Jordan and Everviann.— Fishes of North America. 2087 



a little more than 3 in length of body. Interorbital spare slightly more 

 than i of head; snout 4; width of mouth about 3i, orl)it about 51 in head. 

 Snont rounded anteriorly, lougitudiually arched, rising kuob-like before 

 the flat forehead, and extending a little beyond mouth, the latter broader 

 at its angles than long, these a little in front of middle of eye. Teeth on 

 jaws and vomer in several series, very small, conical, blunt at tips; 

 plates on cheeks raised into tubercles; posteriorly the transversely flat- 

 tened forehead is separated by a slightly curved, very low ridge from the 

 occipital region; plates surrounding the occipital pit in part large and 

 polygonal ; last plate of head, above posterior end of opercle, extending 

 outward as a broad, low pyramid; small bony plates embedded in skin 

 on underside of head ; preopercle spineless ; edge of opercle scalloped and 

 serrated. First dorsal beginning about middle of body ; space between 

 dorsals equaling distance from center of eye to tip of snout; spines of first 

 dorsal but little shorter than rays of second dorsal ; both dorsals and anal 

 rounded; caudal about 2 in head, slightly rounded ; base of large pecto- 

 ral reaching to ventral surface, its longest ray 1| in head; ventrals some 

 distance behind pectorals, about 2 in the latter; distance between base 

 of ventrals and front of anal a little more than the head; anal pit some 

 distance T>ehind base of ventrals. Plates of lateral line flat, those of 

 remaining series considerably larger and elevated at their centers, forming 

 4 series of blunt processes or ridges; 14 pairs of plates between ventrals 

 and anal, 5 between hinder edge of occipital pit and fii^st dorsal (6 from 

 occiput to first dorsal); 7 between second dorsal and caudal; ventral 

 surface narrowing rapidly from head to anal and anteriorly convex, pos- 

 teriorly flat. A blackish-gray cross band surrounds the head, wreath-like, 

 its outlines indefinite in places, passing transversely across forehead 

 and from lower edge of orbit completely around edge of mouth; band 

 under first dorsal passing obliquely forward to near insertion of ventrals ; 

 the next baud falling between the dorsals, and the third under second 

 dorsal ; both are vertical ; pectorals with a narrow dark cross bar at base 

 and a much broader marbled one occupying nearly the whole distal half 

 of fin ; ventrals with 3 or 4 bands of dark spots ; on both dorsals and anal 

 oblique cross bars of dark spots; caudal with numerous cross bars of dark 

 spots, which increase in intensity of color distally and flow together and 

 leave isolated spots of lighter; ground color of body light yellowish with 

 a tinge of brownish. Length of the single specimen 1 inch 11 lines; 

 found dead on the beach after a storm. (After Steindachner.) The fol- 

 lowing points may be added from the 4 excellent figures: The ventro- 

 lateral series lie entirely on ventral surface of body anteriorly and meet 

 in front of vent; 2 pairs of plates between ventrals and vent; a single 

 plate between bases of ventrals, 4 plates in pairs in front of theiu on 

 bieast, and these preceded by 2 single plates; 10 or 12 rather small plates 

 in about 3 rows in front of base of pectorals; several plates on lower 

 part of cheek and a longitudinal series of them behind orbit, above 

 suborbital and preopercle. Puget Sound; known from single speci- 

 men. This species has been erroneously referred to the genus ////yj.saf/o- 

 nns, because of its short compressed body and peculiar form of head. 



