GILBERT AND STARKS — FISHES OF PANAMA BAY 



153 



The groove before eye is very faint, scarcely to be made out in some of our 

 Panama specimens. Dorsal very slightly falcate in the type and in larger specimens; 

 in small and half-grown examples only, is it sharply angulatcd. The anal is rather 

 sharply rounded. In life the sides are marked with many narrow vertical wavy 

 blue lines. 



The species is easily distinguished from B. polylejns by the thicker body, the 

 larger scales, the darker and more variegated coloration, the much reduced preocular 

 groove, and the less falcate fins. In B. 2)ohjlepis, the upper margin of tlie dorsal 

 fin is deeply concave for the whole length; in B. naufragium, the greater part 

 of the upper margin is convex, a few only of the anterior rays projecting, making 

 that part of the fin concave. The caudal lobes are also much shorter in this species, 

 while the middle rays are more produced. The plates are much more roughly 

 granular, and are fewer in number. The lips are much thicker and more deeply 

 plicate, the peripheral folds being densely papillose. The ventral stay is more 

 robust, and the circumoral area is devoid of plates. 



Measurements in Hundredths of Length without Caudal. 



Locality 



Length without caudal, in mm 



Head 



Depth 



Orbit 



Snout 



Length of pectoral 



Height of anterior rays of soft dorsal 



Height of anterior rays of anal 



Length of middle caudal rays 



Number of dorsal rays 



Number of anal rays 



Series of scales 



284. Balistes verres sp. nov. 



Plate XXVI, Fig. 49. 



We describe as new the species that has commonly been referred to B. capis- 

 tratus on the Pacific coast of Central America. B. capistratus was probably based 

 on East Indian material, but we have had for comparison specimens from the 



