2178 Bulletin 47, United States National Museum. 



anteriorly ; gill rakers slender. Dorsal fin continuous or divided. Pecto- 

 ral tin short, with the 2 lowermost rays detached. Ventrals I, 5, separated 

 by a broad, flat area. Air bladder simple. Pyloric caeca about 10. Color 

 generally red. Deep-sea fishes; 2 or 3 genera and about 13 species known, 

 bearing some resemblance to young sturgeons. 



a. Barbels at angle of mouth in large tufts of fringes ; dorsal fins 2. PERISTEDION, 796. 

 aa. Barbels at angle of mouth minute, simple or nearly so; dorsal fins 2. 



VULSICULUS, 797. 



796. PERISTEDION, Lace'pede. 



Peristedion, LACEPEDE, Hist. Nat. Poiss., in, 368, 1802 (malarmatcataphractum). 

 Peristethus, KAUP, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1859, 103 (cataphractus) ; amended spelling. 



Barbels large, forming large fringed tufts at angles of mouth and on 

 lower jaw. Dorsal fins 2; characters otherwise included above. (Kepi, 

 around; 6ri?Biorj diminutive of drf/Qo$j breast, the breast being mailed.) 



a. Body rather robust, the depth 4 to 5 in length to base of caudal; head about 2 in 



length ; barbels long. 

 &. Length of preorbital extension about 3 in snout; color uniform crimson. 



MINIATUM, 2505. 



&&. Length of preorbital extension 2 in snout; color red, with a black blotch near 



tip of pectoral, and black on caudal. LONGISPATHUM, 2506. 



aa. Body slender, the depth 6 to 6 in length to base of caudal ; head 3 to 3 J ; barbels 



moderate ; fins mottled or blotched. 



c. Body very slender; preorbital process 2 in snout; color yellowish; a pearly 



lateral band; back dotted; fins mottled. GRACILE, 2507. 



cc. Body much depressed; preorbital process 3 in snout; color red, mottled and 



blotched. PLAT YCEPH ALUM, 2508. 



2505. PERISTEDION MINIATUM, Goode. 



Head2^; depth 5. D.VII-18; A. 17; C. 16; P. 10 + 2; Y. 1,5; plates 27 to 

 29. Armature of body essentially as in Peristedion brevirostre ; * spines of ab- 

 dominal plates very weak posteriorly : length of preorbital process 3 in 

 distance from its extremity to front of orbit; interorbital space deeply 

 concave; protuberance on the forehead very slight; a pair of spines on 

 upper surface of snout behind base of preorbital processes ; a larger pair 

 on preorbital processes ; ridge of preopercle ending in a depressed, short, 

 sharp-pointed spine; about 10 small tentacles on each side of lower jaw, 

 those near the symphysis smallest. Long tentacles at angle of mouth 

 fringed, extending to bases of pectorals. Length 12 inches. Gulf Stream, 

 in various localities, at a depth of about 150 fathoms. (Goode.) (miniatus, 

 scarlet. ) 



Peristedion miniatum, GOODE, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1880, 349, Gulf Stream, off Rhode 

 Island ; JORDAN & GILBERT, Synopsis,733, 1883; GOODE &BEAN, Oceanic Ichthyology, 

 470, pi. cxni, figs. 385, 385A, B, 1896. 



2506. PERISTEDION LONGISPATHUM, Goode & Bean. 



D. VIII-19; A. 19. Body high anteriorly, its greatest height 4 in total 

 length; length of head without prolongations 2-| in total length, with pro- 

 longations 2. Crown of head flat, separated from nuchal plate by a deep 



* See Giinther, Cat., n, 218, 1860. 



