FISHES — BLENNIDAE — CEBIDICHTHYS VIOLACEUS. 121 



CEBIDICHTHYS, Ay res. 



Gev. Char. — Body very elonjfated and very much compressed. Head moderate and oblong; snout obtuse; mouth large. 

 Conical maxillar teeth, disposed upon a double series. Velvet-like teeth upon the vomer and palatines. Tongue smooth. 

 Branchial apertures continuous under the throat. Dorsal and anal fins contiguous to the caudal, which is exteriorly rounded. 

 An anterior spiny dorsal fin lower than the soft, and continuous with it. Anal fin spineless. Ventral fins wanting. Scales 

 very small ; lateral line approximating the back. 



Syn. — Cebidichthys, Ayres, in Proc. Cal. Acad. \at. So. 1, 1855, 59. 



The atsence of ventral fins in this genus will distinguish it from Gunnellus, and the structure 

 of the dorsal fin irom ApodicJithys, to which it is otherwise related hy the want of ventrals. 

 The presence of teeth on the palatine hones and the spineless anal fin are other traits by which 

 it may be distinguished from the latter. 



It is yet doubtful whether Blennius alectroloplms of Pallas (Zoogr. Kosso-Asiatica, 111, 1831, 

 174), is specifically distinct from the species described further on. Should it prove identical, 

 the name of C. alectroloplms must be restored to it, otherwise, stand as a second species in the 

 present genus. 



CEBIDICHTHYS VIOLACEUS, Grd. 



Plate XXV b. Figs. 4 and 5. 



Spec. Char. — Upper surface of head narrow, declivous laterally. A fleshy crest along the cranial ridge. Mouth large ; 

 posterior extremity of maxillaries extending to a line drawn across the posterior rim of the orbit. Origin of anal fin situated 

 opposite the anterior margin of the soft dorsal. Ground color uniform brownish violet. An occipito-ocular vitta of deep 

 purplish violet. Two other vittae of the same hue extend, one from the postero-inferior rim of the orbit, the other from the 

 anterior rim, obliquely backwards across the cheeks and opercular apparatus. 



Syn. — Jlpodichthys violaceus, Grd. in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 150. 



Cebidichthys cristagalli, Ayres, in Proc. Cal. Acad. Nat. Sc. I, 1855, 58. PI. I, figs. 1-3. 



Since this species was first described we have had an opportunity of examining a specimen 

 measuring fifteen inches, sent to the Smithsonian Institution by Dr. Ayres. The head 

 constitutes the seventh or eighth of the total length, the seventh in the young, the eighth in 

 the adult. Its upper surface is narrow and ridge-like, sloping sideways outwardly towards a 

 rather broad inferior surface. A cutaneous or fleshy crest may be seen extending from the 

 occiput to the extremity of the snout. The latter is so inconspicuous in the immature 

 individuals that it escaped our notice when we first described the species. The gape of the 

 mouth is slightly oblique upwards ; the posterior extremity of the maxillary extending to a 

 vertical line intersecting the posterior rim of the orbit. The teeth constituting the outer row 

 are much larger than the rest, which are rather irregularly disposed, and upon the upper jaw 

 assuming a more card-like appearance than anything else. Upon the vomer and palatines they 

 are velvet-like altogether. The lips are fleshy. The eye is rather small and sub-circular, its 

 diameter entering six or seven times in the length of the side of the head. The branchiostegal 

 rays, six in number on either side, are rather stoutish and contained in a quite tough 

 membrane. The branchial aperture is very wide, its external outline being quite emarginated 

 under the hyoid apparatus. 



The dorsal fin commences opposite or somewhat posterior to the base of the pectorals. It is 



composed of about twenty-five spiny rays extending to a line intersecting the origin of the anal, 



where the fin raises a little, and instead of spiny rays is composed of soft, articulated, and 



branched ones to its termination. The origin of the anal is nearer the extremity of the snout 



16 a 



