Dec. 28, 1916. Fishes or Panama — Meek and Hildebrand. 337 



Joturus stipes Jordan & Gilbert, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., V, 1882, 373 (Rio 



Bayano, Panama). 

 Xenorhynchichthys stipes Regan, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 8, II, 



1908, 461 (Rio Iroquois, Costa Rica). 



Head 4 to 4.27; depth 3.2 to 3.9; D. IV-I, 9; A. II, 11; scales 43 to 45. 



Body elongate, compressed; the dorsal region somewhat elevated; 

 profile from snout to first dorsal evenly convex; head rather low and 

 broad; snout conical, projecting beyond upper lip, 2.75 to 3.4 in head; 

 eye small, 4 to 6.5; interorbital broad, 1.93 to 2.7; mouth moderate, 

 horizontal, inferior; lower jaw included; maxillary reaching about to 

 vertical from middle of eye, 2.3 to 3.1 in head; teeth in the jaws com- 

 pressed, with serrate margins, those of the upper jaw in a narrow, con- 

 tinuous band, those of the lower jaw in 2 lateral patches, not meeting 

 anteriorly; vomerine teeth in a transverse patch; palatine teeth minute, 

 in a very narrow band; pterygoid teeth, if present, very minute; gill- 

 rakers short, about 30 below angle on first arch; scales large, ctenoid, 

 extending forward to nostrils, 12 to 14 longitudinal rows between base 

 of second dorsal and anal; origin of first dorsal a little nearer base of last 

 ray of second dorsal than tip of snout, the spines notably compressed, 

 the first one reaching slightly past tip of the second when deflexed, 

 equal to about two-thirds length of head; second dorsal, caudal and 

 anal mostly covered with small scales; origin of second dorsal somewhat 

 nearer origin of first than base of caudal, its outer margin concave; 

 caudal fin forked, the lobes of about equal length; anal fin similar to 

 second dorsal, its origin under or slightly in advance of origin of second 

 dorsal, and about midway between base of ventrals and base of caudal; 

 ventral fins inserted under middle of pectorals, about midway between 

 tip of snout and origin of anal; pectoral fins somewhat longer than 

 ventrals, i.i to 1.3 in head. 



Color in life, of a specimen about 200 mm. in length, very dark 

 green above, with the base of scales green and the margin black; sides 

 lighter green with the margin of the scales brown; pale below. Dorsal 

 fins black at base with broad yellowish green margins; caudal and anal 

 black at base, otherwise irregularly blotched with black and yellow; 

 ventrals and pectorals dark at base and yellowish at tips. The young 

 have two oblique bars on each lobe of the caudal and two similar ones 

 on second dorsal and anal. In large examples these markings completely 

 disappear. 



We have 26 specimens of this species, ranging from 150 to 460 mm. 

 in length. Most of our specimens were taken by a discharge of dyna- 

 mite below a waterfall near the mouth of the Rio Indio, a tributary of 

 the Upper Chagres. The others were taken by natives with hook and 



