NO. 213:5. FISHES TAKEN BY "ALBATROSS," 1888— THOMPSON. 



415 



lar, posterior nostril without fringes, situated slightly behind angle 

 of mouth; first gill arch attached below angle of second; gill rakers 

 barely distinguishable; flaps of gill opening extending but slightly 

 beyond opercular edge. 



Dorsal height not great, longest rays at center of fin; caudal rays 

 but slightly longer than longest of dorsal. 



Color of type, uniform brown; vertical liiis becoming darker poste- 

 riorly, margined diffusely with white. In a paratype there are some- 

 what indistinct (hirk cross bars, 12 in number on body, separated by 

 one and one-half times their own width. 



The characters distinguishing Symphurus hergi from S. plagusia are 

 the greater number of dorsal and anal rays, the more numerous scales 

 in both transverse and longitudinal series, the fewer caudal rays, the 

 shghtly lesser depth, tlie stronger teeth in jaws, and the fact that the 

 distance between the anterior QxXgo, of the upper orbit and the poste- 

 rior edge of the lower is contained twice in the length of the snout. 

 In the fin formula S. hrasiJicnsis and S. tcssellatus correspond to S. 

 plagusia, and in the former the caudal rays are distinctly said to be 12. 



In comparing the specimens at hand with the description of 

 Symphurus jcnynsi, Evermann and Kendall ^ from the same locality, 

 the following differences are found: The head is not 6.66 in length 

 without caudal, but 5.9 to 6.25 (using the variation found in 15 

 specimens); the eye is 8 or 9 m head instead of 13; only in a single 

 case does the number of dorsal rays fall as low as 109, none being 108; 

 the scales in longitudinal series vary from 100 to 114, and in no case 

 reach 120; there are, distinctly, teeth on the eyed side of the upper 

 jaw, which is stated by Evermann and Kendall to be without teeth; 

 the eyes are far from being "on the same line," the lower beginning 

 below the end of the anterior third of the upper, instead of "slightly 

 advanced;" and, finally, there arc not 12 but 10 caudal rays. The 

 differences are obviously great, although the general appearances are 

 similar. 



Table of counts and measurements in hundredths of length to base of caudal of Symphurus 



bergi and related species. 



S. bergi 



S. plagusia, Jamaica 



S. elongatus, Panama 



S. atricauda, Lower California 



S. led, Panama 



S.fasciolarus, Pacific 



S. atrimentatus, Gulf of California 

 S. williamsi, southern California. . 



Num- 

 ber of 

 speci- 

 mens. 



Head. 



0. 175 



(. 16-. 19) 



.19 



.19 

 .21 

 .25 



.20 

 .20 

 .21 



Depth. 



0.29 

 (.27-. 31) 

 .32 

 (. 30-. 33) 

 .24 

 .29 

 .26 



.30 

 .30 

 .29 



Postorbital 



length of 



head. 



0.12 

 (. 11-. 13) 

 .13 

 (. 125-. 13) 

 .145 

 .15 

 .18 



.12 



.135 



.14 



Lower 

 orbit. 



0.02 

 '".'623' 



.015 



.03 



.03 



.03 

 .03 

 .03 



Dorsal. 



110 



(109-112) 

 92 

 (90-95) 

 104 

 97 

 98 

 (97-100) 

 95 

 94 

 98 



I Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 31, 1906, p. 108. 



