1632 Bulletin 4.7, United States National Museum. 



dorsal mottled. Caudal short, truncate; tubes of lateral line little 

 branched; body rather elongate, the depth 3| in length; pectoral short; 

 2 strong posterior canines, before which are several smaller pointed 

 teeth. Another specimen has 4 pointed teeth on each side of upper jaw. 

 These probably belong to Sparisoma radians, (radians, radiating.) 



Scarus radians, CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss., xiv, 206, 1839, Brazil ; GUICHE- 



NOT, Scarifies, 17, 1865; note on types. 



Sparisoma radians, JORDAN, Review Labroid Fishes, 677, 1890. 

 Scarus lacrimosus,* POEY, Memorias, n, 422, 1861, Havana; POEY, Synopsis. 343,1868. 



2042. SPABISOMA HOPLOMYSTAX (Cope). 



Head 3j- (81% with caudal); depth 2| (3^); eye moderate, 44 in head; 

 snout rather obtuse, 3. D. IX, 10; A. 11,9; scales 2|-24-6. Body oblong; 

 a single stout canine directed outward and usually slightly backward on 

 each side of upper jaw, in front of angle of mouth; a second canine often 

 present in front of this; a small canine directed downward on each side of 

 front of upper jaw above the cutting edge and close to the median suture ; 

 upper lip covering most of the upper jaw. Cheek with 1 row of large 

 scales; pores of lateral line each with 4 to 6 branches, which cover nearly 

 the whole of the scale; 4 scales on median line before dorsal Pectoral 

 broad and fan-shaped behind, not reaching greatly past ventral; caudal 

 slightly convex when. spread open, the outer rays scarcely as long as the 

 median ones, 1| in head. Lower pharyngeal nearly twice as broad as long, 

 its upper surface almost flat, less concave than in related species. Color 

 in life, upper half of body olive green, the color very much mottled and 

 speckled, marbled with whitish and streaked with green; lower parts 

 fleshy red, equally and similarly mottled; top and front of head most 

 extensively mottled; sides of head similarly mottled; lower jaws usually 

 more or less brown, with 2 whitish bands, the anterior continuous, the 

 posterior of 4 separate whitish blotches; edge of opercle bright greenish 

 blue; axil extensively deep blue, with some reddish spots; a deep-blue 

 blotch on base of pectoral ; dorsal colored like the back ; caudal greenish 

 at base, with a pale-yellowish band and some small whitish dots, its edge 

 blackish, the fin elsewhere translucent; anal dull gray with orange, 

 mottled with brown ; ventrals pale flesh color ; the yellow and orange of 

 fins and red of belly become grayish in spirits; the blue of the axil 

 becomes dark green in spirits, but does not disappear. Length of type 5| 

 inches. West Indies, from Key West to Bahia, generally common. Here 

 described from the type of Sparisoma cyanolene from Key West. This 

 little fish is very abundant about Key West, where many specimens were 

 taken with the seine in the kelp. None of these was more than 6 inches 

 in length, and as they were sexually mature at that size it is not likely 

 that they grow much larger. The prevalence of blue around the base of 

 the pectoral is a striking color mark which does not soon disappear in 

 alcohol. Specimens were also obtained by the Albatross at St. Lucia and 



* Sparisoma lacrimosum, according to Poey, is notable chiefly for the 4 posterior canines, 

 the last turned backward. Caudal truncate. Color rose, a blue band from orbit to com- 

 missure, fading in spirits ; fins brown rose, faintly marbled ; pectoral plain, with no axillary 

 spot; scales of lateral line with 1 tube, from which spring 4 much ramified branches. 



