21 56 Bulletin 4.7, United States National Museum. 



body more vermiculate and with oblique bars, and no distinct dark spot 

 at base of caudal. There is no trace of a second spine at the base of the 

 large preopercular spine, and the humeral spine is much smaller than the 

 opercular. Both have the snout somewhat birostrate, the forehead and 

 eyes very prominent, and the pectorals very short. The projection of the 

 lobes of the snout is, however, much less than in Prionotus lirostratus, 

 with which species the present one was at first identified. (X.o&as, Aod, 

 oblique, from the cross bars.) 



Prionotus birostratus, JORDAN & BOLLMAN, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1889, 170 ; not of RICHARD- 

 SON. 



Prionotus loxias, JORDAN, in GILBERT, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1896, 452, at Albatross Station 

 2805, south of Panama, in 51^ fathoms. (Type, No. 47580, U. S.Nat. Mua.; cotype, 

 No. 165, L. S. Jr. Univ. Mus.) 



Subgenus MERULINUS, Jordan & Evermann. 



2484. PRIONOTUS AROLINUS (Linnaeus). 

 (COMMON GURNARD; EED-WINGED SEA-ROBIN.) 



Head 3; depth 5. D. X-13; A. 12; scales 58. Body not very slender; 

 head moderate ; mouth comparatively small, the maxillary about 3 in head, 

 the mandible not reaching vertical from front of eye ; groove across top of 

 head behind eye, very conspicuous ; interorbital area moderately concave, 

 rather broad, about equal to diameter of eye ; bones of head comparatively 

 smooth, the preocular, postocular, occipital and nuchal spines low, 

 depressed; temporal ridge conspicuous, without spines; 1 or 2 small 

 spinules on lower edge of preopercle, below the preopercular spine; preo- 

 percular spine with no smaller one at its base in front; pectoral fin short, 

 reaching little past front of anal, its length less than - the body ; gill 

 rakers of moderate length, about 10 developed ; no spine on cheek bone 

 or on sides of snout. Dorsal spines low, the second 2 in head, the 

 first moderately serrate ; base of soft dorsal equal to distance from tip of 

 snout to tip of humeral spine ; caudal fin lunate, its outer rays i to ^ longer 

 than inner ; pectoral fin somewhat rounded, rather short, not reaching last 

 ray of anal and not more than | the length of the body; the longest ray 

 about the fifth; free rays of pectoral expanded toward tip, with decur- 

 rent membrane; scales rather large, about 58 pores. Body and fins nearly 

 plain, mottled with darker, but without well-defined spots except the dor- 

 sal ocellus ; back with 4 obscure cross blotches ; 2 or 3 oblique pale streaks 

 across spinous dorsal ; gill membranes dusky. Young with head rougher, 

 pectoral fins shorter, dark spots on body more distinct. Coast of Maine 

 to South Carolina, chiefly northward; very abundant on the coasts of 

 southern New England and New York, but rarely taken as far south as 

 Charleston. Our specimens are from Menemsha Bight, Marthas Vineyard. 

 (carolinus, from Carolina.) 



Trigla Carolina, LINNAEUS, Mantissa, 176, 528, Carolina. 



Trigla palmipes, MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. New York 1814, 431, pi. 4, fig. 5, 



New York Harbor. 

 Prionotus pilatus, STORER, Proc. Boat. Soc. Nat. Hist., n, 1845, 77, Massachusetts Bay, 



adult specimens; STORER, Hist. Fish. Mass., 68, pi. 6, fig. 1, 1867; GOODE & BEAN, 



Bull. Essex Inst., xi, 12, 1879. 



