Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 1569 



ing beyond front of anal; pectorals short, rounded, reaching vertical from 

 vent. Color, uniform slaty blue or gray, the fins somewhat darker, all but 

 the spinous dorsal narrowly white-margined ; peritoneum pale. The above 

 is a description of adult individuals (those described as cinereus). 



Mature individuals of smaller size (asurissimus) have been described as 

 follows: Head 3; depth 2. D. XII, 16; A. II, 13; eye 5 in head; snout 

 nearly 2; pectoral H; highest dorsal spine 3 in body; ventral 2-J- in length; 

 anal lobe 2; dorsal lobe If in body. Body compressed and deep; dorsal 

 outline from snout to caudal peduncle uniform; breast prominent and 

 well rounded, behind which the ventral outline is straight to anal spine, 

 then slanting obliquely upward to caudal peduncle. Mouth wide with 

 thick lips; the teeth Hat, sharp, and movable, in a single row in each jaw, 

 those in the upper jaw are arranged in a crescent, in the lower jaw they 

 are in a straight line in front, but at the sides they describe nearly a right 

 angle and run back ; isthmus with a notch made by the prominence of 

 the breast. Tip of snout, maxillary, and lower jaw naked; head every- 

 where else with scales, the scales on cheeks in about 5 rows ; scales on 

 body large, 3-28-9; all the fins with scales; accessory scales very few. 

 Lateral line running high and ending under last ray of soft dorsal; gill 

 rakers numerous, short, and weak, about 5 -f- 21. Pectoral short and 

 rounded at the tip; ventrals with middle rays produced, 2 times ventral 

 spine, reaching past vent to anal; spinous dorsal low; with the exception 

 of the first the spines are about equal; soft dorsal and anal falcate and 

 filamentous, the dorsal lobe slightly the longer, not quite reaching to t*p 

 of caudal I'm; caudal widely forked, the lobes falcate, the upper lobe the 

 longer ; the middle rays are contained 3 times in the upper caudal lobe. 

 In life, deep indigo blue, with traces of olivaceous cross shades; pectoral, 

 dorsal, and caudal edged with bluish white; eyes violet. 



The young (dorsalis) may be described as follows: Head 3; depth If. 

 D. XII, 16; A. II, 14; scales 3-28-10; eye 3; snout 4; dorsal lobe 1; cau- 

 dal lobe equals head ; pectoral 1 ; ventral equals head. Body compressed, 

 the profile rounded, depressed before eye so that snout projects. Gfll 

 rakers numerous, very short, slender, close set. Preorbital deep. Preor- 

 bital and preopercle entire. Teeth in several rows, movable. Dorsal 

 spines rising to the last, subtruncate, flattened, each with a brown vertical 

 streak in center, the soft rays and lobes of caudal much produced, as also 

 ventral. Color in life, deep indigo blue on body and fins ; no pale edgings; 

 3 round sky-blue spots above lateral line, the one near its beginning, 

 another under front of spinous dorsal, the third under last spine, the first 

 smallest, the other two as large as pupil; a larger sky-blue saddle in axil 

 of soft ray; head with many sky-blue spots everywhere, those on preor- 

 bital and suborbital coalescing in a blue streak; another streak behind 

 angle of mouth, and another above eye, nostrils, throat, and snout; axil 

 sky-blue, a bar of sky-blue across end of snout ; angle of mouth sky-blue. 



The immature coloration is thus correctly described by Dr. Gill : 



"In the young the color of the body is a purplish brown, varied with 

 blue on the center of each scale, the blue diminishing on the scales of the 

 tail toward the fin. On each side there is a blue spot on the first scale 



