No. 6 — Taraetes asper and the S!jstc))iatic Relatiunaliips of the Steinegeriidae and Trachyherycidae By Giles W. MeadI and G. E. Maul 2 CONTENTS Introduction 393 Taractes 395 Taractes asper Lowe .......... 397 Trachyheryx barretoi Eoule 400 Steincgeria rubescens Jordan and Evermann ..... 401 Nomenclature and Classification ........ 406 Summary ............ 411 Literature Cited 411 INTRODUCTION In an earlier paper one of us reviewed the status of certain species of bramid fishes (Mead, 1957). Excluded from that account were several nominal species related to Taractes lon-gipinnis which were so poorly known that a comparison of them with the more common Taractes was impossible. This study is concerned principally with three such forms : Taractes asper Lowe, 1843, Steinegeria ruhescens Jordan and Evermann, 1887, and Trachyheryx harretoi Roule, 1929. Our study has indicated that the genus Taractes contains species of two distinct types, one with a deep body, the other with a less deep one. Two subgenera are recognized for these types: T. (Taractichthys, new), and T. (Taractes) respectively. We have also concluded that Taractes asper is not the juvenile of Taractes longipinnis as has customarily been assumed, but is a valid species of Taractes (Taractes) , the adult of which is un-1 Ichthyologist, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C. 2 Curator, Museu Municipal do Fqnchal, Punchal, Madeira.
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