FAMILY LABRIDAE — SCHULTZ 161 



streaks more or less evident, and some specimens the center of each 

 scale, except those in white transverse bar, may be brownish; pectoral 

 white; caudal and pelvics dusky, with outer rays of caudal sometimes 

 darker than central part of fin. 



Remarks. — Although we are following Weber and de Beaufort 

 (Fishes of the Indo-Australian Archipelago, vol. 8, p. 90, 1940) in 

 their synonymizing Cheilinus unijasciatus Streets with C. rhodochrous 

 Giinther, we are not fully convinced that the two are the same species, 

 since in the original description of rhodochrous we find the statement, 

 "several blue lines across throat, from the lower series of cheek scales 

 on one side to that of the other," None of our specimens shows any 

 such marldngs. Blue lines as described are found in C. digrammus. 



CHEILINUS OXYCEPHALUS Bleeker 



Plate 96, B 



Cheilinus oxycephalus Bleeker, Nat. Tijdschr. Nederl.-Indie, vol. 5, p. 349, 1853 

 (type locality, Amboina); Atlas ichthyologique . . ., vol. 1, p. 65, pi. 28. 

 fig. 5, 1862 (Batu, Flores, Batjan, Amboina). 



SPECIMENS STUDIED 



Bikini Atoll: 10 stations, 25 specimens, 33 to 106 mm. in standard length. 

 Rongelap Atoll: 6 stations, 12 specimens, 47 to 80 mm. 

 Likiep Atoll: Univ. Washington, 4 specimens, 64 to 90 mm. 



Description. — Counts are recorded in table 98. 



Head, 2.4 to 2.5; greatest depth 2.5 to 3.0; longest pectoral ray 5.9 

 to 6.0; snout tip to anus 1.5 to 1.6; snout to dorsal origin 2.3; all in 

 standard length. Snout 3.0 to 3.2; eye 4.0 to 5.2; postorbital length 

 of head 2.0 to 2.1; interorbital space 5.1 to 6.0; longest pectoral fin 

 ray 2.2 to 2.7; least depth of body 2.1 to 2.4; all in length of head. 

 Distance between anterior and posterior nasal openings 4.5 to 7.0 in 

 snout. Eye 1.0 to 1.5 in interorbital space. 



Dorsal profile slightly concave over eye to nearly straight, forming 

 an angle of 50 to 55 degrees with ventral contour of head; maxillary 

 reaching to a vertical line through rear nostril, usually not quite to 

 eye; maxillary covered by preorbital; pectoral fin reaches to opposite 

 sixth lateral line scale; first or second branched pectoral ray longest; 

 pelvics reach about ^ to % the way to the anus; caudal fin rounded. 



Color in alcohol. — Background coloration mostly plain brownish 

 without vertical bars ; caudal fin plain brownish, no white or dark edge 

 on rear margin of caudal fin but fin sometimes wealdy barred ; a small 

 dark spot at base of next to last dorsal ray; no white spots or white 

 streaks on head; sometimes two diverging dusky streaks behind eye; 

 upper lip with 2 or 3 blackish spots on each side of pale middle sec- 

 tion; black blotch between first to third dorsal spine; no pale bars on 



