20 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2 02 Vol. 2 



length. Eye, 4.2 and 4.9, length of upper jaw 2.6 to 3.0, depth of 

 caudal peduncle 2.7 to 2.8, length of snout 1.8 and 2.3, interorbital 

 width 3.5 and 4.0, length of barbel 1.7 and 1.9; all in length of head. 

 Eye in snout 1.7 and 2.6. Interorbital width in eye 0.7 to 1.0. Gill- 

 rakers, 8+1 + 28, total 37; longest raker about 1.2 to 1.3 in longest 

 filament. 



Teeth of the upper and lower jaws uniserial, blunt, and spaced a 

 moderate distance apart; no teeth on vomer and palatines; scales 

 on caudal fin, absent on dorsal and anal fins; barbels extend to about 

 the posterior margin of eye, sometimes reaching just before posterior 

 margin and sometimes extending beyond this margin; second dorsal 

 spine about 1.3 in length of third dorsal spine, second dorsal spine 

 pungent, the tip not flexible; peritoneum transparent, lateral line 

 complete; scales ctenoid, with about 5 to 7 radii in the anterior field; 

 last rays of soft dorsal and anal fins slightly elongated. 



Color in alcohol. — ^Head and body light tan to dusky; 3 dark saddles 

 or traverse bands on body: The anterior saddle extends from about 

 the anterior half of the base of the spinous dorsal fin to the ventro- 

 lateral portion of the belly; the middle saddle, a bar, extends from 

 the base of the soft dorsal fin almost to the base of the anal fin; the 

 posterior saddle extends from the dorsal portion of the caudal pedun- 

 cle, just before the procurrent rays of the caudal fin, to just below the 

 lateral line; these saddles, especially the anterior one, may be greatly 

 faded in some specimens. The spiny dorsal fin is transparent, with 

 some dusky near the tip; the soft dorsal is marked with 5 to 6 alter- 

 nating transparent and dusky horizontal stripes; the caudal is dusky 

 to transparent; the pectoral is transparent; the pelvic fin is trans- 

 parent to dusky, with the outer margin of the fin white; the anal fin 

 is light to dusky, \vith more dusky located near the tips of the rays, 

 and traces of possibly 3 dusky stripes. 



Range. — This species has been reported from Madagascar (Sauvage, 

 Histoire naturelle des poissons, in Grandidier, Histoire . . . de Mada- 

 gascar, vol. 16, p. 221, 1891) eastward through the Indian Ocean, 

 East Indies, Philippines and island groups of Oceania east to the 

 Society Islands and northeast to the Hawaiian Islands (Fowler, Mem. 

 Bishop Mus., vol. 10, p. 227, 1928). It has not been reported from 

 Japan. Since bifasciatus has been considerably confused with 

 irifasciatus and multifasciatus by various authors, the specimens in- 

 volved in the reports of Sauvage and Fowler should be reexamined. 

 These localities represent certain east and west extremes in the 

 distribution, and the material may involve different species. 



Remarks. — The snout and barbel elongate considerably with in- 

 crease in body length and the eye becomes proportionately smaller. 



