30 GOBIES OF THE PHILIPPINES 



ward-curved, more or less concealed spine; eyes small, placed 

 high up; mouth large, oblique, with projecting lower jaw, and 

 broad, rounded tongue ; the minute teeth are in bands of several 

 rows in each jaw, without canines ; those of outer row in upper 

 jaw larger; scales on sides ctenoid, 42 to 73; those before first 

 dorsal cycloid; 37 to 50 scales before first dorsal; the isthmus 

 broad. Dorsal VI, 1-8 or 9 ; anal I, 8 or 9. 



The species of this genus are usually small, one attaining 

 a length of about 260 millimeters. They are economically im- 

 portant from their seasonal abundance in the lower reaches of 

 rivers, at river mouths, and in shallow bays and inlets. They 

 range from Madagascar and the east coast of Africa throughout 

 the East Indies, north to the Riu Kiu Islands, and eastward in 

 Polynesia to the Society and the Hawaiian Islands. 



Key to the Philippine species of Eleotris. 



a 1 . Lateral scales 58 to 65; scales before first dorsal 48 to 50.... E. fusca. 

 a 2 . Lateral scales 48 to 52; scales before first dorsal 37 to 42 E. melanosoma. 



4. ELEOTRIS FUSCA (Bloch and Schneider) 



PLATE 2, PIG. 1 



PeocUia fusca BLOCH and SCHNEIDER, Syst. Ichthy. (1801) 453 (after 



Cobitis pacifica Forster, MS.). 

 Eleotris fusca GUNTHER, Cat. Fishes Brit. Mus. 3 (1861) 125; PETERS, 



Monatsber. Akad. Wiss. Berlin (1868) 268; GUNTHER, Fische der 



Siidsee 2 (1876) 188; DAY, Fishes of India (1878) 313, pi. 65, fig. 



7; BOULENGER, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. VI 15 (1895) 186; JORDAN 



and RICHARDSON, Bull. Bur. Fisheries 27 (1908) 274. 

 Eleot'ris nigra QUOY and GAIMARD, Voy. Uranie et Physicienne, Zool. 



(1824) 259, pi. 60, fig. 2 (scales in figure incorrect). 

 Culius fuscus BLEEKER, Rev. Especes Eleotriformes, Versl. Akad. 



Amsterdam 11 (1877) 40. 



Bicol name, midug. 



Dorsal VI, 1-8 or 9 ; anal I, 8 or 9 ; there are from 58 to 65 

 scales (usually 60 or 62) from the gill opening to the caudal 

 fin, and from 16 to 19 between the origins of the second dorsal 

 and anal fins ; there are 12 to 14 scales in a transverse row at 

 the base of the caudal ; between the snout and the origin of the 

 first dorsal are from 49 to 50 rows of scales. 



The thick, robust, wedge-shaped body is nearly cylindrical im- 

 mediately behind the broad low head, but the sides taper rapidly 

 posteriorly to caudal peduncle which is strongly compressed ; the 

 dorsal profile low and gently convex; the depth contained from 

 a trifle more than 4 to 4.7 times in length; the head large, its 



