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PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM 



two species, and they might be expected to occur in the same locaUty. 

 It is conceivable, however, that the Samoan Island population is only 

 a parallel epalzeocheilus-type offshoot of E. niuafoouensifi , and the 

 Madagascar population is a comparable niuafoouensis-ijpe offshoot 

 of E. epalzeocheilus, and no true overlap in the ranges of these two 

 species really occurs. The two species are quite closely related and 

 only slight convergent modifications would be needed to make proper 

 identification difficult. Another possibility is that the distantly re- 

 moved population of each species is a relict, indicating an early wide 

 distribution of the species. The other two species of the related 

 complex, E. randalli and E. marmoratus, are endemics in the Marquesas 

 and Hawaiian Islands, respectively, and their distributions lend some 

 support to the idea that E. e/palzeocheilus and E. niuafooitensis are 

 restricted in distribution also. 



Remarks. — Entomacrodus niuafoouensis has been collected with or 

 from the same restricted geographic locality as E. striatus, E. decus- 

 satus, E. vermiculatus, E. t. thalassinus, E. sealei, and E. caudofasciatus . 

 It may be most obviously differentiated: from E. decussatus and 

 E. vermiculatus, in usually having fewer vertebrae, pseudobranchial 

 filaments, supraorbital cirri (lacking lateral branches), and in having 



TABLE 28. --Proportional dimensions as percent SL of specimens of Entomacrodus 

 niuafoouensis (for meaning of abbreviations see methods section) 



