PISHES OF THE PHH.IPPINE AND ADJACENT SEAS 373 



Brilliant tropical fishes, living about coral rocks and reefs. They 

 feed chiefly on vegetable matter and invertebrates, their strong beaks 

 easily crushing corals and mollusks. Most reach a fair or large size, 

 some 4 feet or more. While some are valued as food, others are 

 Avoided as poisonous. 



ANALYSIS OF THE GENBBA 



a'. Sparisominae. Teeth in jaws not fully coalesced; cutting edges of jaws 

 formed by more or less distinct teeth; gill membranes broadly joined to 

 isthmus; single row of scales on cheek; lateral line continuous, 

 b'. Anterior teeth joined together, those of lower jaw in very oblique 



series Scarichthys. 



6*. Anterior teeth imbricate, more or less distinct leptoscarus. 



■a*. Callydontinae. Teeth in jaws fully coalesced, each jaw divided by 

 median suture; cutting edges of jaws without distinct teeth; gill mem- 

 branes form fold across isthmus; scales on cheek in 2 or more rows; 

 lateral line interrupted Callyodon. 



Genus SCARICHTHYS Bleaker 



Scarichthys Bleeker, Nat. Tijds. Ned. Indie, vol. 19, 1859, p. 344. Type 

 Scarus naevius Valenciennes, monotypic. 



Upper lip double all around. Teeth prominently convex, upper 

 coalesced, lower in very oblique rows. Front nostril with short 

 cirrhus. Scales in lateral line 24 to 29. Dorsal spines 9, flexible 

 rays 10 or 11. Anal spines 3, rays 8 or 9. 



Two species in the Indo-Pacific. 



ANALYSIS OF THE SPECIES 



a'. No flaring canines externally from dental face of upper jaw auritus. 



o^. Series of flaring canines on outer face of upper beak coeruleopunctatus. 



SCARICHTHYS AURITUS (Valenciennes) 



jS'carwi- aartfiis (KuHL and Van Hassblt) Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., 

 vol. 14, 1839, p. 218. Java. 



Scarichthys auritus Bleeker, Atlas Ichth. Ind. Nderl., vol. 1, 1862, p. 15, 

 pi. 1, fig. 3 (Java, Celebes, Timor, Banda, Amboina). — Gunther, Cat. 

 Fish. Brit. Mus., vol. 4, 1862, p. 213 (Amboyna, Hong Kong, Aneiteum). — 

 Bleeker, Ned. Tijds. Dierk., vol. 1, 1863, p. 265 (Atapupu, Timor); 

 Verslag. Akad. Wet. Amsterdam, vol. 16, 1864, p. 367 (Aru Islands, 

 Moluccas). — Gunther, Fishes of Zanzibar, 1865, p. 102 (Zanzibar). — 

 GuiCHENOT, Mem. Soc. Sci. Nat. Cherbourg, vol. 11, 1865, p. 18 (Sey- 

 chelles, type of Scarus naevius). — Peters, Monatsb. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 

 1876, p. 443 (Mauritius).— Ogilby, Austral. Mus. Mem., vol. 2, 1889, 

 p. 70 (Lord Howe Island). — Elera, Cat. Fauna Filip., vol. 1, 1895, p. 558 

 (Luzon, Manila). — -Seale and Bean, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 33, 

 1907, p. 245 (Zamboanga). — -Jordan and Richardson, Bull. Bur. Fisher., 

 vol. 27, 1907 (1908), p. 268 (Cagayancillo).— Gunther, Journ. Mus. 

 Godeffroy, vol. 8 (16), 1909, p. 299 (Ponape, Aneiteum, Rarotonga). — 

 McCulloch, Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales, vol. 36, 1912, p. 606 

 (Murray Island, Queensland). — Weber, Siboga Exp., vol. 57, Fische, 1913, 

 p. 383 (Samau, Gisser, Aru Islands). 



