342 .CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



A single specimen .065 m. "'Maraiion & Ucayale " 

 Chas. Sarkaday. 



LXIV. STEGOPHILUS. 



Stegophilus Reinhardt, Naturhst. Foren. Meddel. 1858, 

 79, pi. ii (insidiosus). 



Type: Stegophilua insidiosus Reinhardt. 



Body elongate, slender, head depressed, the mouth in- 

 ferior, each jaw with fine teeth arranged in regular 

 series; no teeth on the vomer; upper lip with two or 

 more series of elongate freely movable teeth. Orbit 

 without a free margin; gill-membrane joined to the isth- 

 mus, the gill-opening a narrow slit in front of the pec- 

 torals; opercle and preopercle with a bunch of strong 

 spines. Dorsal and anal placed posteriorly; ventrals in 

 front of the dorsal. 



Habitat: Rio Plata; Rio das Velhas; Amazon and its 

 tributaries. 



Reinhardt states that S. insidiosus lives in the gill- 

 cavity of Sorubim. He seems to have taken the labial 

 teeth for intermaxillary teeth, and the inter max illaries 

 as the branches of the vomer. 



ANALYSIS OF THE SPECIES OF STEGOPHILUS. 



a. Caudal emarginate. 



6. Back spotted, sides with a series of dark spots. D. 8-9; A. 7. 

 c. Dorsal 8; head as long as broad. 



d. Origin of dorsal nearer tip of snout than tip of caudal; head 8 in 



the total length; eye 3} in the head; lateral spots most prominent 



on the tail; tips of the caudal lobes dusky; base of caudal with a 



double spot. (Steindachuer.) mctcnlatns 278. 



thl. Origin of dorsal much nearer tip of caudal than tip of snout; 



head 6 in the total length, eye 4 in the length; lateral spots most 



prominent tinder the dorsal; caudal with a dark bar extending 



from the tips of the lower rays to the middle of the upper; base 



of caudal with dark spots. (Bouleuger.) punctatnx 279. 



cc. Dorsal 9; head longer than broad, 6 in the total length; eye 3} in 



the head; origin of dorsal much nearer tip of caudal than tip of 



snout; lateral spots most prominent on the tail; caudal with faint 



dusky spots. intermcdtu* 280. 



