282 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM VOL, 95 
pelvic ray longest; lateral line complete but not prominent, slightly 
decurved anteriorly and running just below blackish lateral streak 
except along caudal peduncle where it is along the midaxis; bases of 
first rays of dorsal and anal fins provided with free membranous folds; 
a small axillary scale on upper base of pelvics. 
Coloration of breeding males when alive was as follows: Head black- 
ish, a little paler below, iris blackish except a narrow bright line pos- 
teriorly next to pupil; a blackish bar across operculum, followed by 
bright yellow across rear of opercle to in front of pelvic base, this yel- 
low bar extending dorsally to above operculum and fainter to occiput, 
and set off posteriorly by the blackish humeral bar; basal part of pec- 
toral fin yellowish; upper and anterior parts of body brownish black, 
gradually becoming purplish brown posteriorly; a bright yellow spot at 
anterior basal half of first dorsal rays, then a brown bar across middle 
of fin, distal half of dorsal purplish; anterior basal third of anal fin 
with a bright yellow spot, the distal half brown; adipose fin purplish; 
caudal fin brownish, the basal third abruptly darker brown; along the 
lateral axis on midsides isan irregular or broken dark streak anteriorly,. 
becoming a succession of black dots posteriorly. 
The color pattern of the females and of the immature in alcohol 
consists of about 9 or 10 dark vertical bars on sides, meeting along mid- 
dorsal line, these most prominent in the immature; a small black spot 
at midbase of caudal fin; in front of this an embedded blackish bar 
across base of caudal fin rays that sends off a narrow line of pigment 
along the outer caudal fin ray; dorsal with one or two brownish bars 
across the rays, other fins plain in color; humeral spot always blackish 
and prominent; pale areas at anterior basal third of both dorsal and 
anal fins; the dark lateral streak narrow, usually formed by a row of 
small black spots posteriorly on breeding females. 
These little fishes are beautifully colored when alive and live among 
the gravel and stones on the stream bottom much as do the darters of 
eastern North America. 
Remarks.— This new species of Characidium with no scales on its 
breast differs in other respects from all other members of the genus 
in its color pattern. By means of the key on page 278, it may be 
separated from other species occurring in northern South America. 
Named voladorita in reference to its small size and to the common 
name given it by the Venezuelans who saw me collect this species. 
CHARACIDIUM FASCIATUM Reinhardt 
Characidium fasciatum RuinuarpT, Overs. Danske Vid. Selsk. Forh. Kj¢gbenhavn, 
1866, p. 56, pl. 2, figs. 1, 2 (Lagoa Santa; Rio das Velhas, Brazil).—Srxr- 
DACHNER, Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien, vol. 41, p. 155, 1879 (Ciudad Bolivar, 
Venezuela).— EIGENMANN, Mem. Carnegie Mus., vol. 9, No. 1, p. 121, 1922 
(Orinoco).—EIGENMANN and ALLEN, Fishes of western South America, 
p. 288, 1942 (Orinoco Basin). 
