Subfamily Salariinae 

 By Leonard P. Schultz and Wilbert M. Chapman 



This complicated and wide-ranging group of tropical scaleless 

 blennies is well represented in the Northern Marshall and Marianas 

 Islands, where most of the species are abundant in the shallow waters 

 of the reefs. 



In this subfamily, the length of the head is measured from the tip 

 of the snout or front of the upper lip to the rearmost part of the gill 

 cover; sometimes, especially in Ecsenius, the upper lip is not as far 

 forward as the forehead. Unless ample magnification is used, when 

 counting the dorsal spines, the last one may be overlooked, because it 

 is very small and sometimes somewhat embedded. The anal spines 

 of the males are usually distinct; the first anal spine on females is 

 minute and may be and usually is completely embedded, whereas the 

 second usually is evident. Each fin ray with a separate base is counted 

 as one ra}''. 



The dentition of the jaws consists of very numerous small "scraping" 

 teeth that are movable, except in Rhabdoblennius and in the lower jaw 

 of Ecsenius. On each side of the lower jaw and well back from the 

 front, in many species, occurs a strong, curved, conical, posterior 

 canine, which is sometimes small or absent. 



Probabl}^ most of the salariian blennies pass through a postlarval 

 pelagic state known as Ophioblennius, v/hich Norman (Ann. Mag. 

 Nat. Hist., Ser. 11, vol. 10, p. 794, 1943) included m the subfamily 

 Ophioblenniinae. The lower jaw of these pelagic forms has about 

 2 pairs of canine teeth that point or are hooked outward. Reid 

 (Journ. Washington Acad. Sci., vol. 33, No. 12, pp. 373-384, 1943) 

 reviewed the genera related to Ophiohlemiius, and v/e have been able 

 to assign some of these "Ophioblennius" stages to the adult of the 

 currently recognized species; thus the subfamily Ophioblenniinae 

 lepresents a postlarval stage of other scaleless blennies. 



KEY TO SOME GENERA OF THE SUBFAMH^Y SALARIINAE 



la. A fringe of 20 to 60 cirri in a transverse row across nape. 



2a. A pair of barbels on underside of throat, each side of middle of cliin; 

 teeth in upper jaw very numerous, fine, flexible, those in lower jaw 

 numerous, moderately flexible, about twice as broad as those in upper 

 jaw and about one-third as many; no canines; least distance between 

 eye and nuchal fringe contained 2}^ or more times in postorbital 

 length of head; soft dorsal rays 12 or 13, anal 14 or 15; upper lip 

 with short barbels Exailias Jordan and Evermann 



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