2342 Bulletin 4-7 ■, Uriited States National Museum. 



times iu length of body; eye small, its diameter about \ interorbital 

 width; opercular spine well developed; ventral disk nearly as long as 

 head; mouth rather small, anterior, maxillary reaching front of eye; inci- 

 sors of lower jaw nearly horizontal, rather broad, 3-lobed at tip, the 

 middle cusp the longest; upper teeth much smaller, the median ones 

 compressed, blunt, close set, a little shorter than the lateral teeth and 

 with dentate edges, 1 or 2 series of small teeth close behind them; anal 

 beo'inniuo' under nuddle of dorsal; the distance from insertion of dorsal 

 to base of caudal contained 3f in length; pectoral i as long as head; 

 caudal truncate, with rounded angles. Back with 5 dark cross bars about 

 as wide as the interspaces, 3 of them in front of dorsal fin, the 2 anterior 

 much broader and more distinct than the others; these bars all dis- 

 tinct on back, fading on sides, which are often Taguely clouded with 

 dark; the color of these dark bars varies from reddish brown to black, 

 and that of the interspaces from olivaceous to light pink and bright rose 

 red; top of head bright red, marbled with light slaty bluish; a black 

 blotch on opercle, and 2 very distinct black cross spots, 1 on each side of 

 median line, forming the front of first dorsal bar; cheek sometimes with 

 2 or 3 pale bluish streaks; dorsal, pectoral, and caudal more or less shaded 

 with dusky; lower fins pale; usually a dark bar at base of caudal and 

 1 across middle of fin; shade of ground color extremely variable.* Very 

 abundant in the rocky tide pools around Mazatlan, hiding everywhere 

 under the numerous sea-urchins, especially Arhacia stcUata, the protective 

 colorakion of both being that of the CoralUna, which lines the rock pools. 

 Length 2 to 3 inches, {zebra, from the banded coloration.) 



Gobiesox zebra, Jordan &. Gilbert, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1881, 359, Mazatlan, Mexico 

 (Type, No. 29250. Coll. Gilbert) ; Jordan & Gilbert, Bull. U. S. Fisb Comm. 1882, 

 108; Jordan, Proc. Cal. Ac. Sci. 1895, 499. 



* The followiui; note ou the variations is furnished by Miss Susan B. Bristol: 

 '■I find 4 specinitiis of this species which differ considerably from the typicnl form. 

 These may rejiresciit a di-<tinct species, but at present we are inclined to tliiiik that all 

 these forms are modilications of one species, Arbaciosa zebra. The foUowinj; is a descrip- 

 tion of a specimen li inches long, taken at Mazathan (No. 4166 in the L. S. Jr. Univ. Mu- 

 seum) : Head :!i; depth 9. D. 5 or 6; A. 6. Body slender, much depressed, comi)re8sed 

 posteriorly, the greatest width 4f in length. Head depressed, its width IJ in its leny,th. 

 Eye very small, about 1^ iu interorbital width. Suout rather rounded, S} iu head. Oper- 

 cular spine present. Interorbital width 2J in head. Ventral disk 1| in head. Mouth 

 small, the lower jaw inferior; outer teeth in botli jaws serrate. Anal beginning at end 

 of the fir.st g of dorsal. Distance from front of dorsal to ba.se of caudal 1,^ in head. Cau- 

 dal terminate. Pectoral 2| in head. Color bright red, with very irregular yellow mot- 

 tlings on back ;ind sides, light yellow below; back with 4 irregular dark-red cross bars, 

 the posterior 3 of which are wider than the interspaces ; 3 of the cross bars in front of the 

 dorsal tin, and the fourth on either side of the dorsal; 2 conspicuous bUick spots about 

 ^ as large as eye, 1 on either side of median line on back above the pectorals a short 

 distance beliind their origin; snout plain, dark red; pupil white; 2 yellow parallel 

 stripes extending from eye backward and downward, the second ending at a point about 

 4 tlie distance from tip of snout to end of opercle; dorsal, caudal, and anal dusky; ven- 

 trals and pectorals jialer; a large red blotch at base of pectorals extending for a consid- 

 erable distance on the fin. Another specimen from Mazatlan, bright red in color, about 

 J of an inch long_(also in bottleNo. 4166, L. S. Jr. Univ. Museum), differs from the preceding 

 form in the following respects: In the greater depth, which is 6| in length, in the smaller 

 ventral disk, which is IJ in head; in the more pointed snout; in the absence of the 2 

 black spots above pectorals; and iu having the 4 dark red bands on the back more dis- 

 tinctly marked. Two specimens from Guaymas, Mexico, 1 and IJ inches long, No. 92 in 

 the L. S. Jr. Univ. Museum, are cliocolate brown iu color, the sliorter having on iis back, 

 including the bar at base of caudal, 7 dark brown cross bars and no dark spots above the 

 pectoral, while in the longer there are no cross bars but a dark brown .spot about J as 

 large as the eye is present above the pectoral; also, in the longer one, the dor.sal begins 

 at the end of lirst third of anal. The eye in the larger specimens of zebra is larger than 

 in these 4 specimens, but some of the smaller specimens seem to be intermediate in this 

 regard between the typical form and these forms," 



