FISHES OF HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 
177 
Genus 103. RUVETTUS Cocco. 
Body fusiform, moderately elongate, the skin covered with bony tubercles remote from each other 
and obliquely placed; mouth large, with strong teeth, some of the anterior in each jaw canine-like; 
lateral line obscure, little developed; abdomen keeled; tail not keeled; dorsals near together, well 
differentiated; dorsal and anal each with 2 fin lets; ventral rays i, 5. Color black. One species. 
A large, deep-water fish, generally valued as food in the Tropics. 
Ruvettus Cocco, Giorn. Sci. Sicilia, XI,II, 2, 1829 (prctiosus). 
Acaiithodcrma Oantrainc. Mem. Ac. Sri. Belles-Lettres, Bruxelles, X, 1835 (tcmmincki). 
Aplurus Lowe, Trans. Zool. Soe. Lond.. II, 1811, ISO (simplex). 
130. Ruvettus pretiosus Cocco. “ Wnlu.” Fig. 67. 
Head 4.15 in length; depth 5.4; eye 6.5 in head; snout 2.6; maxillary 1.9; gape 2.16; interorbital 
2.25; D. xiii tl, 15—n; A. 10-n; V. i, 5; P. 13; C. ix, 9 j 9, vm; prickles in about 85, — 38 series. 
Body moderately elongate, compressed, the dorsal and ventral outlines very gently elevated, body 
deepest under middle of pectoral fin, the outline tapering regularly to caudal; head rather large, conic; 
snout long and pointed; mouth large, somewhat oblique, maxillary reaching posterior line of orbit, its 
greatest width nearly 2 tn eye, the gape reaching anterior third of pupil; lower jaw long, slightly pro¬ 
jecting, its sides forming an acute angle; teeth strong, canine-like, a single row in each jaw and on each 
palatine; about 5 large, backwardiy directed canines on the vomer; teeth of .jaws larger on sides 
than at tips; eye large, entirely above axis of body, chiefly in anterior half of head; interorbital space 
broad and flat; anterior nostril nearly round, the opening directed forward, midway between tip of 
snout and middle of pupil; posterior nostril a long, vertical slit, opening backward, its length 1.5 in 
pupil; gill rakers short, but strong, sparsely placed; opercular margin soft, the spine obscure; belly 
with a low, broad keel; caudal peduncle nearly round, its least depth equal to its least width or about 
2 in snout; fins small, origin of spinous dorsal over edge of opercle, its distance from snout equal to 
half of head; spinous dorsal low, the spines slender, folding in a groove; distance between dorsals 
short, 1.5 in eye; origin of soft dorsal anterior to that of anal, anterior rays elevated, their length 
equal to snout, the last ray scarcely greater than pupil; distance between base of last dorsal ray and 
first ray of dorsal finlet 1.4 in eye; length of second ray of dorsal finlet 2.2 in snout; distance from base 
of dorsal finlet to caudal 1.6 in snout; anal similar to soft dorsal, its origin somewhat posterior, its 
anterior rays elevated and about equal to those of dorsal, base of fin somewhat shorter than that of 
soft dorsal, length of last anal ray equal to that of last dorsal ray; anal finlet with 2 rays and entirely 
similar to dorsal finlet; caudal large, broadly forked, a number of supporting spines along each edge, 
the lobes 1.6 in head; pectoral short, 2 in head; ventral shorter than pectoral, 3 in head; skin covered 
with small, irregular, somewhat embedded, cycloid scales, among which are rows of glossy forked 
prickles, arranged somewhat definitely in rows, each with 2 sharp points and 2 or 3 roots; scales of 
head very small, densely covering top of head, cheeks, and operoles, the head everywhere, except tip 
of snout, rough to the touch; body with numerous small but conspicuous pores, usually at bases of 
the prickles. 
Color in alcohol, dark, dirty brown, the prickles showing as lighter yellowish silvery lines; fins 
mostly dark. 
F. C. B. 1903—12 
