NO. 2294. FISHES FROM WEST AFRICA— FOWLER. 225 



small; lips moderately fleshy. Median teeth largest, edges of all 

 entire or truncate. Nostrils together, about half an eye-diameter 

 before eye, well above preorbital groove. Interorbital convex. 

 Gill-opening little mclined, IJ- in eye. Scales roughly striate, and 

 striae mostly horizontal. Front of first dorsal spine finely roughened, 

 also most of pectoral and caudal bases and caudal rays. Ventral 

 spme coarsely rough, not followed by spines but simply rough edges 

 of scales. Humeral region finely asperous. First dorsal spine in- 

 serted over gill-opening, second spine about two-fifths of first and 

 short third one concealed in groove of fin. Second dorsal origin 

 about midway between front nostril and hind tip of last dorsal ray, 

 and front branched rays liighest, but not forming lobe. Anal like 

 second dorsal. Caudal concave behind, fin l\ in head. PecLoral 

 rounded. 



Color in alcohol uniform deep blackish-brown, with chocolate tint. 

 Bases of dorsal and anal each with narrow white line. Caudal with 

 transverse snbmarginal line behind its outer edge ])ordered with nar- 

 row pale or v/hitish line. On head above many blue-black lines ex- 

 tend from one eye to other and in front along preorbital groove well 

 down on snout. Others also unite and extend forward from nostrils. 

 Teeth and iris pale. Length, 318 mm. 



The synonomy of this species has been greatly complicated. It is 

 evidently the species intended as Balistes niger Osbeck, as cited by 

 Linnaeus under his Balistes ringens} Osbeck's name is next pub- 

 lished in similar fashion by Forster,^ so Bloch is then the first to 

 propose B. niger in available form,^ but is antedated for a different 

 fish by the B. niger of Mungo Park." B. ringeiis Linnaeus is said by 

 Bleeker ^ to be a species near Balistes chrysospilus Bleeker. Bloch' s 

 figure is quite crude and does not show the striking narrow whitish 

 lines along the dorsal and anal bases, as so well represented in Lace- 

 p6de's figure and subsequent ones. 



ALUTERA SCRIPTA (Osbeck). 



Head, 3 to 3}; depth, 2| to 2|; D. 46 or 47; A. 47 to 49; eye, 5f to 

 5f in head; interorbital, 4^ to 4f. Three examples, 330 to 418 mm. 

 Variably spotted with dusky or brownish-black and most spots con- 

 centrate around eye. Many leaden spots, streaks, or blotches dis- 

 tributed between dark spots. 



1 Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1758, p. 329. Ad ins. Ascensionis. 



' Voy. China Osbeck, vol. 2, 1771, p. 93. Ascension Island. 



» Nat. Ausl. Fisch., vol. 2, 1786, p. 27, pi. 152. Chineschen Gewassern. 



< Trans. Linn. Soc. London, vol. 3, 1797, p. 37. Sumatra. 



6 Atlas Ich., vol. 5, 1865, p. 108. 



115690— 19— Proc.N.M.vol.56 15 



