THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 341 



what less than half the depth; back elevated; dorsal outline anteriorly 

 scarcely more convex than the ventral; caudal peduncle short, deep, 

 1.7 to 2.2 in head; snout short, blunt, 2.7 to 3.1; eye 3.4 to 5.2; inter- 

 orbital 2.7 to 3.5; mouth small, slightly oblique, terminal, or the upper 

 jaw slightly projecting; maxillary almost wholly concealed under pre- 

 orbital, usually not quite reaching vertical from anterior margin of 

 eye, 3.3 to 3.7 in head; teeth in each jaw in a single close-set series, 

 narrow at base, but slightly broadened at tips, with smooth and gener- 

 ally romaded margins; gill membranes slightly connected, free from 

 isthmus; gill rakers short, 11 or 12 on lower and 4 or 5 on upper limb 

 of first arch; preopercle unarmed, its posterior margin nearly vertical; 

 suborbital adnate to cheek for a short distance behind maxillary, but 

 posteriorly with free margin; lateral line arched, ending under soft 

 part of dorsal; scales cycloid, deep on side, with accessory scales at 

 base in large examples, reduced on head, extending forward on inter- 

 orbital, also present on cheek and opercle, and extending on all the 

 fins in the adult, being especially numerous on the vertical fins, quite 

 constantly 4 rows between lateral line and first dorsal spine; dorsal fin 

 continuous, the third to fifth spines generally longest, rather variable 

 in length, 2.1 to 3.2 in head, soft part elevated anteriorly, with acute 

 lobe, 1.2 to 1.5 in head; caudal forked, both lobes broadly rounded, the 

 upper the longer, nearly as long as head; anal similar to soft part of 

 dorsal, its anterior lobe a little less acute and generally scarcely as 

 high, the spines strong, the second 2.1 to 3.0 in head; ventral inserted 

 a short distance behind pectoral, 1.1 to 1.3 (without filament) in head; 

 pectoral broad, generally only slightly shorter than head, 3.4 to 4.1 

 in length. 



General color of preserved specimens dark brown, some specimens 

 being darker than others; side above vent with a partial pale bar, miss- 

 ing in some specimens; margin of scales and margin of opercle very- 

 dark; fins in general darker than body. Small specimens, 70 to 75 

 mm. long, have pale green spots on anterior part of body and on 

 opercle. No specimen less than 140 mm. long has a pale bar on side, 

 and it is missing in some of the large ones, too. 



The color "in life" of a specimen 203 mm. long from MoUendo, was 

 described (presumably from R. E. Coker's field notes) as follows by 

 Evermann and Radcliffe (see reference above): "Back and sides a 

 very dark brownish olive, each scale with a very dark margirt, lighter 

 centrally; a bright bar of dusky gold extending incompletely across 

 body a short distance before anterior end of anal; fleshy flaps margin- 

 ing opercle very dark; soft parts of fins black; throat and lower parts 

 of head light chestnut brown." 



The Mission furnished 23 specimens. Six specimens, including 3 

 juveniles, collected by R. E. Coker also were examined. The enum- 



624264 — 45 23 



