FISHES — BLENNIDAE — BLENNIUS GENTILIS. 113 



BLENNIUS, Art. 



Gen. Char. — Body elongated, compressed, covered by a soft and sealeless skin. Head short and obtuse anteriorly, provided 

 above with membranous flaps or tentacles. Teeth loner, uniform, and closely set together upon one row on both jaws ; often- 

 times a canine tooth at the posterior extremity of that row. Palat toothless. Dorsal fin occupying almost the whole dorsal 

 region. Caudal posteriorly rounded. Anal elongated. Ventrals exiguous, inserted under the throat, in advance of the base of 

 the pectorals. Pectorals large and fan-like. 



SMU.—Blennius, Arted. Gen. Pise. ed. Walb. 1792, 168 ; &, Syn. Pise. ed. II, 1793, 44.— Cuv. Regn. Anira. II, 1817, 

 249 ; 2d ed. II, 1829 ; &, ed. illust. Poiss. 170.— Cov. & Val. Hist. nat. des Poiss. XI, 1836, 197.— DeKat, 

 New Y. Fauna IV, 1842, 148.— Storer, Synops. 1846, 117. 



We cannot help thinking that the genus Blennius, as admitted by our predecessors, embraces 

 too great a variety of species, and we offer the above diagnosis with a view of restricting some- 

 what the limits of that genus. Further researches into the natural history of these fishes are, 

 nevertheless, necessary before anything satisfactory can be written on that subject. 



BLENNIUS GENTILIS, G r d . 

 Plate XXVa, Fig. 4, 



Spec. Char. — A small canine on either side of the upper jaw. A supraorbital membranous flap. A slight depression between 

 the spinous and the soft portion of the dorsal fin. Lateral line terminating under the eleventh spiny ray. Ground color 

 yellowish brown, maculated with purple. 



Syn. — Blennius genlilis, Grd. in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Fhilad. VII, 1854, 149. 



Descb. — The body has an elongated appearance, is very much compressed, tapering towards 

 the peduncle of the tail, and, when viewed in profile, sub-fusiform in its outline. The thoracic 

 region is the deepest, and equal to the head in length, which constitutes a little more than the 

 fifth of the entire length. The snout, as usual in the genus, is very abbreviated and rounded. 

 The mouth is but moderately cleft ; the posterior extremity of the maxillary extending to a 

 vertical line intersecting the pupil. The teeth constitute, upon the margin of the jaws, a 

 uniform and dense serie, diminishing slightly in height posteriorly. At the extremity of the 

 serie of the upper jaw may be seen, on either side, a small canine. The lips are thin and well 

 developed. The eye is large and circular, and its diameter is contained about four times in the 

 length of the side of the head. A slender membranous flap is inserted within the upper rim of 

 the orbit upon the upper surface of the globe of the eye. The branchial aperture of either side 

 terminates about evenly with the inferior edge of the base of the pectoral fin, so that a wide 

 isthmus exists between them under the throat. The branchiostegal rays are five in number on 

 either side. 



The origin of the dorsal takes place in advance of the base of the pectoral, and almost at the 

 occiput. The spinous portion is slightly arched upon its middle, and separated from the soft 

 portion by a very slight depression in the upper outline of the fin. The soft rays posteriorly 

 are a little higher than the spinous ; their tips when bent backwards project beyond the inser- 

 tion of the caudal. The origin of the anal is placed nearly opposite the beginniag of the soft 

 portion of the dorsal, but does not extend quite as far posteriorly, and is much lower ; it is 

 preceded anteriorly by two post-anal flaps. The tips of its posterior rays reach the base of the 

 caudal. The caudal itself enters a little short of six times and a half ia the total length. 

 15 a 



