130 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 122 



males than females from the same collection. A few diffuse pale spots 

 occur posteriorly on the anal fin. There are three to six, usually five, 

 irregular dusky bands on the caudal, darkest ventrally and palest 

 dorsoposteriorly. The pectoral fin is pale to dusky, darker basally 

 where a dark crescentic stripe or some diffuse spots may occur. A 

 dusky stripe is usually present on the pectoral base. The pelvic fins 

 are pale. 



Life coloration. — (Described from an immature male of adult size 

 from Dominica, B.W.I.) The nasal and orbital cirri were light coral 

 pink; the lip stripes light olive brown; a dark brown spot with a bright 

 white posterior margin was present below the eye; the white margin 

 was followed posteriorly by a pale area. There were dark brown spots 

 posterior to the eye and on the anterodorsal area of the body of the 

 same color as the spot behind the eye. The paired body bands were 

 chocolate brown, much paler on the ventral portion of the body. 

 Bright white spots were present in pale interspaces between the bands 

 on the body. The interspaces were pale olive yellow dorsally and 

 extended onto the ventral portion of the dorsal fin. This same olive- 

 yellow color occurred distally on the soft dorsal. Chocolate-brown 

 marks were present on the caudal fin, pectoral base, and dorsal fin. 

 The anal rays graded distally from olive yellow to dusky; the pectorals 

 were dusky and the pelvics, pale. 



Geographic variation. — There appears to be little variation 

 between collections from diverse localities, except possibly those from 

 Bermuda as compared with collections from other localities. Speci- 

 mens from the Caribbean, Florida, and the Bahamas show essentially 

 a one-to-one ratio of specimens with 14 and 15 dorsal rays. Of the 

 53 Bermuda specimens counted, 12 had 14 rays, 40 had 15 rays, and 

 1 had 16 rays (the only specimen ^vith this count, of over 500 examined 

 of the species). 



Nomenclature. — Salarias margaritaceus Poey was described 

 without comparison. The holotype is a normal adult of E. nigricans. 

 In the jar containing the holotype (MCZ 12513) are three specimens. 

 The largest of these, 57 mm total length, is more than 10 mm larger 

 than the next size (the largest is a female, the two smaller, males). 

 Poey gave the total length of the holotype as 60 mm; the largest 

 specimen in the bottle must therefore be considered the holotype 

 with the difference in size noted accounted for by shrinkage. 



I have been unable to locate type material of Entomacrodus decoratus 

 Poey (nor did Longley, in Longley and Hildebrand, 1941). The 

 description clearly indicates a salarine blenniid. The only other 

 salarine in the Caribbean area, besides E. nigricans, is Ophiohlennius 

 atlanticus macclurei (Silvester). The dorsal fin formula given by 

 Poey, XII, 19, could apply only to 0. a. macclurei; the anal and 



