56 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



point above axil of pectorals to front of dorsal. Behind dorsal a single series of spots 

 occui^ies the median line of back. 



io8. Fistularia corneta sp. nov. 



Plate X, Figs. 18 and ISa. 



Five specimens, each 62 cm. long, were seen in the Panama market; two of 

 these were preserved. Besides these, we have in the collection of Stanford Uni- 

 versity several small specimens from Panama, collected by the "Albatross," and 

 several small ones from Mazatlan. 



Head 3 in length. Depth of body, a short distance in front of dorsal fin, | the depth at occiput. 

 At insertion of ventral fins the width of the body is twice its depth. The extreme length of the orbit 

 is contained 9 times in the length of the head; maxillary 13I to 13I; interorbital width (bone) 

 3f to 4 in postorbital jsart of head. Length of pectoral, from base of upper ray to ti]3S of longest 

 rays, 6| to 7 in head; ventrals 11. 



The maxillary is rather short, and has a concave posterior border. The upper lateral ridge of 

 snout is serrated on its posterior three-fifths. On the anterior half of the serrated portion, the serra- 

 tions become abruptly finer and more crowded. The two superior ridges of the snout are rather 

 wide apart posteriorly, and very gradually approach each other anteriorly. They are scarcely 

 di\'ergent or even parallel in the large specimens, but in the small ones they diverge slightly on the 

 anterior half of the snout. The distance between them is everywhere much greater than their distance 

 from the upper lateral ridge. The area between the upper lateral ridge and the superior ridges 

 is generally smooth, sometimes somewhat uneven, but never roughly sculptured. The interorbital 

 area is flat and roughly sculptured on each side, and its middle third is depressed to form a smooth 

 channel. 



The pectoral reaches about one-third of the distance between the base of its upper ray and the 

 insertion of the ventrals. The dorsal and anal fins are exactly opposite and equal in length; their base 

 4 times their distance from the middle caudal rays. The skin is everywhere smooth; the lateral line is 

 not armed with bony plates. 



In the five specimens seen at Panama (fresh) the back was a uniform dark brown. In the 

 small specimens from Panama and Mazatlan there is usually a lighter stripe, with ill-defined edges, on 

 each side of the back, a short distance above the lateral line, and following its course to the base of the 

 caudal fin. 



This species differs from F. depressa in having a shorter maxillary, a larger 

 eye (in specimens of the same size), and particularly in having a much wider inter- 

 orbital sjiace. There is no trace of blue markings in our material. 



We have several specimens of F. petimba from Formosa and Japan, which 

 agree well with the description given by Dr. Giinther (Shore-fishes, Challenger, 

 p. 68) under the name F. serrata. They differ from F. corneta in having the superior 

 ridges of the snout very close together and jjarallel for nearly their whole length. 

 (They are spoken of as ridges, though they appear, in this species especially, as a 

 single, raised, flat area posteriorly, the sides of which are left in relief as ridges 

 anteriorly.) The distance between them is everywhere much less than their distance 

 from the upper lateral ridge. The area between the upper lateral ridge and the 

 superior ridges is roughly sculptured with radiating lines, as shown in the illustration 

 accompanying the description cited above (Plate XXXII). The interorbital area is 



