FAMILY MULLIDAE — LACHNER 17 



specimens are bordered in dusky; dorsal portion of snout, head, and 

 body above horizontal stripe light tan to dusky tan ; a blackish hori- 

 zontal stripe faintly developed from tip of snout, on each side, to eye, 

 well developed from eye through anterior portion of lateral line and 

 extending to upper portion of caudal peduncle, where it ends just 

 beyond soft dorsal fin; width of horizontal stripe about two-thu-ds 

 diameter of eye; a large, cu-cular, black caudal spot, located at mid- 

 base of caudal fin; the posterior margin of spot reaching end of hypural; 

 lateral line passing through middle of spot; some dusky pigment on 

 midportion of membrane of soft dorsal fin, forming a faint horizontal 

 streak; some dusky pigment on membrane of spmy dorsal fin; 

 remainder of fins transparent. 



Color in life. — The followmg color notes were taken from a Koda- 

 chrome transparency of a specimen about 12 inches in total length, 

 loaned to the writer by Dr. Donald Strasburg, U. S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Honolulu, Hawaii. Head and body light silvery; lips and 

 lower cheeks orange; black stripe from snout through eye dorso- 

 laterally to area below middle of soft dorsal; area above black dorso- 

 lateral stripe yellowish; a black basicaudal spot; spinous dorsal fin 

 bluish-orange near base, bluish outer portion; soft dorsal fin light 

 bluish; base of pectoral fin rose; pectoral fin transparent; pelvic fins 

 light orange; anal fin light dusky to blue; caudal fin light blue; barbels 

 pale blue; iris orange to light silvery. 



Range. — This species is widely distributed. Our material extends 

 from the East Indies to the Low Archipelago, but it has been reported 

 frequently m the literature from the Red Sea eastward to the Hawaiian 

 Islands. 



Remarks. — No measurable differentiation was found in populations 

 from several major island groups of the Indo-Pacific region. 



Interesting and important phenomena in the morphology of this 

 species are the change and rate of change in length of the head, barbel, 

 eye, and snout, with increase in body length. Although specimens 

 about 30 mm. in length have a coloration tj^pical of the adults, the 

 head, barbel, and snout are considerably shorter. Small specimens, 

 30 to 50 mm., show a rapid increase in the length of head, barbel, and 

 snout in respect to body length, whereas in specimens greater than 50 

 mm. this differential rate of development is reduced almost completely 

 except in the length of snout, which increases steadily with increase 

 in body length. The diameter of the eye shows an interesting regres- 

 sion when related with length of body for it decreases uniformly with 

 increase in body length. 



These data demonstrate how the large specimens may look com- 

 pletely ornate; with theu- small eye and extremely long snout; espe- 

 cially so in specimens having the coloration faded. Specimens such 



