THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 241 



small, terminal, nearly horizontal; maxillary reaching about opposite 

 front of pupO, 2.6 to 2.7 in head; teeth small, pointed, in a band in 

 each jaw; premaxillary groove broad, slightly constricted anterioriy, 

 scaleless; preorbital very narrow, entire; angle and lower margin of 

 preopercle strongly serrate; gill rakers short, broad, not longer at 

 angle than anteriorly, shorter than pupil, 13 or 14 on lower and about 

 2 to 4 on upper limb of first arch, preceded by a variable number of 

 small points; scales rather large, fairly adherent, rather thin, with 

 membranous borders, extending on base of caudal and ventral, and 

 forming a sheath at bases of dorsal and anal; dorsal spines slender, 

 the second somewhat enlarged, though not always as long as the 

 third, 1.0 to 1.15 in head; caudal deeply forked, the lobes pointed, 

 of about equal length, notably longer than head; second anal spine 

 moderately enlarged, reaching nearly or quite to tip of third spine, 

 1.3 to 1.5 in head; ventral reaching nearly or quite to origin of anal, 

 inserted a little behind base of pectoral, with a rather strong spine 

 contained 1.5 to 1.8 in head; pectoral long, pointed, extending some- 

 what beyond tip of ventral, the fifth and sixth rays (counting down- 

 ward) longest, equal to or longer than head, 2.7 to 3.0 in length. 



Color of old preserved specimens brownish above; pale silvery below. 

 Color of fresh specimens largely silvery, with dark stripes along the 

 rows of scales in large specimens. 



A single specimen, 80 mm. long to base of caudal (caudal fin broken), 

 from Peru is at hand. This small fish was secured at Capon by 

 R. E. Coker. The foregoing description is based on this specimen 

 and on three others from Guayaquil, Ecuador, 64, 67, and 95 mm. 

 long to base of caudal. These were compared with others from 

 Panama and El Salvador, with which they seem to agree in virtually 

 all respects. 



Range. — Mazatlan, Mexico, to northern Peru. 



DIAPTERUS PERICHE (Evermann and Eadcliffe) 



Periche 

 Figure 52 



Gerres periche Evermann and Radcliffe, 1917, p. 93, pi. 8, fig 3, Tumbes, Peru 



(original description; discussion of relationship). 

 Diapterus periche Meek and Hildebrand, 1925, p. 603, Tumbes, Peru (redescribed 



from the type). 



Head 2.8; depth 2.0; D. X, 9 (slightly abnormal); A. Ill, 9; P. 16; 

 scales 38. 



Body short, rather compressed, its greatest thickness only about a 

 third of its depth; back high; profile from snout to nape rather steep, 

 slightly concave over eye; caudal peduncle short, 3.0 in head; snout 

 pointed, 2.9; eye 3.9; interorbital 3.4; mouth moderate; lower jaw 



