Jordan and Evermann. — Fishes of North America. 377 



twice the diameter of the eye; cleft of mouth 3 in head; head 4 in trunk; 

 head and trunk 1| in tail ; dorsal beginning at a point slightly nearer the 

 base of pectorals than eye; pectorals very small, their bases as broad as 

 gill opening. Body extremely elongate, the diameter about \ length of 

 head. West Indies, occasionally northward to Florida Keys, (acumina- 

 tus, sharp.) 



Miir.Ttiii acuminnia* GnoNOW, Fishes Brit. Mus., 21, 1854, Insula Div. Eustachii. 



IHsodmwjiliisguUidatii!:, Kxrp, Arixles, 21, fig. 10, lti56, Martinique. 



Ophminis loiigns, PoEY, Kepfirtorio, li, 2.54, 18G7, Cuba. 



Ojihkhihys pisavarius, POEY, Anal. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat., 196, 1875, Cuba. 



Ojihichlhys aenminahis, GiJNTiiER, Cat., viii, S3, 1870. 



Piso/lonoi^his hiigns, Jordan & Gilbert, Synopsis, 899, 1883. 



Ophiwrm amminaltis, Jordan, Cat. Fish N. A., 53, 1885. 



Myrkhtlii/s acumhiatus, Jorban & Davis, I. c, 619. 



179. PISOODONOPHIS, t Kaup. 



rUmodonophis, Kaup, Apodal Fishes, 17, 1856, {boro) ; Piwdontophis, amended spelling. 



Small eels, mostly of the Old World, having the blunt teeth of Myrichthys 

 and the backward dorsal of 02)Tiic1dhus. Species slender, plainly colored. 

 (ttlctov, pea; oJoif, tooth; odxf, snake.) 



618. PISOODONOPHIS CRUENTIFER, Goode & Bean. 



Head 4 times in trunk ; length of body about two-thirds that of tail. 

 Cleft of* the mouth rather wide, one-third head. Snout conical, 

 depressed. Head snake-like, with powerful muscular enlargements of 

 the cheeks and a constriction behind the head somewhat like that of 

 Derkhihys. Eye moderate, half snout, one-tenth head. Teeth granular, 

 in conspicuous bands, a small oblong patch on premaxillaries and a long 

 band on vomer. Pectoral fin broad, spatulate, about two-sevenths head. 

 Dorsal beginning far behind tip of pectoral, its distance from tip of 

 snout one-seventh of total length. Dorsal and anal fins of moderate 

 height. Color uniform brownish yellow. Length 16 inches. Two speci- 

 mens (28938), station 1035 of the U. S. Fish Commission steamer Fish 

 Han-l; in N. lat. 39° 57^ W., long. 69° 28^ in 120 fathoms. Four others at 

 nearly same region in 245 fathoms. 



" The peculiar and savage physiognomy of this fish suggests at once the 

 idea that it is a parasitic boring form, and in confirmation of this we 

 have specimens taken by the fishermen on Jeff"rey'8 Bank, and also 

 another from New Bedford, taken by Mr. J. H. Thompson from the body 

 of a fish. We have occasionally taken the dried and shriveled remains of 

 a fish apparently closely related to this from salted halibut and codfish." 

 (Goode & Bean.) 



*'We have referred the nomin.al species, longiia, tjnllidalus, and ^lisaran'Hs to the synonymy of 

 acmniiialiis, thinking that tlie alleged differences are matters of individual variation. I.ongM ia 

 said to have, in the center of each jvilo spot, a yellow speck, surrounded liy a dark circle. The 

 others are said to lack this centr.-il spot, hut it may he that it fades in alcohol. Ltmijus ig said to 

 have the edge ot the dorsal darker than the fin. In yutlnlatus tiXnX pmi-arius it is said to bo paler. 



fDr. Giinther, (vin, 78), mentions a half-grown eel from Grenada in the West Indies, which 

 ho was unable to separate from Visoodonnphh Imm (Haniilton), of the East Indies and China. It 

 is possible, however, that this specimen really came from China. In /'. hf^ro the head iB 4 times 

 in the very long trunk ; the tins are very low and the color is plain brown. 



