448 THE FOR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



known to us. Nasal spines low, but strong. Ocular ridge low, evident only above front 

 of eye. Occipital ridges barely evident, evenly scaled over. Top of head otherwise 

 without spines, ridges, or furrows, the even convex curve unbroken. Vertical distance 

 from middle of interorbital space to upper edge of orbit equaling half vertical diam- 

 eter of orbit. Anterior margin of preorbital with two rounded lobes which do not 

 bear spinous points. Preoperctilar spines very strong, the upper two closely ai)proxi- 

 mate, the others widely separated. All the si)iues are sharp i)ointed, the uppermost 

 very wide at base, the second much narrower, the others short and wide. Upper two 

 sijines directed backward, the three lower downward and backward. Opercular 

 spines strong, flat, often bifid or trifid. Spines on adjacent angles of subopercle and 

 interopercle sometimes bifid; behind these on margin of subopercle a few short spinous 

 points. Gill rakers very long and slender, 11+29 in number, the anterior one or two 

 of lower arch tubercular; the longest (1'2 mm.) more than two-thirds diameter of orbit. 

 Mandible very heavy, the symphysis not produced, the two jaws subequal. Vomerine 

 and palatine patches of teeth extremely narrow. 



Head, 3J in length; depth, 2^. Eye, 4|| in head, 1^ in snout. Interorbital width, 

 85 in head. D., XIV, 16; A., Ill, 8. Lateral line with 56 pores. Highest dorsal 

 spine, 2.^ in head; thirteenth spine, 4|; fi)urteenth spine, 3:-]; second anal spine, 3|; 

 third anal spine, 3i-; longest soft ray of dorsal, l,-,,. 



Fins high, the third to seventh dorsal spines subequal. Caudal very slightly 

 emarginate. Anal spines graduated. Pectorals scarcely reaching vertical from vent, 

 the lower 9 simple, the 10 upper forked. Ventral not reaching vent, two-tliirds length 

 of head. Caudal scaled to tip on membranes and rays. Soft dorsal and anal with 

 narrow bands of scales following the rays to or nearly to their tips, the membranes of 

 the first three or four rays in each fin wholly scaled 011 basal third. Spinous dorsal 

 naked. Pectorals scaled on basal half; veutrals naked. Of the head, the maxillary 

 and mandible, the branchiostegal rays, the anterior and upper half of interopercle and 

 all of preorbital except a minute area along its posterior nuirgin are naked. The 

 body is covered with small weakly ctenoid scales, largely covered over by the extra- 

 ordinarily developed accessory scales. Scales on breast, belly, and prepectoral area 

 smooth. The naked skin covering boues of head is minutely wrinkled or pappilose. 



Color in spirits light brownish on body and fins, with darker shades on lips, gill 

 membranes, opercles, and top of head. It may have been reddish in life. Mouth and 

 gill cavity white. Peritoneum jet black. 



We prefer at present not to separate this species from iSebastodes on the strength 

 of the increased number of dorsal spines. 



Family HEXAGRAMMID.^. 



62. Hexagrammos stelleri Tilesiiis. 



He.ragrammos asper (Steller) Tilesius, Act. Acad. Petrop. II, .310, 1810. 

 Lahrax hexagrammus I'allas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. Ill, 284, 1811. 

 Chiropsi» nchiiloxiis (iirard, U. S. I'ac. It. U. Snrv., Fishes, 45. 

 Chirns iriyrammiiH Cope, Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc, Phila., 1873, 29. 

 Hexagrammos hexagrammus .Jordan and Evennann, Checklist, 434. 



Two specimens from Pctropaulski; several specimens from Unalaska and Karlnk. 

 This species seems mucli less abundant along the shores of Bering Sea than //. octo- 

 fframmus {ordiiiatus). The Petropaulski specimens give the following data: Dorsal 

 XXII, 21; XXIII, 20; anal 23, 21; pectoral, 20. Cheeks scaled above and behind the 

 suborbital stay, naked in front of and including the stay, except for a small patch of 



