88. SPARID^ DIABASIS. 
553 
284. — DIABASIS Desmarest. 
Red 2Iouths. 
(Hcvmiilon Cnvier.) 
(Desmarest, Premiere Decade Iclitli. (1818): type Diahasis parrce Desm.) 
Body oblong, usually iuore or less elevated; mouth wide, the maxillary 
very long, reaching usually to below the eye, its tip extending to the 
posterior end of the preorbital ; no teeth ou vomer or palatines ; teeth 
of the jaws conical, the outer series stronger, curved ; lips and inside of 
the mouth commonly bright red in life ; soft parts of the vertical fins 
completely cov^ered with scales ; a marked angle formed at the junction 
of the spinous and soft parts of the dorsal ; second anal spine enlarged, 
generally larger and longer than the third; caudal forked. Species 
very numerous, [did^^aaiq^ a crossing; the allusion not evident.) 
* Sides of the head with blue stripes. 
872. D. formostss (L.) J. & G . — Black Grunts. 
Brownish above, sides lighter; top and sides of head with very many 
(12 or more) narrow wav’y longitudinal lines of dark bine, which do not 
extend on the trunk ; 6 or more of them on preorbital ; fins dusky, with 
a more or less apparent bluish tint; a red blotch at angle of month, ex- 
tending forward on lower lip. Body oblong, compressed and elevated, 
highest at origin of dorsal fin; itrofile A^ery couA^ex to front of eye, 
Avhere the long, comjtressed snout forms an angle with it. Eye posterior 
and high lip; 2 in snout, 4 in head. Mouth large; maxillary reaching 
front of orbit. Snout with a few scattered scales. Second anal spine 
pinch enlarged. Head 2f ; depth 2|. H. XII, 17 ; A. Ill, 9; Lat. 1. 5o. 
South Atlantic coast of the United States and southward. 
{Perea formosaljinn . Syst. Nat.: Hwmulonformosum Giiiither i, 305: Hecmulon arcii- 
atum Ciiv. & Val. ix, 481: Ilcemulon arcufl Holbrook, Icb. S. C. 1860, 124.) 
** Skies of bead without blue stripes. 
a. Body uot striiied. 
873. D. clJB*ys©plei*eas (Linn.) J. & G. 
Light brown aboA^e ; sides brilliantly silvery ; month red posteriorly, 
white in front. Body with general form of preceding, but the back less 
elevated, the profile being nearly straight. Scales of the pectoral region 
not larger than the others. Head 2f; depth 2f. H. XIII, 14; A. Ill, 
10; Lat. 1. about 55. [Holhroolc.) West Indies, north to South Carolina. 
{Perea ehrysoptera Linn. Syst. Nat. : Hecmulon chrysopterum Gunther, i, 313 : Hcenmlon 
clirysopterum Holbrook, Ich. S. C. 1860,121.) 
aa. Body strii^ed or banded. 
