SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE OP FISHES. 327 



spines varying from 3 to 20; anal fin with 2 to 6 spines and similar to soft dorsal; 

 ventrals thoracic, with 1 weak spine and 5 soft rays. About 20 American gen- 

 era, of which the following 5 are now known from the coast of North Carolina: 



Key to the North Carolina genera of lahrids. 



i. Dorsal spines 16; caudal fin truncate; lateral line complete; jaw teeth in two series in each 



jaw, the 4 anterior canines; vertebrae 36 Tautoga. 



ii. Dorsal spines 9 to 14; caudal fin either forked or rounded; lateral line interrupted or com- 

 plete; jaw teeth in a single series in each jaw; vertebrae 22 to 29. 

 a. Dorsal spines 14; the anterior spines greatly elongated; scales in lateral series 40; caudal 



fin deeply forked Lachnolaimus. 



aa. Dorsal spines 9, none greatly elongated; scales in lateral series 30 or less ; caudal fin rounded. 

 b. Lateral line complete, uninterrupted; cheeks and opercles naked; anterior canines 2 



in upper jaw, 4 in lower Iridic. 



bb. Lateral line interrupted posteriorly; cheeks and opercles scaly; anterior canines 2 in 

 each jaw. 

 c. Posterior canines present; 3 anterior dorsal spines with a filamentous appendage; 



cheeks and opercles scaly Doratonotus. 



cc. Posterior canines absent; no dorsal spines filamentous; head naked except a few 

 scales below eye Xyrichthys. 



Genus TAUTOGA Mitchill. Tautogs. 



This genus, which contains a single species, has the following characters: 

 Body oblong, robust, not greatly compressed; head large, superior profile rather 

 strongly but evenly convex; caudal peduncle deep; mouth small, but jaws power- 

 ful and teeth strong; teeth conical, in two series in each jaw, the anterior teeth 

 larger and canine; gill-membranes free from isthmus; gill-rakers short and weak; 

 body fully covered with small scales; head unsealed, except a small space pos- 

 terior to and below eye, and another on upper part of opercle; vertical fins scaly; 

 lateral line complete; dorsal fin very long but not high, the spinous part much 

 longer than the soft, the 16 spines nearly equal and each with a soft appendage 

 at tip; anal similar to but larger than soft dorsal; caudal short, square, with 

 rounded tips; pectorals broad and short; ventrals placed well behind pectorals. 

 The generic name has been formed from the most appropriate of the common 

 names of the fish, which, in turn, was the name applied to the species by the 

 Mohegan or Narragansett Indians. 



282. TAUTOGA ONITIS (Linnaeus). 

 "Oyster-fish"; Tautog. 



Labrus onitis Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, ed. x, 286, 1758. 



Labrus hiatula Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, ed. xii, 475, 1766; Carolina. 



Tautoga onitis. Yarrow, 1877, 207; Beaufort. Jordan & Gilbert, 1879, 374; Beaufort. Jordan & Evermann , 



1898, 1578. pi. ccxxxvii, fig. 596. 

 Hiatula onitis, Jordan, 1886, 28; Beaufort. Jenkins, 1887, 91; Beaufort. 



Diagnosis. — Depth contained 2.6 to 3 times in length; caudal peduncle .5 depth of body; 

 head contained 3.25 to 3.5 times in length; mouth small, the maxillary extending not nearly to 

 anterior margin of eye; jaws equal; snout blunt, .33 length of head; eye small, about .5 length 

 of snout; gill-rakers on first arch 3+ 6, all short and blunt; scales in lateral series about 60, in 

 transverse series about 14+ 25; 5 or 6 rows of minute scales on cheeks; lateral line arched ante- 

 riorly, straight on caudal peduncle; dorsal rays xvi,10, the soft rays somewhat higher than the 

 spinous; the longest spine .33 length of head; anal rays iii,8, the third spine longest; caudal very 



