NO. 2294. FISHES FROM WEt^T AFRICA— FOWLER. 223 



by Jordan and Evermann.^ Tiie Key West examples do not show any 

 pale bar from the nostril to the eye, or pale narrow border below the 

 eye, their soft dorsals and anals are narrowly edged with whitish 

 behind, caudal broadly white, pectoral uniform blackish basally 

 and in surrounding region, all scales broadl^^ edged whitish or gray 

 on trunk and dorsal and anal bases; also many white spots extend for- 

 ward even until well before pectoral; nostril much further advanced 

 before eye and lower or about level with lower eye edge, and lips 

 prominently dusk3^ A point in agreement is the pide chin. A larger 

 dried example of P. arcuatus from Nassau, Bahamas, 40S mm. long, 

 now appears uniformly brownish-black, but in its large scales and low- 

 ered nostrils, which about three-quarters an eye-diameter before eye 

 agrees with the Key West examples. No difference is apparent in the 

 general scale structure, the apical spinules of about similar extent, and 

 the basal striae vary 7 or 8 in both species. 



BALISTES VETULA Linnaeus. 



Head, 3; depth, 1|; D. Ill— iii, 28; A. ii, 25; P. i, 13; scales 58 

 from gill-opening to caudal base and 5 more on latter; 30 scales from 

 rictus to pectoral origin; snout, IJ in head; eye, 5^; interorbital, 4; 

 first dorsal spine, If; second branched dorsal ray, IJ; least depth of 

 caudal peduncle, 4|; pectoral, 2|. 



Body well compressed, contour ellipsoid. Caudal peduncle and 

 head compressed, lower profde of latter slightly more convex 

 than upper. Preorbital groove about long as eye. Mouth small, 

 terminal, with thick fleshy lips. All teeth slightly notched, median 

 pair hi each jaw largest. Nostrils together, about two-fifths of eye 

 diameter before eye close over preorbital groove. Interorbital convex. 

 Gill-opening little inclined, long as space between front nostril and 

 hind eye edge. Scales all asperous, mostly with regular < -shaped 

 row of close-set asperities along front of each. Front of first dorsal 

 spine asperous; fins otherwise smooth. Ventral spine finely rough- 

 ened, and about 1 8 narrow thin spines in flap. Humeral region spines- 

 cent, like surrounding scales. First dorsal spine inserted over large 

 humeral scciles close behind gill-opening. Second dorsal spine 

 slightly less than half of first and third, little shorter than second. 

 Second dorsal origin about midway between hind nostril and caudal 

 base, pointed front lobe reachmg caudal base. Anal like second 

 dorsal but with shorter point in front. Caudal deep, upper and lower 

 points produced, concave; hind edge slightly convex when expanded. 

 Pectoral rounded. 



Color in alcohol brownish generally, little paler on head below. 

 Pale bluish streak from near snout tip until close below pectoral base, 



1 Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 47, vol. 2, 1898, p. 1680. 



