PROCEEDINGS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



issued ((^?(vA,0|m ^y '^^ 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 

 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Vol. 104 Washington : 1955 No. 3347 



FISHES OF THE FAMILY PERCOPHIDIDAE FROM THE 

 COASTS OF EASTERN UNITED STATES AND THE WEST 

 INDIES, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF FOUR NEW SPECIES 



By Isaac Ginsburg 



Fishes of the family Percophididae from the coasts of eastern United 

 States and the West Indies have, to my laiowledge, hitherto been 

 recorded under one name, (Hypsicometes) Bembrops gobioides (Goode) . 

 Four new species are added here, making a total of five species divided 

 into two genera. Specimens of all five species have been preserved 

 in the collection of the U. S. National Museum for some time, where 

 they have been cataloged as gobioides. Adequate samples of two spe- 

 cies that appear to be common offshore in the Gulf of Mexico have 

 been collected during recent years by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife 

 research boats Pelican and Oregon. This added material made it 

 possible to determine and distinguish these two species satisfactorily 

 and aided in the proper distinction of the other species. Three of the 

 four new species were obtained by the Caroline of the Johnson- 

 Smithsonian Expedition. Specimens of two of the latter species were 

 also collected by the Albatross, 68 and 69 years ago; they were identified 

 as gobioides by Goode and Bean and were included in their account 

 of that species as noted below. 



338102—55 623 



