CHONOPHORUS 219 



lower ; the mouth rather small, slightly oblique, with thick upper 

 lip ; the maxillary does not extend back to eye ; the roof of mouth 

 covered with conspicuous pendant papillae; the scales on nape 

 extend forward nearly to eyes and are but little smaller than 

 those on sides; the rest of the head naked except for a few 

 scales along upper margin of opercle; the tips of first dorsal 

 spines elongate and filiform, equal to depth of body; the sec- 

 ond dorsal and anal similar in outline, both lower than body, 

 exceptionally the posterior rays elongated sufficiently to reach 

 caudal, which is slightly rounded and shorter than head; the 

 ventrals large, with a broad disk. 



The color of alcoholic specimens varies from pale to dark yel- 

 low-brown, with numerous short, irregular, dark brown marks 

 and blotches on upper half, which may form a series of cross- 

 bars over back; a row of large, dark brown or black rounded 

 spots extends along middle of each side, the last one at base of 

 caudal darker and more distinct than the rest; the sides of head 

 irregularly marked with dark brown lines or bands and spots, 

 two of the bands extending forward and downward from eye to 

 lip ; there is a dark blotch or black bar on base of pectoral ; the 

 first dorsal is spotted with dark brown and has a large, black, 

 white-margined ocellus on its posterior half; the second dorsal 

 and caudal crossbarred by four or more rows of dark brown 

 spots. 



Here described from twenty-two specimens, ranging in length 

 from 31 to 111 millimeters, from the following localities: Pansi- 

 pit River, Batangas Province; Chicago, Baco River, Mindoro; 

 Naujan River, Mindoro; Sibuyan Island; San Jose, Antique 

 Province, Panay; Lasay, Siquijor; Cabalian, Leyte. 



I have also twenty-five specimens, 19 to 26 millimeters in 

 length, from Bangar, La Union Province, where they were being 

 caught in large quantities in November as ipon, and used for 

 making bagoong. 



This species has been previously recorded from Mindoro by 

 Jordan and Richardson. My specimens agree in all respects with 

 Giinther's description and figure except that they do not have the 

 cheeks or opercles scaled. Evidently this is a variable charac- 

 ter, as Jordan's Samoan specimens had only the upper part 

 scaled. 



This well-marked and easily recognized species was first de- 

 scribed from Otaheite, and is known from the Samoan, Society, 

 and Fiji Islands; it also occurs on Mauritius and Rodriguez Is- 

 lands in the Indian Ocean. 



