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



length. Eye 3.6 to 4.8; snout 2.7 to 3.3; interorbital space 10 to 13; 

 postorbital length of head 1.5 to 1.6; least depth of body 2.3 to 2.7; 

 greatest depth of body 0.9 to 1.1; preorbital width 5.4 to 5.8; ah in 

 length of head. 



Orbital tentacle with cirri arising from a fleshy base; nuchal fringe 

 with cirri, at middorsal line interrupted (one or two cirri usually lack- 

 ing), its base nearly vertical, curving posteriorly only a little; ventral 

 end of base of fringe of cirri not notably swollen and ending opposite 

 upper part of eye ; snout profile nearly vertical ; upper lip with numerous 

 very short papillae or crenulate; lower lip shallowly plicate, more or less 

 nonplicate near middle of lower lip ; no cirri on chin ; lateral line arched 

 over pectoral fin, then curving to midlengthwise axis of body, ending a 

 little in front of caudal fin base; a vertical line through dorsal origin 

 passes just behind lower tip of base of nuchal fringe and scarcely be- 

 hind pelvic base; pectoral fin reaches just to or little past anal origin; 

 anal spines II, first embedded, both tips with gra^dsh, convoluted and 

 swollen dermal pads (in adult males) ; one canine tooth on each side of 

 rear lower jaw ; teeth in both jaws very numerous, about equal in size 

 in both jaws and movable; fifth or sixth pectoral ray from lowermost 

 edge of fin longest; distal edge of caudal fin rounded; first dorsal spine 

 of male (adults) notably elongate. 



Color in alcohol. — Background color of body dark brown, head dark 

 browm or light brown; no dark spots an3nvhere; usually a few lighter 

 spots more or less visible on preorbital and cheek; fins all brown and 

 anal blackish, upper edge of caudal and distally the anterior part of 

 spiny dorsal, white or clear; no dark vertical bars on body. Peri- 

 toneum black. 



Color when alive. — Purplish brown to chocolate brown; upper edge of 

 caudal fin orange to yellow; cheeks with crimson spots, tips of dorsal 

 spines and tips of lower pectoral rays, red. 



Ecology. — -This was the most abundant species of Cirripectes en- 

 countered on the reef. It occurred in surf and near surf conditions 

 along the Lithothamnium ridge and in coral heads subject to wave 

 action. 



Remarks. — C. variolosus is close to C. jenningsi Schultz but may be 

 separated from it by the latter having only a single simple cirrus over 

 each eye. A restudy of several of the collections made and reported 

 upon by Schultz from the Phoenix and Samoan Islands as C. variolosus 

 contain specimens of C. sebae and C. jenningsi. The large amount of 

 material hi the 1946-47 Bikini collections has made possible the sep- 

 aration of these related species. 



Ophioblennius vanderhilti Fowler is the young of this species and 

 Cirripectes reticulatus Fowler an adult. 



