THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 113 



SYNODUS EVERMANNI Jordan and Bollman 



Synodus evermanni Jordan and Bollman, 1890, p. 152, Panama Bay, in 33 

 fathoms (original description; compared with S. poeyi Jordan). — Meek and 

 Hildebrand, 1923, p. 219, Panama Bay (references; description; range). — 

 Norman, 1935, p. 106 (synonymy; description; range). 



Head 3.55; depth 9.8; D. 12; A. 11; P. 12; scales mostly lost, about 

 55, 4 rows between lateral line and base of dorsal, and about 16 crossing 

 back in advance of dorsal fin. 



Body about as broad as deep at base of ventral fins; caudal peduncle 

 compressed, its depth 4.5 in head; head flat above, its width and depth 

 at margin of preopercle about equal; interorbital wide, 1.45 in snout; 

 rim of orbit smooth; snout rather abruptly pointed, outline horizontal, 

 or curved upward very slightly dorsally at tip, projecting slightly 

 beyond mandible, 4.0 in head; mandible sharply pointed, with a 

 fleshy knob at tip, no folds of skin along its lateral margins; eye large, 

 4.5 in head, 1.12 in snout; mouth extending weU beyond eye; premaxil- 

 lary 1.65 in head; dorsal fin high, the longest ray reaching slightly 

 beyond tip of last one, which is not longer than the immediately pre- 

 ceding one, the longest one 1.35 in head, origin of fin a little nearer 

 adipose than tip of snout; adipose over middle of anal; caudal fin 

 rather short, the upper lobe the longer, exceeding length of premaxil- 

 lary; anal lower and a little shorter than dorsal, its base 2.0 in head; 

 inner rays of ventral rather long, about 1.5 times as long as the outer 

 ray, 1.5 in head; pectoral with rounded margin, rather long, reaching 

 nearly an eye's diameter beyond base of ventral, 1.55 in head. 



Color grayish brown above, pale underneath; a few indefinite dark 

 spots on posterior part of back, and a more definite series on side, 

 some of which are vertically elongate. Pectorals and ventrals pale; 

 other fins more or less dusky; the adipose black at base; a small dark 

 spot at base of first ray of dorsal. 



The Mission obtained a single small specimen, 75 mm. (64 mm. to 

 base of caudal) long, in Chilca Bay, constituting a new record for Peru. 

 The foregoing description is based on this small fish, which was com- 

 pared with larger specimens from Baja California and from Panama 

 Bay. The following proportions and enumerations based on larger 

 specimens (140 to 220 mm. long), including the type material from 

 Panama Bay, may be useful in identifying larger specimens: Head 3.4 to 

 3.8 in length; depth 6.6 to 8.5. Eye 4.3 to 5.8 in head; snout 4.0 to 

 4.5; premaxillary 1.5 to 1.7; interorbital 5.0 to 5.8; base of anal 2.4 to 

 2.7; pectoral 1.5 to 1.9. D. 10 or 11; A. 10 or 11; P. 12; scales 45 to 50, 4 

 complete rows between lateral line and base of dorsal, and 15 or 16 rows 

 crossing back in advance of dorsal ; longest rays of the dorsal not always 

 reaching to or beyond the tip of the last ray if depressed; body gen- 

 erally rather deeper than broad at base of ventrals in the larger fish; 

 pectoral fins becoming somewhat pointed with age; dark spots on the 



