24 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2 02 



Vol. 



Although great variation exists in the intensity of color on the 

 body, the pattern is uniform. 



Color in life. — From kodachrome transparency, snout brown to 

 pupil, with 3 or 4 blue lines from eye to tip; one blue line passes 

 through his of upper part of eye and ends just posterior to eye; 

 opercle with a brownish purple patch; bar from snout to eye very 

 diffuse and dusky; spot behind eye black and conspicuous; base of 

 pectoral fin purple brown; saddles gray to black; scales with diffuse 

 light blue margined in yellow, the bluish becoming chcular spots 

 towards base of caudal fin; pectoral fin light 3-ellow; spinous dorsal 

 light orange near base, becoming light yellow tov/ards tips; basal 

 half of spinous dorsal with black rays; the membrane dusky with 

 dashes of yellow; upper half of fin with 4 narrow yellow stripes parallel 

 to base, remainder of fin transparent; pelvic fin with 3 or 4 alternating 

 blue and yellow stripes, the base of fin orange and its outer edge 

 tipped in black; anal fin with 3 yellow wavy stripes on outer half 

 more or less parallel to base, the basal half with yellow stripes broken 

 into uregular spots; basal portion of anal fin with pm-ple background, 

 outer part transparent; rays of caudal yellow, yellow to purple near 

 base; outer margin of lobes black, the membrane of fin transparent. 



Range. — This species has been reported from the Indian Ocean 

 and ranges eastward through the East Indies, Philippines, and 

 Islands of Oceania to the Society and Tuamotu groups. It is known 

 from southern Japan and southeastern China. It has not been 

 reported in the Hawaiian Islands. Fowler (Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila- 

 delphia Monogr. 2, p. 284, 1938) reported it from Johnston Island, 

 but his specimen should be reexammed, for it possibly may represent 

 P. multifasciatus. 



Remarks. — In applying the name trifasciatus to this species, I have 

 followed the reasoning of Weber and de Beaufort (1931, pp. 384-385) 

 wherein trifasciatus (Lacepede, 1802, p. 404, pi. 15) is distinguished 

 from bifasciatus (Lacepede, 1802, p. 404, pi. 14). However, the crude 

 manner in which Lacep^de's figures of these two species were com- 

 pleted and his inadequate description certainly invites suspicion 

 concerning this distinction. Jordan and Scale (1906, p. 274) were so 

 positive Lacepedes species were identical that they described their 

 Samoan specimens as a new species Pseudupeneus moana, which is 

 here placed in the synonymy of trifasciatus. 



No evidence was found from examination of specimens over a 

 wade area of the Indo-Pacific to support the naming of subspecies of 

 trifasciatus on the basis of color pattern, as Weber and de Beaufort 

 have done. A significantly lower number of gill rakers was found in 

 spechnens from the East Indies and Philippine Islands (average 

 about 37) than in those from the Islands of Oceania (average about 



