yellow; ventral reddish-orange (dusky in some specimens—males, according to Poey), anal slightly yellowish. This species is closely related to D. rhomboides, having, like the lat- ter, emarginate incisors. Its coloration is darker and more golden than that of D. rhomboides, its body is deeper; the dorsal spines are con- stantly thirteen instead of twelve, and the second anal spine is longer than in D. rhomboides, its tip extending when depressed beyond the tip of the third spine. 109. Diplodus rhomboides (Linneus). Bream. With the preceding, rather more common, but far less abundant than farther north. Olivaceous, the sides bluish-silvery ; a humeral spot and traces of six vertical bars; gilt stripes much less intense than in D. unimaculatus, much broader than the interspaces ; about seven stripes below the late- ral line, those above it more or less confluent; dorsal fin pale-bluish, with a submedian gilt band and a gilt edging; caudal yellow, faintly barred; anal bluish, with a median yellowish band; ventrals mesially yellowish; pectorals plain. 110. Cyphosus bosqui (Lacépéde.) Chub, A valued food-fish. Not very common, but one specimen being ob- tained—an unusually large one for this species. Color in life steel-gray, very slightly bluish, not much paler below ; the edges of each row of scales on back and sides slightly brassy, so that very faint yellowish stripes aiternate with bluish ones of about equal width; diffuse pale stripe below eye, a yellowish one above and PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 129 Vol. VII, No. 9. Washington, DC. July 8, 1884. below this; fins all dull grayish; ventrals and anal somewhat blackish; edge of opercle slightly darker. MULLIDZ. 111. Upeneus balteatus Cuv. & Val. Goat-fish. ( Upeneus flavovittatus Poey.) A single, nearly adult, specimen taken in the seine. It agrees fully with others from Havana. Color in life flesh-color above, sides silvery, tinged with yellowish below (entire body becoming crimson on immersion in spirits); edges of scales of back light olive-green; top of head quite rosy; a bright yellow band from eye to base of caudal, about as wide as pupil and a little above axis of body; a whitish streak above and below this; an- other above lateral line; a yellow stripe along snout; yellow shades below eye; barbels flesh-color ; both dorsals and caudal bright yellow ; ventrals and anal pale yellow; pectoral flesh-color; anterior and pos- terior edges of opercle edged with yellow ; iris red. This species belongs to the subgenus Mulloides, having the teeth bluntish, strong, in several series. 112. Upeneus maculatus (Bloch.) Goat-fish. Numerous young specimens taken with the seine in the surf. Color, olive above, pearly below, the sides faintly yellowish and everywhere more or less flushed with pale red (body becoming crimson on immersion in spirits); the red shades generally more distinct after death; scales above considerably tinged with red, their edges green- ish; some three to five obscure dark blotches on sides along lateral line; one under each dorsal fin more distinct than the rest and about as large as eye; a bright greenish spot on each scale of the row above lateral line on the middle of back, these forming a short series; three nar- row stripes of light greenish from eye forward and two backward, the lower passing under the eye and merging into the lower anterior stripe; snout reddish; barbels orange, yellow at tip; dorsal mottled with or- ange-brown, its tip yellowish; soft dorsal pale-yellowish, with two black blotches; caudal pale at base, then yellowish, the tips of the lobes pale orange; anal pale reddish; ventrals light reddish, mesially blackish. SCIZ;NIDZ, 113. Menticirrus saxatilis (Bloch & Schneider). (Menticirrus nebulosus (Mitchill).) Numerous young specimens taken with a seine in the surf. These are evidently identical with a fish taken at Pensacola in 1881 by Jordan & Stearns, and referred to Menticirrus nebulosus. These are darker in color than specimens from the North, but in other respects I am unable Proc. Nat. Mus. 84-———9 130 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. to see that they differ at all from the common “ king-fish” of the North, to which species we therefore refer them. Color in life, of largest specimen (about 4 inches long), gray, tinged with bronze and profusely dotted with