FISHES OF HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 
97 
52. Gymnothorax waialuae Snyder. Plate 13, fig. 1. 
Head, measured to gill-opening, 8 in length; depth 2 in head; tail 1.9 in length; snout 5 in 
head; cleft of mouth 2.5 in head. Body compressed, the width in middle of trunk equal to half the 
depth; interorbital space slightly convex; jaws equal; cleft of mouth extending beyond eye a distance 
equal to longitudinal diameter of eye; width of suborbital space equal to vertical diameter of eye; 
gill-opening an oblique slit equal to vertical diameter of eye; teeth in jaws mostly long, sharp, and 
depressible, the 2 in anterior median part of upper jaw longest, those below eye in 2 series, the outer 
ones short and close set; 3 short, sharp teeth on vomer; anterior nostril tubes near tip of snout, their 
height equal to diameter of eye; posterior nostrils without rims, located above and a little anterior to 
eyes; dorsal inserted on head anterior to gill-opening; tin highest posteriorly, its height behind middle 
of tail equal to longitudinal diameter of eye; anal inserted immediately behind the vent, about half 
as high as dorsal; caudal slightly longer than height of dorsal. 
Color in alcohol, white tinged with yellow, with 20 black bands, nearly all encircling the body 
and extending on fins; tip of snout white, tip of tail black; the first black band covering snout, except 
the tip between the nostrils, extends backward beyond eye, and sends a line dow nward to corner of 
mouth, where it meets a round, black blotch; chin and throat white; sides of lower jaw black; a white 
space between eye and corner of mouth; the second band passes over occiput, not complete below; 
third band incomplete, passing over back between gill-openings, a dusky prolongation passing down¬ 
ward behind gill-opening; other bands complete, anterior ones broader above than below, posterior 
ones of about equal width throughout; a narrow, dusky stripe extends forward along lower surface 
from vent to a point a little anterior to gill-openings. 
This species closely resembles ( • ■ petelli, the young of which it may prove to he. The species 
differ in color and in dentition. The light spaces on the body of G. petelli are reddish brown; on the 
anal fin they are white, on the dorsal reddish brown bordered with white near edge of fin; caudal 
usually tipped with white; snout reddish brown; teeth in a single series, those of the jaws not depres¬ 
sible, except 2 or 3 on anterior median portion of upper jaw. 
A single specimen, 4.2 inches long, from a small tide pool in the reef at Waialua Bay, Oahu. 
(<tjmnnthnrax miialux Snyder, Bull. It. S. Fish Comm., XXII, 1902 (Jan. 19, 1904), 520, pi. ti, fig. 11, Waialua Bay, Oahu. 
(Type, No. 50870, U. S. Nat. Jins.) 
53. Gymnothorax mucifer Snyder. Plate 14, fig. 1. 
Head, measured to gill-opening, 3.3 in length; depth 2.25 in head; snout 5; cleft of mouth 2.3. 
Snout rather slender and pointed, jaws equal, closing completely; teeth in one series, slender, lance¬ 
like with slight constrictions near base, their edges smooth; 3 depressible median canines in upper 
jaw, the longest (posterior) one equal in length to diameter of eye; a row of small, sharp teeth on the 
vomer; eye midway between tip of snout and angle of mouth; width of space between eyes 2 in snout; 
gill-opening a narrow slit equal to diameter of eye, located on a level with upper lip; nostril tubes 2 
in eye; posterior nostrils with scarcely perceptible rims, located above and just anterior to eye; 
origin of dorsal anterior to gill-opening a distance equal to space between tip of snout and posterior 
border of eye; height of fin above gill-opening equal to diameter of eye, about 1.33 times as high near 
middle of tail, the membrane not very fleshy; anal inserted immediately behind vent, appearing for 
much of the length like a thickened fold of the skin. 
Color in alcohol, rich dark brown with flakes of white, which are gathered in clouds and more or 
less definite vertical bars; the flakes scattered rather evenly on head, scarcely perceptible on lower 
jaw and snout; throat and belly lighter than other parts, the white and brown being about equal; 
dorsal growing darker toward the edge, where it is nearly black, with white flakes like those of the 
body arranged in oblique bars; anal edged with white; corner of mouth dark; no spot at gill-opening. 
The species is represented by a single example, type, No. 50868, U. S. Nat, Mus., from the 1 lonoluln 
market. It measures 13.5 inches from tip of snout to vent. The tail, which has been injured, meas¬ 
ures 14.75 inches in length. 
(lymnothorax mucifer Snyder. Bull. U. S. Fish Comm, XXII, 1902 (Jan. 39, 1904), 519, pi. 5, fig. 9, Honolulu. 
F. C. B. 1903—7 
