448 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. IX, October, 1955 
TABLE 1 
Certain Counts, Measurements, and Differences between Belone persimilis? and Belone platyura 
Measurements, except the first, are given in thousandths of the body length as defined 
Belone persimilis? 
Belone platyura 
Oahu 
Oahu 
Johnston 
Gilberts 
Gilberts 
Bikini 
Body length, from front of eye to tip of 
fleshy projection on middle caudal rays. 
255 mm. 
272 mm. 
299 mm. 
230 mm. 
278 mm. 
297 mm. 
Distance from front of nasal bones to 
anterior nostril 
35.3 
34.5 
36.8 
33.3 
38.1 
36.4 
Horizontal orbit diameter 
45.2 
45.0 
44.2 
46.1 
47.8 
50.2 
Postorbital head length 
76.2 
76.8 
73.4 
81.3 
82.8 
77.7 
Width of skull in front of eye 
51.1 
50.9 
51.2 
46.5 
56.8 
57.2 
Width of bony interorbital 
36.5 
37.0 
34.5 
39.1 
43.8 
43.1 
Maximum width of skull across pterotics. . 
52.5 
53.7 
53.2 
45.9 
62.2 
62.3 
Distance from pelvic insertion to anal 
origin 
184 
182 
181 
189 
192 
174 
Dorsal rays 
14 
14 
14 
13 
14 
14 
Anal rays 
18 
19 
19 
17 
18 
18 
Pectoral rays 
12 
12 
12 
12 
12 
12 
Orbit into bony interorbital: 
Present data 
0.81 to 1.1 
0.85 to 0.92 
According to Gunther (1909) 
less than (soft?) interorbital 
equals (soft?) interorbital 
Orbit into postorbital head: 
Present data 
1.67 to 1.70 
1.55 to 1.75 
According to Gunther (1909) 
1.6 to 2 
1.5 to 1.67 
According to Schultz (1953) 
1.8 to 2.1 
1.5 to 1.8 
Orbit into pelvic-anal distance 
Present data 
4.1 to 4.2 
3.5 to 4.1 
According to Schultz (1953) 
4.0 to 5.1 
3.1 to 3.6 
Postorbital head length into pelvic-anal 
distance: 
Present data 
2.3 to 2.5 
2.2 to 2.3 
According to Schultz (1953) 
2.3 to 2.5 
2.0 to 2.2 
smaller Gilbertese specimen would constitute 
the narrow-headed form) but this idea was 
discarded. In the final analysis it appears that 
if any separation of two species among the 
tabulated specimens is made, it should be 
based on the size of the eye. However, the 
difference in eye size between the specimens 
in Table 1 labelled B. persimilis? and those 
labelled B. platyura is very slight, and from 
the Table it is obvious that to state this 
difference in relation to the interorbital width, 
the postorbital head length, and only to a 
lesser extent the pelvic-anal distance obscures 
rather than clarifies the segregation of two 
forms. In short, of the characters used by 
Gunther and by Schultz (1953), only two of 
them will serve to separate the specimens at 
hand, and even in these there may prove to 
be more of a continuous distribution than a 
separation. Under the circumstances it seems 
that a convincing means of differentiating B. 
persimilis from B. platyura , if both species are 
valid, remains to be demonstrated; meanwhile 
there is little practical use in recognizing 
them. Finally, if the two prove valid, then 
the nomenclatorial question will arise as to 
whether the second should be called B. per- 
similis , B. carinata (described from the Ha- 
waiian Islands by Cuvier and Valenciennes in 
1846), or perhaps by some other early name. 
HEMIRAMPHIDAE 
Hyporhamphus acutus (Gunther) 
2 specs., 80 and 163 mm., 1951. 
