368 FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



317. MIOROGOBIUS EULEPIS Eigenmann & Eigenmann. 



Goby. 



Microgobius eulepis Eigenmann & Eigenmann, Proceedings California Academy of Science, 1888, 69; Fortress 

 Monroe, Va. Jordan & Evermann, 1898, 2244. 



Diagnosis. — Body scarcely compressed, depth contained 5.5 times in length; head .25 

 length, its depth .75 length; eye large, .28 length of head ; interorbital as wide as pupU; snout 

 short, broad, .2 length of head; preorbital narrower than pupU; mouth oblique, maxillary not 

 reaching to anterior margin of pupil; teeth in both jaws in a narrow band, some of them 

 enlarged; scales rather large, crowded anteriorly, the breast, nape, and spinous dorsal region 

 naked, number in lateral series 50, in transverse series 14; dorsal rays vii + 15 to vii + 17, the 

 longest spine .66 length of head; anal rays 16 or 17; caudal .25 length of body; pectorals and 

 ventrals about as long as head. Color; yellow or very light brown without bars or stripes, the 

 scales on back with dark margin; a light vertical bar on preopercle; a sharply defined black 

 spot on upper part of spinous dorsal between fourth and fifth spines; other fins plain, (evlepis, 

 well scaled.) 



Up to this time this species has been known only from the type specimen, 

 1.87 inches long, collected at Fortress Monroe, Virginia. During 1905 a number 

 of specimens were seined by Charles Hatsel on sandy shoals in Beaufort Harbor; 

 4 were taken in February on Uncle Israel Shoal, and another on May 18. The 

 last, 1.5 inches long, is a female distended with nearly ripe eggs; the mouth is 

 much more vertical than in the preceding species and the snout is shorter; and 

 the black spot on spinous dorsal is very distinct. 



Genus GOBIOSOMA Girard. Naked Gobies. 



These gobies reach a length of only 2 or 3 inches, and are easily recognizable 

 by the entire absence of scales, combined with a rather elongate body, small to 

 large mouth with jaw teeth in several rows, the outer teeth larger, normally 7 

 dorsal spines, and united ventral fins. Several species in West Indies and on 

 our southern coasts, but only 1 ranging as far northward as North Carolina. 

 (Gobiosoma, having the body of Gobius.) 



318. GOBIOSOMA BOSCI (LacSpede). 

 Naked Goby. 



Go&iws 6osciLac^pfede,HistoireNaturelledesPoiasons, ii, 555.pl. 16, fig. 1, 1798; Charleston, S. C. 

 Go6iosoma6osci, Jenkins, 1885, Beaufort. Jordan, 1886, 28; Beaufort. Jenkins, 1887, 91; Beaufort. Jordan 

 and Evermann, 1898, 2259. 



Diagnosis. — ^Depth .16 to .20 total length; head broad, flat, .33 total length; mouth 

 large, jaws equal; teeth in a few rows, some of them enlarged and canine, teeth smaller in 

 female; maxillary extending to posterior third of eye; cheeks tumid; eye .2 head and wider 

 than snout; dorsal rays vii + 14, the spines slender; anal rays 10; caudal rounded; ventrals 

 forming a sucking disk. Color: greenish, with 7 or 8 pale transverse bars and dark shades; fins 

 barred. (Named for M. Boso, French consul at Charleston.) 



This fish ranges from Cape Cod to Florida and is common in suitable locali- 

 ties on the coast of North Carolina; it was first recorded from Beaufort by Jen- 

 kins (1885), and has recently been obtained at the same place, specimens being 

 preserved in the government laboratory there. The fish lives on the bottom in 

 shallow bays, and is often found in empty oyster shells. Its length is 2.5 inches. 



