FAMILY PLATYCEPHALIDAE — SCHULTZ 51 



diameter 9, and in length of snout 9. Snout 1.2 in postorbifcal length 

 of head. 



Teeth villiform, in narrow bands on both jaws and on vomer; 

 those of palatines in a single or irregular row; tongue edentulous, its 

 tip truncate; lips without minute papillae or fringe; cheek unicarinate; 

 nostrils tubular, anterior one with short dermal flap; dorsal and ventral 

 surfaces of head naked; opercle and preopercle with scales; interorbital 

 very narrow, concave; no pit behind eye; opercular margin without 

 a wide dermal flap; first 6 or 7 scales of lateral line with small to 

 minute spines; no orbital tentacle; preorbital without projecting 

 spine; other ridges and spines of head illustrated m figure 144. 



Color in alcohol.- — Ground color light tan with traces of 4 or 5 bars 

 across back, as is usual in Platycephalidae; tip of second spine of dorsal 

 blackish, and a blackish blotch between tips of spines IV to VII; 

 traces of bars in soft dorsal; several black pigment cells on membranes 

 submarginally from fifth to eleventh anal rays; lower part of caudal 

 fin darkish basally and again distally; upper distal edge of caudal 

 with traces of bars; margins of both pectoral and of pelvics white, 

 then abruptly blackish, gradually fading basally. 



Remarks. — This species belongs to that group of flatheads in which 

 the vomerine patches of teeth are separated by a deep edentulous 

 furrow; suborbital ridge finely serrate; cheek unicarinate; no antrorse 

 spine on preopercle; preocular with more than one spine; lower 

 opercular spme with its ridge smooth, not serrate. We have searched 

 the literature for species with the above characters and find the 

 following species referable to the genus Wakiyus as defined above: 

 Platycephalus oligolepis Regan, P. pedimaculus Regan, P. grandis- 

 quamis Regan 1908, and P. grandisquamis Weber 1913, are homonyms, 

 but probably are the same species and certainly no new name is 

 needed at present. All the above species have from 28 to 31 scales 

 or pores in the lateral line whereas W. welanderi differs by having 54. 

 P. macrocephalus Weber 1913 may belong in the genus Wakiyus; it 

 has 33 scales in the lateral line. As far as we can discover, our new 

 species is the only one known in the genus Wakiyus with 54 scales 

 in the lateral hne. Since P. macracanthus Bleeker has enlarged 

 spines along the suborbital ridge and bicarinate cheek, we are referring 

 it to the genus Thysanophrys, after examining several specimens. 



The genera Onigocia and Wakiyus are doubtfully separated on the 

 preocular spines, 1 in Onigocia with no spines on the lateral line 

 scales, and 2 or more in Wakiyus. 



Named welanderi in honor of Dr. Arthur D. Welander, School of 

 Fisheries, University of Washington, Seattle, who was at Bikini 

 during the summers 1946-49, studying the radiation effects on living 

 fishes. 



