Bulletin - United States National Museum

TAKEN IN THE PHILIPPINE SEAS AND AFRICAN WATERS BY THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES STEAMER "ALBATROSS". They were discovered after detailed reports on albatross fishes in these groups were prepared.1 Explanations of calculations, character sequences and other data, as well as diagnoses of higher groupings (such as order, family, subfamily and genus). in relation to the new species studied, are given in the full reports or in three supplementary documents for the collection that have been issued.2. Descriptions of new fishes taken by the steamer Albatross of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, chiefly in the Philippine seas and adjacent waters.

New fishes of the family Callionymidae, chiefly Philippine, obtained by the steamer Albatross of the United States Bureau of Fisheries. Axial lateral line along side, 55 pores from preopercle to end of caudal squamation and 6 or more continued on median tail rays. behind dorsal origin, seventh ray 5 on head; caudal I14, with forked fin, with broad lobes; least depth of caudal peduncle31/3; thorax small, short, low, radius 1.8, bottom 3% to top; ventral 6y10, rays 1.5. A species resembling Xenodermichthys squamilaterus Alcocks, but differing from that species in size, smaller head, deeper body, vertical fins, smaller eyes, and shorter jaw. Snout3^2 on the head, convex, forms the front end just below the middle of the eye; eye 3y2, subequal to snout, far surpassing interorbital bone; orbit very large, 2% in. in diameter. head; maxilla reaching anterior margin of orbit, length 4 in head; the mouth. small but slightly inclined from horizontal, upper jaw longer and lower included; interorbital bony width 2 in eye, level or slightly depressed.

Arcades with a wide nose viewed from above; large cephalic organ broad long; maxilla reaching halfway to head, expansion 7 to head; mandible iy2; mouth but slightly inclined from horizontal, with mandible protruding well forward. Snout 41/4 in head measured from tip of upper jaw; eye 3V3, exceeding snout or interorbital, close to but not entering upper profile of head; maxillary reaches halfway.

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NEW —

63 2%; pectoral greatly extended, lower median rays longest, fin 2y 10

Scales 41in lateral line tocaudal base; 3 above to first dorsal origin, 2 above to second dorsal origin; 15 predorsal scales; four rows of large scales opposite to preopercle ridge, besides row of small ones along suborbital margin and three rows on preopercle flange. Whitish longitudinal band from side of snout, including lower fourth of eye, back across pectoral origin and base of upper caudal lobe. A species which appears to be unique in its colouration, as a white band extends from the side of the preorbital, including the lower edge of the eye and then back along the middle of the side to the caudal peduncle.

Also a gray white streak or line from the beginning of the lateral line and vertically above the origin of the chest; Which one. 2% in eye, length 3% in head from tip of snout; teeth small, simple, in narrow bands in jaws, uniform or without enlarged canines; none. Scales 38 in lateral tocaudal base; 4 scales above first dorsal origin, 9 below anal origin; 14 predorsal forward to front of snout; 3 rows of scales on cheek; large scales on opercles.

Snout very broad, depressed, anteriorly level with lower edge of eye, length measured 4% on head. PHILIPPINE NEW FISH - FOWLEK 67 moving forward; teeth in villiform bands on jaws, also present on palatines; bony interorbital width 6% on head measured from tip of snout, concave. Pair of small nasal spines; Antero-supraorbital spine short and low above and behind, and 2 broad and rather large postero-supraorbitals on each side, closely set, with finely toothed margins all. more or less directed backwards; pair of similar strong spines close behind the last passero-supraorbital; parietal and occipital ridges form a strong, slightly divergent posterior keel with rather deep concavities. moderate depression; row of three broad, short and rather large pre-orbital spines, posterior still slightly larger and directed downwards; sub-orbital setae with two very small spines; five spines along posterior margin of preopercle, uppermost extending posteriorly from posterior edge of suborbital setae; two very small slightly developed postocular spines; two opercular spines very divergent; humeral spine broad, obtuse.

Scale 37+2 in lateral line; 13 developed tubes form lateral line followed by 3 pores and last pore at caudal base; 4 scales above lateral line to second dorsal origin, 10 below to anal origin. The lateral line is perfect, sloping down to the caudal peduncle. l2/7i posteriorly convexly rounded; minimum depth of tail peduncle 3%;. pectoral 1^,all 15 rays simple; ventral rays I, 5, fin 1% of total head length, spineSy5. Muzzle broad, pushed forward with anterior end of muzzle forming well below eye or orbit level, finger length (in profile) 2% in head, measured from tip of muzzle; about 5.1% and.

