THE SHORE FISHES OP PERU 477 



differs in being deeper, with weaker dentition, and with the snout 

 projecting beyond the mouth, which it does not do in leei. 



Range.— NoTthem Peru, and apparently northward to the Gulf of 

 CaUfornia. 



SYMPHURUS ATRAMENTATUS Jordan and Bollman 



Symphurus atrameniatus Jordan and Bollman, 1890, p. 177, Panama Bay, at 

 latitude 7°57' N., longitude 78°55' W. (original description; compared with 

 S. atricaudus (Jordan and Gilbert)). — Regan, 1913, p, 280, Lobos de Tierra, 

 Peru.— Meek and Hildebrand, 1928, p. 1008, Panama Bay (references; 

 description; range). 



Head 4.2 to 4.7;'depth 3.2 to 3.9; D. 86 to 90; A. 71 to 78; scales 

 90 to 96; vertebrae (in an example from the Gulf of California) 52. 



Body fairly deep, becoming rather abruptly narrower posteriorly; 

 head small, its dorsal outhne broadly convex, especially in adults; 

 snout projecting in advance of mouth, 4.6 to 6.0 in head; eyes small, 

 the upper one a little in advance of the lower, virtually in contact with 

 each other, 6.2 to 9.5 in head; mouth rather small, the jaws somewhat 

 curved, the soft tip of snout forming a sort of hook, overhanging 

 the gape anteriorly; maxillary reaciiing nearly or quite to middle of 

 eye, 4.0 to 4.7 in head; teeth in jaws very small, in a definite band in 

 each jaw on blind side, reduced to a single series anteriorly and missing 

 on posterior half of jaws on ocular side; scales quite small, strongly 

 ctenoid on both sides, some of the serrae at middle of scale enlarged, 

 extending forward on snout and to some extent on eyeballs on ocular 

 side, becoming modified into cutaneous flaps or papillae on snout on 

 blind side, covering also the median ridge, 19 or 20 oblique series of 

 scales between lower eye and indentation in margin of opercle; dorsal 

 fin of nearly uniform height, its longest rays generally somewhat 

 exceeding length of snout and lower eye, its first ray almost directly 

 over middle of upper eye; caudal moderately pointed; anal similar to 

 dorsal, its first ray about an eye's diameter behind margin of opercle; 

 ventral median, at isthmus, removed from anal a distance rather less 

 than length of snout. 



General color brownish; small specimens with partial cross bars, 

 larger specimens with dark blotches under dorsal and anal fins, large 

 specimens tending to become plain or with indefinite dark areas; 

 dorsal and anal pale anteriorly, becoming brownish posteriorly, each 

 fin with black spots generally confined to posterior parts of these 

 fins, though sometimes more or less developed on nearly full length 

 of fins; caudal dusky, with pale tip; ventral pale. 



Three small specimens, about 45 mm. (tail partly missing), 54, 

 and 82 mm. long, were collected in 14 to 16 fathoms by W. L. Schmitt, 

 off Lobos de Afuera Island. As these specimens are so small that 

 accurate enumerations of scales and fin rays are dlSicult, large speci- 

 mens, up to 127 mm. in length, from Panama Bay (including two 