black; a band of dark olive be- tween eyes; two downward and backward at nape below dorsal; a broad dark band downward and forward from last dorsal spines to ventrals, involving last half of spinous dorsal. Two stripes downward and forward from soft dorsal, one forming a black spot on the middle of the fin; a horizontal band of similar color on posterior part of body, ex- tending along lower lobe of caudal; ventrals and base of anal black ; other fins pale except on the black areas; inside of opercle whitish, with blackish dots. Smaller specimens are more nearly uniform bronze-black. The scarcity of Scizenoid fishes is one of the most remarkable pecu- liarities of the fauna of the Florida keys and Cuba. The family is well represented along the coasts of the mainland. These fishes apparently prefer sandy shores to coral formations. GERRIDZ. 114. Gerres lefroyi (Goode). Not rare in the surf. A considerable school taken at one time with the seine. One of the smaller species, rarely exceeding six inches. 115. Gerres gracilis (Gill). (Eucinostomus pseudogula Poey. Eucinostomus harengulus Goode & Bean). Rather common in shallow waters. There is no doubt of the identity of Floridan and Cuban specimens. I see no difference between either and the Gerres gracilis of the Pacific coast. 116. Gerres gula Cuyv. & Val. Common ‘‘ Shad.” (Diapterus homonymus Goode & Bean; Eucinostomus argenteus Baird & Girard ; Eucinostomus gulula Poey.) Excessively common everywhere in shallow water. It reaches a length of four or five inches, and is used only for bait. In common with all the other species of the genus, this is known as the “ shad.” 117. Gerres cinereus (Walbaum). Broad Shad. Gerres zebra Muller & Troschel. Gerres aprion Cuv. & Val. Rather common, taken with the seine in water of moderate depth, in company with species of Mugil. It reaches a length of about 15 inches, being the largest species of the genus. It is a food-fish of some import- ance at Key West. Color in life, silvery, olivaceous above, sides with faint darker cross bars, most distinct in life; spinous dorsal and ventrals partly golden. Eye white. 118. Gerres olisthostoma Goode & Bean. A single large specimen taken with hook and line from the wharf. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 131 EPHIPPIDZ. 119. Cheetodipterus faber (Broussonet). Apparently not common; a single young specimen obtained. CHA:TODONTIDZ. 120. Pomacanthus aureus (Bloch). black Angel. tather common; frequently taken with spear or hook, not valued as a food-fish. Adult specimens are grayish without tinge of yellow; the center of each scale blackish, the edge pearly gray. Head and vertical fins dusky gray, their tips blackish; a narrow yellowish bar near tip of caudal, fol- lowed by a dark streak; the tip of the fin whitish. Pectoral yellowish, especially its inner side and its basal half, its tip translucent. Lower jaw pale flesh-color. Ventrals brown, yellowish at tip. Younger specimens have a whitish cross-bar on the anterior part of body, behind which are sometimes still others. There is no doubt of the distinctness of this species from P. arcuatus, as has already been shown by Bleeker, Poey, and Liitken. P. arcuatus has ten dorsal spines, smaller scales and yellow cross-bands, and is as yet unknown from the coast of the United States. 121. Holacanthus ciliaris (Linneus). Yellow Angel. Rather common, the young abundant among the rocks; the adult often taken with the spear. Not much valued as a food-fish, probably because of some prejudice, as the flesh is said to be very good. Color in life, yellowish brown on sides, each scale with a darker or orange spot. Back above, shaded with violet, which grows brighter above and merges into intense sky-blue along the edges of the spinous dorsal and on the region before the dorsal; scales of dorsal region with brown spots like those on the sides. Head paler, the upper lip yellow- ish ; lower jaw reddish. Spines of preopercle and edge of opercle very bright sky-blue. Iris yellow, marked above and below by blue. Top of head bluish green. Breast sky-blue, paler anteriorly, the color fad- ing before the vent. Pectoral sky-blue at base, then broadly golden, its edge pale ; axil and inner side of pectoral golden. Ventrals golden. Blue margin of dorsal edged below by dull orange, its posterior edge and produced lobe golden yellow. Cadual colored like body, its edge broadly golden-yellow. Anal colored like soft dorsal. Traces of a brownish spot, surrounded with blue at the nape. There seems to be no sufficient reason for setting aside the name ciliaris for this species in favor of the later parre of Bloch. It is true that Linneeus confounded other species with his ciliaris, but the species which he seems especially to have had in mind is apparently the present one. 132 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. ACANTHURIDA. 