Carapace of the head rather robust, with numerous ridges, finely toothed or wrinkled, and spines broad, low, and strong; a pair of broad low nasal spines; supraorbital spines little differentiated as an antero-preorbital pair and two closely spaced postero-supraorbital pairs; nuchal and supraoccipital pairs low, last better developed; three or four frontal lobes, the last best developed and directed downwards; the spines on the undereye remain irregular and low; preopercle with five spines, the first below.

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Six large dark gray spots on the back, five of which extend on vertical fins and sixth on the upper posterior part of the second dorsal reflection. Pectoral with large dark basal spot, two small spots above and broad posterior submarginal band.

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It is very suggestive of the Australian Rhinhoplichthys haswelli (McCulloch) and the Hawaiian Rhinhoplichthys platophrys (Gilbert), but differs from both in the much longer thorax and in. pectoralis, pectoral, referring to the highly developed thorax.).

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Above gill opening 30+1 bony lateral plates; 4 rows of descending spiny plates on trunk; spines are all large, strong, erect and with finely wrinkled or striated surfaces; last pair of plates. Among all representatives of its family, it is known for its very long head, longer than the rest of the body, armature and long pectoral filaments, longer than the pectoral fin. A pair of rather long rostral extensions in the shape of an isosceles triangle, equal to or slightly smaller than the snout.

Pre-opercular spine very long, reaching well behind pectoral arm or near origin of anal fin, well behind edge of small opercular spine. Pair of very long, steep and prominent occipital spines, reaching to first dorsal fin. Pectoral moderate, reaching anterior anal, two lower rays separated subequal in length to upper rays.

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Preopercular spine as long as orbit, terminating in posteriorly directed point and along inner margin row of about a dozen very fine uniform denticles and small anteriorly directed subbasal denticles. Lateral line complete, high along dorsal side, simple, connecting junction on predorsal before first dorsal and two junctions fairly close to tail of peduncleposterior just before caudal base. Color light brown to pale purple above, marked with very numerous and variable dark rings, arcs, and spots.

Caudal with 10 dark spots on upper half of quill and wider intervals with dark circles and arcs; lower half of plumage with edge of each ray ultimately dark. Recognized by its very distinct coloration, branchial and prepectoral region with many narrow parallel longitudinal bands. First dorsal with first and third spines ending in short filaments and threads crossed by numerous parallel white lines.

This species approaches Calliurichthys japonicus (Houttuyn) as described and figured by Jordan and Fowler, although it differs markedly in the coloration of the thorax and first dorsal. 5 large grey-brown spots on back, mostly wider than lighter interspaces and all more or less with rather large arcs or rings of darker colour.

Muzzle Sy2 in the head measured from the tip of the muzzle, which is level with the center of the eye; eye 5%, 1% in snout, 1TV in. interorbital; maxillary reach behind eye space about equal to V3 of eye diameter, extension iy8 in eye, length iy2 in head measured from tip of snout; mouth well oblique, lower jaw well protruded anteriorly and with cone tip directed forward at symphysis; teeth in narrow band above, with larger inner row of tusks, compressible inwards;. two rows of soft teeth below, inner long tusks and compressible; cluster of few teeth, depressed, variable, each side of vomer; on top of the head two bony keels forming a wide set pair as prefrontal, frontal, parietal. and occipital, last diverging to distinct suprascapular spine; margin of gill opening with elements of preopercle, subopercle and interopercle forming marginal series of short equal denticles; preopercle with bent or curved spine oblique, length iy5 in eye and three forward-directed spines along its lower margin; preorbital with three divergent short spines, first directed forward, median downward and last. On cranium, trunk and tail transverse series of distinct lines of small scales, separated, about 30 such lines above, and on each side of body cut by 2. Apparently very closely related to Champsodon arafurensis began,12 although that species would immediately differ in with the

In all my specimens, the bellies are well behind the buttocks in the larger ones, and do not even extend in front of them in the smallest ones. Champsodon arafurensis "seems closest to, and possibly identical to, that found by Alcock13." If this is true, Alcock's figure would differ even more from my material, as it shows the posterior end or tip of the preopercular spine falling well forward of the origin of the ventral fin. In all my specimens it extends distinctly to the opposite side. dorsal black and fin uniformly pale in female.

13Champsodonvorax Alcock, Illustrations of the zoology of.M.S. Investigator, Fishes, pi. curtis, short + pes, foot, referring to the ventral fins.).

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On the top of the head a dark bar extends downward from the eye to the posterior part of the upper jaw, and two others radiate from the posterior part of each eye and extend posteriorly. Upper of each band in the posterior part of the expansion with two pale or whitish spots, one above the other and below and in front of the median, a large pale occipital spot.

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Scales are present only on the trunk and tail, on the front and on the back along the base of the dorsal fin and the median band on the bare belly, including the head. Dorsal rays about 70, fin height 4 1/8, fin origin near head or nearly above thorax; anal rays about 64, fin height 4%; tail.