a sue | a) | } Oo GMa Se yA oye Mie if | 1 Ha 3 ‘ i auf | “> wre, Hwy i Wi i! \\ Gq st A . 4% . A % ih ee if 1), | hae 1! Sy | | Ly ¢, ~ i fy il | S if 'f et es sama SD it : i | i lh ale ys \ < ra % rath wi cach ‘sale bats bea ia “ ty hie? a Se ee a ae 6)? i POET ae aR RTE "i dbp es. Mert. fh rth a9 7) Beer: is op i ig 7 me™ r ‘ , Me Lihtieg: | ’ a i eh ri (es Ay ye ni a ek SS deste ane QE SCS (+ $¥/ no, 92-47 } ow” : ATOLL RESEARCH LE) : BULLETIN 37. Pumice and other extraneous volcanic materials on coral atolls by M.-H. Sachet 38. Northern Marshall Islands Expedition, 1951-1952. Narrative by F. R. Fosberg 39, Northern Marshall Islands Expedition, 1951-1952. Land biota: Vascular plants by F. R. Fosberg Nos. 37, 38, 39, 40 May 15, 1955 40. Bryophytes collected by FR. Fosberg in the Marshall Islands by Harvey Alfred Miller Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council Washington, D. C., U.S.A. ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN $7..Pumice and other extraneous volcanic materials on coral atolls by M,-H. Sachet 38. Northern Marshall Teiands” ‘Expedition, 1951-1952. Narrative. F. Rs, Fosberg 39. Northern Marshall Islands Expedition, 1951-1952. Land biota: Vascular plants by F. R. Fosberg LO, Bryophytes collected by F. R. Fosberg in the Marshall Islands by Harvey Alfred Miller Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National Academy of Sciences—-National Research see Washington, D. C. May 15, 1959 ACKNOWLEDGMENT It is a pleasure to commend the far-sighted policy of the Of- fice of Naval Research, with its emphasis on basic research, as a result of which a grant has made possible the continuation of the Coral Atoll Program of the Pacific Science Board. It is of interest to note, historically, that much of the fundamental information on atolls of the Pacific was gathered by the U. S. Navy's South Pacific Exploring Expedition, over one hundred years ago, under the command of Captain Charles Wilkes. The continuing nature of such scientific interest by the Navy.is shown by the support for the Pacific Science Board's research pro- grams, CIMA, SIM, and ICCP, during the past seven years. The Coral Atoll Program is a part of SIM. The preparation and issuance of this Bulletin is assisted by funds from Contract N7onr-29154., The sole responsibility for all statements made by authors of papers in the Atoll Research Bulletin rests with them, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Pacific Science Board or of the editors of the Bulletin. Editorial Staff F. R. Fosberg, editor M. H. Sachet, assistant editor Correspondence concerning the Atoll Research Bulletin should be addressed to the above c/o Pacific Science Board National Research Council 2101 Constitution Avenue, N. W. Washington 25, D.C., U.S.A. ATOLL RESHARCH BULLETIN No. 37 Pumice and other extraneous volcanic materials on coral atolls by M.-H. Sachet Issued by TH# PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National Academy of Sciences—-Natiorial Research Council Washington, D. C. May 15, 1955 CONTENTS Page Introduction ne Pumice on coral atolls . ne Geographic distribution ay Probable origin and transport 5 Chemical and petrological nature | LO Uses: agricuitural and aprasive 2 Ecological significance a2 Other noncalcareous rocks, occurrence and uses on coral atoils 15 Imported soil on coral atolls 19 Conclusions is. Addenda 20 Bibliography 22 Pumice and other extraneous volcanic materials on coral atolls by Marie-Heléne Sachet ‘Introduction | ites "Every - square inch of land. in the atoll is coral ..." Wood- Hinteoes (1910, p . 57). Statements similar to this, varying only in their colorfulness, accuracy, or detail, together with various generalizations to the effect that atolls are made up entirely of organic limestone, are abundant through the literature of coral islands, in diaries, adventure stories, and scientific. reports; and within certain limits such statements are true. ca The presence on atolls of volcanic rocks such as pumice and basalt, as well as volcanic soils, sin aroused = Bereeerey and interest. The most conspicuous and abundant tirdiiee rock is pumice. Bxamina= tion of the literature reveals its presence in widely separated islands and ‘shows its..importance as a “natural resource." We will first cite available information on pumice, its occurrence, uses, significance, and complete this record with mention of other extraneous materials. For the purposes of this review, pumice is taken to mean volcanic ejecta that are vesicular and light enough to float. The author is aware that rocks of significant- ly different texture and chemical composition may be included, and that the ‘petrologist might desire further eee bitin a of the irgaiar which is impractic- al here. Pumice ae Geographic dicate Seurat (1903,p. 6), who spent many months in the remote Tuamotu Atolls and the neighboring Gambier Islands, reports the presence of small pieces of pumice on the beaches of South Marutea, one of the easternmost atolls of the Pacific. Pumice is not often reported from the Tuamotus, and is indeed probably not as common there as in various central Pacific groups of atolls; however, the literature on ae immense archipelago is especially poor and iadequate . On ae contrary, pumice is Re een ee ee many cdifferent islands in the central Pacific and in.the Micronesian Atolls. Van Zwaluwenburg (1941, p. 15) found it on Benton Island, and W. A. Dixon (1877, p. 165) said it was abundant on Malden Tslend, In 1862, W. W. Gill, a missionary, was collecting idols on Pukapuka (Cook’ Islands) and wrote (1876, pe 60): "One old man was carrying what seemed to be a large lump of coal with evident ease. This turned out to be pumice stone blackened by long exposure to rain and wind." This piece was deposited by Gill in the museum of the University of Sydney. Wny 10 1955 = The U. S. Exploring Expedition (1838-42) observed pumice in several of the many atolls visited. Dana (1849, p. 77) mentions it on Fakaafo and Howland. Of the latter he says that bits of pumice and pieces of driftwood are scattered all over the island's surface, The abundance of this pumice at times is extraordinary. Whitmee (1878, p. 108) wrote that in that year, ships met great quantities of it in the vicinity of the Ellice group, and quoted newspaper accounts to this effect. He added: “.o. the shores of all the Ellice Islands are thick with it. Hundreds of tons have been throwm up on each island." An interesting note here is that the pumice when first observed (April 1878) was free of sea-weeds and barnacles, but these were noticeable by JUNC» Another important record. of pumice in the Ellice Islands is that of Hedley (1896, p. 16) from Funafuti: "Everywhere small pieces of pumice the size of a walnut might be collected on the beaches. The natives say that a few years ago much vumice came ashore, coincident with which the fish from without the lagoon became unfit for food." Finsch (1914, p. 43) says that he himself saw great quantities of pumice on the strand at Butaritari, Gilbert Islands. P. E. Cloud, Jre (1952, p. 21) observed and collected it on Onotoa in the same group, There are few records of the presence of pumice in the Marshall Islands. One of these is by Chamisso (1821, p. 156), one of the most gifted and versatile naturalists to visit Pacific atolls. Another reference is by Grundemann (1887, po 442) on Ailuk. Still another is by Stone (1951, P- 2) on Arno Atoll. It is quite possible that pumice does not reach these islands as often or as abundantly as it does the Gilbert or Ellice Islands. However it is present now in the Marshall Islands, and F. R. Fosberg observed it in 1931-52 (unpublished) during the Northern Marshall Islands Expedition. During this investigation pumice of several distinct sorts was noted, and specimens were collected on Pokak, Utirik, Ailuk, Jemo, Kwajalein, Ujae, Wotho, and Ujelang atolls. It was ordinarily found as scattered pebbles, usually small, but larger pieces up to the size of man's head also were seen. It occurred in greatest quantities inland on the sur- face of the ground on Kirinyan Islet, Ujelang, and on Eveju Islet, Ujae. On Ebeju perhaps a bushel could have been gathered in an area 20 meters square. This was a localized occurrence, though; other similar areas have little or no pumice. Much smaller amounts were scattered on the beaches, as on Jemo, above the normal wave mark; and in several places where dwmes and sand spits were being cut away by wind or waves, buried pieces were exposed. The only record of pumice in ihe Caroline atolls is from Kayangel Atoll, Palau (Cloud, personal communication, 1953). [But see Addenda, p. 207. Several records of the presence of pumice are available from Laysan Island, one of the northernmost atolls in the world. H. H. Schauinsland, who spent 3 months on this island in 1896, observed hard seeds, nuts, masses of resin, and rounded pieces of pumice / /Bimstein 7 in the abundant piles of bird droppings (Schauwinsland, 1899, p. 20). In an appendix (p. 89) he enlarged on the subject and noted that he did not find any pumice on the strand during his sojourn, but that it was always present in the center of je the island, partly on the surface, sae partly in the guano pits. An interesting sequel to this report is foud in the journal of Muro (1946, p.