122. Acanthurus chirurgus (Bloch). Tang. Common, the young taken with the seine along the shore; the adult with the hook in the channels. Adult olive-brown, more or less distinctly greenish ; middle of sides paler; breast tinged with blue; sides with about twelve distinet blackish vertical bars, rather narrower than the interspaces, most dis- tinct over front of anal; a bronze-olive stripe along base of dorsal ; head olive, slightly tinged with blue on the preorbital; lips light bluish; edge of opercle dusky ; four or five yellowish streaks extending across eye, obliquely upward and backward; region at base of caudal spine blue-black, the black surrounded by a sky-blue ring; a pale olive ring around base of caudal. Spinous dorsal with alternate stripes running upward and backward, of dark blue and bronze-olive, the two colors of about equal width. Soft dorsal with a bluish streak on the front side of each ray and a bronze stripe behind it, the fin sometimes showing horizontal bluish streaks ; anal similarly marked; edge of dorsal and anal narrowly sky- blue; caudal dark, tinged with blue; anal and ventral similar. Pee- toral blue above, its median region washed with olive. 123. Acanthurus tractus Poey. Several young specimens taken, apparently of this species. In life, olivaceous, with longitudinal reticulating lines of darker olive, very close set ; stripes on fins nearly horizontal, distinct and parallel, similar and continuous on both the spines and the soft rays; candal fin dull yellow-olive, the pale ring at its base faint; edge of opercle black. The caudal fin in these is much more deeply lunate than in either young or adult of A. chirurgus, the depth of the emargination in both species increasing with age. 124. Acanthurus cceruleus (Bloch). Blue Tang. (Acanthurus brevis Poey). A single young specimen apparently corresponding to the Acanthu- rus brevis of Poey, obtained. ‘ Blue Tangs” are occasionally taken, according to the fishermen. Color light olive, with narrow, horizontal, wavy streaks of darker olive, slightly tinged with bronze, these rather conspicuous and very numer- ous. Belly livid bluish; a whitish ring at base of caudal; edge of op- ercle blackish ; a faint blue stripe and some orange before eye. Both dorsals pale bright orange, with six stripes of light slaty-blue, contin- uous and horizontal on both parts of the fin; edge of dorsal light blue, its base orange; caudal dull yellow with a whitish edge. Anal marked like dorsal, but the bluish darker and the pale color dull yellowish- brown, the edge of the fin dusky. Ventrals violet, blackish at tip. Pectoral light yellow ; caudal spine yellow. This differs from adult specimens from Cuba only in the ground color, i } | | | PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 133 which probably changes gradually to blue with age. The adult of ceruleus is washed everywhere on body with clear bright violet-blue, very bright on the pale streaks and markings on body and fins. Fins largely bronze-brown; caudal mesially light yellowish. POMACENTRIDZ. 125. Pomacentrus leucostictus Miiller & Troschel. About rocks and reefs in clear, rather deep water ; not rare. Color in life, dark olive-brown anteriorly, clear yellow, with pearly reflections on sides and below; the caudal peduncle and fin rich golden- yellow. Head olive above, golden below, the colors changing insensibly. Head with numerous spots of dark blue, closer set above; those before eye and on snout oblong, stripe-like. These spots appear black in life, but in spirits they become intense sky-blue, and ultimately fade to whitish. Each scale of back above lateral line anteriorly with a verti- cally oblong stripe of dark blue. Behind and below these, many scales have each a round point of deep violet. One row of these on upper edge of caudal peduncle on each side, and three partial