FISHES OF THE PHOENIX AND SAMOAN ISLANDS 35 



Genus MURENOPHIS Cuvier 



Mvrenophis Cu^^ER. Tableau ^K^raentaire de I'liistoirc naturellc des aiiimaux, 

 p. 329, 1798. (Type, Muracna hclcna Linnaeus.) 



MURENOPHIS PARDALIS (Schkgel) 



FidURB 4, h 



Muracna purdalis Schlegex. Siebold's Fauna Japcmica, Pisces, pts. 10-11, p. 

 268, pi. 119, 1846. 



115994, Endeibnry Island, reef. May 15-19, 1939, 13 specimens, 70 to 173 mm. 

 115996, Canton Island, reef of widest shallow channel, May 13, 1939, 1 



specimen, 81 mm. 



115995, Canton Lsland, reef at ocean, April 25-28, 1939, 21 specimens. 48 

 to 133 mm. 



Color notes taken on Canton Island specimens : Backgi'ound color 

 brown with white spots; crimson-red nostrils on head and crimson- 

 red spots along the outer edge of the dorsal and anal fins between the 

 white bars; tip of tail red. 



Genus ENCHELYNASSA Kaup 



Enchehjnassa Kaup. Arch. Naturg., vol. 21, p. 213, 1855. (Type, E. tleekeri 

 Kaup.) 



ENCHELYNASSA CANINA (Quoy and Gaimard) 



Figure 4, a 



Muracna cantna Quoy and Gaimard, Voyage autour du monde . . . Uranie, 

 Poissons, p. 247, 1824. 



H6075, Enderbury Island, reef. May 15-19, 1939, 7 speciinen.s, 335 to 730 mm. 

 116076, Swains Island, reef, May 3-9, 1939, 3 specimens, 527 to 655 mm. 



Genus GYMNOTHORAX Bloch 



Oymnothorax Bloch, Naturgeschichte der auslandischen Flsche, vol. 9, p. 83, 

 1794. [Tjrpe, Oymnothorax reticularis Bloch as restricted by Bleeker, 

 IS'ed. Tijdsch. Dierk., vol. 2, p. 121 (9), 1865 (=G. ruppelH McClelland).] 



KEY TO THE SPECIES REFERRED TO THE GENUS GYMNOTHORAX AS REPRESENTED 

 BY SPECIMENS IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM FROM THE PHOENIX AND SAMOAN 

 ISLANDS 



la. Within marginal series of teeth on intermaxillary plate occur three rows 



of enlarged teeth, more or less in lengthwise series, middle row composed 



of longest teeth; posterior nostril with a somewhat raised rim; inner 



row of teeth on maxillary usually numbers 5 to 10. 



2c. Color pattern of reticulated spots forming narrow dendritic bars most 



prominent on tail, the spots in lengthwise series; sometimes the bars 



arc so much expanded that ground color is dark brown or blackish, 



then the pale interspaces are very nai'row lines, but more prominent 



and contrast with the darker obscure bars. (The typical color phase 



for my specimens is figured in Bull. U. S. Fish Comm., vol. 23, pt. 1, fig. 



24, p. 95, as O. ercodes; Bleeker's Atlas pi. 190, fig. 1, of G. iuroensis 



though similar lacks the spots arranged to form bars as found in but two 



of my specimens. However, since there are intermediate color patterns, 



I am keeping the two forms together for the presi^nt.) The following 



proportions were computed from specimens 180, 247, and 305 mm. in 



