82. BERYCID^ — ITOLOCENTRUS. 459 



259.— IIOLOCKIMTKUS Blocli. 

 Squirrel- fishes. 



(^Illn/itclikhthi/n C'uv. & Val. ; youuy.) 



(Ariedi; Bloch, AusL Fisclio, iv, Gl, about 1787: typo Holocentrus sogo Blocli.) 



Body oblonjj:, moderately compressed, the veutral outline uearl^* 

 straiglit, the back a little elevated, the tail very slender. Head com- 

 pressed, narrowed forward. Operculum with a strong spine abov^e, 

 below which the edf?e is sharply serrated ; a strong spine at the angle 

 of i)reopercle. Orbital ring, preorbital, preopercle, interopercle, sub- 

 opercle, occiput, and shoulder girdle with their edges sharply serrate. 

 Mouth small, terminal, the lower jaw i)rojectiug in the adult; iu the 

 young (which constitute the supposed genus lihynchichthys), the snout is 

 much produced. Maxillary broad, striate, with a supplemental bono. 

 E^e excessively large. Scales large, closely imbricated, the posterior 

 margin strongly' si^iuous. Lateral line continuous. Dorsal deeply emar- 

 ginate, the spines usually 11, depres-sible iu a groove; soft dorsal short 

 and high ; anal with 4 spines, the first and second quite small, the third 

 very long and strong, the fourth smaller; caudal widely forked; both 

 lobes with the rudimentary rays spine-like ; ventrals large, I, 7, the 

 spine very strong. Species numerous, remarkable for the dev^elopment 

 of sharp spines almost ever^'where on the surface of the body, ('j/'t, 

 wboli3"; y.z.'Tfxi.^, sinne.) 



720. H. pcJitacailt3l3lS (Blocli) Vaill. Sc Boc.—Sjuirrel-fish. 



Chiefly bright red, with shininir longitudinal streaks; tins not black. 

 IMouth small, the maxillary scarcely reaching middle of orbit. Soft 

 dorsal as high as the body; ventrals much longer than pectorals, reach- 

 ing vent. Head 3^ in length ; depth 3^. Eye about 2.^ in head. D. 

 XI, 15; A. IV, 10 ; V. I, 7; Lat. 1. 50. Yertebrai 11 + 1(5. CcBca 25. 

 West Indies ; accidental on our cOast ; once taken at Newport, R. I. 

 " Its bright color and nervous darting motions rendering it one of the 

 most conspicuous denizens of the rock-pools. The local name refers to 

 the grunting noise uttered by them, which resembles the bark of a 

 squirrel." (Goodc.) 



{BodiannH pentacanthuH * Bloch, Ansl. Fisclio, iv, 40, taf. 225 : Holocentrus sogo Bloch, 

 Ausl. Fischc, iv, 61, taf. 232: Perca rufa Walhauni, Artedi, Pise. 1792, 351; Holo- 

 ccntrum longijyhnie Giiuthcr, i, 28; Vaillant &, Bocourt, Miss. Sci. au Mex. 144.) 



* " Opercula squamosa. Auteriora 5 spinis pone borrida." {Bloch.) 



