Either the upper and/or lower lobes of the caudal fin in males (less in females) of Ecsenius species generally become increasingly longer with increasing SL, and males of most species tend to have longer caudal fins than females (Table 9) ; . Many of the features discussed above are similarly and differently exhibited by other species of Blenniidae. MIMICRY.-At least two species of Ecsenius bear a strong but superficial resemblance to species of the nemophidinine genus Meiacanthus Norman.
On One Tree Island at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, I collected over 100 E. While most of the species are shallow water dwellers, they are not taken along the coast. It is interesting to compare the species distributions of Ecsenius with those of the only other recently revised large genus of salariine blennies.
Two species of Entomacrodus have recognizable subspecies in the South China Sea, but none of the species of Ecsenius are so represented (there are few specimens of Ecsenius from that area). Ecsenius midas, as the monotypic member of the subgenus Anthiiblennius, is well differentiated (see key, stanza 1). The two species of the yaeyamaensis subgroup could be regarded by some systematists as a single species.
The two species of the oculus subgroup are distinguished from each other on the basis of color pattern and the slightly lower meristics of one species.
It was not possible to assign this specimen to one of the three color pattern types. The dark middle spots on the side of the body are always nine in number (the front spot is actually part of a continuous stripe that extends to the eye). Gulf of Aqaba water temperatures average lower than those of the southern Red Sea (and Indian Ocean1) during each month (Oren, 1962).
ETYMOLOGY.-The specific name oculus is Latin for eye and refers to the eye-like spots on the body of the species. There are two dark spots on either side of the ventral surface of the head. ETYMOLOGY.- The name bimaculatus refers to the characteristic two dark spots on the side of the body.
The upper row of spots may be obscured by the dark color of the body.
Appendix
Pseudorhegma diagramma, a new genus and species of grammid fish, with a key to the genera of the family and to the species of the subfamily Pseudogramminae. In synopsis of the tribe Salariini, with descriptions in print, of five new genera and three new species (Pisces: . Blenniidae). Ecsenius (Anthiiblennius) midas, a new subgenus and species of mimic blenny from the western Indian Ocean.
I have not been able to locate any of Longley's specimens that contain Samoan location data, although he certainly established collections of Samoan fishes based on his handwritten field notes in the archives of the Division of Fishes, National Museum of Natural History. Because some of the containers containing Longley's fish contain specimens from clearly mixed localities, the possibility that the Dutch East Indies locality for a particular specimen is incorrect cannot be excluded. Based on his color pattern description of a bleeder from Banda Island, I feel quite confident that the specimen I list in the E. yaeyamaensis material as being from the Banda Sea was in fact from Banda Island.
As to the specimens of E. bandanus which I list as coming from the Banda Sea, I am less certain, but I believe that none of them came from the Hawaiian Islands or Samoa. Strong evidence favoring the Banda Sea would be the recollection of the species described here as Ecsenius bandanus, and also the recollection of the distinct color pattern forms of E. yaeyamaensis reported here as occurring in the Banda Sea. Longley's specimens are too valuable to be dismissed because of the problem of locality data. Apart from their intrinsic value as specimens, I wish to use the present circumstances as a test of the predictive value of systematic work.
TABLE 1 – Frequency distributions of third dorsal spine length as percent standard length in species of Ecsenius. The inset shows an enlarged view of two of the anal rays showing a fleshy covering of the ray tips, a common feature of putatively adult males of most species of Ecsenius. Manuscripts for serial publications are accepted by the Smithsonian Institution Press, subject to substantive review, only through departments of the various Smithsonian museums.
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