- 43). Quoting from his journal on Laysan (June 20, 1891) he writes: "On the dry surface of the lagoon there are lots of small pieces of pumice," but adds, "evidently this was cuttlefish bone disgorged by birds." He reports finding pieces of cuttlefish bone in the glazande of young alba- trosses and other birds. It would seem that the two observers may have seen and reported the same thing. It is interesting to note that they both believed it to be pumice at the time. Since we have no idea what regurgitated cuttlefish bone may look like, it seems difficult to settle the question at this point. It is unfortunate that no one thoughtof bringing back a bit of the material. However, it is quite possible that Mr. Munro should not have distrusted his 1891 observations and that both he and Schauirisland did observe pumice scattered on Laysan. The fact that some of it had gone through the alba- “trosses' stomachs does not necessarily mean that it was not pumice. Schavinsland (1899, pp. 20, 89) remarked that these birds will swallow any- thing and that they may pick wih the rounded pebbles intentionally “to help their digestion." Much ater (in 1912) Elscmer visited the Leeward Hawaiian Islands and recorded (1915, p. 35) pumice on Laysan, Pearl and Hermes Reef, sic, cies and Midway. One of the most intriguing observations of pumice is that made at the time of the visit of the Austrian ship Novara in 1858, to the atoll of Sikaiana or Stewart Island. Both Scherzer (1862, p. 607) in the"Narrative" of tho voyage, and Hochstetter (1866, pp. 157-158) in the "Geology," men- tion the abundance of pumice on Faule, one of the two larger islets of the atoll. Hochstetter ‘pointed out that the pumice was "finely porous and brown, and floats on water." . Trying to ascertain the thickness of the pumice beds, Hochstetter examined the sides of a water-hole about 18 feet in diameter, found in the middle of the forest. The rims of the hole were of "compact coral conglomerate," and the pumice lay all around but only euparticial ty, in the humus layer covering the coral rock. Guppy (1887, De 140) mentions that during the surveying voyage — of the "Fly" much pumice was found in various places along the eastern coast of Australia, This is reported by Jukes (1847) in his narrative of the voyage. The "Fly" visited a low coral island, Raine Islet, and Jukes © (1847, pe 128) observed pumice there, ennedded in the coral sandstone aoa ing the island. idaphiake Beyond Australia, westward in the Indian Ocean, we find pumice recorded in the Cocos-Keeling Islands by several authors.’: The earliest such reference is by Keating (1840, p. 378) who said: "large quantities — of pumice=-stone have been found on all the islands." Later pumice was recorded by Guppy (1889, pp. 284-287), who spent ten weeks on Cocos-Keeling in 1888, and by Wood-Jones (1910, pp. 170-171), who lived for fifteen months on the main atoll as a doctor and included his ebsemvepaene in his’ book "Coral and Atolls." Further west we have records of pumice from the Chagos: ea ae Moresby (1844, p. 309) wrote: "Masses of pumice-stone are constantly found o4— on the beach of the islands, ..ee One viece in Captain Moresby's posses= sion, measures 37 by 27 inches, and weighs 8 lbs..12 oz." Finsch (1887, p. 42) and Wilson (1889, p. 144) observed pumice in 1884 on the beaches of Diego Garcia in the same group. The last region in the Indian Ocean from which’ we have records of pwmice is that of the long chain of atolis of the Maldive and Laccadive archipelagoes. Because of their proximity to Indie, of the activity of the British civil servants, Navy officers, and naturalists, and because several great scientific expeditions studied these islands, we have more information on them than on most atolls, and those scattered in timee In 1892-94, a party on the ship "Investigator" surveyed the Iaccadives, and Alcock (1902, np. 175), a naturalist on the 1892 campaign, reports that two of the ship's officers discovered a bed of pumice a little inland of the north end of Cardamum (Kardamat) Island. Unfortunately, he did not hear of it until the ship had steamed eway. Oldham (1895, pp. 6-7) mentions this occurrence and seems to imply that he himself? saw this pumice bed, but apparently at a later date. "The northern point of the island is formed by a spit of sand on which I found a quantity of pumice, extending inland for about fifty yards from the extreme point; “it is strewn all over the surface, and varies in size from a marble to half a foot in diameter." The "Investigator" party also found pimice pebdbles on the bottom of the Bay of Bengal (Alcock, 1902, p. 153). Ellis (1924, p. 9) recorded pumice from the Laccadives. In 1899- 1900, J, S. Gardiner visited the Maldives, Minicoy, and the Laccadives, and with his two associates, gathered vast amomts of information and ex- tensive zoological and botanical collections. The results for the main part were included in two large volumes published in 1901 to 1906. Gardiner (1906, ps 582) found pumice on many of the atolls. In another paper (Willis and Gardiner, 1901, p. 113) Gardiner mentions finding a little pumice among foraminiferal sand on Hulele Island, Male Atoll. Soon after Gardiner, Alexander Agassiz visited the Maldives (1901-02) and published his accomt, accompanied by a volume of valuable photographs (1903 b). He recorded (pp. 63, 69) the presence of abundant windrows of pumice on the beaches of two atolls, South Malosmadulu (Embudu Islet) and North Malos- madulu (liedu Islet). The latest information on pumice in the Maldives was collected during the John Murray Expedition of 1933-34 and is recorded in Sewell's accounts. On Horsburgh Atoll (Sewell, 1936 b, p. 116) lines of small pumice fragnents were observed on the sandy sea beach of Goidu Islet. On Addu Atoll (Sewell, 1936 a pp. 77, 79, 82) pumice occurred on several of the islets (Putali, Mulikadu, Waradu): inland from the sandy lagoon beaches. On Puteli (p. 77) "Running along the whole length of the northern part of the island, about 10 yards to the east of the steep bank that now forms the east pant of the lakes f elongated, ponds running parallel to the lagocn edge /, there is a well-marked line of rounded, water-worn pieces of pumice." Sewell goes on to quote Gardiner's and Oldham's observa- tions, and concludes that this pumice must come from Krakatau; “if this be so, then since 1885 or thereabouts the inner beach of the island has ad- vanced towards the lagoon by some 10 yards, and sand spits have been built out into the lagoon and have cut off the lake ...." =~ 5a No records were found of the occurrence of pumice on the Western Indian Ocean atolls, Very little information is availabie on the atolls and low coral islands of the Gulf of Mexico ard the Caribbean Sea, and there are no records of pumice on them. Eowever, in this connection, it is interesting to note that Guppy (1917, p. 6) mentions pumice pebbles found in beach drift in the West Indies. Probable origin and transport Although the occurrence of pumice on coral atolls has, at times, greatly puzzled the observers -= especially when found far inland on the islets -- it has been generally accepted without argument that the pumice had been floated by the ocean after eruptions of distant volcanoes, carried about by currents, and deposited on the beaches of low isiands in the same manner as other drift material. Blschner (1915, pp. 35-36) wrote: "We can produce two sources of this pumice in the last decades. Ths Sunda Straight sustained great changes at the time of the eruption of the volcano Krakatoa, as immense quantities of pumice stone were thrown out, which were then washed ashore on tho reefs and beaches of the different coral. islands in the central Pacific Ocean; for instance, cn Nauru, all over the Marshall Islands and the Mortlock atolls, etc., also in the northern part of the Pacific, pumice stone pieces, even though small quantities, were found drifting and washed ashore. "In the year 1906 «..2, Captain Schlemmer at that time in charge of the phosphate works on Laysan Island (which have since ceased to exist) mentioned in his diary that he observed that a quake was to be felt and on the following days the sea was full of drifting pumice stone pieces. On his trip from Laysan Island to Honolulu he observed these pumice stone pieces as far as in the neigh- borhood of the main group near Kauai. "Appearance inland Seabirds, especially frigate birds, during their flight, pick up floating particles on the water and swallow them, so that the discovery of the pwmice stone in the interior of the island is to be explained on the principal that un- doubtedly the birds vomited these pieces. "The appearance of pumice stone in this neighborhood in March and April, 1906, is interesting; it documents the last traces of volcanic activity, which formerly were here of an imposing degree. At the mentioned time erup- tions of the Hawaiian volcanoes did not take place and the occurrence of drifting stone, limited to this part of the group, was therefore of a local nature, that is, it most probably was caused by a quake of the ocean bottom in this neighborhood," OS pe Bie Yemanari (1935, p. 17) reports that after the eruption of a submarine volcano in 1934, large: Quant Lees of ‘pees seirced: around in the sees near the cai a ab Islands. :' The great quantities: of pumice: abo inna oni sikatana are perhaps more easily explained than if they occurred in the Tuamotus, for example. Sikaiana, a seldom described atoll, lies near many volcanoes, those of New Britain, the Solomon:tIslands, and the Santa Gruz Isiands, to mention the nearest ones. Whichever of these the pumice came from, it did not have to travel very far: and could:be thrown ‘up’ Gn the ‘islands when great quantities. of it were still: itont ire: pace bers “before being scattered over greater expanses of scl ‘SOB ty The super ecal of how eae and how long puntos ean float was taken up by He Be Guppy. He was fascinatec by the factors responsible for the dispersal of plants; therefore he touk great interest in che study of drift material and wrote two books on the subject. In another of his ‘works (Guppy, 1887, pp. 137-144), he devoted a whole chapter to the drifting of pumice quoting. many of the ‘sources mentioned here and giving much informa- tion on the presence of pete on ies island beaches and at S03, "The pumice. phagesa Gerace? ore voleanic outbreak at Blanche Bay in New Britain in May, 1878, was carried east- ward by the drift-currents, ond Literally deluged the shores of the Solomon Group, both impeding navigation and temporarily suspending the beche-de-mer fishery «+e. lir. Wilfred Powell, who was present at the time’ cf the eruption in New Britain, states that Blanche Bay and a great part of St. George's Charne! were so thickly covered with pumice that it was im- possible for a boat or even a vessel to work its way through we. "Several agencies assist in the dispersion of a field of floating pumice. In ‘the first place, the trituration or wear and tear of the fragnents, a process by which they soon obtain the form of rounded pebvles, ecomsiderably reduces their size eee. In the course of time the winds and waves scatter the floating fragments, and arrange them in long streaks-a mile or more in length and some 25 or 30 yards in width sees Finally .... solitary fragments are scattered over the surface of the ocean