410 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL IVIUSEUM vol. H4 



portion; tenth dorsal spine noticeably longer than ninth spine; small 

 scales on cheek do not isolate rows of large scales or individual large 

 scales from one another. 



Color in alcohol either light brown, with a median lateral length- 

 wise pale band and numerous dark brown spots on back, or brown, 

 with numerous brown spots on body and a white spot about the size 

 of the eye in the middle of the body on the lateral line. 



Remarks. — Marshall (1950) reported on a single specimen 142 mm. 

 in standard length from Cocos-Keeling which was intermediate in 

 color pattern to the 2 nominal species Paracirrhites hem,istictus and P. 

 polystictus. This led him to a comparison of the 2 Giinther types 

 and the decision that these fishes represent a single species, hemistictus. 

 Three immature specimens, 74 to 78 mm. in standard length, collected 

 by the author in Makatea, Tuamotu Archipelago, are also inter- 

 mediate in color pattern to hemistictus and 'polystictus, having both 

 the pale band of the former and the pale spot of the latter. 



Schultz (Schultz and collaborators, 1960) sexed 3 specimens of 

 hernistictus and the 2 of polystictus and concluded that polystictus 

 is the male of hemistictus. Additional determinations now reveal that 

 the 2 color patterns are not correlated with sex. Three specimens of 

 the polystictus form from 166 to 190 mm. in standard length are 

 females, and 2 specimens of hemistictus 170 and 195 mm. in standard 

 length are males. 



Although these 2 forms are here treated as a single dichromatic 

 species, the possibility that they are valid species and the inter- 

 mediates are hybrids, as suggested by the author (1955, p. 198), 

 should be investigated. 



The color from a 35-mm. kodachrome taken of a 185-mm. specimen 

 of the hemistictus form collected by the author at Arno Atoll in the 

 Marshall Islands is: upper half of body grayish green, lower half 

 greenish white, these two regions separated by a pinkish-white band; 

 upper green part of body densely spotted with black; brownish yellow 

 spots just beneath white band; more ventrally, lengthwise rows of 

 yellow spots; head gray; dorsal fiii duslry yellow; caudal and anal fins 

 yellow; paired fins yellow-orange. 



Color from a kodachrome of a 190-mm. specimen of the polystictus 

 form from Onotoa, Gilbert Islands : head brownish lavender-red, body 

 bluish gray with numerous close-set dark brown spots, those on ven- 

 tral part of body not as large and forming lengthwise lines; a promi- 

 nent bright pinkish white spot, almost as large as eye, on lateral line 

 below base of eighth and ninth dorsal spines; median and pelvic fins 

 dark gxayish brown, the spinous portion of the dorsal fin with faint 

 brownish orange spots; pectoral fins lavender-red proximally, bright 

 orange distally. 



