FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 78, NO. 2 



(1895) regarded as varieties of flauocaeruleus, I 

 believe that the variety called £^. hoedtii (Bleeker) 

 is a valid species and that Schultz' E. kohleri is a 

 junior synonym of it. Adult specimens, such as the 

 type ofE. kohleri, have the dark blotches, whereas 

 smaller individuals, such as Bleeker's specimens, 

 lack them. Hiyama (1943:81, pi. 18, fig. 49) iden- 

 tified it as Serranus flavocaeruleus (Lacepede). 



This grouper was found around isolated coral 

 heads in the lagoon of Enewetak. Eleven speci- 

 mens, 348-429 mm SL, 1.36-2.72 kg, were tested. 

 Six were nontoxic, three gave reactions of 1, one 

 was a 2, and one (400 mm SL) a 4. A single speci- 

 men (2 kg) from Bikini was nontoxic. 



Hiatt and Strasburg (1960) found fish fragments 

 in the stomach of one of two specimens from the 

 Marshall Islands. 



The stomachs of the 11 Enewetak specimens 

 were opened. Five were empty, one (429 mm SL) 

 contained a 520 mm snake eel, Leiuranus 

 semicinctus; two had eaten calappid crabs; and the 

 remaining three contained the digested remains of 

 fishes. 



Epinephelus maculatus (Bloch) (Figure 17): 

 This dark-spotted grouper was identified as E. 

 medurensis (Giinther) by Schultz in Schultz and 

 collaborators (1953). It has also been called E. 

 fario (Thunberg) by some authors. The oldest valid 

 name, however, is E. maculatus (Bloch). Though 



the author ascertained that the type-specimen is 

 no longer extant, Bloch's description and illustra- 

 tion match that of the juvenile of this species, 

 particularly with reference to the large pale mark- 

 ings. Adults are distinctive in the rather elevated 

 third and fourth dorsal spines; also there are two 

 large dark areas on the dorsal fin and adjacent 

 back which are separated by a pale area (both dark 

 and light areas still have the profusion of small 

 dark spots). 



Like E. hoedtii, this species is found mainly 

 around coral knolls in sandy stretches of atoll la- 

 goons. Eleven specimens from Enewetak, 270-334 

 mm SL, 0.45-0.9 kg, were tested. Eight were non- 

 toxic and three gave reactions of 1. Two from Bi- 

 kini, 343 and 356 mm SL, were nontoxic. 



The stomachs of 13 specimens from Enewetak 

 and 2 from Bikini, 270-380 mm SL, were 

 examined. One of 334 mm contained a portunid 

 crab and unidentified fish remains; another of 345 

 mm had eaten a calappid crab (15% by volume), 

 two microdesmid fish 78 and 86 mm SL (identified 

 as Gunnellichthys monostigma by C. E. Dawson), 

 and a digested fish; a third (308 mm SL) also con- 

 tained G. monostigma; a fourth (288 mm SL) an 

 octopus; and two others fish remains. The remain- 

 ing nine stomachs were empty. 



Epinephelus microdon (Bleeker) (Figure 18): 

 This is a common species in the Marshall Islands 

 for a grouper of moderate size. It is found on both 



Figure 17. — Epinephelus maculatus, 280 mm SL, Enewetak, Marshall Islands. 



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