596 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 115 



to moderately serrulate; cusps of lower teeth adumbrating this con- 

 dition; dentition of mature males and females similar; sometimes 

 cusps of teeth of mature males slightly more erect than those of 

 females. 



Denticles imbricate, 3-ridged and 3-toothed in young, 3- to 5-ridged 

 and 3-toothed or with irregular posterior margin in adults. 



Color of preserved specimens quite variable. Body gray, purpHsh 

 gray, gray brown or buff brown above, pale below. Pectorals dark 

 with a pale distal edge; pelvics and anal pale or dusky; upper caudal 

 lobe usually with a dark edging in young; edging present or absent 

 in adults; lower caudal lobe without a dark edging; other fins uni- 

 formly dark. 



A low and poorly developed interdorsal ridge present or absent. 

 Both precaudal pits present, the upper better developed. 



Growth changes: There is a general tendency for distance from 

 snout tip to outer nostrils, eye, mouth, and pectoral origin to decrease 

 in percent of t.l. with increased t.l. ; eye diameter, second dorsal base, 

 and caudal notch depth decrease similarly. Distance from snout 

 tip to second dorsal origin, anal origin, upper and lower caudal lobe 

 origins tend to increase in percent of t.l. with increased t.l. 



In large specimens there is a tendency for the axis of the upper 

 caudal lobe to become raised in relation to the horizontal axis of the 

 body. 



The smallest mature male examined was 624 mm. t.l. from Eritrea. 

 In general, males apparently mature at smaller sizes in the Red Sea 

 than elsewhere, as seen in following tabulation: 



