FISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AND ADJACENT SEAS 195 



on the pectoral and two on the ventral, though they say "les taches 

 des pectorales et des ventrales tendent a former trois lignes regulieres." 



21764, 21765. Cebu market. March 20, 1909. Length 102 to 112 mm. 

 13983, 13984. Iloilo market. May 31, 1908. Length 110 to 114 mm. 

 One example. Ligpo point, Balayan Bay. January 18, 1908. Length 70 mm. 

 19814. Point San Vincente, northern Luzon. November 18, 1908. Length 

 100 mm. 



Genus PLECTROPOMUS Oken 



Plectropomus Oken, Isis, 1S17, p. [1182] 1782 (on Les Plectropomes Cuviek, 

 Regne Animal, vol. 2, 1817, p. 277). Type Bodianus maculatus Bloch, 

 designated by Jordan, Tanaka, Snyder, Journ. College Sci. Tokyo, vol. 

 33, 1913, p. 152. 



Plectropoma (Cuvier) Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. Uranie, Zooi., pt. 7, 1824, 

 p. 318. Type Plectropoma punctatum Quoy and Gaimard = Bodian us 

 maculatus Bloch, monotypic. 



Paracanihistius Bleeker, Verh. Akad. Wet. Amsterdam, vol. 14, 1874, p. 

 13. Type Holocentms leopardus Lacepede, orthotypie. 



Body elongated, compressed. Mouth large, protractile. Maxillary 

 exposed, with supplemental bone. Teeth in jaws in several series, 

 inner movable, depressible, hinged at bases; very strong front canines 

 in jaws and on side of mandible; teeth on vomer and palatines; 

 tongue smooth. Preopercle entire or finely serrate behind, with 

 antrorse spines on lower edge. Opercle with 3 spines. Gill mem- 

 branes separate. Pseudobranchiae present. Gill rakers moderate. 

 Vertebrae 24, of which 14 caudal. Scales very small, roughish but 

 not ciliated. Head partly scaled, snout naked. Lateral line feebly 

 marked, tubes very short and straight, scales ciliated. Dorsal with 

 6 to 8 spines, rays 11 to 12, spinous fin nearly long as soft fin. Anal 

 with 3 spines very feeble and flexible, rays 8. Caudal truncate or 

 emarginate. Pectoral rays 16 to 18, symmetrical, rounded. Ventral 

 with feeble, flexible spine, below pectoral, fins close together. 



Indian and western Pacific Oceans. Although Boulenger admits 

 but two species our materials seem to vindicate the three of Bleeker, 

 besides showing another which we describe as new. 



ANALYSIS OF THE SPECIES 



a 1 . Plectropomus. Soft dorsal and anal without front lobes distinctly marked 

 and though front rays highest edges of fin slope obliquely back; body 

 without dark vertical blue lines on flanks. 

 b\ Caudal truncate; body with blue dark edged spots, moderate in size. 



truncatus 

 b 2 . Caudal emarginate or lunate; body spotted or dotted with blue. 



c 1 . Body with pale blue dark edged spots of moderate size and sometimes 



with 5 dark brown cross bands maculatus 



c 2 . Body with very numerous, small, dark edged dots leopardus 



a 2 . Pleuroperca, new subgenus. Soft dorsal and anal with distinct front 

 lobes, edges of fins emarginate; body with variable vertical blue lines on 

 flanks oligacanthus 



