NO. 1358. JAPANESE SCULPINS— JORDAN AND STARKK 319 



body, tapering to a very slender caudal pedinu'l(^ the fins hioh. and 

 with slender rays; the first spine of doi'sai produced, the middle 

 spines very long, rapidly diiuinishino- in Icnutli before and behind; 

 the caudal long and conspicuously forked; the preopci'cular spine very 

 short, shari). and straight, not hooked; the palatines with a nari'ow 

 band of teeth at their posterior end, remote from the vomer; the flat 

 or slightly convex interorbital spact^; the latei-al line without concealed 

 plates; the head without tentacles. 



Otherwise it resembles Pi^eudohUnti'mx. Gill membranes connected, 

 free from isthnuis; no slit behind last gill arch; p(M'toi"al rays simple; 

 ventrals very small, each with one concealed spine and two soft rays; 

 lateral line undulating anteriorly; copulating organ of male con- 

 structed as in PseudohlenniKK^ though less conspicuously tril<)l)ate at 

 its termination. 



{vellitoi\ one who plucks or tears.) 



51. VELLITOR CENTROPOMUS (Richardson). 



SUI. 



Podabrus centropomus Richardson, Voyage of the Samarang, Fishes, 1850, p. 



11, pi. I, figs. 7-11; Quelpart, Straits of Korea. — Gunthek, Cat. Fish., II, 



1860, p. 152 (copied). 

 Centridenniehthys nndiis Doderlein, Fische Japans, IV, 1887, j). 258; Bay of 



Tokyo.— IsHiKAWA, Prel. Cat., 1897, p. 48; Boshu. 



Head 2| in length without caudal; depth 4. Dorsal X-20; anal 19; 

 lateral line -il pores. Eye 5 in head: interorbital width O^; snout 2'i; 

 maxillary 2^; height of caudal peduncle 0^. 



Body strongly compressed and somewhat elevated, higli^st under 

 spinous dorsal; from first dorsal spine to tip of snout the upper profile 

 is slightl}' concave and gently sloping; from chin to anal th(> lower 

 profile is nearly straight and more nearly horizontal than abo\-c: pos- 

 teriorly the body tapers into a slender caudal ]ieduncle. Snout long 

 and sharpl}' pointed, as viewed laterally. Lowei- jaw strongly pro- 

 jecting. Mouth rather large, little obli(iue. tiie maxillaiy reaching 

 to just past front of or])it. Teeth villiform. small, but rather sharp; 

 the bands on jaws widiMied in front, slightl}' wider on ui)per jaw; the 

 palatine with a narrow l)and on its posterior end remote fi-oiu the 

 vomerine patch, wliich is U-shaped. Preopei'cl(> with a short, sharp 

 spine at angle, usually straight and directed neai-ly straight backward 

 or very slightly upward, sometimes slightly curved, nevei- hooked as 

 in related forms; no secondary spinels below this. Head otluM'wise 

 without spines or teiitaides. 



Dorsal spines very slender and tlexiblc; tiic tirst ])r()(luced, usually 

 longer than the otluM- si)ines. tliough sometimes a little shorter; the 

 second spine usually shorter than third, foi'ming a notch at the fin; 

 the middle spines very high, the liftli the highest. Is to 2 in head; 

 the spines behind it rapidly shortened to the last, which is half the 



