1214 Bulletin 4y, United States National Museum. 



than any on the body, in 5 vertical series; preoperculum finely serrated, 

 the serra^ coarser at the angle, obsolete on the lower border; middle oper- 

 cular spine strong, nearer lower than upper. Gill rakers moderate, 12 on 

 lower part of the anterior arch. Dorsal originating above base of pec- 

 toral, the spines increasing in size to the fourth, which equals -| length 

 of head and is a little shorter than the longest soft rays ; no notch 

 between the spinous and soft portions; pectoral obtusely pointed, 

 slightly longer than ventrals, f length of head; second and third anal 

 spines e([vial, stouter and slightly shorter than longest dorsal ; caudal 

 slightly eniarginate. Brown, with ill-detined darker vertical bars; soft 

 dorsal, anal, and caudal w'ith small dark and light spots; pectorals and 

 ventrals yellowish. Length 6 inches. Coast of Jalisco, western Mexico. 



Svrnmm biiUeri, Boulengek, Cat., i, 288, 1895, Las Peflas, Jalisco. (Coll. A. C. Bullor.) 



Subgenus MENTIPERCA, Gill. 



1600. PRIONODES TIGRINUS (Bloch). 



Head 2^ ; depth 3t ; eye 4 in head. D. X, 11 ; A. Ill, 7 ; scales 8-68-24, 

 60 poies. Body long and low, the head low and sharp, the lower jaw- 

 projecting; scales small; top of head naked, the smooth area on frontal 

 region large ; scales on cheek small, in 10 or 12 rows ; preopercle rounded, 

 with regular sernt- ; teeth small ; gill rakers very short, x -^- 6 to 8 ; max- 

 illary 2^, reaching to center of eye ; soft dorsal and anal naked ; dorsal 

 low, not notched; caudal forked; second and third anal spines equal, 

 the second the strongest, 2J in head ; pectoral 11 in head. Color brown- 

 ish above, the sides yellowish, everywhere, above, below, and on fins 

 covered with irregular, inky-black spots, blotches, and bands, the latter 

 meeting around the belly ; pectorals and anal plain ; a broad ring around 

 base of caudal, and many irregular spots around bases of ventrals and 

 pectorals; numerous black spots on dorsals and caudal, one of those on 

 front of spinous dorsal very conspicuous. West Indies; scarce; an 

 exceedingly handsome little fish, here described from the original type of 

 Sen'anus x>r(vstigiator, sent hy Foej to the Museum of Comparative Zool- 

 ogy, (tigrinus, spotted like a tiger.) 



Holocenlrn^ Ikjrhws, Bloch, pi. 237, 1790, afterSEBA, Thesaurus, in, pi. xxvii, fig. 5, East Indies. 

 Serranus priesligialor, PoEY, Memorias, i, 58, pi. 2, fig. 2, 1851, Havana. (Coll. Po(.'y. Tjpo 



in M. C. Z.) 

 f Cenlropristes annitlaris, Gi'NTHEr, Shore Fishes, Challenger, C, pi. 1, fig. B, 1880, Pernambuco 



young specimen 2 inches long. 

 Centropruitis priesligialor, Gunther, Cat., i, 85, 1859. 

 Haliperca prieMigialor, Poey, Synopsis, 282, 1868. 

 Serramis tigrinus, Jordan, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1880, 579; Jordan &, Eigenmann, I. c, 408, 



1890; BouLENGF.R, Cat., i, 293. 

 fSerranus annitlarit, Jordan & Eigenmann, 1. c, 406. 



* The earliest specific name of this species, /nsciafHs, can not be used if the species be referred 

 to Seiranus, a.s already more than one Serramis lias been ca,\Ut(l fitsciatiis. The name is, however, 

 not preoccupied in Prionodes. The genus Prionodes was supposed by Jeny ns to diflcr from Serramis 

 by tlie absence of vomerine and palatine teeth. These teeth are, as a matter of fact, well devel- 

 oped in tlie young, but in some old specimens they are small, partly covered by the skin, and 

 possibly even deciduous. Kcnewed comjiarison shows that 1,598a, Prionodes huUeri (Boulenger), is 

 a distinct species, though close to P. fasciatus; the jaws shorter, the color dull. 



