Description of a new embiotocoid (<I>Abeona aurora</I>), from Monterey, California, with notes on a related species

PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED

-STATES

NATIONAL MUSEUM.

299"

DEi^CRIPTlOIV

OF A .\EW

EITIBIOTOCOD

O

(ABEOr.A

AUK«KA>

FKOTI .MW^TEREV, CALIFORNIA, WITH

.^OTES 0.\

A RE

I.

ATI O

By OAVIO

S.

JOZIOAX

a:5d

CEIAKLES

BI.

GIJLBEKT.

Body

veiyelong.ite, with dorsaland ventral outlines e^-enlycurved

j

caudal peduncle verylonj--,thick atbase; snout blunt

and

rounded, top of head everywhere transverselyconvex

and

the occipital re,i>ion but

littledepressed.

Mouth

small

and

oblique,the lower

jaw somewhat

shorter than the upper

and

included.

The

maxillary reachesbuttwo-thirds the distance to front of orbit; premaxillariesanteriorly abouton a levelwith lower rim of orbit.

Teethlong

and

strong,

somewhat

compressedandincisor-like,an-anged.

inacloseseries;each toothwiththree short-roundedlobesnear_theendy.

themiddle lobe the longest; their form precisely as in Ahvona mlniiiKu These incisor teeth arecrowded, with the lobesoverlapping,and often with oneslipped entirelybehindthe others.

Scales ofcheeksinthreedistinct seriesbelow,inoneposteriorly. Be- hind this outer

row and

well separated from it are, in the upper jaw^

from

two

to several distinct canines,therebeingusuallyapairnear the middleof the jaw. Gill-rakersratherfeeble,ofmoderatelength.

Lower

lip thin, with a frenum.

Dorsalfinwith the spinesfromthefifthorsixth totheeleventh,longer than theothers, about equal to eachother

and

to the longest softray.

Pectoralsnotreachingas far asdotheventrals,which scarcelyreach the vent. Caudalforked fornearly halfits length. Ventral groove almost obsolete; the distance fromventrals tovent aboutequals the length of the analfin.

Lateral line with 40to 45scales (4-43-13).

Color bluish black above, becoming lighter.on lower half of sides silvery below. Opercles

and

lower half of sides punctate with black dots

and

shaded with light orange or rose red, the latter here

more

intense on the centers of the scales.

A

broad grayish area extending

backward

fromthe axil ofthex)ectorals,without orangetintsanddark- ened

by

black punctulatious on the edges ofthe scales; thisarea ends opposite the origin of theanal fin; above it the orange shade forms a rather distinct

band

from the lips to the base of the caudal. Axil of pectorals black, especially above. Fins plain, speckled with blackish.

Anal somewhat

yellow.

Fin rays:D. VIII, 17; A. Ill,20.

The

intestines were filled with a species of Ulva, indicating avege- tablediet.

Thisspecies is

known

to usfromfifteen examples takenin thebay

of

Monterv_*y,

and

purchased

by

usin the

San

Francisco market.

300 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

Itagreeswith. Abeona

minima

in the peculiardentition characteristic of that genus, aswell as in the large scales

and

shortened fins. Its form is, however, quitedifferent, resembling

more

the generaBracliyis- tius

and

Cymatogaster. Itis a considerably largerfish than Abeonami-

nima;

itsdorsal spines are

weaker and

the

number

offinraysis greater.

(D.IX, 14; A. Ill, 16

—

ⁱⁿ

Abeona

^minima.)

From

Cymatogaster aggregatus it is widelyseparated

by

the diiierent dentition; with Bracliyistiusfrenatus

GiU

ithascloser affinities,but the

two

speciesbelongto differentgenera.

This latter species

has

been but once observed,

and

no description has been yet iDublished, merelya brief note enumerating

some

of its peculiarities.

We

therefore subjoina fulleraccount,

drawn

from afine

specimen obtained

by

usat Santa Barbara.

Brachyistius peenatus

Gill.*

(Proc. Acad..Nat. Sci. Pliila., 1862, 275.)

Body

elongate, compressed, the

body

properregularlyelliptical,with longcaudal peduncle.

