Jordan and Ever mann. Fishes of North America. 2229 



body in largest specimens, 2- in smaller ones, its relative length increasing 

 with age. Head scaleless, predorsal region with small scales ; body cov- 

 ered with close-set ctenoid scales, small and greatly crowded anteriorly, 

 toward the caudal fin growing gradually larger and more strongly ctenoid. 

 General color light yellowish, palest below, upper parts darker; middle of 

 sides with 5 elongate black blotches, most distinct in the young; the first 

 under first dorsal, second under origin of second dorsal, the third, which 

 is sometimes almost double, at about middle of second dorsal, the fourth 

 near its posterior end, and the last at base of caudal; a large black spot 

 upon each shoulder just above origin of pectoral fin; head plain; lips 

 and maxillary dark; opercle with a dark blotch; basal portion of 

 dorsal fins with dark lines formed of spots; anal unmarked; pectorals 

 with cross lines formed of dots; ventrals plain; caudal crossed by numer- 

 ous narrow dark bars. Reaching a length of 8 inches. Gulf of California 

 and neighboring waters south to Panama; very common in lagoons and 

 mouths of rivers. The types of sagittula are evidently the young, those 

 of longicauda the adults of the same species, (diminutive of sagltta, 

 arrow.) 

 Euctenogobius sagittula, GUNTHER, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1861, 3, West coast Central 



America, young individuals; GUNTHEB, Cat. Fishes, m, 555, 1861; GUNTHER, Fishes 



of Centr. Anier., 389, 1869. 

 Gobius longicauda, JENKINS & EVERMANN, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1888, 146, adult examples, 



Guaymas. (Coll. Evermann & Jenkins. Type, No.3963G.) 

 Gobius gagittula, JORDAN & EIGENMANN, I. c., 497. 



2557. GOBIUS HASTATUS, Girard. 



(EMERALD FlSH-; SHARP-TAILED GOBY.) 



Head 4^ to 5 ; depth 6 to 7f. D. VI-14 ; A. 14 or 15 ; scales 60 ; vertebrae 

 ll-j-15. Body compressed, extremely elongate ; depth nearly equal through- 

 out; head short, compressed, deeper than wide; mouth wide, oblique, the 

 jaws equal; maxillary in adult reaching to below posterior border of eye; 

 lower jaw very thin and flat; teeth in each jaw small, subequal, those in 

 the upper jaw in a single series, those in the lower jaw in a narrow band; 

 outer teeth somewhat movable; scales anteriorly small, cycloid, and 

 embedded, those behind larger and ctenoid ; the scales larger than in 

 Gobius oceanicus; a few scales on upper anterior corner of opercle, but 

 without the large patch seen in G. occanicus; dorsal fins high, some of the 

 spines filamentous and longer than the head ; caudal very long and fila- 

 mentous, 2 to 2 in body ; pectoral slightly longer than head or than ven- 

 trals, none of its rays silk-like. A single specimen fronTCeylou belongs 

 to this species, which appears to be characterized by a longer head (5 in 

 length, 7 in total), by the much larger scales (60 in a lateral line), by the 

 obsolescence of the patch of scales on opercles, and by slightly differ- 

 ent coloration. This may be really only the extreme of variation of G. 

 oceanicus, with which species most authors have hitherto confounded it. 

 The two need detailed comparison. Coast of Texas, (hastatus, spear-like. ) 



Gobionellus hastatus, GIRARD, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1858, 168, St. Josephs Island, 



Texas; GIRARD, U. S. and Mex. Bound. Surv., 25, pi. 12, figs. 7 and 8, 1859. 

 Gobius lanceolatus, GUNTHER, Cat., in, 50, 1861, and of authors; not of BLOCH. 



