A small collection of fishes from Soochow, China, with descriptions of two new species

The present collecton consists of a mumber of small fishes sent as a lot of samples , by Mr. N Gist Gee, from Soochow, China, to the United States Bureau of Fisheries at Washington, District of Columbia. Through the interest of Dr. Hugh M. smith they were placed in our hands fro study, then to be installed in the United States National Museum. For the most part they represent species but little known, and two appear to be new.

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Ophicephalidae

Ophicephalus pekinensis Basilewsky

Head, 2 (9/10); depth; 6; D. 49; A. 31; scales, 61 in lateral line to caudal base; 6 scales above lateral line to dorsal origin, 12 below to anal origin; 30 predorsal scales; snout, 5 (1/3) in head from upper jaw tip; eye, 7; maxillary, 2 (1/2). Head width, 2 (1/10) in total head length. Snout convex, width 3/4 its length. Maxillary extends little beyond eye, expansion 1 (2/3) in same. Lower jaw projects. Narrow bands of small teeth in jaws, some enlarged short conic teeth along sides of mandible and on palatines. Interorbital level. Rakers III+VI short low tubercles, rather irregular, largest little less than filaments, which 1 (1/3) in eye. Scales with 10 to 18 basal radiating striae, and circuli moderate; 13 scales on cheek behind eye to preopercle edge; scales but very little larger on top of head medially than on occiput and cheeks. Least depth of caudal peduncle, 3 (4/5) in total head length; caudal, 1 (3/4); pectoral, 2 (2/5); ventral 3 (1/8).

In alcohol deep neutral gray generally on back and upper surfaces, sides tinged with snuff-brown; under surface of head and body white, marked with small irregular spots of sepia; dozen pairs of larges blotches, mostly vertical in disposition, irregular, along each side of trunk and three more on top of head; below some of dark blotches may fork or extend down into white of under surface, in which region is rich sepia; 2 dark longitudinal bands extend back from eye to gill-opening, well separated and slightly divergent to gill opening; dorsal and caudal deep neutral tint and anal pale basally, neutral to dusky marginally; pectoral pale brownish, round blackish spot size of pupil at base medially; ventral pale buff; Length 168mm. ¹

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Footnotes

¹ Ophicephalus pekinensis is a synonym for Channa argus (Cantor, 1842) . [snakeheads.org] Back

Acknowledgement and Source(s)

This text was originally published under the above title in: Proceedings of the United States National Museum . Vol. 58., pp. 307 - 321, in the year 1920.