A REVIEW OE THE TRIGGER-FISHES, FILE-FISHES, ANDTRUNK-FISHES OF JAPAN.
B}^ DA^'ID Starr Jordan and Henry W. Fowler,Oftlic Lehmd Stanford Junior Univermty.
In the present paper i,s given an account of the Plectognathousfishes, found in Japan, belonging to the suborders of Sclerodermi andOstracodernii. The paper is based on the collections made by Jordanand Snj^der in 1900, and on the material contained in the United StatesNational Museum, and collections made by the United States Fish Com-mission steamer Alhatrcm.SCLERODERMI.Sclerodermi may be defined as Plectognathous fishes with a spinousdorsal composed of one or more spines inserted just behind the cranium;bod}" of the normal fish-like shape; scales rough, or spinigerous, ofregular form; jaws with distinct teeth, conical or incisor-like.(ffK\j/p6g^ hard; Sip/xa^ skin.)ANALYSIS OF FAMILIES.(/. Ventral fins represented each by a large spine, normally articulating with thepelvic bones; scales rounded, more or less spinigerous; dorsal fin of 3 to 6spines ; vertebr;e about 19 Teiacanthid.e, I.(Kt. Ventral fins obsolete, or the pair represented by a single spine at the end of thelong pelvic bone; scales rough, rhombic, or spiniform.h. Vertebrae in small number, 17 to 21; no barbel at chin; gill opening not beforethe eyes.c. First dorsal composed of 3, rarely 2, spines; the first spine very large, thesecond locking it in erection; scales comparatively large, bony, rough,forming a coat of mail ; vertebrae, 17 Balistid^, II.cc. First dorsal of a single spine, with a rudiment at its base; scales minute, notbony, the edges spinescent, so that the surface of the body is rough velvety;vertebrae, 18 to 21 '. Monacanthid-k, III.Family I. TRIACANTHID^.Bod}" compressed, covered with small or minute rounded scales moreor less spinigerous. Mouth small; teeth in 1 or 2 series in each jaw,conical or incisor-like. First dorsal fin of 3 to 6 strong spines, theProceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. XXV?No. 1287. 251
252 proceedings; OF TirE NATIONAL MUSFAIM. vol. xxv.first one largest; soft dorsal rather long and low, similar to anal; ven-tral fins each a strong spine attached to the pelvic bone; vertebra^ (inTriacantkus) 9+10=19. Three genera and about 5 species; tropicalshore fishes, chiefly East Indian, one of them American.a. Trlacanthodimv: Teeth small, close-set, conical, not incisor-like; caudal peduncleshort; dorsal spines strong, not very unequal.h. Teeth in two rows in each jaw, the upper jaw with about 14 teeth in the outerrow, the lower with 22; inner series with about 2 teeth Tnacanthodef, 1.aa. Triaeanfhin.r: Teeth incisor-like, in two series in each jaw, those of the outerrow prolonged, about 10 in number, the inner series with 2 or 4; caudalpeduncle produced, slender; first dorsal with 3 or 4 small spines behind a verylarge one - Triacanthus, 2.
1. TRIACANTHODES Bleeker.Triacanthodes Bleeker, Act. Soc. Sci. Indo. Nederl., Ill, 1857, Japan, IV, p. 37{nnomaJns.)Body short, compressed, with short tail, covered with small spinyscales; teeth small, conical, close set, in two .series, about 11 to 22, twosmall teeth in the inner series. Lateral line inconspicuous. Dorsalspines about 5, strong, not very unequal, rough on their basal halves.Ventrals each a strong spine attached to the pelvic bone, besides twoslender soft rays. Soft dorsal of al)out 15 rays; anal of about 12.{triacanthufi: eiSog, resemldance.)
I. TRIACANTHODES ANOMALUS (Schlegel).BENI KAWAMT'KI (RED FILE FISH).Triacanthus anomalns Schlegel, Fauna Japonica Poiss. , 1846, p. 295, pi. cxxix,fig. 3; Nagasaki.?Nystrom, Svensk. Vet. Ak., 1887, p. 47; Nagasaki.Triacanthodes anomalus Bleeker, Act. Soc. Sci. Indo. Nederl., Ill, 1857, Japan,IV, p. 37; Nagasaki.?GtrNTHER, Cat. Fish., VIII, 1870, p. 208; Japan.Depth 2i; head little over 3 (1 in total); D. IV to VI, 11 to 16;A. 12 to 13; V. I, 2. Snout 2i in head. Jaws with a single series offrom 18 to 20 small teeth, pointed, somewhat conical and curved.Body compressed and roughened. Pectorals rounded, If in head.First dorsal spine almost as long as the head. Dorsal and ventralspines strong, rough on their basal halves. Ventral spines roughenedand as long as the first dorsal spine. Anal beginning a little behindanus and its height equal to a fifth of the depth of the body. Seconddorsal larger than anal and its height 3 in the depth of the body.Caudal rounded and equal to the snout with eye. Color reddish,brighter above and whitish below. Length 3 to 4^ inches. (Schlegel,Bleeker, Giinther.)This little fish, which reaches a length of 1 or 5 inches, is recordedb}' Schlegel as taken only in May a])out the rocks at the mouth of the
JAPANESE TRIGGER-FISHES?JORDAN AND FOWLER. 253bay of Nagasaki. It is iimcii valued as a food fisii and is eaten rawwith a sauce of i^d'c or rice brandy. No specimens were taken byJordan and Snyder.{anoinalus^ anomalous.
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2. TRIACANTHUS Cuvier.Triacanthns Cvxi-EK, Eegne Animal, Isted., 1817, p. 152 {hiaculealus).Bod}' more or less elongate, compressed, covered with minute roughscales; tail slender, prolonged; teeth in two series in each jaw; thoseof the outer row incisor-like, ten in number, those of the inner rowmore rounded, two or four in number. First dorsal of one ver}?^strong rough spine and several short ones. Ventral tins each of astrong spine attached to the pubic bone; soft dorsal of about i24 rays,anal of about 19; lateral line conspicuous.(rpezs", three; (XKavOa^ spine.)
2. TRIACANTHUS BREVIROSTRIS Schlegel.GIN-KAWAMUKI (SILVERY FILEFISH).TriacantJms brevirostris Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Poiss., 1846, p. 294, pi. cxxix,fig. 2; Nagasaki.
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Hollaed, Ann. Sci. Nat., I, 1854, p. 45, pi. ii, fig. 1.
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Bleeker, i\.tlas Ichth. Balist. , 1865-69, pi. xvii, fig. 3; Java, Madura, Sumatra,Singapore, Borneo, Celebes, Amboyna, etc.?GtJNTHER, Cat. Fish., VIII, 1S70,p. 209; Japan, Formosa, Amboyna, Madras, China.
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Ishikawa, Prel. Cat.,1897, p. 4; Kagoshima, Suruga.Triacanthus rJiodopterus Bleeker, Verb. Bat. Gen., XXII, 1849, p. 25, pi. iv, fig. 8.Tnacanthiis rasselli Bleeker, A^erli. Bat. (iien., XXII, 1849, p. 25; Coromandel(after Patrick Russell).Triacanthus brachysoma Bleeker, Nat. Tyds. Ned. Ind., IV, 1853, p. 128.Balistes bipes Gronow, Cat. Fish., Ed. Gray, 1854, p.- 37; East Indies.Head about 4; depth 2 to2t; snout li, and eye 3 to 4 in head; D. V,22 to 25; A. 17 to 20. Maxillary 10 in external series, incised orcuneiform, and inner series obtusely rotundate. Snout not produced,with the upper profile nearly straight. Pectorals rounded, short.First dorsal spine strong, covered with asperities; ventral spines long.Second dorsal a little lower than the longest anal ray. Color abovegreenish or bluish gray, below silvery or j^ellowish; head above,greenish; spinous dorsal with a black l)lotch. Length, 11 inches.(Schlegel, Bleeker, Gunther.)Bleeker regards TruicantJius nieuhoji with a depth of 2 to 3 (totallength) as distinct from Triacanthus hrevirostris, which has a depth of3 to 3i (total length).This species, common in the East Indies, is rare in Japan, beingrecorded from the southern region only. In the Imperial Museum arespecimens of this species from Suruga Bay and from Kagoshima. Nospecimens taken by Jordan and Snyder.{brevis, short; rostru/n, snout.)
254 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxv.Family II. BALISTID^.TRIGGER FISHES.Bod}^ oblong, or ovate, moderately compressed, covered with ratherlarge rough scales or scutes of varj'ing form, the scutes not formingan immovable carapace. Lateral line ol)scure or wanting. jNIouthsmall, terminal, low; Jaws short, each with a))out 1 series of separateincisor-like teeth; eye near occiput; preorbital ver}^ deep. Chin with-out barbel. Gill openings small, slit-like, above or in front of pecto-ral fins, and not before eyes. Dorsal fins 2, the anterior of 2 or 3spines, the first spine highest, very strong, the second locking it inerection; second dorsal remote from the first, of many soft rays; cau-dal fin rounded or forked; ventral fins wantin^g, their place occupiedby a single stout, thick spine at the end of the very long, usuallymovable pubic bone. Post-temporal short, simple, the forks obliter-ated, the bone grown solidly to the skull, and with no foramen. Ver-tebra? in reduced number (17). Shore fishes of the tropical seas, ofrather large size, carnivorous, or partly herbiverous, ver}' rarelyused as food, man}^ of them reputed to be poisonous,a. Caudal peduncle compressed.h. Teeth white or pale, not red.r. Teeth unequal, oblique, each one deeply notched.d. Gill opening with a number of enlarged bony plates or scutes behind it;ventral flap movable, supported by a series of spines, more or less free attip, and resembling fin rays.e. Dorsal and anal fins low and rounded, their angles and those of caudalnot produced ; lateral line obsolete or with a trace at the shoulder; scalesof posterior parts each with a l)lunt spine or tubercU;; ventral flap narrow,its supporting spines stout and thick in the adult; third dorsal spinesmall./. Eye with a naked groove before it.(J. Cheeks with small scales closely set; snout scaly Pachynathuif, 3.gg. Cheeks with large scales loosely set; snout nak^ed. .PseiidohidiMit^, 4.ff. Eye without preocular groove BalisUtpm, 5.dd. Gill opening Avith only ordinary scales behind it; no enlarged plates orscutes; ventral flap scarcely movable, its surface scaled; lateral lineobsolete; third dorsal spine small or wanting; vertical fins in adult moreor less angulate or falcate.h. Chin not projecting; cheeks closely scaled; dorsal spine 3; scalesof posterior parts unarmed or keeled Canthidermis, 6.3. PACHYNATHUS Swainson.Pachynathw^ Swainson, Classn. Fishes, II, 1839, p. 326 {triangidaris=capistratus;the name evidently an error for Pachygnathus, but not so spelled; notPachygnathus, an earlier name of a genus of spiders.)This genus difi'ers from Balistes in the rounded outlines of the ver-tical fins and in the possession of small spines or tubercles on thescales of the caudal region. Ventral fiap somewhat movable, its sup-
N0.12S7. JAPANESE TRIGGER-FISHES?JORDAN AND FOWLER. 255porting- spines short and very thick. Lateral line reduced to a traceat the shoulder. Species few, inhabiting the Pacific, intermediate))etween Batistes and Battstajms. The name Pacht/n^d/iusis, perhaps,ineligible, as if spelled correctly it is preoccupied.(TTaxvs, thick; yvaftog, jaw.)a. Co\oY olivaceous, with a pale ring about the mouth and usually a pale line behindit; caudal double truncate; D. Ill, 29; A. 28; scales 50 capistratum, 3.aa. Color dusky with a green area marked by dark spots above; lower parts withlarge round blotches of dull red; a blue ring about snout; caudal rounded.I). Ill, 25, A. 21 ; scales 40 conspicillum, 4.3. PACHYNATHUS CAPISTRATUM (Shaw).Le Baliste bride Lacepede, Hist. Nat. Poiss., I, 1798, p. 335; without locality; ona drawing by Commerson.Balistes cajnstratus SHA^\, Genl. Zool., V, 1804, p. 417 (after Lacepede; not Pachij-nathus capistratus Jordan and Evermann, which is a distinct species, withsmaller scales, =Pac}n/gnat]a(S verves Gilbert and Starks.
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Balistes iidtis Bennett, Proc. Comm. Zool. Soc, I, 1831, p. 169; East Indies.
