G28 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [30] 



ANALYSIS OF SPECIES OF HARPE. 



Common characters. — Body rather robust, somewhat compressed, covered with large 

 scales ; cheeks, opercles, and interopercle scaly ; preopercle serrulate, usually becom- 

 ing entire Avith age ; mouth rather large, the anterior canines i, the median canines 

 of the lower jaw usually smallest ; posterior canines present ; a scaly sheath at base 

 of both dorsals ; angles of caudal, and of soft dorsal and anal fin more or less pro- 

 duced, especially in the adult ; median caudal rays subtruncate ; depth in the adult 

 about equal to length of the head. D. usually XII, 11 (rarely XIII, 10) ; A. Ill, 13 ; 

 lat. 1, usually 33. 



a. Male, in life, blue, with a yellow patch behind the pectoral fin, which has a large 

 dark spot on its extremity ; head, tail, and fins bright red, their tips black 

 and yellow ; forehead very gibbous in the adult, preopercle entire, or very 

 slightly crenulated; eye a little less than 6 in head, which is about 3£ in 

 length; all the fins (except the pectorals) elongate in the adult, the dorsal 

 nearly reaching and the anal extending beyond the median caudal rays; 

 external caudal rays twice as long as the median ; ventrals reaching nearly 

 to base of anal. 

 Females: Color brownish-yellow; a dark band commences behind the snout and 

 is divided into two behind the eye, the upper portion running along the 

 back and nearly joining its fellow from the other side on the back of 

 the free portion of the tail, while the lower crosses the angle of the oper- 

 culum and is continued on to the middle of the tail, terminating near the 

 caudal and alternating with two spots behind the base of the caudal fin ; 

 fins yellowish or orange. Forehead scarcely gibbous in the adult; pre- 

 opercle entire or slightly crenulated ; eye 6 in head, which is about equal 

 to depth ; vertical fins elongate in the adult, the dorsal extending nearly 

 to and the anal beyond the median caudal rays, which are one-half as long 

 as the external rays; ventrals extending to the third anal spine. Depth 

 (including scaly dorsal sheath) nearly 3£ in length ; D. XII, 11 ; A. Ill, 13; 



scales5-33-12 Diplot^enia, 26. 



aa. Color chiefly red, without dark bands or stripes. 

 b. Pectorals immaculate, 

 c. Body without dark cross band, or conspicuous pale blotch. 

 d. General color violet-red above and anteriorly, yellow or orange behind and 

 below; lower part of sides and posterior part of body yellowish-orange; 

 upper part of head and body (as far back as a line joining base of pectoral 

 and soft dorsal) violet-red; middle of caudal, bases of pectorals and ven- 

 trals, and most of anal violaceous. Head 3^in length ; depth nearly 3. D. 

 XII, 9 ; A. Ill, 11 or 12 ; scales 5-32-13 ; fins a little less produced than in 



H. pectoralis Rufa, 27. 



dd. [General color vermilion, with two large, irregular, black blotches on the 

 back and dorsal fin, the anterior on the first six dorsal spines, the posterior 

 extending over the whole soft dorsal and over a portion of the back of the 

 tail ; snout pointed, with the upper profile slightly concave ; head longer 

 than high ; dorsal and anal fins produced ; caudal emarginate. D. XII, 



10 ; A. Ill, 12 ; Lat. 1, 32. ] (Valenciennes.) Eclancueri, 28. 



cc. [Body with a dark-brown cross band before with a pale blotch under soft dor- 

 sal ; snout pointed, less than 3 in head, eye nearly 7 ; scales on cheek small, 

 in eight series; dorsal spines increasing in length posteriorly, the first being 

 rather shorter than the eye, the last as long as the ventral spine, which is 

 2f in head ; produced rays of soft dorsal and anal not reaching root of 

 caudal ; color unknown, probably red ; a large whitish blotch below the 

 soft dorsal ; a blackish cross-band in front of this blotch, descending from 

 the ninth, tenth, and eleventh dorsal spines. Head equal to depth of body 

 and 3 in total ; D. XIII, 10 ; A. Ill, 12 ; scales 5-33-12.] (Giinther.) 



Tredecimspinosa, 29. 



