FISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE SEAS AND ADJACENT WATERS 371 



Pennahia Fowler, Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc, vol. 30, No. 4, p. 776, 1926. 

 (Type, Johnius aeneus Block, orthotypic.) 



Body elongated, partly ovoid to ellipsoid, more or less compressed. 

 Snout obtusely rounded, sometimes overhangs lov/er jaw, often with 

 conspicuous shts and pores. Eyes moderate. Mouth moderate or 

 small, inclined or oblique. Chin with pores, rarely with small rudi- 

 mentary barbel at symphysis. Teeth villiform; outer premaxillary 

 row enlarged, sometimes inner mandibular row enlarged; no distinct 

 canines. Interorbital rather wide, slightly convex. Gill rakers 

 rather few, short. Pseudobranchiae present. Air bladder present. 

 Pyloric coeca few or in moderate number. Scales ctenoid, extend 

 over head and snout, more or less over vertical fins and mostly ad- 

 herent. Lateral line with simple, bifurcate, or branched tubes. 

 Dorsals as 2 deeply separated fins, first of 9 or 10 spines joined at least 

 basally with 23 to 32 soft rays. Anal with 1 or 2 spines, 6 to 9 rays, 

 second spine variably weak or strong. Caudal variably with age 

 truncate, cuneate, or rounded. Pectoral rays 16 to 20. Outer or 

 first ventral ray often as prolonged filament, especially in young. 



The largest group of the Indian and West Pacific sciaenids, also 

 with fewer species in the tropical Atlantic. As here understood they 

 differ from Sciaena chiefly in the absence of the m^andibular barbel. 

 I do not accept Jordan and Thompson's conclusions as to the nomen- 

 clature of this genus. It appears to me formal designation of type is 

 surely a priori claim in all cases. Bola Buchanan-Hamilton can not 

 be admitted as a sciaenid as its tautonymic genotype, Cyprinus bola, is 



a cyprinid. 



Johnius amoyensis (Bleeker) 



Pseudosciaena amoyensis Bleeker, Nederland. Tijdschr. Dierk., vol. 1, p. 144, 

 1863 (type locality: Amoy); vol. 2, p. 56. 1865 (Amoy). 



Sciaena amoyensis Steindachner, Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien, math.-nat. KL, 

 vol. 59, pt. 1, p. 362, 1892 (Shanghai). 



Depth 5 in total; head A)i. Eye 4 in head, greater than inter- 

 orbital; mouth moderately oblique, jaws equal; maxillary 2% to 2K 

 in head; teeth in bands in jaws, outer upper and inner lower row 

 enlarged, no canines; preopercle denticulate. 



Scales 55 in lateral line to caudal base; 75 along above lateral line; 

 8 or 9 above lateral line to spinous dorsal. 



D. XI, 27, spines slender, fourth longest and less twice body depth, 

 soft fin with low basal scaly sheath; A. II, 7 or 8; caudal 5}^ in body; 

 pectoral acute, 6% in body. 



Bluish green above, silvery below. Iris yellow. Fins yellow, 

 membranes brownish gray. Length, 270 mm. (Bleeker.) 



China. Perhaps not distinct from Johnius plagiostomus , the im- 

 perfect description hardly permitting identification. 



