1885.] NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 51 



This species has been confounded with porosissimus, but the 

 absence of canine teeth on palatines (a constant character in all 

 known specimens), warrants its separation. Professor Jordan has 

 also examined the specimens in the British Museum. Those in 

 that collection from the Atlantic have canine teeth on the pala- 

 tines, the character assigned to P. plectrodon, while these are 

 wanting in the examples from the Pacific. 



A letter from Dr. H. E. Sauvage to Professor Jordan, states 

 that the t} r pe of Batrachus porosissimus Cuv. and Val. " has a 

 strong canine tooth on each side of the vomer ; on the palatines are 

 seen at first a strong, then some small teeth, and finally a strong 

 curved tooth." 



The application of the name po?*osissimus to the present form 

 is thus shown to be improper. 



8. Porichthys porosissimus. 



Batrachus porosissimus Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., xii, 

 1837, 501 (Surinam ; Cayenne ; Rio Janeiro ; St. Catherine); Jenyns, 

 "Zool. Beagle, 1842, 99." 



Porichtliys porosissimus Giinther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., iii, 1861, 176 

 (Brazil); Jordan, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1881, 41 ; Jordan & Gilbert, 

 Syn. Fish. N. A., 1882, 751 ; Jordan, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., 

 1883 (South America). 



Porichthys plectrodon Jordan, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1882, 291 (Gal- 

 veston); Goode & Bean, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1882, 236 (Gulf of 

 Mexico; no description); Jordan & Gilbert, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 

 1882, 307 (Gulf of Mexico ; no description); Jordan & Gilbert, Proc. 

 U. S. Nat. Mus., 1882, 616 (Charleston; no description); Jordan & 

 Gilbert, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 958 ; Bean, Cat. Fish. Exhibited, 

 London Exhibit, 1883, 47. 



Habitat — Atlantic Coast of North and South America, from 

 Charleston to Rio Janeiro. 



We have nothing to add to the very detailed description of 

 this species, given by Jordan and Gilbert under the name of 

 Porichthys plectrodon. The single specimen examined by us is 

 from Pensacola. 



3. BATRACHUS. 



Batrachus Bloch & Schneider, Systema Ichthyol., 1801, 42 {didactylus, 



tau, etc.). 



In this genus we recognize one American species, with two 

 varieties ; all found in the Atlantic. 

 5 



