Jordan and Ever mann. Fishes of North America. 1153 



rakers rather short and thick, 15 to 18 below the angle. Scales moder- 

 ate, mostly strongly ctenoid. Dorsal spines rather strong, the third and 

 fourth longest, 3 in head, the outline of the fin little convex, the second 

 spine about as long as tenth; caudal fin slightly rounded, 2 in head; 

 longest anal ray 2| ; second anal spine stronger than third, the length 

 equal, 3 in head; pectorals broad, reaching much beyond the tips of the 

 short ventrals, If in head; ventrals not reaching vent. Pyloric coeca 12 

 (Poey). Color in life: Olivaceous gray, with darker clouds; a number of 

 irregular whitish blotches, roundish, mostly rather larger than pupil, 

 scattered over different parts of the body; 5 roundish, blackish blotches, 

 ill-defined along sides of back, the 4 under the dorsal fin extending up on 

 the fin, these disappearing with age; head and body everywhere covered 

 with round orange-brown spots of varying sizes, the centers more orange, 

 the borders rather brown ; the spots largest on breast, smallest on lips 

 and upper parts, equally distinct everywhere. Mouth pale within, its 

 roof with red spots ; dorsal light olive, with rather sparse spots, colored 

 like those of the body, but smaller ; no dark edge to dorsal or anal ; 

 numerous whitish spots on dorsal, especially on soft dorsal ; caudal pale 

 olive, with some paler spots. Anal reddish, marked like dorsal, its spots 

 larger ; basal half of pectoral similar, outer part plain olive ; ventrals 

 pale, with orange spots; the orange-brown spots of body and head 

 become brown in spirits. Length about 18 inches. West Indian fauna ; 

 Florida Keys to Brazil, Ascension and St. Helena islands ; common in 

 rocky places; widely distributed through the Western Atlantic ; recorded 

 by Boulenger from the Cape of Good Hope. It is considered a finer food- 

 fish than any of the others, (adscensionis, from Ascension Island, where 

 the species was first taken.) 



Pira-pixanga or Oat-visch, MARCGRAVE, Hist. Brasil, 152, 1648, Brazil (doubtful). 



Perca tola maculis, SEBA, Thesaurus, in, tab. 27. 



Trachinus adscensionis, OSBECK, Iter Chin., etc., 1757, and in English edition, 96, 1771, Ascension 



Island. (Coll. Osbeck.) 



Trachinus punclatus, BONNATERRE, Tableau Encycl. Method, 1788, 46; after OSBECK. 

 Perca stellw, WALBAUM, Artedi Piscium, 349, 1792; after SEBA. 

 Perca maculata, BLOCH, Ichthyol., pi. 313, 1792, Martinique (on a figure by PLUMIER; not Holo- 



centrus maculatus, BLOCH, tafel 242, an East Indian species of Epinephelus = Holoceiitnts albofus- 



ciw, LACEPEDE). 



Trachinus osbeck, LACEPEDE, Hist. Nat. Poiss., n, 364, 1800; after OSBECK. 

 Spams atlanticus, LACEPEDE, I. c., iv, 158, pi. 5, fig. I, 1803, Martinique (on a copy of a drawing 



by PLUMIER). 

 Serranus nigriculus, CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss., n, 375, 1828, Martinique. (Coll. 



Plee.) 

 Serranus pixanga, CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss., n, 383, 1828, after MARCGRAVE; 



POET, Repertorio, i, 203, 1866. 

 Serranus asperstts, JENYNS, Voy. Beagle, Fishes, 6, 1842, Porto Praya, St. Jago, of the Cape 



Verde Islands. (Coll. Darwin.) 

 Serranus impetiginosua, MVLLER & TROSCHEL, Schomburgk's Hist. Barb., 665, 1848, Barbadoes; 



GtiNTHER, Cat., I, 142, 1859. 

 Swranus varius, BocOTTRT, Ann. Sci. Nat. <;5), x, 1868, 222, Gulf coast of Mexico. (Coll. Salanl 



& Boucard.) 



Holocentrus punctatus, BLOCK, Ichthyol., vin, pi. 241, 1790. 

 Berrmas maculatus, PETERS, Berliner Monatsber., 1866, 109 (identification of Perca tnacicZata, 



BLOCH). 



F . N . A. 74 



