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PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. IX, April, 1955 
Fig. 4. Right hyoid arch, from outside, of Krae- 
meria. br, branchiostegal rays; CH, ceratohyal; EH, 
epihyal; GL, glossohyal; ih, interhyal; UR, urohyal. 
Here, as in the other gobies examined (e.g., 
Kraemeria , Fig. 4), the ceratohyal deepends 
rather abruptly about two-thirds of the way 
back. In front of this deepened section lie two 
branchiostegals; on the rear section are three 
more. The branchiostegals on the narrow and 
those on the deep section are separated by a 
considerable interspace. On the epihyal of 
Eleotris there is a sixth branchiostegal. In all 
of the other gobioids examined there is only 
one branchiostegal ray on the narrow portion 
of the ceratohyal, only five branchiostegals in 
all, and the interspaces between the first and 
the others is even wider than the interspace 
between the first pair and the last four in 
Eleotris . This one (or two) plus four sequence 
of branchiostegal rays not only seems to be 
characteristic of all the gobies, but to my 
knowledge is unique to the group. This same 
sequence is shown by Smith for Paragobioides 
(1951: 522, fig. 1). 
So far as I can discern, the other most sig- 
nificant gill arch character within the gobioid 
fishes occurs in the lower pharyngeals. In 
Awaous the toothed upper surface of these 
two lower pharyngeals forms a single, coal- 
esced, subtriangular plate. On the lower 
surface, however, the junction between the 
two sides shows as a median suture. In Kel- 
loggella the two lower pharyngeals are con- 
tiguous but not fused. In the others ex- 
amined, except Kraemeria , the lower pharyn- 
geals are separate. In Kraemeria the two low- 
er pharyngeals are fused with no sign of a 
suture either above or below. In Microdesmus 
the lower pharyngeals are small and widely 
separated. 
The anterior gill arches of most of the 
genera investigated have weakly developed, 
pectinate gill rakers. Gohiodon differs in having 
a double row of spiny gill rakers on the gill 
arches. 
Cranium 
The degree of ossification of the skull of 
the gobioids investigated seems to bear little 
relationship to the adult size of the fish. For 
example the skulls of a 1 inch Eviota and an 
8 inch Awaous are equally well developed. In 
two of the fishes, Kelloggella and Ptereleotris , 
the frontal and ethmoid regions are not well 
ossified, but this may be because juvenile 
specimens of the species were skeletonized 
rather than because the species were small. 
There is a membrane-covered fenestra over 
the otic bulla of Kraemeria. 
The two exoccipital condyles are always 
well separated. In all the genera examined 
except Kelloggella , Kraemeria , and Microdesmus , 
the supraoccipital extends down to the exoc- 
cipitals thus separating the epiotics (Fig. 5 b). 
In Kelloggella and Kraemeria (Fig. 5 d) the two 
epiotics meet narrowly on the midline behind 
the supraoccipital; in Microdesmus broadly. 
In Gohiodon there is a crest running along 
the whole middorsal line of the skull from 
above the mesethmoid to the exoccipitals. 
In Eviota there is a moderately developed 
crest on the supraoccipital. The other genera | 
examined have at most a small knob on the 
supraoccipital, not even that in Kelloggella . 
The parietals in the gobioid fishes seem to 
be absent invariably. Among the fishes dealt 
with here the area the parietals would normally 
cover is filled in two different ways. In Eleotris , 
Ptereleotris , Awaous , and Kraemeria (Fig. 5 d) 
the parietal region is covered by the frontals 
which run back along the sides of the supra- 
occipital to the epiotics; the sphenotic in 
these fishes is small. In Eviota (Fig. 5 b), Kel- 
loggella , Gohiodon , and Microdesmus the sphen- 
otic extends across the upper surface of the 
skull on each side to the supraoccipitals, thus 
separating the frontals from the epiotics. 
