(j04 NEW YORK STATE ML'SE<UM 



It occurs in the West Indies. In Chesapeake bay it is moder- 

 ately common. 



As a food fish this species is highly prized by those who are 

 familiar with its a.ualities. 



Family chaetodontidab 

 Biitterf,y Fishes 

 Genus chaetodox (Artedi) Linnaeus 

 Body short, deep, very strongly compressed, specially above 

 and behind; head small, compressed, almost everywhere scaly; 

 mouth very small, terminal, the jaws provided with long, slen- 

 der, flexible, bristlelike teeth; vomer sometimes with teeth; pre- 

 operculum entire or nearly so, without spine. Dorsal fin sin- 

 gle, continuous, not notched, the spinous part longer than the 

 soft part, of about 13 spines, the spines not graduated, some of 

 the middle ones being longer than the last; last rays of soft 

 dorsal usually rapidly shortened, some of them occasionally fil- 

 amentous (in East Indian species); caudal peduncle short, the 

 caudal fin fan-shaped; anal similar to soft dorsal, preceded by 

 three or four strong spines. Body covered with rather large 

 ctenoid scales, somewhat irregular in their arrangement; the 

 lateral line curved, high, parallel with the back. Gill openings 

 rather narrow, the membranes narrowh' joined to the isthmus; 

 branchiostegals six. A very large genus of singular and beauti- 

 ful fishes abounding in the tropical seas, specially about vol- 

 canic rocks and coral reefs; most of them have the body crossed 

 by transverse black bars. They are all very active, feeding on 

 small animals. 



Subgenus chaetodoxtops 



292 Chaetodon ocellatus Bloch 

 Parche 



Chaetodon ocellatus Block, Ichth. Ill, 105, pi. 211, fig. 2, 1787; Eigenmanx 



& HOHMNG, Aun. N. Y. Ac. Sci. IV, 7, 1SS7; Bean, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. 



lllst. IX. 'ACS, 1807; H. M. Smith, Bull. U. S. F. 0. 1897, 102, 189S; 



.ToKDAN & EvERMANN, Baill. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 1674, 1898, pi. CCXLIX, 



n^. 621, 1900; H. M. Smith, Bull. U. S. F. C. 1901, 33, 1901. 

 Chaetodon biuiaculatus Bloch, Iclith. pi. 219, fig. 1, 1790; Cutier & 



Valenciennes, II 1st. Nat. Toiss. VII, 67, 1831; Gunther. Cat. Fisli. 



Brit. Mus. II, 9, 1860; Jordan & Cilrert, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 940, 



1883. 



