Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 1849 



suborbital stay prominent, with 3 or 4 sharp spines ; a few scales on pre- 

 opercle and opercular flap; head otherwise naked; maxillary reaching to 

 behind eye, not quite \ head; lower jaw included; breast covered with 

 small embedded scales; scales of body large, not ctenoid, firm, many of 

 them with membranaceous flaps; lateral line with a series of fleshy flaps. 

 Dorsal low, the highest spine 2f in head, somewhat lower than the soft 

 rays ; pectorals very broad, procurrent, reaching about to front of anal 

 fin ; second anal spine very robust, 2f in head, much larger than third ; 

 the ridges, spines, and grooves of head all exaggerated; a small bifid 

 spine between orbit and exoccipital spine; interorbital space deeply con- 

 cave, the pit at occiput bowl shaped ; maxillary reaching nearly to poste- 

 rior margin of eye; jaws about equal; teeth on jaws in rather broad 

 bands, those on vomer and palatines in narrow bands ; gill rakers very 

 short, as broad as high ; pseudobranchhu large ; orbit high up, 5 in head ; 

 preorbital wide, corrugated with about 4 radiating ridges, its inferior 

 border with 3 blunt spines ; base of pectoral 2-J in head, the 10 or 11 lower 

 rays simple, a little thickened and exserted, the upper rays (except the 

 uppermost one) branched; second anal spine somewhat longer than third. 

 The color highly variegated, subject to much variation; sand color, with 



2 broad blackish shades on the body and 1 on the head; belly purplish; 

 lower side of head finely speckled in all shades of light, dark, and pearly 

 bluish ; upper parts covered with whitish cirri and profusely speckled, the 

 surface looking as if covered with sand ; eye with radiating dark spots ; 



'dorsal covered like body, with some well-marked whitish spots; dark 

 band of body passing on to second dorsal ; caudal variously mottled, with 



3 pale and 3 black bands; anal whitish, variegated with reddish and 

 black ; ventral similar, with more maroon red ; pectoral still more varie- 

 gated, the tip scarlet shaded; inside of pectoral largely bright yellow, 

 then blackish, tinged with cherry red; axil jet black, with large, round, 

 white spots; lips barred with black and whitish; membranes and angle of 

 mouth light bright yellow; peritoneum white. Some examples, espe- 

 cially old ones, taken in red algae, largely scarlet on body and fins. West 

 Indies and Brazil, north to Florida; very common everywhere from the 

 Florida Keys southward. (Named for Father Charles Plunder.) 



Scorpcena plumieri, BLOCH, Nya. Handl. Stockh., x, 234, 1789, Martinique ; BLOCK & 

 SCHNEIDER, 194, 1801; GUNTHER, Cat., n, 113, I860; JORDAN & GILBERT, Synopsis, 680, 

 1883; JORDAN, Proc.U. S. Nat. Mus. 1884, 137; MEEK & NEWLAND, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. 

 Phila. 1885, 396, 400 ; GUNTHER, Challenger Report, Shore Fishes, vol. i, Part vi, 9, 1880. 



Scorpcena bufo, CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss., iv, 306, 1829, Martinique. 



Scorpcena rascacio, POEY, Synopsis, 303, 1868, Havana. 



2243. SCORPJENA MYSTES, Jordan & Starks. 



(LAPON.) 



Head 2; depth 3. D. XII, 10; A. Ill, 5; scales about 30; orhit 6| in 

 head; maxillary 2; pectoral 2; highest dorsal spine 3; second anal spine 

 3 ; caudal 2. Body robust, not much compressed ; interorbital space wide, 

 not deeply concave, -J- wider than orbit ; a pit between preorbital and eye, 

 and a broad depression behind coronal spines; membranaceous flaps on 

 3030 39 



