THE FISHES OK SAMOA. 



251 



Life colors of one specimen irom Pago Pago, light clear brownish red, the ground-color forming 

 about nine distinct crossbars on the body, about twice as broad as the pale olive interspaces; head 

 mottled; a large black spot on opercle, washed with golden and surrounded by a golden ring, this spot 

 two-thirds diameter of eye and covering most of the bone; fins all very bright cardinal red, the caudal 

 with an irregular black shade at tip. Caudal rounded. Length 2} inches. 

 513. Apog-oniclitriys isostigma Jordan & Seale, new species. Samoa. 



Head 2.55 in length; depth 3; eye 4 in head; snout equal to eye; dorsal vn-i, 9; anal n, 8; scales 

 2-22-6, the lateral line interrupted; interorbital less than snout, 1.75 in orbit. 



Body oblong, compressed, scaled, the scales covering cheeks and opercles; depth of caudal pedun- 

 cle l.JO in its length; mouth large, the lower jaw slightly the shorter; maxillary 2 in head, its distal end 

 under posterior margin of orbit, the distal width being greater than pupil; teeth in villiform bands 

 on jaws and vomer, no teeth on palatines; opercle entire; preopercle apparently entire, but with a few 

 slight serrations at angle hidden under the skin; gillrakers short, the longest 2 in pupil, blunt, ending 

 in a prickly knob, 7 developed on lower limb; base of spinous dorsal equal to its height, which is 2.10 

 in length of head; base of soft dorsal 1.50 in its longest ray, wdiich is 2 in head; ventrals do not reach 

 to the anal, their length 1.75 in head, their insertion directly below base of pectoral; pectoral 1.50 in 

 head, terminating at the seventh round black spot on side; caudal rounded, 1.40 in head. 



Fig. 45. — Apogonichthys isostigma Jordan & Seale, new species.' Type. 



Color in spirits, light brown, with about five rows of distinct round dots forming the center of 

 scales along the sides, two of these lines with their origin at axil of pectoral and extending to caudal, 

 one with its origin at posterior tip of opercle and extending to caudal, the other two usually extending 

 from near middle of fish to caudal (very old examples show a few other scattered dots over the body); 

 a large, black, white-edged spot on opercle, a more or less distinct dusky area extending from eye back 

 to this spot; a narrow black line from lower part of orbit across cheek; top of head and snout dusky, 

 a narrow dark line across opercle just above the black spot; all the fins except pectorals have a wash 

 of dusky, the caudal being almost black; pectoral yellowish white. 



Life colors of one specimen plain dark brown, each scale with a darker spot, these forming dark streaks 

 along scales, but no marblings; large opercular ocellus with a golden edge; fins dark brown, unspotted. 



This species has the large opercular ocellus found in Apogonichthj/s auritus, poh/sligwa, ntriojafus 

 and marmoratus. The body is, however, marked with large distinct spots, about one on each scale, 

 arranged in regular lines; the fins are dusky but unspotted, and there is an oblique dark line below 

 and behind the eye. 



The species is nearest Apogonichthys polystigma Bleeker, but it does not seem to agree with Bleeker's 

 account. It is not unlikely that Bleeker's fish is the original Apogon auritus. It is certainly different 

 from Apogonichthys variegalus. Apogon auritus Seale (Bishop Mus. 1901, 76) from Guam, must be the 

 present species. 



Nine specimens from Apia. The type is no. 51736, U. S. National Museum, and is 2.67 inches long. 



