DISCUSSION OF SPECIES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION. 345 



Family OPHIDIID.^. 



Gli Ofidini, Rafinesqiie, Indico d Ittiologia Siciliaua, 1810, 34. 



Ophiiliida; Bonapakti;, S.a;jt;io, etc., 1832, 38; Cat. Met., 41.— GlNTiTER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., iv, 370 (part).— 



Gii.L, Arr. Faui. Fisli., 1872, 3 (No. 19); Pioc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1887, 177. 

 OpMdio)iiii(r, Swainson, Nat. Hist. Fish., etc., 1839, II, 179. 

 Opliulhii, Mi'LLHU, Berl. Abhandl., 1840. 

 OphUlioidei, Blehkeu, Tentaineu, x.w (i)art). 



Opliidioi(leii,with cliiu ventrals, reiiresented by bifid, biubel-like iilameuts, aud theauus 

 iu the auterior half of the length. {Ulll.) 



KEY TO THE GENERA OF OPHIDIID^. 



A. Outer teeth in jaws fixed. 



1. Operculum unarmed [Ophipium] 



2. A sharp concealed .spine on the operculum Otophidium 



B. Outer teeth in .jaws movable. Topof head scaly Leptophiuu'M 



OTOPHIDIUM, Gill. 



Geviji>ierus, PiiiLLiPi, WicjLjm. Archiv., 1857, 2G8. 

 Otophidium, Gill,, iu Jordan, Cat. Fish, N. A., 188.5, 12G. 



A genus with characters of Ophidium, and also provided witli ;i short concealed s])ine 

 on the opercle. 



OTOPHIDIUM OMOSTIGMA, (.JounAN and Gilhert), ,Joiii>ax. (Figure 30.5.) 



dcniiptcrus omiistigma, .Iokdan and Gilbert, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1882, 301 ; Bull, xvi, If. S. Nat. Mus , 



963. 

 Otopliidium omostigmo, .Iordan, Cat. Fish, N. A., 1885, 126. 



Body comparatively short, highest at occiput; thence tapering rapidly to tip of tail; 

 npper pi'oflle of head very convex; snout blunt; mouth horizontal, the lower Jaw included; 

 maxillary not quite reaching posterior border of orbit; teeth in jaws uniform, strongly in- 

 curved, in rather broad bands; a single series of small teeth in vomer; those on palatines 

 minute; maxillary 1 J in head; eye large, 3 in head, much larger than snout, equaling twice 

 interorbital width; opercle terminating in a strong, compressed spine, the length of which 

 is about two-thirds diameter of pupil; gill-rakers very small, 4 below on anterior arch. 

 Longest ventral filament half length of head; the shorter three-quarters length of longer. 

 Distance from origin of dorsal to tip of snout 3;^ in total length; distance from origin of 

 anal to snout 2i in total length. Scales minute, imbedded. Pseudobranchife not evident. 

 Air blnddor short, thick, with a large posterior foramen. Head 4.\ in length ; depth about C. 



Color light olive-green, silvery on belly, cheeks, and lower .side of head; sides above 

 with a few irregular, large, scattered, dark blotches; about 9 of these along base of dorsal 

 fin; an intensely black, round blotch on scapular region, rather larger than pupil; dor.sal 

 with black blotches; anal largely black ; upper half of eye black, lower half bright silvery. 



A single specimen, 3J inches long (No. 29670, C. S. Nat. Mus.), taken from the stomach 

 of a red snapper, at Pensacola. 



LEPTOPHIDIUM, Gill. 

 Leptophidium, Gill, Proc. Phil. Acad. Niit. Sci., 1863, 210. 



Body much elongated, moderately compressed, and with the back and abdominal regions 

 arched, more compressed and slowly decreasing in height backward to an abruptly rounded 

 lioiiit. 



Anus toward the end of the first third of the length. 



Scales regularly imbricated in ([uincunx, oval, with the nucleus in front of the center, 

 and with striw radiating backward. 



Lateral line concurrent with and near the back for about half the length, obsolescent 

 behind. 



