1846 



Bulletin /7, United States National Museum. 



spinous ridge. Scales inoflerate, mostly cycloid (or very weakly ctenoid ?) ; 

 vertex, interorbital space, snout, both jaws, and cheeks above suborbital 

 stay, naked; small embedded scales behind orbits, on cheeks below sub- 

 orbital stay, on base and Hap of opercle ; scales on breast small. Ante- 

 rior nostrils with broad, leaf-like laciniate flaps; preocular flaps minute, 

 supraocular flaps long, more than \ orbit, about \ as broad as long; 

 numerous flaps on back and sides, on opercle, and edge of preopercle 

 and preorbital; a few small ones on cheek and on eye above pupil; a 

 large, much-incised and divided flap above base of pectoral parallel with 

 edge of opercular flap, its length about 1^ in orbit. Origin of dorsal 

 opposite upper angle of gill opening ; dorsal fin not very deeply notched, 

 the spines only moderately exserted, third and fourth spines equal, about 

 2| in head, the following spines decreasing to the eleventh, which its 1^ 

 times as long as the first; longest soft rays about equal to longest spines; 

 caudal truncate or very slightly rounded, If in head ; second anal spine 

 a little longer than third, aboat 2^ in head; soft rays a little longer than 

 second spine, not quite reaching l)ase of caudal; jiectorals about Si'V in 

 length of body, reaching nearly to origin of anal ; the base procurrent, 

 its width about 3i iu head; rays 19, lower 8 simple, slightly exserted and 

 thickened, the next 10 branched, much longer, the uppermost simple; 

 ventrals reaching only to vent. General color apparently scarlet ; cheeks 

 under orbits mottled with small, dark, mostly round spots ; dorsal and 

 pectoral pale, with slight cloudings and small spots of dark; flaps of sides 

 pale or scarlet, caudal with 2 faint cross bars of dark sjiots, faint white 

 spots on the lighter bands; no trace of white spots on posterior part of 

 sides, and no trace of dark band across top of caudal peduncle; axils 

 pale, with apparently 3 or 4 darker spots ; a large dark spot on side behind 

 opercular flap ; 2 narrow dark bands under posterior half of spinous dor- 

 sal, reaching on to abdomen, a broader one under soft dorsal ; peritoneum 

 white. 



This species is very closely related to Scorjuena liistrio, Jenyns, from which 

 it differs in the following points : 



Scorpcena pannoea. 



Nineteen pectoral rays, the lower 8 sim- 

 ple, the next 10 branched, the uppermost 

 simple. 



Occipital pit deeper behind, its posterior 

 wall slanting backward. Its longitudinal 

 width 15 in the transverse width. 



Maxillary does not reach posterior border 

 of orbit, 2 J in head. 



Ventral fins reaching only to vent. 



Soft rays of anal not quite reaching base 

 of caudal. 



Scorpcena liistrio. 



Twenty pectoral rays, the lower 11 or 12 

 simple, the next 7 or 8 branched, the upper- 

 most simple. 



Longitudinal widtli of occipital pit l.j in 

 tlie transverse width. 



Maxillary reaches beyond posterior bor- 

 der of orbit, very slightly more than 2 (2^^) 

 in head. 



Ventral fins reaching beyond vent, about 

 J of distance from vent to front of anal. 



Soft rays of anal reaching base of caudal. 



