110 PROCEEDINGS OP THE ACADEMY OP 



he was the author of the genus, but because the name had been applied; 

 though from a false idea, to one of its species. 



The number of American species admitted by Drs. Dekay and Storer in the 

 genus Labrax amounts to seven, and another specific name has been since added 

 by Filippi, an Italian naturalist. It will be attempted to demonstrate, in the 

 following monograph, that all of these nominal species are referrable to three 

 true ones. Three of the synonyms apply to one species and four to another. 



Besides the species that have been attributed to the genus by Richardson. 

 Dekay and Filippi, several others have been described under that name by 

 modern naturalists. Dr. Charles Girard has noticed two of these in the "Pro- 

 ceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia," under the name 

 of Labrax n eb u 1 o s u s and L. clathratus. He afterwards constructed 

 for them a new genus which he called Paralabrax, and placed it in the vicinity 

 of Serranus. They appear truly to belong there, or perhaps to the group com- 

 posed of Elastoma Sw., or Macrops Dumeril, and Etelis Cuv. 



Mr. Hill, of Jamaica, in a useful catalogue of the Fishes of that island, has 

 also noticed a fish which he referred to Labrax, under the name of L. p 1 u v i a - 

 lis, or the rainy weather chub. It is said by that gentleman to be confounded 

 by the fishermen with the Labrax mucronatus, but differs from it by the 

 presence of vertical bars, like those of the common perch of Europe and America. 

 Is not this related to the Perca P 1 u m i e r i of Cuvier and Valenciennes ? The 

 presence of the vertical bars would militate against its natural association with 

 Morone, and it may perhaps be the type of a distinct genus or belong to the 

 genus Percichthys of Girard 



For the faculties of investigating inf) the history of this group I am indebted 

 to the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. 



I. Labrax (Klein) Cuv. emend. 

 Synonymy. 



Labrax Klein, Miss. V. p. 25, 1749. 



Perca sp. Linn. auct. 



Scieena sp. Bloch. 



Cenlropome sp. Lac. 



Perseque sp. Lac. 



Labrax sp. Cuv. Regne Animal, ed. prima, vol. ii. 1817. 



Dentes maxillare3, palatini et vomerini velutini; dentes linguales velutini in 

 margine totio et fascia longitudinali mediana dispositi. Squamae occipitales et 

 interorbitales, et in genis pleurusque cycloidea; vel vix pectinatee. Preoper- 

 culurn postice serratuni vel pectinatum, ad angulum plerumque subtusque 

 spinis recurvatis antrorsum spectantibus. Operculum biaculeatum. Finn* 

 dorsales ad basin baud membraca elevata conjunct^ ; pinna d.orsalis prim.. 

 numero radiorum baud decern superante. Pinna analis spinis tribus inmagni- 

 tudine regulariter increscentibus. 



The genus Labrax, as above restricted, is chiefly distinguished by the contin- 

 uous band of villiform teeth around the margin of the tongue, and the oval 

 disc at its base. It is most intimately allied to the genus Roccus, from which it 

 is separated by the character of the lingual dentition and the plectroid inferior 

 -margin of the preoperculum ; the latter character is seen in the less nearly 

 allied genus, Lateolabrax of Bleeker. 



But a single species of this genus is yet known. 



Labrax diacanthus Gill. 

 Synonymy (partim.) 

 Perca labrax Linn. Systema Naturre. 

 Scieena diacantha Bloch. 

 The full synonymy of this species can be ascertained by reference to the 



[April, 