where they may float for many years until their sodden condition causes them to sink, It is not wmusual to find in the tow-net in the mid-Pacific a solitary stone, which has become so sodden that it has not sufficient buoyancy to float in fresh water. "The length of time that pumice will float in sea-water is a matter that bears on the distribution of this material over the various oceans. Judging from an experiment I made in the Westorn Pecific, pumice may float for several years before it becomes sufficiently sodden to sink to the bottom. I kept floating in seawater for two years and nine months three rounded pieces of andesitic pumice, which I originally obteined in the tow-net whilst cruising in the Solomon Islands Although they had evidently been a long time in the water before I got them, since they floated heavily and had the discolored appearance of old drift-pumice, the only evident alteration in their buoyancy produced by my experiment was that one piece which floated in fresh-water, when ut Cphink obtained it, now sank © Pe ee The origin of the great amounts of pumice found on Cocos-Keel ing Atoll was also discussed at length by Guppy (1889, pp. 284-286): "I shall refer more than once in these papers to the part which the pumice derived from the great Krakatoa erup- tion of 1883 has taken in reclaiming land from lagoon. Narrow ' inlets have been obliterated and the shallow water around the lagoon has been in places filled up by fields of floating pumice that drifted inside the reefs. The Krakatoa pumice, readily known by its white and fresh appearance and its un- sodden texture, is to be found at present in great quantity on the beaches .... but there is another kind of this material, apparently elsewhere derived, though of somewhat similar com- position, which is fomd inside the raised weather margins of the islands, and extends for some 20 paces or more amongst the trees. it is of much greater age; and whilst its outer surface is darkened by weathering, its interior is often sodden and half-rotten. There is also a biack and heavier pumice, formed of a more basic lava, which is know (rightly or wrongly) amongst the residents as the Tomboro pumice, and is fourid amidst the vegetation 15-20 paces in from the weather beaches. It varies in size from a walnut to a coco-nut; and, unlike the two felspathic kinds of pumice above referred to, it withstands decay, so that although it has been known in the island for half a century and more, “SEs internal substance is still unaltered ..... "Wherever, in these islands, a layer of old pumice over- lies the sandy soil near the beach, an abundance of volcanic minerals, especially magnetite, occurs in the soil. By means of a magnet, a number of fine particles of magnetite can be collected from a saucer filled with the white calcareous sand that is found between the tide-marks upon the beaches .... The local evidence would seem to show that they [ the grains of magnetite with their oo ey attached semifused feld- spar crystals _/ are derived from the decey of pumice that is stranded in such large quantities on these beaches, especially since I found them in greatest abundance in the sandy soil underlying an oid bed of pumice. Their large mean size, viz., half a miilimetre, and the specific gravity of the mineral, would seem to favour this opinion. It should, however, be noted that during the night following the great eruption in the Sunda Straits, some 700 miles away, fine pumice dust fell over the Cocos-Keeling Islands in such quantity that on the succeeding morning it was found covering the deck of a schooner, that lay at anchor in the lagoon, with a tayer a qver ren of an inch wid eee! reat ‘ | Nibasones (2910, Pps. 170-171), also. aadaaeeas the origin of the Cocos-Keeling pumice; © "On the seaward beaches is thrown ee flotsam and jetsam that reaches the group.from the outside world, and one of the principal items,-one that has in many places caused a considerable alteration in the character of the islands - is pumice, The greater part of the pumice. found in the group arrived after the’ ‘eruption of Kraketua; being washed up in 1883 in vast quantities. ( This pumice, lightest of all ‘the wrack that the sea has “piled. up, has been carried for varying distances into the island from the seaward beach, and shows, as an index, the limit of surf action in the island building that has been reeched in twenty three years. It occurs in great quantities as rounded sea-worn masses, some _ being a foot or more in their long axis, but the majority varying from the size of marbles to that of cricket balls. Besides the Krakatua pumice, which lies to-day mostly on the seaward beaches, and for a few paces into the island itself, there is older pumice which may be found almost anywhore in the breadth of the dry land. Pumice has been arriving from somewhere ever since the first ap- pearance of land in the atoll ring, and has,. during the period of its stay, undergone much decomposition. The Krakatau pumicte-is almost uniformly grey, and is fresh and clean: but pumice exists far from the sea that has become impregnated with foreign substances, and is in many places entirely fragmented, The various stages _of pumice degeneration may be traced from the sea beach to the interior of the island. Some of the pumice has never been grey, and rounded blocks of a black and cinder-like substance are here and there found in parts of the island where pumice has been most freely washed ashore .- This pumice does not appear to belong to any - one particular period, for it -is found to-day on the beaches, and in the islands, but its composition where-; ever found appears to be the same, and, on fracture, ... its intérnal part is always shining and fresh=looking, . if it be picked: up on the beach or pe! S une ee oie an islend." ee, yale phi Wood-Jones, Like Guppy, was Siitecaeten in. ee and animal dispersal ard devoted 4 chapter of his book to this and related. subjects. In it, he went back to the subject of, pumice (pp. 290-291) and said of Krakatau pumice; "This pumice has been touring the ocean for over twenty years, and still, in the Sunda Straits, some set.of current will .send whole masses to sea, and a ship will steam for half an hour through the bobbing white balls. of pumice which are launched upon an indefinite, end en irresponsible journey." Of the pumice older than that attributed to Krakatau he says: "This is most probably the pumice ‘set adrift in the April of 1815, when the unparalleled eruption of Tomboro = the great volcano of Sumbawe, took place." He adds; "The blocks of pumice set adrift by the eruptions have been navigating the Eastern seas ever SINCE cece «Se Visitors to Diego Garcia, Chagos Archipelago, were undoubtedly correct in believing the pumice they observed to be a product of the 1883 eruption: by a happy coincidence, two naturalists, Finsch and Wilson, stopped at Diego Garcia (then a -soaling station) in 1884 and published their observations on the atoll. Finsch, (1887, pe 42) observed pumice on’the lagoon strand and on the ee share "in great quantity." Later, his ship encountered great drifting masses of pumice at sea. R.F. M. Wilson (1889, p. 144) spent only an hour on the atoll and mentions - large quantities of pumice: "There must be tons of it lying on this beach." At sea, he also observed it, but in "wreaths." The Nautical . Magazine in the last months of 1883 repeatedly warned its readers of the changes in the Sunda Strait and said (p. 852): "In some parts of the Straits the pumice stone is 7 ft. to 8 ft. deep.” Another instance in which the source of pumice was rightly identified as Krakatau is reported from Rameswaram Island, at the north- west end of “Adam's Bridge" in the Gulf of Mannar, between India and Ceylon, by Foote (1889, p. 835): "As we walked eastward along the beach our attention was attracted here and there by the quantity of pumice stone thrown up. Not a vestige of pumice was seen along the beach when I visited it in 1882, but now it abounded, having been drifted from the straits of Sumda after the terrible eruption of Krakatao in 1883. The pumice fragments were of all sizes, from a pints head up to a child's head, and most of them showed signs of their long sea voyage, in the form of in- crustations of nullipores of serpulae or of flustrae and other equally lovely polyzoa, together with serpulae of several species. Many specimens showed also adherent young valves of a very pretty white and crimson species of Spondylus. It was impossible not to be struck by the great number of zoological, geographical, and geological facts recorded by these interesting specimens." Of the pumice observed in the Maldives and Laccadives during his expedition Gardiner (1906, p. 582) says: "On the shores of many of the islands there are lines of pumice, which the natives state were washed up about 1885, and would hence have probably owed their origin to the erup- tion of Krakatoa in 1883. In addition half-decomposed pwmice is found, in places at some considerable distance inland, which evidently belonged to an earlier period." Hllis (1924, p. 9) in an accowmt of the Laccadives, quotes Gardiner's suggestion that pumice found in the Maldives came from Krakatau, and adds that in the Laccadives, large beds of pumice were re- ported after 1883, "which have now entirely disappeared. Only scattered pieces much water-worn are now found." Sewell (1936 a, p. 77) also at- tributed the origin of the pumice observed on the Maldives to the eruption of Krakatau in 1883 (see p. 4 of this paper). The 1883 eruption, however, despite its violence and the sensation it caused, was not the only source of pwmice found in the Indian Ocean; More sby (1844, pe 309) found pumice in the Chagos Islands when he surveyed the archipelago in 1836-37. Most authors quoted here attribute the origin of the pumice direct~- ly to volcanic eruptions. This is undoubtedly the usual case, but it seems conceivable that some of this material might be launched onto the sea by the action of the waves undercutting the slopes of some of the numerous volcanic cones found -in the Pacific. Some of this bobbing pumice may well have spent a good: part.of its time as part of a Voleano''s plope, before being freed and set adrift in the cone's erosion. ce “aul Taoroix (1939 a, pe 610) discussing the pumice col léeted by Seurat