PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 291 



Color in life of adult fishes (1^ to 2 feet in length) pearly white, 

 somewhat olivaceous above, where a few of the scales have very 

 faint dark spots at their bases ; still fainter spots visible along the 

 scales of lower part of sides ; mouth orange within ; lips and a faint 

 blotch on each side of snout light yellow; a dusky shade under edge of 

 preopercle (much more distinct in young) ; fins all light olive ; the soft 

 dorsal somewhat dusky ; head without stripes or spots. 



Young more distinctly spotted, the spots small, round, blackish, each 

 with a pearly edge ; one under each scale of back and sides, very dis- 

 tinct when the fish is alive, or after its scales are removed, but disap- 

 pearing almost entirely with death. In life a broad dusky lateral band 

 is also distinct, but all traces of this disappear with death. The Cuban 

 specimens are more dusky in color and less distinctly spotted ; the 

 coloration above rather brassy than j)early. 



In all the species of Hcemulon Cuban specimens are decidedly more 

 dusky than those from Key West. In several species, however, certain 

 Cuban specimens are much paler than the average even of Key West 

 exami)les. This is true notably of sciurus, carbonarius, and parrce. The 

 pale form of sciurus has even received a different specific name {multi- 

 lineatum), but we have no doubt that these differences are dependent 

 on character of the water or the bottom, and not on difference of spe- 

 cies. 



HceTomlon gibbosum reaches a length of two feet or more, and is an 

 important food-fish both at Key West and Havana. English-speaking 

 fishermen everywhere call it Margate-fish, while the Spanish call it 

 Jallao. 



This is evidently the Hcemulon album of Cuvier & Valenciennes, and 

 apparently their H. chromis also. GUnther's R. microphthalmum, and 

 apparently his H. macrostoma also, belongs to the same species. Poey 

 has suggested that H. schranJci, Agassiz may have been based on the 

 young of this species, but this supposition seems to us very doubtful, 

 not to say impossible. 



The Margate-fish of Catesby, erroneously referred by Linnaeus to 

 his Perca chrysoptera {Fristipoma fulvomaculatum), and by Cuvier to his 

 Hcemulon chrysopterum {aurolineatum), evidently belongs here. 



The Calliodon gibbosus of Bloch & Schneider is apparently based on 

 the figure of Catesby, which, together with the Perca chrysoptera^ L. is 

 quoted in the synonymy. 



Schneider has evidently observed the descrepancy between the Lin- 

 nsen diagnosis of Perca chrysoptera and Catesby's figure of the Margate- 

 fish, and has changed the former to make it correspond with the latter. 

 His name gibbosus therefore, in our opinion, belongs with the Hcemulon 

 rather than with the Pomadasys. It has thus priority over the name 

 album of Cuvier & Valenciennes. The name gibbosus is, of course, sug- 

 gested by the Perca marina gibbosa of Catesby. 