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GtJNTHER, Cat., VIII, 1870, p. 218.Balistes amboinensis Gray, Hardwicke, Illus. Indian Zool., 1834; Amboyna.Packynathus triangularis Swainson, Classn. Fishes, II, 1839, p. 326 (Vizaga-patam, after Russell, pi. xx.
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Balistes hikpe Eichardson, Voy. Sulphur, Fishes, 1843, p. 127; East Indies.Balistes frenafus Eichardson, Voy. Sulphur, Fishes, 1843, p. 129; East Indies.Bleeker, Atlas Ichth., 1865-69, pi. cccxxiii.Balistes srhmltfa BLF.EKER, Verb. Bat. Gen., XXIV, 1852, p. 37; Sumatra.Head 2|; depth 2; D. HI, 28 to 30; A. 25 to 27; scales 5U.Body rather oblong, a groove before the eye. Each scale for about9 rows on the tail and posterior part of sides, with a small, smooth,inconspicuous tubercle; about 34 scales in several parallel horizontalstreaks in front of pectoral, a transverse series from soft dorsal tovent; a few bony scutes behind the gill opening, 1 of these consider-ably enlarged. Lateral line o])solete, reduced to a few scales behinde3'e. Dorsal and anal fins rather low, with outlines rounded or slighth'angular in front, the first vays not produced; the caudal double trun-cate, the angles scarcely produced. First dorsal spine strong, veryrough, especially above. Ventral flap small, movable, supported byseveral short, thick spines. Uniform blackish brown; a 3^ellowishring from middle of upper lip around the lower jaw, a straight 3'ellowstripe from this ring toward the pectoral, not reaching the gill open-ing; this sometimes absent or indistinct. Pacific Ocean; widely dis-tri])uted through the East Indies and on the coast of China. Heredescribed from an adult example from Wakanoura.This species is very abundant in the East Indies and westward toHonolulu. One specimen secured at Wakanoura, and another wasol)tained for us by Yonekichi Koneyama, who caught it at Nafa inOkinawa. There are no other records from Japan, but we have manyexamples from Hawaii.
256 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxv.The American species, heretofore called Pachi/nathus e(q)tstratum^is different from Japanese or Hawaiian specimens, having largerscales. It has been named Ballstes verres by Gil])ert and Starks.{caplstratus l)ridled.)
4. PACHYNATHUS CONSPICILLUM (Bloch and Schneider).MONGARA KAWAHAGI (8P0TTP:D SKIN PEELER), KOMONIUWO(BLOTCHED FISH).Balidi's cotupiclUuiii Bloch and Schneider, Syst. Ichth. Bloch, 1801, p. 474;Indian Seas (after Guaperva tachete of Sonnerat).
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Schleoel, Fauna Japon-ica, 1846, p. 289, pi. cxxix, fig. 1; Nagasaki.
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Bleekek, Atlas Ichth. Balist.,1865-69, p. 116, pi. VII, fig. 2.?GtTNTHER, Cat. Fish., VIII, 1870, p. 220; Japan,Formosa.
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Namiye, Cat. Spec. Vert., 1881, p. 113, Kishin.
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Isiiikawa, Prel.Cat., 1897, p. 4, Kagoshima.Bnlixtex hirnlnr Shaw, Gen. Zool., V, 1804, p. 407, pi. 11.D. HI, 25 to 26; A. 21 to 22; scales in lateral line 46, or about 50 to55 from gill opening to middle part of caudal. Eye -i to 6 in head, 2^to 4 in snout. Head higher than long; lips broad and flesh}'; patch ofenlarged scales 3 or 4 in number behind the gill opening; about 29scales in a transverse section from the origin of the dor.sal to the vent;dorsal and anal rather low; caudal subtruncate; ventral spine veryshort and movable; two and a half series of tubercles on caudalpeduncle; caudal rounded, the angles not produced; lateral line notconspicuous. Color brownish or black, with very large, round, yellowspots on the lower part of the body in 4 longitudinal series. Backbetween dorsals of a lighter coloration. The center of each scalebrown and the edges yellowish; a yellowish band across the snout fromone eya to the other; extremity of the snout orange and with a narroworange ring; pectorals with yellow ororange rays; spinous dorsal brownor ])lackish; soft dorsal and anal gravish blue and with orange bases;caudal black at liase, medianly clear yellow, Avith a marginal blackband. Length 13 inches. (Schlegel, Bleeker. Giinther; the colorafter Schlegel.)This species is occasionally taken in the Kuro Shiwo, off* the coast ofJapan and southward. It is recorded from Nagasaki and Kagoshima,and we have examined a specimen from Urakawa, in Hokkaido, pre-served in the museum at Hakodate. This has: D. Ill, 24; scales 44.A specimen from Kii is in the Imperial University.{consplclUuiii, a pair of spectacles, in allusion to the round spots.)4. PSEUDOBALISTES Bleeker.PseudohaUates^AM^Kmi, Atlas Ichth. Balist., Ill, 1865-69, p. 113 {flavimarginatr(s)This genus differs from PachyiiatJiu>< in the large size of the scaleson the cheek, which do not cover the whole surface, though not leav-ing the naked stripes seen in Parahalistes. Snout naked. Caudal
NO. 1287. JAPANESE TRIGGER-FISHES?JORDAN AND FOWLER. 257lunate, but not deeply forked. Dorsal and anal low, as in Ba/fWaj^m.Scales of the tail with tubercles. Pacific Ocean.{ipsvdjjg^ false; Balistes^ from ^aXiarr/z, shooter, which is fromfiaXkco^ to shoot with a crossbow; in allusion to the trigger-like thirdspine, which sets or releases the first spine, as in a crossbow.)
5. PSEUDOBALISTES FLAVIMARGINATUS (Riippell).SLTRUMIOHI.Bdlistesjtavimarginatus Ruppell, Atlas Fische, 1828; p. o3; Red Sea.
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Blebkek,Atlas Ichth. Bal., 1865-69, p. 113, pi. iv, fig. 3; pi. x, fig. 3.?GtJNTHER, Gat.Fish., YIII, 1870, p. 223; Red .Sea, Amboyna.?Ishikawa, Prel. Cat., 1897,p. 4; Riukiu Islands.Balistes beer I Bleeker, Act. Soc. Sci. Indo-Neerl., V. 1856, Celebes, p. 53; Celebes.D. 111. 26 to 27; A. 23 to 25; scales in lateral line 35 to 36.Eye 3 to 5 in head, 1^ to 4 in snout. Lips broad and fieshy; snoutpartly naked; interorbital space strongly convex; 3 or 4 osseous scutesbehind the gill opening; about 20 scales in a transverse series fromthe origin of the dorsal to the vent; soft dorsal and anal somewhatelevated; caudal rounded in very 3'oung, truncate in half-grown anddeeply emarginate, with produced lobes in adult examples; ventralspine short, movable; on the caudal peduncle 4 to 6 series of rathersmall recurved spines. Color of adult, yellowish or violet green,without conspicuous spots, nearly uniform; fins except spinous dorsall)lackish violet on the basal part, the outer extremities yellowish,crossed by a longitudinal blackish-violet bar; spinous dorsal reddish,margin black, in half -grown examples yellowish or brownish orange;numerous blackish or ])rownish spots on trunk; posterior fins olive-brown, margined with yellow; 3^oung, brownish above, below paleyellow; spotted on the sides; base of spinous dorsal blackish; the finsyellow. Length, 28 inches. (Bleeker, Giinther.)Of this species, common in the East Indies, we have one smallspecimen, 1^ inches long, from Wakanoura. Head 2^ in length;depth If; eye large, If in snout; edges of snout without scales; cheeksless closely scaled than the rest of the head; pectorals ohort; ventralspine very rough; caudal rounded; upper surface of the head, basaldorsal spines and back blackish; several dark bars at base of caudal;sides of the bod}^ spotted with blackish.{flavus, yellow; marghiatus, edged.)5. BALISTAPUS Tilesius.Balistapus Tilesius, M6m. Ac. Nat. Sci., Petersb., about 1812, YII, p. 301 (rapis-tral'us of Tilesius, not of Shaw, undulatus).Rhinccanthus Swainson Classn. Anim., II, 1839, p. 325 {ornatissimns=amleattis).This genus has the head and body closely scaled, the scales of theposterior parts more or less spinous; enlarged scales behind the gillProc. N. M. vol. XXV?02 17
258 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxv.opening, the lateral line obsolete and no groove before the eye. Thespecies are numerous in the Indian seas. They are small and ratherbrightly colored.(balistes, (XTtovs, footless.)
a. Body covered from snout to tail with many oblique wavy reddish lines; D. Ill,25, A. 24; scales 50; spines on tail in a black patch muluhdm, 6.aa. Body greenish above, brownish or whitish below; 4 or 5 oblique stripes on sidesposteriorly; 3 blue stripes vertically from eye; the colors anteriorly separatedby a blue line; 3 blue stripes vertically from eye; a pale patch under caudalspines aculcatus, 7.
6. BALISTAPUS UNDULATUS (Park).TOKUSA ZAME (SCOURIN(t RUSH SHARK).Balistes imdiUatiis Mungo Park, Trans. Linn. Soc, III, 1797, p. 37.?Guntiiek,Cat. Fish., VIII, 1870, p. 226; Red Sea, Zanzibar, Moluccas, Sumatra,Amboyna, Ceram, Cebu, Louisiades, China, Japan.Balwtes lineatus Bloch and Schneider, Syst. Ichth., 1801, p. 466, pi. lxxxvii.Coromandel.
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Bleeker, Atlas Ichth., 1865-69, p. 118, pi. xv, fig. 2.Balistes aculeatus viridis Bennett, Fish, Ceylon, 1830, pi. x; Ceylon.Balistes lamouroiixi Quoy and Gaimard, Yoy. Uranie Zool., 1824, p. 208, pi.XLVII, fig. 1.Balistes sesquilineatus Bennett, Beechey's Yoy., 1839, p. 69, pi. xxi, fig. 3; Tahiti.Batistes porcatus Grot^ov:, Syst., Ed. Gray, 1854, p. 32; Indian seas.Head 3; depth 1^; D. III., 2.5 to 27; A. 22 to 24; scales in lateralline 41, or about 50 from gill opening to under part of caudal; nogroove before eye; eye 3^ to .5^ in head, 2 to 4 in snout. Head higherthan long, slightly concave above; lips broad and fleshy; jaws equal;patch of 4 enlarged scales behind gill opening. A transverse series of24 scales running from the origin of the dorsal fln to the vent; dorsaland anal tins rather low, with rounded profile; caudal fin subtruncate;pectoral obtusely rounded; ventral toothed; double series of lateralspines, 4 to 8 in number, on the caudal peduncle. Color bluish- violet,fin rays yellow or golden-rose; membranes hyaline-blue or violet; headand body with numerous oblique and somewhat undulated reddish oryellowish stripes, two broader than the others, proceed from the lipsand are confluent posteriorly; spinous dorsal reddish with brownishyellow and black margins; the spines on each side of the tail in a blackpatch; base of caudal washed with blackish. (Bleeker, Giinther.)Of this species Giinther records a stufl'ed specimen from Japan,probably from the Riukiu Islands. Another from unknown localityis in the Imperial Museum at Tokio. It is common in the East Indies.{undulatus, waved.)
