4 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2 84 



genera with the type-species and method of type designation. The 

 classification is given first in order that the discussion that follows 

 wdll be less confusing to the reader. Next follows the osteology of 

 Entomacrodus nigricans^ which, although not the least specialized 

 blenniid, is generalized enough to be used as a basis for comparison 

 and establishment of an osteological standard for the family. This, 

 in turn, is followed by a general discussion of selected portions of 

 the osteology of the Blenniidae as a whole. Included in the latter 

 discussion are occasional references to characters of species differing 

 notably from E. nigricans and usually a general discussion of evolu- 

 tionary trends for each of the characters in the Blenniidae. Finally, 

 the distinctive characters of the Blenniidae and diagnoses of the 

 subfamilies and tribes are given. 



Acknowledgments. — I am most indebted to Stanley H. Weitzman 

 for encouragement, suggestions, and enlightening discussions through- 

 out the course of my study, and for a critical reading of the manu- 

 script at two stages of the writing. Warren C. Freihofer, Donn E. 

 Kosen, Richard H. Rosenblatt, and John S. Stephens, Jr., also read 

 the manuscript and made many valuable suggestions for its improve- 

 ment. William A. Gosline and W. Ralph Taylor freely gave much of 

 their time and knowledge during frequent discussions when I had 

 intruded on them unannounced. 



Much of the comparative blennioid material listed was obtained 

 through the generosity of several colleagues: John S. Stephens, Jr., 

 Mary Louise Penrith, Boyd W. Walker, Richard H. Rosenblatt, 

 Warren C. Freihofer, and Bruce B. Collette. 



My research was supported in part by a grant from the Smith- 

 sonian Research Foundation. 



Methods 



Much of the material used in this study was cleared and stained 

 by using Taylor's (1967) enzyme method. A few specimens were 

 examined for specific parts by dissection, and some examinations 

 were made on skeletons in the collection of the Division of Fishes, 

 U.S. National Museum (USNM, see material). A large number of 

 specimens were radiographed, and data on various characters, for 

 the most part meristic, were obtained from study of the films. 



The drawings were produced by various means. The drawings of 

 Entomacrodus nigricans are based on a single specimen, male, 53 mm 

 standard length, from Havana, Cuba, USNM 192195. The various 

 views of the skull (except for the frontal view) were photographed 

 on color film, projected on paper, and those details that it was possible 

 to see were traced off. Further detail was added from examination 

 of the skull with a binocular microscope. The frontal view (fig. 1) 



