THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 137 



or missing, directed backward; each jaw with two series laterally, 

 the upper jaw anteriorly with three teeth on each side, the row inter- 

 rupted, but resumed behind first nostril as the inner row, the outer 

 row beginning under second nostril, the inner series in lower jaw 

 being discontinued at about midlength of jaw; vomer apparently with 

 two pairs of teeth (one tooth missing) in front, followed by eight 

 teeth in a single median row; anterior nostril with a rather prominent 

 tube, provided distally with a pointed flap; posterior nostril with a 

 rather broad fringed border on both the outer and inner sides; no 

 papilla and no evident pore in the lip between the nostrUs; gill opening 

 large, rather longer than snout, and equal to distance between the 

 two openings ventrally; dorsal fin in a groove, its origin about over 

 beginning of distal fourth of pectoral, the distance anterior to its 

 origin 2.9 in length anterior to vent; anal similar to dorsal; pectoral 

 rather long, nearly as long as gape, 3.0 in head. 



Color dark brown, with indefinite large black spots on back and 

 upper part of side, becoming more distinct posteriorly; small dark 

 spots of various sizes on head; the large spots consisting principally 

 of two rows, one on the middle of the back and the other on upper 

 part of side; a few spots of a third row evident on the trunk below the 

 lateral line. The row of spots on the middle of back divided by the 

 median dorsal groove, the halves more or less halfmoon-shaped, and 

 not always directly opposite each other; the spots of the second series 

 larger, alternating with those on the back, occupying the space be- 

 tween the dorsal fin and the lateral line; dorsal fin with a continuous 

 black margin and with an occasional submarginal elongate black spot; 

 anal dark brown, the margin rather darker than rest of fin; pectoral 

 dark brown, darker distally than at base, with a suggestion of two 

 dark spots near base. 



A single specimen, 920 mm. long, taken by the Mission in Sechura 

 Bay with a hand line, forms the basis for the foregoing description. 

 This specimen has been compared with two smaller ones, 705 and 800 

 mm, long, from Baja California. Several differences were noticed, 

 which, however, may not be of specific importance. The Peruvian 

 specimen is stockier, which may be only the result of greater age, 

 and it is much darker in color, though in general the arrangement of 

 the spots is nearly the same. The head at the posterior angle of the 

 mouth is notably deeper than wide in the Peruvian fish, whereas the 

 depth and width at the same place are about equal in the others. In 

 the large Peruvian specimen the gill opening is rather longer than the 

 snout and equal to the distance between the openings ventrally, 

 whereas in the California specimens the gill opening is notably shorter 

 than the snout and also shorter than the space between the opposite 

 openings. The eye in the Peruvian fish is smaller, being contained 

 2.15 times in the snout, and only 1.7 times in the California speci- 



