NO. 1714. JAPANESE SEA BASS.—JORDAN AND RICHARDSON. 



437 



Tokyo, Yokohama, and Misaki. Snyder obtained small specimens in 

 1906 at Otaru in Hokkaido. The species is common about rocks in 

 middle and northern Japan, especially about Hakodate. 



Doctor Boulenger is convinced of the identity of this species with 

 the Californian species, Stereolepis gigas Ayres. We have not had a 

 large Japanese specimen for comparison with adult specimens from 

 the California coast. Doctor Hilgendorf's type of Megaperca iscM- 

 nagi from Tokyo was over a meter in length, and the drawing from 

 a photograph of it published by Doctor Boulenger °' shows a fish with 

 larger scales and higher dorsal spines than in Stereolepis gigas. We 

 here reproduce a drawing published by Jordan and Snyder of a young 

 specimen 14 inches long of the Japanese fish, Stereolepis ischinagi. 

 For comparison with this we present a figure, rather crudely executed 

 but substantially correct, of the American species Stereolepis gigas. 

 This is based on a specimen, the only young one ever preserved, 



Fig. 6.— Stereolepis gigas (young, from santa Barbara). 



about 10 inches long, of the American species. The specimen was 

 taken off Santa Barbara in California in 1880, by Jordan and Gilbert. 

 We adhere to the opinion originally expressed by Jordan and Snyder 

 that the two species are distinct although very closely related. The 

 Japanese species is separated by the larger scales, 80 to 90 instead 

 of 100 to 115, and by the form of the dorsal fin, the spines in the first 

 dorsal being much liigher in specimens of the same size. In the 

 Japanese species there are 12 dorsal spines, the first being minute. 

 This spine seems to be wanting in Stereolepis gigas. The young of 

 Stereolepis ischinagi is striped with dark. The young of Stereolepis 

 gigas is marked by obscure oblong blotches. 

 (isJiinagi, the local name, from ishi, rock.) 



"Proc. Zool. See. London, 1897, p. 917, pi. 52, lower figure. 