NO. 1287. JAPANESE TRIGGER-FISHES?JORDAN AND FOWLER. 259
7. BALISTAPUS ACULEATUS (Linnaeus).Balhtes aciileatus Linn.eus, Syst. Nat., 10th ad., 1758, p. 328; India.
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Bleeker,Atl. Ichth. Balist., 1865-69, p. 120, 1866, pi. 11, fig. 3; East Indies, on allislands (and of all writers) .?Gunther, Cat. Fish., VIII, 1870, p. 223; He deFrance, Johanna, Zanzibar, Moluccas, Amboyna, China, Fiji, Seychelles,Mauritius.Balistes ornaUssinus Lesson, Voy. Coquille, I, 1824, p. 119, pi. x, fig. 1.Balistes armaius Cuvier, Regne Anim. Illust., pi. cxii, fig. 2.Balistes striatus Gronow, Syst., Ed. Gray, 1854, p. 32; American seas.Head 2f, depth 2i, D. III. 25; A. 22; scales U in the lateral line.Body oblong, elliptical, no groove before the eye. On the sides of thecaudal peduncle are 3 rows of strong spines, directed forward, con-sisting of 11, 9, and 5, respectively. Head long, angular, and deeperthan long; the snout very long, nearl}^ as long as the head, slightlyconvex; eye small and high up, 6i in head, 5f in snout, and If ininterorbital space; interorbital space moderately convex; lips broad,thick, and fleshy; corners of mouth fleshy for some distance backward;snout not scaled; teeth large and strong, the middle the larger, thendiminishing toward either end, wedge shape, the ends wider than thebases, the cutting edges notched, and in the upper jaw 8 in the outerand 6 in the inner series, the latter with their edges rounded; in thelower jaw 8 in a single series; the upper jaw closes outside the lower;gill opening equal to interorbital space, and with 4 enlarged bonyscales behind; scales 29 in a transverse series from spinous dorsal toanal; pectoral one-fourth longer than gill opening; first dorsal spinevery robust, larger than pectoral; dorsal and anal highest anteriorly,rounded; caudal subtruncate; ventral movable, very rough and withseveral strong spines behind; ridge of bell}^ before ventral also veryrough; caudal peduncle deeper than broad and a little less than theinterorbital space; body not very rough; the scales largest on thetrunk.Color in .spirits pale ])rownish above, lighter below; spinous dorsal,large patch on sides behind gill opening sending a line to .space betweenthe dor.sals and another bi'oader track to posterior half of soft dorsal,dark ])rown; broad band across interorbital space grayish brown with 3dark-])rown bars across from one eye to the other, the narrower inter-spaces bluish, a brown band from eye to base of pectoral edged nar-rowly with grayish and a narrow gray or bluish line from eye runningconvexl}^ to lower base of pectoral, a l)rownish bar from naked regionat corner of mouth nearly to pectoral, with a wash of grayish whitebelow; sides of belly from behind and below enlarged scales behindgill opening to vent, together with 4 posterior oblique bars running inthe same direction and patch on caudal peduncle in which spines are.placed, white; some black about the bases of the caudal spines; ventand narrow" stripe at base of pectoral in front blackish brown; fins
260 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxv.
all plain. Total length 9| inches. Here described from a specimenfrom Okinawa.This species is very common throughout the East Indies and theequatorial islands of Polynesia as far as Hawaii. It is represented inour collection l)y one large example from Nafa, in Okinawa, collectedb}' y. Koneyama. There is no other record from Japan.{(ictdeatus:^ bearing spines or needles.)6. CANTHIDERMIS Swainson.Cuiilhideiinin ^wxis^os, Claisn. Anini., ISoU, II, p. 325 {(m(/uloim!<=)n(icakdus).This genus differs from Bid/strx chiefly in having the gill openingsurrounded by ordinary scales, there being no developed bony scutesbehind it. Body much more elongate than m BaJlstcs ; dorsal spines3; dorsal and anal elevated in front; caudal with its angles acute; scalesmoderate, not very rough; scales of caudal peduncle unarmed, or witha medium spine; cheeks completely scaled; a naked groove before aya.Species inhabiting l)oth Indies.[aKixvOa^ spine; Sepjua, skin, the word, as usual, misspelled bySwainson.) 8. CANTHIDERMIS ROTUNDATUS (Proce).Batistes rotundatm Troce, Bull. Soc. Pliilom., 1822, p. 130; Manila ("D. III. 26,A. 21. Scales equal; tiiil unarmed, brown with black spots.")Ballstr.^ a:inriis Lessox, Voy. Coquille, II, 1824, p. 121, pi. x, fig. 2.? Bdl isles (iiKjiiJoms QuoY and Gaimard, Voy. Uranie, Zool., 1824, p. 210.Bulistes ucidfttus Gray, Hardwicke's Illustr. Ind. Zool. Fish., 1832, pi. viii, fig. 1;India.?Bleeker, Atlas Ichth. Balist, 1865-69, p. 121, pi. iv, fig. 2.?? Balisies adspcrsus TscHuni, Fauna Peruana, 1846, p. 31; Peru.Balistes scnticosns Richardson, Voy. Saraarang, Fish., 1850, p. 23, pi. ix, figs. 5-8;China Sea.Balistes maculatm Gunther, Cat. Fish., 1870, VIII, p. 214; Cape of Good Hope,Pinang, Borneo, Sandalwood Island, China, Japan (in part, not of Bloch,whose type came from the West Indies).
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Day, Fish, India, p. 687, 1878, pi.CLXxxvi, fig. 3; Madras.B. IV. D. HI., 26 or 27; P. 15; A. 24 or 25; C. 12; scales 46 to 55;L. tr. 28; length of head 3| to -l; of caudal fin 6^ to 7, height of body2i to 3 in total length; eye 2 to 2^ diameters from end of snout and 2apart. A groove in front of eye. Teeth uneven, notched. Firstdorsal fin commences above gill opening, its anterior spine strong andnearlj' i as long as head; ventral spine usually movable; posterior edgeof caudal convex or undulated ; second dorsal and anal high anteriorly,especially in adults. Cheeks entirely scaled; no osseous scutes behindgill opening. Scales rough and granulated, but without spines orprominent tubercles, except in the immature. Bluish black youngexamples are covered with numerous light blotches, more especiallyon lower half of bod}", these spots are less numerous and larger inadults; dorsal spines black; eyes hazel. Indian and Pacific oceans.It is verj" common at Madras, attaining at least 16 inches in length.
no. 1287. JAPANESE TRIGGER-FISHES?JORDAN AND FOWLER. 261This species is common in the East Indies, and one (Day) young-example has been recorded by Dr. Giinther from Japan, prol)ably fromthe Riukiu Islands. The proper specific name is uncertain, as the oldestspecific name in this group, Cantkidermis Tnaculatus^ belongs to anAmerican species. The earliest name applicable seems to be rotunihdmapplied by Manon de Proce to a specimen from Manila. The speciesmust ))e rare or casual in Japan. No examples were taken.{rotundatm^ rounded.
)
Family III. MONACANTHID^.FILE FISHES.Body much compressed, covered with very small rough scales, form-ing a rough or velvety covering; males sometimes with spines on thecaudal peduncle; these either robust or needle-like. Upper jaw witha double series of incisor-like teeth, 6 in the outer and 4 in the innerseries; lower jaw with 6 similar teeth in a single series; first dorsalwith a single strong spine and generally a rudimentary one behind it;second dorsal long, similar to anal; ventral fins reduced to a singleosseous, fixed or movable, small appendage at the end of the longpelvic bone; this appendage often rudimentary or entirely absent; no))arbel; vertebrte 7-[-ll to 14= 18 to 21. Herbivorous shore fishes ofthe warm seas, closely allied to the Ballstidse^ difi'ering chiefly in hav-ing the first dorsal represented by a single spine, behind which issometimes a rudiment; scales small, spinigerous, the skin mostly roughvelvety. The species are mostly small in size and are not used forfood, having little flesh and that of a bitterish taste, containing poison-ous alkaloids producing the disease known as Ciguatera.a. Pubic bone with a small spine at its end; gill opening short, nearly vertical; dor-sal and anal moderate, each of less than 40 rays.h. Pelvic spine movable, dorsal spine with two series of retrorse barbs, the posteriorpointing downward and backward.c. Abdominal flap developed into a l)road fan supported by branched rays andextending far beyond the pelvic spine MonacanUuis, 7.cc. Abdominal flap little developed, extending little beyond the pelvic spine,and with inconspicuous rays Stephanoleph, 8.hh. Pelvic spine fixed; dorsal: spine with strong l)arl)s ))ehind, with usually smallerbarbs in front.d. Body oblong and elliptical; depth of body less than half length to base ofcaudal; dorsal and anal usually with more than .SO rays each.Pseudomonacanlhus, 9.dd. Body short and deep; depth of body more than half length to base ofcaudal ; dorsal and anal relatively short Ei(d(irii(s, 10.aa. Pelvic bone without spine at its end.e. Dorsal and anal short, each of less than 30 rays, l)ody rather plump./. Body subcircular; dorsal spine rough, without barbs, inserted over theeye . . . r Brach<diderr>i, 11.//". Body oblong; dorsal spine smooth, envelo[)ed in skin, adnate to theback, and inserted behind eye PamhUereii, 12.
262 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxv.
ee. Dorsal and anal very long, each of 36 to 50 rays; body lean and stronglycompressed; dorsal spine without barbs; gill opening long, oblique.g. Dorsal spine feeble, inserted over the eye; dorsal rays about 45./t. Caudal fin short, subtruncate, anterior profile convex ..Alutera, 13.hh. Caudal fin elongate, rounded, or lanceolate; anterior profile con-cave, the snout very long Osbeckin, 14.gg. Doral spine straight, inserted well in advance of eye; dorsal raysabout 43 Paeudaluteri'H, 15.7. MONACANTHUS Cuvier.Mo7iacanthuK Cuvier, Regne Animal, 1st ed., 1817, p. 152 {chineiisis.)Body short and deep, very strongly compressed, covered with minute,rough scales, the anterior profile more or less concave. Mouth verysmall; upper jaw with a double series of incisor-like teeth, usually 6 inthe outer and 4 in the inner series; lower jaw with about 6 incisors ina sing-le series; teeth connivent, unequal; gill opening a small slit,shorter than the eye, and just in front of upper edge of pectoral. Dorsalspine large, armed with 2 series of retrorse l)arbs, and no conspicuousfilaments; second dorsal and anal fins similar to each other, of about 25to 35 raA's each; caudal fin moderate, rounded ; pelvic bone with a blunt,movable spine, the bone connected to the abdomen by a mova])le flap,or dewlap, of very great size, extending far Ijeyond the body, like a fin,and supported by branched flexible rays, resembling fin rays; side oftail often with a patch of spines, especially in the males. Vertebrae7 + 11 to 1-1 = IS to 21. Species few, in warm seas, reaching a mod-erate size. All are lean fishes, with leathery skin, and bitter fleshunsuitable for flood.{fAovog, one: aKtxvBa, spine.)
9. MONACANTHUS CHINENSIS (Osbeck).Balistes cMnemiR Osbeck, Iter Chinensis, 1757, p. 147; China.
?
Bloch, Ichthyol.,II, 1787, p. 29, in later editions pi. lii, fig. 1; China.Monacanihus chinensis, Cuvier, Regne Animal, 1st ed., p. 152, 1817 (name only).
?
Bleeker, Atlas Ichth., V, 18H5-69, p. 125, pi. ccxxii, fig. 2.?Gunther, Cat.Fish., VIII, 1870, p. 236; China, Pinang, Singapore, Shanghai.Balistes sinensis Gmelin, Syst. Ichth., I, 1788, p. 1470 (after Bloch).Monacantlms geographicus ("Peron"), Cuvier, Regne Animal, 2d ed., 1829, p.373; Pinang.
?
