NO. 1287. JAPANESE TRIGGER-FISHES— JORDAN AND FOWLER. 257 



lunate, but not deeply forked. Dorsal and anal low, as in Ba/fWaj^m. 

 Scales of the tail with tubercles. Pacific Ocean. 



{ipsvdjjg^ false; Balistes^ from ^aXiarr/z, shooter, which is from 

 fiaXkco^ to shoot with a crossbow; in allusion to the trigger-like third 

 spine, which sets or releases the first spine, as in a crossbow.) 



5. PSEUDOBALISTES FLAVIMARGINATUS (Riippell). 

 SLTRUMIOHI. 



Bdlistesjtavimarginatus Ruppell, Atlas Fische, 1828; p. o3; Red Sea. — Blebkek, 

 Atlas Ichth. Bal., 1865-69, p. 113, pi. iv, fig. 3; pi. x, fig. 3.— GtJNTHER, Gat. 

 Fish., YIII, 1870, p. 223; Red .Sea, Amboyna.— Ishikawa, Prel. Cat., 1897, 

 p. 4; Riukiu Islands. 



Balistes beer I Bleeker, Act. Soc. Sci. Indo-Neerl., V. 1856, Celebes, p. 53; Celebes. 



D. 111. 26 to 27; A. 23 to 25; scales in lateral line 35 to 36. 

 Eye 3 to 5 in head, 1^ to 4 in snout. Lips broad and fieshy; snout 

 partly naked; interorbital space strongly convex; 3 or 4 osseous scutes 

 behind the gill opening; about 20 scales in a transverse series from 

 the origin of the dorsal to the vent; soft dorsal and anal somewhat 

 elevated; caudal rounded in very 3'oung, truncate in half -grown and 

 deeply emarginate, with produced lobes in adult examples; ventral 

 spine short, movable; on the caudal peduncle 4 to 6 series of rather 

 small recurved spines. Color of adult, yellowish or violet green, 

 without conspicuous spots, nearly uniform; fins except spinous dorsal 

 l)lackish violet on the basal part, the outer extremities yellowish, 

 crossed by a longitudinal blackish-violet bar; spinous dorsal reddish, 

 margin black, in half -grown examples yellowish or brownish orange; 

 numerous blackish or ])rownish spots on trunk; posterior fins olive- 

 brown, margined with yellow; 3^oung, brownish above, below pale 

 yellow; spotted on the sides; base of spinous dorsal blackish; the fins 

 yellow. Length, 28 inches. (Bleeker, Giinther.) 



Of this species, common in the East Indies, we have one small 

 specimen, 1^ inches long, from Wakanoura. Head 2^ in length; 

 depth If; eye large, If in snout; edges of snout without scales; cheeks 

 less closely scaled than the rest of the head; pectorals ohort; ventral 

 spine very rough; caudal rounded; upper surface of the head, basal 

 dorsal spines and back blackish; several dark bars at base of caudal; 

 sides of the bod}^ spotted with blackish. 



{flavus, yellow; marg hiatus, edged.) 



5. BALISTAPUS Tilesius. 



Balistapus Tilesius, M6m. Ac. Nat. Sci., Petersb., about 1812, YII, p. 301 (rapis- 



tral'us of Tilesius, not of Shaw, undulatus). 

 Rhinccanthus Swainson Classn. Anim., II, 1839, p. 325 {ornatissimns=amleattis). 



This genus has the head and body closely scaled, the scales of the 

 posterior parts more or less spinous; enlarged scales behind the gill 

 Proc. N. M. vol. XXV— 02 17 



