NO. 1714. JAPANESE SEA BASS.— JORDAN AND RICHARDSON. 441 



9. PIKEA JAPONICA Ddderlein. 



Pilcea (Labracopsis) japonica Doderlein, in Steindachner and Doderlein, Denkschr. 



Akad. Wien, vol. 47, 1883, p. 235, pi. 6, fig. 3 (Tokyo). 

 Liopropoma japonicum Boulenger, Cat. Fishes, vol. 1, 1895, p. 156. 

 Labracopsis japonicus Jordan and Snyder, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 23, 1901, 



p. 354 (Tokyo); p. 751 (Yokohama). 



Head, 2.9 in length; depth, 3.4; depth caudal peduncle, 2.4; eye, 

 4.7 in head; dorsal VIII, 14; anal III, 10; scales, 4-57-23; nose, 3. 6 

 in head; maxillary, 2.1; interorbital space, 1.2 in eye, shghtly con- 

 vex. Form elongate, back little elevated; profile shghtly convex 

 beliind occiput, thence iiearly straight to muzzle; mouth large, 

 maxillary extending nearly to back of orbit; lower jaw slightly pro- 

 jecting; jaws with bands of fine villiform teeth; vomer and palatines 

 toothed; tongue smooth; nostrils subequal; preopercle rounded, 

 without prominent angle, its posterior border finely cihated; opercle 

 with 3 flat points; gill-rakers 8, with 1 or 2 rudiments, the longest 

 longer than the corresponding filaments. Scales feebly ctenoid, 

 becoming more or less cycloid anteriorly; head entirely covered with 

 cycloid scales; lateral line complete. Ijongest dorsal spine (tliird), 

 3.25 in head; longest soft ray, 2; caudal very feebly emarginate; 

 pectoral, 1.4; ventral, 1.8, short of vent. 



Color in spirits uniform straw, tinged with olive; borders of soft 

 dorsal, caudal, and anal whitish. Doctor Steindaclmer states that 

 the fish is reddish golden, with a dark lateral stripe from the eye to 

 the base of the caudal. In our specimen there are faint traces of 

 this dark stripe on opercle and anterior part of side. 



Here described from a specimen 8 \ inches long, taken in the Tokyo 

 market by Prof. Keinosuke Otaki. It is doubtless from Sagami 

 Ba}". The species must be rare in Japan. 



9. Genus PLECTROPOMUS (Cuvier) Oken. 



Plectropomus Cuvier, Regne Anim., vol. 2, 1817, p. 277 {calcari/er; ynaculatus; 

 q/clostome). 



Plectropomus Oken, Isis, 1817, p. 1782, misprint for p. 1182 (after Cuvier). 



Plectropoma Cuvier and Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., vol. 2, 1828, p. 387 

 {7nelanoleucus=cyclostom.us; maculatus; restricted to maculalus) . 



Plectropoma Gill, Proc. Acad. Sci. Phila., 1862, p. 236 (name only). 



Paracanthistius Bleeker, Verh. Akad. Amst., vol. 14, 1873, no. 2, p. 13 (macula- 

 tus; Lates calcari/er, the first species named by Cuvier under ^'Plectro pomes," 

 being taken as type of Plectropoma). 



Body elongate, compressed; scales very small, roughisli. Lateral 

 Hne feebly marked, the tubes very short and straight, the scales 

 cihated. Mouth large, protractile; maxiUary exposed, with, sup- 

 plemental bone; teeth in jaws in several series, the inner movable, 

 depressible, hinged at the base; very strong canine teeth in front 

 of both jaws and on the side of the mandible; teeth on vomer and 



