354 BULLETIN 100, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Preopercle wealdy denticulate in young, often crenulate to smooth 

 with age. Preorbital narrow. Opercle Avith 2 weak spines. Gill 

 rakers few, short, slender. Psuedobranchiae present. Scales mod- 

 erate to small, cycloid adherent. Pores on snout, none on chin. 

 Lateral line with tubes simply bifurcate or arborescent. Air bladder 

 present, usually with lateral appendages. Pyloric appendages few. 

 Dorsals 2, deeply notched, joined basally, 9 to 11 weak spines and 17 

 to 31 rays. Anal spines 1 or 2, small, rays 7 to 11. Caudal rounded 

 or cuneate. Pectoral rays 16 to 18. 



Shore fishes of the warmer Indian and western Pacific, but not 

 entering Oceania. Some species ascend rivers. Valued as food fishes 

 and also for the isinglass made from their air bladders or "sounds." 



ANALYSIS OF SPECIES 



a'. Otolithes. Anal with 7 or 8 branched rays; body uniform or without 

 large dark blotches. 

 b^. Anal origin before middle of soft dorsal base; scales about 100 along above 

 lateral line; 11 scales above lateral line; soft dorsal rays 24 to 27; depth 



5}i versicolor. 



b^. Anal origin behind middle of soft dorsal base; scales 60 to 70 above along 

 lateral line; 7 or 8 scales above lateral line; dorsal rays 28 to 31. 

 cK Depth 3% to A%; gill rakers 5 + 8 (12); scales 63 to 66 (70) along above 



lateral line to caudal base argenteus. 



c2. Depth 3/5 to dYs; gill rakers 9+16; scales 59 to 62 (60) along above 



lateral line to caudal base ruber. 



a^. Pterotolithus, new subgenus. Anal with 10 to 12 branched rays; bodj', 

 soft dorsal and caudal with dark blotches inaculatus. 



Subgenus Otolithes Oken 



Anal with 7 or 8 branched rays. Coloration uniform, without large 

 dark blotches. 



OTOLITHES VERSICOLOR CuWer 



Oiolithus versicolor Ctjvier, Regne Animal, ed. 2, vol. 2, p. 173, 1829 (on Potee 

 kanasah Russell, Fishes of Coromandel, vol. 2, p. 7, pi. 109, 1803, type 

 locality: Vizagapatam) ; Hist. Nat. Poiss., vol. 5, p. 64, 1830 (copied). — 

 Cantor, Journ. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, vol. 18, pt. 2, p. 1045, 1849 (1850) 

 (Pinang). 



OtoUihus lateoides Bleeker, Nat. Tijds. Nederland, Indie, vol. 1, p. 98, 1850 

 (type locality: Batavia). — Gijnther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., vol. 2, p. 311, 

 1860 (compiled). — Bleeker, Verh. kon. Akad. Wet. Amsterdam, vol. 14, No. 

 4, p. 7, 1874 (Pinang; Java); Atlas Ichth., vol. 9, pi. (1) 384, fig. 1, 1877.— 

 ViNciGUERRA, Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova, ser. 3, vol. 10, p. 582, 1926 

 (Sarawak) . 



Otolithus dolorosus Seale, Philippine Journ. Sci., vol. 5, p. 280, pi. 3, 1910 (1911) 

 (type locality: Sandakan, Borneo). 



Depth 5%; head 3%. Snout 4% in head from snout tip; eye 675 (5% 

 on figure); maxillary reaches % in eye, expansion 1% in eye, length 

 2% in head from snout tip; mandible projects; jaws with small, sharp 

 teeth in 2 or more rows, outer row slightly enlarged and about 4 

 enlarged curved canines anteriorly in each jaw; interorbital 5, low: 



