SCORPyENID^E RHOMARCHUS 51 



behind front of soft dorsal ; caudal well developed, slightly lunate ; scales 

 rather small, present from the middle of the soft dorsal backward, 

 thirteen or fourteen in a cross series; vertebrae small with short haemal 

 and still shorter neural spines ; vertebrae as preserved 10 -f 20 in number; 

 the total being apparently about thirty-two. The vertebral column is 

 directed strongly upwards posteriorly in the type specimen, an appear- 

 ance due to distortion. 



This species must belong to the SEBASTIN^ as no other fishes 

 with stiff dorsal spines found in the North Pacific unite the character 

 of small scales with that of more than twenty-four vertebrae. More 

 than twenty-seven vertebrae are found in the genera SEBASTES and 

 SEBASTOLOBUS only, and with these genera our specimen has no special 

 affinity. These northern forms have much smaller scales, and a much 

 shorter anal with stronger anal spines. So far as external characters 

 go, the species which seems to come nearest to ours is SEBASTODES or 

 SEBASTOSOMUS MYSTINUS Jordan and Gilbert (C. H.), but that again 

 has much smaller scales, a shorter anal and a longer soft dorsal, besides 

 the generic difference of twenty-seven vertebrae instead of about thirty- 

 two. We therefore propose for this extinct species the generic name of 

 SEBASTAVUS, distinguished from SEBASTOSOMUS by its more numerous 

 vertebrae. 



A second specimen (No. XLI), apparently of the same species, 

 shows a broken and distorted head, without evident spines, the chief 

 feature being the broad, pectoral fin of twelve to fourteen rays, its 

 tip broken, and its position brought very low by distortion; the other 

 fins are indicated by obscure shades ; the caudal region is wanting, and 

 there is no trace of scales. The vertebrae seem much as in the type 

 of SEBASTAVUS VERTEBRALIS, to which species this example probably 

 belongs. 



45. Rhomarchus ensiger Jordan and Gilbert, new genus and species. 



(Plate XXXI, fig. 5) 



Two small fishes from the diatomaceous shales of El Modena belong 

 apparently to the SCORP^ENID^:, being allied more or less closely to 

 SCORP^NODES Bleeker (SEBASTOPSIS Gill) and to other forms with 

 strong spines. The present genus is especially characterized by the 

 very long second anal spine and by the small number of vertebrae. 



The type is the larger specimen (No. XLIX), about four inches long, 

 the smaller (No. CXXIV) about two and a half. Head crushed in both 

 examples, apparently large, two and a half in length; depth of body 

 about the same, the form robust. Dorsal fin apparently continuous but 

 notched ; twelve spines shown in the larger example, there being prob- 



