4. GOBIESOX. 505 



" The dorsal commences a little beyond the middle of the entire 

 length, and leaves a space between it and the caudal ; the rays 

 nearly eijual, except the fii'st, which is short. The anal begins under 

 the foiu-th or fifth dorsal ray, and extends a tiiiie further than that 

 tin . Caudal shghtly rounded. 



" Back and sides hght brown, reticulated with black ; the reticu- 

 lations have a tendency to form three or four broad fascia? across the 

 back. Under-parts yelloAvish." 



Length of the specimens observed two and a half inches. 



7. Gobiesox mseandricus. 



Lepadogaster reticulatus, Girard in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1854, 



p. 1.j5. 

 uiseaudricus, Girard in U. S. Pacif. R, R. Uxjjed. Fishes, p. 130. 



D. 14. A. 13. C. 12. V. 1/4. 



A vertical fold of the skin at the base of the pectoral ; the coracoid 

 is so high as to reach nearly to the uj^per margin of the pectoral. A 

 band of short conical teeth in the upper jaw, those of the outer series 

 being somewhat enlarged ; a series of teeth in the lower jaw, the six 

 anterior of which are compressed, cutting, subhorizontal, longer than 

 the others ; several small teeth behind the incisors. The diameter 

 of the eye is one-third of the width of the interorbital space. 



Coasts of California. 



a-d. Fine specimens. Monterey. 



The general habit of this species is the same as in G. cephalus. 

 The head is as broad as long, with its proiile nearly semicircular, the 

 snout being very obtuse and rounded. The upper surface of the 

 head is quite fiat, gently sloping downwards from the nape to the 

 snout in a straight line. The greatest width of the interorbital space 

 is contained twice and a half in the length of the head, or equal 

 to three times the diameter of the eye. The cleft of the mouth is 

 horizontal, cui'ved, of moderate width, extending to the vertical 

 from the anterior margin of the eye. The lips are thick, the lower 

 being divided into thi-ee portions by vertical grooves ; the lateral 

 portions are broad, hanging downwards. The eye is rather small, 

 one-seventh of the length of the head : two nostrils opposite the 

 upper angle of the orbit ; the anterior with a small bilobed tentacle. 

 The lower angle of the opercular apparatus terminates posteriorly in 

 an obtuse moveable point enveloped in skin and directed backwards. 

 The gill-openings, gills, and pseudobranehia? are the same as in G. 

 ceplicdus. 



The dorsal fin commences above the vent, and the distance of its 

 origin from the caudal is rather more than one-half of its distance 

 from the snout. Caudal rounded, of moderate length. The anal 

 commences vertically below the foiu-fh dorsal ray and terminates 

 opposite the end of the dorsal. The pectoral is broad, of moderate 

 length, with its margin rounded and with a broad cutaneous flap 

 at its base : inferiorly it is slightly connected with the ventral. 



