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



Color when alive. — Dark areas piirplisli dark brown; light areas 

 straw colored; margins of fins white; eye light pinkish. Under side 

 of head and breast light yellowish. 



Ecology. — This uncommon species was taken among those coral and 

 algal growths on the reefs exposed to severe wave action. 



Remarks. — This species, similar to so many other species of labrid 

 fishes has juvenile color pattern very much different from that of the 

 adult, but from a series of specimens of various sizes, it has been 

 possible to describe the change in color pattern. 



The 29-mm. specimen collected by Otto Degener bears the following 

 note by the collector: 



"^Vhat is this remarkable black and violet fish? It is rare. It is an 

 active swimmer, swimming several feet back and forth and sometimes 

 upward and downward near cavernous coral or coralline ledges. It 

 frequently smms into the dark holes. In an aquarium, it has the 

 tendency to follow other small fish in apparent attempt to crawd on 

 them. It does not bite fish nor did it feed in the aquarium except 

 once to take a minute particle of boiled egg yolk floating in the water. 

 At night, it secretes itself in a crevice." 



Genus CHEILIO Lacepede 



Cheilio Lacepede, Histoire naturelle des poissons, vol. 4, p. 432, 1802 (type 

 species, Cheilio auratus Lacepfede). 



CHEILIO INERMIS (Forsk&l) 



Plate 107,A 

 La&nts inermts ForskAl, Descriptiones animalium . . ., p. 34, 1775 (type locality, 



Moccha, Red Sea). 



SPECIMENS STUDIED 



Guam: December 23, 1945, Frey and Gressitt, 2 specimens, 68 to 76 mm.; 

 1945, Frey, 2 specimens, 141 to 247 mm. 



BescriTption.—DoYSQl rays IX,12 or 13 usually IX,13; anal 111,11 or 

 12, usually 111,12; pectoral ii,10; pores in lateral line 45 or 46, with 7 

 above to base of first soft dorsal ray and 10 or 11 to anal origin; 

 pelvics 1,5; branched caudal rays 6 + 6. 



Head 2.7 to 3.0; greatest depth 6.0 to 7.8; longest pectoral ray 8.0 

 to 8.2; snout tip to anus 1.9; snout to dorsal origin 2.6 to 2.7, all 

 in standard length. Snout 2.2 to 2.3; eye 4.6 to 6.0; postorbital 

 length of head 2.3 to 2.6; interorbital space 6.3 to 6.5; longest pectoral 

 ray 2.7 to 2.9; least depth of body 3.7 to 4.8; all in length of head. 

 Eye 0.7 to 1.0 in fleshy interorbital space. 



Dorsal profile of head forming an angle of about 25 to 40 degrees 



