58 ALLAN HANCOCK PACIFIC EXPEDITIONS VOL. 9 



No. 101690, female, 57 mm., Puerto Culebra, Costa Rica, 3-10 fathoms, 

 February 24, 1934. 



Hancock Foundation collection: AHF no. 7, male, 78.5 mm., Car- 

 tago Bay, Albemarle Island, Galapagos, 15-20 fathoms, Station 799-38, 

 January 22, 1938. 



Stanford collection: No. 34340, female, 53.5 mm., same data as 

 previous specimen. Also referred to this species, 2 specimens, 31, 33 mm. 

 (California Academy of Sciences collection), from Tagus Cove, Albe- 

 marle Island, Galapagos; not made paratypes because of small size and 

 poor condition. 



Description. — Dorsal rays 19-21; pectoral 10-11; anal 2-3; caudal 

 10; trunk rings 15; tail rings 36-39; dorsal covering ^-1 trunk rings 

 plus 4-5 tail rings, usually ^ plus 4^ ; one incubating male, 78 :5 mm., 

 with pouch covering first 15 tail rings and containing approximately 79 

 embryos, 1 layer deep, 2-3 layers wide. Head-in-standard length 8.94- 

 10.6; dorsal-in-head 1.24-1.51; snout-in-head 2.63-2.81; longest speci- 

 men 89 mm. (holotype). 



Snout, occipital and nuchal plates carinate ; opercle striate ; specimens 

 50 mm. or shorter with horizontal keel extending over anterior ^ or ^ 

 of opercle; larger specimens (holotype) entirely lacking keel. Cover plate 

 of pectoral usually with one sharp, dorsally placed longitudinal ridge. 

 Trunk and tail cristae slightly elevated. Cristae system veiy similar to 

 that described for Bryx veleronis. Lateral and ventral intersegmental 

 plates (scutella) large, distance between each being approximately 134 

 size of scutellar plate. Brood pouch of only incubating male with dermal 

 flaps completely covering eggs, and with free flap ends slightly over- 

 lapping each other in midventral line. 



Color and Habitat. — Holotype dark brown mottled with white; 

 brown dorsal transverse crossbars every 2 or 3 rings; paratypes dark 

 brown or brownish white; one specimen with indication of narrow white 

 ring every third or fourth trunk and tail ring. Two specimens collected 

 with Bryx veleronis by dredging in red algae beds, Albemarle Island, 

 Galapagos. 



Comparisons. — Syngnathus coccineus is similar to S. arctus, from 

 which it may be differentiated by a dorsal-in-head value of more than 

 1.25, whereas the latter has a value of 1.25 or less. This overlapping type 

 of brood pouch covering which is present in S. coccineus is also found in 

 5. arctus as well as in S. dunckeri from the Atlantic coast. S. coccineus 

 may be segregated from S. tweedliei and S. auliscus by the differences in 

 the number of rays in the dorsal fin. 