series below lateral line. Dorsal bluish-black, each scale with a blue point. Last rays of soft dorsal yellow; a black point at base of last ray. A large blackish blotch on middle of first soft rays. Spinous dorsal with a marginal pale band made of two narrow stripes of bluish, and two of dull orange. Anal golden yellow, its edge dusky, traces of a pale spot at base of last ray. Pectoral yellow, a conspicuous blue spot at base above. Ventrals yellow, tinged with bluish. A blackish blotch on ~ middle of base of lower jaw. 126. Pomacentrus obscuratus Poey. (2? Pomacentrus atrocyaneus Poey). Not rare; in the same localities as the preceding. Males sooty blue-black in life, not paler below; each scale of back and sides with an inconspicuous bronze-olive spot. <A faint paler band around caudal peduncle. Head with small spots of sky-blue, those before eye oblong. Iris blue and gilt. Spinous dorsal with blue and with bronze spots. Soft dorsal with fine blue points. Dorsal with a submarginal band of paler; this band on spinous dorsal formed of two oblique yellowish stripes with a bluish stripe between them. Caudal black, paler at tip, its base with blue spots. Anal black, with blue points at base. A whitish spot at base of last ray. A conspicuous black spot at base of upper pectoral rays. No black blotch on back of tail. Other specimens (females?) are paler, with faint blue spots on scales of sides, and no blue spots on head or pale spot on anal. Body rather deep, the anterior profile much convex; interorbital space strongly convex; eye longer than snout, 34 in head. Preorbital and preopercle sharply serrate. Caudal well forked, the upper lobe the longer, especially in males. Lower limb of preopercle scaly. Head 34; 134 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM depth 2 (22 in total), D. XII, 14; A. 11,12; Scales 3—28—10. Length 4 inches. This species is apparently closely related to P. fuscus Castelnau and to P. atrocyaneus Poey; the latter species is said to have the depth 3 in total length, while the former is described as having the preorbital and preopercle weakly serrate, and a black blotch on the back of the tail. 127. Glyphidodon saxatilis (LL). Cock-eyed Pilot. Common about rocks and in tide-pools. LABRIDZ. 128. Lachnolemus suillus Cuvier. Hog-fish. (Lachnolemus falcatus Cuy. & Val., not Labrus falcatus L.) A common food-fish, reaching a weight of six or eight pounds. The flesh is white and considered good, although less valued at Key West than in some other regions. The variations in the ground color are considerable, older fishes and fishes taken in deep water being much redder than small fishes or fishes taken from grassy bottoms. One of the latter, one foot in length, was gray, violaceous above, each scale olive-green at base. Lower parts tinged with creamy-orange. Head more purplish, mottled with olive. Cheeks greenish. An undulate blue line below eye, below which are purplish reticulations. Long spines of the dorsal fin greenish at base, orange at tip. Soft dorsal similar, a large black blotch at its base. Caudal grayish, with three rows of dull olive spots. Anal similarly colored; pectoral light orange. Ventrals blackish at tip, reddish at base. Deep-water fishes are brick-red or orange red, the degree of redness being very variable, the markings constant. The adult male has further the vertical fins all blackish at base, the black forming a crescent on the caudal; frontal region from snout to occiput abruptly blackish ; lower jaw light yellow. The male fish has the cleft of the mouth very much wider than the female. These large-mouthed hog-fish are thought by many fishermen to belong to a different species. One specimen had four elongate spines in the dorsal. We have little doubt that Professor Poey is right in referring all the nominal species of Lachnolemus to one, and in retaining for this one the name L. suillus of Cuvier, instead of that of faleatus L., used by Va- lenciennes. The Labrus falcatus L. is desciibed as follows : ‘“ Paleatus, 10. L. prima dorsali analique radiis quinque primis iner- mibus faleata. D.35; P.17; V.5; A. 353 C. 20. ‘6 Habitat: In America. Mus. De Geer. Corpus latitudine Brame, argenteum. Radius primi e mollibus dorsalis analisque elongati, se- quentibus, unde he pinne falecate, dentes acuti. Pinne ventrales parve.” PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 135 I see no reason for thinking this a Lachnolemus at all. It is much more likely to have been a Trachynotus. So far as it goes, it agrees fully with Trachynotus rhodopus. 