BLENNIIDAE. 157 



nate at lower edge of brown caudal spot; between this series and the soft dorsal 

 are numerous round white spots and vermiculate white lines. 



A female 2n inches long has the following measurements: — head 4.54 in 

 total length without caudal; depth 5.55; eye 4.05 in head; dorsal XII, 20; anal 

 II, 20; interorbital very narrow; ocular cirrus long and fringed on both sides; 

 nasal cirrus comparatively long and simple; no cirrus on nape; crest well de- 

 veloped. 



Color of head and body very similar to that of the male, but on the middle 

 of the under lip there are two short converging lines; pectoral, ventral, anal, and 

 caudal pale, but finelj^ punctulate with dusky; caudal having a yellowish area 

 and brown spots at its base; 1st and 2nd dorsal similar to those of male, but 

 much paler. 



Of the remaining four specimens three are females having dorsal XII, 19 

 and anal ii, 20, the two anterior represented by the ii being shorter than the 

 others, the first papilla-like, and separated from the rest of the fin; the second 

 connected by a membrane and may be considered a ray. 



The fourth and smallest specimen is a male having dorsal XII, 20 and anal 

 ii, 21, the anterior of which is a simple papilla and the second a short ray con- 

 nected by a membrane to the rest of the fin. 



These specimens agree perfectly with the description of Salarias biseriatus 

 Cuvier and Valenciennes {loc. cit.) and the description and figure by Kner in 

 Novara Reise Fische, 1865, p. 197, taf. 8, fig. 4, with the exception that both of 

 these authors state that there are no posterior canine teeth on the lower jaw; 

 the present specimens possess large canine teeth, although their location is such 

 that they might be easily overlooked. Dr. Steindachner has kindly sent us 

 one of Kner's specimens taken at Tahiti. Upon examination we find that it 

 possesses large canines well back in the mouth but in such a position as to be 

 easily overlooked. It is a female without crest, containing well-developed eggs. 



Specimens in the Reserve Series of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries have been 

 misidentified as Salarias biseriatus by Jordan and Scale, Bull. U. S. Bur. Fish. 

 1906, 25, p. 427. These we describe as 



Alticus margaritatus, sp. nov. 

 Plate 7, fig. 3, Plate 8, fig. 1. 



Twenty-seven specimens | to 2| inches long from Pago Pago, Samoa. 



The Type, No. 65409 U. S. N. M., a male 2| inches long has the following measure- 

 ments: Head 4.66 in total length without caudal; depth 5.35; eye 4.51 in head; dorsal 

 XII, 18; anal 21. 



