394 BULLETIN 100, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Scales 50 in lateral line to caudal base and 25 more out over caudal 

 fin; 9 above, 10 below; 24 predorsal scales to occiput and 23 more 

 forward to snout tip; 16 rows across cheek; soft dorsal and anal with 

 fine scales in basal sheaths and few others on membranes basally; 

 caudal largely covered with fine scales. Scales with 9 to 12 basal 

 radiating striae; 45 to 47 apical denticles, with 12 or 13 transverse 

 series of basal elements; circuH fine. 



D. X, I, 29, 1 or 30, i, third spine 1% to 1% in head, first ray 2% to 2%; 

 A. II, 7, I, second spine 1% to 2%, first ray 1% to 1%; caudal 1% to 1%, 

 cuneate; least depth of caudal peduncle 3K to 3^; pectoral 1^ to 1%; 

 ventral 1)^ to 1%. 



Drab or lavender-brown above, below whitish, most every where with 

 silvery white reflections. Iris whitish. Dorsals and caudal pale 

 brownish, membranes of former dusky, though each with dark basal 

 spot to spine or ray and subbasally on soft dorsal pale broad area 

 whole length of fin. Front anal rays Httle darker than rest of fin. 

 Otherwise fins whitish, most all spines burnished with silvery white. 



Mozambique, Madagascar, India, Ceylon, Pinang, East Indies, 

 Phihppine, Indo-China, China, Queensland. Barnard says: "It is 

 doubtful whether Fowler's description applies to the true soldado. 

 He gives the number of gill rakers as 15, and there are several other 

 points of difference between his description and those of Gay and 

 Ogilby. " This is somewhat misleading, as in the gill rakers the rudi- 

 ments are included in the count. My materials surely agree in their 

 specific characters and are within the range of variation for the species. 



20749. Sebatic Island, Borneo. October 1, 1909. Length, 211 mm. 



18304 to 18307. River at Macassar, Celebes. December 26, 1909. Length, 208 



to 224 mm. 

 A.N.S.P. No. 52985. Off Bombay. Prof. F. Hallberg. 1923. Length, 93 mm. 



JOHNIUS ARGENTATUS (Houttnyn) 



Sparus argentatus Houttuyn, Verh. Holland. Maatsch. Wet. Haarlem, vol. 20, 

 p. 319, 1782 (type locality: Japan). (Not Sciaena argentata Gmelin, 1789, 

 which is a Lutjanus.) 



Corvina argentata Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., vol. 5, p. 114, 1830 (on 

 Houttuyn). 



Corvula argentata Jordan and Evermann, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 25, p. 351, 

 1902 (Formosa).— Smith and Pope, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 31, p. 478, 

 1906 (Kochi). 



Sciaena argentata Jordan and Thompson, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 39, p. 252, 

 1911 (copied). — Izuka and Matsuura, Cat. Zool. Spec. Tokj^o Mus., 

 Vertebr., p. 147, 1920 (Kii).— Tanaka, Fishes of Japan, vol. 44, p. 870, pi. 

 180, fig. 491, 1928 (Tokyo). 



Sciaena japonica Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Poiss., pts. 2-4, p. 58, pi. 24, fig. 1, 

 1843 (type locality: Southwest coast of Japan). — Jordan and Thompson, 

 Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 39, p. 260, 1911 (copied) .—Jordan and Metz, 

 Mem. Carnegie Mus., vol. 6, no. 1, p. 35, pi. 7, fig. 1, 1913 (Chinnampo, 

 Fusan, Seoul). — Sowerby, Naturalist in Manchuria, vol. 4, p. 187, 1930 

 (Tientsin, Pei tai Ho, Chin wang Tao, Dalny). 



