Jordan and Evcnnann. — Fishes of North America. 1451 



1883. OPHIOSCIOJf IMICEPS (Jordan & Gilbert). 



Head 3f ; depth 3. D. XI-I, 25; A. II, 8; scales 5-51-9; eye longer than 

 snout, 4^ in head. Body deep and compressed, the back considerably ele- 

 vated, the caudal peduncle short and deep; head very small, narrow, and 

 low; the snout bluntly pointed, the profile from the nostrils to the inter- 

 orbital region 7iot steep, thence rising steeply with a considerable curve 

 to the base of the dorsal; depth of the head at the middle of the eye 

 equal to the length of the snout and eye, and about equal to the greatest 

 thickness of the head; interorbital space narrow, little convex, little 

 wider than eye, 4 in head, about equal to length of snout; preorbital 

 wide, gibbous; preopercle somewhat cavernous; mouth small, inferior, 

 horizontal, the lower jaw much overlapped by the snout, its tip extend- 

 ing little forward of the nostrils; maxillary extending to opposite middle 

 of eye; premaxillary in front, far below level of lower edge of eye; 

 length of gape Sj in head; teeth very small, in narrow villiform bands 

 in both jaws, the outer row in the upper jaw enlarged. Preopercle armed 

 with strong radiating teeth, about 3 near the angle larger than the 

 others, none of them directed downward. Chin with 2 large pores, 

 preceded by 2 smaller ones, and without symphyseal knob. Pseudo- 

 branchiae small. Gill rakers (as in Ophioscion ty2)icus) minute, slender, 

 not longer than nostril. Scales roughish; lateral line strongly curved, 

 becoming straight opposite middle of anal fin. Spinous dorsal rather 

 high, the spines not very slender, the second spine a little stronger than 

 the others, 24 in head, the highest spine If in head, considerably higher 

 than the soft rays; soft dorsal and anal fins scaled a little more than half- 

 way up. Caudal double truncate, the middle rays moderately produced, the 

 upper angle acute, the lower rounded; middle rays of caudal Ij in head; 

 anal inserted nearly under the middle of the soft dorsal, the distance from 

 the first ray to base of caudal 3,'^ in length of body; second anal spine 

 shortish, but rather strong, somewhat shorter than the first soft ray, its 

 length considerably greater than its distance from the vent and equal to 

 i the length of the head; ventrals small, reaching about halfway to 

 anal, not to tip of pectorals, which are long, scarcely shorter than head. 

 Color dull brown above ; belly white, but not silvery ; upper fins Itrown, 

 the spinous dorsal dusky at tip ; anal dusky, thickly studded with dark 

 points; ventrals and pectorals dusky; a faint band of dark points from 

 base of pectoral straight to caudal, bounding the dark color of the upper 

 parts; peritoneum white; lining of opercles partly black. Three speci- 

 mens of this species, each 6f inches in length, were taken in the Bay of 

 Panama. It resembles the species of StelUfer, and it has real afiinities 

 with that group. The head is, however, different, being low and narrow, 

 and little cavernous, while the gill rakers are very short, as in the other 

 species referred to Ophioscion. {imns, lowest; cejys, head.) 



Scicena imiceps, Jordan & Gilbert, Bull. U. S. Fish Comni. 1881, 309, Bay of Panama 

 (Types, Noa. 29432, 29481, 29489. Coll. C. H. Gilbert) ; Joedan & Eigenmann, I. c, 404. 



