^44 PROCEEDINGS OP THE ACADEMY OP [1886. 



Gasterostetis intermedius Girard, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1856, 135 ; 

 Girard, Pacific R. R. Survey, 89, 1859 (Cape Flattery); Jordan, Cat. 

 Fresh-water Fish N. A., 443, 1878 (Name only). 



Habitat Northern Atlantic Coast of both Continents. Yar. 

 caiaphractus is found on the West Coast of North America, from 

 San Francisco to Alaska and Kamtschatka. 



This species differs from the others in having the whole sides 

 covered with (28-30) bony plates. 



The hiaculeatus of Mitchill possesses the (33) plates charac- 

 izing the aculeatus and otherwise agrees with the latter; the 

 slight variation in the number of lateral plates may perhaps 

 arise from a different manner of counting them. 



The bispinosus of Walbaum and biaculeatus of Shaw are alike 

 based on Pennant. The description given by the latter author is 

 of very little importance, but the probabilities all favor that the 

 species he had in mind was Gasterosteus aculeatus. 



The 7ioveboracensis of Cuvier and Valenciennes is said to 

 differ from aculeatus in the position of the lateral line and in the 

 stronger caudal keel. Neither of these features is likely to be 

 of specific value, and I therefore place it in the synonymy of 

 aculeatus. 



The niger of Cuvier is based on the biaculeatus of Mitchill, 

 which is aculeatus. The trachurus of the same author has the 

 sides completely covered with plates, and is, of course, the 

 ordinary European form of aculeatus. 



The suppositus of Sauvage is a supposed new species described 

 by Deka}'^ as neoboracensis, but the neoboracensis of Dekay is 

 identical with the noveboracensis of Cuvier and Valenciennes, 

 and suppositus is therefore a synonym of aculeatus. The figure 

 of Dekay has lateral plates extending from the post-pectoral 

 plate to the caudal, but as this differs from the nature of the 

 armature of this group, and as Dekay does not mention the 

 naked area about the ventral region and gives the number of the 

 plates as 30 to 33, these discrepancies must be due to a mistake 

 of the artist. 



The Gasterosteus texanus of Sauvage is somewhat different. 

 It has eleven plates extending to the second ray of the soft 

 dorsal ; thence to the last ray, the body is naked, the peduncle 

 being again mailed and strongly keeled. As no sticklebacks 

 are found much south of the Great Lake region, it is very prob- 

 able that the type of G. texanus did not come from Texas. At 



