410 DR. GUNTHER ON THE FISHES OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 
head. ‘The lips are not very thick. Posterior limb of preoperculum very convex, 
minutely serrated, with three coarser teeth at the angle; lower limb toothless. Sub- 
and interoperculum entire. Operculum terminating in three not very strong teeth, the 
upper of which is somewhat more remote than the others, the middle one being the 
more prominent. Suprascapular concealed by the scales. 
The membrane of the dorsal fin is scaly for about half the height between the spines 
and rays; the spinous portion scarcely lower but longer than the soft, with its upper 
margin convex, and a small membranaceous appendage behind the tip of each spine. 
The first spine is the shortest, rather more than half the length of the second, which is 
one-fifth shorter than the third; from the third to the seventh the spines are equal, 
becoming slightly shorter at the eighth; the last two spines are of equal length. ‘The 
rays increase slightly from the first to the sixth, after which the upper margin is 
straight, becoming again rounded posteriorly. ‘The first ray is one-fifth longer than 
the preceding spine. Caudal with posterior margin convex. ‘The commencement of 
the anal is on a line with that of the soft dorsal, and it ends before the termination of 
the dorsal; the first spine is short, not half the length of the second, which is long and 
strong, longer than any of the dorsal spines; the third is slenderer, and equal to the 
third dorsal spine: the margin of the soft part of the fin is nearly straight, sharply 
rounded off posteriorly. The pectoral consists of eighteen rays, is rounded, and longer 
than the ventral, and covered with very minute scales to one-third of the length. The 
ventrals reach the vent; the second ray is the longest, the spine being equal to the 
second of the dorsal. Canine teeth of moderate size, those of the lower jaw rather 
small. Coloration as described above. 
A single specimen, 4 inches long, was sent by Capt. Dow from the Pacific coast of 
Panama. ‘The specimen in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution is from the 
coast of Lower California; a statement of its size, which would have been of some 
importance, is omitted. 
13. SERRANUS ANALOGUS. 
Epinephelus analogus, Gill, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1863, p. 163. 
D. A.3 LL. lat.ca. 100. 
Adult.—The height is contained thrice in the total length (without caudal), the 
length of the head twice and two-thirds. The preoperculum is finely serrated behind, 
and towards the angle armed with three or four strong teeth. The diameter of the 
eye equals a sixth of the head’s length, and equals the interorbital space as well as 
the snout behind the intermaxillaries. The third, fourth, and fifth spines are equal, 
and contained twice and two-thirds in the length of the head; the tenth thrice and a 
half. The caudal fin enters five times and a half in the length, the height of the 
dorsal twice and three-fourths in the head. The anal is deeper; its third spine is 
longest, and enters four times and three-fourths in the head’s length; the pectoral is 
at least half as long as the head; the ventral shorter, but coterminal with it. 
