188 BULLETIN 189, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



opposite posterior margin of pupil, 2.3 to 2.4 in head; teeth in jaws 

 in narrow bands, some of them somewhat enlarged, villiform teeth 

 on vomer and palatines ; angle of preopercle with two notably enlarged 

 diverging spines, with one and sometimes two above and below this 

 pair, also somewhat enlarged, vertical margin strongly though finely 

 serrate, horizontal margin anteriorly smooth; gill rakers slender, 

 those at angle about half length of eye, 15 or 16 more or less developed 

 on lower and 8 or 9 on upper limb of first arch, scales strongly ctenoid, 



7 or 8 oblique rows (running upward and backward) on cheek, and 



8 or 9 in an oblique row below base of opercular spine; dorsal scarcely 

 notched, the fourth spine longest, a little longer than longest soft 

 rays, 2.2 to 2.5 in head; caudal deeply concave, the upper lobe notably 

 the longer; anal small, the third spine longest, the second strongest, 

 4.1 to 4.6 in head; ventral inserted under or slightly in advance of 

 base of pectoral, with a rather slender spine contained 2.3 to 2.7 in 

 head; pectoral long, reaching well beyond tip of ventral, with round 

 distal margin, the sixth or seventh ray, counting downward being 

 the longest, 1.25 to 1.4 in head, 3.7 to 3.9 in length. 



Color grayish brown above; light brown to pale below; sides with 

 about seven indefinite broad dark bars; a large dark blotch on opercle, 

 and another on base of caudal fin. The smallest specimen has two 

 faint longitudinal dark stripes, one above and one below lateral line. 

 These stripes probably are present in all the young of the genus. 

 Dorsal and caudal dusky; soft dorsal somewhat mottled with pale and 

 dusky streaks and dots; anal plain translucent; ventral largely dark 

 to nearly black; pectoral pale to slightly dusky. 



The color of a small specimen (U.S.N.M. No. 77549), 117 mm. 

 (92 mm. to base of caudal) long, was described by R. E. Coker, as 

 quoted by Evermann and Radcliffe, as follows: "Color in life * * * 

 back and sides olivaceous, mottled with reddish ; rather inconspicuous 

 short orange stripe on posterior ends of premaxillary and maxillary, 

 extending posteriorly and ventrally; region of upper teeth yellow; 

 roof of mouth and floor, (posterior to anterior ventral end of first 

 branchial arch) yellow, sometimes with some black on each side above 

 and below; lining of gill cavity black posteriorly; large bright yellow 

 spot on side, forward of anus and just below mid-line; belly yellow in 

 median line, in posterior half; dorsal translucent, but thinly mottled 

 with olivaceous and orange; membrane just posterior to each spine 

 tipped with reddish orange; a minute black speck on membrane just 

 at tip of each spine; soft dorsal tipped with reddish orange; anal 

 almost entirely yellow; caudal and ventrals dusky olivaceous." 



The Mission secured a single specimen, 170 mm. (138 mm. to base 

 of caudal) long, which was taken in Tortuga Bay. Four of the five 

 specimens listed as this species by Evermann and Radcliffe (see 

 reference above) are at hand. The two largest ones apparently are 



