390 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. ii4 



With the exception of the presence or absence of palatine teeth, the 

 dentition of cirrhitids is relatively unchanging from species to spe- 

 cies. Teeth are present on the vomer. There is a row of canine 

 teeth in both jaws which are usually longer anteriorly in the upper 

 jaw; the longest canines in the lower jaw are usually a group of 2 to 



4 on each side about half way back in the series of teeth. A band 

 of small villiform teeth, broader anteriorly, occurs inside the canines 

 of the jaws (restricted to front of lower jaw). Additional character- 

 istics and discussion of the closely related families Chironemidae, 

 Aplodactylidae, Cheilodactylidae, and Latrididae are given by 

 Regan (1911). 



Hawkfishes occur mostly in shallow water, often only a few feet 

 deep. Species of the genera Oxycirrhites and Cyprinocirrhites, how- 

 ever, appear to live primarily at depths of about 15 to 60 fathoms. 

 The shallow-water cirrhitids, at least, dwell upon the bottom as do 

 the related scorpaenids. The thickened condition of the lower pec- 

 toral rays may be an adaptation for the demersal habit, inasmuch 

 as the lower part of these fins makes contact with the coral or rock 

 substratum. In general, the cirrhitids are more active than the 

 scorpaenids and frequently move short distances from one part of 

 a reef to another. Some smaller species commonly seek refuge in 

 interstices of hving coral. Chacko (1949), Randall (1955), and 

 Hiatt and Strasburg (1960) reported on the food habits of some of 

 the cirrhitids. 



The Cirrhitidae is dominantly an Indo-Pacific family. Only 2 

 species are known from the Atlantic, 1 from west Africa and the 

 other from the West Indian region. Within the vast Indo-Pacific 

 area the number of cirrhitid fishes recorded from subregions or island 

 groups in the last 2 decades is as follows: western Indian Ocean, 9 

 (Smith, 1951); East Indies, 10 (de Beaufort, 1940); Philippine Islands, 



5 (Herre, 1953); Phoenix and Samoa Islands, 7 (Schultz, 1943); 

 Gilbert Islands, 5 (Randall, 1955); Marshall Islands, 6 (Schultz in 

 Schultz and collaborators, 1960); Hawaiian Islands, 5 (Gosline and 

 Brock, 1960). 



To obtain the above numbers of species, the following allocation 

 of certain nominal and valid species must be considered: Cirrhitus 

 mossambicus Smith has been referred to the synonjony as a juvenile 

 of C. nigropunctatus Schultz (—Cirrhitus punctatus Cuvier in Cuvier 

 and Valenciennes) by Schultz in Schultz and collaborators, 1960. 

 Cirrhitichthys aprinus (Cuvier), a name applied by most recent authors 

 to C. oxycephalus (Bleeker), is distinct from oxycephahis. Paracirr- 

 hites polystidus (Giinther) appears to be a color phase of P. hemistic- 

 tus (Giinther) (Marshall, 1950). Amhlycirrhitus oxyrhynchos (Bleeker) 



