Review of Labtoides - — RANDALL 
345 
tionally large one, estimated at between 60 
and 70 mm. in standard length, was sighted 
on the top of a patch reef in the lagoon 
at Takaroa. 
This species was first seen by me during a 
short stay at Caroline Atoll. It was abundant 
in the clear water off the lee reef, but was not 
seen in the lagoon (which lacks a pass). It 
was often seen in pairs, and commonly two 
of the little labrids picked rapidly over the 
body of a larger fish simultaneously, paying 
special heed to the head. Only a slight tend- 
ency toward the oscillatory swimming as de- 
scribed for L. dimidiatus was noted. It was 
seen to peck at the bodies of numerous parrot 
fishes ( Scams spp.) and surgeon fishes ( Cteno - 
chaetus striatus and Acanthurus spp.), the 
groupers Cephalopholis argus Bloch and Schnei- 
der, and Plectropomus leopardus (Lacepede) 
(pVi feet in length), the giant wrasse Cheilinus 
undulatus Riippell (about 4 feet in length), the 
goatfish Parupeneus chryserydros (Lacepede), 
and the lutjanoid Monotaxis grandoculis (For- 
skal). Later at Tahiti and Moorea the list of 
species seen in association with Labroides 
rubrolabiatus was extended such that it en- 
compassed nearly all the families of reef 
fishes in the area. 
L. rubrolabiatus has been observed entering 
the gill cavities of parrot fishes. This was first 
seen at the entrance to the pass of the atoll of 
Takaroa in the Tuamotus. The labrid inserted 
the anterior half of its body through the gill 
opening of Scams harid Forskal. The second 
observation was made just outside the barrier 
reef on the southeast coast of Moorea at a 
depth of 10 feet. About a 40 mm. Labroides 
was seen to pick several times at the right gill 
opening of Scarus vermiculatus approximately 
250 mm. in standard length. The parrot fish 
angled its left side downward and elevated its 
gill covers. The labrid slipped into the gill 
chamber and was completely lost from view 
for about two seconds. On two occasions 
outside the reef at Takaroa L. rubrolabiatus 
was seen to enter the buccal cavity of adult 
groupers of the species Epinephelus fuscogutta- 
tus (Riippell) via the mouth. 
The stomach of the paratype from Caroline 
Atoll was opened and found to contain one 
larval gnathiid isopod. The 45 mm. paratype 
from Moorea was similarly examined; this 
fish had eaten nine larval gnathiid isopods. 
In the Society Islands and Tuamotus the 
species is not as common as L. dimidiatus or 
L. bicolor . It occurs outside the reef and in 
lagoons, usually at depths greater than 15 
feet, and in areas of good circulation with 
much live coral and clear water. 
At the atoll of Tikahau, Tuamotu Archi- 
pelago, outside the reef just north of the pass, 
L. rubrolabiatus was seen at a depth of 120 
feet, in the company of a single L. dimidiatus. 
No specimens were collected from Tikahau or 
from Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas, where 
the species was also observed underwater. 
Whether the species will be found to be 
restricted to southeast Oceania or whether it 
will eventually be taken farther to the west 
remains for further collections to reveal. 
The species is named rubrolabiatus (Latin 
rubro , combining form of ruber , red; labiatus , 
lipped) in reference to the color of the lips 
in life. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
I wish to express my sincere thanks to Dr. 
William A. Gosline of the University of Ha- 
waii for generously providing specimens for 
the analysis of stomach contents of the Ha- 
waiian species and for paratypes of this spe- 
cies. Thanks are also due Dr. Thomas E. 
Bowman, United States National Museum, 
Washington, D.C., and Dr. Paul L. Illg, Uni- 
versity of Washington, Seattle, for assistance 
in the identification of crustacean fish para- 
sites taken from the stomachs of species of 
Labroides; and to Dr. W. Klausewitz, Senck- 
enberg Museum, Frankfurt, Germany, Dr. D. 
W. Strasburg, Pacific Oceanic Fishery Investi- 
gations, Honolulu, Dr. E. Trewavas, British 
Museum, London, Dr. I. Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 
Max Planck -Institut, Buldern, Germany, Dr. 
A. H. Banner, University of Hawaii, Hono- 
