36 GOBIES OF THE PHILIPPINES 



a little beyond; a conspicuous groove extends from eye back- 

 ward above operculum; two longitudinal grooves on cheek, the 

 upper with an ascending branch, the lower one branching for- 

 ward on snout and above eye and continuous with the groove 

 from eye above operculum; the first or first and second bran- 

 chiostegals with a strong sharp conical spine at the forward 

 end beneath preopercle, and directed forward and upward ; the 

 branchial aperture vertical beneath, not produced upward and 

 forward; throat naked; scales of nape, base of pectorals, and 

 belly cycloid, those of the sides toward tail ctenoid; first dorsal 

 obtuse; the depth of body twice or more than twice the lowest 

 spine, second, third, and fourth longer than the others ; the ob- 

 tusely rounded soft dorsal much higher than spinous dorsal 

 but lower than body; anal subequal to the soft dorsal in form 

 and height ; the obtusely rounded pectoral not or scarcely longer 

 than the postocular part of head, its upper rays short and silk- 

 like; the ventrals shorter than the postocular part of head; 

 caudal obtusely rounded. 



The color above dark yellowish to violet golden or deep olive, 

 beneath dark brown, golden, or yellow; numerous bands or 

 narrow stripes of dark brown along the series of scales from head 

 to tail; several brown streaks run from eye across opercle; 

 membrane of fins clear violaceous to dusky, with golden rays; 

 the young and half-grown have several golden crossbars or 

 few to many golden ocelli or spots; fins more or less golden 

 and, except the ventrals, variegated with brown, the dorsals and 

 anal with longitudinal stripes, and the pectorals and caudal 

 marked with irregular transverse bars ; above base of pectoral 

 commonly a large dark or red spot; older specimens and adults 

 have the body much clouded with brown; the fins much or not 

 at all variegated, the spinous dorsal commonly dusky below apex. 



I have examined four specimens, 50 to 59 millimeters in length, 

 collected from Kabatohan River in the mountains east of Iba, 

 Zambales. They are fine types of what Bleeker originally de- 

 scribed as Belobranchus taenioptera, but which later proved to 

 be B. belobrancha in a young stage. This species reaches a 

 length of 180 millimeters and occurs in the rivers of Borneo, 

 Bali, Celebes, Bat j an, and Ceram. According to the citation 

 from A. B. Meyer he obtained it from Manila Bay, but on page 

 7 he gives it in a list of ten species of fishes obtained only in 

 fresh water, with Luzon as the locality. As Manila Bay is salt 

 water, it is evident that there is an error somewhere, as in the 



