Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 1351 



greatest depth of preorbital slightly more than | length of head in adult. 

 Mouth not large, the maxillary scarcely reaching vertical from front of 

 orbit, 1 length of head. Anterior teeth of outer series slightly longer and 

 more robust than those of the cardiforru band; in the upper jaw on each 

 side 1 of these onter teeth becomes much enlarged, canine-like, directed 

 obliquely forward and downward, and strongly curved, the upper surface 

 concave; there are usually 7 teeth of the outer series between these two 

 canines; no evident accessory series of molars. Gill lakers short and 

 blunt, about 4 -f- 6. Scales on top of head ending abruptly above eye ; snout, 

 interorbital, preorbital, suborbital, chin, and edge of preopercle, naked; 

 a triangular patch of scales on cheek, arranged in 7 or 8 series. Dorsal 

 spines slender and high, the longest \ head; pectorals reaching vertical 

 from origin of anal fin, \ length of body; veutrals 5 in length ; upper lobe 

 of caudal as long as head, slightly longer than lower lobe. Color in life, 

 silvery, with bright reflections above, much more brightly colored than in 

 other species; each scale above middle of sides with a spot of rich violet- 

 blue on its basal portion, these forming distinct longitudinal streaks along 

 the rows of scales ; on lower part of body these blue spots are replaced by 

 pale orange spots, faint in the young, very distinct in adults. In life 

 the sides have dark bands, which disappear after death; a diifuse, ill- 

 defined horizontal violet-blue area above opercle extending back on to the 

 shoulder; a well-defined horizontal deep-blue stripe below eye; another, 

 somewhat less distinct, above orbit; preorbital region, snout, cheeks, and 

 opercles brassy or bronze, crossed with horizontal, wavy, nonreticulating 

 lines of violet blue, these colors more marked on preorbital and snout; 

 the streak crossing snout above nostrils wider and rather more conspicu- 

 ous than the others; dorsal marked with orange and very bright violet, 

 its margin always orange, more or less bright in life; caudal banded with 

 dull orange; anal distinctly blue shaded; ventrals not dark, with more or 

 less light yellow; axil slightly dusky; iris dark, with gilt ring. West 

 Indies, north to Florida Keys; the most brightly colored of the genus, 

 very abundant about the Florida Keys. It is not quite so common either 

 at Key West or at Havana as Calamus lajonado, but in both places either 

 species far outnumbers all the remaining species combined, (prora, prow ; 



dens, tooth, from the projecting canines.) 







Calamus megacephalus, JORDAN & GILBERT, Synopsis, 926, 1883 ; not of SWAINSON. 

 Calamus pennatula, JORDAN & GILBERT, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus.1884, 15; not of GUICHENOT. 

 Calamus proridens, JORDAN & GILBERT, Proc. TL S. Nat. Mus. 1884, 150, Key West ; JOR- 

 DAN & FESLER, I. c., 511. 



1722. CALAMUS PEXNATULA, Guichenot. 



Body much more elongate than in Calamus proridens, with which it 

 seems otherwise to agree; the depth 2f in length. Upper jaw with a 

 strong antrorse canine on each side, as in C. proridens; eye small ; preorbital 

 deep; cheeks with 6 rows of scales; dorsal high, pectoral reaching front 

 of anal; preorbital with blue wavy stripes; cheeks with blue flexuous 

 lines, anastomosed and forming rivulations; spinous dorsal edged with 

 black (Guichenot). West Indies; known only from Guichenot's descrip- 



