70 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2 02 Vol. 3 



eye ; head completely scaled except for opercular membrane, which is 

 joined to upper pectoral rays on both eyed and blind side; pectoral fin 

 on blind side rudimentary; pel vies equal and inserted on same level 

 just behind gill membranes; gill membranes attached to isthmus but 

 forming a broad fold ; lateral line straight, extending onto basal third 

 or half of caudal fin. Dorsal and anal fins low, even, tips of rays 

 free, last rays slightly longer than the rest; caudal fin rounded, its 

 middle rays longest. 



Color in alcohol. — Ground color of head and body light brown; head 

 with about 5 or 6 narrow transverse single reddish or reddish brown 

 lines; body with about 15 or 16 pairs of transverse reddish lines, part 

 of these wavy, part straight, part broken, extending onto bases of 

 dorsal and anal fins; dorsal and anal fins with narrow white margin, 

 yellow in life, then a submarginal black band with narrow V-shaped 

 markings proximal, these markings alternate long and short for most 

 part, the long ones frequently joining the paired transverse lines and 

 the short ones spaced between; tip of caudal with narrow pale margin, 

 then a broad submarginal black band rest of caudal pale except for a 

 narrow wavy transverse line on basal third (this fine near base missing 

 on smallest specimen and faint on one large specimen that has basal 

 two thirds of caudal dusky) . 



Genus ASERAGGODES Kaup 



Aseraggodes Kaup, Arch. Naturg., vol. 24, p. 103, 1858 (type species, Aseraggodes 

 guUulatus) . 



ASERAGGODES MELANOSTICTUS (Peters) 



Plate 132,B 



Solea (Achirus) melanosticta Peters, Monatsb. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, p. 845, 1876 

 (1879) (type locality, Bougainville Island, 40 fathoms). 



SPECIMEN STUDIED 



Kwajalein Atoll: Ennylabegan Island, near southern end, lagoon reef, Septem- 

 ber 1, S-46-397, Herald, 1 specimen, 39 mm. 



Description. — Dorsal fin rays 74; anal 57; pectorals absent; pel vies 

 5; branched caudal 7 upper, 8 lovv^er; scales in lateral line 67 from 

 head to base of middle caudal rays; gill rakers on first arch 2, rudi- 

 mentary. 



Depth of body 2.29; length of head 3.82; both in standard length 

 (tip of snout to base of middle caudal rays). Snout (anterior margin 

 of upper eye to tip of snout) 4.64; eye 5.68; interorbital 20.4; post- 

 orbital part of head (hind margin of lower eye to posterior margin of 

 opercular membrane) 1.93; length of upper jaw 3.2; depth of caudal 

 peduncle 2.04; length of longest dorsal ray 2.0; length of longest anal 

 ray 2.13; length of middle caudal rays 1.2; all in length of head. 

 Angle of dorsal profile with lengthwise axis of body about 40 degrees. 



