230 PROCEEiDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.94 



the vomerine patches meet in the midline, but in the type they are a 

 little separated; dentary with a band of villiform teeth. The width 

 of the head is contained about 1% to 1% in length of head to end of 

 opercle, while the width of the head across the angles of the mouth is 

 contamed 1.7 in head length and about lYz in width of head; interorbi- 

 tal space a little concave, the eye contamed about 3% in the interorbital 

 space; eyes with a free margin; nostrils closer to end of snout than eye, 

 and widely separated, the anterior nostril tubular, the posterior one 

 covered with a flap ; gill membranes extend forward, free from isthmus, 

 with the usual narrow free fold in front of which is a pouch; a sharp- 

 pointed, acutely triangular, spiny projection, a little longer than e.ye, 

 extending backward from shoulder girdle above axil of pectoral fin; 

 dorsal spine pungent, with a flexible produced tip extending beyond 

 branched rays a distance nearly equal to eye; pectoral spine heavy, 

 broad, with antrorse spines anteriorly and strong retrorse spines 

 along its posterior margins; gill rakers stiff, about 4 or 5+11; the 

 maxillary barbel is heavy, gradually tapering to a fine filament and 

 ending opposite caudal fin, shorter in the large parat3^pe; adipose fin 

 very long, twice length of anal fin base, 1% in length of head, and 3.9 

 in standard length; caudal peduncle rounded ; caudal fin deeply forked; 

 air bladder large. Alental barbels remote from tip of chin; eyes 

 superior, not visible from below; supraoccipital process longer than 

 its base and meeting the predorsal plate; below the lateral line are 

 groups of fingerlike canals branching from the lateral line and ending 

 in pores. 



This new genus may be distinguished from related genera by the 

 key on pages 187-189, 



Genotype. — Periunichthys perruno, new species. 



Named Perrunichfhys after the common name of this species, called 

 bagre perruno by the people of the Maracaibo Basin. 



PERRUNICHTHYS PERRUNO, new Bpecies 



Perruno 

 Figure 3, d; Plate 3, B 



Holotype. — U.S.N.M. No. 121189, a specimen 270 mm. in standard 

 length, taken in the Rio Negro below the mouth of the Rio Yasa, 

 about 75 Ian. south of Rosario, west side of Lago Maracaibo, by 

 Leonard P. Schultz, March 2, 1942. 



Para/ype.— U.S.N.M. No. 121200, a large specimen 620 mm. in 

 standard length, taken along with the holotype and bearing the same 

 data. In addition, a larger specimen was collected, but one of the 

 men cut it in pieces with his machete and ruined it; thus it was not 

 preserved. The top of head of the paratype also was cut deeply by a 

 machete. 



