2708 Bulletin 4.7, United States National Museum. 



.serra- not very sharp; axillary pore small or absent; humeral process 

 nearly smooth, rather narrow and short, length of pectoral spine; 

 adipose fin short and rather high, its base barely f- length of base of 

 anal; caudal deeply forked, its upper lobe the longer and slightly falcate, 

 about as long as head; ventrals very short, reaching anal in females, 

 shorter in the males; vent nearer base of ventrals than anal. Color in 

 life very pale olive brown, with bronze and blue reflections, white below; 

 fins all pale, the tip of anal and edges of caudal somewhat dusky; 

 female with fins rather darker, the upper edge of the pectorals and 

 ventrals largely black; in the males these fins are pale, or somewhat 

 brown above; maxillary barbels blackish; lower pale. Generally abun- 

 dant along the Pacific coast of tropical America. Specimens were 

 observed by Dr. Gilbert at Mazatlau, Libertad, Puuta Arenas, and 

 Panama. It reaches a length of about 18 inches, and is seldom eaten. 

 It resembles Galeichthys yilberti, but is readily distinguished by the small, 

 pale ventrals, as also by the generic character of the dentition. The 

 males of this species, according to Dr. Steindachner, carry the eggs in 

 their mouths until after hatching. (Jordan & Gilbert, Bull. U. S. Fish 

 Comm., n, 1882, 44.) 



184. NETUMA OSCULA (Jordan & Gilbert). 



Head 3| (4f in total) ; depth 6J- (7f ) ; width of head 4f . D. I, 7 ; A. IV, 14. 

 Body moderately elongate, the head short, rather narrow, tapering for- 

 ward, considerably broader than deep. Eye small, 7^ in head, placed 

 well above the mouth. Interorbital space l, !l (j in head; snout 3; breadth 

 of mouth 2f . Mouth very small for the genus, with thick lips. Teeth 

 on vonier and palatines villiform, but rather coarse and bluutish. Vorner- 

 ine patches small, rather longer than broad, separated on the median 

 line, and each also separated by a narrow groove from the large and 

 roundish palatine bands, which have a distinct backward prolongation. 

 Premaxillary band of teeth very broad, barely 3 times as long as wide. 

 Barbels short, the maxillary barbels reaching slightly beyond base of pec- 

 torals, the outer mental barbels scarcely past gill opening below; inner 

 mental barbels about as long as snout. Dorsal shield short, crescent- 

 shaped, granulated, but without median keel, its length about ^ its 

 breadth. Occipital process narrow, its edges almost parallel until 

 abruptly widened at base; the narrow part considerably longer than 

 broad, with curved edges ; a well-developed median keel. Fontanel broad 

 and shallow, abruptly contracted at a point midway between tip of 

 snout and end of occipital process, thence continued backward as a nar- 

 row groove to a point less than an eye's diameter in front of the base of 

 the occipital process. Greatest width of foutanel about f eye. Shields 

 of top of head all coarsely and rather sparsely granular, and anteriorly 

 striate. Interorbital space nearly plane, with a few low, smooth ridges. 

 Opercles scarcely rugose. Gill membranes forming a narrow fold across 

 isthmus posteriorly. Dorsal spine very high, li in head, a little longer 

 than pectoral spine ; humeral process granular, not quite f length of pec- 

 toral spine ; no axillary pore ; adipose fin adnate posteriorly ; caudal long, 



