1848 Bulletin ^7, United States National Museum. 



high; preocular, supraocular, postocular, tympanic, parietal, nuchal, and 

 occipital spines present, besides a bifid spino between the exoccipital and 

 orbit; upper preopercnlar spine much the longest; opercular spines not 

 large; suprascapular spines 3, knife-like; the preorbital with 3 or 4 mod- 

 erate ridges diverging forward and ending in spines; a small distinct pit 

 between lower anterior margin of orbit and suborbital stay, the latter 

 moderately carinate, with sometimes 2 or 3 bluntish sjiines. Head naked ; 

 breast and regions before pectorals covered with small embedded scales 

 (with exception of opercular tlap) ; anterior margin of preorbitals, margin 

 of pi-eopercle, and nostrils with skinny Haps; a rather small flap behind 

 preocular spine, a larger one between supra and post ocular spines, a 

 little more than 2 in orbit, besides several smaller ones on various parts 

 of the head. Scales small, nowhere distinctly ctenoid ; nearly every scale 

 on the upper parts of body with a small membranaceous Hap, the flaps 

 larger along lateral line. Dorsal spines high, higher than the soft rays, the 

 longest 2^ in head ; second anal spine longest and much the strongest, 3 

 in head; pectoral very broad, short, and rounded, its lower rays procur- 

 rent, its tip reaching Ijeyond the ventrals to vent, its base more than \ in 

 head, its length 3.^ in body, the 10 lower rays simple, thickened, the rest 

 (except the uppermost one) branched; caudal rounded. Brown, irregu- 

 larly mottled and blotched with rosy purplish and pale olive; opercles 

 and cheeks, a bar behind eye, and 5 or 6 large blotches at base of dorsal, 

 purplish; head, back, and sides with many small round dark-olive spots; 

 belly unspotted ; thoracic region pink; spinous dorsal blackish, its middle 

 part with many roundish pale spots, forming a continuous stripe, besides 

 smaller black spots; caudal and pectoral with vertical bars of dark and 

 pale spots; soft dorsal and anal spotted; ventrals pinkish, little spotted; 

 jaws and branehiostegals yellowish, more or less mottled; axil pale, with 

 round dark spots; peritoneum white. Length 12 inches. Pacific coast 

 of America, from Monterey to Ascension Island, on the west coast of Lower 

 California; very abundant about San Diego; a good food-fish. Here de- 

 scribed from San Diego specimens, (guttatua, sjieckled.) 



Scorpcena guttata, Gieard, Proc. Ac. ISTat. Sci. Phila. 1854, 145, Monterey (Coll. Lieut. 

 Trowbridge) ; Girard, V. S. Pac. 11. E. Surv., x, Fishes, 77, pi. 17, figs. 1 to 4, 1858 ; Jor- 

 dan & Gilbert, Synopsis, G79, 1883; Meek ..»c Nkwland, Proc. Ac. Xat. Sci. Phila. 

 1885, 396, 399. 



iSebastapistes guttatus, Streets, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., vn, 62, 1877. 



iiii. SC'ORP.E>A PLCJIIERI, Bloch. 



(Rascacio.) 



Head 2i in length; depth 3. D. XII, 10; A. Ill, 5; lateral line 40 (rows 

 of scales) about 25 pores. Body short and thick. Head irregular in 

 form, with numerous grooves and pits, and many fleshy flaps ; a large deep 

 pit below the eye, between it and the front of suborbital stay; supraocu- 

 lar flap at least as high as eye; large flaps on preorbital and edge of pre- 

 opercle, preocular, supraocular, postocular, coronal (tympanic ?), parietal, 

 nuchal, and exoccipital spines present; a deep pit behind coronal spines, 

 as long as broad; preopercnlar and opercular spines moderate, bluntish, 



