58 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM 



represented as to be almost unrecognizable as such. Usually the 

 midportions of the bands are darkest; sometimes the members of a 

 pair are fused at the midportions. Dorsally the bands usually ex- 

 tend onto the spinous and soft dorsal fins. Ventrally the bands 

 are palest failing to reach the ventral body contour. Various pale 

 spots and irregular dusky markings are scattered on the sides (usually 

 ventrally or between the band pairs). A small faint to dark spot 

 is frequently found in the humeral region. This spot may vary from 

 absent to most obvious mark on the body in a single collection of 

 specimens. In life the humeral spot is irridescent dark olive green. 

 The most noticeable mark on the head is a dark, irregularly crescentic 

 area just posterior to the orbit. This area may fuse ventrally with 

 a large darkly dusky area in the preopercular region. The opercular 

 area is usually paler than the preopercular area. The upper lip may 

 be almost uniformly dusky, include adumbrations of up to 20 dusky 

 stripes (rarely), or consist of about 7 dusky bands separated by pale 

 stripes. The underside of the head varies from uniformly pale to 

 marked with some irregularly dusky, almost indistinct, chevrons 

 separated by fine pale stripes. 



The spinous dorsal fin is irregularly dusky with darker dusky areas 



TABLE 22. --Frequency distribution of total number of cirri on left side of nape of 

 specimens of Entomacrodus marmoratus arranged by SL classes (in mm) 



