1220 Bulletin 47, United States National Museum. 



fin; pectoral red; ventral blackish. (Giinther) ; description of types, 2 

 specimens, 4 inches long, from Trinidad. (dfc, twice; cm'koq^ spot; ovpd, 

 tail.) 



Centropristis dispilurus,* GUNTHER, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1867, 99, Trinidad. 



1607. DULES AURIGA, Cuvier & Valenciennes. 



Head 2f ; depth 2J; eye3|; snout 4. D. X, 13; A. Ill, 7; scales 6-48-15, 

 pores 45 to 50. Branchiostegals 6, the first being obsolete. Body rather 

 deep and compressed ; anterior profile steep and nearly straight ; mouth 

 rather small, the lower jaw protruding; preorbital rather narrow, as 

 broad as pupil ; top of head naked ; the frontal area large and well defined, 

 broader than long ; occipital crest low and short, shorter than the frontal 

 area; teeth small, with no marked canines; gill rakers rather short and 

 slender, x-J-9, besides rudiments (12 to 14 in all); maxillary 2| in head; 

 scales large, those above in series parallel with the lateral line ; scales on 

 breast small; third dorsal spine extremely long, reaching beyond middle 

 of soft dorsal ; other spines all short and even; soft dorsal moderate, a 

 little scaly at base; dorsal not notched; caudal truncate; second anal 

 spine 2$ in head, as long as third, and a little stouter; pectoral !& in 

 head. Coloration in spirits, brownish ; a dark area from front of anal up 

 to soft dorsal ; before this a whitish area, upper parts with dark streaks 

 along the rows of scales, these faint and not continuous ; a dark band 

 upward from middle of base of ventrals; fins clouded. Length 10 inches. 

 Coasts of Brazil and Uruguay; said to range occasionally northward; 

 once reported by De Kay from New York, probably by error. Our descrip- 

 tion from several specimens (4531, M. C. Z.), the longest about 5|- inches 

 long, collected by Professor Agassiz at Rio de Janeiro, (auriga, a coach- 

 man, from the whip-like dorsal spine.) 



Dules auriga, CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss., in, 112, pi. 51, 1829, Brazil; DE KAY, 

 New York Fauna: Fishes, 34, pi. 10, fig. 34, 1842; JENYNS, Zool. Beagle, Fishes, 16, 1840; 

 CASTELNAU, Anim. Nouv. ou rares Amer. Sud, 6, 1855; GUNTHER, Cat., i, 266; JORDAN & GIL- 

 BERT, Synopsis, 542, 1883 (description from the original type); JORDAN, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. 

 Phila., 1884, 98; JORDAN & EIGENMANN, 1. c., 395; BERG, Enum. Pesces Argentina y IJru- 

 guaya, 45, 1895. 



* Centropristis dispilurus, from Trinidad, is said to have the dorsal x, 12, the dorsal spot small, 

 and the pectorals red; otherwise the description agrees entirely with Dules subligarius. With the 

 account of dispilurus the short description given by Cuvier and Valenciennes of Dules flavivetitris 

 is in perfect agreement. One of the types of Brisout de Bameville's Centroprislis brasiliensis is 

 preserved in the museum at Paris, where it has been examined by us. It is .095 millimeters in 

 length, and was sent from the museum at Geneva. This specimen has the dorsal rays x, 12, 

 the dorsal spot obscure and diffuse, but is otherwise similar to subligarius. All specimens have the 

 second anal spine long, the caudal barred, a white bar before anal, the caudal truncate, with other 

 characters, which readily distinguish this species from all others related to it. It is not unlikely, 

 therefore, that subligarius, brasiliensis, flaviventrii, and dispilurus are synonyms of auriga. If 2 species 

 exist, subligarius, the northern form, would be separated from the auriga by the presence of 

 13 dorsal rays, by having the pectoral fin barred like the caudal, and the black spot on the dor- 

 sal very large. It maybe, however, thataMa^a or brasiliensis represents the adult of the species, 

 auriga or dispilurus younger specimens, and siibligarius those still younger. In the type of brasilien- 

 sisthe head is considerably less slender than in subligarius. This is probably a matter of age. This 

 species reaches but a small size, none of the known specimens being 6 inches in length, the 

 largest of subligarius but 4. Dr. Boulenger places all these nominal species in the synonymy of Dules 

 auriga, regarding flaviventris as the female and auriga as the male. Dr. Carlos Berg (Enum. 

 Peces Argentina y Uruguaya, p. 45, 1895), reaches the same conclusion. He remarks: "Most 

 male examples have the white ventral spot which Cuvier & Valenciennes indicate only in the 

 female, Dules fiaviventris." Dules subligarius is certainly different from Dules auriga both in formand 

 color. 



