THE SHOHK FISHES. 329 



Petroscirtes mitratus Ri ppell. 



Alias, 1S2S, p. Ill, hil'. -JS, fisj, 1. 



Nos. 08908, M. C. Z. 21)r)22, three s])ociinens each I5 inches, and 0908(), 

 four spccmiens !§ to if inches long, from Moen, Trul< (iroup, ("arohnc Ishuids. 



Petroscirtes quadrimaculatus, -^p. uo\. 

 Plate 7. fin lire I. 



The collection contains two sjieciniens, No. 09000, if and l| inches long 

 from Arhno Atoll, Marshall Islands, the larger of which is the type, and one 

 specimen, ]\I. C. Z. 29393, 1.75 inches long from Papeete, Tahiti, Society Islands. 

 The type No. 65980, U. S. N. M., gives the following measurements: — 



Head 4.25 in body length; depth 0.07; eye 3.33 in head; snout 3.33; head 

 rather sharply conical; posterior nostril with a slightly raised membranous 

 edge, anterior nostril with short tulies; two rows of narrow, close-set, rounded 

 incisors in upper jaw, those of inner row larger, no teeth visible on vomer or 

 Ijalatines; one row of larger incisors in the front of the truncate lower jaw, and a 

 huge backward cvu'X'ed, fang-like canini^ tooth in the anterior angle of each side 

 of lower jaw, the lower incisors horizontal; caudal truncate; dorsal 41 ; anal 29. 



Color: back, upper side of body and top of head light brown; a series of 

 large (luadrate dai-k brown s]iots, sejiarated by narrow interspaces, from back of 

 ej^e to base of caudal, below which an abruptly narrow silvery strijoe extending 

 from tip of lower jaw and lower border of eye to base of caudal ; the surface below 

 this band plain whitish. The nai-row interspaces between the sjjots on body 

 are made up of pairs of light colored lines diverging at to]) and extending to base 

 of dorsal, darker between, but not so dark as the ([uadrate spots, and causing 

 spots t(j show faintly as if continuous to the dorsal; very narrow light colored 

 bars extending below from the middle, or a little in front of middle, to the anal; 

 the second interspace behind the j^ectoral continues in this wa>'. 



Dorsal and anal are crossed l)y broad bars, ])arallel with the lays, corres|)ond- 

 ing to the tiuadrate spots in jiosition, the broad bars co\criiig about .S of width 

 of fin; above these a narrow whitish stiiix' with a very narrow bl;ickisli border, 

 tijjs of rays white; the borders not showing on anal, but lips of rays also white; 

 pectoral, ventral, and caudal \ndv. 



