46 THE CYPRINODONTS. 



the body, without the caudal. Anal origin little farther forward than that of 

 dorsal. Anal of male advanced, modified ; anal process long, longer than 

 the head, with hooks, or a clasper, at the end. Scales large. Intestine long. 

 West Indies. 



Girardinus metaUicus- 



Plate V. Fig. 6, teeth; Plate Vlll. Fig. 13, male, 



Oirardimts melallkns Poey, 1855, Mem.,, I, 387, 391, pi. 31, fig. 8-11,— 1861, Mem., IT, 383, — ISGS, 

 Repert., II, 411,-1876, An. Soc. Esp., V, 142; Blk., 1860, Cypr., 484,-1863, Atl., UI, 139; Gthr., 

 1866, Cat, VI, 351. 



Heterandria metallica Jor., 1887, P. U. S. Mus., IX, 563. 



B. 5; D. 9-10; A. 11-12; V. 6 ; P. 12-13 ; LI. 28-31 ; Ltr. 8-9; Vert. 

 15+16. 



The shape of this fish does not differ very much from that of Gamhusia 

 Holbrookii. Body compressed, caudal pedicel deep. Head depressed, crown 

 broad, very little convex, length about one fourth of the distance from snout 

 to base of caudal. Snout short, not as long as eye, broad, blunt. Moutli 

 rather wide ; mandibles short, weak, loosely joined ; intermaxillaries shorter, 

 protractile. Teeth in a single series, movable, slender, curved, spatulate, 

 narrowed at the bases, broadened toward the summits, varying in shapes 

 from the median to the lateral. In one case, shown in Fig. 6, Plate V,, 

 two smaller teeth were found behind the median pair. Eye large, longer 

 than snout, two thirds of forehead, one third of head. Origin of dorsal 

 midway from front of eye to end of caudal, farther back than that of anal. 

 Anal of female with several rays farther forward than dorsal ; anal of male 

 farther forward, with third to fifth rays elongate and modified, one third of 

 the total length of the fish. Caudal large, nearly as long as the head, sub- 

 truncate or convex ; other fins small. 



Light yellowish to brownish olive, back and top of head darker, edges of 

 scales little darker, or centres of scales lighter and one or two rows silvery 

 along the middle of the flank. Uniform or with narrow vertical bars of sil- 

 very on the sides. In cases the interspaces are brownish, in others there are 

 scattered silvery scales. Belly yellowish to white, with a metallic lustre. 

 Cheeks silvery. Dorsal with a lai'ge black spot on the hindmost rays, near 

 the base. Some have a band from this spot across the fin. A few have indi- 

 cations of a darker band across the bases of the caudal rays. Particular 

 females have black spots on the abdomen, as in Gambusia. Occasionally 

 males are found on which the lower border of the anal is black ; on certain 



