140 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF Catalogue of the Fishes of Lower California in the Smithsonian Institution, collected by Mr. J, Xantus. BY THEODORE GILL. PART I. Mr. John Xantus, when stationed at Cape St. Lucas, Lower California, as a tidal observer for tbe coast survey, brought together a very large collection of objects of natural history, among which is a most excellent series of the fishes of the coast. The collections were formed under the auspices and direction of the Smithsonian Institution, to which the species were sent from time to time and deposited in its museum. By permission of the Secretary of the Institu-tion, 1 propose to give a preliminary synopsis of the species discovered on that coast, embracing descriptions of the numerous new species. At a future time I trust that I shall be enabled to publish a more complete monograph accom-panied by figures of the various species. The following descripiions are, how-ever, pertinent, and will enable naturalists, in most cases, to readily identify the species. The Pomacentroids are the only ones, I believe, concerning which there can be doubt, but I think ihat I have succeeded in giving them, also, their distinctive characters after an examination of many species. In the final part of this catalogue, the peculiarities of the Fauna of Lower California will be discussed, and its relations to that of other regions. Some species are common to even the temperate seas of South America and the West Indies, but a very large proportion of those discovered are new. Family LABROID^E (Cuv.) Bleeker. Subfamily Labrinae (Bon.) Gill. The representatives of the Labrinae found in the California waters belong to the "group" of Julidina, characterized by Dr. Gunther in his excellent Synop-sis of the Labroid Genera. The course of the lateral line appears to be more important than the number of spines, and, consequently, we may associate those Labroids with an interrupted or suddenly deflected line (except Gotn-phosinae) in one subfamily, (Xirichthyinae) and provisionally refer the rest of the Julidina, the Hypsigenina and Labrina of Dr. Gunther to one subfamily, (Labrinae) as I know of no important characters coincident with the number of dorsal spines. Only one species of the Labrinae inhabiting the California coast has been hitherto described. It is the Semicottyphua pulcher Gthr. (Labrus pidcher Ayres.) Two new species are now described, both of which belong to the genus Harpe (Lac.) or Cossyphus Cuv., (not Fabricius.) Genus HARPE Lac. This may be retained as by Lacepede for those species whose median dorsal and anal rays become much extended in the adult. The Cossyphus axillaris Cuv. et Val*. &c, may be then referred to a new genus (Lepidaplois) distin-guished by the nearly uniform anal. Harpe diplot^enia Gill. The greatest height, inclusive of the scaly sheath of the dorsal fin, equals a fourth of the length from the snout to the end of the median caudal rays. The bead scarcely exceeds the height ; its profile is not or very little gibbous in the adult. The preoperculum is entire or scarcely crenulated ; its posterior margin is vertical, and its angle obliquely rounded. The eye is subcircular, contained about six times in the head's length, and distant from the snout about two diameters and-a-half. The height of the preorbital bone equals half the length of tbe snout. The mouth is moderate, the supramaxillary bone ending [March,
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