96 



BULLETIN" 10 0, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



tal ; maxillary reaches y^ in eye in young to front eye edge with age, 

 expansion ly^ to 1% in eye, length 21/^ to 21/^ in head; teeth in villi- 

 form band above, in front with pair of wide set canines, below teeth 

 small, conic and uniserial, also 4 to 6 outer similar ones anteriorly; 

 no teeth on palate; interorbital 4^ to 4%, little convex; preopercle 

 edge minutely serrulate in young, nearly entire with age. Gill rakers 

 5 + 13, of which 2 or 3 lower rudiments ; lanceolate, 1% in eye or equal 

 gill filaments. 



Scales 49 to 62 in lateral line to caudal base and 3 to 5 more on 

 latter; 9 above, 17 below, in horizontal series both above and below 

 lateral line; 12 to 16 predorsal forward to occiput; 10 rows across 



Figure 10. — Lutjanus nematophoeus (Bleekek). Variation 



cheek to preopercle ridge and preopercle flange naked. Scales with 

 14 or 15 basal radiating striae ; 63 to 72 minute apical denticles, with 

 10 to 12 transverse series of basal elements ; circuli very fine. 



D. X, 16, 1, or 15, 1, third spine 314 to 4 in head, fourth ray in young 

 and with age fourth to seventh rays elongate and with one of branches 

 extended as filaments more than half length of entire fish ; A. Ill, 9, 

 I, third spine 3^8 to 314 in head, third ray I14 to 1% ; caudal ll^ to 

 1%, deeply emarginate; least depth of caudal peduncle 2% to 2%; 

 pectoral ll^ to ly^; ventral 1% to li/^. 



Pale brown, lighter to gray or whitish below. Body with 7 to 9 

 more or less waved, often variably broken, incomplete or interrupted 

 longitudinal gray blue lines or bands, each narrowly margined, both 

 above and below with dusky or dark brown. With age often other 

 narrower similar parallel blue lines alternate with more conspicuous 

 ones. Sometimes blue line crosses interorbital or uppermost body 



