1570 Bulletin ^7, United States National Miiseum. 



above the lateriil line, on the scale above the seventh of the Literal line 

 and below the fourth dorsal spine, and another on the one above the fif- 

 teenth scale and below the eleventh or twelfth spine; on the tail, behind 

 the dorsal fin, there is a transverse dark band, bordered in front l»y blue. 

 The head above has 2 blue lines, 1 on each side, running from 'and decnrved 

 over the eye behind the orbit. The forehead is indistinctly marked with 

 blue in the center of each scale; and on the nape there are 2 oblong blue 

 spots on eac-h side. A continuous blue line is continued from the side of 

 the snout along the suborbital chain, and unites with the line decurrent 

 behind the orbit. Behind the end of the supramaxillary there is a vertical 

 blue bar. The sciiles on the cheeks and opercula are spotted with blue 

 in the center. Lips immaculate brown. The dorsal fin on its scaly por- 

 tion is similar to the back; the anal has a blue spot at the liase of its last 

 rays, and its front, like the outer edge of the ventral fin, is blue. The 

 pectoral inside has also a blue line across the base of the upper rays 



"As the fish advances in age the blue on the centers of the scales fades, 

 and, finally, the color of the whole body, as well as the scaly portions of 

 the fins, becomes a purplish brown ; but the spots on the scales above the 

 first, seventh, and fifteenth [sixteenth] scales of the lateral line remain, 

 as does also the one bordered before by the blue in the rear of the dorsal 

 fin. The coloration on the head simply becomes fainter, and the lines 

 narrower and somewhat interrupted. The fins are uniform and spotless, 

 except the pectoral, which retains the transverse bar which was assumed 

 in its youth. This species, in its young state, was formerly described as a 

 Pomacentrus, the preoperculum having a scalloped appearance, produced 

 by the muciferous ducts and their mouths, and thus simulating the ser- 

 rature of young Pomaceidrus, misleading Dr. Giiuther as well as myself, 

 especially as it had the coloration and form of a Pomacenirus. The border 

 in the old is not so much exposed, and is p<Tfectly entire, while the pre- 

 orbital has gained in elevation at the expense of the eye. The uniform 

 color of the body is also in strong contrast to the variegated sides and 

 fins of the young." 



Length 12 inches. Pacific coast of America, from Cape San Lucas to 

 Panama; known from Cape San liiicas, Mazatlan, the Kevillagigedo 

 Islands, and Panama, {dorsalis, pertaining to the back.) 



nypsy2)op» dorsalis, GiLL, Proc. Ac. Nat. Scl. Phila. 1862, 147, Cape San Lucas. (Coll. 



Xantus.) 

 romacentrus quadrigutta, Gill, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Pbila. 1862, 149, Cape San Lucas, 



young (Coll. John Xantu.s) ; GtJNTHEE, Cat., iv, 27, 1862; Jordan & Gilbert, Proc. 



TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 1882, 366 and 377. 

 Mieros2)athodon cinerevs, Gilbert, Proc. TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 1890, 71, Clarion and Socorro 



islands. (CoW. Albatross.) 

 Mierospathodon azurissimns, Jordan & Starks, in .Jordan, Fishes of Sinaloa, in Proc. 



Cal. Ac. get. 1895, 478, pi. 44, Venados Islands, near Mazatlan. (Types, Nos. 1610, 1636, 



and 2895, L. S. Jr. Univ. Mus. Coll. Hopkins Expd. to Mazatlsin.) 

 Pomataprion dorsalis, Gill, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phlla. 1863, 216. 

 Mierospathodon dorsalis, Jordan, Fislies of Sinaloa, 477, 1895; Jordan &. Evermann, 



Check-List Fishes, 411, 1896. 

 Mierospathodon dorsalis azurissimus, Jordan & Evermann, I. c, 411. 

 Mierospathodon dorsalis cinereus, Jordan & Evermann, I. c, 411. 



