However, when thecrei? vient to thro.M it avjay, the natives asked for it and 

 took it away xvith them, probably for their own consumption. 



The toxicity of this species is considered to be of a mild or slif^ht degree. 



Section 6 Genus Lethrinus 



The genus Lethrinus is composed of fishes belcnfjing to the family Lethrinidae 

 (formerlvT included in the family Sparidae) , The most common species in Japan is 

 L. haematochir. which occurs in southern Japan, and vihich; because the inside of 

 its mouth is flame-colored, is called kuchibitai. kuchimi . kuchibl, fuefukitai,etc. 

 CThese names mean "fire-mouth" and "f lute-blovjer" .] The Tenus includes many other 

 edible fishes. They have in the past been tnken in large quantities by trawlers 

 in the China Sea and South China Sea areas. 



Fishes of this fjenus have for many ^'ears been recorded in the literature as 

 beln«? poisonous. Vaillant (l?P7)* described L, rostratus from the Pomotous rslcl 

 as poisonous, and Pellegrin (1889)** reported that at New Caledonia larp:e specimens 

 of L. mambo 80 cm long were poisonous ;uhile small ones of 13-14 cm were nonpoisonous 



Poisonous fishes of this genus in the South Seas area are the four species 

 described below, but the Pienus also includes many edible fishes and larf^e numbers 

 of them are marketed. 



The author asked one Japanese in the area studied for his opinion on the poi- 

 sonous fish situation and was told that fishes with pointed mouths are r^oisonous. 

 As Is apparent from this report, this rule cannot be universally ariplied to fish 

 as a whole, but it can be said to be true of the members of this r»enus which occur 

 in the "^outh '^eas, 



1, Kitsunekuchibi and Usu/»amokuchibi 

 (Plate 8 Figures 21, 22, 23) 



Scientific name - Lethrinus miniatus (Schneider) 



Local name - Variety shown in Fi». 21 is called .1alia (I'arshallese); Japanese 

 call it omonaTa (lon^-face). Variety shown in Fig, 22 is called 

 roinet (ITarshallose) anJ that in Fif^. 23 maneni (TTarshallese), 

 Distribution - Red Sea, Indian Ocean, South Seas. 



"orphology - This species abounds in varieties of coloration. There are three 

 types which are thouf»ht to belong to this species or to be closely related, and the 

 natives distingiiish them by different names, "Jhen shown our three drawinf^s they 

 [Page 5^3 definitely identified the ronet and nameni . but in the case of the .jalia 

 they indicated not only figure 21 but also applied the name to figures 22 and 23. 

 It is thought that of these three types, txio should be considered varieties of a 

 single species. It is difficult to detect any particular differences on important 

 points of raomhology, (There is some difference in body depth). There are some 

 differences in the coloration and the natives probfibly make their distinction on 

 this basis. The roffet is darker than the iali,^ and the cloud-like pattern on its 



*Vaillant (1887)i Bull . Soc . Philom , p. 49 (from Pawlowsky) 

 **Pellegrln (1689, Les polesons vWneux, Thdse de Paris 1889 (Pawlowsky) 



35 



