portion of anal fin rounded; caudal fin lunate;
pelvic fins long, 2.3-3.3 in SL; males with
alternating stripes of violet and yellow on
head; body yellow, suffused with orange-red
on side below posterior part ofdorsal fin, with
irregular continuations of the violet stripes
onto body, mainly broken into spots; females
similar in color to males but dominantly yellow
(the violet markings faint and the orangered
of the body largely absent).
DESCRIPTION: Dorsal rays X,16; anal rays
II1,9; pectoral rays 15 (15-16); pelvic rays 1,5;
principal caudal rays 15 (uppermost and
lowermost unbranched); upper procurrent
caudal rays 9; lower procurrent caudal rays 9;
lateral line scales 35 (34-36); scales above
lateral line to origin of dorsal fin 4}; scales
below lateral line to origin of anal fin 11;
circumpeduncular scales 18; diagonal rows of
scales on cheek between posterior edge of
orbit and corner ofpreopercle 6; near-vertical
rows of scales on opercle at level of middle
opercular spine 4; gill rakers 10 + 24
(9-10 + 24-26); pseudobranchial filaments
12 (9-12, increasing with growth); branchiostegal
rays seven; predorsal bones two,
poorly developed (faint on radiographs),
diagonal, the first anterior to first neural
spine, the second pointing toward space between
first and second neural spines (but not
entering that space); vertebrae 10 + 16.
Body depth 3.0 (2.95-3.2) in SL; body
width 2.15 (1.9-2.1) in depth; head length 3.0
(2.75-3.0) in SL; snout length 4.4 (4.35-5.1)
in head; orbit diameter 2.8 (2.45-3.2) in head;
interorbital space convex, the least width 4.5
(4.5-4.75) in head; least depth of caudal peduncle
2.65 (2.75-2.9) in head.
Mouth terminal, oblique (forming an angle
of about 45° to the horizontal), the maxilla
nearly reaching a vertical through rear edge of
pupil, the upper jaw length 2.0 (2.05-2.2) in
head; upper lip without an anterior fleshy protuberance
(as seen in males of the subgenus
Mirolabrichthys); upper jaw with a pair of
small slender strongly recurved canine teeth
anteriorly, separated by a gap at symphysis
about equal to one-third orbit diameter (some
paratypes with two close-set canines on each
side); a row of slender canines along side of
upper jaw posterior to anterior canines, these
teeth progressively longer posteriorly, all but
the first few curved anteriorly; an inner band
of about three rows of small recurved teeth
anteriorly in upper jaw, except for a large
inner recumbent canine on each side of symphysis,
the band soon narrowing to a single
row along side ofjaw; lowerjaw with a pair of
projecting medially curved canines anteriorly,
a stout strongly recurved canine (or two such
teeth) about one-fourth distance from front of
jaw, and a single row ofsmall slender canines
along side ofjaw, those toward the frontcurving
posteriorly and those toward the rear
curving anteriorly; three irregular rows of
small incurved teeth behind anterior canines;
vomer without detectable teeth; a few minute
papillae on vomer and roof of mouth;
palatines with about 15 very small teeth
in two irregular rows. Tongue narrow and
pointed, without distinct papillae. Gill rakers
slender and long, the longest about half orbit
diameter. Gill membranes free from isthmus.
Anterior nostril in a short membranous
tube slightly above level of center of eye; posterior
nostril a large irregular opening diagonally
posterior and above the anterior; a very
large pore directly in front ofposterior nostril;
a smaller but prominent pore in interorbital
space above front of pupil of each eye; posterior
halfoforbit rimmed by a series of about
15 pores; no papillae along posterior edge of
orbit; a series of five large pores along lower
side of each mandible, and a pair of smaller
pores at tip of chin.
Opercle with three flat spines, the largest
and most posterior in the middle, closer to
lower than upper spine; posterior margin of
preopercle with 31 (12-35 serrae, the number
increasing with growth) which are progressively
larger ventrally; lower margin of preopercle
and margins of subopercle and interopercle
smooth.
Scales weakly ctenoid; no auxiliary scales;
head scaled except lips, mandible, and snout
(scales dorsally on head extending to level of
posterior nostrils); no scales on dorsal and
anal fins except for a row of small scales at
extreme base (two rows anteriorly at base of
anal fin); small scales extending more than
half-way to posterior border of caudal fin andon about basal third of pectoral fins; pelvic
axillary scale small (exposed part in holotype
0.7 mm); a triangular scaly process extending
posteriorly from between bases of pelvic fins.
Lateral line complete, strongly arched anteriorly
(only Itscales separating it from middle
and posterior dorsal spines) and forming a
distinct angular part of one pored scale between
curved dorsoanterior part and straight
mid-lateral peduncular portion; last pored
scale at end of hypural plate; tubules oflateral
line simple and straight, covering nearly all of
exposed part of scales.
