PHILIPPINE MAGROUEOID FISHES GILBERT AND HUBBS. 479 



termination of these series of scales and the occipital scute there is an 

 area covered by prickles anteriorly but naked posteriorly. The oc- 

 cipital scute, often double or even triple, 1 is armed by a strong 

 median spinous keel and by a few weaker lateral carinae variously 

 developed; no scute is present on the mid-dorsal line between the 

 occipital scute and the dorsal fin, but there is a small scute just 

 above the origin of the lateral line. The median of the 3 irregular 

 series of scales # between the occipital and postorbital ridges is en- 

 larged only anteriorly. Except for the presence of a few scales 

 posteriorly, the anterolateral region of the snout is wholly naked. 

 There are no scales on the under side of the head. 



The first dorsal spine is stout and very short; the second spine 

 is about as long as the first soft ray, and when unbroken at its tip 



c '^ 1 i™U; 



Fig. 14. — Coelorhynchus macrolepis. Type. 



is about equal to the postrostral length of the head (often somewhat 

 longer, sometimes slightly shorter). The base of the first dorsal is 

 contained 1.6 (1.25 to 1.6) times in the interdorsal space, and 1.5 

 (1.3 to 1.6) times in the postorbital. The origin of the anal lies 

 behind the vertical from the middle of the interdorsal space. Length 

 of pectoral, 2.15 (to 2.8) in the head. As in the case of C. argus, 

 this wide variation in the length of the fin-rays appears not to be 

 correlated with sex. The outer ventral ray is constantly shorter 

 than in related species except argus, being contained 2.4 times in the 

 head in the type and in most of the paratypes of either sex, but vary- 

 ing from 2.25 to 2.6. The short second ventral ray fails to reach the 

 anal, and is contained 3.9 to 4.4 times in the head. 



Coloration in alcohol. — The ground color is light, with more or less 

 evident markings as in related forms. The abdomen between the 



1 This degree of variation is apparently characteristic of this species. 

 119404—20 8 



