160 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 99 



CYNOSCION MARACAIBOENSIS. new species 



corvina de lago 

 Figure 20 



Otolithus toe-roe (in part) Cuvii^r and Valenciennes, Histoire naturelle des 



poissons, vol. 5, p. 72, 74, 1830 (Lago de Maracaibo). 

 Otolithus cayennensis (in part) Gunther, Catalogue of the fishes in the British 



Museum, vol. 2, p. 309, 1860 (Lago Maracaibo). 



Holotype. — U.S.N.M. No. 121742, 255 mm. in standard length, col- 

 lected in the Rio Agua Caliente, 2 to 3 Ion. above Lago de Maracaibo, 

 Venezuela, by Leonard P. Schultz, May 1, 1942. 



Paratypes. — (All paratypes collected by Leonard P. Schultz in 1942). 



U.S.N.M. No. 121743, a specimen, 226 mm., bearing same data as 

 the holotype. 



U.S.N.M. No. 121745, 1 specimen, 266 mm., from Rio de Los 

 Pdjaros, 3 km. above Lago de Maracaibo, April 30, 



U.S.N.M. No. 121744, 2 specimens, 239 and 261 mm., Lago de Mara- 

 caibo, 2 km. off Lagunillas, March 15. 



Description. — Aleasurements were made on the types and these, 

 expressed in hundredths of the standard length, are recorded first for 

 the holotype, then for the four paratypes in parentheses, respectively. 



Standard lengths in millimeters 255 (266; 226; 261; 239). 



Length of head 31.0 (29.3; 30.3; 28.7; 29.0); greatest depth of body 

 23.1 (21.8; 22.6; 22.8; 24.3); diameter of eye 5.49 (5.26; 5.75; 5.25; 

 5.44); length of snout 6.88 (7.14; 7.26; 6.97; 6.90); tip of snout to rear 

 of maxillary 13.3 (13.3; 13.5; 13.0; 12.8); least width of preorbital 

 2.20 (1.88; 2.21; 2.04; 1.88); postorbital length of head 19.3 (18.6; 18.1; 

 17.4; 17.4); least width of bony interorbital space 5.53 (5.64; 5.75; 

 5.60; 5.15); length of caudal peduncle or distance from base of last 

 anal ray to midcaudal fin base 21.2 (22.1 ; 20.8; 21.3; 20.9) ; least depth 

 of caudal peduncle 7.26 (7.70; 7.78; 7.51 ; 7.95) ; length of base of second 

 dorsal fin 31.8 (33.1; 33.4; 34.1; 33.1); length of base of anal fin 9.10 

 (9.58; 10.2; 9.20; 9.79); length of longest spine of dorsal fin 15.7 (14.1; 

 16.0; 14.3; — ); longest soft ray of dorsal 13.5 (13.7; 14.1; — ; — ); 

 longest soft ray of anal 14.9 (13.7; 14.7; 14.7; 14.2); length of second 

 anal spine 6.47 (6.20; 6.33; 6.13; 6.07); longest ray of pectoral fin 

 17.1 (16.2; 17.7; 17.5; 16.9); longest soft ray of pelvic fin 17.9 (17.1; 

 17.0; 16.5; 17.3); length of pelvic spine 10.2 (10.7; 11.5; 10.4; 9.50); 

 length of longest or middle rays of caudal fin 22.6 (21.8; 23.2; 23.0; 

 23.2); tip of snout to dorsal origin 35.3 (35.3; 35.2; 33.5; 34.7); snout 

 to anal origin 69.8 (72.6; 72.6; 69,7; 72.4); snout to pectoral insertion 

 28.9 (28.6; 29.4; 27.4; 27.5); snout to pelvic insertion 30.6 (32.3; 31.9; 

 31.6; 31.6); length of longest gill raker 4.00 (3.57; 3.10; 4.22; 4.40). 



The following counts were made respectively: Dorsal fin rays X-I,19 

 (X-I,18; X-I,18; X-I,18); anal rays 11,8 (11,8; 11,8; 11,8; 11,8); 



