478 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



Dorsal spines rising to the last, subtruncate, flattened, each 

 with a brown vertical streak in center; the soft rays and 

 lobes of caudal much produced, as also ventrals. 



Deep indigo blue on body and fins; no pale edgings to 

 any of the fins; three round sky blue spots above lateral 

 line, the one near its beginning, the one under front of 

 spinous dorsal, the third under last spine, the first smallest, 

 the other two as large as pupil; a larger sky blue saddle 

 in axil of last soft ray. Head with many sky blue spots 

 everywhere, those on preorbital and suborbital coalescing 

 in a blue streak; another streak behind angle of mouth, 

 and another above eye. Axil sky blue, a bar of sky blue 

 across end of snout. Angle of snout sky blue. 



177. Microspathodon azurissimus Jordan & Starks n. 

 sp. Plate xliv. 



A surpassingly beautiful little fish, obtained by dynamite 

 from the rocks about the Venados Islands. Three spec- 

 imens were taken, the largest twelve inches in length. 



This species seems to agree fully with Microspathodon 

 dorsalis, except in coloration, in the greater elongation of 

 the lobes of the fins and in the greater depth of the pre- 

 orbital and other bones of the head. All these latter may 

 prove to be differences of age. The change in the color- 

 ation can hardly be of this nature. Another species of 

 this type, Microspathodon cinereics Gilbert, has been de- 

 scribed from Socorro Island. This is very close to dor- 

 salis and azurissimus, but is of an ashy gray color and 

 has a greater number of accessory scales on the large 

 scales of its body. Pending investigation, we admit all 

 four of these color forms — hairdii, dorsalis, cinereics and 

 azurissimus — as distinct species, which they probably are, 

 althoup-h the differences between cinereus and azurissimus 

 may be derived from the character of the bottom, cinereus 

 having been obtained from a bottom of volcanic ashes. 



