THE SirOKE I'ISHES. 275 



preopercle and inti-ainarsiiuil crests. This eharac'ter is not constant and we 

 do not deem it of generic importance. 



In 1903, in Bull. U. S. Fish. Comm., ]). 180, Jordan & Evermann establish the 

 genus Fowleria basing it on A. auritus, the first species Bleeker mentioned under 

 his description of .\pogonichthys. They state that Fowleria differs from Apo- 

 gonichthys solely in the character of the lateral line, which is developed only 

 on the anterior pai't of the body. This character does not separate Fowleria 

 from Apogonichthys as defined by Bleeker. C'uvier & Valenciennes in the 

 original description of A. auritus do not mention the lateral line or the palatine 

 teeth. Should the palatine teeth prove to t)e absent, Fowleria could stand 

 if based on the absence of palatine teeth. 



In 1905, in Bull. U. >S. Fish Comm., p. 210, Jordan & Evermann establish the 

 genus Foa, basing it on Fowleria brachygratnmus Jenkins, described on page 447, 

 and state that "the genus differs from Amia [Apogon] only in the character of 

 the lateral line which is developed only on the anterior part of the body, the 

 preopercle being as in Mionorus without serrations * * * * and differing from 

 Apogonichthys in having palatine teeth." 



In 1906 in Fishes of Samoa, Bull. Bureau of Fisheries, page 248, Jordan & 

 Seale still further characterize Foa, by the entire preopercle, incomplete lateral 

 line and the presence of teeth on the palatines. In the same report, page 250, 

 they place Fowleria in the synonymy of Apogonichthys, stating that Apo- 

 gonichthys, "is based on a species Apogon auritus Cuvier & Valenciennes, which 

 we have not seen. It is, however, very closely related to three Samoan species,, 

 with which it is doubtless congeneric. These species differ from the group 

 called Foa, in having no teeth on the palatines. In all of them there is a large 

 black ocellus on the opercle, and the lateral line, although interrupted, shows 

 rudimentary pores on the caudal peduncle." 



The characters given above for P'oa are not different from those given by 

 Bleekei' for .Vpogonichthys and do not therefore separate it from .\pogonichthys. 

 If the three species mentioned above do not possess palatine teeth, they should 

 be placed in the genus Fowleria and not in Apogonichthys since Apogonichthys 

 possesses palatine teeth. 



Jordan & Richardson, in Fishes of the Philippines, in Bull. U. 8. Bur. Fish. 

 1908, 27, p. 255, state that "the original type of Apogonichthys Bleeker is A. 



