PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 371 



terior profile little curved ; mouth ratber large, the maxillary reaching 

 slightly beyond eye, 2| in head (in young), proportionately longer iu 

 adult. Teeth in rather narrow bands ; two rather strong canines di- 

 rected little forward in front of each jaw; eye moderate, 6 in head 

 (young). Interorbital space slightly convex, its width G in head. Pre- 

 opercle forming a regular curve without salient angle, the emargination 

 near the angle very slight. Nostrils small, roundish, subequal ; not very 

 close together. Gill-rakers few, about 13 on lower part of anterior arch. 



Scales rather small, chiefly cycloid ; dorsal spines comparatively slen- 

 der and weak, the outline of the fin gently convex ; the tenth spine about 

 as long as second ; third and fourth spines longest, 3^ in head ; caudal 

 fin truncate when spread open, its outer rays a very little produced. If 

 in head; anal rather high and rounded, its longest rays 2^ iu head; pec- 

 toral reaching slightly beyond tips of ventrals, l-j^ in head. Pyloric 

 cceca 15 (Poey). 



Color in life, deep orange-brown, more olive on the back, clouded above 

 by paler or grayish ; sides and belly marked everywhere by reticula- 

 tions of pearly gray, which surround roundish or oblong spots of the 

 ground color, the pale streaks being largely horizontal on the sides. 

 Sides of the head similarly marked, the spots smaller, bronze-brown, 

 the reticulations decidedly bluish. Six or seven spots in a straight line 

 between eye and preopercle, the spots having nearly the diameter of 

 the pupil. Spots on the body mostly covering 4 to 6 scales, all of them 

 larger than a scale. Dorsal olive-brown, somewhat mottled. Caudal 

 similar to dorsal, narrowlj" edged with whitish; anal similar, with two 

 or three rows of bluish spots, its tips blackish with a narrow whitish 

 edge. Pectorals olive-brown, plain. Ventrals blackish, the rays bluish. 

 Mouth not green, the lips olive, barred with bluish. Iris reddish. 



A large specimen, about 2^ feet in length, seen at Key West, retained 

 the same general coloration, the bronze spots and rivulations being dis- 

 tinct and not smaller than in the young. In spirits the orange-brown 

 of the body is replaced by dark brown, and the blue reticulations of the 

 head, by gray ; all the markings become more faint. Pyloric cceca 17 

 (Poey). 



The above description is from partly grown specimens. A very large 

 Grouper, lately obtained by Mr. Silas Stearns, at Havana, appears to 

 belong to the same species, although the coloration is strikingly differ- 

 ent through the much smaller size of the spots. The following is a de- 

 tailed description of the Pensacola specimen, of which the skin is pre- 

 served in spirits. We regard it, for the present, as a subspecies of E. 

 honaci. 



DESCRIPTION OF VAR. XANTHOSTICTA (VAR NOV.). 



Head, 3 {^) ; depth, 3 (3^). D. XI, 17 ; A. Ill, 12. Scales, 22-110-x. 

 Length, 4G inches. 



Body comparatively robust, formed much as iu E, venenonus. Head 

 large, its anterior profile little curved, the snout not very acute, 3f in 



