1886.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 477 



A REVIEW OF THE GOBIIDiE OP NORTH AMERICA. 

 Br DATI]> S. jrOBDAN and CARI^ H. EIOENITIAIVIV. 



In the present paper we have attempted to ^ive the synonymy of each 

 of the genera and species of Gobies found iu the waters of America 

 north of Surinam and Pauama. The specimens examined belong to the 

 U. S. National Museum and to the museum of the Indiana University, 

 most of the latter having beeu collected by Professor Jordan. 



The group offers considerable difficulty, as most of the species are of 

 small size, and many of them are but scantily represented in collections. 



The determination of the proper limits of the genera has been espe- 

 cially difficult, as the characters used as generic by Bleaker, Gill, and 

 others are, in themselves, of small value, and subject to many inter- 

 gradations. Among the Eleotridince we find the skeletal differences 

 well marked, easily defining the genera, at least, if only American 

 species are taken into consideration. Among the American Gobiince, 

 however, the skeletons of GilUchthys and Typhlogohius only show any 

 well-marked peculiarities, so far as we have seen, and no characters of 

 importance can be drawn from this source. We have ventured to de- 

 tach from Gobius, on characters of minor importance, the genera Lo- 

 pJiogobius, Ghonophorus, Lepidogobius, and 3IiGrogobius, but the characters 

 of none of these groups have any high importance, and it is not un- 

 likely that Dr. Giinther is right in uniting all with Gobius. 



The genera of Gobiidae recognized by us may be defined as follows : 



ANALYSIS OF GENERA OF NORTH AMERICAN GOBIID^. 



a. Veutral tins separate ; body scaly. 



b. Veutral rays I, 4. {Oxymetopontinw). 

 e. Forehead bhmtly rounded, without sharp keel; tongue very slender, sharp; 



body elongate, compressed, covered 

 with very small scales, some cycloid, 

 some ctenoid ; head short, compressed, 

 rather broad above ; mouth oblique, 

 the lower jaw projecting ; teeth in few 

 series, some of them canine-like ; isth- 

 mus narrow. Dorsals separate, the 

 first of six slender spines ; soft dorsal 

 and anal elongate; caudal lanceo- 

 late lOGLOSSUS, 1. 



S6. Ventral rays 1.5 ; (Eleotridince). 



d. Vomer with a broad patch of villiform teeth ; gill-openings extending for- 

 ward to below posterior angle of 

 mouth, the isthmus thus very narrow ; 

 teeth villiform, the outer scarcely en- 

 larged ; vertebrae 12 -f 13 {dormitor) ; 