Cantor, Malayan Fishes, 1850, p. 347; Pinang, Singapore.Monacanihus cantoris Bleeker, Nat. Tyds. Ned. Ind., Ill, 1852, p. 80 (after Cantor).Balistes granulosus Gronow, Syst., Ed. Gray, 1854, p. 34; Indian Seas.Head 3f ; depth 2 at origin of dorsal. D. I. 32; A. 31. Body com-pressed, deep, and covered with small scales; very rough. Head deep,the upper profile concave; snout produced upward, li in head; eyehigh, small, i^ in head, 3^ in snout, li in interorbital space, equal tospace between its lower margin and upper edge of gill opening, andli in the gill opening; mouth small, high, and level with the upperpart of the gill opening; lips smooth, thick, and fleshy; teeth strong
NO. 1287. JAPAISBSE TRIGGER-FISHES?JORDAN AND FOWLER. 263and very slightl}^ emarginate; jaws subequal; interorbital space veryhigh and rounded; gill opening below eye oblique, its lower end inadvance of the base of the pectoral and with a narrow fleshy flap.Spinous dorsal over the eye and posterior, rough, moderately thick,and with a series of large antrorse spines on each side; its originnearer the tip of the snout than the origin of the soft dorsal; backwith a triangular elevation, the apex the origin of the soft dorsal, andthe origin of the anal falls a little l)ehind this and below; dorsal andanal with their middle rays elevated; caudal deep, the middle rayslong and the edge rounded; pectoral short and bluntly rounded, andequal to space between the lower margin of the eye and the loweredge of gill opening; ventral spine rough, a small spine on each sideat base, movable, and a little longer than the eyes; abdomen behindventral spine, between it and anus, developed into a long flap extend-ing out from the body, beyond the ventral spine as far as the analrays do themselves, and supported by very numerous, long, slender,cartilaginous stays resembling fin rays. Lower ventral region ver}^roughly striated toward the ventral fin on each side; caudal pedunclevery rough, the tubercles enlarged and less numerous posteriorly,where there are two series of large spines curved outward and for-ward with 3 in each series.Color of the body brown; 4 dark bars across the dorsal spine; softdorsal with several narrow, wavy, longitudinal, blackish bars, themarginal portion with many small round light spots; anal with seriesof narrow, wavy, longitudinal, blackish liars, forming a network onthe outer portion of the fin; caudal with many narrow blackish verticalbars over 3 dark bars, the outermost the darkest; pectoral plain; sidesat the ventral region and at the base of the a entral fin blackish, theflap itself marked with narrow, wavy, blackish, netted bars. Totallength lOj^r inches. Our description is from a specimen obtained forus at Hongkong by Capt. William Finch, of the steamer GaeUc.This species, very conmion on the coast of China from north Chinato Singapore, occurs in the Riukiu Islands and perhaps also in .Japan.It is well figured in Bleeker's Atlas.8. STEPHANOLEPIS Gill.Stephanolepis GiLh, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1861, p. 78 {f<etife7').This genus, which includes the larger number of species of Mona-canthidfe, differs from Monacantlms in the little extension of theventral flap, which does not form a dewlap and extends little beyondthe ventral spine even in the adult. The surface of the flap is rough,with modified scales, but internal rays do not appear without dissec-tion. Caudal peduncle usually without spines. The species are foundin the warmer waters of l)oth Asia and America.{GTf:(})avog^ crown; Af;r/s', scale.)
264 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL .VUSEUM. VOL. XXV.
a. Body comparatively deep, the deptli in the adult about 1| in the length.b. Dorsal and anal rays about 34; dorsal fin in adult with the second soft raymuch produced; none of the caudal rays produced; sides with several ratherfaint horizontal interrupted dark bars cirrhifer, 10.bb. Dorsal rays 27 or 28; depth If in length; scales very rough; no cirri on the fins;color, clouded brown japonicus, 11.act. Body elongate, the depth about 2\ in the length; soft dorsal and anal high, ofabout 26 rays; one or more of the caudal rays produced in long filaments;color, mottled brown obhngus, 12.lo. STEPHANOLEPIS CIRRHIFER (Schlegel).KAWAHAGI (SKIN SCRAPER), MAHAGI (TRUE SCRAPER), KAWAMUKI(SKIN PEELER); TOKOSE; CHUKO; TSANOKE.? ? Monacanthus setifer Bennett, Proc. Comm. Zool. Soc, 1830, p. 112.Monacanthus setifer GOnther, Cat. Fish., VIII, 1870, p. 239; in part Japan,China, Zanzibar.?Nystrom, Sven. Vet. Handl., 1887, p. 47; Nagasaki.
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IsHiKAWA, Prel. (M., 1897, p. 3; Boshu, Misaki; not of Bennett.Monacanthus cirrhifer Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, 1846, p. 290, pi. cxxx, fig.1; Nagasaki.?Bleeker, Act. Soc. Sci. Indo-Nederl., Ill, 1857, Japan, IV, p.31.?Steindachner, Reise Aurora, 1898, p. 223; Kobe.?Jordan and Snyder,Check List. 1901, p. 93; Yokohama.Monacanthm komuki Bi,eeker, Verb. Ak. Wet., I, 1853, p. 13, fig. 1; Kaminoseki,D. I. 32; A. 31.?Bleeker, Act. Soc. Sci. Indo-Nederl., Ill, 1857, Japan,IV, p. 31; Kaminoseki.Head 3|; depth If to If; D. I. 34; A. 33. Body deep, .stronglycompressed. Head mitch deeper than long; snout produced, and theupper protile. line concave; lips thick and fleshy; edg-es of snout smooth;teeth powerful, the edges emarginate; upper jaw projecting when themouth is closed; eye high up, 4 in head, 1 in space between its lowermargin and gill opening, 3 in snout and 4 in interorbital space; gillopening as long as its distance from eye above, and with a fleshy flap;spinous dorsal directly behind eye, and much nearer soft dorsal thantip of snout; spine roughened on front, not thick, and with a series ofantrorse barbs along the sides; its length varying from one-half to two-thirds the space between its base and first soft dorsal ray. Soft dorsalhigher than anal and caudal peduncle, and with its anterior rays thehighest; caudal rays strong, the edge of fin convex but exceeding thecaudal peduncle. Ventral spine small, roughened, and movable.Body smooth, but roughened l)etween the ventral spine and the anus.Color in spirits ])rownish; dorsal spine with four dark-brown l)ars;bases of soft dorsal and anal dark brown; the edges of the tins paler;caudal pale brown, with a terminal and median dark-brown bars; onsides many indistinct longitudinal bars of dark blown and on headand belly numerous small, indistinct brownish spots. Here describedfrom specimens from Nagasaki, the largest reaching lOi inches.In young examples the markings on the sides are more distinct;and a dark spot is mostly evident on the upper side of the ])ack; thegill opening shorter than the eye; dorsal spine robust. In only 3
No.ii!87. JAPANESE TRIGGER-FISHES?JORDAN AND FOWLER. 265specimens is the .second dorsal prolonged into a liUuuent, 2 of thembeing- from Misaki, the other from Hakata.This tish is very common in shallow sandy bays in southern Japan.In color and form it approaches very closely to the Atlantic species,Steplianolepls hkpidm^ which Dr. Giinther considers a " variety " ofthe same species. Steindachner claims that the Japanese species,Monacanthxis cirrhifei\ is distinct from the East Indian, Monacantlaissetifer Bennett. The upper line of the head (in JSL eirrldfer) is steeper,and the snout less projecting, and the dorsal spine shorter than in M.setifer. Our many specimens are from Tokyo, Misaki, Totomi Bay,Onomichi, Wakanoura, Kobe, Tsuruga, Hakata, and Nagasaki.The species has many names in Japan, the commonest, Kawahagiand Kawamuki (wronglv spelled Komuki b}^ Bleeker), meaning a tishwhich must have its skin peeled or scraped off before eating. Most ofthese names are also loosely applied to other Monacantlddix ., Balhtld?^and Aeanthuridse. The present one is called Mahagi, the true skin-sci'aper.{cirrJu'ft'i\ bearing fringes of hair.)II. STEPHANOLEPIS JAPONICUS (Tilesius).YOSOGI.ilonacantlius japonicus^ Tilesius, Mt5m. Soc. Moscou, II, 1801, pi. xiii; Japan(D. I. 24, A. 24).MouaeanOins iracliyderma Bleeker, Act. Soc. Sci. Indo-Neerl., VIII, 1860; Japan,VI, p. 70; Nagasaki.?GtJNTHER, Cat. Fish., VIII, 1870, p. 229.Head, 2 J. to 2i; depth, 1|; D. I. 27 and 28; A. 28. Body oblong,deep, compressed, covered with rather large asperities, so that it isver}^ rough to the touch. Head deeper than long, the upper profilenearl}" straight or very little concave; snout slightly produced; teethstrong, emarginate; lips rather thin, fleshy, and smooth; eye high inhead, 2| in snout and 3i in head; interorbital space strongly convex.Gill opening below the posterior part of eye, a little longer than thespace between the lower margin of the eye and its own upper extrem-ity, with a narrow fleshy flap; spinous dorsal over posterior part ofeye and midway between tip of snout and origin of soft dorsal; dorsals])ine rather rough, and small antrorse spines in a single series laterallyand posteriorly; origin of soft dorsal over that of anal, both of about
' We are indebted to Mr. Garnian for the following copy of Tilesius's account ofBatistes japonicus:
"Balistesjap., totus scaber, radio dorsal i hispido postice aculeis recurvatis serrate,pinnis ventralis in unicani coalitis, hispidis coriaceis nionacanthis, oculis inaximisargenteo viridiscentibus, membrana nictitante tectis, apertura branchial i simplici,maxilla superiore prominente pinna caudali ad latera inermi."P. 10, V. xV, A. 24, C. 20, B.r^j. The figure shows a small ventral fiap. Ventralspine apparently immovable. Sides with cloudings and streaks. Body deep, two-fifths or more ol total length.
266 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM.equal height, with their anterior mys the longest and the margins of thefins obtusely rounded; caudal convex, the edges blunt; pectoral equal tothe rather thick caudal peduncle; ventral spine produced and movable.Color in alcohol dull brown with darker mottlings; spinous dorsalcrossed by three dark brownish bands, another before its base, andstill another from eye to eye; on the trunk are dark blotches, one atthe origin of dorsal, two along the base of the anal; wnth the exceptionmentioned, all the tins are plain except the caudal, which has three
Fiu. 1.?Stephanolepis japonicus.indistinct, broad dark bars, a brown ring around the snout, a baracross the throat below, and still another much farther below\ Thetwo specimens from which this description is taken w-ere secured atNagasaki, and measure 3y| and -iyg- inches.This species is known to us from two fine specimens taken at Naga-saki. It is well separated from StephanoJepls eirrhifer by the smallernumber of fin rays, and liy the rougher scales. It is probably notcommon. 12. STEPHANOLEPIS OBLONGUS (Schlegel).UMAZURAHAGI (HORSE-FACE SCRAPER).Monacantlms oblongiis Schl,egel, Fauna Japonica, Poiss., 1846, p. 291, i>\. cxxx,lig. 2; Nagasaki (in part, figure and description of the young; two caudalfilaments figured).?? Bleeker, Act. Soc. Sci. Indo-Nederl., Ill, 1857, Japan,IV, p. 34, pi. Ill, fig. 1; Nagasaki (caudal figured with 4 upper, 4 median, and2 lower filaments, 10 in all).?GtJNTHER, Cat. Fish., IV, 1862, p. 241; Japan,Zanzibar (?).Monacanthus hroehi Bleeker, Act. Soc. Sci. Indo-Nederl., Ill, 1857, Japan, IV,p. 35, fig. 2; Nagasaki (caudal figured with 1 upper and 1 median filament;eye 2i in the long snout; dorsal spine short)
.
? Monacanthus frenatus Peters, Monatsb. Ak. Wiss., Berlin, 1855, p. 464. i
JAPANESE TRIGGER-FISHES?JORDAN AND FOWLER. 267
? Head 3; depth 2i; D. I. 36; A. 27. Bod}' oblong-, compressed, anddeepest anteriorly; skin tine velvety to the touch. Head deeper thanlong with the upper profile straight; snout not produced, blunt; eyehigh, 3 in snout, 1 in interorbital space, and 4 in head; interorbitalspace strongly convex; gill opening below the posterior part of theeye, level with the mouth, and greater than the space between its upperextremity and lower margin of eye; dorsal spine over the posteriorpart of the eve, finely striated, the sides with small antrorse spines))ehind. and its origin nearer the origin of the soft dorsal than thi^ tipof the snout; soft dorsal and anal with their anterior rays very high,then rapidly diminishing in length till the last, which are very short,the lobe thus produced very blunt; caudal strong, its median rays thelongest and forming a point, three of them ending in tilaments, so that
Fir;. 2.?Stephanolepis oblongus.the upper and lower rays are the shortest; pectoral short, about equalto the deep, compressed caudal peduncle; ventral spine movable.Color in alcohol l)rown marked with darker; a light streak from eyeover gill opening on to the sides; several dark bars across dorsal spine,1 at its base in front, and 1 from one eye to the other; traces of severaldark bands across the throat; ventral region dark; 2 Idack spots onthe back at the base of the dorsal, and 2 similar spots on the abdomenat the base of the anal; caudal })rownish, with 3 indistinct cross-bars;membrane of spinous dorsal blackish; pectoral, ventral, and anal tinsmostly plain; traces of several brownish bars across the throat. Heredescril)ed from an example (with three caudal tilaments) 4^ inches long,from Nagasaki.This species is easily distinguished by its oblong form, tilanientouscaudal and high soft dorsal in connection with the movable ventralspine. It has been rarely taken a])out Nagasaki. We have a single
268 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxv.specimen from that locality. This species is correctly described androughly tigured ])y Schlegel, who refers to it as the 3^oung of Mona-cavfhus ohlongits^ regarding Pseiidoiuonacantkus modestus as the adultof the same species. Schlegel's count of 5 rays (D-38; A-33) is evi-dently drawn from Pseudomonacanthus modestus. In the plates amuch smaller number is shown. Our specimen corresponds to Schle-gel's figure of Monacanthus ohhmgus.^ and to the account of Monacan-thiis hroekl given by Bleeker. Bleeker's oblongu^, with 10 caudalfilaments, higher dorsal spine, and shorter snout may be a differentspecies, but it is probable that the difi'erence is one of age or sex.No two of the recorded specimens agree as to the number of caudalfilaments.{ohlongus, oblong.)9. PSEUDOMONACANTHUS Bleeker.Pseudomonacanthm Bleeker, Xedrl. Tydskr. Dierk., III. 1866, p. 11 {macrurus)
.
