DISCUSSION OF SPECIES AND THEIR DISTKIHUTION. 465 



5 from .statiou L'388, Alhatronn; 13 young examples from Albatross station li404; 1 young 

 from statiou 2400, and 2 youug ones from station 240? . 



The types of the ilescri))tion are the specimens from statiou 2302, N. lat. 22^ 08' 30", 

 W. Ion. 80'^ 53' 30", from 25 lathonis, oft Cape Catoche, Yucatan. The other localities are 

 as follows : station 2388, N. lat. 29° 24' 30", W. Ion. 88° 01', from 35 fathoms. Gulf of Mexico; 

 station 2404, N. lat. 28° 44', W. Ion. 85° 10', from 00 fathoms, Gulf of Mexico ; station 2406, 

 N. lat. 280 40', W. Ion. 84'= 49', from 26 fathoms, Gulf of Mexico; station 2407, N. lat. 28'^ 

 47' 30", W. Ion. 84^ 37', from 24 fathoms. Gulf of Mexico. 



PRIONOTUS EGRETTA, Goode and Bean, n. s. (Figure 381.) 



The standard length, which is the total length without the caudal, is 106 millimeters. 

 The body is rather slender, rapidly tapering posteriorly. The greatest height, which is at 

 the ventrals (23 millimeters), is contained 4i times in the standard length. The least height 

 of the tail (7 millimeters) etiu;ds half the length of the intermaxillary. The head is moder- 

 ately long, its greatest length (40 millimeters) contained 2g times in the standard length. 

 The snout does not-descend so abruptly as in P. militarius and is without projections from 

 the front. Its length (17 millimeters) is half the length of the ventral. The width of the 

 interorbital space (0 millimeters) equals half the long diameter of the eye (12 millimeters). 

 The length of the eye is contained 3J times in that of the head. The spines of the head are 

 moderately strong and are without subsidiary basal spines. The length of the spine at the 

 angle of the preoperculum is nearly ecpial to that of the opercular spine, and is nearly half 

 the length of the snout. The exposed edges of the bones of the head are minutely serrated, but 

 the teeth at the end of the snout are slightly enlarged. Humeral spine small, nuchal spines 

 not well developed. One or two spines at the front of the supraorbital and two or three at its 

 posterior portion. About 9 developed gill rakers on the anterior arch; the longest of them 

 about 2 millimeters in length. Teeth in villiform bauds in the jaws and on the vomer and 

 palate. The vomerine band very narrow. The length of the maxilla (14 millimeters) nearly 

 one-third the length of the head. The length of the mandible (17 millimeters) equals 

 the length of the snout. The mandible reaches nearly to the vertical from the front of the 

 eye. A very slight groove across the nape immediately behind the eyes continued down- 

 ward by an interspace between the preoperde and opercle. The distance of the dorsal 

 from the tip of the snout (39 millimeters) is about equal to the length of the head. The 

 base of the spinous dorsal (24 millimeters) equals the length of the head without the snout; 

 the first spine is coarsely serrated for the first sixth of its length, and is produced into a 

 filament, which extends beyond the end of the caudal when laid back, making the length 

 of the first spine (117 millimeteEs) greater than the standard length of the fish; several of 

 the succeeding spines are also weakly serrated on their anterior margin. The length of 

 the second spine (22 millimeters) nearly ecpial to that of the base of the tin. The last three 

 spines are very small. The first ray of the second dorsal is also serrated on its anterior 

 margin ; the rays greatly increase in size posteriorly to the ninth, which is nearly one-half as 

 long as the head. ^The base of the second dorsal (28 millimeters) is twice as long as the 

 maxilla. The caudal is somewhat emarginate, the length of the middle rays (26 millimeters) 

 a trifle longer than the base of the spinous dorsal. The anal origin is almost directly under 

 that of the second dorsal. The length of the spine (7 millimeters) is about two-thirds that 

 of the first ray. The anal rays increase in length posteriorly, the length of the ninth (14 

 millimeters) being one-half of the base of the second dorsal. The length of the pectoral 

 (34 millimeters) is less than the length of the head ; the fin when extended reaches to the 

 vertical from the fourth ray of the second dorsal. The longest separate ray of the pectoral 

 (28 millimeters) is as long as the base of the second dorsal. The shortest separate ray (20 

 millimeters) is one half the length of the head. Ventral when extended reaches to the 

 origin of the anal. The scales are very small, about 9 rows between the origin of the sec- 

 ond dorsal and the hiteial line, and about 32 rows between the lateral line and the vent. 

 About 60 tubes in the lateral line; nearly 100 oblique rows can be counted between the head 

 and the caudal fin. 



1980S -No. 2 30 



