FISHES OF THE PHOENIX AND SAMOAN ISLANDS 131 



Family CIRRHITIDAE 



A KEY TO THE GENERA OF CIRRHITID FISHES LIKELY TO OCCUR IN THE 

 PHOENIX AND SAMOAN ISLANDS 



la. That portion of tbe gill membranes covering isthmus without scales, naked. 

 Scales on cheek large, arranged in 3 to 6 rows. 

 2a. Snout very long and pointed ; scales on cheek in about three rows ; palatine 

 teeth absent ; pectoral tin formula usually ii+G+v. 



Oxycirrhites Bleekor 



2b. Snout normal, not sharply pointed ; palatine teeth present or absent ; 



about five or six rows of scales on cheek ; pectoral fin formula usually 



i or ii+5 to 7+v to vii Amblycirrhitus Gill 



1&. Gill membranes over isthmus with fine scales (these arc embedded in 

 Cirrhitus pinnulatus) . 

 3a. Aboait 4 to 6 rows of scales on cheek; pectoral fin formula i+6 to 8+v 

 to vii. 



4a. Palatine teeth absent Paracirrhites Bleeker 



4b. Palatine teeth present Cirrhitichthys Bleeker 



3&. About 15 to 30 rows of scales on cheek. 



5a. About 15 to 20 rows of scales on cheek ; palatine teeth present ; preopercle 

 with about 11 strong teeth ; pectoral fin formula i+7+vi. 



Hughichthys, new genus 



5&. About 20 to 30 rows of scales on cheek ; palatine teeth absent ; preopercle 



finely serrated with about 35 denticles ; pectoral fin formula usually 



i+6 or 7+vii ; scales 38 or 39 ; dorsal rays X, 10 or 11 ; anal III, 5 or 6 ; 



gill rakers about 7 or 8+11 or 12 Cirrhitus Lacepfede 



Genus OXYCIRRHITES Bleeker 



Oxycirrhites Bleeker, Act. Soc. Sci. Indo-Neerl., vol. 2, p. 39, 1857. (Type, 

 Oxycirrhites typus Bleeker.) 



No specimen in the National Museum from these localities. 



Genus AMBLYCIRRHITUS Gill 



AMdlycirrhitiis Gnx, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1862, p. 105. (Type, 

 Cirrhitus fasciaius Cuvier and Valenciennes, preoccupied, replaced by 

 Amblycirrhitus mdicus Fowler, 1938.) 



A KEY TO THE SPECIES REFERRED TO THE GENUS AMBLYCIRRHITUS FROM THE 

 PHOENIX AND SAMOAN ISLANDS 



la. Dorsal rays usually X, 11 ; anal III, 6 ; rows of scales on cheek usually 6 ; 

 teeth on posterior edge of preopercle fine about 20 to 30; gill membranes 

 over isthmus naked; gill rakers 4 to 6+1 + 11. 

 2a. Pectoral fin formula ii+5+vii ; scales 44 to 47; in upper half of body, 

 posteriorly, a pale or white band, pinkish in life; behind eye a pale, 

 black-bordered U-shaped color mark ; on interoperclc three or four 

 black-bordered pale marks. Following color notes taken on a specimen 

 collected on reef at Rose Atoll: Upper half of body olive-brown inter- 

 rupted above midaxis posteriorly with a wide band of translucent 

 pinkish orange that ends near base of caudal fin rays; lower half of 

 head and body pastel purplish orange, with a brownish tinge in it on 

 caudal region ; caudal fin pale olive-brown, with orange tinge on upper 

 rays; ey(> orange, with a red oval line behind eye, its outer margin 



