Jordan and Evermann. — Fishes of North America. 1181 



with the markings more distinct than they are in the adults ; young 



sometimes with a dark blotch on back of caudal peduncle, according 



to houleuger. This description is chiefly from No. 4805. M. C. Z., from 



Rio de Janeiro, 13 inches long. This species is very well distinguished 



from all other groupers by the greatly increased number of gill rakers, a 



character first pointed out by Dr. Bean. Perhaps more than one species 



of this type exists, distinguished by the number of gill rakers. The type 



of rviber has but 24. Those examined by us from Brazil and from Athens 



have 30 or more. West Indies, Brazil, Mediterranean Sea, and islands of 



the eastern Atlantic ; common in the Mediterranean and oft" the coast of 



Brazil, {ruber, red ; from the supposed coloration of the original bleached 



specimen, which may possibly have been a deep-water form.)* (Eu.) 



I^nepJulus ruber, Bloch, Ichthyologia, vii, 22, 1793, pi. 330, " Japan "; BoiLEXGEn, Cat, 1, 268. 

 JUycteroperca scirenga, Jordan & Swain, J. c, 369, 1884 (not Spams scirenga, Eafisesqce, which 



is an Epinephelus). 

 Serramis aculirostris, CcviER & Valexcienses, Hist. Xat. Poiss., ii, 286, 1828, Brazil; GCxthek, 



Cat., I, 135,1859. 

 Serranus undtilosus, CuviEB & Valenciennes, Hist. Xat. Poiss., ii, 295, 1828, Brazil; GCntheb, 



Cat., I, 143, 1859. 

 Serranus tinea, Cantkaine, "Nonv. Mem. Ac. Brux., 1831, xi," Naples. 

 Serranus fmciis, LowE, Trans. Cambr. Philos. Soc, vi, 196, 1836, Madeira; (;Cnther, Cat., i, 



134, 1859. 

 Cema nehulosa, Cocco, "Indice Pesci Messina, Gen. 45, sp. 2," 1844. Messina. 

 Cemamacrogenis, Sassi, "Descr. Geneva e il Genovasato, i, 139," 1846, Genoa. 

 Serranus emarginalus, Valenciennes, Ichth. lies Canaries, 10, 1850, Canary Islands. 

 Epinephtlus chalinius. Cope, Trans. Am. Philos. Soc, 1871, 4t;5, St. Martins. 

 Cema aculirostris, var. lata, Dodeblein, I. c, 74, Palermo; monstrous form. 

 Serranus ruber, Peters, Berliner Monatsb., 107, 1865, (redescription of original type). 

 Mycteroperca rubra, Jordan i Eigenjiajjn, I. c, 372, 1890. 



Subgenus XYSTROPERCA, Jordan A- Evermann. 



1571. MICTEBOPEBCA PAKDALIS,t Gilbert. 

 (Cabrilla Pibitita.) 



Head 2i in length; depth 3; snout Si; eye 6. D.XI,17; A. Ill, 11 : scales 

 90. Lower jaw strongly projecting. Teeth small, the outer row in mandible 



*In case a red form of this species should be found, the ordinary brown form or variety may 

 be called var. acutirostrU. It is possible, also, as above indicated, that Mi/deroperca aculiroslns, to 

 which form the above description belongs, is really a distinct species. The following compari- 

 son of Bloch'stvpe of Epinephelusmber, .165 meters in length, from "Japan, y^ith M;nler,>perca 

 acutiro^tris, is made by Dr. Hilgendorf, who writes: "The gill mkeK are indeed numerous I 

 count 24 on the ceratobranchial of the first arch. The longest of these measures 6^, millime- 

 ters The points in which mher differs from acutirostrU (compared with a larger example— 

 12581 283 millimeters long, from Atheus) are the following: The pale coloration, which is hardly 

 to be explained by bleaching, as the dark-brown pigment sutTors little, nor is it to be aa-ounted 

 for bv difference in age. The caudal is in mher apparently strongly rounded, and the pectorals 

 as well as ventrals Je longer in ruber. The ventrals reach at least to <•''' y*-"';. J '^n * «{ 

 the pectoral is 78 millimeters from the snout, 86 millimeters from the end of the laudal ( a^ 7 

 to 8) lu aculiro^tris these numbers are respectively 123 and 160 millimeters , as 3 to 4). Th > 

 difference may be expressed by saying that in aa.tirostrL. (or iu old examples .;) the hinder p^rts 

 of the bodv are more stretched. The streaks on the sides shown in Bloch > figuie are merely 

 « e boiindartes of the groups of muscles." The difference in the .formot the caudal above 

 noticed mav we know, be due to age, as in specimens of 6 inches it is very rarel> lunate. The 

 Sitrence rn form is no't unlikely afso a matter of age. The p-.le ^■^''^;:^^ lYj^i'fxoZriyJm 

 mber mav be due to exposure of the type to sunlight. A few week. "^ •->'^'' "P*"^ '"" 

 destroy all pigment cells As the specimen has now been more than a century in alcohol, such 

 an exposure mav have some time taken place, 

 t The following description is taken from a specimen f«".!he Venados Islands, near Mazatlan: 

 Myc'er^erca pardali^Lueml 3 in length; depth 3,V , ?■ ^^',^^1,:^, A'v . •>' n^ or^^ 1^' 

 small, smooth, embedded, difficult to count. Eye 6f:, in head; maxillary 2 .,. pectoral l^. 



