The Cbopas 



in the Gulf of California. It reaches a foot in length and is a good 

 food-fish, but not abundant enough to be of much importance. It is 

 one of the most beautiful species of the family. 



Colour in life, dark steel-blue, paler below; body with about 12 

 vertical blackish bars; a dark streak from maxillary to angle of opercle; 

 a black opercular spot; fins mostly dark. 



GENUS KYPHOSUS LACEPEDE 



The Chopas 



Body elongate-ovate, regularly elliptical, moderately compressed ; 

 head short, the snout blunt; eye large; mouth small, horizontal; max- 

 illary barely reaching eye; each jaw with a single series of rather 

 narrow, obtusely-lanceolate incisors, behind these a narrow band of 

 villiform teeth; fine teeth on vomer, palatines, and tongue; gill-rakers 

 long; preopercle scarcely serrate; scaling very complete, the space 

 between and about the eyes being the only naked part; scales small, 

 thick, ctenoid, 60 to 70 in the lateral line; scales entirely covering soft 

 parts of vertical fins and extending on paired fins; dorsal fin low, with 

 about 1 1 spines, which are depressible in a groove of scales, the fin 

 continuous, but the last spines low, so that a depression occurs be- 

 tween the 2 parts of the fin whose bases are about equal; anal with 3 

 spines; caudal moderately forked. 



This genus contains about 10 species, chiefly confined to the 

 Pacific, and most of them found in the Indian Ocean ; about 5 species 

 within our waters, all food-fishes of excellent flavour. 



a. Soft part of anal very long and low, its longest rays 3^ to 4 in head, 



and 3 in soft part of fin ; D. XI, 14 analogus, 452 



aa. Anal fin moderately elevated in front, and rather short, its longest 

 rays \\ to 2 in base of soft part of fin; D. XI, n or 12. 



b. Teeth rather narrow and subacute; maxillary short, barely reaching 



eye, about 3^ in head. 



c. Scales moderate, 10-65-20; A. Ill, 13 incisor, 453 



cc. Scales smaller, about 12-67-20; A. Ill, 1 1 elegans, 453 



ccc. Scales rather large, 10-55-16; A. Ill, n sectatrix, 453 



bb. Teeth broad and rounded; maxillary rather long, reaching pupil, 



3i in head lutescens, 453 



Kyphosus analogus, the salema, is found on the Pacific coast from 

 the Gulf of California to Mazatlan. It is not rare, reaches a length of 



45* 



