Jordan and Evcrman7i. — Fishes of North America. 1275 



line, those above very oblique; these stripes extend along the edges of 

 the rows of scales, the middle of each scale being whitish or silvery, its 

 base dusky, a brown blotch about base of pectoral. Mazatlan to Panama : 

 only 2 specimens known; 1 is in the museum at Berlin from Mazatlan, 

 from which specimen the above description was taken; the other was 

 taken by the Albatross at Panama. It is quite unlike any other American 

 species, (inermis, unarmed.) 



Megoprion inermis, Peters, Berliner Monatsber. 1869, 705, Mazatlan. 



Lutjanus inermis, Joed an, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1883, 285; Jordan cfc Swain, I. c, 459; 



Jordan & Bollman, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1889, 181 ; Jordan & Pesler, I. c, 451. 

 Rabirubia inermis, Jordan, Fishes Sinaloa, 457, pi. 39. 



527. OCYURUS, Gill. 

 (Rabirubias.) 



Ocyurus, Gill, Proc. Ac. Nat. f?ci. Phila. 1862, 236 (chrysurus). 



This genus is allied to Neomcenis, from which it differs notably in the 

 structure of the skull, especially in the forward extension of the fronto- 

 occipital crest to the ethmoidal projection; the prefrontals with posterior 

 areas short and excavated above and in front. The single species shows 

 numerous minor peculiarities, as' the peculiar form of the body, the large, 

 well-forked caudal fin, the small head, as well as an increased number of 

 gill rakers, and the presence (in the adult) of pterygoid teeth. {(OKV<i, 

 swift; ovpd, tail. ) 



1B50. OCYURUS CHRYSURUS (Bloch). 

 (Yellow-tail ; Rabirubia.) 



Head 3; depth 3. D. X, 13; A. Ill, 9; scales 7-65-15, 51 pores. Body 

 elliptical, comparatively elongate, the back little elevated, the profile 

 straight from the tip of the snout to the nape, thence rather strongly 

 arched; caudal peduncle long and slender; snout pointed, of moderate 

 length, 3 in head; eye small, 5 in head; interorbital space very convex, 

 with a sharp median keel, 4 in head; preorbital narrow, its least width 

 6| in head. Mouth small, oblique, the lower jaw projecting; maxillary 

 reachiug very slightly beyond front of orbit, 2^ in head; upper jaw with 

 a narrow band of villiform teeth, outside of which is a single series of 

 larger teeth, 5 or 6 of those in front being somewhat caninelike, but small; 

 lower jaw with a single series of moderately strong teeth, none of them 

 large enough to be called canines ; tongue with a large, oval patch of teeth, 

 in front of which is a smaller but similar patch ; teeth on vomer forming a 

 broadly arrow-shaped patch, with a backward prolongation on the median 

 line, which is nearly twice the width of the patch; a narrow band of 

 pterygoid teeth behind the jjatcli on the vomer, this not evident in young 

 examples. Gill rakers rather long and slender, the longest about i diam- 

 eter of eye, about 8+21, none of them rudimentary. Preopeicle with its 

 posterior margin almost vertical, with a slight, but distinct emargination 

 above the angle; serrations of preopercle very feeble, the teeth at the 



