Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 769 



1125. SIPHOSTOMA BRACHYCEPHALUM (POEY). 



Rings 17 -f 27. D. 20 to 23, on H + 3 rings. Head deep ; depth of 

 body 1-J- in head. Snout very short, as long as distance between front of 

 eye and base of pectoral ; occipital crest well marked. Brown, with 

 ashy marks, a white band along side of body. Cuba. (Poey) ; not seen 

 by us. (/?pax6f, short; /ce^aX;/, head.) 



Syngnathits brachycephalus, POEV, Synopsis, 444, 1867, Havana. 



1126. SIPHOSTOMA AFFINE (GUnther). 



Head about 9 in total length ; snout a little more than 2 in head. 

 Rings 18 -f- 33. Dorsal 35, on 5 -f- 4 rings. A distinct ridge along median 

 line of snout and nuchal shields ; supraorbital ridge continued over the 

 temple ; a faint ridge on front of opercle ; shields without spines. Tail 

 longer than body ; caudal pouch half length of body ; lateral line inter- 

 rupted. Vent below posterior third of dorsal fin; caudal fin well 

 developed ; anal fin rudimentary. Back with indistinct brown crossbars ; 

 a brown band from eye along snout. Gulf of Mexico ; Louisiana. (Giin- 

 ther.) Most of recent Gulf of Mexico references to this species were 

 apparently based on specimens of S. scovelli, which has been confounded 

 with it. (affinis, related.) 



Syngnathus affinis, GUNTHER, Cat., vm, 163, 1870, Louisiana. 



1127. SIPHOSTOMA SCOVELLI, Evermann & Kendall. 



Allied to Siphostoma affine. Head 7 to 7 ; depth 14 in female and 22i in 

 male ; eye 6$ to 7 ; snout 2. D. 30 to 34, on 4 + 4 rings, its height 2 to 

 3g- in its base, which equals head. Rings 16 -f- 30 to 33, usually 16 -f- 32. 

 Top of head with a slight keel. Body rather slender (deeper in females) ; 

 snout short ; ventral surface slightly convex in front of vent, slightly 

 concave behind. Color of female in alcohol, alternately annulated with 

 light olive-brown and dirty white, the dark color on the joints, the white 

 on bodies of rings ; the dark rings wider than the white on trunk, but 

 narrower on caudal portion, the white rings of trunk indicated between 

 lateral and latero-ventral keels by 2 narrow white lines with narrow 

 black lines on either side and between ; these portions of the whitish 

 rings show as silver bars in life ; upper part of opercle dusky ; a dark bar 

 from anterior edge of eye to tip of snout; ventral keel, throat, lower 

 part of opercle, and snout plain whitish ; dorsal with dark wavy diago- 

 nal bars ; the variations in color are considerable ; in some females there 

 are no distinct white or silvery bars; some are darker and some still 

 lighter ; the males resemble the lighter females. Length 4| inches. 

 .Common at Corpus Christi and perhaps elsewhere on the coast of the 

 Gulf of Mexico. Apparently most of the published references to S. affine 

 from the Gulf of Mexico belong to this species, which differs from S. affine 

 chiefly in having fewer body rings, in the more posterior position of the 

 dorsal fin, and in the fewer dorsal rays. (Named for Dr. Josiah T. Sco- 

 vell of Terre Haute. Indiana.) 

 F. N. A. 50 



