Description of a new ray (<I>Platyrhina triseriata</I>), from the coast of California

36 PEOCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

Measuremenis of ^typical specimen.

(Ko. ,UnitedStatesNationalMuseum.)

Extremelengtli 11.50inclies.

Leugtlitobase of caudalfin 9.90 inclies=1.00

Greatest doptli 41

Least deptli - 105

Lengthofcaudalpeduncle - .005

Lengtli ofhead ^.23

Widthofintcrorbital area 017

Length ofsnout ^{- .04}

Lengthofniaxillaiy .10

Lengthofmandible 11

Diameteroforbit ^.' .065

Distancefromsnouttodorsal .075

Lengthofbaseofdorsal 77

Greatestheight ofdorsal 10

Distance of analfromsnout .32

Lengthofbase of anal .69

Height of longest ray .11

Lengthofcftudal 13

Lengthof pectoral(right side) 24

Lengthof ventrals .085

The

typical example of this species

was

taken on a

hook

onthe west side of theisland of SantaCatilina,Los Angeles Connty, California.

OE-f^CfSIPTlO^f

OF A

^IVEtV

KAY

(^ff.

AT

YKBIfflVA

TRHSERffAf

A),

FKOM

TTHE

COAST OF

€AI.SFOKIVEA.

B"F B)AVEI> S.

JTOROAN AMO CEIAMI.ES M. OII.BEMT.

PLATYEHIXA TRISERIATA.

Disk broad-ovate, broaderthanlong5 thesuont veryblnntlyrounded, notprojecting; theangle formed anteriorly

by

the pectorals veryob- tuse; anterior margins of the pectorals slightlyconvex^; tail stout, in formintermediatebetween

Raia and

EJdnohatus, itswidthatbaseabout equal to thelength of the snout

and

alittle

more

than theintcrorbital width; tail

much

longerthan the disk, not

much

depressed,its sides vertical, its lower lateral edges witli broad horizontal fold, a slight groove above oneach side ofthe

median

seriesof spines.

Dorsaltins similar, higherthan long, the anterior farbehind the end of the claspers; theposterior freemarginofbothfins very convex, not forming an angle. Caudal fin large, well de\eloped both above

and

below, itsoutline entire, elliptical. Ventral fins withtheir margius en- tire, theclaspers well developed. Pectoralfins extending forwardto a pointbutlittle short ofthetip ofthe snout.

Eostral ridgeswide apartatbase, rapidly convergent, inclosingatri-

angular area; a slighttranslucent space separatesthisfrom the o]>aque pectorals; eyessmall,widea])art, thebroadspiracles closebehindthem.

PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 37

Moutli broad, its widtli equal to the distance fromitsfrontmargin to the tip of the snout ; a deep crease passing' around the

mouth

behind,in front ofwhich the lowerlip has threefoldsof skin.

Upper

lipnot developed, a strong fold of shin passingfrom the angle of the

mouth

on eitherside tothe inner angle of the nostrils, thence straight across, joining its fellow on the opposite side, these folds enclos- ing a depressed, subtriangular,

/

\-shaped area, which is

bounded

behind

by

^thecurvedoutlineof theupperjaw. Inthis depression are three transversecross-folds of skin. Nostrils broader thantheinterval betweenthem, with afreefoldbehind,whichis prolonged forwards

and

inwardsin the middle, therestofthefoldbeingturned backward.

An-

terior edgeof nostrilswith abroadflap, the outeredgeofwhichis

much

prolonged, overlapping the ^{posterior flap,}the inner edge covering the innerangle of thenostril.

Both

jawsstrongly

and somewhat

regularlycurved. Teeth numerous, rather sharp,about_ff,abouttwelveinacross-series. Gill oi^eningsvery narrow.

Skin everywhere covered witha ratherfineshagreen, almostprecisely as in Hhinohatus jyroductus.

The

asperities are smaller below,

and

coarser

on

the outer anterior marginof the pectorals,

where

tbere are also

two

or three irregular rows of sharji, curved, backward-directed spines.

