330 GOBIES OF THE PHILIPPINES 



The color in alcohol dull, dark olive brown, paler on head ; the 

 fins uniform pale yellowish. 



Here described from seven specimens, 41 to 55 millimeters 

 in length, collected at La Libertad, Oriental Negros, by a student 

 from Silliman Institute. I have another specimen, 62 milli- 

 meters long, collected in the strait between Iloilo and Negros, by 

 another Silliman Institute student. 



This species is close to Amblyopus urolepis Bleaker, but he de- 

 scribes this as having several rows of teeth in each jaw and with 

 conspicuous scales on the tail posteriorly. The scales on my 

 specimen can be made out only with the aid of a lens, merely 

 showing to the naked eye as a minute patch at the base of the 

 caudal. The species might be made the type of a new genus. 



Olivaceus, olive colored. 



Genus 73. TAENIOIDES Lacepede 



Taenioides LACEPEDE, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 2 (1798) 580; BLEEKER, Arch. 

 Neerl. Sci. Nat. 9 (1874) 330. 



The body elongated, nearly cylindrical and eel-shaped or more 

 or less laterally compressed, naked ; the dorsal fin very long, the 

 anterior part of five slender spines, then a single spine in the 

 middle of an interspace, followed by the second dorsal, 1-40 to 

 52 rays ; the anal also very long, I, 36 to 48 rays ; the dorsals and 

 anal may be continuous with caudal, separated by a notch only, 

 or completely free from it, and may be covered by a thick, tough 

 skin which entirely obscures the spines and rays, or the fins may 

 be without a skin covering; the head cylindrical to oblong and 

 nearly four-sided, usually flattened above; the mouth oblique to 

 very oblique or almost vertical, the lower jaw and chin very 

 prominent, bearing barbels ; the tip of the tongue rounded ; there 

 is a short outer row of long, curved, stout teeth in each jaw; be- 

 hind these is a long, rather narrow band of small or very small 

 sharp teeth ; there are no canines behind symphysis in lower jaw ; 

 the eyes on top of head, very small to minute, inconspicuous, in 

 some species covered by skin, in some entirely concealed; the 

 pectorals are small, short, rounded, without silky rays above ; the 

 ventrals completely united, not adnate to belly, usually broad 

 and long; the gill openings narrow, the isthmus broad; bran- 

 chiostegals 4 (5, according to Bleeker). 



These little fishes with elongate body and bulldoglike lower 

 jaw are often taken for eels by the uncritical, who are deceived 

 by their serpentine appearance. They are found along sandy 



