ICHTHYOLOGY. 



11 





» 









POECILICHTHYS LEPIDUS, G r d . 



Plate VIII, Figs. 14—17. 



Spec. Char. — Body compressed, rather thick upon its middle region, and attenuated towards both extremities. The head is sub- 

 conical, forming about the fourth of the entire length. The jaws are equal ; the mouth being moderate, the posterior extremity 

 of the maxillary reaching a vertical line intersecting the anterior rim of the orbit. The eye is large and circular, its diameter 

 entering about four times in the length of the side of the head. The first dorsal fin is quite low and longer than the second. The 

 ventrals and the anal being rather small . 



Syn.— Boleosoma lepida, B. & G. in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VI, 1853, 388. 



The color is reddish brown with indistinct transverse blackish bands or bars ; the base of the 

 scales is black also. The dorsals and caudal are mottled or barred, whilst the remaining fins 

 are unicolor. A vertically elongated spot may be observed beneath the eye. 



D IX 11 ; A II, 6 ; C 3, 1, 6, 5, 1, 2 ; V I, 5 ; P 14. 



Plate VIII, fig. 14, represents Pcecilichthys lepidus, size of life; fig. 15 is a front view of the 

 open mouth, showing the maxillar teeth ; fig. 16, an outline of the fish seen from above ; and, fig. 

 17, a section of the body across the line of greatest depth. 



T 



ist of specimens. 



Catal . 

 No. 



No. of 

 spec. 



Age. 



Locality. 



When col- 

 lected. 



Whence obtained. 



Nature of 

 specimen. 



Collected by — 



744 



8 



Adult. 





1851 



Col . J . D . Graham . . . 



Alcoholic 





Family MTMCHIDAE, 



Several specimens of toad fishes were collected at Indianola, Texas, in 1851, by John H. 

 Clark, under Col. J. D. Graham. As far as a hasty examination of them would permit, we 

 have identified the species with Batrachus tau, Cuv. & Val. Hist. nat. Poiss. XII, 1837, 478. 



Family SCIAENIDAE. 



The want of space forbids us working up descriptions of the following species of this family : 



'HUi 



D. N. Couch. 



2. Leiostomus obliquus, DeKay.— Specimens collected at Brazos Santiago, Texas, by G. 

 Wiedemann, and at Indianola, by John H. Clark, under Colonel J. D. Graham. 



3. Homoprion lanceolatus, Holbr. — Specimens collected at St. Joseph's Island, Texas, by G. 



Wiirdemann. 



4. Homoprion xanthurus, Holbr.— Specimens collected at the Brazos, by John H. Clark, 

 under Major Emory, and at St. Joseph's Island, by G. Wiirdemann. 



5. Conodon antillanus, Cuv. & Val.— Specimens collected at Brazos Santiago, Texas, by G. 



Wurdemann. 



6. Pogonias fasctatus, Lacep.— Specimens collected at Brazos Santiago, Texas, by G. 



Wurdemann. 



Specimens collected at Indianola, Texas, by John H. Clark, 



ovis 



under Colonel Graham ; at New Orleans, by Lieutenant Couch ; 



Major Emory, and by G. Wurdemann 



H 



Dr. C. B. 



Kennerly 



