NOTE ON OTOHIME, A NEW (^ENUS OE GURNARDS. 



By David Starr floRDAN and Edwin Charin Starks, 



Of Stanford Uiiii;er>iitii, Odifornia. 



The species of gurnard described ))y Sclilegel as Trlgla heinisticta 

 may be considered as the type of a new genus, Otohivie^ distinguished 

 from ChelidonicJifJn/s {^''jnctipinnis^'' humu^ Jiirnndo) especially by 

 the absence of the dorsal armature characteristic of CJielidoniclithyx. 

 The scales are very small, the lateral line unarmed, and there are no 

 sharp-edged bony spines along the base of thi; dorsal tins. In place 

 of these there are about three flatfish bucklers along each side of the 

 base of the spinous dorsal, and one buckler luxate in form across the 

 median line in front of the first spine. The dorsal spines are strong, 

 and the soft dorsal and anal are much shorter than in Clielidrmlchthys. 

 The opercle ends in a very long spine. Vomer with few teeth; none 

 on the palatines. The single known species (Jtohime hnnistlcta is 

 rare in Japan, only one specimen having been seen by us. 



Otohinie in Japanese mj'thology is a goddess of fishes. 



The genera of Triglida^ may be thus compared: 



KEY TO GENEKA. 



a. Scales relatively large; teeth on vomer and none on [lalatine.s; a row of spinous 



bucklers along base of dorsal LepidotrUjla. 



aa. Scales relatively small. 

 h. Palatines without teeth. 



0. Lateral line armed with spines or bony cross plates; teeth on vomer TriyJn. 



cc. Lateral line unarmed. 



d. Base of both dorsals with a series of shields, each ending in a sharp spine 

 directed backward. Opercular spine small; soft dorsal and anal long. 



Dorsal rays, ix-16; anal, 15; no anal spine Chelidonichthys. 



bb. Base of dorsal with blunt shields along base of spinous dorsal only; base of 



soft dorsal unarmed; opercular spine very long; soft dorsal and anal 



short; dorsal rays viii-10, anal i, 11 ; the anal spine distinct. . . Otoldine. 



bh. Palatines with teeth; no spinous plates along dorsal base nor along lateral line. 



e. Head spinous above Prionotus. 



ee. Head unarmed above Colotrigla. 



Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. XXXII— No. 1 51 7. 



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