THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 457 



single, with strong spines; anal without strong spines; ventrals tho- 

 racic, each with one spine and five soft rays ; pectoral without free rays. 

 A single genus and species is known from Peru. 



Genus CONGIOPODUS Perry, 1811 



Head without strong spines; dorsal fin continuous, beginning over 

 eye, not deeply notched between spinous and soft parts, with 16 to 21 

 spines; ventral inserted rather closely behind pectoral. 



CONGIOPODUS PERUVIANUS (Cuvier and Valenciennes) 



Peje-chancho 



Agriopus -peruvianus Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829, p. 389, San Lorenzo Island, 

 Peru (original description). — Gunther, 1860, p. 138, coast of Chile (refer- 

 ences; diagnosis). 



Congiopodus peruvianus Norman, 1937, p. 126, fig. 70, various localities in Pata- 

 gonian region (synon5^my; list of collecting stations; description; range; 

 relationship with several species discussed) . 



Head 3.3; depth 2.6; D. XVI, 14; A. I, 9; P. 9. 



Body much compressed, its greatest thickness about two-fifths its 

 depth; back very high anteriorly, dropping sharply behind middle of 

 spinous part of dorsal; head rather short and deep, with steep fore- 

 head; snout rather pointed, 2.6 in head; eye 4.5; interorbital concave, 

 becoming much broader posteriorly, 8.6 (over front of eye) in head; 

 mouth small, very protractile; lips thick; maxillary 4.5 in head; teeth 

 villiform, sometimes in a band in each jaw, sometimes in one or two 

 irregular rows (according to Norman, 1937, p. 126), none discernible 

 in the specimen at hand, though papillae resembling bands of teeth 

 are present, possibly decalcified in preservative); lateral line and 

 scales wanting ; skin covered with horny tubercles in young (according 

 to Norman, 1937, p. 126); granular bony areas about the eye, one on 

 preorbital extending under and behind eye; another beginning over 

 eye and extending behind eye; three more or less separate granular 

 areas on head behind eye, and one at shoulder at upper angle of gill 

 opening; preopercle with a slightly rough area with a long forward 

 projection; a pair of short spines just in advance of interorbital; a 

 few blunt spines laterally near margin of snout; pores and pits rather 

 generally distributed over head and body; gill opening reduced to a 

 slit, rather less than 1.5 times length of eye; dorsal fin very long, 

 beginning over the eyes, moderately indented, next to last spine short- 

 est, scarcely a third the length of the sixth, the latter 5.1 in head; 

 soft part of fin much shorter than spinous part, the longest ray about 

 twice length of shortest spine; caudal deformed in specimen at hand, 

 with a nearly straight margin according to Norman (1937, p. 127); 

 anal small, its origin under first soft ray of dorsal, with a single small 

 spine, scarcely half length of longest soft ray; ventral large, reaching 



