appears that thore are no po.isonous caranFjids besides these t-.ifo specie: 

 in the Harianas, "arshalls, and Carolines, 

 [Paf^e 39] 



Section 5 Cfenera Lut.janus and Aprion 



The genera Lut.janu s and Aprion belon?» to the family Lutjanidae, 

 These fish are abundant throughout the tropical Pacific, and the number 

 of species is lar^e. Some are a].so found in Japanese -waters, but in com- 

 parison with the South Seas the^' are very few. 



The genus Lut.janus includes many useful food-fish;, and also numerous 

 kinds of poisonous fish. Very few of them have been previously reported 

 as poisonous. 



These fishes are cauf»ht with driving-in nets and by angling, and, 

 because poisonous species are taken mixed in with edible species, caution 

 is necessary. 



1. Akadokutarumi (Plate 5 Figure 13-1) 



Scientific name - Lut.janus vaigiensis (Quoy ^- Gaimard) 

 Local name - nkamasu. akanaT ~ akadai (Saipan Japanese) 

 Distribution - Indian Ocean, "alaya. South Seas, N. Australia 

 T^orphology and taxonomic information - This species very closely resembles 

 in form and coloration the okifuedai (Plate 5 Figure 13-2) (called dokugyo 

 or dokutarumi ) of Japan, however, there is a definite difference between 

 the two. In the okifuedai the rows of scales above the lateral' line on' 

 the caudal peduncle are horizontal and run parallel to the lateral line, 

 while in this species these ro;ifs slant upward caudad and cross the lateral 

 line at an angle instead of running parallel to it. The pored scales of 

 the lateral line in this species are 56-57, while in the okifuedai they are 

 not more than 4^-50, Generally in this species the scales are smaller 

 with 18 scales in a diagonal row counting from the origin of the anal fin, 

 vihereas a similar count on the okifuedai gives lA (10 in Jordan's figure). 

 Although it is a character which may v^ry with age and so be unsuitable 

 for comparison, in specimens of approximately the same length the pectoral 

 fins of this species were longer. On a specimen of about 50 cm the tip of 

 the fin extended to a point vertically under the last spine of the dorsal. 

 In the okifuedai it extends only as far as the eighth spine. In this 

 species the caudal fin is deeply notched in the middle forming a forked 

 outline while in the okifuedai the posterior edge Is either nearly straight 

 [Page hO; Tables 23, 24, 25J 

 [Page 41, Tables 26, 27] 

 CPage U2, Tables 28^ 29, 30j 

 CPage 43, Tables 31, 32j 



[Page 433 and truncate or is only slightly indented. These differences 

 cannot be considered local variations, and they are therefore judged to be 

 separate species. Fowler (1931) considered the direction of the rows of 

 scales above the lateral line important and set up several subgenera of 

 Lut.janus based on this difference,* 



♦Fowler 1931. U. S. Nat. Hist. ?iis. Bull. 100, Vol. 11. p. 190 



30 



