64 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.99 



anal-fin base; the dorsal profile of the head is straight or with a very- 

 slight concavity; the snout is somewhat pointed and rounded; the 

 rear margin of the eye is at about the midlength of the head or a httle 

 in front of it; the eye is contained 2% to 3 K in the snout and 1.5 to 1.8 

 in the interorbital space; the anus is under rear of eye; origin of anal 

 fin under rear of base of pectoral fin; the gill opening extends above 

 and below base of pectoral fin; upper and lower jaws with patches of 

 vilHform teeth; the lower jaw is a little shorter than upper, so that 

 the snout projects a little; the mouth is small, so that the rictus or 

 corner of mouth is just a trifle behind a vertical line through anterior 

 nostril; tip of snout to rear of maxillary 2 in snout; distance between 

 anterior and posterior nostrils 1.5 times in distance from eye to 

 posterior nostril; the interorbital space is convex, and its width is 

 equal to the distance from the tip of snout to posterior nostril; the 

 lateral line is straight; body and tail covered \Aath scales, head naked; 

 the scales along sides of body largest; about 13 or 14 rows of scales 

 between lateral line and middorsal line; the pectoral fin length is 

 equal to the distance from center of eye to rear of head; fontanel 

 present along middorsal line of head. Apparently both specimens 

 are males with short anal papillae and the testes are fully developed. 



Color. — Live examples of this species were silvery on sides and a 

 httle darker dorsally. In alcohol it is plain pale in color on sides and 

 pale brownish dorsally; a dark brown streak continues on dorsal sur- 

 face of tail to its tip, contrasting sharply \vith the whitish sides and 

 whitish ventrally; pectoral and anal fins white; operculum with a 

 dark blotch; peritoneum pale. 



Remarks. — This new species of gymnotid eel would trace do^vn 

 through the "Key to the Species of Genus Eigenmannia" by Eigen- 

 mann and Allen (1942, p. 315) to their new species E. conirostris on 

 the basis of 239 to 259 anal rays; all other species of Eigenmannia, 

 such as virescens, troscheli, and macrops, have fewer than 225 anal 

 rays. In addition, macrops has the caudal filament equal to "half 

 the total length without the head," while in goajira the caudal filament 

 is contained nearly 3 times in the anal-fin base; virescens has a black 

 streak along lateral fine, another along base of anal fin, both lacking 

 in goajira; troscheli has a very bluntly rounded short snout contained 

 about 3.75 to 4 in the head instead of 2.6 to 3 in the head of goajira. 

 E. conirostris and the new species are closely related but differ in the 

 position of the eye; in conirostris the rear margin of the eye is about an 

 eye diameter closer to tip of snout than rear of head instead of equal 

 distance as in goajira; in addition, goajira appears to have a larger 

 number of anal rays, 255 and 263, than conirostris with 239 to 259. 



Named goajira in reference to the district inhabited by the Goajira 

 Indians, where this fish was collected. 



