New Species of Cuban Fish. 317 



XXIII. — New Species of Cuban Fish. 

 By Felipe Poey. 



Read January 17, 18T0. 



Mesoprioii rosaceus, Poey. 



I must doubtless have often seen this fish in Havana, taking 

 it to be a variety of the M. analis. It was not until 1869 that, 

 noticing the different size of the eye, I examined it more closely, 

 comparing it with the above species and with the M. Camn/p< - 

 chart us, which last had better be named Carajjechianus. 



Length of specimen 700 mm., or 27.56 inches. Height of 

 body almost equal to length of head, and three and a half times 

 in total length. Eye about one-sixth of head, placed rather high, 

 and half way from snout to membranous tip of opercle. Pos- 

 terior nasal opening elongated, and one diameter from eye. An- 

 terior opening small, round, nearer to the other than to the end 

 of the snout above the premaxillary. "With the mouth artly 

 open, the end of the maxillary is on a perpendicular, passing a 

 little back of the posterior nostril. Preopercle a little ernargin- 

 ate, with its denticulations irregular and not very prominent. 

 The tuberosity of the interopercle hardly visible. No spines 

 on the opercle. 



The premaxillary teeth strong and short, their base being half 

 the height. The three or four first ones on each side are double 

 the size of the next ones, which are twelve in number. A broad 

 band inside these of small card-like teeth, rather larger in front, 

 and quite immovable. The lower maxillary teeth resemble the 

 upper ones, but the anterior ones are not so large. There are a 

 few small inner teeth in front. The vomer has a small triangu- 

 lar patch, without any prolongation behind. The palatine teeth 

 are very small. The tongue rather obtuse and completclv 

 smooth. 



D. 10, 14 ; A. 3, 8. — The dorsal, equally divided into a 



