118 TELEOSTEl: ACANTHOPTERI. — XX. 



f. Scales large, 5-34-11; opercular spot wholly surrounded by a very 

 broad red margin. 



312. L. humilis (Girard). Body oblong; spines high; cheeks 

 with . r > rows of scabs. Olive, with greenish specks, posteriorly; 

 sides with round orange spots; belly and lower fins red. Head 2f; 

 depth 2\. L. 2\. Ky. to Neb. and Texas ; very abundant S. W. 

 ( Lat., humble.) 



ff. Scales rather small, 42 to 50 in the lateral line. 



g. Opercular Hap in the adult, very broad, without pale edge; D. and 

 A. in adult with a large black spot on the last rays. 



313. L. pallidus (Mitchill). Blue Sun-fish. Copper-nosed 

 Bream. Dollardee. Body deep, compressed, the young slen- 

 der, the adult very deep; tail slender; head small; mouth quite 

 small, the maxillary barely to eye; gill-rakers slender, about 10; 

 D. spines higher than in related species. Olive green; young pur- 

 plish silvery, with greenish cross-bars ; no blue stripes on cheek ; no 

 red on fins ; old specimens often dusky, with the belly coppery red. 

 Head 3 ; depth 2. Lat. 1. 44. L. 10. Great Lakes to N. Y., Kans., 

 Fla. and Mexico ; very abundant. Very variable, but usually known 

 by the black dorsal spot, which it shares with L. cyanellus. (Lat., 

 pale.) 



gg. Opercular flap in the adult, very long and narrow, not wider than 

 eye, its lower margin pale; dorsal and anal usually without dark 

 spot. 



314. L. auritus (Linnaeus). Long-eared Sun-fish. Body 

 rather elongate ; mouth moderate, the maxillary past front of eye ; 

 gill rakers quite short, but stiff and rough ; scales on cheek iu 7 

 rows. D. spines low. Olive, belly and lower fins largely red; 

 scales on sides with bluish spots ; bluish stripes on head, especially 

 before eye. Head without flap, 3; depth 2^. Lat. 1.47. L. 8. 

 Me. to La., only E. of the mountains ; very abundant ; usually 

 known at sight by the long, narrow ear-flap. S. replaced by var. 

 solis Cuv. & Val., with larger scales on cheek and belly, the former 

 in 5 or 6 rows. (Lat., long-eared.) 



dd. Gill rakers very short, weak and flexible; no palatine teeth; opercu- 

 lar flap in adult extremely long, with or without pale margin, 

 variously shorter in young; head with blue streaks. (Xenotis 

 Jordan.) 



315. L. megalotis (Rafinesque). Body short and deep, the 

 profile steep; mouth small, the maxillary to middle of eye; scales 

 on cheek in 5 rows. Brilliant blue and orange, the former ^olor 

 predominating below, the blue in wavy streaks, the orange in spots; 

 head with conspicuous blue stripes ; fins mostly with membranes 

 orange, the rays blue ; V. dusky ; no black spot on D. or A. Head 

 without flap, 3; depth If to 2{. Scales 5-38-14. L. 6. Mich, 

 to Dakota, S. to S. C. and Mexico; very abundant, especially in 



