Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 2415 



soft rays; caudal fin short and small, more or less joined to dorsal and 

 anal; pectorals short, rather shorter than head; ventrals very small, of 1 

 spine and a rudimentary ray ; intestinal canal short, without cca. Shove 

 fishes of the Northern seas. (0c;U'$, name of some fish said to shelter 

 itself when lying in wait by producing a cloud of mucus; 0(A.d?, one 

 who lies in wait.) 



UROCENTRUS (ovpa, tail; *wpov, spine): 



a. Pectoral fin small, 3 to 4 times in length of head; dorsal spines about 93; anal rays 

 48 ; body with 2 rows of dark blotches ; fins nearly plain. PICTUS, 2770. 



aa. Pectoral fin moderate, 2 to 2J times in length of head. 



RHODYMENICHTHYS (Rhodymenia, a large red alga; poSov, rose; i^>ji>, membrane; 



i\0v<;, fish). 



b. Dorsal and anal joined to the caudal to the full height of the spines, without 



constriction at base of caudal; body greatly compressed, ribbon-like. 



Dorsal spines about 93; anal about 47; pectorals short, 2| in head; no 



ocelli along base of dorsal . DOLICHOGASTER, 2771 . 



PHOLIS : 



bb. Dorsal and anal slightly connected with caudal, leaving a constriction of out- 

 line at base of caudal; body less compressed; dorsal fin with dark 

 blotches or ocelli. 



c. Pectoral fins well developed, about length of head. Dorsal spines 



about 88 ; anal rays about 42 ; pectoral 2^ in head ; dorsal fin with 



dark quadrate blotches rather than ocelli; sides scarlet in adult, 



bounded with black. FASCIATUS, 2772. 



cc. Dorsal spines about 80 (76 to 85) ; anal rays about 40 ; pectoral 2 in head ; 



dorsal fin with small rounded black blotches. GUNNELLUS, 2773. 



ccc. Dorsal spines about 77; anal rays about 35; pectoral 2 in head ; dorsal 



fin with ocelli, or lunate, dark blotches. ORNATUS, 2774. 



Subgenus UROCENTRUS, Kner. 

 2770. PHOLIS PICTUS (Kner). 



Head 9 to 10; depth 8 to 10. D. XCIII or XCIV; A. II, 46 to 48 (mis- 

 printed 40 in Kner's account). Eye as long as snout; mouth oblique, the 

 upper jaw the longer, reaching to front of eye; pectorals very short, 

 scarcely longer than eye, 3 to 4 in head; anal said to have an isolated 

 channeled spine hidden in the skin, but our specimens show no peculiar 

 structure. Color yellowish, with 2 lengthwise series of large oblong 

 blackish blotches, the one along base of dorsal, but not on the fin, of 21 or 

 22 blotches, the other on lower part of sides, of about 25 ; a series of 

 fainter blotches along base of anal; in other specimens the lower row be- 

 comes obscure, the upper more distinct, and the series above anal disap- 

 pears ; a black bar downward from eye, a whitish band behind it ; opercles 

 dusky. West side of Bering Sea; our specimens from Shana Bay, Iturup 

 Island, Kuril Group. 



As already shown by Steindachner, this is a typical Pholis, Kner having 

 been in error in ascribing to it an isolated and channeled first anal spine. 

 The ventral spines are bound down by the integument more closely than 

 usual, but they are in other respects not peculiar. Each is accompanied 

 by 2 short spinous rays concealed in the membrane, and difficult to detect. 



