20 BULLETIN 10 0, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Leptochromis Bleekeb, Verh. Kon. Akad. Wet. Amsterdam, No. 5, vol. 15, 1875, 



p. 14. Type Pseudochromis cyanotaeiiia Bleekek, designated by Jordan, 



Genera of Fishes, pt. 3, 1919, p. 382. 

 Nesiotes De Vis, Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales, vol. 8, 1884, p. 453. Type 



Nesiotes purpurascens Db Vis, monotypic. 

 Onar Db Vis, Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales, vol. 9, 1885, p. 875. Type Ona7- 



nebulosum Db Vis, monotypic. 



Body oblong or partly oblong, compressed. Head acute, above 

 bony. Rictus oblique, not curved. Maxillary not extending beyond 

 eye. Teeth in several rows in jaws, partly canine-like; vomer and 

 palatines with teeth. Branchiostegals 6. Preopercle toothless. 

 Scales large, 33 to 45 in lateral series, ctenoid. Opercles scaled. 

 Dorsal and anal long, spines 2 or 3 in dorsal with rays 21 to 28, in 

 anal spines 2 or 3 and rays 13 to 15. Caudal obtuse. Pectoral obtuse, 

 rounded. Ventral inserted partly below pectoral base, spine slender 

 and 5 rays branched with second or third longest. 



ANALYSIS OF SPECIES 



a\ Caudal rounded or convex behind.^ 



&\ AssicuLiJS. Dorsal rays 20 to 23 (anal 10 to 14). 

 c\ Caudal with dark markings. 

 d\ Fine dark transverse lines on caudal ; dorsal and anal with longitudi- 

 nal fine dark lines purpurascens. 



d^ Caudal with 1 or 2 horizontal black bands. 

 e\ Black line along top of caudal peduncle into caudal, where forming 



submarginal wedge-shaped band flavipinnis. 



e*. Black band across caudal longitudinally above and another similarly 



below melanotaenia. 



c^ Caudal uniform. 



f. Behind depressed pectoral 8 or 9 narrow vertical blue lines or 



bands ; vertical fins dusky cyanotaenia. 



f. Uniform brown, variably pale or dark, often few horizontal dark 



lines on dorsal; vertical fins pale tapeinosoma. 



f. Body and head with small scattered azure blue spots ; opercle with 



8 to 5 flat spines along upper hind edge punctatus. 



b'\ Dbvisina, new subgenus. Dorsal rays 25 to 27 (anal 14 to 17). 

 ff^. Anal rays 14. 



h\ Upper opercle edge with 5 flat spines quinquedentatus. 



7r. Upper opercle edge entire. 

 i\ Vertical fins uniformly pale. 

 f. Bright orange, most scales below lateral line with blue 



dot; 2 blue lines cross eyeball aureus. 



f. Black line from snout tip through eye and over postocular. 

 (Upper and lower caudal ray produced in filament.) 



perspicillatus. 

 i". Soft dorsal and anal with narrow longitudinal blue lines. 



k\ Paired fins dusky fuscus. 



fc°. Paired fins yellow xanthochir. 



Srl Anal rays 17; body uniform brown. 



l^. Jaws equal rodwayi. 



V. Lower jaw produced natalensis. 



^Pseudochromis persicus Murray and Pseudochromis rodwayi Johnston without shape 

 of the caudal described, may fall in this section. 



