696 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. xxx. 



Family SYNGNATHID^E. 



CORYTHROICHTHYS TANAKffi Jordan and Starks, new species. 



Head, S| in long'th to base of caudal; depth, 14. E3'e, 5 in head; 

 snout, 2i; dorsal, 20; body rings, 16-30. 



Top of head steeply but nowhere abruptly sloping- to snout; snout 

 somewhat curved upward; a low median ridge on top of head in line 

 with a similar ridge on occipital plate and on tirst l)ody ring-; these 

 more or less separated at sutures between plates; a slight ridge run- 

 ning back from supraocular region; another slight ridge running 

 horizontally across opercle; a prominent supraorbital tentacle present; 

 a longer one, nearly as long as eye, on median ridge of head; and 

 another smaller than the last on ridge of occipital plate, or frequently 

 considerabl}' at one side or the other of the ridge; snout a little shorter 

 than postorbital part of head, a slight even ridge along its upper edge. 



Body anterior to vent considerably deeper than wide in either sex; 

 behind vent regularly quadrangular, broken only b}^ the egg pouch in 

 the male. A median ridge on belly from isthmus to vent. Lower 

 lateral ridge of trunk in line with, but not continuous with lower 



/f^P^ 



Fig. 2. — Cokythroichthys tanakjE. 



ridge of caudal, separated from i^ by a ver}'^ short interval opposite 

 vent. Lateral ridge of trunk dipping abruptly down opposite v^ent 

 and continued as lower caudal ridge. Upper ridges of trunk con- 

 verging at occiput, sometimes the area between them at this point is 

 concave; posteriorly each ridge ends under posterior third of base of 

 dorsal. Upper caudal ridge bends down opposite dorsal and runs 

 below posterior end of upper ridge of trunk, end of upper ridge of 

 trunk ending opposite front of dorsal. Caudal pouch covering 15 

 rings and contained in caudal portion of })od3^ 1| times. Length of 

 pectoral equal to diameter of eye and slightlv shorter than caudal. 

 Dorsal covering one body ring and 4 caudal rings. 



Color of male specimens dark brown with 10 or 11 light cross bars 

 on back between upper ridges; 1 at occiput, 3 in front of dorsal, 1 

 under middle of dorsal, and the others spaced regularly behind dorsal, 

 these bars usually not extending across sides, but in one or two 

 examples the}' arc faintly and irregularly indicated. Three conspic- 

 uous dark spots on upper part of side of trunk below upper ridge; the 

 anterior are sometimes faint. Two light irregular streaks running 

 downward from e3'e give the lower part of head a mottled appearance. 

 The females are lighter; two of them nearly colorless, the other very 

 light brown and with the cross bars extending down across the sides. 



