144 NEW SPECIES OF FISHES, GULF OF CALIFORNIA. 



Beemosilla, gem nov. (Family Sparidtc.) 



General characters the same as those of Kyphosus Lac6pede = Pime- 

 lepterw LacSpede, from which it differs : In the weaker gill-rakers ; in 

 having the margin of the preopercle entire; in having no teeth on the 

 vomer or tongue, and no band of villiform teeth behind the incisors; 

 in the squamation, the scales on the body being larger, 55 in the longi- 

 tudinal series in H.azurea; the head not being so completely scaled, the 

 top of the head, snout, prcorbitals, space below the eye, the chin, and 

 the preopercles being naked. It also differs in the relative sizes and 

 forms <>f the vertical tins— the spinous dorsal is much longer than the 

 soft dorsal, and the soft anal is higher and shorter than the soft dorsal. 

 Ihrmnsillo, capital of Sonora, the name derived from a word mean- 

 ing beautiful.) 

 7. Hermosilla azurea, gen. et sp. nov. (Type, No. 39629, U. S. N. M.) 



Head 3.5b' in length of body to base of caudal; depth of body 2 in 

 length; dorsal fin, XI— 11 ; anal fin, III— 10; scales, 11-55-17. 



Body ovate, compressed, head short, snout 3 in head, blunt, maxil- 

 lary about the diameter of the eye, barely reaching front margin of eye. 

 Both jaws with a single series of close-set, equal, narrow, rounded in- 

 cisors ; no teeth on the vomer. 



Gill-rakers slender on anterior arch about the diameter of the eye, 

 3 + 12; on succeeding arches much shorter. Preopercle entire. Pre- 

 orbital two-thirds the diameter of the eye, nearly covering the maxil- 

 la ry. 



Top of head as far back as the posterior margin of the eyes, the 

 snout, the prcorbitals, a narrow space below the eye, the chin, and the 

 preopercles naked. The top of the head covered with pores; the pre- 

 opercles covered with a net- work of grooves. The remaining parts of 

 the head and body scaled. Five rows of scales on the cheeks below 

 the eye. about (5 rows on the opercle, subopercle with 1 row. 



The fins, with the exception of the spinous dorsal, covered more or 

 less, with tine scales. Scales moderate, ctenoid, 55 in the longitudinal 

 scries, not crowded anteriorly. Lateral line complete, traceable but a 

 short distance on the caudal. Dorsal fin of eleven spines, the seventh, 

 which is the longest, 1.8 in head ; the alternate ones very strong, the 

 spinous part continuous with the soft portion, the last spine not much 

 lower than the soft dorsal, thus leaving but a slight depression between 

 the two. The spinous part depressible into a groove, base of spinous 

 part about one-half longer than the base of the soft portion. Soft anal 

 shorter and higher than soft dorsal ; anal with three spines, short but 

 strong, the second the longest, 1.3 times the diameter of the eye; cau- 

 dal forked, upper fork the longer; pectoral 1.5 in head, not quite 

 equaling the \ciitials which begin behind them. 



Depth of caudal peduncle Tin the body. Eye moderate, 3.7 inhead;-- 

 interorbital space 2.7 in head. Peritoneum black. 