in. South Marutea (Tuamotus) remarked that this chemical-mineralogic type of rock was known in the South Pacific only from Easter and Tutuila Islands and suggested an origin for it in a. hypothetical submarine volcano ‘that might ‘have existed in some part of this vast region. It is not clear whether he had in mind an underwater eruption or a cone that extended above the. surfece and was subsequently cut..away by the waves, but he probably meant the latter. In any event, it.does not seem necessary to postulate the existence of such a volcano, because it is quite possible for pumice to float from Haster Be ie or elsewhere to S. Marutea. The possibility ataula: not ne deinlodied that some of this material, for example the coarse, blaek variety found by Fosberg in the Marshalls, might not be pumice at all but clinkers from the furnaces of coal—burning ships, Such have been reported cast up on the shores of Lake Michigan by Dr. Helen Foster and -Mr,.:Gilbert Corwin (conversations, 1954). This may be determined for the: pose See e US material by future. petrological studies. Chenical and petrological nature . An oostacle to the aA Se LSEROR of the origin of pieces of pumice found on atolls is the fact that few have ever been ‘studied for their petrological character and chemical composition.. Recent unpublished analyses of such material will be eels in:an addendum oe this paper, pe 21. Lacroix based his paves (19398) ‘on. igote ame analyses. including one by Raoult of South Marutea: Resb (Lacroix 1928, pp. 44-45. This is as follows: ys ao Bat qs. eee “ “Pereent $105 rite eosteneocscecee 69,40 : A1,9, sinless \ agonood oe Ina? . : ee 1 ) . Fons, Peas he ve cee Ae ag . FeO = “tn Wlguple ele"e are here ros iggy ae Ann Leming ton CaO ee ales alee cieeins | 1.86 ‘i Na,0 *: eoee “ ds eae | 5.30 0 “\ ats aun 0 aisle Siege: y THD), : vevetendee te’ 0432 ’ i ‘ ’ i frre Pp O ee avelaiileleistawiareras 0.06 - aE oh Percent H20 (-) Aiatelivinisietaaialeie ‘ LAG H20 (~) Ge hole eile Gia ose 0.36 MnO went tec e owen, 0.07 Lacroix described this material as a rhyolithic pumice, "formed of volcanic glass with elongated cavities, which contain a few hexagonal reeen of biotite" as the only crystalized minerals. He remarked that its chemical. composition showed in any case that it could not be pumice from Krakatau. He pointed out a similarity with the trachyte from nearby Pitcairmm Island, suggesting that the pumice might not have come from too far away. The pumice from Funafuti was examined by Cooksey (1896, p. 77): "Pumice Pebbles. -- Pebbles of pumice stone, the largest of which resemble a walnut in size, all much water worn and rounded, were collected from various places on the outer cir- cunference of the Atoil, and possibly occur on all of these islets. They possess a fibrous texture, and contain macro- ‘scopic crystals of sanidine. The colour varies from light to dark grey, one or two having a brow or greenish tinge. "An analysis of one which was much rounded by attrition, and possessed a very light grey colour, gave the following percentage composition:-- Hygroscopic MOAStUTE wee eco O09 Loss on ignition eee hh 2029 Si09 re 66.50 Fe0z oiete hs @ oid 3.21 Al,0g syabebuaiaia 16.84 Cad : spon 6 90 3.03 MgO soe eee 1.03 Ko0 coe see 5.44 NaoO Si ane) 2009 P5902 coe cee trace 100.96 "A partial analysis of another pebble of a darker shade gave 60.37% of Sido." ‘sien Cooksey noted that the figures in this analysis agreed very closely with results of analyses of material from the 1883 Krakatau eruption but thought. this voloamo too far away to be a likely source of the pumice in Funafuti. Uses: Agricultural and abrasive In the Gilbert Islands the U. S. Exploring tiepeditaen learned that pumice was gathered by the inhabitants ‘and. pounded up to fertilize the soil of the taro pits; in addition, Wilkes. (1845, vd. 5: pe 81) writes: "the coconut trees are fenced: round, and pounded pumice is mixed with the soil near their roots. This stone 46 collected by the women, who are frequently to be seen in numbers on the beaches, after westerly winds , Sf ca it up in small baskets." Hartzer, ¢ a missionary (1900, pe 43) writes in ainoee ‘the same words, — and so does Kurze (1887, p. 68). - Such observations. on the taro-pits have been made. or quoted by ‘others, such as Meinicke (1863, p. 405) and Finseh (1893, p. 52). Gulick (1862, p. 413) also described the careful tending of the taro-pits put. said that soil was brought to them in baskets and shifted. He did not mention pumice. Probably both were added to the various leaves, which were shredded and thrown into the pits. A similar instance is found in Grumdemann (1887, p. 442): According to him, on Ailuk in- the Marshalls, soil and dearee were thrown into the pits, and pumice, when available, was ground up and added. This is the only record of this practice in the Marshall Islands. Similarly Cloud's observation of the use of pumice as fertilizer on Kayangel Atoll, Palau (personal communication, 1953), is the only record for the Caroline Islands. In spite of its abundance on the Ellice Islands, pumice does not seem to have been used there as in the Gilberts. It might be pointed out here that the Gilbert Islands are the most densely populated of all atolls and at the same time one of the driest and most sterile of the inhabited atolls and at the same time one of: the driest and most sterile of the in- habited atoll groups. In this connection it is noteworthy that pumice is used as fertilizer in,another densely populated group, the Maldive Islands. Gardiner (Willis and Gardiner, 1901, p. 121) says that on Suvadiva, plantains are grown in pits dug to below high tide level "and on Kondai Lf islet of Suvadiva / I saw a man put in a basket a pumice from the beach; this ap- peared on enguiry to be a regular custom of the island." In addition to its role in atoll agriculture, pumice is cften used on these limestone islands as an abrasive; In the Gilberts, Finsch (1914, p. 254) says that pumice was used to polish and smooth wood, shell, and coral. In Ujae (Fosberg, unpublished observations 1951- 52), the Marshallese called it by the name "tilen,":-and they said they used it like sandpaper. A large piece of a black,,. coarse-grained, hard variety was seen in use as a whetstone for machetes on Bock Islet, Ujae. Ecological significance Very little factual information is available on the ecological significance of pumice on atolls. Several authors have discussed it, following three main lines of speculation: One is the possible role of pumice in the dissemination of animals from one shore to another. Another is the information that pumice has been supposed to furnish on ancient shore-~ lines. The most important is the. possible influence of pumice on the growth of plants.. -ld=- Some of the above-mentioned authors, such as Whitmee and Guppy, have spoken of pieces of pumice incrusted with m&rine: animals such as __ amnelids, cirripeds, bivalves. Wood-Jones (1910, p. 291), after his dis- cussion of the origin of stranded pumice (see p. 8 of this paper) added; "the blocks of pwiice ... have visited many shores in the course of their travels, and have constituted a mighty fleet of passenger vessels for the use of Nature's colonists." In some cases pumice may play a certain role in the dissemination of marine forms, but it seems that Wood-Jones ex- Seeerenee the "mightiness® of the effect. cubprré chapter on pumice drift (1887, pp. 137-144), in spite of some hasty and regrettable assertions (a footnote on p. 143 says that "the trees of the center of a coral islet grow from seeds ejected by the ahs fruit-pigeons), contains a wealth of facts and is one of the few com- pilations and discussions .of the intriguing problem of stranded pumice. The author ‘attempts to clarify the ecological significance of this material. Unfortumately: he had a tendency, at times, to let his keen observations Hi be colored: by the theories dear to him. Thus, in his: notes on the dis- tribution of: pumice pebbles on islets asi 1887, Be. $40) he mixes facts and SB sumptions s Pu steak aukac qucnitiy point aan eae QS we cross a coral islet from its weather or newer’ portion, the pumice | pebbles become fewer end more decayed, until they finally disappear in the leeward or older part of the islet. Such a fact proves that this material has not been swept over the surface of the islet by a single wave: such as those. which follow earthquakes, but that, whilst the islet has been growing sea-ward with the reef in the course of ages, --' pumice has at widely. different times been stranded on its shores. The decayed pumice pebble, that now lies among the trees in the interior of the islet, remains where the ebbing-tide: left it long ago. The same explanation is also applicable to the pumice pebbles found on coral islets and reefs that have experienced some degree of elevation. | ' Doubtless the "great sea wave" produced by an earthquake . -ha's:'sometimes distributed the pumice pebbles lying. on the ‘beach over the surface of the islet; but if it will be fowmd, as I -believe,.to be generally true, that the pebbles get fewer and more decayed as we proceed into the interior, we must look to some other agency than that of the "great sea. wave." In some coral islands which’are placed in unprotect- ed positions in the Pacific, pumice peboles are found only -in the interior and not on the beach. It would seem most “probable that the force of the wind during storms would be. sufficient to sweep the light pumice pebbles off the beach and amongst the bordering vegetation. "All the evidence goes to show that in a comparatively dry climate and on porous soil stranded pumice may resist for ages the disintegrating effects of the atmospheric agencies." Guppy goes on to describe the distribution of the pebbles on coral islets in the Solomons and shows them to be. fewer and more decom- -14- posed toward the interior, disappearing eventually on the lee side. "Those obtained within 20 or 50 paces from the beach floated buoyantly in the sea, but out of those found at distances greater than 100 yards, more than half sank. The pumice pebbles furthest from the beach were evidently of greater age and had been exposed for a longer time to the wet," No doubt, on certain islands -= possibly on some of aeeee examined by Guopy -- older pumice brought by.one of the variously