260 BULLETIN 189, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



19 to 27 soft rays; anal small, with a single small slender spine, and 

 about 7 to 9 soft rays. 



The species of this genus generally are regarded as good food fishes. 

 However, none appear to be listed among the commercial fishes of 

 Peru, probably because they are not numerous enough. Although 

 the number of scales in a lateral series is used in the key to the species, 

 owing to their irregularity they cannot be counted with absolute 

 accuracy. However, the differences as used are so great that no 

 overlapping should occur. The number of anal rays seems to be 

 quite constant in any one species. 



Four species are included in the collections studied, two of which 

 seem to be new. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES 



a. Anal with I, 9 rays. 

 6. First dorsal with 12 spines; pectoral with 18 or 19 rays, very short, not 

 nearly reaching tip of ventral, 4.8 to 5.7 in length; scales about 80 to 



92 in lateral series cokeri (p. 260) 



hb. First dorsal with 10 spines; pectoral with 21 or 22 rays, longer, reaching 

 beyond tip of ventral, 3.6 in length; scales larger, about 60 in lateral 



series panamensis (p. 262) 



aa. Anal with I, 7 rays. 



c. Scales only moderately small, about 65 in lateral series, 28 vertical series 

 on side between origin of anal and base of caudal; pectoral with 21 



rays; first dorsal with 11 spines paitensis, new species (p. 263) 



cc. Scales quite small, about 78 to 85 in lateral series, 36 or 37 vertical series 

 on side between origin of anal and base of caudal; pectoral with 18 or 19 

 rays; first dorsal with 10 spines rostratus, new species (p. 265) 



MENTICIRRHUS COKERI Evermann and Radcliffe 



Figure 56 



Menticirrhus cokeri Evermann and Radcliffe, 1917, p. 107, pi. 10, fig. 2, Ancon, 

 Peru (original description; compared with M. panamensis). — Nichols and 

 Murphy, 1922, p. 510, North Chincha Island, Peru. 



Head 3.4 to 4.0; depth 4.0 to 4.5; D. XH-I, 22 to 24; A. I, 9; P. 19, 

 occasionally 18; scales 80 to 92; vertebrae 23 (one specimen dissected). 



Body elongate, compressed, its greatest thickness about two-thirds 

 its depth; back somewhat elevated; ventral outline nearly straight; 

 head low, moderately broad; caudal peduncle compressed, 2.4 to 2.9 

 in head; snout more or less conical, projecting about half an eye's 

 diameter beyond premaxillaries, 3.6 to 4.3 in head; eye quite small, 

 4.2 to 6.3; interorbital 3.2 to 4.6; mouth inferior, horizontal; lower 

 jaw included; maxillary reaching about to posterior margin of pupil, 

 3.2 to 3.5 in head; teeth sharply pointed, scarcely in a band, rather 

 in 3 or 4 series, the teeth of outer series in upper jaw enlarged ; preopercle 

 with a finely serrated membranous margin; gill rakers little developed, 

 short and pointed, none longer than pupil, 3 to 7 more or less developed 

 on lower, and 3 to 5 on upper limb of first arch; lateral line arched 



