Jordan a7id Evermann. — Fishes of North America. 1725 



Mexico, at Pensacola and Galveston ; also ranging eastward to Guinea and 

 tlie Cape of Good Hope. It is rarely brought to the markets, hut is said ■ 

 to he a good food-fish when baked in the shell, {ivea, three; corn us, horn; 

 the name refers to the 2 frontal horns and to the supracaudal plato, 

 figured by Lister as an erect spine, the figure apparently based on a speci- 

 men with the plate torn loose at one end. ) 



Piscis triangularis capiti cornutus cui e media cauda cutanea aruleus longus erigittis, Lister, 



in "Willughby, Hist. Pise, Appendix, 19, 1686, localitj- not givep. . 



Ostracion triangulatus andeis duobus in capite et unico longioro superne ad caudaum, 



Aetedi, Genera, 56, 1738 ; after Lister in Willughby. 7 ->' 

 Ostracion triangulatus^^duobus acvleis in fronte et totidem in imo ventre irttbc(pa3algsqu£ 

 ■-*fnT«, Artedi, GenenTpSe, 1738; specimens seen in London at the house of Mr. Lill,ja 



and in the Nagg's Head Inn. 

 Ostracion tricornis, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat.,Ed. x, 331, 1758; after Aktedi. 

 Ostracium quadrieornis,* Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., Ed. x, 331, 1758; after Artedi; GCn- 



THEK, Cat., VIII, 257, 1870; GOODE, Proc. tJ. S. Nat. Mus. 1879, 278. 

 Ostracion listeri, Lacepede, Hist. Nat. Poiss., i, 408, 1798; after Willughby. 

 Ostracion sexeornutus, Mitchill, Amer. Monthly Mag., II, 1818, 328, Mouth of Mississippi 



River. 

 Ostracion maculattis, Hollaed, Ann. Sci. Nat. 1857, 149. 

 Ostracion guiiieens-is, Bleeker, Ned. Tydskr. Dierk, ll, 298, Guinea. 

 Ostracion gronovii, Bleeker, Ned. Tydskr. Dierk, ii, 298. 

 Acanthostracion polygonius, Poey, Enumeratio, 175, 1876, Cuba. 

 Ostracium quadricorne, Jordan & Gilbert, Synopsis, 854, 1883. 



* Concerning the nominal species of this type, Dr. Goode remarks : " I have never seen 

 more than one species of this type, and the synonymy at the head of this notice expresses 

 the views of the majority of ichthyologists as well as mj' own. It seems only fair, how- 

 ever, to quote the opinion of Dr. Bleeker. 'It appears to me very evident,' wrote he, 

 'that there are at least 5 species of triangular (or rather pentagonal) Ostracions with 

 frontal and preanal .spines. Of these this (O. quadrieornis) is tlie one longest known, and 

 may be easily distinguished by the nearly vertical profile of the head as well as by the 

 strong spine which terminates the postcro-siiperior dorsal plate. The other species 

 resembling '/wa<//u'0)'?iis are Oatraciun KatitrnittJnix lUeeker, Ostracion tricornis'L. (^Ostra- 

 cion mac ulat us Jio\\s.r A), Ostracion gri'iiniii I'.U . k( r, and Ostracion guineensis ^\ee.^eT, 

 but none of these exhibits the remarkalilc i liainc iir of the postero-snperior dorsal angle 

 developed into a spine. Ostracion notacanth ii.-i is characterized by the presence of a spine 

 upon the dorsal crest, by its oblique profile, and by the hexagonal or irregular black ring 

 with large yellowish center which is plainly visible upon eacli plate of the back and the 

 flanks ; while Ostracion gronovii is easily recognized by the greater length of the frontal 

 and preanal spines, by the absence of the median dorsal spine, and by the very oblique 

 profile of the snout. Ostracion tricornis Linn., which appears to be identical with the 

 species described by Hollard as Ostracion maculatus, is marked by its nearly vertical 

 profile and by longitudinal lirown bands u])on the cheeks. Ostracion guineensis'is marked 

 by the subve'rticiil jirolile <if Oxfracion tricornis, but has cheeks without bands, and the 

 plate of tlio cara]iaiu orniiiiHiiii'd w itli acentral ocella of i)earl color or blue.' The pres- 

 ence of plates upon the caiiilal induncle is apparently accidental. They may possibly 

 have some relation to sex, but certainly none to age. Out of 14 specimens examined 5 

 had plates above and below, 1 had 2 above, and 6 had none. In none of the specimens can 

 I distinguish traces of the spine in the middle of the dorsal ridge mentioned by Dr. Giin- 

 ther. The color of young specimens is well described by Giinther; the bands on the 

 cheek are, however, of a bright blue. Adult specimens are colored in a rich bright blue 

 or green, lighter in the center of each hexagonal plate, giving the appearance of annular 

 markings, which quickly vanish after death. In some individuals the color is worn 

 from the ridges of the carapace, leaving patches of light brown. Bleeker claimed for his 

 species, Ostracion notacanthus, a peculiar system of coloration, but it is in nowise different 

 from that of the ordinary tj'po of Ostracion quadrieornis. ' The largest specimens are 21 

 inches long. " If Dr. Goode is riglit in referring all these forms to one snecies, it should 

 be called Lactoph ri/s tricornis. The only doubt .seems to be in regard to 'Lactophrys nota- 

 canthus, which looks to us like a different fish. 



1 "Mais en outre le systeme de coloration de I'espeee que jo crois nouvelle est tr^s 

 different, chaque bouclier de la tote, du dos et des flancs etant orn6 d'un anneau violet oa 

 noiriitre d'une forme hexagone, pentagone, quadrangulaire, ou meme ronde, et k centre 

 large orange ou rougeatre. On ne voit rien de pareil sur le corps du quadrieornis. Puis 

 encore, la queue est brunfttre et a taclies JaunAtres et les pectorales out iin rayon de plus. 

 Je nomme cette espfece nouvelle Ostracion notacanthus. " M6moiro sur les Poisaons de la 

 Cote de Guin6e, par P. Bleeker, p. 21. 