caused "great waves", which may at times completely cover low coral islets, is partly reneeed from the beaches by subsequent lesser storms and later happens to be surrounded by younger pumice, left strended in windrows by the ordinary tides. (See quotation of Gardiner on p. 9 of this paper). This does not necessarily mean that the islet has become larger, offering more space for new pumice. The contours and total area of islets do change of course, and if an islet became larger,. it might be from its seaward side, but the aspect and distribution of pumice are not sufficient to permit @ reconstruction of the change. However, in certain special locations and when other evidence is available, punice pebbles arranged in lines, well inland, may indicate a change in shoreline. Stone (1951, p. 2), writing of Arno Atoll, Marshall Islands, says "The progressive widening of Arno Island, although now slow, is known to the people there because inland and parallel with the beach they find rows of pumice pebbles such as occur along the present beach." (See also quotation of Sewell on p. 18 of this peper). That Guppy does not realize the true relationship between topo- graphy of an islet, soil and vegetation is well shown in his next topic: He assumes (Guppy, 1887, p. 143) that soil gets thicker end richer from seaward to lee side of an islet because "we pass ... from its newest to its oldest portion" and therefore pumice has had more time to form soil, has been completely decomposed, and indeed, cannot be found anymore on the lee side. Actually there may never have been as much pumice in the center and on the lee side of this islet as on the seaward side. Vegetation does change as one goes from seaward to the more protected side of the islet, but this change is brought about by the topography and structure of the islet end the diminution in the effects of wave, wind, spray, etc. The vegetation in turn, together with these same factors, determines the vari- ation in the abundance of soil, which is indeed often thicker in the center, or toward the lee side of an island, or the lagoon side of an atoll islet. But this zonation of soil and vegetation is quite inde- pendent of the presence of pumice, It is possible, of course, that given a uniform pumice layer over an islet to begin with, the pumice might de- compose somewhat faster near the center of the islet than on the seaward side, because a thicker and faster forming soil and humus layer in this center would provide a greater abundance of the substances that cause the decomposition of the pumice pebbles. While Guppy tried to prove the beneficial influence of pumice on the vegetation of a coral islet, other authors took it quite for granted. Scherzer (1862, p. 607) says: ane. heaps of pumice-stone. These are found about the size of walnuts over the entire interior of Faole at those places which the swell of the waves cannot reach even in the storm- iest weather, where they occur in such immense quantities (though there ‘are no traces of then on the sand or shingle of the actual beach) that we may take for granted that the ! convulsion which brought them here must have occurred in | times long gone by, the more so as this superposed pumice- / stone exercises a marked and obvious influence upon the vegetation of the islend.. So far as its soil consists of heavs of fragments of coral and mussel-sheils, the cocoa- _.nut palm reigns almost elone, whereas as soon as the pumice- stone region is reached, there begins an exceedingly luxur- _ iant growth of lofty forest trees with huge trunks and - umbrageous foliage, and an astonishing abundant flora of species apparently peculiar to these Atoll Islands." ’ : "Another geological peculiarity is the occurrence of ' This correietion of vegetation with substratum, also mentioned by Hochstetter, may be somewhat. illusory, since the coconut palms were probably planted by the natives in a ring around the islet, and the luxur- jance of the mixed forest, which includes breadfruit ‘tress, is not too unusual in a very wet atoll such as Sikaiana. Yet the observations by . Scherzer and Hochstetter are very interesting. It would certainly be ». worthwhile to find out now, almost 200 years later, what the soil of ;Faule Islet is like and whether any traces remain of the abundant pumice -layer observed by the: naturalists of the "Novara." -Other noncalcareous rocks (aT ee ee nr a Various extraneous materials other than pumice are found on atolls: - these are various stones, muds, etc., found among the roots of drift trees, : or supposedly brought by them, other pieces of rock or even masses of coal : or soil imported by men for various reasons, and finally the mysterious ; -"basalt blocks" described from various islands. Pics The latter are of special interest on Rose Atoll, in American Samoa. This very small, uninhabited, and isolated island may have been first landed on by members of the U. S. Exploring Expedition (1838-42). Dana (1849, pp. 77-78) says that the officers on the Vincennes observed -blocks of compact cellular basalt on Rose. lying 200 yards inside the line of breakers. Wilkes (1845, vol. 2, pe 64) adds that "they were from twenty to two hundred: pounds weight, and were found among blocks of coral conglomerate." Unfortunately, Dana himself did not land on Rose, being on another ship. Couthouy (1842, p. 138), who was probably there, says that the volcanic boulders were found on the sandy lagoon bottom .. . and were similar in appearance and mineral structure to the’rocks forming . the mass of Samoa and Tahiti and that one of them weighing about 20 pounds was picked up in 4 feet of water among small rolled blocks of coral con- glomerate. At least one member of the landing party of the "Vincennes" published his own account of the discovery, although his book is not part of the official edition of the Expedition results; Pickering (1876, p. 235) writes: EEN i if 4 aii Gee "For the first time on a coral-island, the mineral kingdom was represented; several blocks of vesicular lava being met with by our party; in all instances resting upon the coral-shelf, not imbedded. Two or three of these blocks were seen by myself, the largest weighing perhaps twenty pounds. From the mineral composition, they had evidently beer derived from some volcanic island; and there seemed no means of transportation, unless entangled in driftwood. This actuaily takes place at the Tarawen coral-islands; where Mr. Hale found a native name for "Basaltic stones in the roots of trees drifted" to those shores." Much has been made, in later works, of the discrepancy between the various accounts, as to the location of the boulders. And when A, G. Mayor, visiting Rose Atoll in June 1920, failed to find them "after diligent search" (Mayor 1924), it was generally assumed that the U. S. Expsdition had mistaken blackened coral boulders fer vesicular volcanic rock. This error is not hard to make, but it should be kept in mind that Couthouy and the officers of the Vincennes.were not without ex= perience of atolls, darkened coral boulders, etc., having visited a large number of the Tuanotus before reaching Rose. Later L. P. Schultz, a member of the U, S. Navy surveying expedition to the Phoenix and Samoa Islands (U. S. S. Bushnell), spent 11 days on Rose Atoli in June 1939, and found pieces of: compact olivine basalt on the reef (a dozen or more, the largest the size of a man's head) and confirmed observations of the "Vincennes" party thereby reopening the question of the origin of the material (Schultz 1940, p. 48 and unpublished data). His speci- ments of it are deposited in the U. S. National Museum, where they are currently being studied. Another occurrence of mysterious volcanic material is reported by Agassiz (1903 a, p. 350) on Andema /“Ant_/ Atoll: "On Panemur, the westernmost island of the group, large coral boulders form the outer edge of the reef flat, with here and there a few fragments of volcanic rock «ss. Unfortunately, Agassiz did not always make clear whether he was writing an eye-witness account, and we cannot be sure of this record as yet. The proximity to Ant of volcanic Ponape might help to explain the presence of the rocks, besides making it ratner easy to confirm their existence, One last record of "basalt" on an atoll was discovered with great excitement in the narrative of Captain John Cameron (1923, p. 397): He doscribed "great basaltic stones" on Caspar Rico [ Pokak Atoll, Mar- shell Islands _/, one of them "fifteen feet and six inches long, five feet and four inches wide, and three feet thick," and speculated on the hazards of their transport from some high island. Great exvectations were raised when the Northern Marshall Islands E:pedition explored the desolate atoll in the summer of 1952. No megaliths were fowid, but a lot of blackened coral boulders and remmants were (Fosberg, 1555 p. 28). A different type of volcanic rock is recorded by Guppy (1889, pp. 286-287) from Cocos-Keeling Atoll. He writes: EEE EE eEO-oOo ee ee ae —_——- -L7=. "Near the middle_of the breadth of Horsburgh, Island fislet of Cocos-Keeling/, and about 300 yards from the sea, there was, when these islands were first occupied, some sixty years and more ago, a huge volcanic bomb about four feet in height. It was somewhat dome-topped, and was imbedded about six inches in the soil. By the islanders this large mass of foreign rock, with its unknown history, was regarded with much mystery. It lay concealed in the midst of an ironwood forest of great antiquity, where it must have lain for ages; and its burnt-up appearance seemed to support the prevailing Opinion that it was some meteoric stone ... Pieces have been taken away by the inhabitants .... the result of this prac- tice being that at the time of my visit in 1888 only a few fragments, none much more than a foot in size, remained to illustrate the description given to me by Mr. Ross. They were, however, sufficient to disclose to me that this mys- terious stone was a huge volcanic bomb of a dark reddish cellular lava, possessing a comparatively solid.outer crust. The cellular fragments floated buoyantly on the,sea; but the more solid parts of the outer crust, on which I also experi- *mented, sank. Nevertheless, as the greater part of the orig- inal mass, according to the description given to me, was evidently cellular, I had no doubt