A NEW GENUS AND SIX NEW SPECIES OF FISHES OF THE 

 FAMILY CYCLOGASTERID^. 



By Charles Victor Burke, 



Of Stanford University, California. 



An examination of the Cyclogasteridse represented in the United 

 States National Museum in Washington and the Museum of Compara- 

 tive Zoology in Cambridge has revealed the six new species described 

 in the present paper. Certain of these species are represented by 

 specimens in the United States Bureau of Fisheries and the Stanford 

 University Zoological Museum. The types of five of the species 

 have been selected from among the specimens in the United States 

 National Museum. The remaining species, RJiinoliparis attenuatus, 

 is represented by a single specimen and this is deposited in the 

 Museum of Comparative Zoology. 



The opportunity is taken here to present also the description 

 of a new genus. This genus, Polypera, is based upon the number of 

 pyloric caeca, a character heretofore not utilized in distinguishing 

 the genera and species of the family. The genus Polypera is formed 

 to include the single species Neoliparis greeni Jordan and Starks. 

 This species has about 300 pyloric caeca. As none of the other 

 species of the family have as many as 100 pyloric caeca it seems 

 advisable to recognize this great difference in the number of pyloric 

 caeca as of generic importance. 



POLYPERA, new genus. 



Disk large; dorsal fin notched; nostrils, 2; teeth weakly trilobed 

 and simple; pyloric caeca numerous, more than 200; branchio- 

 stegals, 6. 



The genus Polypera differs from Cyclogaster solely in the number 

 of pyloric caeca. None of the 30 species of the latter genus has as 

 many as 100 pyloric caeca. The pyloric caeca in Polypera are matted 

 closely together and can be distinguished without counting from 

 those of any of the species of Cyclogaster. The dentition in Polypera 

 is distinct from that found in any of the species of Cyclogaster in 

 which the dorsal fin is notched and supplements the difference found 



Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. 43— No. 1941. 



567 



