236 
light brown, marbled with darker ; joints yellowish ; tail brownish- 
ellow. - 
; Var. y. A broad band along the back and the tail reddish-yellow; 
snout, a band between the eyes, and symmetrical spots on the oc- 
ciput brown; sides of the body and extremities light brown, marbled 
with darker shining golden. 
Hab. Ecuador; Guayaquil; Esmeraldas. 
CoryPHODON RHOMBIFER, Ni. Sp. 
Diagnosis.—Scales keeled, in seventeen rows ; nine upper labial 
shields, the fourth, fifth, and sixth of which enter the orbit. Eye 
large. Brownish-grey: a series of rhombic ferruginous spots along 
the back, each spot having two of the four edges black ; belly whitish, 
marbled with blackish on the sides. 
Hab. Esmeraldas. 
Description.—The maxillary teeth become gradually longer poste- 
riorly. The head is of moderate size, broader behind; the eye is 
large, its horizontal diameter being two-thirds of the length of the 
snout. Rostral shield rounded ; the anterior frontals are rather more 
than one-half the size of the posterior ; the vertical five-sided, taper- 
ing behind, with the posterior sides very short ; the occipital shields 
are of moderate size, and diverge posteriorly, forming a rectangular 
notch. The nostril is wide, and situated almost entirely in the an- 
terior nasal. The loreal and anteorbital are large, and the latter 
does not extend on to the vertical ; two posterior orbitals. Three 
temporals, the two anterior of which are in contact with the orbitals; 
the posterior is rhombic, and equal in size to the two others together. 
Nine upper labials, the fourth entering the angle of the orbit. The 
scales are keeled, in seventeen rows, the outer series being smooth. 
Ventral plates 165; anal bifid. (Tail mutilated.) 
The upper parts are brownish-grey ; a series of thirty-four rhombic 
ferruginous spots occupies the back of the trunk ; each spot has two 
opposite edges black ; the spots become more distinct posteriorly, and 
are continued on the tail. The sides of the belly are marbled with 
blackish, as in C. pantherinus. 
inches. lines. 
Length..of the head 0 i... as.deet h tee le aa 
DE EHC ETOTK yoy nj hsj0 are, njeleieaniel 9 * Shr 31 -0 
of the tail (restored) ............ ll 0 
Dar C1 a ee en Pape a AP 43 4 
Lemsvus MAcutatus, Gthr. Catal. Acanthopt. i. p. 505. 
Several beautifully preserved specimens are in the collection. The 
fish has a prominent papilla near the vent, and is nearly allied to 
Philypnus. The blackish bands appear after the fish has been pre- 
served in spirits for some time. All the markings are beautifully red 
during life: the streaks radiating from the eye, the dots on the body 
and on the fins, those on the soft dorsal, anal, and caudal are inter- 
mixed with yellow ones. A red spot and, above it, a black one on 
the upper portion of the root of the pectoral. The caudal is convex. 
Hab. Fresh waters of Ecuador ; Esmeraldas, 
