APOGONID FISHES OF THE INDO-PACIFIC — LACHNER 597 



APOGON BANDANENSIS Bleeker 



Plate 18, & 



Apogon bandanensis Bleekeb, 1854, p. 95 (type locality, Banda Island) ; 1873-76, 



p. 82 ; 1876-77, Perc. 67, tab. 345, fig. 2. 

 Amia bandanensis Fowler and Bean, 1930, p. 40 (in part) . 



Specimen studied.— U.S.^M. No. 112129 to 112136, 112161 to 

 112196, 89 specimens, 36 to 65 mm., collected during 1908-09 in the 

 East Indies and Philippine Islands {Albatross expedition). 



Description. — The tabulated statistics comparing counts and meas- 

 urements of various structures among these four species, other than 

 those pertaining to the gill rakers, show little or no differences, and 

 will receive no further treatment. The extent of the development of 

 the serrations on the posterior margin of the preopercle, as well as 

 the development of the villiform teeth of the jaws, is almost identical. 



Color in alcohol. — Head and body brown dorsally, light brown ven- 

 trally; some coppery-blue iridescence on cheek, opercle, and side of 

 body ; a brown triangular mark extending from lower margin of eye 

 to angle of anterior margin of preopercle; sides of body sometimes 

 with narrow, silvery vertical bars, interspaced with wide light-brown 

 bars ; two saddles on body, their width about three-fourths in diameter 

 of eye, one passing through spinous dorsal fin and the other through 

 soft dorsal fin ; these saddles extend from the fin bases to about midbody 

 area ; anterior saddle almost completely faded in about 30 percent of 

 specimens examined ; saddle through spinous dorsal (posterior saddle) 

 almost completely faded in about 5 percent of specimens examined; 

 a dark brown saddle over caudal peduncle at base of caudal fin in larger 

 adults, sometimes with traces of a lower portion forming a band ; in 

 smaller specimens (under 50 mm.) saddle extends below lateral line 

 forming a complete band, and the portion of band below lateral line 

 is a light brown and not so intensely developed as the more intense, 

 darker brown, upper portion ; a conspicuous dark brown streak on the 

 two outer branched caudal rays margined by clear to white color on 

 the unbranched caudal ray ; remainder of caudal fin dusky to clear ; in 

 about 20 percent of specimens the dark brown outer streak is not 

 present and it is not certain if this is due to fading, immaturity, 

 sexual dimorphism, or a combination of all three factors; the plain, 

 brown caudal fin occurred in the smaller specimens (under 50 mm.) and 

 was found in more females than males in more than 10 specimens of 

 each sex examined ; it was also noted that the males had a more intense 

 development of the saddles ; these are but tentative assumptions, for 

 too few specimens could be sexed because of their poor preservation 

 and years of storage ; in many specimens the outer rays of the caudal 

 fin, as well as of the other fins, were frayed and broken ; the pectoral, 



