126 BULLETIN 214, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Genus Leptoscarus Swainson 



Leptoscarus Swainson, Natural history . . . fishes, vol. 2, pp. 172, 226, 1839 

 (genotype: Scarus vaigiensis Quoy and Gaimard) 



Scarichthys Bleeker, Acta Soc. Sci. Indo-N6erl. vol. 6, p. 17, 106, 107, 1859; 

 Nat. Tijdschr. Nederl.-Indie, vol. 19, p. 334, 1859 (genotype: Scarus naevius 

 Bleeker, designated by Jordan, Genera of fishes pt. 3, p. 287, 1919. Scarich- 

 thys naevius Bleeker = Scarus naevius Cuvier and Valenciennes = Scarich- 

 thys coeruleopunctatus Bleeker = Scarus (Calliodon) coeruleopunctatus 

 Riippell = Scarus vaigiensis Quoy and Gaimard). 



Leptoxanus Baissac, Proc. Soc. Arts Sci. Mauritius, vol. 1, pt. 4, p. 334, 1956 

 (genotype: Leptoxanus waigensis (Quoy and Gaimard) = Scants vaigensis 

 Quoy and Gaimard); ibid., p. 396 (correction of misspelling of Leptoscarus). 



Leptoscarus vaigiensis (Quoy and Gaimard) 



Plates 4,a; 25, a, b 



Scarus vaigiensis Quoy and Gaimard, Voyage autour du monde . . . ex^cut^ sur 



. . . r t/ranie et la P/iysfctenne, Zoologie, p. 288, 1824 (type locality: Vaigiou). 

 Scarus (Calliodon) caeruleo-punctatus Riippell, Neue Wirbelthiere zu der Fauna von 



Abysinnien gehorig, p. 24, pi. 7, fig. 3, 1835 (type locality; Red Sea): — Cuvier 



and Valenciennes, Histoire naturelle des poissons, vol. 14, p. 262, 1839 (Red 



Sea; 3 specimens examined in Mus. Nat. Hist. Nat. Paris, Cat. No. 1756, 



and 2 in Cat. No. 583). 

 Scarus aurilius Cuvier and Valenciennes, Histoire naturelle des poissons, vol. 14, 



p. 218, 1839 (type locality: Java; type examined in Mus. Nat. Hist. Nat. 



Paris, Cat. No. 567). 

 Scarus naevius Cuvier and Valenciennes, Histoire naturelle des poissons, vol. 14, 



p. 253, 1839 (type locality: Sechelles; type examined in Mus. Nat. Hist. 



Nat. Paris, Cat. No. 556). 

 Calliodon chlorolepsis Richardson, Zoology of the voyage of H. M. S. Sulphur 



. . . , Ichthyology, p. 137, pi. 64, figs. 4-7, 1844 (type locality: Hong Kong; 



type examined in British Museum, Cat. No. 1847.5.10.14, standard length 



124 mm.) 

 Scarichthys coeruleopunctatus Bleeker, Atlas ichthyologique . . . , vol. 1, p. 16, 



pi. 1, fig. 2, 1862. 

 Scarichthys auritus Bleeker, Atlas ichthyologique • . . , vol. 1, p. 15, pi. 1, fig. 



3, 1862. 

 Scarus rubronotatus Cuvier and Valenciennes, Histoire naturelle des poissons, 



vol. 14, p. 212, 1839 (type locaHty: Gulf of Arabia and Red Sea). 

 Scarus hottae Cuvier and Valenciennes, Histoire naturelle des poissons, vol. 14, 



p. 262, 1839 (type locality: Red Sea). 



^This species is characterized by having a background coloration 

 of brownish above, light brown ventrally; head, body, and fins some- 

 times richly speckled with dark brown dots (blue in life); base of 

 pectoral blackish or dark brown; scales of lower 3 lengthwise scale 

 rows have brownish centers, giving the appearance of 3 alternating 

 light and dark streaks behind pectoral fin. 



It seemed strange to me that the two species currently known as 

 Leptoscarus vaigiensis and Scarichthys coeruleopunctatus should be 



