Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 1233 



Brazil; recorded from Jamaica, Trinidad, Bahia, and St. Thomas; not 

 seen by us. (arenatus, sanded, from the speckled coloration.) 



Rhtjpticns arenaltis, CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss., Ill, 65, pi. 45, 1829, Brazil; GCN- 



THER, Cat., i, 173, 1859: BOULENGER, Cat., 349. 



.* RhitpticHs MtbbifrencUus, GILL, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1861, 53, St. Thomas. 

 It>il>ticn* iin-iintHK, JORDAN & EIGENMANN, /. c., 340, 1890, in part; partly taken from STEINDACHNER, 



Ich. Notiz., vi, 41, which maybe the young of 1L saponaceus. 



f Iiliiipti<-tt$ Hiijr<iHK-nIatu*,* STEINDACHNER, Ichth. Notiz., vi, 42, 18G7, Barbadoes. 

 Ii//l>ticns niijrontaculatus, JORDAN & EIGENMANN, I. c., 341, 1890. 



1620. RYPTICTJS CORIACEUS (Cope). 



HeadSi; depth 3. D. 111-25; A. 15. Opercular spines 2, small, the 

 uppermost the smaller (the lowermost being obsolete); dorsal fins sepa- 

 rated ; body moderately elongate, the back elevated, the head low, slender, 

 and pointed, the anterior profile almost straight; lower jaw much pro- 

 jecting; eye small, smaller than in R. .saponaceus, 5 to 5i in head; about 

 equal to the short snout; maxillary reaching posterior edge of eye, 2| in 

 head ; preopercular spines short, bluntish, close together, the uppermost 

 the smaller; first dorsal spine longest, the 2 fins well separated; ventrals 

 moderate, nearly twice as long as eye ; gill rakers small and short. Color 

 (in our specimen) nearly plain brown, the edges of the scales darkerwith 

 dark points ; sides with some faint paler spots ; edges of vertical fins 

 dusky. West Indies; recorded from St. Martins and Jamaica; our 

 description from No. 30130, U. S. Nat. Mus., from Kingston, Jamaica. 

 This species seems to be distinguished from R. saponaceus by the weak 

 armature of the head, and by the greater distance between the dorsal fins. 

 Dr. Boulenger places it in the synonymy of R. saponaceus. (coriaceus, 

 leathery.) 



Eleutheractis coriaceus, COPE, Trans. Am. Phil. Soc., 1870, 467, St. Martins. (Coll. Dr. J. Van 



Rijgersma.) 

 Eypticus coriaceus, JORDAN & EIGENMANN, I. c., 341, 1890. 



Subgenus PROMICROPTERUS, Gill. 

 1621. RYPTICUS BISTRISPINUS (Mitchill). 



Head 3 ; depth 2 to 2f. D. 11-25 ; A. 14 or 15. Body comparatively 

 deep, the depth greater than length of head, especially in the adult, in 

 which the back is considerably elevated. A depression before eye, the 

 sharp snout abruptly projecting ; eye in adult nearly as long as snout, 5 

 in head; maxillary 2 in head, reaching to below posterior margin of 



* Rypticus nigromaculatm (Steindachner): Head 3% (with caudal); depth 4^. D. IV, 22 or 23; 

 A. about 12. Dorsalspines4 ; colorbrown ; bodyandbase of dorsal covered with round, jet-black 

 spots, each surrounded by a clear ring; these spots lie in 5 longitudinal rows, those of the middle 

 row much larger than the others; a sixth row on base of dorsal and 2 or 3 spots on base of anal; 

 fins dusky, without paler margin. (Steindachner.) West Indies; known from a single specimen 

 1% inches long taken at Barbadoes. Except that it is said to have 4 dorsal spines, the description 

 agrees with that of R. arenatus, and It. nigromaculatus is probably simply an accidental variation 

 of the latter. 



F. N. A. 79 



