FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 76, NO. 3 



( 1961) referred to MNHN B.1313 as the holotype 

 of D. nichthemeriis. There is no evidence that 

 Cuvier regarded it as such, and I prefer not to 

 regard Le Danois' statement as constituting a lec- 

 totype designation. 



Distribution . — Apparently confined to the south- 

 ern half of Australia and Tasmania (Figure 14). 



Remarks. — Giinther (1870) was the first to place 

 this species in Atopomycterus , apparently on the 

 basis of Bleeker's (1865) diagnosis of A. diversi- 

 spuius, the type of the genus, as possessing a bifid 

 nasal tentacle and slender spines with long double 

 roots. However, as indicated above, the double 

 spine roots of D. nicthemerus are relatively short 

 and the bifid nasal tentacle is not a consistent 

 character. Bleeker (1865) in the first published 

 usage of the name Atopomycterus diversispinus, 

 based his brief description on an unpublished de- 

 scription of a specimen (NMHN 2159) by Ver- 

 reaux. M. L. Bauchot (pers. commun., MNHN, 23 

 June 1975) reports that Le Danois ( 1959) was cor- 

 rect in stating that only the ventral and prepec- 

 toral dorsal spines have two bases. The postpec- 

 toral dorsal spines are tribased and fixed. 



Fraser-Brunner ( 1943) followed Giinther ( 1870) 

 in placing/), nicthemerus in Atopomycterus (as a 

 subgenus of Dictoylichthys), apparently solely on 

 the basis of the bifid nasal tentacle. Fraser- 

 Brunner and Giinther regarded the condition of 

 the nasal tentacle to be of more importance than 

 the character of the spines, but this does not seem 

 tenable to me. Of the 11 specimens of D. nic- 

 themerus for which I have data, 6 (41-111 mm) had 

 tubular nostrils on both nasal tentacles, 1 ( 84 mm) 

 had one tubular and one bifid tentacle, and 4 

 (100-158 mm) had a pair of bifid nasal tentacles. 

 This indicates that the bifid nasal tentacle is an 

 ontogenetic character that cannot be used in 

 generic classification. The spines of D. nic- 

 themerus, aside from their reduced lateral roots 

 and anterior shaft extension, are no different from 

 those of the other species of Diodon. 



Diodon hlochii Castelnau is placed in synonomy 

 with D. nicthemerus with some doubt. The type 

 cannot be found in MNHN, AMS or in the Na- 

 tional Museum of Victoria, Australia. The de- 

 scription is incomplete and does not fit exactly any 

 of the five species considered here, but of those, it 

 matches D. nicthemerus most closely, particularly 

 in meristic characters. 



The distribution of D. nicthemerus is unusual 

 for a Diodon in both its limited range and its 

 location in a temperate rather than tropical area. 

 This limited range might indicate a pelagic stage 

 that is less well developed than that of other mem- 

 bers of the genus, but if this species requires a 

 temperate environment it may have colonized all 

 the available habitat within a reasonable disper- 

 sal range (although in a personal communication 

 of 4 February 1976, J. Moreland reports that there 

 were no specimens of any Diodon sp. in the collec- 

 tions of the National Museum of New Zealand). 



Coleman (1974) reported that D. nicthemerus 

 inhabits areas of sand or mud bottom and feeds on 

 molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. 



Material examined. — Nine specimens, 41-158 mm. 



All specimens from the Australian Museum: 1.13619 (41 mm) 

 Swan R., West Australia; 1.12840 (67) Fremantle, West Au- 

 stralia; I.A.629 (78.5) King George's Sound, West Australia; 

 1.16899-003 (84.5) Jervis Bay; I.A.5829 (104) Port Franklin, 

 Victoria; 1.16990-004 (110) Port Phillip Bay, Victoria; 1.16894- 

 001 (111) Jervis Bay; 1.6240 (111) Tamar R., Tasmania; 

 1.17564-001 (158) Snug Beach, Tasmania. 



DIODON LITUROSUS SHAW 



Short-spine Balloonfish 

 (Figures 5, 15, 16) 



Le Diodon Tachete Lacepede 1798:13-15 ("New 



Cy there"). 

 Diodon liturosus Shaw 1804:436 (Indian Seas); 



Masuda et al. 1975:140, 335 (southern Japan). 

 Diodon maculatus Dumeril 1855:278 (Latiniza- 



tion of Le Diodon Tachete Lacepede) after Bib- 



ron MS. 

 Paradiodon novem maculatus (not of Cuvier): 



Bleeker 1865:57-58, pi. 206 (East Indies). 

 Diodon maculatus var. B: Giinther 1870:308 



(East Indies). 

 Diodon bleekeri Giinther 1910:475-476, pi. 179 



(Society Is.); Herre 1924:506-507 (Philippine 



Is.); Orsi 1974:176 (Vietnam). 

 Diodon holacanthus (not of Linnaeus): de 



Beaufort 1962:410-412 (Indo-Australian ar- 

 chipelago); Bagnis et al. 1972:227 (French 



Polynesia). 

 Dicotylichthys punctulatus (notof Kaup): Grant 



1972:472 (Australia). 



Diagnosis. — Round-bodied Diodon, head width 

 0.33-0.42, peduncle length 0.12-0.18. Caudal 

 peduncle without spines. Body spines short and 



552 



