428 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 56 
‘ 
78. Scomberomorus sierra Jordan & Starks, n. sp. 
SIERRA. 
Rather common in the harbor at Mazatlan, numerous 
specimens being taken; also found by Dr. Gilbert at 
Panama. This is not valued as a food fish, little attention 
being paid to it by fishermen. This, however, may be 
due to the lack of appreciation of good fishes by the people 
of Mazatlan, who have not learned the art of properly 
cooking any fish. 
This species is very closely allied to its Atlantic cog- 
nate, Scomberomorus maculatus. It differsin the slightly 
more backward insertion of its soft dorsal, in its colora- 
tion, the spots in maculatus being elliptical and fewer in 
number, and perhaps in the fewer pores in the lateral 
line (175 in maculatus). In Scomberomorus maculatus the 
soft dorsal is inserted one eye’s diameter before anal. 
Head 434 ; depth equal head; dorsal X VIII-15-IX;; anal 
IJ-15-IX; maxillary 134 in head; eye 5 in head; pec- 
toral 134; ventral 3%; dorsal and anal lobes equal, 134 
in head. 
Body elongate, its dorsal and ventral outlines about 
equal; profile straight from snout to dorsal; head small 
and pointed; mouth large, oblique; jaws equal; maxillary 
reaching to posterior edge of orbit. Teeth large, com- 
pressed and sharp, 26 to 32 in each jaw; gill-rakers 
4+11. Soft dorsal inserted almost directly over front of 
anal; lateral line undulating, about 165 pores. 
Silvery, above bluish, sides with numerous round brown- 
ish spots; three rows of spots below lateral line and one 
above. Spinous dorsal white at base, black above; soft 
dorsal tinged with yellowish; its margins black; anal 
white; posterior face of pectoral entirely black, anterior 
face yellowish with blackish borders; caudal black. 
Another example supposed to be a male has five rows 
