THE FISHES OF SAMOA. 291 



Chromis tepisvrus, Bleeker, Pomacentridae, 164; Atlas, 403, fig. 7. Cocos, Java, Celebes, Sumbawa, Flores, Aru, New 



Guinea. 

 Glyphisodon bandanensia Bleeker, Ichth. Bijdr. Banda, Nat. T. Ned. Ind.. ii, 248, Banda. 

 Heliasesfrenatus, Bleeker, N. Bijdr. Ich. Ceram., ibid., 710; perhaps not otCuvier & Valenciennes. 

 Cantharus cseruleus, Cuvier & Valenciennes, op. cit., v, 342. 



Hcliases cwruleus Bleeiet, Vierde Bijdr. Ichth., Kokoseil; Nat. T. Ned. Ind., viii, 4.55. 

 Heliaecs lepidurus, Giinther, Cat., IV, 63. GUnther, Fische der Sudsee, 238, taf. 128, figs, c and i>, Palau, Paumotu 



If.. Yap, Kingsmill I. 

 Glyphisudon amibatoides Day, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1870, 6%, Andaman Is. 



Glyphisidon amhoinen^-is Scale, Bishop Museum, 1901, 84, Guam; perhaps not //. amboincimsi^i Bleeker. 

 This beautiful species is very common about Samoa, where about 100 specimens were taken in 

 pools on the reefs. With a general blue-green coloration usually with small yellow dots, there is con- 

 .siderable minor variation in the markings in this species. The pale blue frenum is probably never 

 wholly wanting, although much more conspicuous in some speciinena than others. 

 Life colors were noted in various specimens as follows: 



(1) From Pago Pago_. Vivid steel-green, becoming violet-blue iii spirits, silvery below; faint 

 bluish lines along sides of belly; tins all bluish; a large black spot on base of jjectoral; a narrow clear 

 blue streak before eye; ventral sometimes pale, sometimes dusky; no other marks. 



(2) From Apia; called mamo. Clear sky-blue with a strong greenish tinge, whitish below; no 

 yellow, orange or brown; side with 5 or 6 dark blue streaks like pencil marks along rows of scales; 

 axil with a b lue-black spot; first dorsal deep bluish; caudal gray, with a bright blue stripe along each 

 lobe; other fins bluish. 



(3) From Apia; called i'a lanu-moana or blue-fish, scales 2.5. X'ivid sky-blue \vith bright reflec- 

 tions[ finely dotted with black and with fine golden yellow si)Ots, about one for each scale; belly 

 white; fins plain, like body; ventral darker; chin blue. 



(4) From Apia. Vivid sky-blue, growing paler below; usually with small yellow dots anteriorly; 

 axiTbiack; spinous dorsal blue black; soft dorsal and caudal mostly bright orange; anal vivid blue; 

 axil black; ventral pale; pectoral dusky. 



(5) From Pago Pago. Clear blue-green, silvery below; some specimens rather green, others blue; 

 three pale blue streaks on side of body; base of pectoral dusky; back of caudal peduncle deep green; 

 fins dusky, without blue. 



(6) From Pago Pago. Light blue; darker violet-blui- i.n .-In.iil.lcr; whitish blue below golden on 

 caudal peduncle and below base of second dorsal; a lihn k ;i\il -]i<<\: fins all dusky blue, some yellow 

 on second dorsal; pectoral almost colorless; ventralT^i^ti i i.iilv M.ukish 



The nominal species ca-ruleus and J'reiiatus are doubtless identical with Chromig lepimrus, in which 

 case the name aeruleus has precedence. The type of aemleus is said to have 13 dorsal spines, while 

 Chromig lepmirus has 12. No other difference appears in the description. Cliromis frenatus has a more 

 distinct blue stripe from the snout to the eye, and the caudal lobes less produced. Both these char- 

 acters are seen in young specimens. In some of our specimens especially, but not always the smaller 

 ones, there is a sharply defined narrow blue streak from eye to snout, as in frenatus. In others there 

 is a faint pale streak, and in some a dark streak a little lower down, or on the lower edge of the pale 

 streak. 



In response to a request to reexamine the original types of these species, Dr. Leon Vaillant writes 

 (October 12, 1904): 



Les types de Heliases {ou Chromii) cseruleus, /renatus et H. lepisurus sent dans un etat de conservation qui en permet 

 facilement I'etude. II y'a quatre exemplaires du Chromis lepisurus venant de la Nouvelle Guin^e (No. 8754) deux du 

 Chromis cseruleus ie la meme localite (No. 5644) septdu Chromis frenatus ie Guam. (5744 et A 253.) Touslesanimauxont 

 ete rapportes par Quoy & Gaimard. Ce sont les types de I'Histoire des Poissons. 



" Les caracteres donnes par les autores de ce travail 6tant du caractOre de coloration ne se retrouvent gui»re sauf par 

 le trait argent^e qui va de I'oeil au museau, quon voit tres dlstinctement, et sur toutes les exemplaires du Chromisfrenalus 

 mais en ce que tous les exemplaires sont sensiblement plus petit que ceux des deux autres esp^ces. ce pouvait etre un 

 caractere de jeune age, una sorte de livr^e neoterique. 



"A premiere vuc, ce Chromis Jrmiatus m'avait paru assez different des Chromis lepisurus et Chromis aeruleus pour 

 lesquelles I'identification ne sauriat pas faire de doute, mais en prenant les dimensions exactes et les reduisant propor- 

 tionellement a les longueurs donnas, j'ai pume convaincre que les differences de proportions n'etaient iiue apparent et 

 due's a les diflicultd-s qu'on epreuve de comparer des exemplaires. . . . 



•■ En r^sum(5, je partage tout a fait votre avis et pense comme vous que ees trois espices n'en font qu'une. a peine 

 serait on autorise a regarder le Chromisfrenatus comme une vari6t6." 



