Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 2157 



Prionotus carolinus, CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss., iv, 90, 1829; STORER, 

 Report Fishes Mass., 14, 1839; DE KAY, New York Fauna: Fishes, 46, pi. 5, fig. 15, 

 1842; AYRES, Boat. Journ. Nat. Hist., iv, 1842, 258; GUNTHER, Cat., II, 192, I860; GILL, 

 Cat. Fish. East Coast N. Am., 21, 1873; JORDAN & GILBERT, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 

 1878, 373 ; BEAN, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1880, 84 ; GOODE & BEAN, Bull. Essex Inst., xi, 

 12, 1879; JORDAN & HUGHES, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1886, 333. 



Prionotus palmipes, STORER, Hist. Fish. Mass., 66, pi. 5, fig. 1, 1867; JORDAN & GILBERT, 

 Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1883, 614; JORDAN & GILBERT, Synopsis, 734, 1883; GOODE, Nat. 

 Hist. Aquatic Animals, 255, pi. 71, 1384; GOODE & BEAN, Oceanic Ichthyology, 468, 

 1896. 



2485. PRIONOTUS SCITULUS, Jordan. 



Head2|to3f; depth 5 to 6. D. X-13; A. 12; scales rather small, about 

 60; 52 pores; body much slenderer than in any other species; head small, 

 low, rather pointed. Snout rather long, a little shorter than rest of head, 

 its width between angles of mouth about 2 in head. Maxillary not reach- 

 ing front of eye, 2f in head. Sides of snout finely and evenly serrate; 

 mouth comparatively small, the maxillary less than the length of the 

 head; groove across top of head behind eye, little conspicuous; interor- 

 bital area narrow, deeply concave, its width about the diameter of the 

 eye ; bones of the head very smooth, the striations very weak ; spines on 

 top of head preocular, supraocular, occipital, and nuchal) short and 

 sharp, not depressed; temporal ridge blunt, without spine; 1 or 2 small 

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

 sal spines very high, the second If in head, the first moderately serrate ; 

 soft dorsal high, its base about longer than head; caudal truncate, its 

 third ray longest, the others, to the tenth, little shorter; free rays of pec- 

 toral a little expanded at tip; scales rather small. Bands of palatine 

 teeth narrow. Gill rakers long and slender. Pectoral in male 2-J- to 2-f- in 

 body, in female scarcely more than length of body, reaching to base of 

 fifth or sixth dorsal ray. Coloration of female in life, dark olive above; 

 back and sides covered with numerous round spots of different sizes, and 

 not arranged in series, these spots bronze color in life, becoming brownish 

 after death ; spinous dorsal dusky, with lighter streaks ; a distinct black 

 spot on upper half of spinous dorsal, between the fourth and fifth spine, 

 this spot being ocellated below and behind; a second black blotch on 

 upper half of first spine and membrane, also ocellated behind; second 

 dorsal and caudal spotted and finally blotched with black ; anal largely 

 black, with a pinkish border ; pectorals blackish ; ventrals pale ; branchi- 

 ostegals pinkish. Male in life, light olive brown, with 4 saddle-like dark 

 blotches on back, 1 downward and forward from middle of spinous dorsal to 

 humeral spine ; a second from front of soft dorsal ; a third from end of dor- 

 sal downward and forward to below lateral line, thence continued forward 

 as a narrow horizontal streak; a fourth on caudal peduncle; sides every- 

 where with reddish brown spots, as in the female ; opercle reddish brown ; 

 branchiostegal membrane and palatine region largely jet-black; spinous 

 dorsal olive brown, with 2 irregular, lengthwise, translucent streaks and 

 an intense well-defined black spot on membrane above, between fourth 

 and fifth spines; second dorsal olive brown, vermiculated with whitish 

 translucent, and without round spots ; caudal reddish brown, blackish 



