12G 



A Collection of Fishes from Samoa. 



Gill-opening forms free fold across broad isthmus. Rakers at least a dozen short 

 points, about one-third of filaments and latter one-tliird of eye. 



Body covered ^\ith smooth skin. Head with median cutaneous keel or crest in 

 largest individual only, arises opposite posterior edge of pupil and not quite to dorsal 

 origin, its length 1.6 in head. The smaller individuals show a pair of short nuchal 

 tentacles. Long, pointed, fleshy flap above eye 1.5 eye diameters, each edge with 

 several (3 to 5) short tentacles. Row of pores behind eye along suborbitals, another 

 down preopercle, tliird one on mandible. 



Spinous dorsal origin slightly in front of gill-opening edge, only last few spines 

 graduated down short, as deep notch before soft dorsal, and fin largely uniform with 

 entire edge. Soft dorsal with entire edge, large, uniform in height, last ray joined 

 by membrane to upper caudal peduncle edge, but not to caudal fin. Anal origin about 

 opposite tenth dorsal spine base, fin uniform in height, free from caudal peduncle 

 behind, membrane behind each ray tip notched. Caudal rounded. Lower median 

 pectoral rays longest, fin almost reaches anal. Ventral inserted slightly in front of 

 pectoral origin, inner ray slightly longer, halfway to anal origin. 



Color in alcohol dull lavender-brown generally on back, lower and under surface 

 pale or whitish. Trunk with a dozen dusky-bro\\ai vertical blotches somewhat 

 arranged as if in pairs, joined above alternately on back with small, dusky, vertical 



Fig. 2. — Alticus biseriatus (Valenciennes). 



blotches extending up somewhat on bases of dorsal fin. On head dusky clouded blotch 



behind eye, one on opercle, one on cheek below, one from edge of lower eye to mouth, 



and one on snout. Number of indistinct, small brownish ocelli, much less than pupil, 



on head. Crest dusky, mottled paler. Trunk mottled with scattered paler dots and 



obscure marblings. Fins largely grayish, spinous dorsal with membranes medianly 



anteriorly, or until seventh, with jet-black round blotch little less than eye, and on rest 



of fin gradually become pale dusky behind. Soft dorsal, except base, with many even 



oblique pale gray-blue lines, up and backward. Caudal with dark blotch little less 



than eye at bases of median rays, lower and submarginal part of fin dusky. Anal 



with long submarginal dusky band. Dark obscure transverse streak at pectoral base. 



One specimen, 50 mm. in length, from tide-pools near Double Point, just west of 



entrance to Pago Pago Harbor, March 20, 1917, and three specimens, 21 to 30 mm., 



same locality. 



Salarias rivulatus Riippell. 



Eleven dark examples, largest 98 mm. Pago Pago. 



Enchelyurus ater (Giinther). 

 Two from cove just south of Aua village. Jordan and Seale state that "Giinther 

 describes the ventrals as reaching the anal, but in his figure the fins are much shorter." 

 This is probably a variation with age. 



FIERASFERID^. 

 Jordanicus parvipinnis (Kaup). 

 One, same locality as last. 