AcnnthalutereH 'B'LE.^ViKR, Atlas Ichth. Balist., 1865-69, p. 100 ( paragoudatus).This genus difl'ers from MotiacanthuK chiefly in having the ventralspine immova1)ly attached to the pelvic ])one. The body is oblong,covered with velvety scales, the depth being not more than half thelength. The dorsal spine has a row of retrorse barbs on each lateraledge, and usually a pair of rows of smaller barbs in front, the latteralmost obsolete in old specimens. The species vary considera])ly inform. Chiefly East Indian.[il^evd?/?^ false; Monardntlnis).13. PSEUDOMONACANTHUS MODESTUS (Giinther).CIIACIIE; KUROHAGI (BLACK SCRAPER).Monacanlhm uhlongm Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Poiss., 1846, p. 291; Nagasaki(in part, description of adults, not figures).Monacanthus modestus GUnther, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 1877, }). 446; Inland Seaof Japan (D. IT, 36; A., 34; depth, 2| in length; dorsal spine broken, seeBoulenger).Pseudomonacanthus modestus Jordan and Snyder, C'heck List, 1901, ]>. 93; Yoko-hama, Hakodate.Monacanthus poljakoui Herzenstein, Ann. Mus. Zool. Ac. St. Petersburg, 1896,p. 98; Yokohama, Coll. 1. S. Poljakow. (Length 287 mm., depth 2| in
- length; D,. II, 37; A., 35; adult specimen; profile convex.
)
Monacanthus maximomiczii Herzenstein, Annuaire Mus. Zool. Ac. St. Peters-burg, 1896, p. 9; Hakodate, Coll. Maximowicz. (Length 144 nmi., depth2i in length; D: II, 37; A., 35; young example; profile concave).Monacanthus f atjraudl Ishikawa, Prel. Cat., 1897, p. 3; Boshu (not of Quoy andGaimard )
.
Head 3| to 3|; depth 2i to 2i; D. I. 30 to 38; A. 34 to 30. Bodyelongate, strongly compressed. Head deeper than long; snout notproduced much; upper profile mostl}- convex; lips not very thick andfleshy; median teeth of the mandible the largest and most powerful,and all with notched edges; jaws almost equal; eye high in head, 4 in
NO. 1287. JAPANESE TRIGGER-FISHES?JORDAN ANT) FOWLER. 269snout, and 5 in head, greater than the space between its lower marginand the gill opening and a little less than li in interorbital space; nos-trils small, gill opening f the pectoral or equal to the convex inter-orbital space; with fleshy flap; spinous dorsal over posterior part ofe3'e; its origiii from midwav to a point a little nearer the tip of thesnout than the origin of the soft dorsal: rather slender spine, littleroughed on front, and with 2 median series of very small tul)ercles,and a single series of antrorse })arbs on each side. Soft dorsal and analw4th the anterior rays much the longest, those of the former oftenmore than half of the head; caudal rays strong, the edge convex;ventral spine small and rough; body smooth.Color in spirits, pale brown, nearly uniform; the flns, deep vitriolblue, especiall}^ in the adult, outer portion of dorsal and anal darkerthan the base of the fln; caudal dark with the outer rays light. Here
PSEUDOMONACANTHUS MODESTUS.described from specimens from Kobe, the largest Hi inches long. Inyoung specimens the color in spirits is pale brown, darker above, thesides with 5 dark brownish series of spots or blotches, and the caudalblackish on the outer portion with the outer rays light.This species is very abundant on the coasts of Japan, reaching thelength of a foot, and often coming into the markets when its flesh isregarded as wholesome. It is, in fact, the commonest and most widelydiffused of all the Japanese fllefishes, extending its range to the farnorth. In life the vitriol blue color of the fish serves to distinguishit. The dorsal spine is smoother and much more flattened in the adultthan in the young, and there is considerable variation in depth ofbody with age or sex. Our many specimens are from Otaru, Hako-date, Aomori, Tokio, Misaki, Tsuruga, Kobe, Onomichi, Hiroshima,Hakata, and Nagasaki.{modestus, modest.)
270 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. VOL. XXV.lO. RUDARIUS Jordan and Fowler.Rudarius Jordan and Fowlek, new genus (errodes).This genus has the immovable ventral spine of Pseudomonacanthus,with a short deep l^ody. approaching that of Brachaluteres.{rudis, rough).14. RUDARIUS ERCODES Jordan and Fowler, new species.Pseudomonacanthm tnichydcnna Jordan and 8nyder, Check list, 1901, p. 93;Yokohama (not of Bleeker).Head 3 to 3f ; depth li to H; D. I. 25 or 26; A. 24 or 25. Bodyshort, deep and compressed; rather rough; the caudle peduncle some-
Rius ?:rcodes.times with many slender curved spines. Head deep, its length abouttwo-thirds its depth; eye rather large, superior, If in snout, 2| mhead, equal to space between its lower margin and lower margin of gillopening; equal to caudal peduncle; interorbital space convex, greaterthan eye; upper profile concave; teeth emarginate, those in the lowerjaw the larger; gill opening small, with narrow lieshy flap; lips mod-erately thick; jaws equal; spinous dorsal over posterior part of eye,convex, roughened in front; a single series of antrorse spines on eachside, and its base midway or a little nearer the tip of the snout thanthe origin of the soft dorsal; soft dorsal and anal of nearly equalheight; the origin of the latter a little in advance or under the originof The former; caudal rounded; ventral spine short and rigid; pectoralequal or longer than the least depth of the caudal peduncle.
NO. 1287. JAPANESE TRIGGER-F.ISHES?JOBDAN AND FOWLER. 271Color in alcohol brownish; the lower part of the head and abdomenlighter; the membrane of spinous dorsal pale like those of the softdorsal and anal, but marked with one or more blackish blotches; pec-toral pale; caudal pale, base frequently darker and marked with a1)out6 narrow wavy blackish bars; often several ill-defined ])lackish patcheson the sides of the body, 2 at the base of the soft dorsal, 2 above thebase of the anal, and 1 above the anal spine; brown lines, darker thanthe o-round-color, forming round light spots everywhere on the trunk,though varying in some examples; chin with black band from eachcorner of the mouth, extended downward in the middle; a dark stripefrom chin to eye, then another a little below this, and finally stillanother further below; here described from specimen from Misaki;length 2i inches. Little variation, except in depth of color, is to befound in our large series. T3^pe No. 7127. Leland Stanford JuniorUniversity Museum.This little fish, very different in appearance from Pseudomonacan-thus modestus^ may be recognized at once by its immovable ventralspine and its reticulated coloration. It is very common in the shallowbays of southern Japan. Our many specimens are from Tokio, Yoko-hama, Misaki, Tsuruga, Wakanoura. Onomichi, and Nagasaki.(fp/cos", a net; eidcog^ resemblance.)11. BRACHALUTERES Bleeker.Bradialuten's Bleeker, Ned. Tyds. Dierk., Ill, 1866, p. V.i {Irossuluf^).Body very deep, almost circular, little compressed, covered withsoft, velvety skin; no ventral spine; dorsal spine inserted above theeye; its surface rough with granules or bristles, but without barbs; finsshort and low. Small fishes of the Australian and Japanese seas.{ftpaXV 5^ short; AIuteres.)15. BRACHALUTERES ULVARIJM Jordan and Snyder, new species.Head 31 to 3f ; depth If to U; D. I. 27; A. 25. Body very deep,compressed, and fine velvety. Greatest depth of head twice its length;upper profile of the head slightly concave, the snout protruding alittle; eye rather high in head, 2 in snout, 2| in head and distant fromthe lower edge of gill opening about twice its own diameter; inter-orbital space convex; mouth small, high in head, lips not ver}' thick;teeth emarginate and pointed; the jaws subequal; pelvic profile veryround and convex; gill opening small, half the diameter of the eye,nearly vertical, below the posterior part of the eye and entirely abovethe pectoral, and with narrow fleshy flap; base of spinous dorsal nearerthe origin of the soft dorsal than the tip of the snout; spine short,moderately thick, and finely roughened in front; soft dorsal and anallow, and the origin of the latter a little behind or under that of theformer; caudal equal to the head or a little shorter, and its margin
272 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM.convex; pectoral .short, rounded, and 1^ in snout; caudal pedunclerather thick and deep, 1| to 2i in head; its sides in the larger examplescovered with numerous tine slightly recurved bristle-like spines.Color plain brownish, 2 narrow dark bar^? across forehead from oneeye to the other; fins all plain except the dark l)lotch on the mem-brane of the spinous dorsal above, and the caudal, which is washedwith darker at the base, and with about 12 blackish wavy bars, Inroadbasally; on the sides of the body are a number of fine narrow darkbars running longitudinally; indistinct traces of 2 dark ])lotches alongbase of soft dorsal and base of anal on the bod}'; a narrow dark stripe
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Fig. 5.?Bkacualutekos ulvarujfrom eye down the sides of the snout, and another from the e^'e belowconvexly to the base of the pectoral. Here described from 2 examplesfrom Misaki, 2f and 2|- inches long. These are No. 7128. LelandStanford Junior University Museum.The species has been seen only in the bays around Misaki on thebottom of green sea weeds, where numerous specimens were taken.holva^ sea lettuce).12. PARALUTERES Bleeker.ParaZuteres Bleeker, Atlas Ichth., V. 1865-69, p. 138 {prioimrus)
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Bod}^ considerably longer than deep, not greatly compressed, cov-ered with finely granular skin; sides of tail with tine bristles and twopairs of spines pointing forward; no ventral spine; dorsal spine mod-erate, curved, covered with smooth skin, inserted behind the eye andbound down by the integument so as not to be fully erectile.One species, small in size and handsomely colored.{rrapd^ near; Aluteres).
