Jordan and Evermann. — Fishes of North America. 2199 



in a sharp poiut behind. Preopercular spine none, a broad, thin exten- 

 sion on the lowerlimbofpreopercle taking its ^ilace. Lower pharyngeals 

 triangular, normal, rather narrow; the teeth small. Vomer without teeth. 

 Length 1 foot. East coast of tropical America, Cuba to Rio Janeiro, in 

 fresh and brackish waters; very common, (guavina, Spanish name.) 



Eleotris gxiavina, Cuvikr &. Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., xii, 223, 1837, Martinique. 

 Guavina guavina, Jordan & Eigenmantj, I. c, 483. 



804. ELEOTRIS (Gronow) Bloch & Schneider. 



Eleotris, Gronow, Zooph., 83, 1763 (nonbinomial). 



Eleotris, Bloch & Schneider, Syst. Ichth., 65, 1801 (pisonis). 



(Julius, Bleeker, Esquisse d'un Syst. Nat. des Gobioid., 303, 1874 (fuscus). 



Body long and low, compressed behind. Head long, low, flattened 

 above, without spines or crests, almost everywhere scaly. Mouth large, 

 oblique, lower jaw projecting. Lower pharyngeals rather broad, the 

 teeth small,* bluutish. Preopercle with a small concealed spine below, 

 its tip hooked forward. Branchiostegals unarmed. Eyes small, high, 

 anterior ; isthmus broad. Post-temporal bones very strongly divergent, 

 their insertions close together, the distance between them about f the 

 narrow interorbital space, and less than f length of head ; top of skull 

 somewhat elevated and declivous; interorbital area slightly convex trans- 

 versely ; dorsal fins well apart, the first of 6 or 7 fl,exible spines; ventrals 

 seimrate. Scales moderate, ctenoid, 4.5 to 62 in a longitudinal series; ver- 

 tebr;e (pisovis) 11 + 15. Tropical seas, entering fresh waters. {)}Xe6g, 

 bewildered.) 



a. Teeth subequal, those of inner or outer series enlarged. 

 b. Cheek entirely scaled. 



c. Teeth of inner series of each jaw enlarged. 



d. Scales in a median series 40 to 51, in a cross series 12 to 20. 

 c. Eye large, 5 to 6 in head ; scales 40 to 44—12 to 14. 



AMBLTOPSIS, 2520. 

 ee. Eye small, 8 in head; scales 51-20. abacueus, 2521 . 



dd. Scales in a median series 57 to C6 ; in a cross series 18 to 24. 



PISONIS, 2522. 



bb. Lower half of cheek naked; scales 61. perniger, 2523. 



aa. Teeth all equal ; .scales 60. pictds, 2524. 



2520. ELEOTRIS AMBLYOPSIS (Cope). 



Head 3| ; depth 4i. D. VI-9 ; A. I, 8 ; scales 46 (40 to 44-12 to 14 accord- 

 ing to Eigenmann); eye 5^ in head, 2 in interorbital width; preoper- 

 cular spine strong, decurved; width of head | in its length; chin 

 prominent; premaxillary spines forming a projection in profile. Brown, 

 a black spot above at base of pectoral ; first dorsal and anal dusky ; sec- 

 ond dorsal and caudal delicately cross-barred with blackish ; 3 black 

 lines from orbit behind and below. Surinam. Described from 3 specimens 

 each 3 inches long. (Cope.) Dr. Eigenmann mentions 15 other examples, 



* The characters of the skeleton are taken from ElentHs pisonis and have not been ver- 

 ified on otlier species. The hooked preopercular spine supposed to characterize Culiusia 

 found on the typical species ot Eleotris, as well as in Alexurus. 