129. Platyglossus radiatus (Linneus). Pudding-wife. (Labrus radiatus L., Syst. Nat. ed. x, 1758, 288 (based on a figure by Catesby ; not Sparus radiatus, L. ed. xii.) Platyglossus cyanostigma, (Giinther, iv, 161.) Rather common, reaching a much larger size than any other of the American Platyglossi, aud therefore a food-fish of some importance. The largest seen are about 20 inches in length. This is the species which should retain the Linnean name radiatus. The Labrus radiatus of the tenth edition of the Systema Nature, based on a figure of Catesby, is this fish. The Sparus radiatus of the twelfth edition, described from a specimen sent by Dr. Garden from Charleston, is Platyglossus bivittatus. In life the female of the ‘* Pudding-wife” is of arich translucent bronze olive, the belly becoming of a livid pearly blue, tinged with creamy orange. A quadrate area before dorsal yellowish green, with abrupt edges and bounded by blue lines ; three whitish saddle-like blotches be- low dorsal fin; a yellowish area on back of tail; top of head orange olive, with three rows of clear blue spots; a blue stripe from nape through upper part of eye to snout; a wavy stripe of blue just below eye; temporal region with curved streaks of bright blue; lips mostly blue; cheeks nearly plain; opercle light orange, with dashes of blue and violet, but without well defined spots; middle of lower jaw light blue; a longitudinal streak on lower part of cheeks; lower jaw light orange, with two blue cross-bands ; interopercle with a blue stripe ; axil green; a yellowish green shade from pectoral to caudal; a deep blue spot at upper base of pectoral; two broad orange bars downward and backward from pectoral, the interspaces blue; each scale on body with vertical spot of a vivid blue; oncaudal peduncle these spots are brighter, becoming round below and horizontally oblong above; some of them on base of anal confluent in lines; mouth and gill-cavity within white (livid blue in male). Dorsal orange; a broad blue marginal stripe; a blue stripe at its base, interrupted behind; besides these a mesial stripe, breaking up posteriorly into about three rows of irregular curved spots. Caudal orange, broadly tipped with yellow, its outer rays blue, its basal part with many irregular spots of light blue. Anal with a basal row of blue spots, then an orange band, then a narrower stripe of bright blue, then a broad yellow band, then a row of blue spots, then orange, then an edge of sky blue. Pectoral translucent, shaded with biue and some pale orange. Ventral with the spine and first soft ray blue, the mem- brane orange, the fin otherwise translucent. Male fish largely olive, the lower parts deep bluish green; a bright orange olive area behind opercle, then a blue cross band with indefinite 136 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. edges at vent, the rest of the body tinged with golden, the part above axis of body more or less orange brown; the whole upper half of body shows more or less orange shading. Breast blue-green. Blue spots on scales less pronounced than in the female. Head livid blue-green, more or less striped and spotted with clear blue, the spots arranged as in the females, but less sharply defined. Orange stripes and areas on top and front of head as in female, but the blue areas larger and more encroach- ing. Dorsal and caudal alike in both sexes, the blue more pronounced in male. Anal alike in both, but in the male the median stripe is of a rich grass green. Pectoral in male with blue rays and bright grass- green membranes. Ventrals similar, but the inner rays green. Blue spot at base of pectoral above very intense. Oblique bands from_pec- toral downward and backward similar in both sexes. Blue under lower jaw and middle of breast similar. Lower pharyngeal T-shaped, not much broader than long. 130. Platyglossus bivittatus (Bloch). Slippery Dick. (Sparus radiatus Linneus, Syst. Nat. ed. xii, 1766, 472, on a specimen sent from Charleston by Garden. ) (Platyglossus humeralis, grandisquamis and florealis of authors. ) Exceedingly common in shallow waters and about rocks. It rarely reaches the length of a foot. Its markings are quite