RANDALL: SURVEY OF CIGUATERA AT MARSHALL ISLANDS 



Figure 31. — Lethrinus amboinensis, 294 mm SL, Enewetak, Marshall Islands. 



with small dark brown spots and blotches, shading 

 to white ventrally. It is somewhat elongate, the 

 head length greater than the depth; the snout is 

 moderate, its length in adults 1.8-1.0 in head 

 length; the maxilla reaches a vertical a little pos- 

 terior to the anterior nostril. The teeth along the 

 sides of the jaws are conical. 



Twenty-four specimens were taken at 

 Enewetak and nine at Bikini, the largest 310 mm 

 SL. All were nontoxic. 



Helfrich et al. (1968) determined the food of 14 

 specimens of L. amboinensis from Palmyra, Line 

 Islands. Fishes were found in 75% of the stomachs, 

 mollusks in 25%, and crustaceans in 17%; all 

 specimens had some sea urchin fragments. 



Fish remains were found in one of two stomachs 

 examined at Bikini. 



Lethrinus kallopterus Bleeker (Figure 32): This 

 Lethrinus is distinctive in having orange fins and 

 blackish spots over occasional scales; the snout is 

 short, the maxilla reaching a vertical at anterior 

 edge of eye. The teeth at the sides of the jaws are 

 nodular (i.e., neither conical nor well-developed 

 molars). It was most often seen in the deeper parts 

 of the atoll lagoons. 



A total of 19 specimens were collected at 

 Enewetak for the testing of toxicity. These ranged 

 from 337 to 443 mm SL (1.1-2.7 kg). Fourteen were 

 nontoxic, two produced a reaction of 1, two were 2, 

 and one (368 mm SL) was a 5. 



Two specimens, 330 and 457 mm SL, were pro- 

 cured from Bikini; neither was toxic. 



The stomachs and intestines of 13 specimens, 

 330-443 mm SL, from the Marshall Islands were 

 opened. Five of the fish were empty. Four had 

 eaten only echinoids (including Echinometra 

 mathaei); one contained mostly echinoids but also 

 the cowrie Cypraea carneola; another (the largest) 

 had eaten just the cowrie C. vitella; still another 

 had a cowrie in its gut (20% by volume of the food 

 material), and the rest of the food material con- 

 sisted of crinoids; one specimen contained only a 

 starfish arm. 



Lethrinus miniatus (Forster in Bloch and 

 Schneider) (Figure 33): This emperor has an espe- 

 cially long snout (1.6-1.8 in head length of adults). 

 It is primarily gray in color, but can alter its pat- 

 tern, like many other Lethrinus, to one of dark 

 irregular bars and blotches. Often there are two or 

 three bluish streaks on the snout passing an- 

 teriorly and diagonally downward from the eye. 

 The teeth on the sides of the jaws are conical. This 

 species was seen in both lagoon and outer reef 

 environments, but mainly in lagoons. It is among 

 the largest of the emperors, reported to attain 

 Im. 



Of nine adults, 435-530 mm SL (1.8-3.6 kg), 

 which were caught at Enewetak, six were non- 

 toxic, and three gave a reaction of 3. 



Twelve specimens from Bikini, 381-635 mm SL, 

 1.4-7.3 kg, were nontoxic. 



Eight of 14 specimens from Enewetak and Bi- 

 kini had food in their stomachs. Three contained 

 fish remains, one of which (456 mm SL) included a 



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