162 BULLETIN 189, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 

 ACANTHISTIUS PICTUS (Tschudi) 



Cherlo; Choromelo 



Figure 35 



Plectropoma pidum Tschudi, 1845, p. 5, "coast of Peru and Chile." 

 Acanthistius pictus Evermann and Radcliffe, 1917, p. 66, pi. 6, fig. 2, Guanape 

 North Island, Peru (synonymy; description). — Nichols and Murphy, 1922, 

 p. 508, Pacasmayo, North Chincha Island, and Lobos de Tierra Island, 

 Peru. 



Head 2.5 to 2.6; depth 2.3 to 2.5; D. XI, 17; A. Ill, 8; P. 19; scales 

 too small to enumerate accurately, about 145 to 150. 



Body fairly deep, compressed, deepest over base of pectoral; dorsal 

 profile scarcely convex anterior to nape; snout moderately pointed, 

 3.15 to 3.5 in head; eye 5.8 to 6.3; interorbital 7.4 to 8.2; mouth large, 

 oblique; lower jaw projecting; lips very thick in large specimens; 

 maxillary about as broad as eye, reaching vertical from posterior 

 margin of pupil, 2.0 to 2.2 in head; teeth in jaws in bands, outer ones 

 somewhat enlarged, the rest small pointed, minute teeth in narrow 

 bands on vomer and palatines; preopercle rather finely serrate along 

 posterior border, spines much larger at angle and on lower border, the 

 2 anterior ones definitely antrorse; gill rakers rather slender, 10 to 12, 

 exclusive of rudiments, on lower and 2 or 3 on upper limb of first arch; 

 scales very small, strongly ctenoid, missing on snout and ventral sur- 

 face of head, extending more or less on all the fins; dorsal scarcely 

 notched, origin of fin over base of pectoral, the spines strong, the third 

 to fifth the longest, proportionately shorter in large examples, the 

 fourth 2.6 to 5.0 in head, base of soft part scarcely shorter than that of 

 spinous part, margin convex; margin of caudal broadly convex; 

 second anal spine considerably enlarged, 2.8 to 4.0 in head (6.0 in 

 largest specimen), the soft part with strongly convex margin; ventrals 

 large, reaching nearly or quite to origin of anal in small specimens, 

 failing to reach vent in large ones, inserted behind base of pectoral; 

 pectoral broadly rounded, reaching opposite origin of anal, 1.5 to 

 1.85 in head. 



Color of the smaller preserved specimens dark brown, with indefinite 

 pale areas on back and side, the most conspicuous one under and on the 

 anterior part of soft dorsal; a dark stripe, about the width of pupil ex- 

 tending from snout, through the eye, to upper anterior angle of gill 

 openmg, sometimes obscure posteriorly, a bar of similar width extend- 

 ing obliquely downward from the eye, a less distinct one extending 

 from posterior margin of maxillary obliquely across front corner of 

 preopercle; opercle with a black spot between the two uppermost 

 spines, followed by a white margin; fins rather darker than the body, 

 the dorsal blotched like the body. The color markings described are 

 obscure, and in part missing, in the two largest specimens (390 and 

 470 mm. long). 