in forming the opinion that the whole bomb originally floated." The observant natives of atolls, who have been collecting pumice stones drifting. onto their beaches, have also made much use of drifting logs especially on-such islands-as the Marshalls or Gilberts, where the supply of usable timbers for canoes and other constructions are pitifully small. They discovered that the roots of some such trees held stones and blobs of earth or mud and carefully collected and utilized these, as well as the wood. This was observed in the Gilbert Islands by Hartzer, (1900, p. 48) who says that the large trees often hold pieces of resin like those found in the New Zealand forest, and stones of fine basalt, which are much esteemed and used to make weapons. Dana (1849, p.77) saw some large logs on Enderbury, Phoenix Islands, and in the Gilberts, which carried stones in their roots, and reported that on the latter islands these stones were usually basaltic: or volcanic and much prized for use as whetstones, pestles, and hatchets (see also quotation of Pickering, p.16 of this paper). Darwin himself (1852, p.461) discusses such occurrences and mentions that on North Keeling, Captain Ross /owner of the island at the time of the Beagle's visit/had found and preserved:a green stone, rather larger than a man's head, embedded in the conglomerate. Darwin supposed it to have arrived on this seldom-visited atoll caught in the roots of a tree, Wood—Jones actually saw such occurrences on Cocos-Keeling-and explains (1910, p.290) that buttresses -- common in many tropical trees -— are especially suited for such transport:. "I have seen a ‘buttressed! tree come ashore in the atoll: from whose base a wheelbarrow-load of fine red earth might have been collected ... From:the roots of such a tree I have taken small stones..." pil ii Cw oR es eR ii 1a ‘ Eilers (1935, p.151) says of the natives of Songosor f sonsorol, Western Carolines_/ that they use volcanic stones found in drift wood to smooth fibers used for plaiting. In Micronesia, at least black mud found among such roots was often use to dye fibers. Thilenius (Thilenius and Hellwig 1927, p20) reports such a custom on Tobi. Earlier Chamisso (1821, p.155) wrote of the Marshallese: "They receive, in a similar manner, another treasure, hard stones fit for whetting. They are sought for in the roots and hollows of the trees which the sea throws up: iron and stones belong to the chiefs, to whom they must be delivered, on payment of a rewerd ...." When the desired stones or soils were not available, the natives of the Caroline atolls, who did. much voyaging and trading with high island peoples, imported them. Chamisso (1821, p.104) describes with some emotion, how Kadu, a native of Woleai whom the "Rurick" met in the Marshalls and took along for part of the voyage, "never neglected carefully to coilect pieces of iron, broken glass, and everything overlooked by us, which might be valuable to his countrymen, he looked on the shore at Oonalashka, chiefly for stones, which might serve for whet~stones ..." Girschner (1912, p.157) revorts that on Namoluk, red earth imported from Ponape was used as a dye. On Pulusuk and Satawal, Damm et al. (1935, p- 81) mention similar imports from Truk. Finally E.G. Burrows (1949, p.12) found a single igneous boulder on Falalap Islet, Ifalik Atoll in 1947-48, which the natives told him had been brougint by canoe in ancient times to be used as a whetstone. Oldham (1895, p.6) reports that he saw pieces of volcanic stone and a green stone on the north end of Chitkak Island (Laccadives), which the natives had brought from the ballast of a steamer wrecked on Byramgore Reef. ; This is not the only instance of material from a wrecked ship occurr- ing on reef or atoll: At Ujelang Atoll, F.R. Fosberg (personal communica- tion) in 1952 found small and completely waterworn pieces of coal scattered at the top of the lagoon beach ard inland on the west side of Ujelang Islet. Of some material observed on Laysan Elschner (1915, p.35) writes: ",.- L wish to mention the occurrence Z on Laysan_/ of smaller stones of voicanic material on the reef and beach, To prevent errors it may be remarked that they come out of the ballast of the phosphate ships formerly loading here; however the occurrence of pumice stone in the lagoon and on the shore of Laysan Island, as well as on the shores_of Mecker, Pearl and Hermes Reef, Lisiansky and Midway +slands, is unusually interesting." 262 That natives of atolls vaiued foreign stones and were intrigued by them is shown further by the fact that in widely separated atolls, they made idols out of them. Gill's observation on the subject is mentioned earlier on p. 1. In addition; various iisslonaries and other residents have reported similar instances in the “arsheils (verbal communications). Imported soil . But the native people are not the only ones to have carted stones and soil around. On many atoils, the white residents, in an attempt to grow the vegetables to which they were accustomed, brought soil, often as ship ballast, from neighboring high islands: the Germans. did so on Jaluit, the superintendent of the Cable Station did so on Midway (Bryan 1942, . 202), and more recently small quantities have been brought to Kwajalein and Johnston Island. Wood-Jones (1910, p.180) says that 40 tons of soil were brought in 1902 from the Botanical Gardens cof Singapore to Pulu Tikus, islet of Cocos—eeling. He remarks that by 1905 "any trace of it was hard to find." Further information on soil imported into eae is given by Gibson-Hill (1950, p.150). Conclusions Floating pumice, drifting on the ocean, is deposited on the shores or inland on low islands scattered in most parts of the tropics. It is used by the natives for polishing, whetting, and above all, for fertilizing garden pits and coconut-trees}; it must have some influence on plant-life; and it may indicate changes in shore lines in certain localities. lt is to be regretted that so few records are available, that so few collections and analyses of the various materials observed were made, that so little is known of the ecological role of pumice, and that it is not easier to revisit some of the recognizable locaiities to find out what has become of the earlier recorded pumice. Has it become buried in humus? how fast is it "decomposing?" Has it left traces in the form of various minerals as assumed for Kita Daito Jima? There, the origin of the iron and aluminum in thick deposits of iron and aluminum phosphates is assumed to have been large masses of sea-borne pumice (Yamanari, 1935) some of which is still found on the island. Pumice might also be the source of the “ (aeagayen high content of aluminum found by 4ipman and Shelley (1924, p.205) in the soil of Rose Island. The widespread and, at times, extensive occurrence on coral atolls of extraneous voicaric materials so different from the normal calcareous substratum emphasizes the need for thoroughness in investigation and caution in drawing ecological conclusions. The fact that the natives of several groups of atolls have discovered the place eet effects of pumice appiications brings out very strongly the ecological significance of this material, In any general investigation of atoll soils, attention should be devoted to discovering and assessing these effects and to isolating the properties of components of the pumice responsible for them. . @20— _ Addenda After this review was completed, the work of Tayama on ii et oheaitan coral reefs came to hand; it contains (Tayama 1952, pp. 152, 265) ina discussion of problems offered by coral reefs, an enumeration of occur= rences of non=calcareous material on coral pores) which can be quoted here from the English text (p. 265): "Reef building canal, Foraminifera, calcareous algae, Mollusca, Echinodermata, sponges, Bryoz0a y ete. are. the 9 construction materials of a coral island. Other and non-cal- careous matter is extraneous. Pumice, however, is found in all coral islands, and will not be brought under discussion - here, "a, Basalt gravel, in part intercalated in limestone, has been found’ on an isolated reef on Truk Almost Atoll and at a few localities on outer reefs. ">, Liparite gravels, scattered locally on the Jaluit Coast and Utwa Coast of Kusaie, are apparently from ballast washed ashore from wrecked vessels. ° ty: "ce, Boulders of crystalline schist are present on Fakin Atoll and granite, quartzite, and andesite boulders on Merir Table Reef, "qd. One pebble of eo eeamene schist and two pebbles of basalt gravels are included in limestone (Younger Raised Coral Reef Limestone) on Etal Atoll. "e, The phosphatic reddish brown clay intercalated in the cay sandstone . (Younger. Raised Coral Reef Limestone) of Gafervut Island has nies been mentioned. The analysis is as. Seo 3.28 48.97 al. 2250 19.35% "f, Beach sands on the lagoon shore of Marugai. (coral | islet) on Mille Atoll contain substantial amounts of mag- netite and amphibole. Conditions of deposition rule Pay transportation by man or by wave action...." An unpublished observation by F. R. Fosberg may also be added here: In October 1953, a worn boulder, over a foot long, seemingly of very light gray granite, waw observed on Wake Islet, Wake Atoll. On inquiry of residents of the atoll, it turned out that thie was brought by a Japanese party a year or so caries! to mark a grave of Japanese soldiers killed there during the war, During the U. S. Commercial Company’s Economic Survey of Micronesia in 1946 the late Dr. Josiah Bridge found pumice on Nukuoro Atoll, south central Carolines, Details of this occurrence are not available, In the summer of 1954, pumice was found on Kapingamarangi Atoll by members of the Pacific Science Board Expedition, Both light gray and black pumice are abundant on the back shore beaches of most islets, occasionally forming pure pumice layers, Details of occurrence and chemical analyses will appear in a later report by Edwin D, McKee who kindly provided the above information, eee ~2 lL Of the specimens of pumice collected in the Marshall Islands by F. R. Fosberg in 1951-1952 (see p. 2 of this paper), some were submitted for quantitative spectrographic analysis for specified minor elements... ~ to the Geochemistry and Petrology Branch of the U. S. Geological Survey. The specimens were as follows: Field no. 242: Field 242 243 2h, 245 BLG | 2h 248 249 A 2b3¢ & 2hh: A 245: A 246: A 247: A 246: A 249: A no, Cu «000 ~003 001 All samples white pumice from Jemo Island dark fine pumice from Jemo . black scoriacecus pumice from Jemo pale gray fine pumice from Ujae Atoll gray pumice from Ujelang Atoll gray pumice from Ujelang Atoll gray pumice from Wotho Atoll gray pumice from Pokak Atoll Mn Co Fe B Loss‘ on ignition Die gk 0009 3.3 0 eee 2 2002) "2.9 0 Oe aie) 2002: iad 004 oly: Pei (6) 2e7 ‘@) 58 09 WOO1.' 