FISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE SEAS AND ADJACENT WATERS 175 



Genus DIPLODUS Rafinesque 



Diplodus Rafinesque, lud. Itt. Sicil., pp. 26, 54, 1810. (Type, Sparus annularis 



g! Linnaeus, monotj'pic.) 



Sargus Klein, Gesells. Schauplatz, vol. 1, p. 966, 1775. (Type, Sparus sargus 



Linnaeus, tautotypic.) (Inadmissible.) 

 Sargus (not Fabricius, 1798) Cuvier, Regne Animal, vol. 2, p. 272, 1817. 



(Type, Sparus sargus Linnaeus, tautotypic.) 

 Denius Gistel, Naturg. Thierr., p. 237, 1848. (Type, Sparus sargus Linnaeus, 



virtually. Denius Gistel proposed to replace Sargus Cuvier.) 



Body ovoid, moderately long, compressed, with back arched or 

 elevated. Head moderate, rather deep. Eye moderate. Mouth 

 terminal, small, low. One row of broad anterior inclined incisors, 

 truncate, ends entire; row of small inner teeth behind incisors; molars 

 usually in 1 or 2 rows; no teeth on palate. Hind nostril slitlike. 

 Gill rakers short, slender, 6 or 7 + 11 to 14. Branchiostegals 6. Ver- 

 tebrae 23, of which 13 caudal. Intestine short. Pyloric coeca 5 to 8. 

 Scales small. Tubes in lateral line sometimes bifurcate on posterior 

 scales. Cheeks scaled. Dorsal spines 11 or 12, strong, depressible in 

 groove, ra5'^s 12 to 15. Anal spines 3, rather strong, rays 11 to 14. 

 Caudal forked. Color silvery, with black blotch frequently on back 

 of tail. Young with black crossbars. 



A large group of omnivorous fishes of both shores in the warmer 

 Atlantic, southern and eastern Africa and India. The species are of 

 small or moderate size, the young frequently entering shallow waters 

 as bays, sounds, and lagoons. They differ from Sparus largely in the 

 inclined and protruding incisors which are with more beveled edges. 



analysis of species 



a^ Diplodus. Black blotch on caudal peduncle. 



6'. Body usually without narrow transverse dark bands; black saddle on caudal 

 peduncle above; lips rather thin. 



cK Body deeper, depth 1% to 2}4 sargus. 



c^. Body more slender, depth 2}-^ noct. 



b^. Body with 6 or 7 broad black transverse bands, last as black saddle on 



caudal peduncle; lips fleshy; depth 2 to 2^ trifasciatus. 



a^. Rhabdosargus, new subgenus. No black blotch on caudal peduncle; 

 each side of belly above ventrals narrow golden longitudinal band; depth 

 2^ auriventris. 



Subgenus Diplodus Rafinesque 



Caudal peduncle with black saddlelike blotch above. 



DIPLODUS SARGUS (Linnaeus) 



Sparus sargus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 278, 1758 (type locality: 



Mediterranean) . 

 Sargus rondeletii Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., vol. 6, p. 14, pi. 141, 1830 



(type locality: Naples; Marseilles; Toulouse; Malta; Alexandria; Lac de 



Bizerte). — Castelnau, M(5m. Poiss. Afrique Australe, p. 18, 1861 (Cape 



of Good Hope to Algoa Bay, Gamtoos River). 