5.1287. JAPANESE TRTGGER-FISHES?JORDAN AND FOWlER 273i6. PARALUTERES PRIONURUS Bleeker.AlutariuK prionurux Bleekei;, Verh. Bat. Gen., Balist., XXIV, 1S52, p. 20, pi. iii,fig. 6; East Indies.?Hollard, Ann. Hc\. Nat., II, 1854, pi. xiv, fig. 10,and 1855, p. 21.Paraluteres prionums Bleeker, Atlas Ichtii., V, 1865-69, p. i;>8, })1. ccxxvii,fig. 1 ; East Indies, New Guinea.Monacantfuis prionurus GiJwmER, Cat. Fish., VIII, 1870, p. 234 (copied).Head 3i; depth If; D. I. 26; A. 24. Body somewhat thick, com-pressed and smooth. Head deep, the snout not protruding much, so thatthe upper profile line is almost straight to the dorsal; eye high, 2 insnout, 3 in head, and 1^ in interorbital space; jaws equal; teeth pointed;lips rather thin and fleshy; interorbital space flat; gill opening 2 ininterorbital space, nearly vertical; not far behind eye, and its distance
Fig. 6.?Paraluteres prionurus.from the same much less its length; dorsal spine a trifle shorter thansnout, covered with the skin of the back almost to its tip, its originmuch nearer that of the soft dorsal than the tip of the snout, andfalling over the posterior part of the eye; origin of soft dorsal alittle before that of the anal, and the anterior rays of both tins thelonger; longest dorsal rays longer than longest anal rays, and equal tothe interorbital space; caudal rounded, the edges obtusely rounded;pectoral short, below the gill opening, and equal to the interorbitalspace. Caudal peduncle deeper than the length of the pectoral 1)utnot equal to the snout; posteriorly and on the sides a bare area inwhich 4 curved spines are placed in two series.Cvolor in spirits pale brownish, a ])and across base of spinous dorsalfrom eye to eye; 2 broader ])ands, both narrow, on the sides of thebody until level with the eye, when they become broad, extend overthe back, the first including the upper half of the spinous dorsal andProc. N. M. vol. XXV?02 18
274 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEVM. vol. xxv.region between the two dor.saL, and the other not extending- on thesoft dorsal at all, blackish brown; back blackish brown behind seconddorsal l)and to the base of the upper caudal ray; on the throat a roundblack spot on each side; head and lower surface of the body markedwith various brownish spots and blotches becoming- large and few innumber on the posterior sides of body; soft dorsal, anal, and pectoralfins plain; caudal plain except indistinct blackish lunate bar from baseof upper ra3^s to ])ase of lower and marked w^ith small whitish spots;length 2j^jr inches. Here described from Wakanoura, from the onlyspecimen of this pretty and interesting little fish taken by us. It dif-fers a little in coloi- from Bleeker's figure, but it is probably the samespecies.{TtpioDv^ saw; ovpa, tail.)13. ALUTERA Cuvier.Lcs Ahiieres Cuviek, Regne Anim., 1st eil., 1817, p. 153 {monoreros).Alutera Agassiz, Spix, Pise. Brasil, 1829, p. 137 {monoreros).Aluteria, Aluterms, etc., corrected spelling.Body elongate, strongly compressed, covered with minute scales;snout short, the anterior profile convex; mouth and teeth essentiallyas in llonacanthus, but the lower jaw more projecting, so that thelower teeth are directed obliquely upward and backward. Gill open-ing an oblique slit, longer than eye, situated below and in advanceof eye, its posterior end behind base of pectorals; pelvic bone long,falcate, movable under the skin, without spine at its extremity; dorsalspine small, inserted over the eye, rough, but without barbs; softdorsal long and anal long, each of 45 to 50 rays; caudal fin short,shorter than head, almost truncate, the middle rays little produced;pectorals small. Size, large.(tv, priAmative; XvT?'/fj^ a deliverer; or (according to Dumeril), cxXovrog,unwashed, sordid.)17. ALUTERA MONOCEROS (Osbeck).Capriscus murium (k)itibus ^nimUis Klein, Ichth. Missus, III, p. 25, 1742, pi. iii,fig. 9; very bad, no locality.Balistes monoceros Osbeck, Iter Chinensis, 1757, p. 110; China.
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Linn.eus, Syst.Nat, 10th ed., I, 1758, p. 327 (after Osbeck).Balistes ohlongiusculus, etc., Gronow, Zoophyl., 1765, No. 193; Indian seas.
"iLija barbuda Parra, Dis. Piezas Hist. Nat., 1787, p. 48, pi. xxii, fig. 2; Habana.Balistes kleinii Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1788; Indian seas (after Gronow and Klein).Balistes barbatus Walbaum, Artedi Piscium, III, 1792, p. 464 (after Klein).Balistes monoceros var. unicolor Bloch and Schneider, Syst. Ichth., 1801, p. 463(after Gmelin).Balistes serraticornis Fremixville, Nouv. Bull. So. Soc. Philom., No. 67, 1813,p. 249, pi. IV, fig. 1.Aluter.es berardi Lesson, Voyage Coquille, Zool., 1828, p. 108, pi. vii; New Guinea.Alutera einerea Schlegel, Fauna Japon., Poiss., 1846, p. 292, pi. cxxxi, fig. 1;Nagasaki.Alutarius amphacuntlius Bleeker, Yerh. Bat. Gen., Balist., XXIV, p. 23, pi. 11,fig. 5; East Indies.
JAPANESE TRIGGER-FISHES?JORDAN AND FOWLER. 275Alutarius oblUeratus Cantor, Malayan Fishes, 1850, p. 353; Pinaii^'.Balistes linguatula Grotsiow, Cat., Ed. Gray, 1854, p. 35; Indian seas (after Bdlistesoblonffiusculus, etc., of Gronow).Aluicrtis anginosus Hollard, Ann. Sci. Nat., IV, 1855, p. 11; East Indies.Balistes unicornu-s Basilewsky, Nouv. Mem. Soc. Nat. Moscou, X, 1855, p. 263;North China.Alutarins macracanthus Bleekek, Verh. Bat. Gen., XXIV, 1852, Balist., p. 22,pi. Ill, tig. 6; East Indies.?AhUera guntheriana VoEY, Proi'. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1863, p. 184; Hal)ana.Monocnnthus nionoceros GIinther, Cat. Fish., VIII, 1870, p. 251 ; Zanzibar, Pinang,Amboyna, China, Japan.
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Nystrom, Svensk. Vet. Handl., 1887, p. 47; Naga-saki.Alutera monoceros Jordan and Evermann, Fish. N. and M. Amer., II, 1898, p.1720.Head 3|; depth 2f; D. I. -i!!; A. 51, Body oblong, much com-pressed, and skin with a lino velvety touch. Head very deep, convexboth above and below; snout slightl}^ produced upward; eye small,not much above the mouth, 5 in snout, 5| in head, If in space betweenits upper margin and origin of spinous dorsal, and 1 in space betweenits lower margin and upper margin of gill opening; teeth broad, emar-ginate, the middle mandibular pair pointed; lips thin and narrow,smooth; nostrils small, in front of upper part of eye; gill openingrather long, oblique forward till a little anterior to the nostrils, 2f insnout and equal to pectoral; origin of spinous dorsal over the anterioredge of eye, and midway })etween the tip of the snout and the originof the soft dorsal; soft dorsal and anal with the anterior rays thelonger, the longest in both of the lins equal; caudal damaged; pectoralinserted below the mouth and a little behind the middle of the eye;caudal peduncle compressed, equal to one-third the distance fromposterior margin of eye to tip of snout.Color, in alcohol, uniform brown, mottled with darker, and the linsall plain-colored and pale. Here described from a specimen lOi incheslong, obtained by Professor Otaki in the market at Toln-o. Tropicalseas, ranging widely, recorded from Cape Cod, throughout the Eastand West Indies, and from Nagasaki in Japan, where it must be rare.The original Alutera monoceros came from China. The Americanspecies, Alutera guntheriana Poey, will ver}^ likely prove different.{inonoceros^ the unicorn; fxovoz^ one; Kepag^ horn.)14. OSBECKIA Jordan and Evermann.OshecUa Jordan and Evermann, Check List Fishes N. A., 1896, p. 424 (scrlpla).This genus is very close to Alutera, differing in the longer snout,concave anterior profile, and very long caudal fin, in which the outerrays are much shortened. Size large. From the American genus,Ceratacanthtis, a very near relative, OshecMa difi'ers in the longerdorsal and anal fins, there being about 36 rays in Ceratacanthus.(Named for Per Osbeck, a pupil of Linnseus and an excellent natu-ralist, who explored the coasts of China about 1750.)
276 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxv.i8. OSBECKIA SCRIPTA (Osbeck).Unicornu pisces baliainnms (the Uuicuru li^ili) Catesby, Hist. Nat. Carolina, etc.,II, 1737, pi. XIX ; Bahamas.Balistes scy^ijjtus Osbeck, Iter Chin., I, 1757, j). 144; China.Balistes monoceros, var. scriptus Gmelin, Sys. Nat., 1788, p. 14(53 (after Osbeck).MonacantMs scriptus GtJNTHER, Cat., VIII, 1870, p. 252.Alutera scripta Jordan and EveRxMANn, Fish. N. and M. Anier., Ill, 1S98, p.1719.?Lija trompa Parra, Dis. Piezas Hist. Nat., 1787, p. 46, pi. xxii, fig. 1; Habana.Balistes loevis Block, Ichthyol., IX, 1795, p. 82, pi. ccccxiv; Morocco, Tran-quebar.Balistes ornatus Marion de Proce, Bull. See. Philom., 1822, p. 131; East Indies.Aluteres parera 'Lessor, Voy. Coquille, Zo51., 1824, p. 106; East Indies.1 Moiiacanthus j)robosddeus Ra^^zani, Nov. Coinm. Ac. Sc. Inst. Bonon., 1842, \k 8;Brazil.Aluterus venosus Hollard, Ann. Sc. Nat., 4th ser., IV, 1855, ji. 14, pi. i, fig. 3;New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago. Coll. Lesson and Garnot.
'! Alutera picturataFoBY, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila, 1863, p. 183, Cuba.Head 3; depth 8^; D. I. 44 to 46; A. 46 to 48. Body oblong, greatlycompressed, the depth a little greater than the space between the tipof the snout and the posterior margin of the eye. Head long, itsdepth equal to space from tip of snout to posterior margin of eye;snout produced upward, the upper profile concave; eye rather small,3i to 4i in snout, 4 to 5i in head, f equal to its diameter to 1 in thespace between the upper end of the gill opening and its lower margin,and equal to interorbital space; mouth small; jaws subequal; teethpointed; lips thin and rather narrow; gill opening beginning beforethe eye, but not as far forward as the nostril, runs obliquely upwarduntil below the origin of the spinous dorsal. Spinous dorsal overback part of the eye and nearer the tip of snout than the origin of thesoft dorsal or else midwav l)etween; pectoral inserted level with theanterior margin of the e3'e, or a little in front of its center, and in themiddle of the space between its lower margin and the lower edge ofthe bod}'; dorsal and anal fins low, the anterior rays of both a littlelonger than the other.s, and their origins opposite; caudal long, verylong in 3'oung, in which it is 2i in body, and with the median raysmuch longer than the others; caudal peduncle 2 or a trifle over in head.Color of 3'oung in spirits uniform brownish, many light-bluishcurved streaks and spots, some nearh" as large as the pupil of the eye;fins, except the caudal, all plain-colored, caudal fin barred with broad,irregular dark-brownish stripes on its basal portion, and with its outerpart dark-brownish. Skin fine velvety. Tropical seas, common inEast and West Indies alike, occasionally met with on the west coast ofMexico, rare northward. We have received a single small specimen,5f inches long, from Kiusiu from Professor Mitsukuri, and a stufledone, 13f inches long, from Nagasaki from a local collector. The abovedescription is from these two specimens.
JAPANESE TRIGOER-FISHES-JORDAN AND FOWLER 277Alutera scripta is proljably rare in Japan. The original sclpfacame from China; the American species, Osheckla proho.seldea Ranzani,ma}^ very likely prove to be different.{sanptit.^, written, from the form of the marking-s.)IS. PSEUDALUTERES Bleaker.
P.s,'H<la}nt,'n:'< Blkeker, Ned. Tydn. Dierk., Ill, 1865, p. 28 (iHisicornis).This genus differs from Osbeckia in the small size and anteriorinsertion of the dorsal spine, which is weak and placed in advance ofthe orbit.(tp?vdrj5^ false; Alutera).ig. PSEUDALUTERES NASICORNIS (Schlegel).Alntem nasicornis Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Pois8., 1846, p. 228, j)!. cxxxi,%. 2; Nagasaki.?Bleeker, Nat. Tyds. Ned. Ind., V, 1853, p. 352.Psmdohderes nasicornis Bleeker, Ned. Tyds. Dierk., Ill, 1865, p. 28.?Bleeker,Atlas Ichth., V, 1865-69, p. 139, pi. ccxxi, tig. 1; pi. ccxxiv, fig. 2.Monacanthus ntuicorms Gunther, Cat. Fish., VIII, 1870, p. 254; Zanziljar,Amboina.Aluterusrhinocerus Uoi.hARD, Ann. Sci., IV, 1855, p. 19, pi. i, fig. 5.Depth 3 in length; D. 11. 43 to 49; A. 41 to 40. Body oblong,covered with minute rough scales. Snout convex in young males andvery convex in adult males; eye 3f to 4 in head, and 2i in snout;teeth sharply compressed; the lower emarginate; gill opening arisingbefore the middle of the liase of the pectoral, and below the posteriorpart of the orbit; spinous dorsal before the eye and nostrils, nearlyas long as the head, straight and without barbs; soft dorsal and anallow, obtusely rounded, with the origin of the former in advance of thelatter; caudal shortly rounded but with the angles acute; pectoralsobtusely rounded. Color yellowish or reddish l)rown; a broad stripefrom eye to caudal, like the back, olive or brownish violet; rays offins yellow or golden, the membranes clear bluish; middle of caudalpurplish-blue or brown; eyes yellow; males with 2 narrow bluish barson sides, the upper through the eye and parallel with the dorsal out-line of the back to the base of the last dorsal ray, and the lower fromalong the abdominal region; body everywhere with small red spots,which run in a series along the bases of soft dorsal and anal. Length5i inches. (Schlegel, Blocker, Giinther.)This little fish, not rare in the East Indies, has l)een but once recordedfrom Japan. It was not taken by us.{uasii.s, nose; cor/ia, horn.)
