Jordan and Ewmann. Fishes of North America. 3155 



pectoral 41-; ventral 44; upper rays of caudal 3V, lower rays I, 1 ,,; D. 13; 

 A. 7; scales 29-9, 7 oil caudal peduncle. Body deep, compressed,' dors.il 

 contour arched, its highest point at insertion of dorsal; caudal peduncle 

 narrow and very deep; head small, pointed; interorbital space wide, 

 slightly convex; eye large, a little nearer tip of snout than to posterior 

 edge of opercle; mouth vertical; teeth in two series, the iirst in a single 

 row, minute, flat, and pointed, the second in a villilbrm band, much 

 smaller and narrower than the first, brownish-colored, strongly curved 

 backward ; gill opening extending above base of pectoral a 'distance 

 equal to diameter of pupil; gill-rakers on first arch 19, slender, the 

 length of longest equal to half diameter of eye; intestinal tract sle'uder 

 and long; peritoneum black; scales on head and body large, 1 large, 

 round scale on interorbital space, followed by 2, a row of 11 -from the 

 latter to first dorsal ray; 3 rows on base of caudal fin; base of dorsal fin 

 .short, 4i in body, first ray shortest, the others graduated to the eighth, 

 which is longest; ninth, tenth, and eleventh shorter; twelfth and thir- 

 teenth longer ; the abrupt shortening of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh 

 rays makes a notch in the outline of fin; anal advanced, its origin under 

 third ray of dorsal; first ray greatly enlarged and lengthened; second 

 and third equally lengthened, but more slender, these three with their 

 connecting membranes forming a half tube with a pointed end; other 

 rays half the length of first; upper lobe of caudal rounded, 5 lower rays 

 forming a very long, blunt appendage; ventrals pointed, extending 

 almost to tip of anal; pectoral sharply rounded; color yellowish olive, 

 marked with black; during life there were 4 narrow, longitudinal orange 

 bauds, each extending along a row of scales on body; top of head, and a 

 median dorsal baud extending to caudal, dusky; a narrow, dusky baud 

 on edge of lower jaw; 2 short, vertical bands on snout; 6 upper rows of 

 scales edged with black or dusky; a few black spots irregularly arranged 

 on body above ventrals; a large black spot at base of caudal, its color 

 extending along upper edge of prolongation; a dark line extending along 

 lower edge of caudal peduncle to end of lower caudal rays, the caudal 

 extension with a light central portion bordered with black, the lower 

 border wider; underpart of head and belly without dark color; dorsal 

 im with black dots and lines; pectorals, ventrals, and anal plain. 



Considerable variation in shape of fins and in color is shown among 

 other male examples (cotypes, males and females, No. 6146, L. 8. Jr. 

 Univ. Mus.). In some the fins are low and short, the caudal ornament 

 represented only by a slight lengthening of the lower rays. Among indi- 

 viduals, apparently fully grown, there is every graduation from the 

 undeveloped to the very long caudal extension. In every case the scales 

 are conspicuously dark edged. In some examples black spots, crowded 

 together, form a more or less dark line from eye to caudal, while below 

 this line are large, irregular black blotches. Others have no black spots, 

 and the dark caudal patch has almost disappeared. 



The females have the fins low or short, and without special modifica- 

 tions, the posterior edge of caudal 2-shaped, the upper part rounded, 

 the lower pointed, the scales dark edged; a narrow, indefinite, dark color 

 band usually present along median line of sides ; the dark caudal patch 



