THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 

 MENTICIRRHUS ROSTRATUS, new species 



Figure 58 



265 



Head 3.45, 3.5; depth 4.6, 4.3; D. X-I, 23, X-I, 24; A. I, 7, I, 7; 

 P. 18, 19; scales 85, 78. 



Body moderately elongate, compressed, its greatest thickness about 

 two-thirds its depth; back rather thin, moderately elevated; ventral 

 outline more or less straight; head long, rather low, compressed, its 

 width less than its depth over margin of preopercle; caudal peduncle 

 rather long, compressed, 3.5, 3.75 in head; snout rather long, blunt, 

 projecting rather less than diameter of pupil beyond premaxillaries, 

 3.1, 2.75 in head; eye moderately small, 6.3, 7,0; interorbital 4.8, 5.0; 

 mouth inferior, horizontal; lower jaw included; maxillary reaching 

 little beyond anterior margin of pupil, 3.2, 2.9 in head; teeth in each 

 jaw in a broad band, the outer series in upper jaw somewhat separated 

 from the rest and rather notably enlarged; preopercle with a slightly 



Figure 58. — Menticirrhus roslratus, new species. From the type, 330 mm. long, Paita 

 Bay, Peru (U.S.N.M. No. 128002). 



serrated membranous margin; gill rakers very short, 7, 5 slightly 

 developed on lower and 4, 3 on upper limb of first arch; lateral line 

 slightly arched anteriorly, becoming horizontal only on caudal 

 peduncle; scales small, strongly ctenoid, forming a slight sheath one 

 scale wide on base of second dorsal, also extending somewhat on bases 

 of ventral and pectoral, present on at least basal three-fourths of 

 interradial membranes of caudal, the rows above lateral line moder- 

 ately oblique under spinous dorsal, rather strongly oblique under 

 second dorsal, 6, 5 rows between lateral line and first dorsal spine, and 

 a like number between it and first ray of second dorsal, 36, 37 vertical 

 series on side between origin of anal and base of caudal; dorsal fins 

 close together, the spines slender, the third longest (the second in the 

 para type), reaching to or a little beyond origin of second dorsal, 

 1.45, 1.6 in head, the ninth and tenth spines very short; second dorsal 

 highest anteriorly, the longest rays fully as long as snout ; upper half 

 of caudal notably concave, the upper lobe acute, lower lobe broadly 

 rounded; anal small, with round margin, the longest rays exceeding 

 those of second dorsal, the spine slender, adhering moderately close 



