On the identity of the genus <I>Leurynnis</I>, Lockington, with <I>Lycodopsis</I>, Collett

PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 247

OiX

THE IDEXTITV WITH OF

L,l'€OI>OPSIi>«,

THE

GEIVIS

COliLETT.

I.El'KVIVIVIS,

LOCKINOTON

By TH£:ODOR£

OILL..

In the Proceediugs of the Zoological Society of

Loudon

for 1879 (atpp. 380-381) Mr.EobertColletthas published a comuiunicatiou ''On a^fish of the genus Lycodes from the Pacific."

The

article

was

read at the meeting held April 1, 1879,

and

published in the part (II)issued

August

1, 1879.

Inthisarticle Mr. Collett describesatlength thespecies referredto,

under the

name

Lycodes iMciJicus^

and

givesa figure of the head

and

anteriorpart of the body.

The

diagnosisis as follows

:

"Vomerine and

palatine teeth none. Coloration uniform yellowish grey.

The

bod^'is scaly,the head

and

pectorals naked.

The

head is

contained four

and

six-tenths,the height of the

body

nine times, inthe total length. Lateralline veryindistinct.

"M.

B. 6; D. (circa) 92;

A.71;

C. (circa) I, 1^; P. 18.

"i7a&.

— Japan [Mus. Berol.).-''

At

the end of the description Mr. Collett expresses the following opinion

:

"

The

absenceofvomerine

and

palatineteeth,a characterquite peculiar tothe si)ecies, will perhai)s necessitateits removal toa separate genus, forwhich Ii)roposethe

name

Lycodopsis.''''

Inthe Proceedingsof the LTnited States National

Museum

for 1879 (atpp. 326-332) Mr. ^Y.X. Locldngton has given ^"Descriptions of

new

genera

and

speciesoffishesfromthecoastofCalifornia."

The

signature inwhich itapi)ears

was

issued

March

25, 1880.

In this article Mr. Lockington describes

what

is considered tobea

new

generictype, underthe

name

Leurynnis paucidens.

The

diagnosis ofthe genusis as follows

:

"_Generic characters.

—

^{Family Zoarcidw, allied to Lycodes. Ventral}

finspresent, short; no teeth on

vomer and

palatines; dorsal

and

anal fins continued without interruption around the tail; scales small,but evident.

The name

isfromAeupdq

—

^{smooth; Svvt?}

—

^vomer,in allusionto the characterwhich chiefly distinguishesthe genus fromLycodes.''''

Selecting characters tocomparewith thosementionedinMr. Collett's diagnosis,

we

have the following:

"JS'ovomerine orpalatine teeth.

—

^Colorolivaceous,the scales lighter than the skin; the color formed

by numerous

dark points, which are continuedalso

upon

the head.

Upper

surface of head darker, abdom- inal surface lighterthan other portions. Vertical fins margined with black.

—

^{Scalesroundish,smooth,separate,}

imbedded

^{intheskin,uniform}

over thewhole ofthebody, except

upon

an areaonthe upper^{surface in} front of the dorsal, where they are smaller,and region near base ^of pectoralsscaleless.

Head

scaleless—the ridges

somewhat

prominent.

—

248 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

Length

of liead4.|-4|timesinthetotallength.

—

^{Greatestdepth of}

body

fromalittle

more

thanten to alittlelessthaneleventimes.

— No lateral

line."

M. B.6;

D. 90; A. 70; P. 18.

As

willbethusseen, the two fishesare certainly congeneric,

and

are evidently veryclosely related.

Even

theslightdiscrepanciesare appar- entlysuch (asin the case ofthecolor) as resultfrom differenceofinter- I^retation of the

same

characters.

The

vertical fins in the Californian form, however, are distinctly said tobe

"margined

with black," while in the Japanese form^itisat least implied that they arenot. Itisquite probable,nevertheless,thateventhesealleged differences

may

be found toberatherofdegreethan ofkind. In view, however, of thedifference of tftstribution, it is reasonable to suppose thatthe

two

forms will be foundtobedistinct,and,asthegenusappearsto beperfectly valid,they willrankas species, with the following

names

:

1.

Lycodopsis

pacificus.

Lycodcspacificus Collett, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loudon, _1879, p. 381,

Hob.

—

^Japan.

2.

Lycodopsis

paucidens.

LeurynnispaiicidiusLockiugton,Proc. U.S. Nat.Mus.1879, p.^32(3.

Hob.

—

California.

DESCRIPTION OF A

IVE^V

CHIROIW

FISH, iriYKIOU.EPIS ZOIVIFER, FR«.ri

MOIVXEREY' BAY,

CAtilFORIVIA.

By

M¥. N.

LOCKirVGTOM.

Myriolepis,gen.nov. (Ckirid<v).

Body

oblong, ratherstout;

mouth

moderate; cardiformteethin both jaws, slightlylargeranteriorly-; no canines; teeth on

vomer and

pala- tines; i^reopercle entire^; no spinesabout the head. Gill-openings sep- arated

by

a]iarrow isthmus; gill-rakers short. Branchiostegals seven.

PseudobranchisBpresent. Dorsalfinstwo,united atbase,the firstwith about 14 rather stiff spines, the second with as

many

softrays.

Anal

short, of about 13 rays, without distinct spine. Scales very small, ctenoid,covering thewholesurfaceofthe

body and

head

and

the greater portion ofall thefinsexcept thefirst dorsal. Lateralline single.

Etymology: /wpiw, myriad; ^{-ic-i?, scale.}

Thisgenus bearslittle resemblance to any of the previously

known

Chiridcc,itsgeneralappearancebeingquite Serranoid. Ithas,however, a

bony

stay connecting thesuborbital

and

preoperculum,

and

possesses the technical characters of the CMridWj in which group^it shouldform adistinctsubfamily, differingespecially in the shorteranalfin without distinct spines.

Myriolepiszonifer,sp.nov.

Lower jaw

.slightlyprojecting; snout to

summit

of ascending process ofpremaxillaiyinclinedbackwards atabout 45°; foreheadslightly con-