1856 Bulletin ^7, United States National Museum. 



^\ in Lead; longest ray equals longest dorsal spine; pectoral reaching 

 vent, rays all simple, longest 3i in length of bodj^ ; ventral origin under 

 base of pectoral, reaching vent, 4 in length of body. Color (in fresh 

 specimen) uniform rosy, intermingled with pearly white; light areas most 

 conspicuous on fins ; anterior part of anal more intensely colored than any 

 other part of fish; cephalic tentacles pale, the supraocular pair with a 

 little band of rose a little below middle; pupil intense blue; iris golden 

 above and below, overlaid with rosy, greenish golden anteriorly and pos- 

 teriorly ; belly and throat pearly white ; the light areas on caudal simulate 

 bands. Total length 4 j inches ; to base of caudal, 2,1 inches. A single, small 

 individual, off Yucatan, in 130 fathoms. (Goode and Beau.) {/.laxpoc,, 

 large; Xsitii, scale.) 



Poniinus macrolepis, Goode & Bean, Oceanic Iclitliyology, 257, lig. 247, 1896, N. lat. 20° 69' 

 30", W. Ion. 86° 23' 45", at Albatross Station 2354, off Yucatan, in 130 fathoms. (Type, 

 No. 3932-4.) 



2249. PONTIMJS CASTOR, Poey. 



Head 2i in total length; depth equal to distance from tip of snout to 

 limb of preopercle, 4 in total length. D. XII, 10 ; A. Ill, 5 ; V. 17. Eye 5^ 

 in head ; snout pi-olongcd in front of orbit ; mouth very large ; maxillary 

 reaching f across eye; interorbital space very narrow; no pit at occiput; 

 Spores on each side along lower jaw. Teeth as iu others of the group, 

 as also opercular spines, which are not striated ; preopercle with a rather 

 strong spine on its border which has another smaller one at its base; 

 below this 2 blunter spines; first suborbital with a fiat spine above and 

 2 others on its inferior border; none on its crests; 1 short backwardly 

 directed spine on the second sul)orbital aud 2 on the third; nasal spines 

 present; iireocular spines very sharp ; suj)i'aocular, postocular, and tym- 

 panic spines present, in a straight line, joining the parietal and nuchal 

 spines; a spine on the niastoid, another, sometimes 2, on the suprascapu- 

 lar; postfrontal with 2 small spines. Si^inous dorsal low; last dorsal 

 spine twice as long as the one before it; second anal sjjine medium; jiec- 

 toral pointed, its seventh ray longest, the others decreasing rapidly; all 

 simple, articulated. Lateral line plain, a tube on each scale; scales of 

 back and belly of same form as those of sides, the latter larger, none on 

 head, first sviborbital, maxillary, interopercle, nor on limb of preopercle. 

 Flaps not branched; supraorbital tentacle long, 5 in total length, the 

 others very short; 1 on ethmoid, 1 on prefrontal, 1 on parietal, many on 

 lateral line and belly. Body carmine red without marblings; fins with 

 alternations of red and orange; iris red with small yellow circle; supra- 

 ocular tentacles and last rays of pectoral annulated with brown. Length 

 9 inches. Havana; very rare iu deej) water. (Poey.) One specimen, col- 

 lected by Poey and agreeing with his description, examined by us, in the 

 U. S. National Museum. {Castor, twin brother of Pollux, in Mythology.) 



Pontmus castor, Poey, Memorias, II, 173, 1860, Havana. (Coll. Poey.) 

 Scorpcena castor, Meek & Newland, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 1885, 397, 402 



