1288 Bulletin ^7, United States Natiojial Museum. 



near together, oblong, more than twice as long as broad (nearly round iu 

 X coliforniensis). Preorbital region, upper jaw, and tip of lower jaw 

 ■naked; rest of head seal}'. Edge of preorbital entire. Eye extremely 

 large, | longer than snout, which is somewhat longer than the width 

 of the iiat interorbital space; diameter of head 3 in length of head. Pre- 

 opercle produced and membranaceous at its angle, its vertical limb with 

 weak, sharp teeth. Gill rakers moderate, al)out i diameter of pupil, 

 64- 14. Scales moderate, thin, somewhat ctenoid, those of the breast like 

 the others; scales on breast and back somewhat reduced. Dorsal spines 

 high, flexible, the third highest, as long as snout and eye, or 11 in head, 

 5i in length of body; tenth dorsal spine very low; eleventh and twelfth 

 a little higher; soft dorsal lorg and low, its highest rays less than diame- 

 ter of orbit, its base f length of head, slightly longer than base of soft 

 dorsal, equal to base of anal; anal spines small, graduated, the third f 

 height of the soft rays; caudal moderately and equally forked, the mid- 

 dle rays f length of outer ; length of the fin more than length of snout and 

 eye; pectoral short, not reaching nearly to vent, a little longer than snout 

 and eye, or 1^ in head; ventrals not nearly reaching vent. If in head, 

 their accessory scale well developed; vertical fins with well-developed 

 sheaths of scales ; anal entirely scaly ; soft dorsal, pectorals, and ventrals 

 mostly covered with scales; caudal partly scaled. Coloration in life: 

 Back blnish-gray, below silvery; upper part of sides with 7 or 8 longitu- 

 dinal, narrow, yellowish-brown streaks, some of which are continued very 

 faintly on the head; snout blackish above, yellowish on sides; mouth 

 light yellow within, with tip of tongue and membrane of lower jaw black- 

 ish anteriorly; eye with a dusky yellowish streak surrounding the iris; 

 spinous dorsal yellowish below, dusky toward the margin ; other vertical 

 fins yellowish, with some scattered black points and with narrow black 

 margins; pectorals yellowish, the membrane with series of dark points 

 between the rays; ventrals white, with a dusky yellow blotch on the 

 outer + of outer rays. Young with two dark longitudinal stripes and a 

 faint dusky spot at base of caudal. Here described from the types of 

 Xenichthijs xenops, 10 inches long, from Panama. Pacific coast of trojiical 

 America; from Cape San Lucas to Panama; common southward. (Named 

 for John Xantus de Vasey, who made a remarkably valuable collection of 

 fishes at Cape San Lucas.) 



Xenichthys xanti, Gill, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1863, 82, Cape San Lucas; yoiinjr; Jor- 

 dan & Fesler, I. c, 461. 



Xenichthys xenops, Jordan & Gilbert, Bull. U. S. Fish Com. 1881, 325, Panama; adult. 

 (Type.s, No8. 29173 and 29513. Coll. Gilbert.) 



536. NEMIPTERUS, Swainson. 



Nemipterus, Swainson, Nat. Hist. Fishes, etc., 11, 223, 1839 (filamentosus). 

 Synagris, Gunther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., i, 373, 1859 (furcosui) ; not Synagris, Bleeker. 

 Dentex, Bleeker, Systema Percarum Revisuni, 278, 1875 (filamentosus) ; not of CuviER, 

 who.se type is Dentex dentex. 



This genus contains some 20 species, very closely allied to thi- European 

 genus Dentex, from which they are distinguished by the larger scales. 



