FISHES OF HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 
233 
Genus 130. APSILUS Cuvier & Valenciennes. The Arnillos. 
Body rather short and stout; teeth on palatines, vomer and jaws in villiform bands, those in outer 
series on both jaws enlarged and canine-like; no teeth on tongue, or very minute if present; last ray 
of dorsal and anal much or little produced; preopercle somewhat serrate; interorbital not flat; dorsal 
fin continuous; branchiostegals 7. 
This genus has essentially the cranial structures of Ehomboplites, with the scaleless fins, peculiar 
squamation, and dentition of Aprion. The prefrontals have the posterior areas solid and somewhat 
tumid; the dorsal fin is short and scaleless. 
Apsihts Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., VI, 548, 1830 ( fuscus ). 
Tropidinius Gill in Poey, Synopsis, 296, 1868 ( arniUo=dentatus ). 
a. Body short and stout, the depth 3 in length; scales about 67 brigliami , p. 233 
aa. Body more slender, the depth about 3.5 in length; scales larger, about 61 microdon, p. 234 
178. Apsilus brigvhami (Seale). “ Ukikiki;” Kalikali. Plate XVI. 
Head 3 in length; depth 3; eye 4 in head; snout 2.75; maxillary 2.3; mandible 2; interorbital 4.1; 
preorbital 6.75; scales 7-67-15; D. x, 11; A. in, 8; Br. 7; gillrakers short and broad, 11+4, those on 
shorter arm very blunt except lower one, longest a little greater than pupil. 
Body rather short, stout, and moderately compressed; head large, bluntly conic; snout rather 
long, bluntly pointed; mouth large, slightly oblique; maxillary reaching anterior edge of pupil; lower 
jaw slightly the shorter; teeth on jaws, vomer and palatines in villiform bands, those in outer series 
on jaws enlarged and canine-like, the anterior ones largest; tip of maxillary greater than pupil, 
slipping under the rather broad preorbital; eye moderate, entirely above axis of body; interorbital 
smooth, convex; opercle ending in 2 flat, weak spines; preopercle serrate; preorbital smooth; caudal 
peduncle deep, compressed, its least width half its depth, which is equal to snout; tins rather large; 
origin of dorsal over base of pectoral, midway between tip of snout and base of fifth dorsal ray, first 
dorsal spine short, about 1.6 in second, fourth and fifth spines longest, a little greater than snout, last 
dorsal spine slightly shorter, than second; last dorsal ray somewhat produced, about 2.25 in head, or a 
third longer than first ray; first anal spine short, about 1.9 in eye, or 2 in second anal; third anal 
spine slightly greater than eye; last anal ray equal to last dorsal; caudal moderately forked, lobes 
about equal, their length 1.25 in head; pectoral rather long, slightly falcate, the tip reaching origin of 
anal, the length nearly equaling that of head; ventrals long and pointed, reaching Slightly past vent, 
their length 1.4 in head; scales rather small, firm, the lateral line well developed; cheek and opercles 
scaled; a row of modified plate-like scales from humeral plate to nape, in front of which is a patch of 
ordinary scales; soft dorsal and anal without scales; caudal finely scaled. 
Color in life (from No. 03735), upper half of body with 4 broad yellow bands, last one extending 
to base of caudal, between these are 3 light red bands nearly as broad as the yellow ones; lower half 
of body yellow, the edge of scales here tinged with red; head and snout bright golden-red; opercles 
light red; jaw reddish; upper lip golden reddish, lower reddish; dorsal bright yellow, same as yellow 
bands on body; margin of soft dorsal tipped with reddish; caudal yellow, with reddish tinge, end 
yellow, upper and lower edges reddish; anal membrane faint golden red, rays faint red; ventrals pale, 
tinged with red; pectoral membrane pale, rays light yellow; axil golden reddish. 
Color in alcohol, pale yellowish white, pale below, head slightly dusky, fins all pale yellowish 
white, tips of ventrals slightly dusky. 
The life color of the type specimen, as given by Mr. Seale, was as follows: Ground color, pinkish 
white; 3 distinct wide yellow bands, as wide as interspaces, extending obliquely downward and 
backward on side of body, the first from the nape to a little posterior of axis of pectoral, the second 
from third to sixth dorsal spines ending above and anterior to vent on a line with lower base of pectoral, 
the third from eighth dorsal spine to third dorsal ray ending above and on a line with the fifth to 
eighth anal rays, behind this last band, above the lateral line, a wash of yellowish reaching to base of 
caudal; dorsal fin cadmium-yellow; caudal fin yellow, the upper lobe with pink tint; pectoral pinkish; 
ventrals and anal white; side of head and jaws with a few deeper splotches of pinkish, iris whitish, 
the pupil deep blue. In spirits the yellow bands fade so that the interspaces show more distinctly 
than the bands, the color becomes also a deeper pinkish, the fins whitish. 
