100 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



Color, nearly uniform warm brown on head, body and fins; a dusky opercular blotch; soft 

 dorsal, anal and caudal only narrowly margined with white. 



One specimen known, from Panama. 



i8o. Rypticus nigripinnis Gill. 



Not rare. The upper preopercular spine is minute, but seems to be constantly 

 present. The second dorsal spine is usually a little longer than the first, and is 

 united for its entire length by membrane with the succeeding soft ray. 



Family LOBOTlDiE. 



i8i. Lobotes pacificus Gilbert. 

 Plate XIV, Fig. 28. 



Lobotes pacificus Gilbert, (Jordan & Evermann, 1898, p. 2857). 

 Lobotes auctorum Steindachner, 1876 iJ, p. 6 ; Panama. Not of Gunther. 



Lobotes sjirinamcnsis ]Q's.vipji Si. QiiJKKsr!:, 18820', p. no; Panama. Gilbert, 1882, p. 112; Punta 

 Arenas. Jordan, 1885, p. 378; Panama. Boulenger, 1899, p. 2; Rio Tuyra, Darien. 



The Lobotes of the Pacific Coast of Central America is distinguished from the 

 other known species, L. surinamensis and L. erate, by the small size of the preoper- 

 cular serrations, those at the angle not elongated and spine-like, even in the young. 



Head 2-| in length; depth 2\ to 2-^^ (to base of caudal rays); depth of caudal peduncle 2^^ in 

 head. Dorsal XII, 15; anal III, 11; pectoral 15. Scales 46 (-f- 6 on base of caudal) W; vertebrae 

 1 2 -(-12. Body more elongated than L. sicrinaiiiensis, agreeing in this respect with L. erate, the 

 depth less than half the length. Upper profile deeply concave at occiput, thence strongly conve.x to 

 front of dorsal. Head shorter and narrower than in L. surinamensis, the interorbital width but slightly 

 longer than snout, 3^ to 4 in head (3-J- to 3I in head in L. siiriiiame?isis). Eye small, 6| to 7^ in 

 head, 2 or 2y\ in interorbital width. Mandible strongly protruding, but without symphyseal knob. 

 Maxillary narrow, not concealed in closed mouth, its tip reaching vertical from middle of pupil, 2^ to 

 2^Tj in head. 



Upper jaw with a moderate villiform band of teeth, in front of which is a single series of 

 conical close-set canines. Lower jaw with a single series, similar to outer series of upper jaw, and 

 behind them a very narrow band of villiform teeth which grow slightly larger towards symphysis. 

 Palate toothless. 



Posterior margin of preopercle vertical, the angle protruding little or not at all. In five young 

 specimens, 175 to 275 mm. long, the preopercular teeth are fine, acute, short and inconspicuous, about 

 as in species of Pomadasys. They increase but little in size towards the angle, where they are never 

 spine-like; below, they are perceptible only in the immediate vicinity of the angle, the remainder of 

 the horizontal limb being entire. In the adult the vertical limb is finely and evenly toothed, the angle 

 and lower limb slightly roughened or entire. Opercle with two short spinous points, behind the lower 

 of which a narrow tongue-shaped process of the subopercle extends to near the edge of opercular 

 membrane. The humeral process is very weakly toothed, contrasting with the strongly serrate condition 

 in L. siiri^iamensis. Branchiostegals 6. 



Gill-rakers short, two-fifths diameter of eye in young, comparatively shorter in adults, 5 

 on vertical limb, all but one of which are broad firmly fixed tubercles, 14 on horizontal limb, the 

 anterior two or three tubercular. 



