82 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
Genus 49. MICRODONOPHIS Kaup. 
Body more or less rounded; head and trunk much longer than tail, which is more or less rounded 
and pointed; head rounded; snout pointed and projecting; teeth large and somewhat canine-like, in 
one row on vomer; nostrils anterior, each in a small tube, the posterior pair opening in the lips down¬ 
ward; pores of lateral line continuous; dorsal beginning over gill-opening or origin of pectoral; pec¬ 
toral short. Coloration variegated with rather large dark spots, those on the head small, absent in 
M. macgregori. Only two species known from Hawaii. 
Microdonophis Kaup, Apodal Fishes, G, 1856 (alUpinnis). 
a. Origin of dorsal slightly in advance of gill-opening or base of pectoral; anterior nostrils in short fleshy tubes on tip of 
snout. Color white, rendered somewhat shaded on upper portions by very minute points of gray; hack and upper 
surface with numerous round brown spots and about 17 indistinct transverse dark brown bands . .fowlcri, p. 82 
aa. Origin of dorsal farther in advance of base of pectoral, midway in length of head; anterior nostrils in conspicuous 
tubes on lower surface of snout in front. Color brownish olive, the lower surface light yellowish washed with 
silvery; upper surface of body dark, covered with minute blackish dots . macgregori, p. 82 
38. Microdonophis fowleri .Jordan & Evermann. Plate 6. 
Head about 4.8 in trunk, measured from gill-opening to vent; tail shorter than head and trunk by 
the length of the former; eye nearly 1.8 in snout or 1.5 in interorbital space; snout 6 in head; inter¬ 
orbital space about 8.75; mouth 2.75; pectoral a little over 4.25 in head. 
Body elongate, cylindrical, the tail tapering gradually to a conical horny point; head cylindrical 
and pointed; snout moderately long and pointed, slightly flattened above, projecting over and beyond 
the mandible; eye elongate, small, anterior and superior, about midway in length of mouth; mouth 
rather large; lips somewhat fringed; teeth large and canine-like in front of jaws, and on vomer in a 
single row: tongue small, adnate to floor of mouth; anterior nostrils in short tubes near tip of snout, 
the posterior with broad flaps on the lips and opening downward; interorbital space concave, each 
supraocular ridge slightly elevated; peritoneum silvery; skin perfectly smooth; head with mucous 
pores, a series of which encircle the head above and about midway in its length; lateral line well 
developed, the pores about 140; origin of dorsal slightly in advance of gill-opening or base of pectoral; 
pectoral small, the rays just above the middle the longest, the fin rounded; dorsal fin long and low, 
its height about equal to length of snout; anal similar to dorsal, its height a trifle less. 
General color, when fresh, white, rendered somewhat shaded on upper portions by very minute 
points (seen only with a good lens) of gray; back and upper surface with numerous round brown 
spots and about 17 indistinct transverse dark brown cross-bands which do not extend over the dorsal; 
interspaces between spots on head yellow; pectoral bright lemon-yellow; end of tail for about 1 inch 
from point bright yellow; spots on margin of dorsal brown, with yellow borders; a hand of yellow' 
from under one eye backward, upward, across top of head, and down under the other eye; a 
transverse series of pores with black margins encircles head above and about midway in its length, a 
similar series over head along margin of mouth, then up, back of eye, over head; pores of lateral line 
without black margins. 
Three specimens of this species are now known, the type (No. 50613, U. S. Nat. Mus.), a speci¬ 
men 23 inches long, obtained hv us in the Honolulu market, another example obtained by the Alba¬ 
tross in the Honolulu market, and a third specimen recently received from Mr. E. L. Berndt. 
Microdonophis fowlcri Jordan it Evermann, Bull. U. S. Fish Comm., XXII, 1902 (April 11, 1903), 164, Honolulu; Snyder, 
Bull. U. S. Fish Comm., XXII, 1902 (Jan. 19, 1904), 516 (Honolulu). 
37. Microdonophis macgregori Jenkins. Fig. 18. 
Head 4.8 in trunk; head and trunk 1.75 in tail; eye 2 in snout, a little over one in interorbital 
space; snout 5.2 in head; mouth from tip of snout 3; pectoral 3.5. 
Body more or less rounded, rather slender, the tail tapering posteriorly to a conical horny point; 
head elongate, pointed, somewhat compressed; snout small, well produced beyond mandible, pointed, 
and. conical; eye small, much nearer corner of mouth than tip of snout or midway between fip of 
mandible and corner of mouth; mandible broad; lip of upper jaw with a fringe of short fleshy barbels; 
teeth sharp, pointed, in a single series on vomer and in jaws; nostrils anteriorly in conspicuous fleshy 
