1982 Bulletin //, United States National Museum. 



distance from tip of snout to base of preopercular spine ; depth of head 

 at occiput equaling \ its length. Mouth large, the lower jaw included, 

 but less conspicuously overlapped than in M. jaok, the maxillary reaching 

 beyond the eye, 2J in head. Lips very thick and fleshy in adults, the 

 inner margin of each with a dense band of fine papilhe ; lower lip may also 

 bear externally a few papilla or short filaments; a fleshy slip or filament 

 often present on upper posterior angle of maxilla. Nasal spines pungent, 

 rather short; preopercle with 2 diverging spines at angle and a third re- 

 mote one below directed downward and forward; the upper spine varying 

 in length, but extending usually about halfway to tip of opercular spine; 

 opercle with a strong rib and spine; humeral and subopercular spines 

 strong; interorbital width 5-J- to 6 in head, gently concave, its floor usu- 

 ally with traces of 2 low ridges; a definite supraorbital tentacle borne on 

 the anterior end of the occipital ridge, its basal tubercle never conspicu- 

 ous; slender occipital tentacle often present, especially in the young 

 but not infrequently absent; ridges on occiput strong, often irregular or 

 partly interrupted, their surface roughened with lengthwise lines or with 

 clusters of granules ; occiput more deeply concave than in M. polyacantho- 

 cephalus; usually a cluster of short digitate ridges behind the eye; top 

 and sides of head with small, warty protuberances. A minute pore behind 

 last gill, to be detected with difficulty in the young. Dorsals with short 

 interspace or none, the membrane from last spine usually joining base of 

 first soft ray; spinous dorsal very high in adult males, the fifth spine 

 highest, as long as head, longest soft ray 2 in head; pectorals reach- 

 ing front of anal, the ventrals not to vent; vertical fins much lower in the 

 young. Skin smooth, without plates or spines in young 7 or 8 inches long ; 

 1 adult male of 14 inches with scattered small subcircular spinous plates, 

 all but a few of which are below the lateral line. In the young the inax- 

 illary and mandibular membranes are whitish, very conspicuously marked 

 with irregular jet-black spots and blotches; branchiostegal and gular 

 membranes and the membrane behind the preopercle crossed with narrow 

 dark streaks ; entire under side of head faintly dusky, mottled and macu- 

 lated with white "like a frog's belly;" iris with small black spots and 

 blotches; these colors fainter in our adult specimen, where the under side 

 of head is nearly uniform whitish; the maxillary membranes, however, 

 conspicuously black spotted ; body brownish, with 3 light-gray saddles, 

 the most conspicuous crossing the back of the caudal peduncle immedi- 

 ately behind the dorsal fin; the second below the dorsal notch, and the 

 third, often obscure or wanting, forming a V-shaped area on top of head, 

 the 2 arms diverging from interorbital koace toward the base of opercular 

 spine; the dark areas often lighter centrally, and variously blotched and 

 mottled with brown or dusky ; dorsals very irregular in the marking ; anal 

 usually with 3 or 4 oblique dark bars; caudal usually with a basal trans- 

 t lucent bar followed by varying alternations of translucent and black; 

 ventrals showing 2 black cross bars; pectorals with no definite color pat- 

 tern on their outer face, but crossed on their inner face by a few irregular 

 black bars. Males show the usual round white spots on sides of abdomen. 

 b is well distinguished by the speckled throat and belly, aptly compared 



