NO. 3582 GENUS ENTOMACRODUS — SPRINGER 139 



Material. — indian ocean: Christmas Island: BMNH 1909.3.4.68 (holotype 

 of Salarias caudofasciatus) ; Cocos-Keeling Island: BMNH 1949.11.29.633-634. 



SOUTH CHINA sea: Poulo Cecir de Mer: SU 62000; Zulu Sea, Philippines, 

 Nusugbu: SU 32303; Duamaguete: SU 14730, UW 10320, 11373. 



pacific ocean: Palau Lslands, 8 miles north of Koror: SU 62050; Waigeo: 

 SU 28082; New Britain: SU 62070, USNM 200100, 200101; New Georda: 

 USNM 144704, 195779; McKean Island: USNM 198592; Swains Island: USNM 

 150586; Tutuila: USNM 179899; Tau Island: USNM 115476; Tongatapu: UH 

 03085; Rarotonga: AM IA5358 (holotype of Salarias rarotongensis) , USNM 

 199496; Tahiti: ANSP 89164; Raroia: SU 62013; Makatea: USNM 200281. 



Entomacrodus thalassinus (Jordan and Scale) 



(For synonymy, see subspecies) 



Description. — Segmented dorsal fin rays 13-15 (table 67); seg- 

 mented anal fin rays (15-17); posteriormost anal pterygiophore 

 supporting 1 or 2 external elements (2 in 86 percent of specimens of 

 E. t. tltalassinus and 54 percent of E. t. longicirrus); total gill-rakers 

 on first arch 9-18 (11-13 in 84 percent of specimens; only one speci- 

 men with 18)^ pseudobranchial filaments 3-6 (5 in 89 percent of 

 specimens), not increasing in number with increase in SL; vertebrae 

 33-35 (34 in 90.5 percent of specimens); supraorbital cirri 1-8, 

 number increasing with increase in SL (table 68); supraorbital cirri 

 subequal and arising from a common base, or main or longest cirrus 

 with short branches mesially, rarely 1 or 2 branches laterally; nape 

 with 1 cirrus on each side (frequently missing from one or both sides). 

 Occasionally the cirri appear to be aborted in development; in the 

 figure of the holotype of E. t. longicirrus (pi. 29), the left nuchal cirrus 

 is actually missing; the right has been illustrated in its place; predorsal 

 commissural pores 3-17, number increasing with increase in SL (table 

 69) ; preopercular series of pores with all positions with simple pores; 

 1 pore before each anterior nostril; lateral line pores terminating on 

 side in area below and between dorsal fin spines 8 and 13; ventral 

 margin of upper lip entire (no crenulations) . 



Proportional measurements: vSee tables 3, 4, and 70, and fig. 11. 



Males develop fleshy rugose modifications of the skin of the anal 

 spines and the first to third anal rays (see Schultz and Chapman, 

 1960, pi. 115E). If one considers males with these modifications to 

 be mature, the smallest mature male examined was 24.3 mm SL. 

 Mature and immature males may occur in the same collection and 

 in these collections immature males may be as much as 7.9 mm longer 

 than mature males. 



' Gill-rakers in this species are sometimes difficult to count because they may 

 merge dorsally in a continuous line (arch) with rakers associated with the pseudo- 

 branchial filaments. Under these circumstances the dorsalmost gill-raker of 

 the first arch is usually abruptly larger than the adjacent raker of the pseudo- 

 branchiae. 



