FISHES OF THE PHOENIX AND SAMOAN ISLANDS 119 



short and somewhat rudimentary; body and head compressed; the 

 usual opercular spines absent ; no lateral line is evident ; all the rays 

 of dorsal and anal fins show, under a magnification of 15 times, the 

 articulations found in all soft rays, the first 18 dorsal rays are simple, 

 the next four branched; the first nine anal rays simple the next 

 four branched; the membrane of the first several dorsal rays is deeply 

 incised, it is joined about two-thirds the distance out the next ray; 

 interorbital space with a pair of pores; 11 or 12 pores around margin 

 of orbit; nostrils not tubular; maxillary reaches to under front of 

 pupil; gill membranes free from isthmus, extending far forward 

 with a free fold across isthmus anteriorly. 



Color plain brownish on head and body; margins of dorsal and anal 

 fins pale; the basal three-fourths brownish; pelvics, pectorals, and 

 caudal fins pale brownish. 



This new species differs from the only other known species in the 

 genus, PseudopJesiops typiis Bleeker, as follows: 



p. rosae P. typus ^ 



Number of dorsal fin rays 22. 25. 



Number of simple rays in dorsal fin 18 16. 



Number of anal rays 13 15 



Number of simple rays in anal fin 9 7 



Pectoral fin rays 17 15 or 16. 



Number of scale rows 26 or 27 34 



Number of scales in the transverse row 11 15 or 16 



Membrane of simple rays of dorsal fin Deeply incised Not incised. 



Lateral line Absent ? 



Pelvic rays 1,3 1,4 



Named rosae after Rose Island, where this species was collected. 



Family PEMPHERIDAE 



Genus PEMPHERIS Cuvier 



Pempheris Cuviee, Regne animal, ed. 2, vol. 2, p. 195, 1829. (Type, Pempheris 

 touea Cuvier.) 



KEY TO THE SPECIES OF PEMPHERIS FROM THE PHOENIX AND SAMOAN ISLANDS 



la. Base of pectoral with a jet-black spot ; front of dorsal including first few 

 rays blackish ; tips of first few anal rays not blackish ; base of anal fin 

 brownish, sometimes on smaller specimens tips of rays pigmente<l ; upper 

 and lower rays of caudal fin somewhat dusky ; head and trunk above 

 blackish or brownish, paler below, sides silvery or with copper colored 

 reflections ; snout to origin of dorsal about 1.1 to 1.2 times in greatest 

 depth ; length of head about 1.3 times In snout to origin of soft dorsal ; 

 dorsal rays "VI, 9 or 10; anal III, 39 to 45; pectoral about 17; gill rakers 

 on first gill arch about 8+1+19 to 21; scales 55 to 65. 



Pempheris otaitensis liosson 



1&. Base of pectoral fin without jet-black spot ; front of dorsal not blackish, 

 Only outer third of first few dorsal rays black ; tips of first few anal rays 

 blackish, this continued along margin of fin as a du.sky to black streak, 

 rest of fin pale except base which is brownish ; tips of middle rays of 



'^ Counts made on Bleeker's pi. ?,SS, fig. 3, Atlas ichthyologl(iue . . ., and data compared 

 with that of Fowler and other authors. 

 424599 — 42 9 



