1856 Bulletin 47, United States National Museum. 



3 in head; longest ray equals longest dorsal spine; pectoral reaching 

 vent, rays all simple, longest 3 in length of body; ventral origin under 

 base of pectoral, reaching vent, 4 in length of body. Color (in fresh 

 specimen) uniform rosy, intermingled with pearly white ; light areas most 

 conspicuous on fins ; anterior part of anal more intensely colored than any 

 other part of fish; cephalic tentacles pale, the supraocular pair with a 

 little band of rose a little below middle ; pupil intense blue ; iris golden 

 above and below, overlaid with rosy, greenish golden anteriorly and pos- 

 teriorly ; belly and throat pearly white ; the light areas on caudal simulate 

 bands. Total length 4f inches ; to base of caudal, 3| inches. A single, small 

 individual, off Yucatan, in 130 fathoms. (Goode and Beau.) (juaxpog, 

 large; ASTTZ'S, scale.) 



Pontinus macrolepig, GOODE & BEAN, Oceanic Ichthyology, 257, fig. 247, 1896, N. lat. 20 5g' 

 30", W. Ion. 86 23' 45", at Albatross Station 2354, off Yucatan, in 130 fathoms. (Type, 

 No. 39324.) 



2249. PONTINUS CASTOR, Poey. 



Head 2 in total length ; depth equal to distance from tip of snout to 

 limb of preopercle, 4 in total length. D. XII, 10; A. Ill, 5; P. 17. Eye 5 

 in head ; snout prolonged in front of orbit ; mouth very large ; maxillary 

 reaching f across eye ; interorbital space very narrow ; no pit at occiput ; 

 3 pores on each side along lower jaw. Teeth as in others of the group, 

 as also opercular spines, which are not striated ; preopercle with a rather 

 strong spine on its border which has another smaller one at its base; 

 below this 2 blunter spines; first suborbital with a flat spine above and 

 2 others on its inferior border ; none on its crests ; 1 short backwardly 

 directed spine on the second suborbital and 2 on the third ; nasal spines 

 present ; preocular spines very sharp ; supraocular, postocular, and tym- 

 panic spines present, in a straight line, joining the parietal and nuchal 

 spines ; a spine on the inastoid, another, sometimes 2, on the suprascapu- 

 lar; postfrontal with 2 small spines. Spinous dorsal low; last dorsal 

 spine twice as long as the one before it ; second anal spine medium ; pec- 

 toral pointed, its seventh ray longest, the others decreasing rapidly ; all 

 simple, articulated. Lateral line plain, a tube on each scale; scales of 

 back and belly of same form as those of sides, the latter larger, none on 

 head, first suborbital, maxillary, mteropercle, nor on limb of preopercle. 

 Flaps not branched; supraorbital tentacle long, 5 in total length, the 

 others very short; 1 on ethmoid, 1 on prefrontal, 1 on parietal, many on 

 lateral line and belly. Body carmine red without marblings; fins with 

 alternations of red and orange ; iris red with small yellow circle ; supra- 

 ocular tentacles and last rays of pectoral annulated with brown. Length 

 9 inches. Havana; very rare in deep water. (Poey.) One specimen, col- 

 lected by Poey and agreeing with his description, examined by us, in the 

 U. S. National Museum. (Castor, twin brother of Pollux, in Mythology.) 

 Pontinus castor, POEY, Memorias, n, 173, 1860, Havana. (Coil. Poey.) 

 Scorpcena castor, MEEK & NEWLAND, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1885, 397, 402 



