1870 Bulletin tf\ U?iited States National Museum. 



ish mottlings and more or less distinct traces of radiating streaks around 

 the eye, and a round, dusky, humeral spot. Younger individuals are 

 often lighter, resembling If. stelleri, with small silvery spots on sides, and 

 reddish fins, often showing very conspicuously the 7 V-shaped or quad- 

 rate blackish blotches at base of dorsal fin, and 5 black radii diverging 

 from eye. The anal fin is usually black in adults, but often shows oblique 

 cross bands in the young. This species as now understood is found among 

 the Aleutian Islands and westward to Kamchatka. It is abundant about 

 Unalaska and was obtained by Dr. Stejueger at Petropaulski. The com- 

 monest shore form * of the genus in Bering Sea. Specimens were taken 

 at Unalaska, Petropaulski, Robben Island, and Iturup Island. (OHTG), 

 eight; ypajiijur/,line.) 



Labrax octogrammus, PALLAS, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat., in, 283, 1811, Kamchatka, Petro- 

 paulski and Avatcha Bay. (Coll. Merk.) 



Chirus ordinatus^ COPE, Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. Phila. 1873, 28, Unalaska. (Coll. Prof. 

 Geo. Davidson). 



Octogrammus pallasi, BLEEKER, Versl. Ak. Amst., vi, 1370; after PALLAS. 



Chirus octogrammus, GUNTHER, Cat., n, 92, 1860. 



Hexagrammus ordinatus, JORDAN & GILBERT, Synopsis, 642, 1883. 



* This species has been currently known as H. ordinatus. We make the identification with 

 octogrammus for the following reasons : (a) It occurs abundantly at the type locality for 

 octogrammus, and so closely resembles H. asper as to often require close scrutiny to oepa- 

 rate the two species. According to Pallas, octogrammus and asper are not considered 

 distinct by the natives, and weie even confounded by Steller. (6) Octogrammus is said 

 to be abundant throughout the Kamchatkau region and the Aleutian Islands. Yet if not 

 ordinatus it is not to be identified with any known species, and must have escaped the 

 notice of all recent collectors, (c) Octogrammus is described as having 19 dorsal spines 

 and 24 anal rays. This is the usual formula for ordinatus, while no other species is 

 known to have as few as 19 spines. The only important element in the description of 

 octogrammus which fails to apply to ordinatus is the squamation of the cheeks. Octo- 

 grammus is said to have the subocular lamella minutely scaled, while in all species 

 except H. decagrammus the suborbital ring, as well as the suborbital stay, is scaleless. 

 The present species shows some variation in the squamation of the opercles. The lower 

 portion of subopercle is usually naked in our specimens, but is in some of them com- 

 pletely scaled. There may be exceptionally a few scales on adjacent edge of interopercle. 

 We append fin counts in 14 specimens : 



t The following is the substance of Cope's description of 0. ordinatus : 

 9> r- i7 4 ^ il ; i ey fo 5 n? l o? a( l' 1|in 8nout > U in interorbital space; D. XIX, 24; A, 

 2b, C. 17; 1 18; scales 13-94-34; branchiostegals 6. Dorsal fins not very elevated, con- 

 tinuous but well notched at point of union of the two; a dentate flap above each eye; 

 lateral lines ot pores 5, only 3 of which extend to the basis of the caudal fin, viz, the 



