Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 1637 



and middle of caudal brick red; edge of caudal blue; ventrals bluish 

 green; pectorals greenish yellow, their base red around a large black 

 spot; teeth bluish ; jaws pale. In spirits the blue is more or less faded, 

 leaving the fish chiefly green, darker on head; the red and yellow of fins 

 become pale grayish. According to Poey, there is usually a dark blue 

 horizontal stripe along sides behind pectoral fin. Length of example 

 described (from Havana) 13 inches. West Indies, not rare; recorded from 

 Cuba, St. Thomas, Jamaica, Martinique, Guadeloupe, San Domingo, St. 

 Croix, St. Kitts, and Bahia. (jputfos, golden; nrepor, wing or fin.) 



Vieja, PAKRA, Descr. Dif. Piezas Hist. Nat. 1787, 58, pi. 28, fig. 4, Cuba. 



Scarus chrysopterus, BLOCK & SCHNEIDER, Syst. Ichtli., 286, pi. 57,1801, American seas; 



figure apparently from a dried skin ; CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss., xiv, 



185,1839; GtiNTHr.ij, r.-n.. iv, 12. 1862; GUICHENOT, Scarides, Mus. Paris, 12, 1865 ; COPE| 



Trans. Am. Philos. Soc. 1871, 462. 

 scttrns ddoris, BLOCH & SCHNEIDER, Syst. Ichth., 289, 1801, Cuba; after PARRA; GOODE, 



r.ull. U. S. Nat. Mus., v, 34, 1876. 



Scarus lateralis, POEY, Memoriaa, H, 219, 1860, Cuba ; POEY, Synopsis, 337, 1868. 

 ? ? Scarus spinidens,* GUICHENOT. Scarides, 15, 1865, Bahia. (Coll. Univ. de Geneve.) 

 Xparixoma chrysoptennn, JORDAN & SWAIN, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1884,94; JORDAN, Proc. 



U. S. Nat. Mus. 1886, 47 ; JORDAN, Review Labroid Fishes, 674 ; 1890. 



2040. SPAKISOMA LORITO, Jordan & Swain. 



Head 3 i (4 with caudal); depth 2 (3*); eye rather large, 4 in head; 

 snout rather acute, 2. D. IX, 10; A. II, 9; scales 2|-24-6. Body oblong, 

 moderately deep; 1 or 2 small canines on each side, directed outward and 

 backward, in front of the angle of the mouth, 1 on each side, 2 on the 

 other, 111 the typical specimen ; upper lip covering more than - of upper 

 jaw; cheeks with a single row of large scales; pores of lateral line less 

 branched than usual in this genus, not covering nearly the whole surface 

 of the scale, those on the caudal peduncle most branched, those on the 

 anterior region mostly once or twice forked; 4 scales on median line 

 before dorsal. Caudal fin deeply lunate, the outer rays inuch produced, 

 the upper lobe slightly the longer, nearly twice as long as inner rays, 

 and nearly as long as head. Color in life, pearly blue, the color mixed 

 with greenish and gray; jaws pale; teeth pale; dorsal reddish, tinged 

 with gray; lobes of caudal greenish gray, washed with brown, center 

 of fin reddish, posterior margin grayish; anal rather dull scarlet mixed 

 with gray; ventrals pinkish; pectorals light yellowish olive, a dark 

 blotch at base above. Color in spirits, brownish olive on dorsal region, 

 grayish olive mixed with crimson on sides, and light green below; 



* Scarus spinidens is thus described by Guichenot: 



"Body oblong, the snout slightly convex; upper jaw rough with salient, conic points 

 hi 2 or 3 irregular rows; lower jaw with stronger crenulations and marked by teeth in 

 quincunx ; scales of lateral line each with a pore having a short stem and sending branches 

 over the whole scale. Caudal lunate, its angles much produced, as long as the fin itself. 

 Color silvery red, paler below, each scale with a brown spot. Head red, varied with pale 

 yellow; dorsal reddish; anal and ventrals yellow, the former edged with violet Caudal 

 red medially, the upper and lower edges and the interval between them violet; a large 

 black spot at base of pectorals, which are violet, edged with yellow. Length of sole 

 specimen (from Bahia) 420 mm., to middle rays of caudal." 



This species is evidently close to Sparuoma chrysopterum, but the colors are not th 

 same. 



