330 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
dorsal dull olive, with lines and spots of violet blue, greenish blue distally; caudal dull olive, with 
intramarginal band of sky blue; ventral pale, axil blackish violet; pectoral largely blackish; anal dull 
olive, with bluish marks and an intramarginal sky-blue band; iris crimson. 
Examples from Hilo had the pale lateral spot generally white tinged with golden, sometimes pure 
white, sometimes pure rosy; some have an additional black spot edged with blue above front of anal. 
A female has the same cross-bands, the first black spot similar, the white area shaded with both 
yellowish and violet, the marks in the second band wanting, the least trace of markings on head 
anteriorly, and on side; fin markings similar, but all faint; iris dull crimson; intramarginal band on 
caudal distinctly pale blue. 
Two other specimens (Nos. 03000 and 03001) were described in life as pale olive gray, whitening 
on side and belly; side with 1 broad darker bars, the first at base of pectoral, second between anterior 
end of anal and middle of dorsal, third between posterior ends of dorsal and anal, and the fourth at 
base of caudal fin, the third darkest; a black spot covering 1 scale under membrane between fourth 
and fifth dorsal spine; this bordered, except behind, with blue; first and second series of scales below 
dorsal with narrow blue lines; dorsals grayish, with numerous blue lines extending upward and for- 
ward, these separated by broader grayish brown lines; anal white with a narrow blue line near its 
border, tipped with brown; caudal whitish, dark at tip; pectoral olive gray above, pale yellowish 
below; ventrals white; iris pink. Another specimen (No. 03025) was described as pale dusky white; 
opercle with 2 darker bands, one downward from eye to suboperde, the other across opercle, each 
with some purple; side with a broad vertical dusky bar upward from front of anal, and 2 less distinct 
ones farther back; edges of some scales pale yellow; a small black spot, bordered anteriorly with blue, 
on second row of scales below fourth dorsal spine; dorsal pale bluish, crossed by numerous brownish 
orange bars; caudal white, with 2 or 3 narrow faint yellow cross-bands, the tip black; pectoral white, 
slightly dusky at base; 2 pale rosy blotches on belly at base of anal; ventrals white; iris purple. 
Color in alcohol (No. 03534) pale, somewhat dusky; body crossed by 4 broad brownish vertical 
bars, the first under proximal half of pectoral, the second upward from anterior anal rays, the third 
between last dorsal and anal rays, fourth on distal half of caudal peduncle; humeral region, interspaces 
between dark bars, lower parts of head and belly yellowish white, the space between lower half of 
first and second dark bars most distinctly white; one scale above lateral line and under base of fourth 
dorsal spine black, bordered on its base by light blue; dorsals dusky, almost black on edge, the 
membranes vermiculated with dark and light; caudal smoky, the edge darker; anal dirty yellowish, 
the edge with a narrow olivaceous border; ventrals pale; pectoral dusky, black within. 
A young example from Hilo when fresh was violet olive, without red; 4 dark areas or bands, 
with pale interspaces, that behind pectoral white; base of eacli Scale light golden, its edge violet; 
indigo black ocellus, edged before with violet blue; scales all over body showing shades of violet and 
golden, faint; first dorsal dusky bluish; second dorsal violet and golden in oblique streaks; one blue- 
black ocellus on dorsal edged with blue; caudal and anal faintly violaceous, the latter with a light 
violet border and golden edge; pectoral yellowish; ventrals dusky, edged with yellowish and viola- 
ceous; eye with faint radiating streaks of violet and golden. 
Smaller specimens in alcohol are considerably lighter; ridge of snout and nape bluish, cheek and 
opercles brownish, with narrow wavy darker brown and bluish lines; dorsal fin paler, with wavy 
purplish or bluish lines extending upward and forward, the margin somewhat dusky. In many of 
the smaller examples the black scale on the side is without the bluish anterior border. In some small 
specimens, one or more scales toward the lower end of the second dark bar are darker, forming a more 
or less distinct brown blotch; an occasional specimen is found with an extra black spot on side above 
lateral line. 
This species is the largest one of the genus found among the Hawaiian Islands and is one of the 
most important, being a valued food-fish. 
These specimens are certainly Xyriclithys pavoninus Cuvier & Valenciennes, as were also the speci- 
mens from Honolulu identified by Steindachner with Xyrichthys pavo Cuvier & Valenciennes. 
It is very doubtful whether the latter species is found among the Hawaiian Islands. The color 
assigned to it by Cuvier and Valenciennes and by Bleeker does not apply to any of the numerous 
specimens examined by us. The species described from Cape San Lucas by Dr. Gill as Iniislius 
mundicorpus is evidently identical with this species. We have examined a total of 64 specimens, 56 
from Honolulu, 7 from Hilo, and 1 from Kailua. The Albatross secured some also at Puako Bay. 
