224 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. 56 



Another from snout tip, around lips, then from along upper lip, par- 

 allel with upper streak, and ends shortly before its bend. Just below 

 nostril dark line toward eye below, and then continued as pale blue 

 line to pectoral origin. Another dark line above nostril to eye and 

 two others beliind transversely over interorbital. Also dark hne 

 from hind eye edge toward dorsal spine, but not reaching base of 

 latter. In front of it on short predorsal two other short dark bars. 

 From lower hind eye edge two pale blue lines to humeral scales and 

 little behind eye short oblique blue line toward second dorsal spine, 

 and another toward anal. Dorsal, anal, and caudal each with mod- 

 erate pale blue submarginal band; fins otherwise brown. Pectoral 

 brown, outer portions paler. Also pale blue band at caudal base 

 and broader one across caudal peduncle. Iris pale broAvn, narrow 

 brown circle around pupil. Length, 266 mm. to caudal base: 378 

 mm. to end of caudal filaments. 



The example already noted from the Azores agrees in every way, 

 except as due to age, in the much longer caudal filaments and the 

 presence of two dorsal filaments from front of soft dorsal. 



Compared with a dried example 385 mm. long to caudal base from 

 St. Christopher's Island, West Indies, the latter varies in 26 branched 

 dorsal rays and about 61 scales from gill-opening to caudal base. 

 The two large blue bands over the cheek are like those in my Ascen- 

 sion and Azores examples, the upper not touching the pectoral base 

 or showing a broad triangular area below the same. The St. Christo- 

 pher's fish has the upper band double the width of the lower and ap- 

 proaching nearer the pectoral origin or upper pectoral base than in- 

 dicated in Nichols and Murphy's figure of their Balistes vetula trini- 

 tatis} All of my examples have a deeper or less slender muzzle, and 

 the loAver profile a little more convex than upper. A smaU example 

 from St. Croix, West Indies, 180 mm. to caudal base, shovv^s the 

 upper band but little broader than the lower and approaching near 

 lower part of caudal base. Its soft dorsal with 27 branched rays and 

 scales 60. 



MELICHTHYS PICENS (Poey). 



Head, 3f; depth, 2; D. Ill— ii, 31; A. ii, 28; P. i, 15; scales, 60 

 from gill-opening to caudal base and 6 more on latter; 21 scales from 

 rictus to pectoral origin; snout, 1^ in head; eye, 5; interorbital, 2|; 

 first dorsal spine, 1|; second branched dorsal ray, U; least depth of 

 caudal peduncle, 2|; pectoral, 2\. 



Body well compressed, upper profile more evenly convex than 

 lower, which bulging more in front. Caudal peduncle and head com- 

 pressed, profiles alike. Preorbital groove about long as eye. Mouth 



I Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. N. Y., vol. 33, 191i, p. 265, fig. 3. South Trinidad Island. 



See also Copeia, Jan. 24, 1917, Xo. 39, p. 1. Ascension Island. Also April 1.5, 1918, No. 5o, p. 47. 



