62 BULLETIN 180, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



3c. First few rays of soft dorsal and anal without blackish pigment. 



5a. Gill rakers on first gill arch 13 to 15+1+27 to 29=42 to 45; dorsal 

 rays X-I, 15 or 16 ; anal rays IV, 13 or 14 ; scales 30 to 33 ; axil of 

 pectoral blackish in upper half, white below ; upper three rows of 

 scales with their posterior borders brownish, contrasting with pale 

 centers ; opercular margin only dusky, not blackish as in some other 



species Myripristis microphthalmus Bleeker 



5&. Gill rakers on first gill arch 10 or 11+1+20 to 23=31 to 36; dorsal 

 rays X-I, 14 ; anal IV, 12 or 13 ; scales 38 to 41 ; axil of pectoral with 

 some black pigment; opercular margin dusky to blackish (the four 

 types may be the same si>ecies as arf;>/rosonius, but they have fewer 

 gill rakers on upper half of gill arch). 



Myripri&tis claiionensis Gilbert 



MYRIPRISTIS MULTIRADIATUS Gunther 



Myripristis multiradiatus GiJNTHEB, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, vols. 2-3, pts. 5-6, p. 

 93, 1873. 



115247, Tutuilla Island, reef at entrance Pago Pago Bay, June 2, 1939, 5 

 specimens. 



109894, Jordan and Kellogg, 3 specimens. 



56990, Apia, Samoa, 5 specimens. 



56989, Apia, Samoa, 3 specimens. 



52386, Apia, Samoa, Jordan and Kellogg, 5 specimens. 



109893, Apia, Samoa, Jordan and Kellogg, 8 specimens. 



109892, Samoa, Wilkes Exploring Expedition, 1 specimen. 



Color in life, from notes taken on a specimen collected from the 

 reef at Pago Pago: Body brilliant red above, lighter below; spiny 

 dorsal orange-red; pectorals pink; all other fins more brilliant red 

 than body, pelvic spine white ; cheeks and anterior part of body iri- 

 descent blue; brownish bar across opercle to base of pectorals; tip of 

 soft dorsal brighter red than rest of fin ; eye blackish above pupil. 



MYRIPRISTIS ADUSTUS Bleeker 



Mi/ripristis adustus Bleeker, Nat. Tidjschr. Ned. Ind., vol. 4, p. 108, 1853. 



115246, Hull Island, reef, July 12 to 15, 1939, 1 specimen. 

 52404, Apia, Samoa, Jordan and Kellogg, 2 specimens. 



MYRIPRISTIS MURDJAN (Forsk&l) 



Sciaena murdjan Forskai., Descriptiones animalium . . . , pp. xii, 48, 1775. 



There is considerable misunderstanding concerning the species usu- 

 ally referred to M. 7iiurdjan Forskfil and M. intermedia Giinther. 

 Riippell (Atlas zu der Reisc im nordlichen Afrika, Fische, pp. 86, 

 87, pi. 23, fig. 2) gives a fair description and a good figure of murdjcm. 

 Bleeker (Atlas ichthyologique . . . , pi. 3C0, fig. 3) figures the same 

 species that Riippell figured. But Giinther's figure (Journ. Mus. Go- 

 deffroy, vols. 2-3, p. 92, pi. 61, 1873) of M. murdjan does not represent 

 the same species as that of Riippell and of Bleeker but an entirely dif- 



