THE FISHES OF SAMOA. 177 



of its elements are clearly derived. But a number of East Indian species fail to 

 extend their range thus far to the east, very many of them not ranging- beyond the 

 island of Papua or New Guinea. A few large species are confined to the islands of 

 Polynesia, and man}' of the small ones, especially those living in crevices in the 

 coral, seem to have originated in Polynesia. It is a general rule of distribution that 

 with any given species the one nearest related will be found in neighboring waters, 

 but not in the same waters. This indicates that in general species have a basis in 

 geographical separation. But the Samoan species of Eviota, J?nneapte?ygius, Sala- 

 rias, and the like seem to form exceptions to this rule. Here closely related species 

 live in the same region. Perhaps these forms originate in saltations or "mutations". 

 More likely the isolation of different coral masses is sufficient to prevent the migration 

 of individuals, and hence to favor the selection of fluctuations under varying condi- 

 tions, thus producing distinct species in regions not far separated. As most of these 

 little fishes are less than an inch long and local in their habit, this is possible. The 

 conditions illustrate the remark of Dr. Elliott Coues that '"migration holds species 

 true; localization lets them slip/' In other words, a species splits up into minor 

 groups if its range is divided by barriers preventing free movement of individuals. 



The previous collections of fishes from Samoa have been relatively few. The 

 earliest recorded species, from Apia, was named Diagramma gibbosum by Hombron 

 & Jacquinot in their ichthyologv of the "Voyage au Pole Sud" hy Dumont D'Ur- 

 ville, published in 18-11. 



Later, 1868 to 1870, the gigantic trading house of "Cffisar Godeffroy und Sohn" 

 of Hamburg made Apia the center of its operations. Among other workings of this 

 firm was the establishment at Hamburg of the Godeffroy Museum and the publication 

 for a time of a " Journal des Museum Godeffroy," in which the natural history of the 

 South Seas was elaborately treated. Among other papers on this subject, the " Fische 

 der Siidsee" of Dr. Albert Giinther (1878) is espeeiall}' noteworthy. This is based 

 primarily on a series of colored life sketches of the fishes of Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, 

 and other islands, made \>y Mr. Andrew Garrett in the several 3-ears of his residence 

 in Polynesia. • In this paper descriptions are given of most of the fishes then known 

 from the South Seas, with excellent colored plates of a large proportion of these. 

 Unfortunately, the Godeffroy firm fell into financial embarrassment, the publication 

 of its journal was suspended, and the "Fische der Siidsee" was never completed, 

 ceasing abruptly in the family of Labvida . 



From the Godeffroys a considerable number of fishes had been earlier sent to the 

 Museum of Vienna, where, about 1868, thej 7 had been described by Dr. Rudolph Kner 

 and Dr. Franz Steindachner. Still later, Rev. S. J. Whitmee, a missionary resident 

 on the island of Savaii, sent to the British Museum a large and well chosen collection 

 from Savaii and Upolu. A part of this collection has been used by Dr. George 

 Albert Boulenger in the preparation of the first volume of his Catalogue of Fishes of 

 the British Museum. Outside the percoid group, however, this collection remains 

 unstudied. A small collection also was made about 1876 by Dr. Streets, of the United 

 States Navy. It was described in the Bulletin of the U. S. National Museum, volume 

 vii, in 1S77. A few species in the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia, 

 collected by Mr. Caldwell, have been recorded by Mr. Henry W. Fowler. 



