4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 124 



Salarias niger Kossmann and Rauber in Kossmann, 1877, Zool. Ergebn. Aufti\ 

 Konig. Acad. Wiss. Berlin ausgefuh. Reise Kusten. Rothen Meeres. Pisces, 

 p. 21 [Massaua; original description; figured]. 



Alrosalarias phaisoma. — Whitley, 1933, Rec. Australian Mus., vol. 19, p. 93 [S. 

 phaisoma designated type-species of Atrosalarias Whitley; distribution]. 



Alrosalarias fuscus. — Catala, 1950, Bull. Biol. Paris, pp. 274, 302 [New Caledonia; 

 habitat]. — Chapman, 1951, in Beaufort, Fishes Indo- Australian Archipelago, 

 vol. 9, pp. 255-257 [synonymy; description; distribution; figured]. — Herre, 

 1953, U.S. Dept. Interior, Fish and Wildl. Serv. Res. Rep., no. 20, pp. 809- 

 810 [synonymy]. — Fowler, 1958, Quart. Journ. Taiwan Mus., vol. 11, nos. 

 3 and 4, pp. 176-177 [synonymy; description; distribution]. — Inger, 1957, 

 Fieldiana, Zool., vol. 36, no. 3, p. 399 [Pulo Bakkungaan Kechil, Borneo]. — 

 Okada, 1959, An annotated list of animals of Okinawa Islands, p. 80 [in 

 Japanese; listed]. — Smith, 1959, Rhodes Univ., Ichthyol. Bull., no. 14, p. 

 239 [Ibo, Mozambique; description; figured]. — Whitley, 1961, Proc. Zool. 

 Soc. New South Wales, 1958-59, p. 64 [New Caledonia]. — Woodland and 

 Slack-Smith, 1963, Univ. Queensland Pap., Dept. Zool., vol. 2, no. 2, p. 47 

 [Heron Is.; habitat]. — Whitley, 1964, Rec. Australian Mus., vol. 26, no. 5, 

 p. 150 [Swains Reefs]. — Tortonese, 1964, Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova, 

 vol. 75, p. 65 [Baia di Geelwink, New Guinea]. 



Description. — Dorsal fin rays IX to XI, 18 to 22, total elements 28 

 to 32, subposterior rays longest, posteriormost ray shortest, fin 

 membrane behind last ray attached over caudal procurrent rays; 

 anal fin rays II, 18 to 21 (one specimen of 224 had 16 rays), terminal 

 ray not divided to base, subposterior rays longest, posteriormost ray 

 shortest, fin membrane behind last ray attached at caudal base; 

 pectoral rays 15 to 18 (usually 16 or 17) on each side, total pectoral 

 rays 30 to 36; pelvic rays I, 2; segmented caudal rays 10 to 14 (usually 

 12 or 13), rays all simple, uppermost and lowermost rays much re- 

 duced and frequently bearing only one or two segments, all rays 

 unbranched, ray tips becoming free in large individuals; pseudo- 

 branchial filaments 7 to 12 (usually 8 to 11); gill-rakers on first arch 

 22 to 35 (usually 26 to 31); vertebrae 10 + 22 to 26 = 32 to 36 

 (usually 34 or 35); total premaxillary comblike teeth 135 to 226; 

 total dentary comblike teeth 82 to 147, one very small canine on each 

 side posterior to comblike teeth; no teeth on vomer. 



Short, simple cirri on each side of nape (nape cirri rarely forked at 

 tip), above each eye, and on posterior rim of each anterior nostril; 

 upper lip irregularly crenulate; circumorbital, preoperculomandibular, 

 prenasal, and lateral line pores in simple series; one pore in midline 

 before dorsal fin; lateral line a continuous tube ending above pectoral 

 fin; isolated porelike depressions sometimes present along midside of 

 body. 



Osteology (based primarily on one specimen of each subspecies) . — 

 Last dorsal ray supported by distal and proximal pterygiophores; last 

 anal ray supported by proximal pterygiophore, with or without distal 

 pterygiophore; dorsal procurrent caudal rays 5 or 6, ventral procurrent 



