Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 1643 



robust. Species very numerous, mostly of large size, found in nearly all 

 tropical seas. The name Scarus was used by the ancients and by some 

 pre-Liniiiuan writers on zoology for the Mediterranean species of Spari- 

 soma, Labrus cretensis Linmeus. 13y Gronow, a iionbinomial writer, in 

 1764, Scarus was applied to a group substantially identical with the Lin- 

 iiM'aii genus Labrus. The first use of Scarus as a generic name in binomial 

 nomenclature is that of Forskal in 1775. The genus /Scares of Forskal was 

 based on several species obtained by him on the coasts of Arabia. A few 

 of these are not Scaroids. The others all belong to this group. Forskal 

 had apparently 110 acquaintance with Labrus cretemis, and this species can 

 not in any proper sense be taken as the type of his genus. One of the 

 species mentioned by him should be so taken, and as all his species belong 

 to the same genus it makes no special difference which one is selected. 

 Jordan & Gilbert have regarded Scant* psittacus Forskal as the type. If 

 tf/Htrisoma cretetwe should be taken as the type of Scar us, the proper name 

 for the present genus would be Calliodon, and several of the useless gen eric 

 names of Swainson have priority over Pseudoscarus. The genus Scarus 

 contains the majority of the species of the Scarida 1 . It is more widely 

 distributed than the other genera; its species reach for the most part a 

 larger size, and in general they are more brightly colored than the others. 

 (dxdpotf Scarus, ancient name of Sparisoma cretense, said by Roudelet to 

 be from dx(fipaov f to pasture.) 



SCAR us : 



a. Vpper jaw witn" from 1 to 4 posterior canines. 

 b. Cheek with from 2 or 3 rows of scales. 



c. Head with a longitudinal band ; a yellow longitudinal stripe on body; outer 



rays of caudal not colored like the inner ; caudal subtruncate. 

 d. Outer rays of caudal blackish or greenish, darker than the median rays. 

 e. Yellow stripe above pectoral about on a level with the eye; outer 

 rays of caudal deep greenish blue; upper jaw with 1 poste- 

 rior canine (rarely duplicated); 2 rows of scales on cheek; 

 head with 2 bluish-green stripes, the interspace reddish or yel- 

 low ; dorsal and anal each with 2 green bands and 1 orange one, 

 the anal having a roundish blue spot on the membrane between 

 every 2 rays. General color bluish green mixed with orange. 



PUNCTULATUS, 2057. 



ee. Yellow stripe above pectoral, mostly below the level of the eye; 



outer rays of caudal blackish, the rest of the caudal green; 



upper jaw with 2 posterior canines ; 2 rows of scales on cheek ; 



upper part of head dark green, below eye bright yellowish 



green, with bluish markings on opercle ; dorsal bright green 



at base; ventrals pale; base of pectoral with a blue-black 



mark . General color in life, bright green ; darker on the back, 



paler below. BOLLMANI, 2058. 



dd. Outer rays of caudal orange, lighter than the median rays, its edge 



blackish; yellow stripe above pectoral, below the level of the 



green stripes on the head, which are nearly horizontal; upper jaw 



with 1 posterior canine (rarely duplicated) ; 2J rows of scales on 



cheek ; head with 2 bluish-green stripes, the interspaces reddish 



or yellow; dorsal and anal each with 2 green bands and 1 orange 



one, the latter without blue spots ; basal band of dorsal not broken 



into green spots. General color bluish green, mixed with orange. 



TJENIOPTEBUS, 2059. 



