NO. lO FISHES FROM PERU HILDEBRAND AND BARTON 3I 



the upper, included ; maxillary reaching well beyond posterior margin 

 of eye, 2.1 in head; teeth in jaws in villiform bands, the outer ones 

 in both jaws enlarged, those on vomer and palatines stronger, short 

 and blunt; opercle with a concealed point; gill rakers 14 on lower 

 limb, 5 somewhat developed, and 3 tubercles on upper limb ; lateral 

 line running rather high anteriorly, disappearing posteriorly ; scales 

 very small, rather difficult to enumerate accurately, extending forward 

 on head to snout, 36 rows crossing back between nape and origin of 

 dorsal ; dorsal fin very long and low, the rays rather difficult to enu- 

 merate because of heavy skin, the origin of fin a very short distance 

 behind base of pectoral, its distance from tip of snout 4.0 in standard 

 length ; caudal fin scarcely as long as eye, slightly rounded, fully 

 continuous with dorsal and anal ; anal fin similar to dorsal, its origin 

 behind that of dorsal a distance about equal to post orbital length of 

 head; the outer (or posterior) filament of ventral fin much the longer, 

 2.9 in head ; pectoral rather long, reaching notably more than halfway 

 to origin of anal, 10.7 in standard length and 2.3 in head. 



Color uniform dark brown, scarcely paler below than above ; inside 

 of gill covers pale ; outer edge of dorsal fin black, base lighter with 

 dark spots ; caudal and anal fins blackish ; ventral filaments pale ; 

 pectoral a little darker than the general color of the body, with 

 numerous dark punctulations visible under magnification ; these 

 punctulations present on the lower parts of the head and body. 



This apparently new Lepophldium is represented by a single speci- 

 men (U.S.N.M. No. 144256), 280 mm. in total and 269 mm. in 

 standard length. To identify this fish it was compared with the 

 holotypes of all the species of the genus reported from off the Pacific 

 coast of America. Its relationship with the other species, as indicated 

 by the holotypes, is shown in the parallel comparison offered herewith. 

 The numerous dorsal rays, the very small scales, the rather high 

 number of gill rakers, the very prominent rostral spine, the anterior 

 origin of the dorsal, the uniform dark brown body, and the black 

 vertical fins characterize this species. 



The name, negropinna, was suggested by the black vertical fins. 



Genus OTOPHIDIUM Gill, 1885 

 Body elongate, considerably compressed ; head compressed ; snout 

 without a spine; opercle with a strong spine; scales not in regular 

 series and not imbricated (except in indefatigable, in which they are 

 in fairly regular series and more or less imbricated), but partly or 

 mostly at right angles to each other ; dorsal and anal fins fully con- 

 tinuous with the caudal. 



