76 GOBIES OF THE PHILIPPINES 



This genus has the general shape of Eleotris but lacks an 

 opercular spine and has no bony crests; the body moderately 

 elongate, the obtuse head but little depressed; the mouth of 

 medium size with subequal jaws; the upper teeth in one row, 

 or with rudimentary additional inner rows on the premaxilla- 

 ries; on the lower jaw they are in several rows, those of outer 

 row conspicuously longer and unequal in size, with one or more 

 lateral posterior canines on each side; the pharyngeal teeth 

 needlelike, erect, with slightly hooked tips; the body covered 

 with small ctenoid scales, 70 to 110 in a longitudinal series, 

 the head naked; there are six dorsal spines, more or less than 

 twice as high as the dorsal rays ; the caudal obtusely rounded to 

 lanceolate. 



This genus includes five or six species of the East Indies and 

 South Pacific, some of them very handsome in life. 



Key to the Philippine species of Valenciennea. 



a 1 . Scales more than 100. 

 b\ Scales 105 to 110; dorsal VI, 1-12; anal 1, 12; five large ocellated spots 



on the side V. longipinnis. 



b\ Scales 105; dorsal VI, 1-18; anal I, 16 or 17; no ocellated spots on 



side V. strigata. 



a". Scales 90 or less. 



c 1 . Scales 80 to 90; teeth in one row above; side of head with three or 



four longitudinal roseate bands V. muralis. 



c 2 . Scales 75; teeth in two rows above; side of head with six violet spots. 



V. violifera. 



28. VALENCIENNEA LONGIPINNIS (Bennett) 



PLATE 6, FIG. 1 



Eleotris longipinnis BENNETT, Zoology, Beechey's Voyage (1839) 



Fishes, 64, pi. 20, fig. 3; GUNTHER, Fische der Siidsee 2 (1875) 190; 



WEBER, Fische, Siboga Exped. 57 (1913) 449. 

 Valenciennesia longipinnis SLEEKER, Versl. Akad. Amsterdam 11 



(1877) 93. 

 Eleotris muralis JORDAN and SNYDER, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 24 (1901) 



42 (in part). 



Dorsal VI, 1-12 ; anal I, 12 ; scales in a longitudinal series 105 

 to 110; in a transverse series, from origin of second dorsal to 

 anal, about 40. 



The body elongate, low, subcylindrical, the posterior half 

 wedge-shaped and laterally compressed, the depth 4.8 to 5 times 

 in length ; the head large, 3.4 times in length, with large bulging 

 cheeks, elevated occipital region, and a well-developed, rounded, 

 fleshy nuchal ridge extending back to first dorsal; the snout 

 bluntly rounded, with convex profile, its length 2.5 times in 

 head; the eyes very high up, obliquely directed downward and 