constant, but the ground color is subject to much variation. All the specimens obtained in Cuba are light olive, much paler than any taken at Key West, but the markings are precisely the same. The changes due to age are con- siderable. This fish is often caught by boys with small hooks. It is known as Slippery Dick. With Synodus spixianus, it is also often called Soap-fish. 1t is not brought into the markets. Greenish above, sides shaded with purple, the purplish color extend- ing on the back where it forms about ten dark bars. Young specimens with a brownish lateral band and a reddish stripe above it and below it. Many scales of posterior part of body, each with a vertical spot of deep greenish blue; these smallest and bluest on caudal peduncle. Blue, red, and greenish shades extending downward and backward from pectoral. A red band from each eye, these meeting on the nape; each bordered before with blue, behind confluent with a median red- dish vertebral stripe which extends to front of dorsal. Snout largely red; frontal region green; a red band through snout to edge of opercle edged by blue below, then yellowish and again red. Lower jaw with two orange red bands, its middle red in front, blue behind. Throat reddish. Opercle with a violet spot edged by green and orange. Be- yond this is a <-shaped violet mark edged behind with yellow. Dorsal bluish at base, then red, yellowish, red, and pale. Sometimes, but not always, a violet spot at base of its last ray. Caudal largely red, with oblique bluish and yellowish stripes, the corners more or less bluish, darkest in the adult; anal like dorsal. Ventrals redish; pectorals plain. PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 137 131. Xyrichthys rosipes Jor. & Gilb. Two young specimens taken with the seine in the surf. 132. Doratonotus thalassinus Jor. & Gilb. One specimen taken with the seine in eel-grass. The most exquisitely colored fish seen at Key West. 133. Scarus guacamaia Cuvier. Parrot-fish. Rather common in rocky places. It reaches a length of 15 to 18 inches, being larger than any of the other species. 134. Scarus cceruleus Bloch. One young specimen taken; adult specimens, deep blue in color, are said to be frequently taken, but none were seen by me. 135. Scarus croicensis (Bloch). (Pseudoscarus sancte-crucis Gthr.) A few young specimens taken. 136. Scarus flavescens (Bloch & Schneider.) (Scarus squalidus Poey.) The most abundant species of the genus; found everywhere in eel-grass and alge. It rarely exceeds 10 inches in length. Like the other mem- bers of the genus, it feeds on alge, and from the softness of its flesh it is rarely brought into the markets, although it has not a bad flavor. 137. Sparisoma cyanolene Jordan & Swain. Common with the preceding, but smaller in size, the largest, sexu- ally mature, rarely exceeding 6 inches. 138. Sparisoma xystrodon Jordan & Swain. Common with the preceding, and still smaller, the females with spawn at a length of 4 inches. 139. Cryptotomus beryllinus Jordan & Swain. Not rare in eel-grass. It reaches a length of about 10 inches. SCORPAINID&4. 140. Scorpzena plumieri (Bloch). Scorpena bufo Cuv. & Val. Scorpena rascacio Poey. Rather common; the young taken with the seine near the shore; the adult taken with the hook in deeper waters. The species is held in great dread in common with the other species of the genus and Batra- chus tau, by the fishermen on account of the poisonous properties of the dorsal spines. It is rarely used for food. The coloration is highly variegated, and is subject to much variation. The species may be always known by the presence of large white spots in the jet-black ground color of the axil. 138 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. In life sand color, with two broad blackish shades on the body and one onthe head; the belly purplish; the lower side of head finely speckled in all shades of light, dark, and pearly-bluish ; upper parts covered with whitish cirri and profusely speckled, the surface looking as though covered with sand; eye with radiating dark spots; dorsal colored like body, with some well-marked whitish spots; second dorsal en- croached on by the dark band on the body below it; caudal variously mottled, with three black and three pale bands; anal whitish, varie- gated with reddish and black ; ventral similar, but with more maroon- red;