THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 423 



Head 3.65 to 4.0; depth 3.9 to 4.45; D. IV— I, 8; A. Ill, 8; P. 15 

 or 16; scales 41 to 44, 10 or 11 through series between bases of second 

 dorsal and anal. 



Body somewhat compressed; caudal peduncle rather stronglj^- com- 

 pressed, its depth 2.8 to 3.0 in head; head convex above, rather broader 

 than deep; snout broad, 3.5 to 3.9 in head; eye 5.3 to 6.0; interorbital 

 2.3 to 2.5; mouth oblique, lower jaw included; maxillary reaching 

 front of eye, about equal to width of mouth, 3.5 to 3.8 in head; teeth 

 in upper jaw (premaxillaries) in an irregular series, or very narrow 

 band at edge of jaw, some of the teeth slightly bifid, those on lower 

 jaw in a labial series, followed occasionally by a few extremely minute 

 ones on the flat inner surface of the jaw; preorbital bone weakly 

 serrate; scales on body not rough to the touch, without prominent 

 concentric rings (except those on head) mostly with finely serrated 

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

 dorsal, present only on a few of the anterior rays of the second dorsal 

 and anal; gill rakers slender, becoming very short anteriorly, about 73 

 on lower limb of first arch in a specimen 375 mm. long; first dorsal 

 origin slightly nearer tip of snout than base of caudal; second dorsal 

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

 origin of first dorsal than base of caudal; anal about same shape and 

 size as dorsal, its base 8.5 to 9.0 in length; ventral inserted about 

 equidistant from tip of snout and middle of anal base; pectoral rather 

 pointed, reaching well beyond base of ventral, 1.6 to 1.7 in head. 



Color of preserved specimens bluish brown 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 large specimens, ranging 

 in length from 285 to 510 mm. (230 to 421 mm. to base of caudal). 

 Three of these were taken by the Alission at Lobos de Tierra Island 

 and in Chilca Bay, and the fourth specimen was secured by R. E. 

 Coker at Callao. Numerous smaller specimens were collected by the 

 Alission in Tortuga Bay and at La Lagunilla. The specimens from 

 the last-mentioned locality are very variable as to the shape of the 

 lower jaw and as to the teeth. Some of them clearly agree with the 

 large specimens described above; others agree with those described 

 herein as M. rammelshergn; and a few are more or less intermediate. 

 The young of about 30 to 45 mm. in total length in the collection 

 either all belong to this species or are not separable because the dis- 

 tinguishing characters are undeveloped. 



