86 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM. 



anterior margin of the eye. Teeth of the upper jaw narrow, with a large median 

 point and three small points on the side of the tooth; teeth of lower jaw much wider, 

 broad-tipped, with five points, three of these of equal size and prominence, the 

 lateral points minute and much below level of the other three; maxillary usually 

 with two or three teeth, rarely four; premaxillary teeth six and six or six and seven; 

 mandible with about six notched, graduated, teeth followed on the side with about 

 three minute, conical teeth; second suborbital and lower postorbital leaving but 

 a narrow, naked area between them and the vertical limb of the preopercle. 

 Gill-rakers 7 + 12. 



Origin of dorsal equidistant from tip of snout and some distance behind tip of 

 adipose, its height little greater than length of head. The first ray in the male pro- 

 longed into a filament, which sometimes reaches the adipose fin. Anal emarginate, 

 its origin below the base of the last dorsal ray, base equal to length of head and 

 about one-fourth of pectoral; ventral usually not reaching anal, its outer ray 

 sometimes (in some males) filiform, reaching beyond origin of anal; origin of ven- 

 trals in front of the vertical from the first dorsal ray; pectorals not quite reaching 

 ventrals in female, a little beyond their base in some males; no prominent inter- 

 hsemals in males or females ; about seven (beginning with the first fully developed) 

 raj'S of the anal of the male with hooks. 



Scales thin, regularly imbricate, with few if any radial strise; caudal naked; 

 a small sheath at the base of the anterior anal rays; lateral line but little decurved. 



Distinguished from the other members of the genus by the large dorsal spot, 

 which is wedge-shaped from the upper part of the first fully developed dorsal ray 

 (the second) to the middle of the sixth or seventh ray; sometimes a minute black 

 spot near the middle of the first fully developed anal ray; caudal peduncle usually 

 with a large, conspicuous spot, which extends a little way on the middle caudal 

 rays and usually upward and downward across the entire caudal peduncle. The 

 caudal si)ot more rarely (6858a-b) very small, circular. A well-defined silvery 

 lateral band. 



The specimens from the province of Rio Grande do Sul, Nos. 6862 and 6877, 

 are larger than the rest. The caudal spot is restricted, ovate, but faintly extended 

 upward and downward. They are slenderer, depth 2.33-2.66; with the six inter- 

 hsemals and nine interneurals of the caudal peduncle of the male e'qually well- 

 develoi)ed. 



As there is still a little doubt about their identity, I add the original description 

 of pequira as given by Steindachner, I. c. : 



(P. 38) "Seitenlinie vollstiindig; Korperform schr gestreckt. Bauchlinie bis 