356 6) Balers ai yOOR 03.5 O | oa rel 0 2.9 2002 - Fe Ua ta @) Bok 002 pei were ignited at 900°C for 15 minutes. The following elements were not detected in any of the samples: Mo, Zn, P. n20s: Bibliography Agassiz, A. The coral reefs of the tropical Pacific.” NN eae GASH Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard — ofear ee plus 3 volumes of plates and maps. The coral reefs of the Mauatyes? iy Rare RM eas Mem. Mus. Comp. gooi. Harvard 29: 1-168, 1903b. Alcock, A. A naturalist in Indian Seas. 1-328, London, 1902. Anon. Sunda Strait. Naut. Mag. 52° 849-852, 1863. Bryan, E.H., dr. American Polynesia and the Hawaiian chain. 1-253, Honoluiu, i942. 6 Burrows, H.G. AY, : aE The people of Ifalik, a little disturbed atoll culture. CIMA Rept. 16: teres 1949 (unpublished, see next entry). Burrows, E.G. and Spiro, M.E. 4n atoll culture. Ethnography of earn in the Central Carolines,. 1-353, New Haven, 1953 (offset by Human Relations Aréa Files). Cameron, J. f Farrell, Ayeiedis / John Camer on's Odyssey. | 1-461, New York, 1923. Chamisso, A. von Remarks and opinions ... »f the naturalist of the expedition: in, Kotzebue, & voyage of discovery .... 3! 1-318, 436-442, 1621. Cloud, P.E., dr. Preliminary report on geology and marine environments of Onotoa Atoll, Giibert Islands. Atoll Res. Bull. 12: 1-73, 1952. Cooksey, T. Rock specimens. Australian Mus. “em, 3: 73-78, 1896. Couthouy, J.P. Remarks upon coral formations in the Pacific. Boston Jour. Nat. Hist. 4: 66-105, 137-162, 1842. call Damm, H., Berita, Bo ae ee ad (eres: Inseln um Truk (Polowat, Hok, und eatewsl)! pain G Thilenius, : ipa der pues Brpediition it B 2 2% 1-288, 1935." Dana, np D. Geology: in, U.S.Exnloring Expedition 10: 12756, Philadelphia, 1849. Darwin, CG. . ci a cee tis Ue a Ce Journal of researches ReaRe Tae a T= ~ 1-519, London, 1852. Dixon, W.A. ie te Notes on the meteorology and ae bushes of a’ guano island, and, The guano and other phosphatic deposits occurring cn Malden Toland. Jour. Proc. R. Soc. N.S.We arise ater 1877. Eilers, A. ‘ Inseln um Ponape (Kapingamarangi, Nukuo, Ngatik, Mokil, ‘Pingelap): in, G Thilenius, pie eeeee ‘der ae acne ae B 8: 1-464, 1934. ; Westkarolinen: in, G. Thilenius, Ergebnisse der Sudsee Expedition IT. B.9;- di = (Songosor,’ Pur,luerir): 1-405, :4£935. WiLis Wttelts A short account of the Laccadive Islands and Minicoy. 1-123, Madras, 1924. Elschner, C. The Leeward Islands of the Hawaiian group. 1-68, Honolulu, 1915 (reprinted from Honolulu Advertiser, 1915). Ein Besuch auf gate Be ae in ia ener Ozean. Ethnologische Erfahrungen und Belegstiicke aus der Stidsee. Dritte Abtheilung: Micronesien (West-Yceanien). alu Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien 8: 1-106; 119-275, 295-437, 1893. Stidseearbeiten. Nisa 1-605, Hamburg, 1914 (published as vol. 14 of AbhandLungen des Hamburgischen “Kolonialinstituts). Foote, R.B. Notes on Rameswaram Island. | Madras Christian College Magazine ee) 828-810, 1889. Seen only as typed quotations by courtesy of “r. ‘T.W. ‘Ballard. Zi Fosberg, F.R- Northern Marshall Islands Expedition 1951-1952. I. Narrative. Atoll Res.. Bull... 38: 1-36, 1955, Gardiner, J.S. pee fauna.and geography of the Maldive and Laccadive Archipelagoes. : 473-1078, 1906. Gibson-hill, C.A. Notes on the insects taken on the Cocos-Keeling Islands. Bull. Raffles Mus. 22: 149-165, 1950. Gill, W.W. , Myths and songs from the South Pacific. 1-328, London, 1676. Girschner, M. Die Karolininsel Namoluk und ihr Bewohner. Baessler-Archiv 2: me ee? 1912. Gruncemann, D. Unser kieinstes Schutzgebiet, die Marshallinseln. D. Xolon. Zeit. 4? Adbl—4id, 1887. Gulick, L.H. Micronesia. Naut. ilag. Nav. Chron. 31: 169-182, 237-245; Aare "358363, 408-417, 1662, Guppy, H.B. uh The Solomon Islands: their geology, general features, and suitability for colonization, — 1-152, London, 1887. The Cocos-Keeling Islands. Scott. Geogr, Mag. 5: 281-297, L57-47h, 569-588, 1889. Plarits, seeds and currents in the West Indies and Azores. 1-531, London, 1917. Hartzer, F. Les Iles Blanches des ilers du Sud. 1-345, Paris, 1900. Hedley, ©. General account of the Seon of Funafuti. Australian Mus. Mem, 3: 1-71, 1896. Hochstetter, F. von Las Stewart-Atoll im Stillen Ocean: in, Reise der Oesterreichischen Fregatte Novara .... Geologischer Theil II, 1: 153-161, 1866, ange Jukes, J.B. Narrative of the surveying voyage of H.M.S, Fly ... 2 vols., London, 1847. Keatin AST Pec of Cocoes or Keeling's island allel lielig Hotaen! Travels P] = | in China, New Zealand .... Ed. -2. 4: 374-385, 1840. Kubary, Jd. Beitrag zuc Kenntnis der Nukuoro- oder Monte Verde Inseln (Karolinen-Archipel). Mitt. Geogr. Ges. Hamburg 16: 71-138, 1900. Kurze, G. Mikronesien und die Mission daselbst. Allg. Missions-Zeitschr. 14: 64-80, 123-128, 1887. Lacroix, A. La constitution lithologique des tles volcanioues de la Polynésie australe, Mém. Acad. Sci. Paris 59(2): 1-82, 1928. Remarques sur les volcans sous-marins, a propos de ponces rhyolitiques recueillies sur L'atoll Marutea du Sud (Archipel des Tuamotu). C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris 208: 609-611, 1939a,. Les ponces dacitiques flottant sur l'océan, entre les Fiji, les Nouvelles-Hébrides et la Nouvelle—Calédonie. C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris 208: 853-857, 1939b. Lipman, C,.B. and Shelley, P.E, i Studies on the origin and composition of the soil of Rose +slet. Carnegie Inst. Pub. 340: 201-208, 1924. Mayor, A.G. Rose Atoll,- American Samoa... Carnegie.Inst. Pub. 340: 73-79, 1924. Meinicke, C.E. Die Gilbert- und ilarshail-Inseln. Zeitschr. f. Allg. Frdk. Berlin n.s. 15: 369-117; 1863. Moresby, [R R./ Z The Chagos Archipelago /. Trans. Bombay Geogr. Soc. 1: 307-310, 1844. Munro, G.C. “Notes on Midway Island birds. Elepaio 6: 43-46, 1946. -26- Oldham, C.F. The topography of the Arabian Sea in the neighbourhood of the Laccadives, and the physical features of some of the Laccadive Islands. Jour. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 64(2): 1-14, 1895. Pickering, C. ; Geographical distribution of animals and plants [ Part CI in, £U.S.Exploring Expedition 19 (2)_/: 1-52, £ Philadelphia, 18767. Sachet, M.-H. : 4 A summary of information on Rose Atcll. Atoil Res. Bull. 29: 1-25, 1954. Schauinsland, H.H. ae Drei Monate auf einer Korallen-insel (Laysan). 1-104, Bremen, 1899. Scherzer, K. ; Narrative of the circumnavigation of the globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara ceo. . Vol. 2: 1-027, London, 1862. Schultz, L.P. The Navy surveying expedition to the Phoenix and samoa Isiands, 1939. Smiths. Explor. 1939: 45-50, 1940. Seurat, L.G. Observations sur la structure, la faune et la flore de 1'Tle Warutea du Sud (archipel des Tuamotu). 1-18, Papeete, 1903. Sewell, R.B.S. fn account of Addu Atoll. J. liurray Exp. Rept. 1: 63-93, 1936a. eR ee An account of Horsburgh or Gorfurfehender Atoll. J. iMurray Exp. Rept. 1: 109-125, 1936b. Stone, E.L., Jr. The soils of Arno Atoll, Marshall Islands. AtoLL Res. Bull. 53 1-56, AGS See, Tayama, R. ~ Coral reefs in the South Seas. Bull. Hydrogr. Office Japan 11: 1-292, 1952. Thilenius, G, and Hellwig, F. E. Allgemeines: in, G. Thilenius, Ergebnisse Stidsee ixpedition .... I: 1-489, Hamburg, 1927. Van Zwaluwenburg, R. H. Canton Island. Hawaiian Pl. Rec. 45: 15-24, 1941, Lee. Whitmee, S.J. [Note on pumice in Ellice Islands/. Nature 19: 108, 1878. Wilkes, C. Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition during the years 1638, 1839, 1840, 1&41, 1Sh2. 5 vols., Philadelpnia, 1845 ( unofficial octavo edition used for convenience). Willis, J.C. and Gardiner, J.S., The botany of the Maldive Islands. Ann. R. Bot. Gard. Peradeniya 1: 45-164, 1901. Wilson, R.F.lM. An hour on a coral island-- by a student of lichenology. Wood-Jones, F. Coral and atolls. 1-392, London, 1910. Yamanari, Aluminum phosphate deposit in Kita Daito-Jima. Contr. Inst. Geol. Pal. Tohoku Univ. no. 15* 1935. Seen only es translation, by T. Hirasawa, pp. 1-73, filed in U.S.Geological Survey Library, Washington, D.C. a” ATOLL RESEARCH BULL:#TIN No, 38 Northern Marshall Islands Expedition, 1951-1952. Narrative by F. R. Fosberg Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National Academy of Sciences——-National Research Council Washington, D. C. May 15, 1955 nucineseeiain iol Northern Marshall Islands Expedition, 1951-1952. Narrative i by F. R. Fosberg 3 a Publication authorized by the Director, U. S. Geological Survey 2/ Preliminary results of the Expedition to the Northern Marshall Islands, 1951-1952, no. 1. 