1294 Bulletin ^7, United States National Museum. 



1662. HJ1MULON SEXFASCIATUM, Gill. 

 (MojARRA ALMEJERO.) 



Head 3; depth 2. D. XII, 17; A. Ill, 9; scales* 6-51-14. Form of 

 H. album. Body comparatively deep, the hack elevated and compressed, 

 tho anterior profile steep and nearly straight from tip of snout to above 

 eye, where a slight angle is formed, thence rising more steeply and form- 

 ing a somewhat steep curve hefore the dorsal; snout pointed, of moderate 

 length, 2f in head (in specimen 8 inches in length) ; proportionately 

 longer in the adult. Mouth not very large, the maxillary reaching front 

 of eye in young (8 inches), not nearly reaching eye in adult, its length 2| 

 to 2f in head; lower jaw included. Teeth rather slender, the antrorse 

 teeth of posterior part of lower jaw inconspicuous. Eye small (4 in head 

 in young of 8 inches). Interorbital space convex, about 4 in head; preor- 

 bital deep, its least depth greater than length of eye in adult, 4| in head 

 in young (8 inches) ; preopercle finely and rather sharply serrate. Gill 

 rakers small, about 8-f-12. Scales moderate, those above lateral line not 

 enlarged, arranged in very oblique series; those below lateral line also 

 not enlarged, their series more nearly horizontal; soft fins scaled, as usual. 

 Dorsal spines rather slender, the fourth highest, 2 in head; longest soft 

 rays 3 in head; caudal lobes subequal, 1^ in head; longest anal rays high, 

 2^ in head; second anal spine longer and a little stronger than third, its 

 tip when depressed about reaching middle of last anal ray, its length 2 3 

 in head; free margin of anal somewhat concave, the tips of the first 

 rays when depressed reaching tips of last rays ; ventral fins ! in head ; 

 pectorals 1^. Frontal foramen a single divided slit in front of the high 

 supraoccipital crest as in other species of the subgenus Hcemulon. Color 

 pearly grayish, with 6 or 7 sharply defined dusky cross-bands from back 

 to lower part of sides, fading below, these of nearly equal width, and, 

 except the sixth and seventh, of about equal distinctness, and extend 

 slightly backward below ; they are rather wider than eye and about equal 

 to the paler interspaces; the first is at the nape, extending to base of pec- 

 toral; the second under front of spinous dorsal; the third near middle 

 of spinous dorsal; the fourth under last spines; the fifth and sixth under 

 soft dorsal; the seventh, when evident, on caudal peduncle; cheeks, oper- 

 cles, and anterior part of sides with distinct roundish spots of brownish- 

 black, these largest and best defined on the opercle; fins nearly plsnn 

 dusky grayish. Here described from No. 30997, U. S. Nat. Mus., from 

 Colima, 8 inches in length. Pacific coast of tropical America, Guaymas 

 to Panama; not very abundant, but widely distributed. This species is 

 the Pacific coast representative of H. album, from which it differs strik- 

 ingly in its coloration. It reaches a similar very large size, specimen, 



*In this genus the scales above the lateral line are counted vertically from the first dor- 

 sal spine to the lateral line ; those below the lateral line from the first anal spine obliquely 

 upward and forward to the lateral line. The scales in a longitudinal series are, as here 

 given, the number of vertical rows above the lateral line from head to base of caudal. 

 This number is practically the same in all species of the genus, the variations above or 

 below 50 being slight. The number of oblique series of scales or of pores in the lateral 

 line is in all cases about 10 fewer, or about 40. 



