THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 449 



preorbital with two strong hooked spines; suborbital stay prominent, 

 with four spines, the last sHghtly above uppermost preopercular 

 spine; preopercle with five spines, the uppermost one largest, with 

 a small spine at its base, the second spine smaller than the thh-d, the 

 anterior one on lower margin a mere blunt point hidden in skin; 

 opercle with two strong diverging spines; gills missing in specimen 

 at hand; lateral line descending rather abruptly under posterior part 

 of soft dorsal, mJssing on two scales at base of caudal, reappearing 

 on one scale on base of caudal; anterior nostril with a fringed cutaneous 

 flap; a simple tentacle behind pre- and supraocular spines and 

 behind parietal spines, blunt spine on lower margin of preopercle 

 also with a tentacle ; first sLx dorsal spines with a more or less distinct 

 tentacle on posterior margin below tip; scales partly lost, strongly 

 ctenoid, extending forward on head to nostrils, missing only on an- 

 terior part of snout, on maxillary, and on lower surface of head, ex- 

 tendmg slightly on bases of caudal and pectoral, seven rows between 

 lateral line and first dorsal spine, five between it and last ray of dorsal 

 fin only moderately notched, the tenth and eleventh spines of 

 nearly equal length, the thhd notably higher and stronger than the 

 others, 1.65 in head; soft part of dorsal with convex margin, the longest 

 rays about as long as fifth spine; caudal about as long as snout and 

 eye, with a nearly straight margin, four of the upper rudimentary 

 rays spinelike, but not free at tips; anal small, its origin under first 

 soft ray of dorsal, the second spine much longer and stronger than 

 the third, 1.85 in head, the longest soft rays only a little shorter than 

 second spine; ventral inserted a little in advance of base of pectoral, 

 with a strong spine, the longest soft rays reaching vent, 1.6 in head; 

 pectoral moderately broad, the rays, exclusive of the three upper- 

 most ones, with free tips, eighth to tenth rays counting downward 

 longest, 1.35 in head, 3.25 in length. 



The color, except for some dark markings, is almost wholly faded 

 now. It was described by Evermann and Radcliffe (see reference 

 above) as follows: "Color in alcohol, light yellow, possibly red in 

 life; fins yellowish, tinged with pink; soft dorsal and caudal rays 

 spotted with black; tips of caudal and ventrals blackish; a few bluckish 

 spots in center of pectoral; traces of blackish areas on base of spinous 

 and soft dorsal, these probably continued onto body, the loss of the 

 scales making it impossible to determine then* extent." A dark area 

 behind interorbital, roughly bounded by the tympanic and parietal 

 spines, not mentioned in the description quoted, is rather conspicuous. 



Only one specimen, 168 mm. (133 mm. to base of caudal) long, 

 with the gills and most of the scales missing, but otherwise in fair 

 condition is at hand. This is the specimen described by Evermann 

 and Radcliffe (see reference above), which was taken at Paita by 

 R. E. Coker. 



