FISHES OF PUGET SOUND. 825 
dorsal ray 2; highest anal ray 234; length of caudal fin 
1%. 
Body elongate, subcylindrical, deepest and broadest at 
shoulders; belly prominent: dorsal outline straight from 
first dorsal spine to caudal fin, curved up anteriorly to 
occiput. Head very irregular, much broken by large 
spines; mouth inferior, rather broad, maxillary reaching 
to the vertical from front of orbit; lips thin, not broken 
up in papilla; upper jaw protractile; teeth small, in villi- 
form bands on jaws, vomer and palatines; the anterior 
edge of premaxillary is directly under the base of rostral 
spines; a few very small blunt papilliz behind chin; a 
barbel at end of maxillary, not half so long as diameter of 
pupil. 
A pair of sharp rostral spines pointing forward and 
upward; behind these is a pair of curved spines pointing 
upward, outward and backward; no median spine or 
movable spine at tip of snout; between these and be- 
hind the rostral spines is an almost circular pit, which is 
entirely occupied by the upper end of the premaxillary 
process; interorbital wide and concave, a slight median 
ridge running from the rostral pit to a point above pupil, 
on each side of which is an outward curved ridge ending 
in a minute spine; over each eye is the largest spine on 
the head or body, the large triangular orbital spine, its 
base occupying nearly the whole space above eye; it is 
sharp, compressed and strongly hooked back; on the an- 
terior part of its base is a small, sharp, preorbital spine, 
pointing upward; a series of minute spines running medi- 
ally along the top of the head and body from a point be- 
tween the orbital spines to the first dorsal spine; on each 
side of these are two large blunt spines, with the traces of a 
smaller one between them, they are continuous with the 
dorsal keels of body; farther down and continuous with 
