22 PHILIPPINE POMACENTRULE 



Tetradrachmum aruanum DAY, Fishes of India (1878) 381, pi. 80, fig. 

 6; WEBER, Fische der Siboga Exped. (1913) 357. 



Dorsal XII, 11 to 13; anal II, 11 or 12; scales in lateral series 

 25 or 26; with tubules 15 to 18; between lateral line and origin 

 of dorsal 3 or 4; between lateral line and vent 10. 



Body ovate and slightly elevated, dorsal outline deeper than 

 the ventral; depth of body 1.6 to 1.8 in length; head 2.7 to 3.2; 

 depth of caudal peduncle 5.5 to 6.1. The wide, slightly and 

 evenly convex interorbital 2.5 to 2.9 in length of head ; the large, 

 rounded eye 2.5 to 3; the short, slightly rounded snout 3 to 3.7 

 or shorter than maxillary, which is contained 2.7 to 3.1 in head. 

 Mouth strongly oblique, jaws equal, maxillary extending poste- 

 riorly to below anterior margin of orbit. Width of preorbital 

 at hind end of maxillary less than half diameter of eye; sub- 

 orbital, and the edges of the preopercular and opercular bones 

 strongly denticulated. 



Head covered everywhere with strong, rather thick ctenoid 

 scales. Dorsal spines growing lower consecutively toward the 

 last from the sixth, which is as high as the preceding one. Soft 

 dorsal pointed; rayed anal rounded; pectoral extending to anal 

 opening; ventral ending at origin of anal fin; caudal deeply 

 forked, with two prominent and sharp spines on each of the 

 upper and lower margins of base. 



Body yellowish, with three black crossbands, the first running 

 obliquely from origin of spinous dorsal through eye to chin 

 and jaws, leaving a yellowish area in front of head, the second 

 slightly curved, descending from base of fifth to the eighth dor- 

 sal spine through base of and under pectoral fin to ventrals, the 

 third crossing vertically the vertical fins and the posterior por- 

 tion of trunk ; membranes of spinous dorsal blackish ; pectorals, 

 caudal, and tips of soft dorsal and anal fins yellow. 



This easily recognizable fish is rather common in the Philip- 

 pines, and numerous specimens, ranging from 11 to 53 milli- 

 meters long, were collected at the following places: Manila; 

 Cavite, Cavite; Puerto Galera, Baco, and Calapan, Mindoro; 

 Bantayan Island and Cebu, Cebu; Puerto Princesa and Cani- 

 garan, Palawan ; Tagbilaran, Bohol ; San Juan, Siquijor Island ; 

 Zamboanguita, Oriental Negros; Cagayan de Misamis, Zam- 

 boanga, Davao, and Samal Island, Mindanao; and Tandubas, 

 Bungau, Bilatan, Sibutu, and Sitankai Islands, Sulu Archipelago. 

 It apparently breeds throughout the year, since a number of the 

 above examples, collected in nearly every month in the year, 

 were found on examination to be ripe females. 



