570 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
Specimens 10 mm long . — The body remains much more slender than in other 
local genera of gobies, and fully as slender as in 7.5-mm fish, the depth being contained 
in the length to base of caudal about 6.5 to 8.0 times. The mouth is still quite 
oblique, nearly terminal and small, the maxillary scarcely reaching opposite anterior 
margin of eye. The fins are all developed. However, the spines of the first dorsal 
usually remain short and slender. The ventral disk is fully developed and long, 
reaching about three-fourths of the distance from its base to the vent. The pectoral 
fins, too, are rather long but do not reach quite as far back as the ventral disk. The 
margin of the caudal fin is straight to rounded. The crescent-shaped dark area over 
the air bladder has become quite pronounced and in some specimens is clearly evident 
with the unaided eye. Pigmentation has made no definite advancement (fig. 70). 
Specimens 13 mm long . — The body remains extremely slender, the depth being 
contained in the length to base of caudal about 10 times. The head has become 
slightly broader and somewhat depressed. The mouth is small, oblique, and terminal, 
and the maxillary scarcely reaches the vertical from the anterior margin of eye. The 
air bladder is visible microscopically, but the crescent-shaped black area above it (that 
is, the dark peritoneum), very evident in somewhat smaller fish, is quite indistinct 
and somewhat changed in shape. The spinous dorsal now is fully developed and it 
is plain that the last two spines are much further apart than the others, which appears 
to be characteristic of the local species of the genus. The pectorals and ventral disk 
are long, but do not extend as far back on the body as in somewhat smaller fish. 
However, there appears to be some variation in this respect among individuals. The 
caudal fin is about as long as the head and its margin is slightly convex. Progress in 
pigmentation varies greatly. In a 13-mm specimen it has progressed little further 
than in the 10-mm fish, described in the foregoing paragraph. However, there is 
at hand one specimen 11 and another 12 mm long which have some dark markings 
on the head, including indications of a dark oblique bar between the eye and the 
mouth (characteristic of the adult); scattered dark dots on the back and along the 
ventral edge of the abdomen, a more definite series of black spots on the base of the 
anal, and with indications of wavy dusky bars on the caudal fin, as in the adult. 
No perfect specimens from Beaufort suitable for drawing are at hand. Further- 
more, the differences between fish 10 mm and 13 mm long are slight, as pointed out 
in the description. For these reasons no illustration of the size described in the fore- 
going paragraph is offered. 
Unfortunately specimens between 13 and 22 mm in length (the latter being 
adults) are not at hand. The fish described in the foregoing paragraph are quite 
immature, yet sufficient adult characters are developed to make identification fairly 
easy and certain. The characters that are especially helpful in the identification of 
specimens of the size described in the foregoing paragraph are: (a) The fin-ray counts 
(dorsal and anal each having 11 to 13 rays), which may be made accurately, ( b ) the 
