Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 2687 



1052. ETROPUS, Jordan & Gilbert. 



Etropus, JORDAN & GILBERT, Proc. F. S. Nat. Mus. 1881, 364 (crossotus). 



Eyes and color on left side. Body regularly oval, deep, and compressed. 

 Head small; month very small, the teeth close set, slender, and pointed, 

 somewhat incurved, mostly on the blind side; no teeth on vomer. Eyes 

 small, separated by a narrow, scaleless ridge; margin of preopercle free. 

 Veutrals free from anal, that of colored side inserted on ridge of abdomen, 

 its base rather long. Dorsal fin beginning above eye ; caudal double trun- 

 cate; anal without spine. Scales thin, deciduous, ctenoid on left side, 

 cycloid on blind side. Lateral lino simple, nearly straight. Size small. 

 This genus is very close to Citharichthys, from which it differs only in the 

 very small size of the mouth, and in the correspondingly weak dentition. 

 The 3 or 4 known species are similar in appearance to the species of Citha- 

 richthys, and they inhabit the same waters. Another genus extremely 

 close to Etropus and Citharichthys is Thysanopsetta, a South American genus. 

 The teeth in Thysanopsetta are, however, arranged in a band. The larval 

 forms are translucent and symmetrical, as in Plaiophrys, Monolene, Arno- 

 glossus, etc. (rfrpov, abdomen; rtovg, foot; in allusion to the insertion of 

 the ventrals, common to all the Fsettince, but not found in other small- 

 mouthed species.) 

 a. Snout not acute; dorsal rays 75 to 85. 



It. Body comparatively elongate, the depth rather less than length. 



c. Dorsal rays 81 ; anal 58; head 4J in length; eye 3g in head; maxillary 4. 



MICROSTOMUS, 3060. 



cc. Dorsal rays 77; anal 61 ; head 4 in length; eye 3 in head; maxillary 4J. 



RIMOSUS, 3061. 



bb. Body very deep, the depth more than length; eye 3J in head; maxillary 4; 

 head 4^; depth 1 to 2; D. 76 to 85; A. 56 to 67; scales 42 to 48 ; cirri on suh- 

 operclo of blind side very numerous, white; olive ground, with darker 

 hlotches ; fins sanded. CROSSOTUS, 3062. 



3060. ETROPUS MICROSTOMUS (Gill). 



" D. 81 ; A. 58 ; caudal 4, 6, 5, 3 ; pectoral 10 ; ventral 6. The height of the 

 body enters about 2f times (0.36-0.37) in the extreme length; that of the 

 caudal peduncle about 11 times. The head forms a fifth of the length, 

 is rather abbreviated, scarcely sinuous above the eyes, blunt at the snout, 

 which scarcely exceeds y of the head's length and the rostral area is 

 rhombic, and not higher than long. The eyes are even; the longitu- 

 dinal diameter contained about 3f times (0.05|) in the head's length. The 

 mouth is rather small, the length of the upper only equaling J of the 

 length, and that of the lower of the head's length. The teeth are 

 very small, and close together; larger in front. The dorsal commences 

 above the front of the orbit, and is highest and convergent near the for- 

 tieth ray, which equals about ,- l - of the total length; the anal is highest 

 at about the twenty-fifth ray, and is as high or even higher than the dor- 

 sal. The caudal is rounded behind, and forms about & of the length. 

 The pectoral fins are unequally developed, that of the dark side being 

 prolonged, and contained only 6| times in the total length, while that of 

 the white side only equals -fa of the same; the rays are all simple. 



