1166 Bulletin 47, United States National Museum. 



Head small, slender, and pointed, the profile nearly straight from the snout 

 to behind the eye, where is formed a considerable angle; the outline 

 thence steeper, but still nearly straight to the front of the dorsal fin. 

 Snout very short, rather pointed, 5^ in head. Mouth small, oblique, the 

 maxillary not reaching to posterior margin of eye, its length 2f in head. 

 Teeth small ; small canines present in upper jaw only. Lower jaw rather 

 strongly projecting. Interorbital space very narrow, convex, its width 

 10 in head. Preopercle strongly convex ; the angle not salient, but armed 

 with sharp radiating serrse. A strong flattish spine directed downward 

 and forward below the angle. Nostrils small, round, close together, sub- 

 equal. Grill rakers moderate, the longest as long as gill fringes, 15 or 16, 

 14 on lower limb of arch. Scales not very small, mostly cycloid ; those 

 on opercles somewhat enlarged. Dorsal spines rather short and stiff, the 

 fourth 3 in head ; soft dorsal high ; caudal subtruncate, 2 in head ; anal 

 rather high, rounded, the longest rays 2 in head ; second spine longer and 

 stronger than third, 2 in head ; pectorals broad, reaching a little beyond 

 tips of ventrals, 1| to If in head ; ventrals shortish, scarcely reaching 

 vent. Color dark olive brown, the body and head profusely covered 

 with round spots of a darker brown, their diameter about half that of 

 the pupil ; spots on posterior part of body confluent in horizontal streaks; 

 breast and front of head with few spots ; a very faint mustache above 

 maxillary ; dorsal and caudal dusky olive, nearly plain ; anal with two 

 cross bands of dusky ; pectoral yellowish, with 5 dusky cross bauds, its 

 edge pale; ventrals dusky. Very close to A. qfer, differing chiefly in 

 color, the head more slender, the chin more prominent. Length 8 inches. 

 Pacific Coast of tropical America, Mazatlan to Panama ; rather common ; 

 here described from specimens from Panama, (multum, many ; guttatus, 

 spotted). 



Pleclropoma multiguttatum, GtJNTHER, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1866, 600, Panama. 



Pleclropoma afrum, GUNTHER, Fishes Centr. Amer., 411, 1869, with plate. 



Alphestes multiguttatus, JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. TJ. S. Fish Comm., 1882, 107, 110; JORDAN <fe 



EIGENMANN, I. c., 349, 1890. 

 Epinephelus multiguttatus, JORDAN & GILBERT, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1882, 625 ; JORDAN & SWAIN, 



I. c., 1884, 395. 



504. DERMATOLEPIS, Gill. 



Dermatolepis, GlLt,, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1861, 54, (punctatus). 

 Uoperca, GILL, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1862, 237, (inermis). 



Body shorter and deeper than in Epinephelus, the head small, much com- 

 pressed, the interorbital area narrow ; supraoccipital crest low ; canines 

 very small or obsolete; lower opercular spine absent; frontal bones with 

 the anterior concavity for the reception of the posterior processes of the 

 premaxillaries, and with a process or knob on each side behind the inter- 

 orbital area ; supraoccipital and parietal crests produced on the frontals to 

 between the orbits. Dorsal rays XI, 19; anal 111,9. Soft dorsal very 

 long; anal short; spines low; vertical fins all rounded; scales all 

 cycloid, small, embedded ; squamation approaching that of Eypticus ; 

 canine teeth very small. Otherwise essentially as in Epinephelus. Species 

 three, in the warm seas, (deppa, skin ; /leTrtf, scale.) 



