1941 CATALOGUE OF FISHES OF TORTUGAS 2QC - 



blue; anal narrowly pale-margined and with two red lines parallel with the 

 border, separated by pale blue, proximal three-fourths of fin marbled blue and 

 red; iris golden, surrounded by maroon. A smaller specimen lacked the black 

 spot on the side, was less brilliantly colored in general, and tended toward 

 olivaceous. 



A small specimen, 50 mm. long, had bands on cheek; a series of dark spots 

 from eye to base of caudal, collectively forming a line; and some evidence of 

 five narrow dark bands on body. 



Very changeable in coloration. The adults are plainer in pattern and paler in 

 color when swimming than at rest, when they are banded; ground color of a 

 two-toned bluish green, with a dark spot in one of the bands. Young fish swim- 

 ming in turtle grass were rather uniformly pale olive or yellow-green; and when 

 pecking at grass they became banded green. 



West Indies to Florida. S. F. H. 



Family SCARIDAE. Parrot Fishes 



Cryptotomus Cope 



Cryptotomus Cope, Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc, vol. 14, 1871, p. 462 (C. roseus Cope). 

 Nicholsina Fowler, Copeia, No. 14, 1915, p. 3 (Cryptotomus beryllinus Jordan and Swain 

 = Callyodon auropunctatus Cuvier and Valenciennes). 



This genus is closely related to Sparisoma. As Breder (Bull. Bingham Oceanog. 

 Coll., vol. 1, art. 1, 1927, p. 69) pointed out, however, it is not permissible to state, 

 with Jordan and Evermann (Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 47, pt. 2, 1898, p. 1621), 

 that the gill membranes are broadly joined to the isthmus, "not forming a fold 

 across it." The fold in the several species is slight but evident. Besides the differ- 

 ence in dentition, the intestine, though having the same number of loops in 

 Cryptotomus auropunctatus and Sparisoma radians, for example, has in the 

 former an even contour without such sacculation as characterizes Sparisoma and 

 Scarus. With this difference in structure is apparently associated a difference in 

 feeding habits, since the alimentary tract of Cryptotomus usually is filled almost 

 exclusively with vegetable debris, triturated sand not forming as large a part of 

 the content as in Sparisoma and Scarus. W. H. L. 



Cryptotomus roseus Cope 



Cryptotomus roseus Cope, Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc, vol. 14, 1871, p. 462 — St.-Martin, 



West Indies. 

 Cryptotomus crassiceps Bean, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 19, 1906, p. 32 — Coopers 



Island, Bermuda; Field Columbian Mus., Zool. Ser., vol. 7, 1906, p. 70, fig. 9. 

 Cryptotomus beryllinus Metzelaar (not of Jordan and Swain), Trop. atl. Vissch., 1919, 



p. no. Breder, Bull. Bingham Oceanog. Coll., vol. 1, art. 1, 1927, p. 67 — Florida; 



Bahamas. Parr, Bull. Bingham Oceanog. Coll., vol. 3, art. 4, 1930, p. 107 — Bahamas. 



Most of the specimens obtained were taken in the 10-fathom channel east of 

 Loggerhead bank. 

 The breeding season at Tortugas continues at least from June to August in- 



