134 
Fishery Bulletin 96( I ), 1998 
189 mm) were collected from depths greater than 70 
m. At the shallower depths, S. oculellus is occasion- 
ally collected with adult S. tessellatus ; however, size 
differences between the two species in these collec- 
tions are quite striking. All S. tessellatus collected 
with S. oculellus were large adults (>130 mm), 
whereas the S. oculellus were a mixture of sizes, with 
juveniles as small as 78 and 82 mm. 
Remarks Discussion of the synonymy for this spe- 
cies was provided in Munroe (1991:276). 
Comparisons Symphurus oculellus most closely 
resembles and is largely sympatric with S. tessel- 
latus, S. diomedeanus, and S. plagusia. Differences 
between S. oculellus and S. diomedeanus are pre- 
sented in the “Comparisons” section of the account 
for S. diomedeanus. Symphurus oculellus differs from 
S. tessellatus in lacking the 4-8 small, but well-de- 
veloped, scales on blind-side dorsal- and anal-fin rays 
characteristic of S. tessellatus (especially evident in 
specimens larger than 70 mm), a smaller eye (68- 
104, x =84 HL vs. 79-114, x =95 HL in S. tessellatus ), 
and higher meristic values (dorsal-fin rays 97-106 
vs. 91-102 in S. oculellus-, anal-fin rays 81-89 vs. 
74-86; total vertebrae usually 53-54 vs. 50-53). Sym- 
phurus tessellatus also lacks the fleshy ridge on the 
ocular-side lower jaw that is usually present and well 
developed in S. oculellus (compare Fig. 3, D and E). 
And, the posterior extension of the jaws is slightly 
less extensive in S. tessellatus, reaching only to about 
the vertical through the posterior margin of the pu- 
pil or posterior margin of the lower eye. In S. 
oculellus, the jaws extend farther backwards reach- 
ing a vertical through the posterior margin of the 
eye, and in many specimens the jaws extend slightly 
posterior to the vertical through the posterior mar- 
gin of the lower eye. 
Symphurus oculellus has 10 to 14 (usually 10-12), 
narrower, crossbands; S. tessellatus generally has 
about nine, wide, dark-brown crossbands. In S. 
oculellus, the dorsal and anal fins are not uniformly 
dark brown or black but, instead, in the posterior 
two-thirds of the dorsal and anal fins there is an al- 
ternating series of blotches and unpigmented areas, 
and the blind-side inner opercular lining and isth- 
mus are much more lightly pigmented than corre- 
sponding structures on the ocular surface of the body. 
In S. tessellatus, the caudal fin and the posterior 
third of the dorsal and anal fins are usually dark 
brown or black and without alternating series of 
blotches and unpigmented areas, and the isthmus 
and inner opercular lining on the blind side are 
heavily pigmented, similar to those on the ocular side 
of the body. 
Symphurus oculellus is also similar to S. plagusia 
with respect to small eye size and presence of a fleshy 
ridge on the ocular-side lower jaw. It differs from this 
species, however, in its much higher counts (52-55 
total vertebrae vs. 47-51 in S. plagusia; dorsal-fin 
rays 97-106 vs. 89-97; anal-fin rays 81-89 vs. 73- 
81) and pigmentation pattern. Symphurus oculellus 
has sharply contrasting crossbands, pigmented 
blotches alternating with unpigmented areas in the 
dorsal and anal fins, and a black spot on outer opercle 
(vs. a relatively uniform body coloration with faint 
crossbands, uniformly pigmented fins without 
blotches and no pigment spot on the outer opercle in 
S. plagusia). Furthermore, in S. plagusia, the first, 
and occasionally the second, rays of the dorsal fin 
are usually located along a vertical line anterior to 
the upper eye, whereas in S. oculellus, the dorsal-fin 
origin usually extends anteriorly only to the vertical 
through the anterior margin or mideye region of the 
upper eye. Differences in morphometries between the 
two species are that S. oculellus has a narrower body 
(231-297 SL vs. 278-319 SL in S. plagusia) and at- 
tains larger sizes (up to 190 mm vs. largest of only 
131 mm in S. plagusia). 
Symphurus oculellus is similar to S. civitatium 
with respect to small eye size and presence of a fleshy 
ridge on the ocular-side lower jaw. Differences be- 
tween these species are discussed in the “Compari- 
sons” section under the species account for S. 
civitatium. 
There are seven eastern Pacific Symphurus with 
similar ID patterns, comparable fin-ray counts, or 
pigment patterns reminiscent of those observed in 
S. oculellus . Of these seven species, only S. 
chabanaudi and S. elongatus are similar to S. 
oculellus in lacking a pupillary operculum. Many 
meristic features of S. oculellus completely overlap 
those of the eastern Pacific S. chabanaudi. Symphurus 
oculellus differs from S. chabanaudi, however, in lack- 
ing the 4-8 small, but well-developed scales on blind- 
side dorsal- and anal-fin rays prominent in S. 
chabanaudi, especially those larger than 60 mm; in 
having a somewhat smaller eye (1.2-1. 9, x = 1.5 SL 
in S. oculellus vs. 1.7-2. 3, x =1.9 SL), and S. oculellus 
has a well-developed fleshy ridge on the ocular-side 
lower jaw (absent in S. chabanaudi). The jaws in S. 
oculellus extend posteriorly to the vertical through 
the posterior margin of the lower eye, and in many 
specimens the jaws actually extend slightly beyond 
the posterior margin of the eyes, whereas in S. 
chabanaudi the posterior extension of the jaws 
reaches only to a vertical through the posterior mar- 
gin of the pupil or the posterior margin of the lower 
eye. Symphurus oculellus also differs from S. 
chabanaudi in the relative frequencies of specimens 
