Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 1453 



band; snout obtuse, longer than the eye, projecting a little beyond the 

 premaxillaries; slits and pores on snout large; anterior nostril with a 

 dermal flap ; interorbital space about 4 in head; preorbital broad, about 7 

 in head; preopercle with wide-set spinous teeth on posterior margin; gill 

 rakers 6 -f- H> short, some of them rudimentary ; pseudobranchise well 

 developed. Dorsal spines not very strong, the third longest, reaching, 

 when depressed, beyond tip of the eighth; soft dorsal lower than spinous, 

 the fin with a scaly sheath at its base, its membranes covered with small 

 scales; base of anal 3 in head, the third spine very strong, not reaching 

 tip of the longest rays ; upper lobe of caudal produced, acute, the lower 

 lobe rounded ; ventrals filiform at tip, almost the same length as pectorals. 

 Lateral line arched anteriorly, becoming straight over middle of the 

 base of anal fin ; about 59 scales in the lateral line; 6 scales in the vertical 

 series between lateral line and back, 15 in the vertical series below lateral 

 line. Panama; known from the original type and from five specimens 

 lately taken by Dr. Gilbert, from which the present description is taken. 

 (rermicularis, marked with worm tracks.) 



Corvina vermicular!*, GLNTHER, Fish. Central America, 387 and 427, pi. 67, fig. 2, 1869, 



Panama, (('oil. Capt. Dow.) 



Scicena vermicularis, JORDAN, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mua. 1885, 381 ; JORDAN & EIGENMANN, 

 I. c., 404, 1889. 



583. SCI^ENOPS, Gill. 

 (RED DRUMS.) 



ScicenopSy GILL, Proc. Ac. Nat. Soi. Phila. 1863, 30 (ocellata). 



This genus is close to Ophiosciottj from which it differs in the loss of its 

 preopercular armature with age, the serrate edge of the bone becoming 

 entire. The caudal fin is truncate or concave, the soft dorsal scaleless; the 

 slits and pores of the upper jaw are well developed and the single species 

 reaches a very large size. The group is not well separated from Ophioscion 

 on the one hand, or from Stiwna on the other, but its retention seems to 

 be convenient. {6Kiaiva y Scicena, the ancient name of the European species 

 Sd(vna umbra and Pseudoscicena aquila, from <5ma, shade; oty, appearence.) 



1836. SCLENOPS OCELLATUS (Linnaeus). 

 (RED DRUM; CHANNEL BASS; "RED-FISH;" PESCADO COLORADO; BULL RED-PISH.) 



Head 3; depth 3^; eye 7 in head; snout 4. D. X-I, 24; A. II, 8; scales 

 4-45 to 50-12. Body elongate, rather robust, not much compressed ; back 

 somewhat arched; profile rather steep, somewhat convex; head long, 

 rather low ; eye small ; snout bluntish, rather long. Preopercle with its 

 bony margin sharply serrate in young examples, becoming entire with 

 age, the serra3 entirely disappearing in specimens of 20 to 30 pounds 

 weight; in these the even edge of the bone is wholly covered by skin; 

 mouth large, nearly horizontal; maxillary not quite reaching posterior 

 border of orbit, 2 A in head; teeth in both jaws in villiforin bands, the 

 outer series of the upper jaw much enlarged; lower teeth subequal; gill 



