EIGENMANN— SIXTEEN NEW PYGIDIID^. 703 



1 6. Branchioica Bertoni* spec. nov. 



13950 I., type, 24 mm., paratype about the same length over all, 

 much curved. Taken from a large Characin. Piaractits 

 brachypomits (Cuvier). Asuncion, Paraguay. Collected by 

 A. de W. Bertoni. 



Head about 5.5; depth 5.5; D. 10; A. 7; P. 6; eyes superior, 

 nearly the entire eye in the anterior half of the head, 3.5 in the 

 head, about equal to the length of the snout, considerably larger than 

 the interorbital ; maxillary barbel extending to very near the inter- 

 opercular spines, the lower barbel very minute ; caudal peduncle 

 slender, abdomen well rounded ; premaxillary with two irregular 

 series of slender, pointed teeth, those of the posterior series much 

 the larger, about five in number, subequal, both series graduated 

 from the larger ones nearer the center outward, laterad of the 

 median series (on the premaxillary?), four or five similar but 

 smaller teeth, graduated from the larger proximal one ; the rami 

 of the lower jaw widely separated from each other, each w'ith about 

 five, recurved, pointed teeth in two series on its end, in apposition to 

 the lateral series of the upper jaw; gill-opening minute, circular, 

 gill-membranes perfectly confluent with the isthmus ; opercle with a 

 bundle of about twelve, subequal, upward directed spines ; inter- 

 opercle with about eleven curved, downward directed spines, ar- 

 ranged in two series ; distance between origin of ventrals and caudal 

 1.6 in its distance from the snout, origin of anal behind the origin 

 of the dorsal ; distance between anal and caudal about 5 in the 

 length ; pectoral falcate, the outer ray not prolonged as a filament, 

 about as long as the head ; origin of the dorsal between that of the 

 ventrals and anal ; twice as far from snout as from caudal ; caudal 

 narrow, obliquely rounded or subtruncate, with few inconspicuous 

 fulcra. 



Translucent, eyes black, chromatophores on the snout, along the 

 back, along the base of the anal, on the base of the caudal, along the 

 side of the abdominal cavity and a few on the pectoral. 



■* In honor of the discoverer of the species, Mr. A. de W. Bertoni, of 

 Asuncion, Paraguay. 



