766 Sketch of the Progress of North American [October, 



work of description is far from exhausted, has a deterrent effect 



At least 124 species hitherto unknown to science have been 

 added to the faunal lists of our Nearctic continent during the 

 past two years, and the probabilities are that the actual numbers 

 exceed this, for so rapidly is the work proceeded with, and so ex- 

 tensive is the field, that it is not unlikely that some species have 

 been described in advance sheets of the proceedings of societies, 

 which have as yet not issued their completed volume, and thus 

 have escaped the notice of the writer. 



The Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum for 18S0, are 

 almost entirely occupied with ichthyological papers. The princi- 

 pal contributors are Professor D. S. Jordan and his coadjutor, Mr. 

 C. H. Gilbert, Professor G. B. Goode, W. N. Lockington and Pro- 

 fessor O. P. Hay. The two former ichthyologists have no less 

 than thirty-seven papers, in which forty-nine new species are de- 

 scribed, all from the Pacific coast, U. S. The total number of 

 fishes enumerated from that coast is 270, of which all but fifteen 

 were obtained by the writers, who during 1880 represented the 

 U. S. Fish Commission in California. Seventeen previously 

 known species were added to the fauna of California, principally 

 sharks, making a total of twenty-eight species common to the 

 Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In the preparation of this list priority 

 of publication has been strictly regarded, and we thus regretfully 

 witness the substitution of Scomberomorus for Cybium, of Tylo- 

 surus for Belone, and of Stolephorus for Engraulis, while the 

 familiar quinnat or Californian salmon is exchanged for the 

 " tshawytcha " or " chouicha." The species of Sebastichthys or 

 rock cod, are twenty-five, fifteen of which are new. Eight spe- 

 cies are added to the flat fishes, three to the Embiotocida^ and six 

 to the rays, while the Paralepidae and their relations are increased 

 from one to five. Several nominal species are eliminated from 

 the Lophobranchs, Gasterosteidae and Petromyzontithe. Among 

 the most interesting discoveries may i>e mentioned that of a true 

 sole ( Aphoristia atricauda), a "puffer" shark {Catidus ventriosus 

 Garman), three Blennida: of the genera Xiphister and Apodich- 

 thys, a cottoid devoid of ventral fins {Ascelickthys rhodorus) and 

 Nemichthys avocetta. 



In " Notes on a collection of Fishes from Utah lake," the same 

 writers describe three new species of fishes. 



