THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 155 



egg pouches in the three larger specimens are filled with eggs. The 

 membranes of the pouch slightly overlap along median line, and the 

 margins are weakly scalloped. The smallest specimen carries no eggs 

 and may be immature. The name "aguja" seems to be used for 

 Fistularia also. 



This species is close to S. coccineus Herald (1940, p. 57) from which 

 it difl"ers in having a shorter head and snout, a larger and better- 

 developed anal fin, apparently a larger egg pouch (on only 15 rings in 

 a paratype, an incubating male, of S. coccineus according to the orig- 

 inal description), and in color. The type of S. coccineus, wliich is 

 at hand, is dark brown and has large pale blotches, broader than the 

 ground color, on the back. One of the two small paratypes at hand 

 is plain brown, and the other one has traces of light bands on the 

 trunk. No radiating lines are evident on the eyes in the type or 

 paratypes. The differences in proportion are most evident if the two 

 specimens of nearly similar size, the smallest paratype (79 mm. long) 

 of S. independencia and the type of S. coccineus (89 mm. long), are 

 compared. In the following list, proportions based on the paratype 

 of S. independencia are given first: Head in length 12.0, 10.8; snout 

 38.0, 28.5. Snout in head 3.15, 2.65; eye 5.25, 7.25; postorbital part 

 of head 2.1, 2.6. Eye in snout 1.65, 2.5. 



This species is also very close to S. arctus (Jenkins and Evermann) . 

 The type of arctus, which is before me, has the dorsal fin wholly on the 

 first five caudal segments ; the snout though quite as short as in S. inde- 

 pendencia is slenderer; the anal fin is smaller; ''the body is uniform 

 light brown; and the iris is dusky,^there being-^no trace of radiating 

 lines. 



The largest specimen, 127 mm. (124 mm. to base of caudal) long, 

 has been selected as type (U.S.N.M. No. 127853). The following 

 proportions and enumerations are based on this specimen: Head in 

 length 12.4; depth 27; snout 34.5; dorsal base 14.6; length anterior 

 to vent 3.0. Snout in head 2.8; eye 5.55; interorbital 12.5; post- 

 orbital part of head 2.45; dorsal base 1.15; pectoral 4.0. Eye in snout 

 2.0; interorbital 4.5. D. 19; A. 4; P. 10; C. 10; rings 15 + 39; dorsal 

 on }4+4}^ rings; egg pouch on 18 caudal rings. 



Range. — Known only from the type material taken in Independen- 

 cia Bay, Peru. 



SYNGNATHUS ACICULARIS Jenyns 



Aguja 



Syngnathus acicularis Jenyns, 1842, p. 147, pi. 27, fig. 3, Valparaiso, Chile (original 



description). 

 Siphostoma aciculare Evermann and Radcliffe, 1917, p. 53, Ancon, Peru (syn- 



onj'my; description).— Nichols and Murphy, 1922, p. 506, Central Chincha 



Island, Peru. 

 Syngnathus ac7is Herald (in part not of Linnaeus), 1940, pp. 60. 63 (synonymy; 



range; differentiated in key). 



