1890 B^iUctm^?^ United States National Museum. 



antler-like processes above. Anal papilla of male excessively devel- 

 oped, with a tubular filament. First dorsal divided into 2 portions, the 

 anterior the shorter, its front spine elevated. Lateral line armed with a 

 series of keeled scales, toothed on the keel and on hinder maroin. Other 

 characters as in Jrfcdiiis, the body more slender, and the scales rougher. 

 {XiT^fov, chiton, a tunic; ydjto^; back.) 



2271. CHITOIVOTUS PUGETEXSTS (Steindachner). 



Head 3; depth 5. D. III-YII, 15; A. 14; eye 3i in head; maxillary 2; 

 first dorsal spine 1|; pectorals If; ventrals 1|; caudal 1|. Body mod- 

 erately slender, robust anteriorly, tapering into a slender caudal pe- 

 duncle; mouth large, maxillary reaching to below posterior margin of 

 pupil; teeth in narrow villiform bands on jaws, vomer, and palatines; 2 

 pairs of small spines just back of eyes, and a pair at occiput; nasal spines 

 moderate; preopercle with a large process with 3 upward-directed spines, 

 and ending in 1 horizontal one ; 3 spines below it, the upper one directed 

 backward-downward, the 2 lower ones forward-downward; interorbital 

 space very narrow, less than i of pupil. Top of head to in front of eyes 

 closely scaled with strongly ctenoid scales ; a row of quadrate plates along 

 lateral line, their upper and posterior edges strongly serrate, lower 

 and anterior edges embedded, above these the back evenly covered with a 

 belt of ctenoid scales in .5 or 6 series; a narrow space below dorsal; body 

 below lateral line naked. First dorsal spine elongate, reaching to the 

 base of the next to the last spine, its length quite variable, the first 3 

 spines separated from the rest of the fin by a deep notch, the third spine 

 shorter than the fourth ; pectorals reaching past front of anal ; ventrals 

 long and slender, inserted slightly behind base of pectoral, their tips 

 scarcely reaching to vent. Color pale olivaceous, with indications of 

 dark cross bars above ; lower parts white ; pectoral, dorsal, and caudal 

 with dark cross bars ; ventrals and anal white ; tip of snout dark ; a dark 

 blotch at base of caudal. Length 6 inches. Puget Sound to San Fran- 

 cisco; not rare in waters of moderate depth. Here described from a spec- 

 imen from Puget Sound, 4 inches in length. Specimens from off San 

 Francisco {megacephalus*) have the first dorsal spine usually higher, the 



* The following is a description of a specimen from off Point Reyes, typical of Chito- 

 notusmegacephalus. Head 2J; depth 5^. X). IlI-VII, 15; A. 15; V. I, 3; scales 38. I3ody 

 fusiform; head long; eyes large, separated by a very narrow, slightly concave inter- 

 orbital space ; TOOiith large, the maxillary extending to posterior border of eye ; preopercle 

 with a strong process armed with 3 or 4 upward-directed and 1 horizontal point; below 

 this 3 other spines; 2 or 3 spines close behind eye on each side; 2 occipital ridges, ending 

 in spines, the space between them concave; top of head, interocular space, snout, upper 

 part of opercle, and a narrow belt close under the eye covered with rough scales; lateral 

 line with a series of quadrate plates, their upper and posterior edges strongly serrate, the 

 lower and anterior edges embedded; above these the back evenly covered with smaller 

 scales, the lower and anterior part of each scale embedded, and the upper edge strongly 

 toothed; 5 to 8 rows of these scales; a narrow naked area at base of dorsal. Dorsal 

 s])ines slender, the flrst usually longer than head, reaching past front of soft dorsal when 

 depressed; the second and third spines progressively shoi'tened ; the fourth higher than 

 third, the membrane between third and fourth deeply emarginate; second dorsal high; 

 pector.als reaching past front of anal; ventrals to vent; anal papilla very large ; no con- 

 spicuous cirri. Color pale olivaceous with darker cross bars; fins in the male blackish; 

 ventrals and anal whitish, unmarked; eye dusky above. Length G inches. Otl' San 

 Francisco, in deep water; taken in sweep nets (parranzelle) off Drake Bay and Point 

 Keyes. 



