STARGAZER FISHES — BERRY AND ANDERSON 567 



Museum; James E. Bohlke, Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila- 

 delphia ; Antenor Leiatao de Carvalho, Museo Nacional, Rio de Janeiro ; 

 Frank S. Cliff, Colgate University; Bruce B. Collette, Cornell Uni- 

 versity; and Donald P. deSylva, University of Delaware. For making 

 specimens available, we arc indebted to Winfield Brady, Florida's 

 Gulfarium; Harvey R. Bullis, Jr., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

 Pascagoula; E. Milby Burton, Charleston Museum; Eugenic Clark, 

 Cape Haze Marine Laboratory; Earl E. Deubler, Jr., University of 

 North Carolina; Myvanwy M. Dick, Museum of Comparative 

 Zoology; W. I. Follett, California Academy of Sciences; John D. 

 Kilby, University of Florida; Giles W. Mead, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Washington, D.C.; George S. Myers, Stanford University; 

 C. Richard Robins and Walter R. Courtenay, Jr., University of 

 Miami Marine Laboratory; Leonard P. Schultz, U.S. National Mu- 

 seum; Royal D. Suttkus, Tulane University; and Loren P. Woods, 

 Chicago Natural History Museum. 



We appreciate suggestions concerning the manuscript from the 

 following of the staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological 

 Laboratory, Brunswick, Georgia: Jack W. Gehringer, David K. 

 Caldwell, and Hugh M. Fields. We are also indebted to Joseph E. 

 King and Daniel M. Cohen for review of the manuscript, and to the 

 latter for securing the illustration of Uranoscopus occidentalis. 



Taxonomic Treatment 



Key to Western North Atlantic Uranoscopidae 



la. Spinous dorsal fin present (3 to 5 spines). 



2a. Top of head entirely covered by exposed cranial bones (apparently in all 

 sizes); cleithral spines long, sharp pointed, and protruding through the 

 skin. (Uranoscopus Linnaeus 1758; one species reported from Brazil.) 



Uranoscopus occidentalis Agassiz 



2b. Top of head partially covered by skin (plate 1) (in sizes over 34 ram. S.L. 



or 40 mm. T.L.) ; cleithral spines short, adpressed to body, bluntly 



pointed and covered with skin. (Astroscopus Brevoort 1860.) 



3a. Posterior end of rear nostril groove much closer to eye (orbit) than to 



posterior margin of skin-covered area over electric organs; distance 



from eye to end of rear nostril groove (a in plate 1g) about 1.9 to 11.0 



times into distance from end of rear nostril groove to posterior margin 



of skin-covered area (bin plate 1g), in sizes above 40 mm. S.L. Y-shaped 



process on head usually long and narrow (plate 1), least width of its 



base about 1.4 to 2.4 percent of standard length at sizes larger than 



100 mm. S.L. Top of head and body with large, widely spaced white 



spots (plate 2b) . (North Carolina to Brazil.) 



Astroscopus y-graccum (Cuvier) 



3&. Posterior end of rear nostril groove usually closer to posterior margin of 



skin-covered area over electric organs than to eye (orbit) or not much 



closer to eye; distance from eye to end of rear nostril groove (a in plate 1g) 



