NO. 1293. JAPANESE BLENNOIB FISHES— JORDAN AND SNYDER. 457 



Body compressed, the caudal peduncle especiall}' so; snout short, 

 bhint; interorbital space narrow, convex; eyes directed somewhat 

 obliquel}-; mouth small, the cleft extending- to a point holow anterior 

 edo-e of orbit; lower jaw shorter than upper; lips with pendent flaps 

 at ))ases of canine teeth, that of the lower lip the more prominent; 

 jaws with a row of long-, slender, close-set teeth, 26 in the upper, 28 

 in the lower sei-ies, followed bj^ a single canine on each side, which is 

 separated from them Ijy a narrow space, the lower canines much lon- 

 ger than the upper, fitting into pits in the upper jaw ; vomer and pal- 

 atines without teeth; gill-opening restricted to a narrow slit above 

 base of pectoral; pseudo-branchii\? large; gillrakers on first arch 8 or 

 10, very small. 



Head and body naked, no filaments on head; lateral line incomplete, 

 the pores extending along upper part of body to a short distance 

 beyond tip of pectoral from whence the lateral line is indicated by a 

 row of slight pits or scars which bends downward and extends along 

 middle of body to base of caudal. 



Fig. 8.— Aspidontus dasson. 



Dorsal inserted above gill-opening, membrane of posterior ray reach- 

 ing base of caudal fin; margin of fin with shallow scollops between the 

 rays, posterior half of fin higher than anterior half, the longest ray 

 contained 1^ times in head; anal lower than dorsal, the longest rays 2 

 in head, membrane notched between the tips of raj^s; caudal rounded, 

 1^ in head; pectoral raj^s simple, the fin rounded, equal in length to 

 head; ventrals short, nearh^ 2 in head. 



Color in spirits brownish, darker anteriorly than posteriorly; side 

 with 4 dark lines extending about halfway back; 1 or 2 indistinct, 

 o>)lique dark bands on head, the anterior one passing through e3^e; 

 fins dusky, without spots or bands; rays of anal tipped with white. 



We should identify our specimens with Petroscirtes jajjonlcm were 

 it not that Bleeker states in his description that the teeth in the jaws 

 number from 36 to 4(», while our specimens have but 26 to 28. It is 

 not easy to suppose that Bleeker should have made an error in count- 

 ing these teeth, though he might have done so in copying his notes. 

 In his brief description no other difference appeal's. 



We have 2 specimens about (lOnnn in length from Wakanoma, and a 



