FISHES OF THE PHOENIX AND SAIMOAN ISLANDS 241 



Color consists of brown markings on a pale background; below 

 eye and across middle of preopercle is a diffuse brownish bar; lower 

 half of opercle brownish ; above pectoral base a brown blotch ; lower 

 edge of pectoral base with a brownish blotch; margins of scales 

 brownish, their centers pale ; two brown saddles somewhat broken on 

 ventral side of abdomen between pelvic base and anal origin, the 

 posterior one passes through anus; four brown spots on ventral mar- 

 gin of body, the first near middle of base of anal fiji, the second just 

 behind the anal fin base, the third near middle of length of caudal 

 peduncle and the fourth at the base of the first caudal fin ray ; near 

 midline of base of rays of the caudal fin is a V-shaped black blotch, 

 the center is pale with a black blotch dorsally and ventrally and 

 joined anteriorly, the posterior side of the blotch open or pale; tips 

 of first dorsal spine white, then a black spot distally on other spines ; 

 caudal barred ; pel vies blackish, except that their fifth rays are pale ; 

 soft dorsal with two brownish streaks, one basally and the other 

 distally. 



Gill membranes broadly joined to the isthmus not restricted to in 

 front of pectoral fin base; cheeks naked, opercles naked; breast 

 scaly ; midline of nape and sides of nape scaly, scales ctenoid ; tongue 

 rounded; caudal somewhat rounded with the middle rays a little 

 longer, giving the appearance of a pointed caudal in two of the 

 paratypes; jaws equal, the mouth a little oblique; the maxillaries 

 elongate, extending past a vertical through rear of eye to below 

 middle of preopercle; both jaws with some enlarged outer and inner 

 teeth, with a villiform band between them, those on outside confined 

 mostly to front of jaws; basal membrane of pel vies well developed, 

 the disk elongate, and the pelvics are joined their entire length, but 

 not joined to body. 



Remarks. — This species differs from the only other member of the 

 genus, Mahidolia mystacina Cuvier and Valenciennes {=MahidoUa 

 normani Smith and Koumans) by having fewer dorsal rays VI-I, 7 

 or 8 and anal I, 6 instead of VI-I, 10 and I, 9, respectively; also 

 25 or 26 scales instead of 40 to 45. 



Named pagoensis in reference to the creek at the Polynesian village 

 of Pago Pago, Tutuila Island, American Samoa. 



Genus OXYURICHTHYS Bleeker 



Oxyuriclithys Bleeker, Act. Soc, Sci. Ind. Neerl., vol. 8, p. 44, ISGO. (Type 

 Oohius telosso Bleeker.) 



OXYURICHTHYS TENTACULARIS (Valenciennes) 



OoMvs tenfacularis Valenciennks, in Cuvier and Valenciennes, Histoire natur- 

 elle des poissous, vol. 12, p. 128, 1837. 



52409, Apia, Samoa, Jordan and Kellogg, 2 specimens. 



