Miscellaneous. ' 197 



Note on PlectropHtes and Hypoplectrodes, Genera of Serranoid 

 Fishes. Ey Theodore Gill, LL.D. 



Mr. Boulenger, in the first volume of his excellent ' Catalogue of 

 the Perciform Fishes,' has accepted two later names for genera on 

 account of imperfect data respecting earlier ones : these are Cteno- 

 lates instead of PlectropHtes and Gilhertia in place of Hypoplectrodes. 

 It is not surprising, for the author himself had even forgotten one 

 — Hypoplectrodes. 



I. 



The name Ctenolafes of Giinther (1871) was adopted by 

 Mr. Boulenger, and as a synonym was noted '■'■PlectropHtes, Gill, Proc, 

 Ac. Philad. 1862, p. 236 (no definition) ; Bleek. Arch. jSTeerl. xi. 

 1876, p. 267." 



It is true that at the place cited by Mr. Boulenger " no definition " 

 was given, but one was supplied later in the following terms : — 



" The Datnia ? amhigua of Richardson, which has been referred 

 by Giinther to the genus Dales, differs from Moronopsis * by the 

 shorter convex anal fin, the large second anal spine, the small eyes, 

 and the entire physiognomy. It may be called Plectroplites 

 ambif/uus." 



The characters thus positively given and contrasted with those of 

 Kulilia or Moronopsis are sufficient to differentiate and define the 

 genus, although the author, like Giinther and all others, was unaware 

 of the trenchant anatomical characters further differentiating the 

 genus from Kuhlia. The synonymy of the genus should be 

 amended as follows : — 



Genus Plectroplites. 



PlectropHtes, Gill, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pbilad. 18G2, p. 236 (with 



typonym only), 1803, p. 286 (defined). 

 Ctenolates, Giinther, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, p. 320. 

 Datnia? sp., Richardson. 

 Dules, sp., Giinther (1859) et al. 



The P. ambiyuus is still the only species known. 



11. 



The name Gilbertia of Jordan and Eigenmann was adopted by 

 Mr. Boulenger t in place of Hypopilectrodes, because the latter was 

 supposed to have " no definition." On the page referred to by 

 Mr. Boulenger, indeed, no definition was given ; but later (in 1871) 

 Professor Poey, to whom I had indicated the characters in response 



* Moronopsis had been previously named by Gill Kuhlia, and the latter 

 name has been adopted by Jordan and Boulenger. 

 t Vol. i. p. 306. 



