FISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AND ADJACENT SEAS 621 



without or with slight median notch, lower jaw not prominent. 

 Maxillary not extending beyond middle of eye. Teeth minute or 

 absent, none on vomer. Opercle with grooves radiating tow-ard sub- 

 opercle. Scales about 54 in medial lateral series, 10 to 14 transversely. 

 Ventral scutes keeled, not projecting beyond edges of their groove. 

 Vertebrae 50 to 53. Dorsal rays 16 to 20, highest anteriorly, median, 

 origin nearer snout tip than caudal base, scaly basal sheath extending 

 to tip of last ray. Anal rays 16 to 20, low, depressible in scaly sheath, 

 last 2 rays enlarged. Caudal forked, on each side enlarged scales 

 at inner edge of scaly part of each lobe. Pectoral scaly at base. Ven- 

 tral rays 8, inserted below middle or posterior part of dorsal. 



Several species widely distributed in the cooler waters of the north 

 and south temperate zones, in tropical waters largely represented by 

 Sardinella. 



ANALYSIS OF SPECIES 



a\ Head 4; maxillary reaches front edge of eye; lower gill rakers 37 dakini 



a'. Head 3l^ to 4 ; maxillary nearly or quite reaches % in eye with age ; lower 



gill rakers 70 (young) to 110 sagax 



a*. Head 3% to 4i/l. ; maxillary not reaching % in eye; lower gill rakers 60 



(young) to 75 neopilchardus 



ARENGUS DAKINI (Whitley) 



Sardinops dakini Whitley, Mem. Queensland Mus., vol. 11, p. 114, 1937 (type 

 locality: Thursday Island, North Queensland). 



Depth 5; head 314. Eye 314 to 4 in head, slightly shorter than 

 snout; maxillary reaches front edge of eye, supplemental bone spade 

 shaped; premaxillaries meeting at acute angle; jaws and palate tooth- 

 less; opercle, preopercle, and interopercle of equal depth; opercle 

 without marked radiating striae, appear obsolescent or reduced to 

 single anterior one ; several venules on opercles, preorbital and scapular 

 region; wedge shaped patch of striae each side of vertex. Lower 

 gill rakers 37 long, slender, minutely denticulate, become markedly 

 smaller anteriorly and not appearing overlain by gill rakers of upper 

 portion of arch. 



Scales about 40 ; 10 to 12 transversely ; 13 predorsal. Scales decid- 

 uous, uniform, not covering smaller auxiliary ones. Large alar scales 

 at pectoral and ventral fins. Other scales on bases of dorsal and anal 

 and 2 large leaf like scales on each side of caudal. Scales with ragged 

 edges but not perforated, vertical radii not continued across each 

 scale but interrupted medially. Adipose eyelids largely conceal eye, 

 unite with skin to give most of sides of head gelatinous appearance. 

 Abdominal scutes 17 or 18 + 12 to 14. 



D. 18, origin before ventral origin and much nearer snout than 

 caudal fin; A. 18 + 2, rays short except last which enlarged; pectoral 

 rays 19, fin long as head without snout; ventral rays I, 9. 



