Jordan and Evermann. —Fishes of North America. 1851 



Scorpama grandicornis, CvvTER &. Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., rv, 309, 1829, Martin- 

 ique, Porto Rico, Havana, San Domingo ; GiJNTHER, Cat., II, 114, I860; Poey, Synop- 

 818 303, 1868; Jordan, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1884, 138; Jordan, Cat. Fish., 109,' 1885; 

 Meek & Newland, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci., Pbila. 1885, 396, 401. 



2245. SCORPiElVA RUSSULA, Jordan & BoUman. 



Head 2i to 2^ (3 to 3^) ; depth 3^ to 3i (4 to 4i). D. XII, 10; A. Ill, 5; 

 lateral line 45 to 47. Body robust, compressed ; back little elevated ; pro- 

 file very gently arched from snout to origin of spinous dorsal. Eye large, 

 3i^ in head. Mouth large ; maxillary reaching posterior margin of pupil^ 

 2 in head. Snout 4^ in head. Interorbital space narrow, concave, its 

 width a little less than ^ eye. Occipital and suborbital pits absent. Gill 

 rakers short and thick, 5 or 6 developed. Nasal spines short and sharp, 

 not longer than length of nostrils; preocular spine very prominent' 

 larger than others on top of head; supraocular spine not so strong as 

 postocular and tympanic, which are close together, the latter followed by 

 a low striate ridge which bears the low occipital and nuchal spines; no 

 coronal spines ; temporal ridge prominent, ending in a spine, and with 2 

 blunt spines in front; below these, and about halfway to suborbital stay, 

 another small and blunt spine; preorbital with 2 large forward projectino- 

 spines in front; suborbital stay with a prominent ridge which bears a 

 small spine below anterior margin of pupil, and 2 more behind posterior 

 margin (in the young the first of these 2 is absent). Preopercle with 4 

 distinct spines, besides some 4 smaller projections, the largest spine with 

 a small one immediately below; opercular spines 2, large and sharp, the 

 lower the longer. Scales small, scarcely ctenoid, those on belly much 

 reduced ; breast and region in front of pectorals and ventrals scaled ; ante- 

 dorsal region with 3 or 4 rows of embedded scales; temporal region with 

 a few embedded scales ; cheek with about 4 rows of large scales below 

 the suborbital stay; membrane of opercles with a few scales, the opercle 

 itself naked; scales of body without fleshy flaps. Supraorbital tentacle 

 developed in the young, disappearing in the adult. Dorsal spines not as 

 high as soft rays, the fin deeply notched ; first spine 2 in eye, second If, 

 third almost equaling eye, fourth and fifth almost equal, 3 in head, twelfth 

 3i in head; longest soft ray of dorsal 2* in head; first anal spine 2^ in 

 second or 2 in eye, second anal spine longer than third and equal to eye; 

 longest soft ray equaling that of dorsal; pectorals long, 1+ in head, the 

 lower 14 rays simple, the next 6 branched, the uppermost 1 simple; 'ven- 

 tral reaching vent, very slightly more than 2 in head; caudal equal to 

 pectoral. Color, dark brown above, probably crimson in life, pale below 

 level of upper half pectorals ; upper half of head dark but without any 

 distinct spots, the back more or less mottled with dusky; spinous dorsal 

 with a dusky band at base and another across its middle; soft dorsal dark 

 at base and with 3 or 4 irregular rows of small, obscure brownish spots; 

 caudal tipped with black, traces of a narrow dark bar across its middle; 

 pectorals slightly tipped with black, the middle slightly mottled; ven- 

 trals and anals pale or with traces of black on tips of rays; peritoneum 

 white. Length 6 inches. Pacific coast of Colombia. Numerous specimens 



