FISHES OF THE PHHjIPPINE AND ADJACENT SEAS 



47 



Mauritius, East Africa, India, East Indies, Philippines, Queens- 

 land, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, Hawaii. While largely quite 

 uniform in color pattern the species varies greatly in the length of 

 the rostrum. 



Fig. 2.— Rostral variation with age of Forcipiger longirostris (Broussonet) 



Forcipiger flavissimus is said to differ chiefly in coloration, the 

 much larger anal blotch not ocellated as in the Forcipiger longirostris, 

 besides vertically oblong. Its body is said to be much deeper, the 

 depth given as 2. At best it would appear to us as a variation, for 



