NOTE ON PLEOTROPLITES AND HYPOPLECTRODES, 

 GENERA OF SERRANOID FISHES. 



By Theodore Gill, LL.D. 



Mr. BOULENGER, in the first volume of liis excellent Catalogue of 

 tlie Perciform Fishes, has accepted two later names for genera on 

 account of imperfect data respecting earlier ones: these are Ctenolates 

 instead of PJeetropUtes, and Gilhertia in place of Hypoplectrodes. It 

 is not surprising, for the author himself had even forgotten one— 

 Hypoplectrodes. 



The name Ctenolates of Giinther (1871) was adopted by Mr. Boulenger, 

 and as a synonym was noted ^^ Fkctroplites, Gill, Proc. Ac. Philad., 

 1862 p. 236 (no definition); Bleek. Arch. Neerl. xi, 1870, p. 267." 



It 'is true that at the place cited by Mr. Boulenger "no definition" 

 was given, but one was supplied later in the following terms: 



The Datnia^. amUgua of Richardson, which has been referred by Giiuther to the 

 genus DuUb, differs from Moronopsis^ by the shorter convex anal lin, the large second 

 anal spine, the small eyes, and the entire physiognomy. It may be called I lectro- 

 2)Utes amhigitUK. 



The characters thus positively given and contrasted with those of 

 KiMia or Moronopsis are sufficient to differentiate and define the genus, 

 althou-h the author, like Giinther and all others, was unaware of the 

 trenchant anatomical characters further differentiating the genus from 

 Kuhlia. The synonymy of the genus should be amended as follows: 



Genus PLECTROPLITES. 

 riectropUtes, Gz^i., Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.Phila. 18G2, p. 236 (with typonym only); 



1863, p. 286 (defined). 

 Ctenolates, GIjnther, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, p. 320. 

 Datnia? sp. Richardson. 

 Dtiles sp. GuNTHER (1859) et al. 

 The P. ambiguus is still the only species known. 



been adopted by Jordan and Boulenger. 



Proceedings of the United States National Museum, Vol. XVIII-No. 1082. 



