FISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AND ADJACENT SEAS 205 



greater than interorbital; maxillary reaches opposite hind eye edge, 

 expansion % to ]/% in eye, length 2}(o to 23^ in head from snout 

 tip; teeth in villiform bands in jaws, inner of upper anteriorly and 

 along all inner edge of mandible little enlarged, also outer upper series 

 enlarged; pair of canines in front of each jaw and another close set 

 pair on each mandibular ramus medianly; bands of small teeth on 

 vomer and palatines; interorbital 6^5 to 7^2, level, scarcely convex; 

 preopercle edge entire; opercular spines 3, median closer to lower 

 which before uppermost. Gill rakers 7 to 10 + 14, % of gill fila- 

 ments, which equal eye; 6 to 8 above, and 5 or 6 below rudimentary. 



Scales 83 to 120? in lateral line to caudal base and 8 to 12 more 

 on latter; tubes 64 or 65 in lateral line to caudal base and 3 or 4 

 more on latter; 15 to 20 scales above, 30 to 40 below; 20 to 28 rows 

 on cheek; scales minute on predorsal, breast, chest, and fin bases; 

 snout, jaws, lips, maxillary, and branchiostegal region naked; with 

 age maxillary expansion largely finely scaled; fins all finely scaled 

 like body. Scales with 4 to 12 basal radiating striae; 26 to 30 apical 

 denticles, with 4 to 6 transverse series; circuli fine. 



D. IX, 13, 1 or 14, 1, ninth spine 2J/£ to 3 in total head length, 

 tenth ray 2 to 2%; A. Ill, 8, 1, third spine %% to 4, fifth ray 1% to 

 \y%; caudal 1 to 1)3, deeply lunate with produced points; least depth 

 of caudal peduncle 3 to 3)4; pectoral 1% to 1%; ventral \% to 2. 



Pale brownish generally, fins but little darker and everywhere with 

 numerous small whitish dots, except on paired fins and lower surface 

 of head; in alcohol dots often dusky or deep brown. Iris deep yel- 

 low. When fresh, body orange marked with rather small, numerous, 

 rosy purple spots on body above. On lower surface spots pale rosy, 

 some almost faded pale white. Dorsals, anals, and caudal spotted, 

 last with dusky gray band close to edge. 



Red Sea, East Africa, Zanzibar, Mauritius, Reunion, Madagascar, 

 Mascarene Islands, Seychelles, Ceylon, India, East Indies, Philippines, 

 Riu Kiu, Melanesia, Polynesia. A very handsome fish and variable 

 in its coloration. According to Ruppell's figure of Serranus louti only 

 the margin of the pectoral is yellow, though both Bleeker and Quoy 

 and Gaimard show a plain or uniformly colored pectoral without 

 any darker basal color. Jordan and Seale have figured their Samoan 

 variety with the broad blackish band along the upper part of the 

 side as a distinct species, Variola flavimarginata. We have three 

 examples (42, A845 and A846) from the East Indian region of this 

 variety. They have the dark band from the eye and along the back, 

 also a dark blotch at the base of the upper caudal lobe. 



A. 1527. Doc Can Island, Sulu Sea. January 7, 1910. Length 45 mm. Stom- 

 ach contained Holacanthus melanosoma 80 mm. long and small serranid. 



9077. Malhon Island, vicinity of Surigao Strait, between Samar and Leyte. 

 July 27, 1909. Length 355 mm. 



