Jordan and Evermann.— Fishes of North America. 



2G87 



1052. ETROPUS, Jordan & Gilbert. 

 FAropu,, JORDAN & GILBERT, Proc. IT. S. Nat. Mus. 1881, 364 (cro^som.). 



Eyes and color on left side. Body regularly oval, deep and compressed. 

 Head small; mouth very small, the teeth close set, slender, and pointed, 

 fom Ihat incurved, mostly on the blind side; no teeth on vomei-^ Eyes 

 small, separated by a narrow, scaleless ridge; margin of preopercle Ivoe. 

 Ventrals free from anal, that of colored side inserted on ridge ot abdomen, 

 its base rather lung. Dorsal fin beginning above eye ; caudal double trun- 

 cate; anal without spine. Scales thin, deciduous, ctenoid on left side, 

 cycloid on blind side. Lateral lino simple, nearly straight. Size smah. 

 This genus is very close to CMariclMy^, from which it difters only in the 

 very small size of the mouth, and in the correspondingly weak dentition. 

 The 3 or 4 known species are similar in appearance to the species of C>tha- 

 richthys, ^nd they inhabit the same waters. Another genus extremely 

 close to Etropus and Citharichtkys is Tkysanopsetta, a South American genus 

 The teeth in Thysanopsetta are, however, arranged in a band. The larval 

 forms are translucent and symmetrical, as in Flatophrys, MonoJene Jn,o. 

 glossas, etc. (r/rpov, abdomen; .tov,, foot; in allusion to the insertion ot 

 the ventrals, common to all the Fsettlrue, but not found lu other sn.all- 

 mouthed species.) 



a. Snout not acute; dorsal rays 75 to 85. , , , t, 



h. ]5ody comparatively elongate, the deptb rather less than ^ length. 



/Borsalray.s81; anal 58; head 4i in length; ^^^ ^^ ^ ^^^ ^ ::-;^3,,, 



ee. Borsalrays77; anal 61; head 4 in length; eye 3, in head; -^^^^^ 



lb. Body very deep, the depth more than i length; eye 33 in head; maxillary 4; 



head 4^; depthlJto2; D.7Cto85; A.50to67; scales 42 to 48 ; cn-ri on suh- 



opercle of blind side very numerous, white; olive ground, ^vUh darker 



^ , „ 1 , CROSSOTUS, 3062. 



blotches ; hns sanded. 



3060. ETROPUS MICBOSTOMUS (Gill). 



- D 81 ; A. .58 ; caudal 4, 6, 5, 3 ; pectoral 10 ; ventral 6. The height of the 

 body enters about 2:} times (0.36-0.37) in the extreme length; that ot the 

 caud&l peduncle about 11 times. The head forms a lifth ot the length, 

 is rather abbreviated, scarcely sinuous above the eyes, blunt at the snout, 

 which scarcelv exceeds ] of the head's length and the rostral area is 

 rh..mbic, aud^not higher than long. The eyes are even; the long.tu- 

 diual diameter contained about3S times (0.05^) in the head s length. The 

 mouth is rather small, the length of the upper only equaling i ot the 

 length and that of the lower | of the head's length. The teeth are 

 very small, and close together; larger in front. The dorsal commences 

 aboVe the front of the orbit, and is highest and convergent near the for- 

 ti,.th rav, which e.iuals about ,V of the total length; the anal is highest 

 ;,t about the twenty-fifth ray, and is as high or even higher than the dor- 

 sal The caudal is rounded behind, and forms about |; ot the length . 

 The pectoral fins are unequally developed, that of the dark side being 

 prolonged, and contained only Of times it. the total length, whi e that of 

 the white side only equals -.^ of the same; the rays are all simple. 



