FISHES OF NEW YORK 581 



Mtigil obliquns Mitchill, Rep. Fish. N. Y. 16, 1814, New York; Trans. 



Lit. & Pliil. Soc. N. Y. I, 405, 1815, New York. 

 Leiostamus obliqmis De Kay, N. Y. Fauna, Fislies, 69, pi. 60, fig. 195, 1842. 

 ^ciaena obliqita Gunther, Cat. Fisli. Brit. Mus. II, 288, 1860. 

 Sciaena xanthwus Guntheb, op. cit. 288, 1860. 



Body short, deep, compressed, its greatest depth one third, 

 or more than one third, of the total length without the caudal; 



t 



least depth of caudal peduncle three sevenths length of head; 

 l3ack in front of dorsal compressed to a sharp edge; profile steep, 

 convex, depressed over the eyes; dorsal outline convex, highest 

 at dorsal origin. Head short, its length contained three and 

 one third to three and two thirds times in the total without 

 caudal; snout short and very blunt, about two sevenths as long 

 as the head and slightly longer than the eye. Mouth small, 

 inferior, horizontal; maxillary rather more than one third length 

 of head, extending to below middle of pupil; lower jaw tooth- 

 less in the adult, upper jaw with a series of narrow minute 

 teeth; gill rakers short, slender, 8+22 on the first arch; 

 lower pharyngeals small, with three series of molars poster- 

 iorly and many villiform teeth anteriorly; preopercle entire; 

 preorbital about equal to eye in width. Spinous dorsal trian- 

 gular, but rounded at tip, the first spine very slender and very 

 closely attached to the second, the third and fourth longest, 

 ihree fifths as long as the head, the last two spines very short, 

 only about as long as the pupil. Soft dorsal long and low, the 

 Itase twice as long as that of spinous dorsal, the longest ray 

 three eighths as long as the head. Caudal forked, the middle 

 rays one half as long as the head. Anal elevated in front, low 

 iDehind, the longest ray more than one half as long as the head, 

 the last shorter than the eye; the second anal spine as long 

 as the eye; the first spine very small. Pectoral large, extend- 

 ing to below the sixth ray of second dorsal, nearly as long as 

 the head. Ventral as long as the head without snout, not 

 reaching nearly to vent. Scales small, ctenoid, extending on 

 caudal and base of pectorals, but not on other fins; soft dorsal, 

 however, has a sheath at base formed by a single series of 

 scales; scales below lateral line in oblique series. Lateral line 

 aittle curved anteriorlv. 



