460 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
ANALYSIS OF SPECIES OF XENISTIUS. 
a. Body oblong-elliptical, the back a little elevated; head compressed ; mouth moder- 
ate, terminal, very oblique, the lower jaw strongly protruding; maxillary narrow, 
reaching front of pupil, 2} in head; eye large, 34 to 3} in head, the eye smaller 
and the bones of the head firmer than in Xenichthys; teeth small, sharp, in very 
narrow bands, those on vomer ina /\-shaped patch, but so small as to be scarcely 
appreciable; preopercle with fine sharp serrie ; nostrils small, round; gill-rakers 
long and slender, x + 15 to 20; scales small, firm; dorsal fins almost separated ; 
spines slender but pungent; third dorsal spine longest, 1$ in head, the others 
gradually shortened; soft dorsal and anal similar to each other, short, shorter 
than spinous dorsal, the anterior rays much higher than in the species of Xenich- 
thys; first soft ray of anal 3 in head; soft dorsal and anal scaly; pectoral fins 
rather long, 14 in head, not reaching vent; color bluish above, silvery below; 
continuous dusky stripes on upper part of body, 3 above lateral line, 3 or 4 below; 
upper fins dusky, lower mostly pale. Head, 3 in length; depth, 3. D. x1-1, 12; 
INS eo pe OOM Ete ese P OS eee Na GaGa Doo. ao cole ecb oLasauodaao: CALIFORNIENSIS, 30. 
30. XENISTIUS CALIFORNIENSIS. 
Xenichthys californiensis Steindachner, Ichth. Beitr., 111, 3, 1875 (San Diego); Streets, 
Bull. Nat. Mus., vit, 49, 1877 (Cerros Island); Jordan & Gilbert, Proc. U.S. 
N. M. 1881, 278 (Cerros Island); Jordan & Gilbert, Bull. U.S. F. C. 1881, 
326 (Cerros Island); Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 547 (Cerros 
Island). 
Xenistius californiensis, Jordan & Gilbert, Syn. Fish. N. A., 1883, 920 (generic diag- 
nosis); Evermann & Jenkins, Proc. U. 8. N. M. 1891, 144 (Guaymas). 
Habitat: Coast of lower California, from San Diego to Guaymas. 
Etymology: From California. 
This interesting little fish seems to be rather rare along the coast of 
lower California, and more abundant in the Gulf. One of our speci- 
mens was taken at San Diego by Mrs. Rosa Smith Eigenmann, the 
other by Jenkins and Evermann at Guaymas. The species described 
from San Salvador as Yenichthys xenurus by Jordan & Gilbert (Proce. 
U.S. N. M. 1881, 454) is a species of Kuhlia, a genus of Serranide. 
XI. XENICHTHYS. 
Xenichthys Gill, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila, 1863, 82 (xanti). 
Type: Xenichthys xanti Gill. 
Etymology: &évs, strange; ?70vdc, fish. 
This genus contains two species from the eastern Pacific. It shows 
a remarkable combination of characters, well justifying the name 
Xenichthys. The genus is certainly allied to Pomadasis, in spite of its 
resemblance to the Serranoid genus AKuhlia. 
