PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 95 



Centrals bluish green. Pectoral greenish yellow ; its base red around 

 a large black spot. 



In spirits the blue is more or less faded, leaving the fish chiefly green, 

 darker on head. The red and yellow of fins become pale grayish. 



According to Poey there is usually a dark blue horizontal stripe along 

 sides behind pectoral fin. 



A single rather large specimen was obtained in the Havana market. 



There has been no disagreement among recent writers as to the sy- 

 nonymy of this species. Goode, in adopting for it the name chloris, has 

 o^'erlooked the slight priority of chrysopterwn, and Poey has preferred 

 to set both aside on account of imperfections in the description and of 

 the error involved in the name of clirysopterum, none of the fins being 

 really golden. 



The identification of Parra's figure has been rendered certain by a 

 colored drawing of the original type of Parra, sent by Graells to Poey, 

 and by him presented to the present writer. 



The original figure of this species, published by Bloch & Schneider, is 

 atrocious as to form, but not uncharacteristic as to color or dentition. 

 It may have been made from a dried and distorted skin. 



9. Sparisoma lorito, sp. uov. 



Head, 3i (4); depth, 2| (3f)5 length of typical example (Havana), 10 

 inches. 



Body oblong, moderately deep. 



Jaws pale ; one or two small canines on each side, directed outward 

 and backward, in front of the angle of the mouth, one on one side, two 

 on the other, in the typical specimen ; uj)per lip covering more than 

 half of upper jaw. 



Eye rather large, 4§ in headj snout rather acute, 2§; cheeks with a 

 single row of large scales. Pores of lateral line less branched than 

 usual in this genus, not covering nearly the whole surface of the scale; 

 those on the caudal i^eduncle most branched ; those of the anterior re- 

 gion mostly once or twice forked. Four scales on median line before 

 dorsal. 



Caudal fin deeply lunate, the outer rays much produced, the upper 

 lobe slightly the longer, nearly twice as long as inner rays and nearly 

 as long as head. 



Color in life pearly blue, the color mixed with greenish and gray; 

 teeth pale ; dorsal reddish, tinged with graj' ; lobes of caudal green- 

 ish-graj", washed with brown ; center of fin reddish ; posterior margin 

 grayish ; anal rather dull scarlet mixed with gray ; ventrals pinkish ; 

 l)ectorals light yellowish-olive, a large black blotch at base above; 

 color in spirits brownish-olive in dorsal region, grayish-olive mixed 

 ■with crimson on sides, and light-green below ; head greenish, purj^lish 

 on cheeks, light-green below; lips green; dorsal and anal orange; the 

 rays grayish-dusky; caudal pale orange, the outer rays greenish; the 



