1836 Bulletin 47, United States National Museum. 



Dorsal thin and moderately deeply notched ; caudal rounded; third anal 

 spine greater than second; pectoral with upper rays branched; lower or 

 simple rays thickened and the upper of them longer than any of the 

 branched rays. Color light olive, irregularly banded and blotched with 

 darker; flushed with cherry red; subopercle with large black blotch 

 somewhat ocellated; head blotched with olive and paler; jaws and throat 

 largely orange; dorsal mottled with blood-red, orange and whitish; pale 

 yellowish bar across soft dorsal, then a blackish streak ; rest of fins white, 

 tipped with black ; caudal largely bright scarlet, black toward tip ; anal 

 largely scarlet, mottled with black ; pectoral yellowish, barred with white 

 and black, lower part of fin washed with scarlet; ventral light yellow, 

 with a few black spots on posterior half, and scarlet spots on anterior 

 portion. The most definite marks are a dark bar from soft dorsal to base 

 of anal, everywhere washed with scarlet, and the black spot on the sub- 

 opercle. Pacific coast of Mexico and neighboring islands; the original 

 types from Cape San Lucas, a few other specimens taken by the Albatross 

 off Lower California, the above notes on the color from specimens col- 

 lected by Mr. McGregor at Socorro Island, respectively 3|, 2J, and 2 

 inches long. (,vpov, razor, from the sharp spines.) 



Sebastopsis xyris, JORDAN & GILBERT, Proc. TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 1882, 369, Cape San Lucas. 

 (Type, No. 30979. Coll. John Xantus.) 



692. HELICOLENUS, Goode & Bean. 



Helicolenus, GOODE & BEAN, Oceanic Icath., 248, 1896 (dactylopterus) . 



Body oblong, somewhat compressed ; head large, ctenoid scales on its 

 tip, and on cheeks and opercles; several series of spinous ridges on head, 

 but no occipital pit; mouth large, with bands of villiforrn teeth on jaws, 

 vomer, and palatines. Dorsal fin continuous, not deeply notched, with 

 10 stout spines and 10 to 12 rays; anal with 3 spines and 6 rays; pecto- 

 ral broad, fan-shaped, Avith rays arranged in 3 groups, the first of 2 sim- 

 ple rays, the second of 8 or 9 branched rays, the third of 8 simple rays, 

 sometimes prolonged, Avith their tips tendril-like and free from membrane 

 for ^ their length or less; soft dorsal with tips free from membrane; 

 suborbital keel smooth, or with a single anterior spine under eye; pre- 

 orb it al with spines small and hidden beneath the skin. Vertebras 10 -f 

 14=24; no air bladder. Atlantic. Very close to Scorpcena, differing only 

 in the Sebastes-likQ cranium, the two genera probably connected by inter- 

 mediate forms. (?7A/%o, strong; cbXevrj, elbow, arm.) 



a. General color bright red. DACTYLOPTERUS, 2234. 



aa. General color clear scarlet; preopercular spines more prominent, parallel. 



MADERENSIS, 2235. 



