NO. 1875. THE JAPANESE 8PARIDJE— JORDAN AND THOMPSON. 539 



Head 3 to 3 J in body; depth 3 to 3|; maxillary 3 in head; longi- 

 tudinal diameter of eye 5; snout 2^; mterorbital space 3§ to 4J; D. 

 XII, 10; A. Ill 8. Scaler above lateral line to base of caudal 72, 

 below 60 to 70, with 51 ])ores, in transverse series between insertions 

 of dorsal and anal 15/22 to 25; gill-rakers 8 + 15. 



Dorsal and ventral contours of body similarly arched, the dorsal 

 profile of head straight; snout conical, long, somewhat pointed; 

 mouth small, maxillary ending before eye, under nostrils; lower jaw 

 included; eye small, set rather low, leaving interorbital space convex 

 from side to side; preorbital border serrated, that of preopercle at 

 angle mtli strong teeth about one-fourth of eye diameter in length, 

 diminishing in size above, with rather fine serrse on lower limb; 

 opercle with two spines, the upper smaller than those on preopercle, 

 the lower over half diameter of eye in length, flat and strong; clavicle 

 set with teeth about half as long and strong as those on preopercle; 

 post-temporal with much smaller teeth. Teeth in jaws small, conical, 

 set in many rows anteriorly in both jaws and posteriorly in upper, but 

 in two rows posteriorly in lower; outer rows only slightly larger, not 

 closely set as in Tfierapon quadrilineatus; none on vomer, palatines or 

 tongue. Gill-rakers short, stout, one-third of eye diameter in length. 



Dorsals not deeply divided; spines strong; fourth, fifth, and sixth 

 longest, 2^ in head, last 3J in head, equal to the preceding spine; 

 dorsal rays 2§ in head, fin outline convex. Anal spines stout, second 

 longest, 2§ in head; first anal ray one-third longer, fin border straight. 

 Pectoral small. If in head, slightly shorter than ventrals. Caudal 

 short, 2 in head, concave. 



Scales present everywhere on body save preorbital, dorsal surface 

 of head, lips, and mandible. Doreals and anal naked, save for a 

 moderate sheath of scales; caudal scaled on basal half. 



Colors somewhat variable in intensity, a specimen from Wakanoura 

 almost black above and very dark below, others grayish silvery. 

 Pattern constant, of four strong, longitudinal brown stripes, as broad 

 as pupil, the third from snout, through eye to caudal, and of four 

 fainter stripes alternating with these; all running down on snout, 

 save that on middle of back and the lowermost; spmous doreal with 

 basal and distal bands, latter broader, former continued on soft 

 dorsal; body bands not continued on caudal, which is irregularly 

 mottled; other fins colorless. Peritoneum and gill cavities clear. 



This species is very different from Therapon servus, and it sTiould 

 perhaps be placed in a different genus. It is, however, not closely 

 related to the type of Pelates. This species is not rare on the coasts 

 of southern Japan, as far north as Matsushima Bay. 



A third species, Therapon quadrilineatus (Bloch), allied to T. 

 oxyj'liynchus and common in the East Indies, is mentioned by Bleeker 

 as from "Japan." The record is probably fi-om the Riu Kiu Islands. 