278 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxv.Suborder OSTRACODERMI.'This group iiu-lndes those Plectognaths which are without spinousdorsal and which have the body inclosed in a S-ang-led, l-angled, or 5-angled box or carapace, formed l)y pol3"gonal, houy scutes, firml}"joined at their edges, and with distinct teeth in the jaws. There is butone family, the fMraeiida^^ a singular offshoot from the Sclerodermi.[oGTpaKov. a hard shell, like that of an oyster; depfAa^ skin.)Family IV. OSTRACIID.E.TRUNK FISHES.Bod}^ short, cuboid, triquetrous or pentagonal, covered by a cara-pace formed of tirmh" united polygonal bony plates, the jaws, basesof the fins, and caudal peduncle free and covered l)y smooth skin.Mouth small; each jaw with a single series of long, narrow teeth.Maxillaries and premaxillaries firmly united. Gill opening a nearlyvertical slit, below and behind the eye. Dorsal fin single, short, with-out spine; anal short, similar to dorsal; caudal rounded; no ventralfins; vertebrffi 14, the anterior 9 elongate, the last 5 extremeh' short;no ribs. All are species of the tropical seas, living near the bottomin shallow waters. The species of this group are so singular inappearance and so easily preserved that they have been common incollections ever since the gathering of tropical curiosities began.a. Carapace forming a continuous bridge behind the anal fin; ventral surface notcarinate; caudal rays 10.h. Body 4-angled, sometimes with an additional median dorsal spine.. Os/rado??, 16act. Carapace open below, behind the anal fin; carapace 6-ridged, a ridge along themiddle of each side Aracana, 1716. OSTRACION Linnseus.Ostracion Linn^us, Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1758; p. 330 (many species; first restrictedby Swainson to 4-angled forms, eubicus taken as type).Teirosomws SwAiNSON, Classn. Fish., II, 1839, p. 323 {lurritus).Cibotion Kaup, Wiegmann's Archiv. Natur., 1855, p. 214 (eubicus).Ladoria Jordan and Fowler, new subgenus {cornvlKfi).Trunk fishes with the carapace closed behind the anal fin; carapacewith or without frontal and abdominal spines; dorsal rays 9 or 10;caudal rays always 10; lateral ridges developed; median dorsal ridgeundeveloped or else raised with a sharp spine, and the body is there-fore l-angled or 5-angled. Although this character is a striking one,it is not one of high structural importance. Hollard and Bleeker havediscarded it as being of no real systematic value. We think, withDr. Goode, that the shape of the carapace affords "the most reliable
^ This name should be used for the trunk fishes, and not for the OMracophon orextinct mailed allies of Pterlchlhyx, for which it has been so frequently taken.
NO. 1287. JAPANESE TRIGGER-FISHE^JORDAN AND FOWLER. 279guide in the arrangement of the species of the genus," and we find itdiflicult to define more than two genera in the family, unless we assigngeneric rank to each of the leading sections. In Japan three of thesesections are represented, Tetrosomus, Lactmna^ and Ostracion. Theremaining four, Rhinemmus, Chapinm, Laeto2jhryi<, and Aeauthostra-clon, are all based on the 3-angled species, a type contined to the AVestIndian Region, and by Jordan and Evermann taken as a distinctgenus, Lacto2>hrys. This division into 3-angled American species,Lactoi}Ju'i/!<. and 4-angled Asiatic species Odrachm, is here accepted.
a. Tetrosomus. Carapace 5-angled, the dorsal ridge surmounted by a very high spine;plates of sides with dark spots gibbosum, 20(((/. Carapace 4-angled; the back witliout conspicuous central ridge and with a smallspine or none, carapace closed behind the dorsal fin.h. Ostraciov. Carapace without spines anywhere; plates of sides with blue spots.iminaculatiuu , 21bb. Lactorla. Carapace with spines, one before each eye being conspicuous.c. Frontal spines, short, divergent; center of back with a spine, a small spineopposite it on each lateral ridge; ventral ridge with a spine behind andusually two smaller ones before it; caudal fin moderate; plates somewhat trans-lucent diaphanum, 22
<-r. Frontal spines very long, directed forwards; ventral ridge with a long spinel)ehind; a low, blunt spine on back; caudal fin very long in the adult, withblack spots - comutwn, 2320. OSTRACION GIBBOSUM Linnaeus.Ostracion gibbosus Li^tsmvh, Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1758, p. 331; India (after Ostra-ckm qiutdrangulus gibbosns of Artedi).?GCnther, Cat. Fish., VIII, 1870,p. 258; Zanzibar, Persian Gulf, Borneo, India.Ostradun turritus FoeskAl, Descr. Anim., 1775, p. 75; Red Sea.?Bleeker, Verb.Ak. Wet. I, 1853, p. 15; Kaminoseki, Inland Sea of Japan.?Bleeker, AtlasIchth., V, 1865-69, p. 31, pi. iii, fig. 3; Java, Celebes, Buro, Amboina,Ceram.?Goode, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1879, p. 21, and of most authors.Loctophrys camelinus Dekav, New York, Fauna, Fishes, 1842, p. 341, pi. lviii,fig. 190 (recorded by error from Long Island).Head 3; depth If; D. 9; A. 9; P. 10; scales 9 from gill openingto end of carapace, 11 across widest part of carapace below, and 8between spine on the back and outermost lateral spine. Eye 2 inhead and 1^' in snout; snout obtuse, inferior, very little depressedabove; interorbital space concave; mouth small, lips rather thick;teeth small and pointed; nostrils small and directly in front of eye;supraorbital ridge with a well-developed spine. Carapace Avith 4ridges, the upper 2 much closer together than the lower ones, alongwhich are 2 low postocular and 1 low posterior spines on each side;median ridge of the back forming a large, compressed, elevated, andtriangular spine curving backward; ventral ridges furnished with 5spines on each side curving l)ackward, the iirst one of which is small;gill slit short, directly ))ehind the eye; dorsal small, entirely in
^80 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM.advance of the anal, and behind the large spine on the back; caudal,3i in the length of the carapace; pectoral large, equal to the snout,which is twice as long as the depth of the caudal peduncle.Color in alcohol dull brownish, under surface of the carapace plain;sides of body with blackish blotches forming 5 indistinct bars obliquelydirected backward; a ])lackish spot on spine of the back, l>ase of dor-sal, caudal peduncle, base of anal; and 2 blackish bars across caudal fin;interorbital region and tip of the snout dark. Length, l^^^g inches.Here described from an example from Cavite, Philippine Islands.This common East Indian species has been once recorded by Bleekerfrom Kaminoseki in the Inland Sea of Japan. It may be known atonce by the hump-like spine on the back. It was not seen by us inJapan.{gthhosus, gil)ljous.
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21. OSTRACION IMMACULATUM Schlegel.GINHAGI (SILVEE SCRAPER); HAKO FUGU (BOX PUFFER).Ostracionimmaculafiix Schlegel, Fauna.Japonica, Poiss., 1846, p. 296;Bleeker, Nalez, Ichth. Japan, 185.S, p. 55; Nagasaki.
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Brevoort, Exped.Japan, 1856, p. 284; Shimoda.Ostracion cubicas Ishikawa, Prel. Cat., 1897, p. 3; Misaki.Head 4; depth 2f ; D. 9; A. 9; scales 11 from gill opening to endof carapace, 9 across widest part of ventral region, 7 across widestpart of dorsal region, and 7 across widest part of lateral region.Head small; profile in front steep; snout protruding, concave above;mouth low, level with base of pectoral, subinferior; eye high, 3 inhead, 2 in snout, and 2 in interorbital space; lips thick and fieshy;teeth rather small and pointed; interorbital space concave; nostrilssmall. Gill-slit behind eye, in front of pectoral, obliquely vertical,about 2 in head, and with narrow fleshy flap; carapace -l-angled,the edges rounded, and without any spines. Dorsal altogether inadvance of the anal, and a trifle higher; caudal long, obtusel}" convex,about 1 in carapace; pectorals long, equal to dorsal and inferior inposition; scales of carapace mostly hexagonal on sides; caudal pedun-cle rather thick, about equal to eye and gill opening.Color in alcohol brownish, pale below and dark above, where mostof the scales together with those of the sides show traces of a dark spotnearly as large as the pupil; snout dark; fins all plain, with their outer-most portion dark; caudal peduncle brownish, darker above, and withtraces of dark spots. In life olive with sky-blue spots on the scalesof the side. Length of longest example, 7i\ inches. Here describedfrom specimens from Hakata, and one from Nagasaki. The largestspecmien we have of this species is from Wakanoura, and is Sf incheslong.This trunkfish is connnon in tiie bavs Avashed bv the KuroShiwo from
N0.1287. JAPANESE TRWaER-FISIIES?JORDAX AXT) FOWLER. 281Tokyo southward. Our luuuerous specimens are from Tokyo, Misaki,Aburatsul)o (8aoami), Eiiosliima, Wakanoura, Hakata, and Nat^asaki.It is pro])ab]y a subspecies of Ostraclon tiibei'culatuni^ (cubieum), asBleeker has indicated, or even it may be the same species with it, asGiinther regards it. We give it provisional rank as a distinct speciesbecause all our specimens are deeper in body than O. tuherculatam'none of them show any of the black spots characteristic of that species,and in our experience very few of the fishes permanentl}' resident alongthe coast of Japan are exactly identical with the cognate species of theEast Indies. The absence of frontal and dorsal spines at once dis-tinguishes this from the other Japanese trunk-fishes.{Imviacidatax^ unspotted.)22. OSTRACION DIAPHANUM Bloch and Schneider.(). T^MITSUZUME (Bid SEA SWALLOW); SUZUMKFnU' (SWALLOWPUFFER).Oxtradon diaplianns Bloch and Schneider, Syst. lehth., 1801, p. 501; nolocality.
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Bleekek, Act. Soc. Sci. Indo-Nederl., Ill, 1857, Japan, IV, p. 38.?HoLLARD, Ann. Sci. Nat, 1857, VIII, p. 157.?GtJNTHER, Cat. Fisli., VIII,1870, p. 264; Cape of Good Hope, Japan.?Ishikawa, Prel. Cat., 1897, p. .3;Kagoshma, Sagami (one specimen wrongly called 0. fornasini).0.s7 /7/CTOJi ?>r"raconjis Schlegel, Fauna Ja})onica, Poiss., 1846, p. 297, pi. cxxx,fig. 3; Nagasaki.(Hntcion undechnaculeatux f^MiTii , 111. Zool. S. Afr., 1838-42, pi. xvii; Cape of GoodHope.(Mradon pentacornis BsyiNETT, Whaling Voyage, 1839, p. 266.Ostracion cornutm Bleeker, Atlas Ichth., V, 1865-69, p. 33, pi. n, fig. 2; j)]. iv,fig. 3, Amboyna, Nagasaki (not of Linnaeus, according to Peters, Berlin,Monat. Ak. Wiss. Berlin, 1868, p. 461).Head -i; depth 2f; D. 9; A. 9; scales 10 from gill opening to end ofcarapace, 12 across greatest ventral width, and 8 in a series from dor-sal spine to ventral keel. Body moderately long, heavy forward,broader than deep, and convex below. Carapace with 4 ridges, the
'The following are the chief synonyms of Ostracion tuberculatum:(Mradon tetragonus Linn^us, Mus. Adolph-Frederik, 1759, p. 59; India (dateprior to 1758, the recognized beginning of binominal nomenclature).(Mradon tuherculatus Linn^us, Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1758, p. 331; India (afterArtedi, p. 84; no species; back with 4 tubercles).(Mradon cuhicus Linn^us, Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1758, p. 331; India (after Ostradontetragonus Giinther, Cat. Fish., VIII, 1870, p. 260, and of authors generally).(Mradon Mtuberculatus Bloch and Schneider, Syst. Ichth., 1801, p. 501; PacificOcean (after Lac^pede)
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(Mradon argus RtJppELL, Atlas Fische, 1828, p. 4, pi. i, fig. 2; Red Sea.(Mradon cyanurus Ruppell, Atlas Fische, 1828, p. 4, pi. i, fig. 2; Red Sea.Ostradon tesserula Bleeker, Nat. Tyds. Ned. Ind., Ill, 1852, p. 305; Molucca (notof Cantor).(Mradon tetragonus Bleeker, Atlas Ichth., V, 1865, p. .'59, ]>1. iii, fig. 2; Java,Sumatra, Singapore, Celebes, Amboyna, etc.