Head

long, veryslender

and

pointed,

much

de- pressed above the eyes, the snout projecting.

Mouth

verysmall, ter-

minaloblique,thesmall maxillaryfalling

much

short of theorbit. Lips rather thin, the lower with a frenum. Teeth long

and

slender, some-

what

lanceolate, fewin number, arrangedina^{single series.}

Preorbital broad.

Cheeks

with about

two

rows of scales; oi)ercles

with three.

Eye

large, anterior, about3 inhead.

GiU-rakersnumerous, long

and

slender.

Scaleslarge, 12in the course of thelateralline. Dorsal spines high

and

ratherstrong,thefirstlow,the others rapidly increasingtothesixth

and

s.eventh, the eighth shorter, the soft rays a little higherthanthe highest spines.

Caudal

pedunclenearlyas long as the head, notveryslender. Caudal

fin ratherdeeplj'forked.

Anal

spinesfeeble,the fin elevated in front. Veutrals reaching soft

Tays of anal. Pectorals reaching first analspine. Ventralgroovevery short.

D. YIII, 15^; A. Ill, 22.

Colordarlv olive-brownabove, with lighter stripes along the rows of scales.

Below

everywhere a brilliantlightcopperyred; each scalewith

a

lightblue spot

and

dark punctulations.

Head

coloredlike the body.

Pins all light reddish,plain, the dorsal

somewhat

dusky.

A

streak of sky-blue spotsbelow

and

infront of the eye.

Mcasttrancnts ofAbeona aurom.

ExtremeIcngtli 6.03iuclies

Lengthtobase ofcaudal 5.57 iuclies

=

¹⁰⁰

*We

havesiuceobtaiuedthissxieciesiuverygreatnumbersatvarious places along

-t3ic coast from Los Angelesto Vancouver's Island. Dltrcma hrevipinne Glinther is

undoubtedlythesamespecies.

PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 301

Body^:

Greatestdeptli pg

Leastdepthoftail j^

Leugthofcaudal j)eduncle 21

Head

:

Greatest length _25.

5

Width ofinterorbitalarea 9

Lengthofsnout ₇

Lengthofmaxillary 6

Diameterofeye 7

Dorsal

:

Distancefromsnout _37.

5

Lengthofbase 43.5

Heightoflongestspine 12

Heightof highestsoftray 12

Anal

:

Length ofbase 16.

5

Heightof longestray ^ 9

Caudal

:

Lengthofmiddlerays 13,

2

Lengthofouter rays 25

Pectoral,length 24

Ventral,length 19

Dorsal rays VIII, 17

Analrays Ill, 20

Scales 4-43-13

Transverseseriesbelowlateral line 35

San

Francisco,Cal., February 28, 1880.

I>ESC'RI5»TIO:V

OF A IVEW

FI^Ol'.'VDER (PI^ATV

.SOMATICHTHVS

STO.TIIAS),

FKOm THE COAST OF

€AEIFOIlI\IA.

By DAVIO

S.

JOKE>A]V and CHARLES H. GILBERT.

Body

extremely elongateforthefamily,thin,

and

stronglycompressed.

Head

rather long

and

slender; the snout

somewhat

pointed.

Mouth

extremelylarge

and

oblique,the lower

jaw

included; the maxillary very long

and

slender, reaching

much beyond

the eye,its lengthabouthalf thatofthehead. Premaxillaryinfrontabovethelevelofthelowereye.

Teeth intheupper

jaw

anteriorly long, slender,

and

wide-set.

Some

of the teethveryfreely depressible, the larger ones scarcelymovable.

Posteriorlythe teeth are

much

smaller,close-set,

and

fixed intwo rows

j

the inner

row

continuouswith the larger anterior^series, theouter

row

extendingoutsideof

some

ofthe enlargedteeth.

Teeth in the lower

jaw

^{very sharp}

and

slender, long,

and

wide-set, alternating withshorter ones,which areveryfreely depressible. Out- side of thelargerteeth is a seriesof small, fixed, close-set t«eth.

The

larger teeth in each

jaw

are distinctlyarrow-shaped. Pharyngealteeth apparently in onerow.