REVIEW OF THE HAWKFISHES — RANDALL 407 



Diagnosis. — Dorsal rays X,ll; anal ra3"s 111,6; pectoral rays 

 i,6,vii; lateral-line scales 45 to 49; 5 rows of large scales between lateral 

 line and spinous portion of dorsal fin; 11 large scales below lateral line 

 to origin of anal fin; gill rakers 5 or 6+1+10 to 12 (28 specimens, 

 Gilbert Islands, Mauritius, Formosa, and French Oceania). 



Snout almost entirely scaled; depth of body 2.6 to 2.8 in standard 

 length; width of body about 2.2 in depth; upper two-fifths of free 

 margin of preopercle very finely serrate; a slight concavity in margin 

 of preopercle just below upper serrate portion; ninth and tenth dorsal 

 spines nearly equal; small scales on cheek do not isolate rows of large 

 scales or individual large scales from one another. 



Color in alcohol light brown, with a broad dark brown band along 

 the back, the lower edge of which approximately coincides with 

 lateral line; entire head, nape, pectoral base, and chest with small 

 black spots. The usual color in life pale yellow dorsally and on sides, 

 abruptly pale pinldsh tan ventrally, mth a broad dark band from 

 eye to base of caudal fin dividing the yellow area of the back into 

 narrow upper and broad lower bands; dark band begins on head as 

 reddish brown or purplish and becomes dark bro\vn or black on 

 posterior two-thirds of body; numerous dark reddish-bro\vn spots 

 over head and anterior part of body; dorsal, caudal, and pectoral 

 fins pink; anal and pelvic fins yellowish. On some specimens the 

 dark band is obscure. Specimens occasionally have a series of large 

 cojoined black spots on the posterior two-thirds of the body as por- 

 trayed by Bleeker (1876-77, pi. 149, fig. 5) instead of a uniform 

 lengthwise band. A 58 mm. specimen collected by the author in 

 Moorea was entirely white on the head and body below the dark 

 band. The spots on the head were small and bright red except for 

 those on the lighter anterior portion of the dark band which were 

 black. 



Remarks. — One of the more abundant and widespread of the 

 cirrhitids, P. jorsteri is known from east Africa to Polynesia. This 

 species has been collected by the author in the Hawaiian Islands, 

 Gilbert Islands, Society Islands, and the Marquesas. In addition 

 to these localities, specimens were examined in the U.S. National 

 Museum from the Philippines, Formosa (collected by R. E. Kuntz), 

 Rynkyu Islands, Fiji, Solomon Islands and New Hebrides (collected 

 by W. M. Chapman), Palau Islands (collected by E. Clark), and 

 Alarshall Islands. The Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard 

 University has specimens from the Red Sea and Mauritius. The 

 largest specimen examined is 172 mm. in standard length, from 

 Hawaii. 



