THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 417 



America" was described as this species (Fordice, 1884, p. 314). 

 Steindachner (1898, p. 299) reported two examples from Puerto 

 Montt, Chile. 



Genus LEIRUS Lowe, 1834 



Body more or less ovate, compressed; mouth small or moderate; 

 premaxillaries slightly protractile; maxillary not slipping entirely 

 under preorbital, with a small supplemental bone; teeth wanting on 

 palatines; preopercle generally spinate, subopercle and interopercle 

 denticulate; gill membranes not united; gill rakers long; pseudo- 

 branchiae present; lateral line curved anteriorly, becoming straight 

 anterior to caudal peduncle; scale small; dorsal with 4 to 9 spines; 

 anal with 3 spines; caudal forked or emarginate; vertebrae about 25. 

 (Modified after Regan, 1902, p. 196.) 



A single species has been reported from Peru.^° 



LEIRUS PERUANUS (Steindachner) 



Centrolophus peruanus Steindachner, 1874, p. 10, Callao, Peru (original 



description) . 

 Lirus peruanus Regan, 1902, p. 200, Peru (description, apparently modified after 



Steindachner). 



Head about 3.0; depth 3.2; D. VIII or IX-26 to 28; A. Ill, 18; 

 P. 22; scales about 80 to 90. 



Snout about 3.8 to 4.0 in head; eye about 5.0; interorbital about 

 3.0 to 3.4; angle of mouth under anterior margin of eye; each jaw with 

 a single row of small, numerous teeth, none on vomer and palatines; 

 the short rather soft spines of the dorsal increasing in length to the 

 eighth or ninth; the longest rays of dorsal contained in head about 

 2.5 to 3.0 times; caudal deeply lunate, the lobes nearly as long as head; 

 first anal spine very short, the third scarcely half as long as snout, 

 longest ray about a third length of head; ventral rather small, inserted 

 behind pectoral, attached to abdomen by a membrane; pectoral very 

 long, falcate, nearly or quite as long as head. 



Upper part of head, the back to the lateral line, the dorsal, caudal, 

 and adjacent parts of peduncle, the inner side of pectoral, and the 

 free part of shoulder girdle smoke gray or dark violet ; the rest of body 

 golden yellow, and like the ventral and anal, usually sprinkled with 

 very small violet points. (Description condensed from Steindachner.) 



This species has not been taken in Peru by recent collectors. I have 

 not seen specimens. It apparently is known from Peru only from 

 the type material taken by Steindachner, who found it in abundance 

 in the market at Callao in May 1872. That investigator stated that 

 according to the fishermen this fish lives in relatively deep water, 

 where it is caught with hooks. Steindachner (1898, p. 299) later 

 reported this species from Iquique, Chile, from a specimen 370 mm. 



•0 The partly digested specimen mentioned in the footnote en page 418 may represent a second species. 



