THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 411 



Body very elongate, compressed; head long, compressed, its width 

 at margin of preopercle 2.2 in its length; snout moderately blunt, 4,5 

 in head; eye elongate, 5.5; interorbital 6.7; mouth large, nearly hori- 

 zontal; lower jaw projecting slightly; maxillary broad, its greatest 

 width about equal to longest diameter of eye, reaching half diameter 

 of eye beyond orbit, 2.0 in head; minute teeth in bands on jaws, vomer, 

 and palatines ; membrane of opercle above continuous with a narrow 

 flap extending downward on the shoulder girdle to base of pectoral; 

 three gill rakers developed on lower limb of first arch, and none on 

 upper limb ; four small barbels on margin of snout, one behind anterior 

 nostril, six on rami of lower jaw, the longest ones about equal in length 

 to greatest diameter of eye ; lateral line disappearing on distal part of 

 tail; scales very small, strongly striate, imbricated, extending forward 

 on snout and on the fins; dorsal very long, low, its origin rather less 

 than an eye's diameter behind base of uppermost ray of pectoral, the 

 longest rays about as long as snout and half the eye; caudal fully 

 continuous with dorsal and anal, slightly pointed; anal similar to 



Figure 81. — Brotula clarkae Hubbs. From the type of B. maculata Evermann and Rad- 

 cliflFe, 440 mm. long, Paita, Peru (U.S.N.M. No. 77702). (After Evermann and Radcliife, 

 1917.) 



dorsal, though much shorter, distance from its origin to tip of snout 

 2.2 in total length; ventrals filamentous, inserted close together and 

 a little in advance of margin of preopercle, the filament bifid only 

 for a short distance dis tally, 2.15 in head; pectoral broadly rounded, 

 reaching about halfway to origin of anal, 1.9 in head. 



The color is described by Evermann and Radcliffe (see reference 

 above) as "dusky olive with a brownish tint on back; several rows of 

 very obscure round brownish spots on body, most distinct on tail, 

 almost imperceptible when the fish is dry; fins body color; dorsal 

 narrowly margined with gray; anal rather broadly margined with 

 purplish black shading into body color." The color of the specimen 

 described is now uniform grayish brown, except for the dark margin 

 of the anal and of the posterior part of the dorsal. 



The description is based on the type of B. maculata Evermann and 

 Kadcliffe (U.S.N.M. No. 77702) and only specimen at hand, which 

 was taken at Paita by R. E. Coker and which according to my meas- 

 urements is now 433 mm. long. 



