1168 Bulletin 47, United States National Museum. 



Havana specimen sent by Leonel Plasencia. Length 1 foot, (inermis, 

 unarmed.) 



Serranus inermis, CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss., ix, 436, 1833, Antilles; GUNTHER, 



Cat., i, 1859, 153. 



Hoperca inermis, POEY, Synopsis, 282, 1868. 



Dermatolepis inermis, JORDAN & SWAIN, Z. c., 405, 1884; JORDAN & EIGENMANN, Z. c., 376, 1890. 

 Epinephelus inermis, BOULENGER, Cat., I, 257. 



Subgenus DERMATOLEPIS. 

 1561. DERMATOLEPIS PUNCTATUS, Gill. 



Head 2ft; depth 2|; eye small, 6 in head. D. XI, 19; A. Ill, 9; scales 

 24-115-x. Body comparatively short and deep, strongly compressed, 

 the back elevated, the anterior profile forming a slight reentrant angle 

 before the eye, thence nearly straight to the nape. Head compressed, 

 the snout short, moderately pointed, 4 in head. Interorbital space quite 

 narrow, anteriorly with a broad groove, which receives the spines of the 

 premaxillaries, its width 7i in head. Cranium posteriorly narrow, 

 strongly convex transversely. Mouth rather small, oblique, the jaws 

 subequal, the broad maxillary extending to below the middle of the eye, 

 its length 2^ in head. Supplemental maxillary well developed. Teeth 

 small, formed as in Epinephelus, but with no canines in either jaw, not 

 even rudimentary ones. Preopercle not serrated anywhere, its upper 

 part with a few irregular crenations, its angle not salient, its emargina- 

 tion obsolete. Opercle with a rudimentary spine, above which is a flat 

 lobe. Opercular flap extending beyond the spine for a distance nearly 

 equal to the diameter of the eye. Gill rakers shortish, about 13 on lower 

 part of anterior arch. Nostrils small, round, close together, the posterior 

 one the larger. Scales small, cycloid, somewhat embedded in the skin. 

 Maxillary, preorbital, and tip of snout naked. Dorsal spines low, strong, 

 subequal, the longest 4 in head; soft dorsal elevated, the longest ray 2ft 

 in head; caudal long, subtruncate, with rounded angles, If in head; anal 

 very high, rounded, its middle rays 2J in head; anal spines short and 

 strong, graduated, the second spine 5 in head; pectorals short, not nearly 

 reaching vent, If in head ; ventrals short, 2i in head. Color in spirits, 

 dusky brown, mottled with darker; head, body, and fins covered with 

 rounded whitish blotches, very irregular in form and size, none of them so 

 large as the eye, these spots most distinct on the body ; head, breast, and 

 branchiostegals thickly covered with smaller, round, dark spots, very 

 distinct on the jaws and on the membrane of the maxillary ; top of head 

 with some dark longitudinal streaks ; pectoral with small black spots ; 

 other fins blackish, with pale spots like those on the body, but smaller. 

 Rocky shores off the west coast of Mexico; known from Cape San Lucas, 

 the Venados, and the Revillagigedos. About the latter islands, Dr. Gilbert 

 found it in abundance. Description from a specimen 14 inches long 

 (U. S. N.M., No. 28223. Socorro Island. Coll. Captain Nichols). (jwnc- 

 tatus, spotted.) 