Origin of dorsal fin slightly anterior to a
vertical through upper end of gill opening;
membranes of spinous portion of dorsal fin
not incised; first dorsal spine about threefourths
length ofsecond; fourth orfifth dorsal
spines longest, 1.9 (1.85-2.2) in SL, the remaining
spines nearly as long; sixth or seventh
dorsal soft rays longest, 1.45 (1.55-1.8) in
head; first dorsal soft ray unbranched, the
remaining soft rays and all of the anal soft
rays branched, the last to base; first anal spine
about halflength ofsecond; second anal spine
slightly stouter than third but slightly shorter;
third anal spine 1.85 (2.0-2.4) in head; margin
of anal fin rounded, the fifth or sixth rays
longest, 1.25 (1.35-1.7) in head; caudal fin
lunate, the lobes filamentous in adults, the
caudal concavity 3.65 (3.0-5.0) in SL; pectoral
fins moderately long, 2.8 (2.55-2.95) in
SL, the rays unbranched; pelvic fins very long
and filamentous (second soft ray longest), 2.3
(2.4-3.3) in SL.
Color of holotype in alcohol pale, the only
dark pigment being a trace on anterior upper
side, particularly along the front half of the
lateral line where it forms a series of 17 small
dusky spots. The paratypes lack dark pigment
(though the 66-mm one from the jack stomach
might have had this before it became a meal).
Color ofholotype (a male) when fresh: head
with alternating violet and yellow stripes, the
uppermost violet band following dorsal contour
ofhead, the second extending posteriorly
from upper part of orbit, the third beginning
at front of snout and passing through lower
part of eye, the fourth extending posteriorly
from maxilla; and the faint lowermost midventral
on head; tip of lower jaw violet; body
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Volume 38, July 1984
yellow, suffused with dull orange-red below
posterior part of dorsal fin, with continuations
of the violet stripes from the head,
mainly as large irregular spots (the stripe from
lower part of eye best developed, but very irregular
with ventral extensions; see Figure 4);
dorsal and anal fins lavender-blue with a
violet margin (closer to pink on spinous portion
of dorsal) and an irregular streak of dull
yellow on most membranes paralleling rays;
basal part of caudal fin yellow with violet
markings, the outer part yellowish with
lavender-blue markings, the upper and lower
margins violet, the filaments yellowish; pectoral
fins with clear membranes and pale pink
rays; pelvic fins pale lavender-blue with a
streak of yellowish on second to fifth rays, the
filamentous ends of rays pink; iris with an
inner ring of yellow and an outer of violet.
The color of the 53.8-mm female paratype
(Figure 3) when fresh was basically the same
as the male holotype but the violet stripes
were poorly developed and the orange-red
color on the upper side below the posterior
part ofthe dorsal fin largely absent; there was
more pale yellow and less blue on the dorsal,
anal, and pelvic fins.
The color of the 35.8-mm subadult (Figure
2) was similar to the mature female, the most
notable difference being an irregular streak of
dull orange extending posteriorly from the
orbit between the two lateral irregular pale
violet bands of the head and body.
REMARKS
This lovely anthiine is named fucinus from
the Latin for colored with orchil (a violet dye).
It is at present known only from the Hawaiian
Islands and Johnston Island.
In the Hawaiian Islands the species was
common on the steep reef face of highly
eroded limestone at depths of 135 to 210 m.
The reef surface was pitted and cut with erosional
channels about 3-40 cm deep which
provided shelter for the fish. A fine layer ofsilt
or sand covered the few near-horizontal surfaces.
Except for occasional ahermatypic
corals (yellow Tubastrea), the slope was nearly
barren of sessile invertebrates. A species ofgalatheid crab, however, was abundant at the
collection sites. Species of fishes associated
with Anthias fucinus included Holanthias
fuscipinnis, Callanthias sp., Symphysanodon
maunaloae, Suezichthys notatus, and Chaetodon
modestus. The most common larger
predaceous fishes were Seriola dumerili and
Pristipomoides filamentosus. The water temperature
at the collection sites was 18°C.
At Johnston Atoll (16°44' N) Anthias
fucinus occurs in a comparable habitat but
somewhat deeper, 150-270m, with the peak
abundance at 215m. The temperature in this
zone averaged l7°C. This suggests that sea
temperature might control the depth distribution
of the fish (i.e., to attain 17-18° water
the fish must live at a greater depth at the
atoll). One might expect the water off Johnston
Island to be clearer than in the Hawaiian
Islands, thus light would penetrate deeper
and the level of illumination might be the
major factor determining the depth at which
this fish lives. However, measurements of
water clarity at Penguin Bank (where the collections
and most observations of A. fucinus
were made) were essentially the same as those
for the sea off Johnston (E. Chave, pers.
comm.).
Anthiasfucinus is not closely