GENUS ENTOMACRODUS — SPRINGER 



127 



60); main or longest supraorbital cirrus with most branches mesially, 

 not uncommonly with a short lateral branch; nape with 1 cirrus on 

 each side; predorsal commissural pores 2-23 (rarely more than 17), 

 number increasing with, increase in SL (table 61); preopercular series 

 of pores with all positions with simple pores (93 percent of specimens, 

 including 1 or 2 pairs of pores in series in 6 and 1 percent of specimens 

 respectively; fourth pore of series most frequent paired pore); 1 pore 

 before each anterior nostril; lateral line pores terminating on side in 

 area below and between dorsal fin spine 10 and dorsal soft ray 2 

 (usuall}' between spine 11 and ray 1); ventral margin of upper lip 

 crenulate on lateral thirds, entire on middle third; lip crenulae usually 

 numbering 6-11 on each side. 



Proportional measurements: See tables 3, 4, and 62. 



Males develop fleshy, rugose modifications of the skin of the anal 

 spines and the anterior first to fourth anal rays (pi. 24/). If one 

 considers males with these modifications to be mature, the smallest 

 mature male examined was 34 mm SL. Mature and immature males 

 may occur in the same collection and in these collections immature 

 males may be as much as 22 mm SL longer than mature males. 



Largest specimen examined, 62.6 mm SL, a size achieved by both 

 males and females. There does not appear to be any difference in 

 proportional numbers of males and females in any given size class, 

 although in total numbers males outnumber females. The smallest 

 nonophioblennius stage and the largest ophioblennius stage examined 

 were both 15.5 mm SL and occurred in the same collection, indicating 

 that transformation occurs at about this size. 



The ophioblennius larval stage of E. nigricans is characterized by 

 the presence of a pair of posterolaterally directed canines anteriorly 

 on each side of the lower jaw. The more median and anterior canine 

 on each side is about one-third the size of the more posterior canine. 



TABLE 60. — Frequency distribution of nunber of supraorbital cirri of left eye 



of specimens of EntomacTodufi nigricans arranged by SL classes (in mm) 



228-965 O - 67 



