blenniidae: salariinae — schtjltz and chapivIan 353 



Remarks. — The East Indian form of this species is I. chrysospilos 

 (Bleeker). The Micronesian, Melanesian, and Polynesian form is 

 /, coronatus. The male of the latter always has on middle of side a 

 prominent dark spot, absent on females, whereas both sexes of the 

 East Indian form have this dark spot. On I. coronatus there are dark 

 crescents on the throat; 3 to 5 rows of sharply defined black specks 

 across the pectoral; and the male has short, very narrow, horizontal 

 white dashes on sides, not spots and vermiculations, as in the East 

 Indian form. 



The terminology of the species has been confused since Giinther in 

 1877 figured the male as S. nitidus, whereas the true /. nitidus (Giinther 

 1861), from the China coast, is a species of Rhabdoblennius, similarly 

 colored. Giinther previously described the female as /. coronatus. 

 Jordan and Scale (1906) perceived Giinther's error on the male and 

 introduced the new name Alticus evermanni for the Polynesian form. 

 McCuUoch (1926) noted that the name S. belemnites De Vis had 

 priority, for coronatus, but overlooked Bleeker's species. He described 

 the orbital cirrus as simple, but corrected this statement in his unpub- 

 lished manuscript for the Atlas, stating the orbital tentacle was bifid 

 at the tip. 



The small females of I. coronatus might be confused with I. paulus. 

 The former has the orbital tentacle much broader than thick whereas 

 that of paulus is slender, tapering to a point and roundish in cross- 

 section without the tip being divided. 



ISTIBLENNIUS EDENTULUS (Bloch and Schneider) 



Plate 118,A,B 



Blennius edentulus Bloch and Schneider, Systema ichthyologiae . . . , p. 172, 



1801 (type locality, Huahaine Island, Society Group). 

 Salarias Huctuatun Fowlek, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 97, p. 70, 



figs. 15, 16, 1945 (type locality, Saipan). 

 Salarias personatus, Fowler, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 97, p. 71, 



fig. 17, (type locality, Saipan). 

 Salarias atrimarginatus Fowler, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 98, 



p. 182, fig. 46, 1946 (type locality, Riu Kiu Islands). 



SPECIMENS STUDIED 



Bikini Atoll: 7 stations, 92 specimens, 19 to 112 mm. 

 Rongelap Atoll: 9 specimens, 78 to 105 mm. 

 Eniwetok Atoll: 8 specimens, 63 to 85 mm. 

 Kwajalein Atoll: 5 specimens, 50 to 99 mm. 

 Guam: 2 lots, 8 specimens, 16 to 80 mm. 

 Saipan: 2 lots, 14 specimens, 18 to 68 mm. 



Vescription.—DoTS&\ rays XII or XIII, 19 to 21, rarely XII; anal 

 11,20 to 23, rarely 20 or 23; pectoral 14, with lower 5 rays thickened; 



