THE FISHES OF SAMOA. 261 



black ocellus on opercle, with orange below it; fins all black; dorsal and caudal edged with white; 

 pectoral broadly edged with scarlet. Some (male) with sky blue spots in center of opercular ocellus, 

 and a sky-blue stripe along middle of dorsal and anal. Some with blue spots along whole of body. 



583. Pharopteryx melas (Bleeker). Samoa; Savay; Kandavu; East Indies. (PL xxxvin, fig. 3.) 



Plesiops melas Bleeker, Bali, 1849, 9, Bali. 



Plesiops nigricans var. apoda Kner, Sitz. Ak. Wiss. Wien 1868, 54, Savay, Kandavu. 



This species is very common in the tide pools on the reefs of Upolu and Tutuila. It is almost as 

 common as Pharopteryx nigricans, but it never reaches as large a size as that species. About 60 speci- 

 mens were taken. In life it is well distinguished by the broad scarlet edge of the spinous dorsal fin. 

 The body is without blue spots or lines and there are always 11 dorsal spines, while 12 are present in 

 all our specimens of P. nigricans. This leaves no doubt that P. apoda of Kner, based on a specimen 

 which had lost the ventral fins, is our species, but fortunately the well-chosen name given by Bleeker 

 is earlier. 



Eleeker's description of Plesiops melas evidently belongs to this species, and not to Pharopteryx 

 nigricans. He finds xi, 8 dorsal rays, and the color is diagnostic: "Corpore pinnisque omnibus 

 nigerrimo maculis vel vittis nulla; membrana pinnre dorsalis spinosfe parhe superiore tantum pellu- 

 cida." This clear margin to the dorsal is, however, in life flame red. 



Life colors of a specimen from Pago Pago, dark, blackish brown to black; the whitish sides finely 

 spotted with black; dorsal with bright brick-red margin, then clear white, then broad dark-brown 

 base, with blue line and posteriorly several short blue linear spots; caudal with orange-yellow sub- 

 marginal band; blue lines in anal; ventral and pectoral pale smoky. In some specimens the caudal is 

 black, or has a dull orange intramarginal band. 



Another specimen from the same locality was black, first dorsal scarlet, edged with blue stripes 

 on black below. 



A specimen from Apia was black, iris and edge of dorsal spines scarlet; no opercular spot. 



A third specimen from Pago Pago was all black, no ocellus; first dorsal edged with scarlet, a white 

 line below it; second dorsal and caudal not pale-edged; pectoral all black. 



GRAMMATONOTTJS Gilbert. 



584. Grammatonotus laysanus Gilbert. Laysan. 



Family PRIACANTHIDiE. 



PRIACANTHUS Cuvier. (Abuhamrur Forskal.) 



585. Priacanthus cruentatus (Lac£pede). Mata-pula. Hawaii; Samoa; Tahiti; Caroline Is.; Japan; 



West Indies; Clarion Is. 



This species is common throughout the Pacific. It is rather common at Apia, where about a dozen 

 specimens were taken. It is also found at Hawaii. 



Life colors of a specimen from Apia, bright light red, silvery on sides; fins much the same; 

 dorsal, anal, and caudal with small round spots of deep red. 



586. Priacanthus alalaua Jordan & Evermann. Hawaii. 



587. Priacanthus hamruhr (Forskal). New Guinea (Macleay); Solomon Is. (Seale); Japan; East 



Indies. 



588. Priacanthus meeki Jenkins. Hawaii. 



Family LUTIANID^. 

 LUTIANUS Bloch. (Hobar Forskal.) 



589. Lutianus kasmir a (Forskal). Tahiti; Samoa; Fiji; Louisiades; New Ireland; Guam; Marcus 



I.; New Hebrides (Sealel; East Indies. 

 (Holocentrus bcngalensis Bloch.) 



Two small specimens of this very widely distributed species were taken at Pago Pago. Life colors 

 of one of these, bright light golden olive with four bright blue stripes, darker edge; fins like the body, 

 paler at base; edge of spinous dorsal deep golden. 



