284 BULLETIN 189, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Body deep, rather strongly compressed, its greatest thickness 

 somewhat greater than half its depth; back high; dorsal outline 

 anterior to dorsal rather steep, strongly convex at nape; head short, 

 deep; caudal peduncle rather slender, 2.8 to 2.9 in head; snout fairly 

 short, blunt, projecting a little beyond the mouth, 3.4 to 3.65 in 

 head; eye 4.9 to 5.6; interorbital 2.9 to 3.6; mouth rather small, low, 

 nearly horizontal; lips papillose; maxillary reaching about to vertical 

 from middle of eye, 2.9 to 3.2 in head; teeth in a broad band in each 

 jaw, some of the anterior ones in upper jaw somewhat enlarged; gill 

 rakers very short, mostly mere spiny tubercles, 8 or 9 including 

 tubercles on lower and 4 or 5 on upper limb of first arch; preopercle 

 with a nearly smooth membranous edge; opercle distally with a 

 broad membranous flap; lateral line slightly arched anteriorly, then 

 curved downward, reaching middle of side over base of anal; scales 

 reduced anteriorly above lateral line, and at nape, strongly ctenoid 

 extending far on the interradial membranes of the second dorsal, anal, 

 ventrals, and pectorals, and covering the caudal fin entirely, except 

 distally, 9 or 10 full oblique rows between lateral line and first dorsal 

 spine, and an equal number between it and first ray of second dorsal; 

 dorsal fins close together, the spines slender, the third the longest, 

 1.95 to 2.2; second dorsal rather high, with strongly convex margin, 

 longest rays in anterior half of fin, rather notably shorter than the 

 longest spines; caudal margin scarcely concave, with upper lobe 

 slightly produced; anal with nearly straight margin, the second 

 spine strong, 2.5 to 3.2 in head; ventral inserted well behind base of 

 pectoral, 1.3 to 1.5 in head; pectoral rather short, not nearly reaching 

 tip of ventral, 1.3 to 1.45 in head, 4.3 to 4.6 in length. 



Color rather dark brown; pale underneath; a light band, about as 

 wide as eye, extending downward on side under the last dorsal spines; 

 a light area on upper part of side under middle of second dorsal; mem- 

 branous flap of opercle black; inner side of gill covers pale; vertical 

 fins brownish; ventral quite dark; pectoral dusky, darker on inner side. 



The description is based on the four specimens, 240 to 270 mm. (193 

 to 220 mm. to base of caudal) long. One was taken at Pachacamac 

 Island by the Mission; one was secured at Chimbote by R. E. Coker; 

 and two are included in the Wilkes collection, labeled as from "Peru." 

 The common names "burrito" and "burro" also seem to be assigned 

 to Pomadasys. 



This species is not mentioned anong the commercial species in the 

 report of the Mission, and therefore probably is of little or no economic 

 importance. 



Range. — Coasts of Peru and Chile. 



