FISHES OF THE PHH,IPPINE ' AND ADJACENT SEAS 255 



bars very indistinct on anal. Caudal without markings. Pectoral membranes 

 hyaline. 

 A927 to A929, A935. Dodepo Island, Dutch East Indies. November 16, 1909. 

 Length 210 to 243 mm. Type. 



Genus ZEBRASOMA Swainson 



Zcbrasoma Swainson, Nat. Hist. Anim., vol. 2, 1839, p. 256. Type Acan- 



thurus velifer Bloch, monotypic. 

 Acanthus Bloch, Naturg. Ausl. Fische, vol. 9, 1795, p. 105. Type Acan- 



thurus velifer Bloch, monotypic. 

 Scopas Bonaparte, Prosp. Sist. Gener. Ittiol. (Saggio dist. anim. vert.), 



1831, p. 109. Nomen nudum. Type Acanthurus scopas Valenciennes, 



tautotypic, affixed by Jordan, Genera of Fishes, pt. 2, 1919, p. 175. 

 Laephichthys Ogilby, Mem. Queensland Mus., vol. 5, 1916, p. 173. Type 



Acanthurus rostratus Gunther, orthotj'pic. 



Snout short, deep, little produced. Jaws with single row of strong, 

 fixed incisors. Dorsal fin with 3 to 5 flexible spines. Soft dorsal 

 and anal well elevated. Ventral rays 5. Tail with pair of erectile 

 spines. 



Indo-Pacific. A number of nominal species have been described, 

 most of v\^hich appear to evolve into the few we arrange below. 



ANALYSIS OF THE SPECIES 



a^. Zebrasoma. Snout moderately pointed, not especially produced; dorsal 

 spines moderate; variably yellow to olive or dusky, 

 fe*. Dorsal rays 30 to 32; dusky or deep brown with transverse bands on head 



and body velif erum 



fe2. Dorsal rays 23 to 28. 



c'. Body brown, covered with small wliite dots gemmatum 



c^. Body yellow to olive or deep brown, sometimes with minute bluish dots 



or fine undulating lines fiavescens 



c^. Blackish, head and shoulders reticulated with gray; caudal yellow; 



pectoral yellow terminally xanthurum 



a^. Laephichthys. Snout produced; dorsal spines strong; uniform black. 



rostratum 



ZEBRASOMA VELIFERUM (Bloch) 



Acanthurus velifer Bloch, Naturg. Ausl. Fische, vol. 9, 1795, p. 106, pi. 427, 

 fig. 1. No locality (collection M. John). — RtJppELL, Atlas Reise Nordl. 

 Afrika, Fische, 1828, p. 58, pi. 15, fig. 2 (Mohila). — Valenciennes, Hist. 

 Nat. Poiss., vol. 10, 1835, p. 251 (Mauritius, East Indies, Red Sea). — 

 Bleeker, Nat. Tijds. Nederland. Indie, vol. 6, 1854, p. 518 (Cocos 

 Island); vol.7, 1854, p. (38) 42 (Cocos Island); vol. 8, 1855, p. 306 

 (Batoe Island). — Gunther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., vol. 3, 1861, p. 

 344 (Fiji). — Playfair, Fishes of Zanzibar, 1866, p. 57 (Zanzibar). — 

 Martens, Verh. zool. bot. Ges. Wieu., vol. 16, 1866, p. 378 (Koseir, Red 

 Sea). — Klunzinger, Verh. zool. bot. Ges. Wien, vol. 21, 1871, p. 505 

 (Red Sea). — Day, Fishes of India, pt. 1, 1875, p. 207; Fauna Brit. India, 

 vol. 2, 1889. p. 144 (Andaman Islands). — Thurston, Gov. Central Mus. 

 Madras (Pearl Fisher., Manaar), 1890, p. 92.— Sauvage, Hist. Nat. 

 Madagascar, Poiss., 1891, p. 344 (on Acanthure ilegant Lienard, Treiz- 

 rapp. Soc. hist. nat. Maurice, 1843, p. 69). 



