32 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. Ill 



This genus is said to differ from Ophidion in having a short thick 

 air bladder with a large foramen. However, several species have 

 not been examined for this character. 



OTOPHIDIUM FULVUM, new species 

 Figure 9 



Head 5.6; depth 8.6; D. about 115; A. about 83; P. 26 or 27. 



Body elongate, definitely compressed, its greatest thickness about 

 two-thirds its depth; head rather deep, compressed; snout somewhat 

 pointed, no rostral spine, extending beyond premaxillaries, 5.7 in 

 head ; eye slightly elongate, 3.4 ; interorbital very narrow, 12 ; mouth 

 large, nearly horizontal ; lower jaw shorter than the upper, included ; 

 maxillary extending well beyond posterior margin of pupil, 2.4 in 

 head; teeth in jaws in villiform bands, the outer ones in each jaw 

 somewhat enlarged, those on vomer and palatines strong, low, and 

 bluntly pointed ; opercle with a strong spine ; gill rakers consisting 

 of spiny tubercles, 4 on the lower limb (2 somewhat developed), and 

 2 on the upper one ; lateral line rather high, absent posteriorly ; scales 

 not in regular series, more or less embedded, elongate, many at right 

 angles to each other; dorsal very long and low, the rays difficult to 

 enumerate, origin of fin well behind midlength of pectoral, its distance 

 from tip of snout 4.2 in standard length ; caudal fin very short, con- 

 tinuous with the dorsal and anal ; anal fin similar to the dorsal, though 

 shorter, its origin about length of head behind that of dorsal, and 

 its distance from tip of mandible 2.8 in standard length ; ventral 

 inserted at vertical from middle of eye, the outer filament the longer, 

 2.0 in head ; pectoral fin short and broad, with rounded margin, with 

 many rays,® reaching notably less than halfway to origin of anal, 

 1 1.6 in standard length, 2.05 in head. 



Color uniform brown, though somewhat lighter on chest and ab- 

 domen than elsewhere; many dark punctulations visible on the body 

 under magnification ; dorsal and anal fins with narrow dark margins, 

 extending around the tail. 



This apparently new species is represented by a single specimen 

 (U.S.N.M. No. 144257) 72 mm. in total and 69 mm. in standard 

 length. It seems to be nearest O. galeoides Gilbert, known from the 

 Gulf of California, the type of which is at hand. From that species 

 it differs, however, in several characters, as shown in the parallel 

 comparison offered herewith. From indefatigable Jordan and Boll- 



8 To obtain an accurate enumeration of the rays the skin was cut behind 

 the fin and near the base. 



