498 BULLETIN 189, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



and anal, as long as postorbital part of head, its margin asym- 

 metrically convex, the lower rays being shorter than the upper ones; 

 anal similar to dorsal and coterminal with it, its origin directly under 

 that of dorsal, its base 1.6 in length; ventrals rather close together, 

 inserted under preopercular margin, 2.2 in head; pectoral large, broad 

 at base, pointed, the sixth ray from above longest, reaching base of 

 sixth ray of anal, only a little shorter than head, 4.8 in length. 



Color grayish above, this color appearing only as a narrow streak 

 under posterior part of second dorsal, broader at base of caudal; 

 uniform pale on sides and below; upper surface of head with pale dots; 

 back and upper part of side anteriorly with rather large roundish pale 

 spots; lateral line in a pale streak; spinous dorsal black; second dorsal 

 pale, with a broad, dark margin; caudal pale, distally and upper margin 

 in part dark; anal and ventral pale; pectoral pale, with dusky punctu- 

 lations on base, and more scattered ones near midlength of upper rays. 



Figure 95. — Thalassopliryne depressa, new species. From the type, 87 mm. long, Puerto 

 Pizarro, Peru (U.S.N.M. 128235). 



This apparently new species is represented in the collections studied 

 by a single specimen (U.S.N.M. No. 128235), 87 mm. (72 mm. to 

 base of caudal) long, dredged by the Mission in shallow water in the 

 Gulf of Guayaquil at Puerto Pizarro. It is closely related to T. dowi 

 Jordan and Gilbert from Costa Kica and Panama Bay but differs, 

 according to the nine specimens from Panama Bay examined, which 

 range in length from 103 to 157 mm., in several respects. The head 

 is broader, its width at margin of preopercle being contained 4.25 times 

 in the length, whereas this width is contained 4.9 to 5.6 times in the 

 length in the Panama examples. The greater width of the head is 

 reflected in the wider interorbital space, which is contained 6.6 times 

 in the head in the small Peruvian example, and 6.8 to 8.25 in the larger 

 Panama specimens. The difference is most pronounced in the speci- 

 mens of nearest equal size, the extreme, 8.25, applying to the smallest 

 specimen from Panama Bay. The Peruvian fish has 28 anal rays, 

 whereas 4 specimens from Panama have 29, and 5 have 30 rays. In 

 the Peruvian example the origin of the anal is directly under that 

 of the dorsal, and the two fins are exactly coterminal. In the 



