462 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



waters. The sampling effort was not unifonu 

 throughout the seasons, therefore, niany locahties 

 were not sampled during certain months. 



Most of my specimens from the Bahamas and 

 Antilles Current probably came from fall and 

 winter spawning, and most from along the rest of 

 the Atlantic coast of the United States probably 

 came from spring and summer spawning. 



KYPHOSUS INCISOR (CUVIER) 



Pimelepterus incisor Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 

 1831: p. 266 (Brazil). 

 Pimelepterus ilavo-lineatus Poey, 1866: p. 319 (Havana). 



The nomenclature of Kyphosus incisor, like K. 

 sectatrix, has been decisive since Jordan and Gilbert 

 (1883) brought widespread attention to the correct 

 generic name, Kyphosus [Lacepede (1802) for 

 Kyphosus bigibbus]. The authority given for K. 

 incisor has varied among Cuvier and Valenciennes, 

 Cuvier, and Parkinson. In liis description Cuvier 

 (Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1831) gave credit to 

 Parkinson for having sketched and named this 

 species Chaetodon incisor; however, he did not cite 

 a previous paper. 



The genus and species Seleima aurata Bowdich 

 (1825) is listed in doubtful synonymy to K. incisor 

 by Jordan, Evermann, and Clark (1930). The 

 description by Bowdich (1825) for Seleima aurata 

 is without doubt not a description of Kyphosus. 



DEVELOPMENT 



%. — IX (1 specimen), X (3 specimens), 

 XI (61 specimens), or XII (1 specimen) — 13 (33 



Dorsal Jin. 



j^i (Di specimens), or All (I specimen) — la (3i! 

 specimens), 14 (65 specimens), or 15 (1 specimen) 



(table 9). Full complement of total dorsal raj's 

 (spines and soft-rays combined) is present by 8.5 

 mm. and the soft-rays are all segmented and un- 

 branched except for the last which is divided to 

 its base (fig. 6). Some specimens from 8.5 to 10.2 

 mm. long have the last spine pointed, but seg- 

 mented, indicating near completion of the transi- 

 tion from segmented ray to unsegmented spine 

 noted also in K. sectatrix. By 17.2 mm., the next 

 to last ray has branched, and by 17.5 mm., all 

 but the first two soft-rays and the posterior ele- 

 ment of the last have branched. By 19.0 mm., 

 only the first soft-ray remains unbranched; all have 

 branched by 25.8 mm. 



In this species the spines are inserted alternately 

 to the left and right of the mid-dorsal line as in K. 

 sectatrix. Two spines articulate to the same bone 

 in the fin of tlie single specimen with 12 spines. 



Anal Jin. — III (66 specimens) — 12 (17 speci- 

 mens) or 13 (82 specimens) (table 9). The full 

 complement of total anal rays (spines and soft- 

 rays combined) is present by 8.5 mm. (fig. 6). 

 One at 8.7 mm. has the third ray pointed but still 

 segmented, indicating a transition from segmented 

 ray to unsegmented spine as in the dorsal fin. 

 From 8.5 to 17.2 mm., the soft-rays are all seg- 

 mented and unbranched except for the last wliich 

 is divided to its base. By 17.5 mm., all but the 

 first two soft-rays and the posterior element of the 

 last ray have branched. By 19.0 mm., only the 

 first remains unbranched and it is branched by 

 21.7 mm. 



Pectoral Jin. — 18 (7 specimens), 19 (58 speci- 

 mens), or 20 (6 specimens) soft-raj^s (table 4). The 



Figure 6. — Kyphosus incisor juvenile, 8.5 mm. (preserved for 2 years). 



