THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 421 



MUGIL RAMMELSBERGII Tschudi 



Liza 



Mugil rammelsbergii Tschudi, 1845, p. 20, San Lorenzo Island, Peru (original 

 description; abundant in May and October. The anal formula is given as 

 II, 8 for fish 10 to 12 inches long, the first spine, which is small, probably 

 having been overlooked. The teeth were described as very numerous). 



Head 3.7 to 4.0; depth 3.85 to 4.4; D. IV-I, 8; A. Ill, 8; P. 15 or 

 16; scales 40 to 44, 10 or 11 complete rows between bases of second 

 dorsal and anal. 



Body anteriorly somewhat compressed; caudal peduncle rather 

 strongly compressed, 2.5 to 2.9 in head; head convex above, fully as 

 broad as deep; snout broad, 3.8 to 4.0 in head; eye 4.5 to 5.5; inter- 

 orbital 2.3 to 2.4; mouth oblique, lower jaw included; maxillary 

 barely reaching front of eye, somewhat shorter than width of mouth, 

 3.7 to 3.85 in head; teeth in upper jaw (premaxillaries) in a rather 

 broad band, partly bifid, those of lower jaw also in a broad band on 

 the inner rounded surface of the somewhat thickened lower jaw, and 

 similar to those in upper jaw; preorbital bone wealdy serrate; scales 

 on body not rough to the touch, without prominent concentric rings 

 (except the modified ones on head), mostly with finely serrated mar- 

 gins, extending more or less on all the fins exclusive of spinous dorsal, 

 present only on anterior rays of second dorsal and anal; gill rakers 

 slender, becoming very small anteriorly, about 60 on lower limb of 

 first arch in a specimen 240 mm. long; first dorsal origin equidistant 

 from tip of snout and base of caudal, or a little nearer the snout; second 

 dorsal origin a little behind that of anal, about an eye's diameter 

 nearer origin of first dorsal than base of caudal ; anal similar to second 

 dorsal, its base 7.8 to 8.5 in length; ventral inserted about equidistant 

 from tip of snout and middle of anal base ; pectoral somewhat pointed, 

 reaching well beyond base of ventral, 1.4 to 1.6 in head. 



Color of preserved specimens bluish gray above ; silvery below about 

 middle of side; middle portion of side with many brown points; rows 

 of scales on this part of body with rather prominent dark streaks; 

 ventral fins pale; all other fins more or less dusky; the margin of anal 

 and its last two or three rays pale; pectoral black at base of upper 

 rays, distally black, with a narrow pale margin, its inner surface almost 

 wholly black. 



The foregoing description is based on four specimens, 240 to 425 

 mm. (195 to 350 mm. to base of caudal) long. Three of these were 

 obtained by the Mission at Lobos de Tierra Island, and one was 

 obtained by the Wilkes Expedition at Callao. Many smaller speci- 

 mens were collected by the Mission at La Lagunilla, which were 

 included in the large variable lot mentioned in the account of M. 

 cephalus. 



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