282 ' PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxv.greatest width of the dorsal tin equal to one-fourth the length of thecarapace; a supraocular spine pointing forward and a small spine inthe middle of the dorsal ridge on each side, and at the same point asthe latter a large spine somewhat curved backward in the middle ofthe back; ventral ridges terminating in a strong spine, and on eachside between its base and the liase of the pectoral fin are 2 small spinesat equal distances. Head deep, profile above steep, convex, and withsnout projecting; mouth below gill opening small, with small pointedteeth; lips thick and fleshy; eye high, 2 in snout, 2| in head, and Ifin interor])ital space; interorbital space concave; gill opening short,one-half in eye and posterior to it; base of the dorsal at the last fourthof the carapace higher than anal; origin of anal midway between baseof last dorsal ray and end of carapace; caudal equal to space fromorigin of dorsal to end of carapace, the lower raj^s the longer, and itsedge oblique; pectoral with upper raj's the longest and equal to snout;caudal peduncle rather thick, 2 in snout.Color in alcohol brownish, lighter below, and with many l)lack spotsall over the upper surface, small on the back and large on the poste-rior and lateral parts; some few dark spots at the margins of the ven-tral ridges; fins pale; caudal peduncle dark above, with several darkspots; a dark spot at base of pectoral and one on caudal peduncle l)elowat base of lower caudal ray. Length -ij-g inches. In a small specimen,If inches in length, the spines are much longer and stronger, thoughabsent from the ventral ridges, except the last one on each side; snoutprojecting considerably; gill opening very small, color with spotsmostly replaced by narrow, dark, curved lines. Here described from
.Misaki specimens. It was not taken elsewhere by us.This species, common throughout the East Indies, ranges occasion-ally northward in the Kuro Shiwo to Japan. We have a single largeexample from Misaki, and Bleeker records this fish from Nagasaki.The species is readily known by its short frontal spines and the trans-lucent carapace.{d!aj)Jt(in us^ translucent.)23. OSTRACION CORNUTUM Linnaeus.KONGOFUGU (ADAMANT-PUFFER)
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OstrarJon coniutux Linx.eus, Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 17-58, I, p. "31; India.
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ScHLEGEL, Fauna Japonica, Poiss., 1846, p. 299, pi. cxxxi, Hg. 4; Nagasaki.GuNTHER, Cat. Fish., VIII, 1870, p. 265; Natal, Zanzibar, Seychelles, Pinaug,Siam, India, China, Fiji, New Guinea.
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Nystrom, Svensk. Vet. Handl.,1887, p. 47; Nagasaki.?Ishikawa, Prel. Cat., 1897, p. 3; Misaki.Ostracion areas Bloch and Schneider, Syst. Ichth, 1801, p. 502 (after Otitrucionquadrangukttns of Seba).
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Bleeker, Atlas Ichth., V, 1865-69, p. 35, pi. 11, tig. 3;pi. IV, fig. 2; Java Cocos, Sumatra, Celebes, Terrate, Ceram, etc.
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Goode,I'roc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1879, p. 282.Ostntcioii vdlentiiii, Bleeker, Journ. Ind. Archip., 1848 (vei'v yomig).
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NO. 1287. JAPANESE TRIGGER-FISHES?JORDAN AND FOWLER. 283Head 3ii to 4; depth 2i to 2f ; D. 9; A. 9; scales on side of cara-pace 9 or 10; across widest part of ventral surface 7; and from ven-tral keel to middle of back 7 or S, Head deep, the protile in frontvery steep, nearly vertical; snout projecting' li in head and 1^ acrossforehead; eye high, 1^ in head and li across forehead; interorbitaldeeply concave; eye about equal to its distance from gill slit in smallexamples and g-reater in large ones; mouth small, inferior; lips ver}'thick and fleshy; teeth small, narrow, and pointed; carapace i-angled,and in the middle of the back an inconspicuous median keel; a pair ofsharp, pointed, anterior, supra-orl)ital spines; in the small specimensvery long and the adults shorter, pointing out forward; dorsal ridgesnot conspicuously marked except about the low, blunt, median spine,on each side before the dorsal fin; a similar spine to the lateral dorsalspines, and between them on the back; ventral ridges plain, and ter-minating in a strong spine proiecting backward, which is very muchlonger in 3"oung specimens; dorsal fin considerably in advance of analand higher; anal lieginning about midway between origin of dorsaland base of caudal; caudal very long, 1| to 2i in body, the edge con-vex and distallv expanded; pectoral short, about equal to snout, andthe upper rays the longest. Gill slit small, much less than eye.Color in spirits brownish; almost all the scales above and on sidesmarked with dark brownish spots above and on sides; caudal peduncleal)ove with round, dark-brown spots; above caudal with several round,large ])lackish-brown spots, the upper and lower parts of the fin darkerthan the center; dorsal, anal, and pectoral plain; snout dark, blackish-brown; lips pale. Largest specimen, 7] 9 inches. Two very smallspecimens have the dorsal and ventral ridges very pronounced, a deep,short body, the sides and upper surface strongly striated, and the cau-dal short, and its base rather high. Here described from Misaki spec-imens. It Avas not taken by us elsewhere in Japan. It is common inthe East Indies, and we have numerous examples from Manila.{corn at u)^, horned.) 17. ARACANA Gray.Aracana Gray , Ann. Nat. His., I, 1838, p. 110 [aurilus).Areraud Kaup, Wiegmann's Archiv., 1855, p. 219 (same type?).Capropygla Kaup, Wiegmann's Archiv., 1855, p. 220 {unistriata)
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Kentocapros Kaup, Wiegmann's Archiv., 1855, p. 220.Anoplocapros Kaup, Wiegmann's Archiv., 1855, p. 221 (grai/i).This genus differs from Ostraclon in having the cai'apace openbehind the anal fin. The species vary in form almost as much asdo those of Ostracion. The single Japanese species belongs to thesubgenus Capropygia^ having spines on the ridges but none abovethe eye. In Aracana proper there are spines over the eye, and thealidomen is crested, while in Apojdocapros the back and belly arecrested, but no spines are present anywhere.{aracana^ a meaningless name.)
284 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL AfUSEUM. vol. xxv.24. ARCANA ACULEATA (Houttuyn).ITOMAKT FUGU (REAL PUFFER).Odracion aculenius Houttuyn, Verb. Holl. Maats. Wet. Haarlem, XX, Pt. 2, 1782,p. 346; Nagasaki.?IsHiK.\wA, Prel. Cat., 1897, p. 3; Sagami.Arucana aaUeata Gv^THER, Cat. Fish., VHI, 1870, p. 266; Japan.Ostracion he.ragoniis Thunberg, Vet. Ac. Nya Hyndl., XI, 1790, p. 107, j)!. 11;Japan ( " Veneni suspectus et in cibo daninatiis").
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Bloch and Schneider,Syst. Ichth., 1801, p. 502 (copied).Ostracion stictonotus Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Poiss., 1846, p. 297, pi. cxxxi,fig. 3; Nagasaki.?Bleeker, Verb. Ak. Wet., I, 1853, Japan, p. 15; Naga-saki.?Nystrom, Svensk. Vet. Handl., 1887, p. 48; Nagasaki.Head 3i to 3f ; depth 2 to 2i; D. 10 to 11; A. 10; scales 8 or 1) in aseries from gill opening- to end of carapace, 8 across widest part ofventral surface, and 8 or 9 from middle of back to ventral ridge; scalesall roughly striated; carapace strong, with 6 ridges; the dorsal iin witha broad, strong, compressed spine about halfway between the posteriormargin of eye and origin of dorsal; the lateral ridges a little superiorand on the posterior half of the carapace, and 2 broad, flattened spineson each side under the dorsal; ventral ridges each with a median,broad, flattened spine, posterior to the dorsal spine, and terminatedfinally in a more rounded posteriorly directed spine. The head is verydeep, profile obliquely straight above to the tip of the snout; snoutinferior, protruding little; mouth small; teeth small, narrow, andpointed; jaws subequal, lips very thick, fleshy, and papilose; eye high,large. If in snout, 2i in head, 1^ in forehead between eyes; nostrilssmall in front of eye; gill opening below the middle of the eye, fromone-half to two-thirds the diameter of the eye, and greater than thespace between the lower margin of the eye to its upper end; origin ofdorsal only a short distance in advance of that of the anal, and alsohigher than the same; caudal broad and slightly convex, the edgessharp; pectoral equal to snout, the outer ray the longest, the othersgraduated to the innermost, which is one-half the length of the outer;caudal peduncle rather thick, its least depth from one-half to two-thirds the length of the eye.Color of the body brown, darker above, and on the back and upperparts of the sides with many blackish-brown spots nearly as large asthe pupil; fins all plain; snout brownish above. Length of largestspecimen 5i inches. Here described from Nos. 2372, 23T7, 23T8, and2382, dredged by the U. S. Fish Commission steamer Alhatnm inSagami Bay.This little trunk fish is rather common at moderate depths in thewaters of southern Japan, not having yet been seen elsewhere. Ourspecimens are from Misaki and from Sagami and Suruga bays, wherethey were dredged by the U. S. Fish Commission steamer Alhatrunis.{aculeatus^ with needle-like spines).
>o.i287. JAPANESE TRIGGER-FISHES?JORDAN AND FOWLER. 285SUMMARY.SCLERODERIMI.Family I. Triacanthid.e.1. Triacanlhodes Bleeker.1. atioinalas (Schlegel).
2. brevirostris Schlegel. 2. Triaranthus Cuvier.Family II. Balistid.e.3. Fachynathus Swainson.3. capistraium (Shaw) ; Wakanoura, Okinawa.4. conspiciWum (Bloch and Schneider); Urakawa.4. Pseudohalistes Bleeker,5. flnvhnarginatus (Riippell); Wakanoura.5. Balidajms Tilesius.6. niididalKs (Park).7. (tadcaius (Linnseus); Okinawa.6. CanOnder7nis Swainson.8. roitmdaius (Proce). Family III. Monacanthid.e.7. Monacantlius Cuvier.9. chine7isis (Osbeck). 8. Slephanolepis Gill.10. cirrhifer (Schlegel) ; Tokyo, Misaki, Totomi Bay, Onomichi, Wakanoura, Kobe,Tsuruga, Hakata, Nagasaki.11. japonicus (Tilesiu.s); Nagasaki.12. oblongus (Schlegel); Nagasaki.9. Pseudoinonficanthus Bleeker.13. modesfus (Giinther); Otaru, Hakodate, Aomori, Tokyo, Misaki, Tsuruga, Kobe,Onomichi, Hiroshima, Hakata, Nagasaki.10. Rudarim Jordan and Fowler.14. ercodes Jordan and Fowler; Tokyo, Yokohama, Misaki, Tsuruga, Wakanoura,Onomichi, Nagasaki. 11. Brachaluteres Bleeker.15. ulvarum Jordan and Snyder; Misaki.12. FaraluUreti Bleeker.16. prionurus Bleeker; Wakanoura.13. Aiutera Cuvier.17. monoceros (Osbeck); Tokyo.14. Osbeckia Jordan and Evermann.18. scripta (Osbeck); Kiusiu, Nagasaki.15. Pseudaluteres Bleeker.19. nasicornis (Schlegel).
286 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. x.^08TRAC0DERMI.Family III. Ostraciid^.16. Ostracion Linnaeus.20. gibbosum Linnaeus.21. immaculatum Schlegel; Tokyo, Misaki, Aburatsubo, Enoshinia, WakanourHakata, Nagasaki.22. diaphanmn Bloch and Sclineider; Misaki.23. cornutum Linnaeus; Misaki. 17. Aracuna Gray.24. (irvlrata (Houttuyn); Misaki, Saganii Bay, Suruga Bay.