NO. 1296. JAPANESE CH.ETODONTID^— JORDAN AND FOWLER. 557 



Head 3i; depth 2. D. lX-22; A. III-21 or 23; P. 1-16; V. 1-5. 

 Body elliptical and compressed, skin fine velvety. Head small, longer 

 than deep; eye high, 4 in head, 2| in the snout and 1^ in interorhital 

 space; snout concave, produced, but the upper profile of the head 

 convex over the eyes; mouth small, terminal, and below the middle of 

 the head; teeth with denticulate margins, the jaws subequal; anterior 

 nostrils below the middle, and half the eve from its anterior margin, 

 and the posterior a neai'ly horizontal slit between; interorhital space 

 convexly flattened; angle of preoperculum very obtuse. Gill-opening 

 very obliijue, gill rakers short. Spinous dorsal more or less embedded 

 in skin, its origin over that of the pectoral, the middle and last spines 

 the highest, and much longer than the soft dorsal rays, which become 

 graduall}' smaller to the last; anal spines graduated to the third, which 

 is the longest though not as long as the longest anterior rays of the 

 soft anal; the soft anal is similar to the soft dorsal; pectoral smaller 

 than the head; origin of dorsal below the fifth dorsal spine, extending 

 to the base of the second anal spine, and equal to two-thirds the length 

 of the pectorals; caudal emarginate, the lobes pointed. Caudal 

 peduncle rather thick, deeper than broad, and not (luite ecpial to the 

 eye. Sides of caudal peduncle with a single series of 4 ))ony ))ucklers, 

 each with a produced median keel, compressed, extending outward, 

 and largest on the last. Lateral line high, arched, and concurrent 

 with the back. General color dusky brown in alcohol, the bases of 

 the first 3 bucklers on the caudal peduncle blackish brown; the edges 

 of the fins dark, except the ver}^ narrow white edge of the caudal, 

 otherwise plain. Total length ^^ inches. 



Here described from Nagasaki specimens. In veiy young speci- 

 mens from Misaki the l)ody is very deep; the depth 1| the leiigth; 

 the highest part of the fin rays veiy high; the general color dark livid 

 brown; dorsal and anal very dark, the soft fins broadly edged with 

 white; caudal and caudal peduncle light, shaded with dark at its base; 

 pectorals dark; skin smooth. In still smaller specimens the bod}' is 

 deeper, 1^ in the length, the second dorsal spine as long as the pectoral 

 and very much higher than the rest of the fin, and the bod}^ furnished 

 with many vertical strije; the trunk marked with narrow vertical 

 l)ands. 



This fish is rather conmion about rocky headlands in southei'u Japan. 

 Our specimens are from Tokyo, Misaki, and Wakanoura. From the 

 tide-pools of Misaki we have a very large series showing the stages of 

 growth of the young. These are more or less yellowish in color, the 

 fins, except caudal and pectoral, dusky. The caudal is yellow, with a 

 l)lack crossbar at its base. 



The species can be known from the young of other AcantJiiiridie by 

 the number of its ventral rays, anal spines, and the soft rays of its 

 dorsal and anal. 



{scalprum^ a shar[) knife.) 



