2234 Bulletin tf, United States National Museum. 



rays silk-like ; ventral rather short, terminating at a great distance from 

 vent. Blackish ; fins and sides of head dotted with black ; ventrals black. 

 (GUnther.) Panama; not seen by us; probably the type of a distinct 

 genus, (scminudus, half-naked.) 



Gobius seminudus, GUNTHER, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1861, 3, west coast Central America; 

 GUNTHER, Cat., in, 554, 1861 ; JORDAN <fe EIGENMANN, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1886, 498. 



815. AWAOUS, Steindachner. 



Awaous,* STEINDACHNER, Verb. Mat. Phys. Naturw. 1860, 289 ; after les Awaous of CUVIER 



& VALENCIENNES (ocullaris, etc). 



Chonophorus, POEY, Memorias, n, 274, 1861 (buccelentus=taiasica). 

 Awaous, BLEEKER, Esquisse d'un Syst. Nat. Gobioides, 320, 1874 (ocellaris) ; after les 



Awaous of CUVIER & VALENCIENNES. 



Inner edge of shoulder girdle with 2 or more conspicuous dermal flaps ; 

 preorbital region very long ; premaxillary and maxillary strong ; lips thick ; 

 scales rather small, ctenoid, 40 to 80 in a longitudinal series ; interorbital 

 groove with a conspicuous median crest ; otherwise essentially as in Gobius. 

 The species reach a large size and are confined to the fresh waters of the 

 tropics of America and the Hawaiian Islands. The Asiatic species of sim- 

 ilar habit have much larger scales and seem to form a distinct genus, Eliino- 

 goUus, Gill. The physiognomy in each is peculiar, the snout being long 

 and convex. (Aivaou, a Hawaiian name.) 



a. Scales about 53, little crowded anteriorly, 21 before dorsal on nape ; depth 5f in length ; 

 head 4; eyes placed high, interorbital area equal to diameter of eye; mouth hor- 

 izontal; maxillary extending to middle of eye, 2^ in head, lower jaw more flat 

 than in A.taiasica; teeth small, in narrow bands, those of the outer row above 

 enlarged, some large teeth in band of lower jaw. D. VI-1, 12 ; A. 1, 10. Uniform 

 yellowish in spirits. FLAVUS, 2563. 



aa. Scales 60 to 70, crowded anteriorly, about 30 scales before the dorsal on nape; 

 body compressed posteriorly, rather depressed anteriorly ; greatest depth 5J in 

 length; head 3J in length. Olivaceous, a series of irregular, roundish blotches 

 along middle of sides ; narrow dark streaks radiating from eye ; a blackish streak 

 running across upper margin of opercle and extending obliquely across base of 

 upper pectoral rays ; belly white ; dorsal and caudal more or less distinctly 

 barred with wavy blackish lines. 



6. About 15 scales between second dorsal and base of anal. NELSONI, 2564. 



bb. About 21 scales between second dorsal and base of anal. TAIASICA, 2565. 



aaa. Scales 76 to 82 ; 24 scales between second dorsal and anal ; head as broad as high ; 

 depth of body 6g in length ; head 4 ; head flat above, snout elongate, upper pro- 

 file oblique; eye i of head, equals interorbital area (in adult) ; mouth horizon- 

 tal; lower jaw included ; maxillary reaching to below anterior margin of eye; 

 teeth of the outer series enlarged ; canine teeth none ; scales ctenoid, those on 

 nape and anterior part of body very small ; head naked ; dorsal fins lower 

 than body, none of the spines produced; caudal rounded, 7 in length of body. 

 Yellowish olive ; back and sides reticulated with blackish ; head, dorsal, cau- 

 dal, and pectoral fins dotted with blackish, the spots forming streaks 011 second 

 dorsal; 6 cross series of dots on the caudal; an irregular small blackish spot 

 on the upper part of the root of pectoral. D. VI-11 ; A. 11 ; scales about 80. 



MEXICANUS, 2566. 



* The name "Les Awaous," given to this group by Valenciennes, was a French plural, 

 not a generic appellation, and if used as the name of a genus must be dated from its use in 

 that sense by Steindachner or Bleeker. The Hawaiian type of ' ' Awaous ' ' agrees with the 

 American species (Chonophorus) in the character of the flaps on the shoulder girdle, as 

 well as in general appearance. The Asiatic genus, Ithinogobius, Gill (iimiJis), seems to 

 be very close to Chonophorus, but the scales are larger, 28 in the lateral series. 



