's RIJKS MUSEUM VAN NATUURLIJKE HISTORIE — LEIDEN. 67 



which was published by Bloch '). The only conclusion with certainty 

 to be derived from it is, that the drawing is not one of F. tabaccaria, 

 but otherwise it is impossible to make out if it represents the head of 

 F. petimba Lac. (= depressa Gthr.) or of F. serrata sensu Günther, 

 for there are wanting the cristae on the dorsal surface of the snout by 

 which the two species are easy to discriminate. In case the name 

 serrata is to be maintained, Günther is to be recognized as author 

 and the species ought to be named F. serrata Günther (1880) [G. Cu- 

 vier p.p.]; but properly its name ought to be F. villosa Klunzinger 

 (1871), for the young specimen, described by Klunzinger under that 

 name, is without question identical with the fish later on described by 

 Günther as F. serrata. This follows immediately from the fact that 

 the skin is covered with spinelets and also from the strongly concave front. 



Our conclusion is therefore that the synonymy of the two species is 

 as follows: 



F. petimba Lac. 



F. serrata Günther (Catalogue 1859 — 1861 p.p.). — serrata Klun- 

 zinger (1871). — depressa Günther (1880). — depressa Jordan & Ever- 

 mann (1896). — depressa Jordan & Starks (1902). — petimba Jenkins 

 (1904). — petimba Jordan & Evermann (1905). — petimba Steindachner 

 (1906). — depressa M. Weber (1913). 



F. villosa Klunzinger. 



F. serrata Cuvier (1817 p.p.). — serrata Günther (Catalogue 1859 — 

 1861 p.p.). — villosa Klunzinger (1871). — serrata Günther (1880). — 

 petimba Jordan & Evermann (1896). — petimba Jordan & Starks (1902). — 

 serrata Jenkins (1904). — serrata Jordan & Evermann (1905). — pe- 

 timba M. Weber (1913). 



2. Some remarks about the validity of the name 

 Gastrotokeus Kaup. 



It is easy to demonstrate that the generic name Syngnathoides of 

 Bleeker has preference above the name Gastrotokeus Kaup (Arch. f. 

 Naturgesch. XIX. 1853, p. 230 and Cat. Lophobranch. fish London 

 1856, p. 18). The latest author about Syngnathidae G. Duncker 

 (Mitt. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg 1915), to whom we are indebted for 

 a valuable monograph about this group of fishes, seems to have been 



1) Bloch, Ichtb. 1794, tab. CCCLXXXVII. fig. 2. 



2) Klunzinger, Synopsis Fische Roth. Meeres, Abhandl. zool. -bot. Ges. Wien, Bd. XXI. 

 1871, p. 516. . 