Four

strong spines on thetip of thesnout,forming a rhombic figure;four or five strong,bluntish spines around eacheye, above

and

in front, theone atthe upper anteriorangle thelargest.

A

series of22very strong spines along the

median

lineof the back

and

tail,

and two more

on the tail between the dorsal fins. Oii each sideof the tail aboveis a similar series of ten spines, thefirst opposite the

end

of thebase of theventrals, the last opposite the front of the

first dorsal; a singlestrong spineon the outer edgeof the shoulder-gir- dle

and two

betweenthe spine

and

the dorsalseries.

Color almost exactly asin Illiinohatusprodnctus. 01ive-bro^vn above, whitish beneath, theverticalfinspaler. Eostral area

and

edges ofpec- torals

somewhat

translucent. I^osharp markingsof

any

kind anywhere.

Measurements.

Extremelength 17.90inches.

Lengthof disk 7.25 inches

=

^1.00

Widthof disk 1.09

Widthoftailatbase ²⁰

Distancebetween^outerhumeralspines 3G

Lengthof branchial area .15

Widthofbranchial areainfront 34

Widthofbranchial area behind 28

Distancebetweenouteredges ofnostrils j 21

Width ofmouth ^'-iO

Widthof interorbital area 16o

Lengthof eye 06

Lengthofsnoutfromeye • .225

38 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

Lcugtliofsuontfrommoutli 22

Lengthofnostrils 07

Widthof anteriornasalflap , 06

Lengthofnasalflap , 04

Distancefromsnouttoiirstdorsal 1.565

Lengthofbase of firstdorsal 095

Heightoffirstdorsal 18

Intervalbetweendorsals - 155

Lengthofsecond dorsal 10

Heightofsecond dorsal 19

Heightof caudal .175

Lengthofupperportion ofcaudal 455

Distancefromsnouttoendofbase of pectoral .83

Lengthof base of ventrals 28

Widthofventrals 20

Lengthofclaspers .36

The

type of this species,

an

adult male,

was

taken at Santa Barbara,

Cal.,February 8, ISSO,

by

A. Larco, an Italian fishermen. It is

num-

bered inthecollectionoftheUnitedStates NationaljVIuseum. Mr.

Larco states that this speciesis not

uncommon

about Santa Barbarain spring

and

summer.

Thisspeciesisprobablyrelated to Platyrhinasinensis^butithas little affinitywith Platyrhinaejcaspcrata, already described

by

us,from

San

Diego. In color,form of tail,

and

character of the dermal coveringit

resembles the Rhinohatidcv,

and

itsafiinities withSyrrhina, of the latter

"family," are evident.

OEgCRIIPTBOIV

OF A NEW

gIPECIES

OF

"

KOCK COD" (SEBASTICH-

TEJY.^

SEKBICEPS),

FESO:?! TTBIE

COAST OF

CAI.HFOKIVSA.

'By DAYIB>

S.

JOROAN

^asad

CMARILES

II.

GILBERT.

Body

rather robust, heavyforwards, compressed behind, the caudal peduncleshort

and

ratherslender.

Head

large.

Mouth

large, rather oblique, the maxillary reaching to oppositethemiddle of the eye; the premaxillaryanteriorlyonthe levelof the orbit; jaws about equal, in the closedmouth; teeth,asusual, in villiformbands onthe jaws,vomer,

and

palatines.

Top

of head withthe spinous ridgesvery thick

and

strong, their tips bluntish,turned

upward and

outward; the spineson each side placed nearlyin aright line, so that the edgeof the crown seems

somewhat

regularly serrated.

The

followingx^airs of spines are i:)resent: nasal, preocular, supraoc- ular, tympanic, occipital,

and

nuchal.

The

coronal spines (found in S. auriculatus

and

^. ruber) arewantiugin this species, as arethe post- ocular spines (usually present in iS. pinniger). Interorbital space be- tween the spines narrow, flat,

and

coarselyscaled (the elevated ridges found in S. yiigrocinctiis being wanting).

The

tympanic spines are