FISHES OF THE PHOENIX AND SAMOAN ISLANDS 279 



spots; a very distinct black bar, inclined obliquely, occurs be- 

 hind eye, its length nearly equal to diameter of eye, lower sides 

 of head and in front of pectoral with pale (white) spots or 

 marbling ; chin and gill membranes with about six white lines 

 radiating from over base of pelvics, the one in midline forms a 

 Y, and the next a V, these persist in the half-grown and young 

 too; dorsals and caudal barred with rows of black spots; anal 

 with tips of rays white then a darkish submarginal blackish 

 band or row of diffuse spots, base of anal rays pale ; pelvics and 

 pectoral plain pale, unspotted Salarias marmoratus (Bennett) 



8b. Peritoneum pale; multifid cirri on each eye, usually with a long 

 simple one at outside, with multifid cirri coming off its inside 

 base, the simple one as long as eye; upper lips crenulate near 

 corners of mouth ; dorsal rays XII or XIII, 13 to 15, anal 17 or 

 IS; depth 41/2; head 4; eye 4%; pelvics 1% in head; longest 

 soft dorsal I'-Jfj ; dorsals with deep notch; anal tin of males with 

 the tips of the first to fifth rays greatly enlarged, convoluted, and 

 separated from each other ; color pale or light brown or tan ; in 

 adults a large black spot behind head in upper two-thirds of 

 body, above and a little behind base of pectoral, lateral line bor- 

 dering upper edge of this black spot; three pairs of pale lines 

 radiating outward on under side of head from below isthmus on gill 

 membranes and on chin; dorsals, caudal, and anal blackish with 

 traces of bars ; a dark spot behind eye, about twice as long as wide, 

 its length equal to diameter of pupil ; adult males — spiny dorsal 

 with white margin, and black blotches between each spine, the 

 spines white ; soft dorsal with numerous bars, running obliquely ; 

 caudal barred; tips of anal rays pale, rest of fin blackish; lower 

 rays of pectoral blackish ; pelvics dusky ; middle area of chin dusky 

 longitudinally; isthmus dusky; side of body with five or six bars, 

 rather faint ; upper lip with 10 narrow vertical bars extending on 

 snout; cheek with some blackish areas. In yoxing the black spot, 

 smaller than pupil, persists, but other color marks are absent. 

 Salarias thalassinus (Jordan and Seale) 

 lb. Dorsal rays XII or XIII, 17 to 21 (if dorsal rays are 17, cirri over 

 eye not multifid) ; anal rays 18 to 24; cirri over eye simple or 

 simple with edges fringed, not as described in 7a. 



'Ml. Lateral lino ends under last one-third of soft dorsal ; depth 3% ; head 

 3%; eye 4^^ in head; pelvics 1%; longest soft dorsal ray IV2 in 

 head ; dorsals notched but joined one-fourth to one-third of first 

 soft dorsal ray; dorsal rays XIII, 17; anal 19 or 20; peritoneum 

 dusky to black, paler in young; cirrus on each eye simple in 

 young, simple but with fringed edges in adults, one-third to one- 

 half diameter of eye ; nasal tentacles multifid but simple in 

 young; pair of cirri on nape; crest undeveloped; soft dorsal free 

 from caudal fin ; color pale tan or light grayish brown, with 

 head and body covered with black spots and reticulated lines, 

 these arranged along midaxis as nearly ])aral!el linos, some- 

 what broken and a few branching to join others ; pectorals with 

 three or four rows of transverse black spots ; caudal with several 

 transverse rows of black spots; dorsals with oblique rows of 

 spots; anal with two or three longitudinal black lines or rows 

 of spots ; the young do not have parallel blackish broken lines or 



424590—42 19 



