238 BULLETIN 10 0, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Deep chocolate brown generally. Iris dusky brown. Dorsals and 

 anals dusky, especially basally. Caudal abruptly pale gray to 

 whitish basally, fin medially towards edge dusky or blackish-brown 

 and above and below terminally with more or less brownish. Pec- 

 toral brownish, uniform, without pale edge. Ventral deep dusky. 

 Caudal spine brown, edge -of groove blackish all around. 



Red Sea, Mauritius and Rodriguez to India, East Indies, Philip- 

 pines, Riu Kiu, Japan, Queensland. 



Some examples show" the chin pale or even w^hitish, especially young 

 examples. In others the pectoral may be more or less uniform 

 brownish. It is in the pale caudal base that the greatest variation 

 is seen, the transverse whitish band appearing variously distinct or 

 obscure. With age, a black blotch, above both opercle and gill open- 

 ing, its vertical diameter not greater than pupil and its horizontal 

 diameter may be long as eye. Also large examples show the entire 

 sides of the head and predorsal region finel}^ dotted or spotted with 

 gray white, spots much smaller above postocular region. Such 

 examples may also have the hind caudal edge very narrowly whitish. 

 In our entire series the paired fins are entirely uniform deep dusky 

 to brownish. 



This species may be known by its combination of colors, the white 

 band at the caudal base, the uniform dark paned fins, the edge of 

 soft dorsal and anal narrowly bluish and the dusky postocular blotch, 

 the latter not only on the opercle but also on the suprahumeral region. 

 Klunzinger (1884) discusses the fin rays, giving but 24 or 25 for the 

 dorsal and the anal with 23 or 24. 



8923 to 8927, 8929. Atula3'an Island, Lagonoy Gulf, Luzon. June 18, 1909. 

 Length 245 to 283 mm. Dark brown, sometimes with slate; on fading side 

 shows narrow brown lines with blue-white interspaces as in Ctenochaetus stri- 

 gosus. Breast from pectoral base downward washed orange brown. Caudal 

 spine with bright orange socket. Orange blotch before and behind pupil. Dull 

 obscure orange stripe from eye through nostrils across frontal region. No 

 shoulder blotch. Dorsal slate-gray or almost black basally, and in alcohol 

 few narrow bars appear on hind terminal portion. Anal like dorsal, without 

 dark base and edge narrowly bright blue. Caudal slate, without white tip 

 but white band across base. Pectoral slate, tips somewhat olive yellow. 

 Ventral slate, with slight yellowish dash at tips of last rays. 



19374. Beach near Caiholo River, Ulugan Bay, Palawan Island. December 29, 

 1908. Length 48 mm. 



8956. Between Paron Point and Jesus Point. June 21, 1909. Length 217 mm. 



8035 [1170]. Capulaan Bay, Pagbilao Island, Luzon. February 24, 1909. 

 Length 225 mm. Body with alternate brown and paler longitudinal lines. 

 Black area about breadth of pupil, somewhat longer than wide, below upper 

 angle of gill opening. Anal with narrow bright blue border. 



18364. Cebu market. April 4, 1908. Length 87 mm. 



21819. Cebu market. March 22, 1909. Length 50 mm. 



[1856]. Cebu market. August 23, 1909. Length 58 mm. 



Three examples Cebu market. August 27, 1909. Length 40 to 55 mm. 



