Jordan and Evcrmann. Fishes of North America. 1169 



Dermatolepis pimctatm, GILL, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1861, 64, and 1862, 250, Cape San Lucas, 

 (Coll. Xantus); JORDAN & GILBERT, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 229, 1881; JORDAN & SWAIN, I. c., 

 407, 1884; JORDAN & EIOENMANN, I. c., 376, 1890. 



Epiiieplidns dermatolepis, BOULENGER, Cat., i, 256, 1895; name a substitute for punctatus, preoccu- 

 pied in Epinephelus. 



505. MYCTEROPERCA, GUI. 



Mycteroperca, GILL, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1863, 80, (olfax). 

 Trixotropis, GILL, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1865, 104, (guttatu8 = venmostts). 

 Pareplnephelus, BLEEKER, Systema Percarum Revisum, 257, 1875, (acutiroslris). 

 Archoperca, JORDAN & EVERMANN, new subgenus, (botdengeri). 

 Xystroperca, JORDAN & EVERMANN, new subgenus, (pardalis). 



Cranium broad and transversely concave between the eyes, its lateral 

 crests very strong, nearly parallel with the supraoccipital crest and 

 extending much farther forward than the latter, joining the supraocular 

 crest above the eye, the supraoccipital crest not extending on thefrontals; 

 frontal bones without anterior concavity or notch for the reception of 

 the premaxillaries ; without processes on the upper surface ; lower jaw 

 strongly projecting ; anal fin elongate, with 11 or 12 (in one species 9 or 

 10) soft rays; caudal lunate; spines of fins slender, none of them much 

 elevated ; scales small, mostly cycloid, those on the lateral line simple ; 

 pyloric coeca few; gill rakers various; nostrils small, and subequal, or 

 with the posterior enlarged. Otherwise essentially as in Epinephelus, from 

 which genus Mycteroperca is well separated by the structure of the 

 skull,* and superficially by the longer anal, larger mouth, and more elon- 

 gate body. Large food-fishes of the tropics, mostly American. (//wr//p, 

 nostril ; K'EPKT), perch, in allusion to the large divided posterior nostril of 

 M. olfax.) 

 a. Nostrils subequal, well separated; scales on head cycloid. 



6. Gill rakers comparatively few and short, 8 to 20 below angle of arch. 

 ARCHOPERCA (ap\6<;, anus; irepKij, perch; from the high, short anal fin): 

 c. Anal rays III, 10 (III, 9 to III, 11), the fin high and falcate; body deep, com- 

 pressed; gill rakers 6 + 15; scales 95; angle of preopercle slightly salient; color 

 olive, with blackish markings; fins dark. BOULENQERI, 1562. 



TRISOTROPIS (rpei?, three; io-o's, equal; rpon-i's, keel): 

 cc. Anal rays III, 11 or III, 12, the fin long. 



d. Anal fin not angulated, its outline more or less evenly rounded in adult as 



well as in young; soft parts of vertical fins edged with black in life. 

 e. Angle of preopercle not salient, its teeth scarcely enlarged; gill rakers 



x + 8 to 10. 



/. Gill rakers very few and short, x + 8 developed (besides some rudi- 

 ments); general color pale, bright red, or grayish, with roundish 

 spots or blotches of black or red darker than the ground color; 

 the blacker blotches along the middle of sides much larger and 

 quadrate in the young; red always present somewhere in life 

 (fading in spirits); pectorals blackish, in the adult broadly tipped 

 with orange yellow; scales rather small (about 125); caudal lunate. 



VENENOSA, 1563. 



*This character is thus expressed by Dr. Gill: " The skull differs from that of Epinephelus by 

 the wider interorbital area ; the parallelism and continuation of the lateral crests forward to 

 the middle of the orbits, inclosing an elongated parallelogram, the surface of which, especially 

 between the orbits, is more uniform ; the absence of a frontal crest, the simple curvature or 

 straightness of the naso-vomerine ridge, and absence of the angle at the suture between the 

 nasals and the vomer." 



F. N. A. 75 



