PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 73 



genus. Gill-rakervs \'eiy short. Pseudoltraiicliife large. Gill -membranes 

 in one si)ecimen united and Avliolly free from the isthmus ; in the others 

 joined as usual in Cyprinidce. The condition in the first specimen is 

 doubtless abnormal. Pharyngeal bones and teeth as in the other spe- 

 cies of the genus ; the teeth 2, 4-5, 2, slender, hooked, without grind- 

 ing surface. 



Scales 17-90-9, those on the back and belly rather smaller than the 

 others, those on the breast imbedded. Lateral line very strongly de- 

 curved, its lowest point scarcely above the line of insertion of the pec- 

 toral tins. 



Dorsal tin inserted at a point midway between eye and base of cau- 

 dal, a little behind the insertion of the ventrals. Caudal short and 

 deep, not strongly forked, the lobes equal, the accessory rays not nu- 

 merous. Pectorals not large, extending three-fifths the distance to the 

 ventrals, which reach two-thirds the distance to the vent. Anal fin small. 

 Dorsal rays I, 8 ; anal I, 7. 



This species reaches a length of nearly 3 feet. It is brought into the 

 markets of San Francisco in considerable numbers in the winter, in 

 companj" with the closely related and still larger species FtycJwehilus 

 oregonensis {Pt. grandis Ayres), with which species it has been hitherto 

 confounded. The latter sj^ecies is, however at once distinguished by 

 its larger scales, the usual number being 12-75-0. PtycliocMlus rapax 

 Grd. has the larger scales of PtychocMlus oregonensis, and the lateral 

 line is rei^reseuted as little decurved, the scales more loosel.y imbricated ; 

 and Pt. lucius Grd., from the Colorado River, is represented as having 

 the scales still smaller than in Pt. harfordi, while '■^PtychocMlus vorax 

 Grd." is not a member of this genus at all, but belongs to the group 

 called Gila. 



We have named this species for Mr. W. G. W. Harford, curator of the 

 California Academy of Sciences, who has taken much interest in the de- 

 velopment of the ichthyology of California, and to whom the National 

 Museum has been indebted for many favors. 



The typical specimens, four in number, are entered as Xo. 2724G on 

 the Museum Register. The largest one is about 18 inches in length, 

 the others a little smaller. They were obtained by the writers in the 

 San Francisco market, and were taken in the Sacramento River. 



United States National Museum, January 5, 1881. 



IVOTE O.X RAIA IXOKIVATA. 



By DAVID K. JOKDAI\ and CHARLES H. OILB£RT. 



Four species of the genus Raia are known from the Pacific coast of 

 the United States. One of these Avas described by Girard, under the 

 name of liaia binoculata, in the Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1854, p. 196, 

 and later under the name of Uraptera binoculata. The description con- 