3/ Botanist, U. S. Geological Survey Table of Contents Page Introduction 1 Trip to Japan 2 Pokak and Bikar 3 Utirik Atoll 4 Taka Atoll 6 Likiep Atoll 8 Jemo Island 9 Ailuk Atoll 10 Lae Atoll 13 Kwajalein Atoll ah Ujelang Atoll 16 Wotho Atoll 17 Ujae Atoll 19 Wotho Atoll 22 Bikar and Pokak 25 Return Trip 24 Wake Island 25 Another Attempt 26 Pokak Atoll 27 Kwajalein Atoll Bie Bikar Atoll Bil Condensed Itinerary of Localities where Collections and Observations werewmade 3h List of Collection Numbers by Islands 36 Northern Marshall Islands Expedition, 1951-1952. Narrative F. R. Fosberg Introduction The Northern Mershall Islands sxpedition, dubbed "Project Atoll" for ready reference, was accomplished during 1951 and 1952 as a part of the Pacific Geological Mapping Program currently being carried out co= © operatively by the Office of the Engineer, Headquarters, Army Forces, Far East and the U, S. Geological Survey, The expedition was attached to a large surveying project of the Office of the Engineer, Haq, AFFE for establishing mapping control on the atolls of the Marshall Islands, Transportation and logistic support were furnished by the Engineer. . surveying vessels, The primary objective of Project Atoll was to collect geological and botanical information. The circumstances of the trip made possible only a reconnaissance study of some of the major islets © of each atoll visited, Emphasis was placed on studies of the geology, hydrology, soils, and vegetation; observations of land and marine ecology, land and marine zoology, and other subjects were made as time and cir- cumstances permitted, The personnel varied from time to time, The four who participated’ © were F, Stearns MacNeil and Charles G. Johnson, geologists, Ted Arnow, hydrologist, and F. Raymond Fosberg, botanist and general ecologist. Principal attention was directed to the following atolls: Pokak, Bikar, Utirik, Taka, Ailuk, Jemo, Likiep, Kwajalein, Lae, Wotho, Ujae, Ujelang, and Wake, with minor observations, either on the ground or froin the air, of a number of other islands in the Hawaiian Group, Marianas, Volcano Group, and Japan, | Since much material and information of great scientific interest was collected, and various technical papers are projected on different aspects of the results, it seems worth while to present a preliminary general account, in the form of an itinerary and informal narrative, with dates, series of collection numbers for biological material, and some description of the islands and of the scientific Ayes ieee ots carried out. The account will be given in more detail for the activities of the author of this paper, leaving it to the others, if they care to, to write any detailed story of their own work. Geological and hydrolo- gical observations will occasionally be mentioned, however, because of their essential connection with an understanding of the eae of the islands. In this article the soils and vegetation of the northern Marshalls | will not be described, except incidentally. Since preliminary notes on the birds observed will be presented in papers.to follow, as well lian as lists of plants and animals collected, these birds, plants and animals will be mentioned only in connections of very general interest in the narrative, This account will serve as a reference for future papers, in which space may not be available for more than the essential observations on the subjects treated. As formality is not necessary, the narrative will be written in the first person. Owing to circumstances, which will become clear as the account goes on, it became necessary to divide the expedition into two separate parts; one of these, with MacNeil as party chief, worked from October 1951 to April 1952, and the other, with Johnson as party chief, from July to August 1952, The participants met in October in Tokyo, where plans and preparations for the actual trip were completed. Trip to Japan My own trip started from Washington, with travel by commercial and military aircraft. After a few days in California and Honolulu, conferring on coral atoll ecology with workers whose fields of knowledge have a bear- ing on this subject, I left for Tokyo, My first actual atoll stop was a brief one on Johnston Island on the morning of October 22, 1951. This small patch of sand originally had a vascular flora of three species, After the development of an airbase there at the beginning of World War II, plants introduced both deliberately and accidentally raised the flora to 27 species by ne (see Fosberg, Pac. Sci. 3: 338-339, 1949) and to 30 species by 1950.YOf these several ornamentals had reached a fair size by 1951. Casuarina equisetifolia was at least 8 meters high. Calo- phyllum inophyllum, Thesvesia populnea, Terminalia catappa, and Hibiscus tiliaceus were 2 or 3 meters high, and the last two were rather chlorotic in appearance, Most sloping surfaces, embankments, bomb shelters, and the like were quite covered by.a blanket of herbaceous vegetation-—Boerhavia, Cenchrus, Eleusine, and Tribulus. Most flat surfaces were kept clean by ~ traffic. Many weeds, such as Portulaca oleracea, Amaranthus viridis, and Euphorbia hypericifolia, grew around the bases of buildings. Pluchea odorata was common, but not as common as in 1946, while Pluchea indica had also become common. Only one coconut seedling was seen. - After crossing the international date line, we sighted Wake Island late in the afternoon of October 23. The general vegetation in the neighborhood of the airstrip is a scrub of Messerschmidia argentea not over 2 to 3 meters tall, with some admixture of Scaevola locally. Open areas are occupied by pure stands of Fimbristylis, which seems to colonize the most extreme habitats, such as the edges of airstrips, and by Ipomoea tuba, which also climbs in the scrub as well’ as creeping over the ground. Around the buildings are various weeds, of which Cenchrus is most common and forms pure patches, Heliotropium anomalum is common, with no evident floral dimorphism, There are some marshy depressions, perhaps artificial, along the airstrip away from the terminal. The stop here was also only a brief one for fueling. Iwo Jima was reached at midnight, therefore little was seen of its features. Chloris inflata was abundant around the airbase, L/ Additional introductions are listed by Newhouse, Pac, Sci. 9: 91=92, 1955.4 ‘ i Pa Japan, on our arrival, was completely blanketed by clouds. One glimpse through: them of. green: ‘terraced hills and the conical peak of Fujiyama towering far above, proved that we had reached our destination, We came down’ through the: clouds’ over Tokyo Bay, with its myriad of: fishing boats, rows upon rows of fences for algae cultivation, and the gray, ipo spa ee bots aa as Tokyo on its | MacNeil had ‘baci ‘in ie for several weeks fovkddé with Johnson on plans for the expedition. Arnow flew up from Guam for two days to talk ‘over plans, then. siadidin vo hi sienna to. Join the ship. on.its, first fueling stop at’ Kwajalein. et The three weeks in Japan, while we waited for last minute prepara~ tions, were well spent meeting Japanese botanists, .visiting: Japanese herbaria, and.checking ‘equipement: and supplies for the expedition, Week=-— ends and.a trip. to..Fukuoka to visit Prof. Hosokawa gave a-few opportunities to see the SAF ira beautiful Japanese countryside. Poke and Bikar ive “On ‘Novenber a thie ee cwene Army #3367, Captain Marvin Shoaf commanding, carrying a Japanese surveying.party, of:some 40 or more men, 10 U.S-Army’ personnel under the command.of Major Paul L. Hudson, and “MacNeil ‘and myself, left Tokyo: ‘Harbor. ‘A direct course was set for Pokak (Taongi) Atoll, the northernmost of the Marshall Islands. and the first” scheduled Stapr of the extedition. Not a living thing-was seen on this stretch, except a few flying fish after the fifth day. On the night of Noveniber 24 the ship slowed down and the cries of: sooty terns told us ua that. land was nearby. Ant icipation, of the.visit. to Pokak. Atoll was height— ened by a rumor of mysterious: ‘pasaltic megaliths, , found there by John Cameron, a Pacific trader and adventurer, ‘and recounted briefly in the story of his 1ifé , "John Cameron's Odyssey" (p. 3975. 1923). Such stones would indeed be remarkable on a-¢oral atoll 600 miles: from the nearest volcanic jand. On the morning ‘of November 25 we daivace aes: a Pentuter of birds, and the low gray-green strip of vegetation and, white. breakers half a mile to | the north was, Pokak Atoll. A black-footed albatross: flew ti 1 sae PG one seen on the trip. bc Pokak vert is. Laedemhadiied) with iat ahae: narrow boat. passage . on on the concave western side. This being the leeward side, at high tide the entrance should normally have been passable to. small boats, but on this’ ~ occasion a heavy swell was coming in from the west and breaking clear across the passage, out of which a ‘strong current was pouring. Inspec— me tion. by small boat parties convinced the Major that landing was dangerous he and impractical; and a decision was made to leave for Bikar, the next © atoll to the south, Before departing we were able to follow the south and east coast, where there are islets, to the eastern extremity of Kamome Islet. Sea birds were generally abundant, but over. Kamome they almost darkened the. coke el Peri here was in eae gael poor condition. No resi description will be. given here, as- Pokak Atoll was visited again later, - ae in Bikar was sighted on the morning of November 26, Its three princi- pal islets were completely covered by what appeared to be Pisonia forest, except for some storm-swept bare areas and a small coconut grove on Bikar Islet. Here again, there is only one channel into the lagoon, located on the west or leeward side. A short inspection of this passage convinced the Major that this also was impassable, and we departed for Utirik Atoll, which we reached the following morning, We did not get ashore, however, until November 28, and were there until December 4. Utirik Atoll Utirik Islet, the main land-mass on the atoll, is very largely covered by coconut groves, except for a belt of thick scrub and forest on the northeast or windward coast and the long, almost bare projection along the reef to the west. The village is on the lagoon shore of this islet, In the northern Marshalls there is usually only one village on an atoll, commonly located on the largest islet. This islet usually bears the same name as the atoll, as also does the village. The coconut groves on Utirik were rather open and free of undergrowth. It was immediately evident that a typhoon (Typhoon Georgia, March 21, 1951) had recently visited the island, Large numbers of coconut trees were knocked down, mostly in a southerly or southwesterly direction, Practi« cally no ripe coconuts were to be seen in the trees or on the ground, and no copra was drying, On the western projection of the island most of the loose material was removed, exposing large root systems of dead and un— recognizable plants. The Pemphis bushes that graw here were in a very battered and ragged state. Curiously enough, though, the ridge of low dunes along the lagoon side of this strip of land was well vegetated with fair-sized bushes of Scaevola, Messerschmidia, and Pemphis and showed no signs, whatever, of typhoon damage. poi Evidence of an earlier typhoon was quite clear in the form of a rubble bar in the lagoon opposite the bare portion of this extension of the island, its end at the point where the coconut grove ended. That this was not a result of the 1951 typhoon was indicated by the facts that all the fallen trees pointed in the opposite direction and that the bare area and rubble bar were both evident on aerial photographs taken in 1944. The earlier typhoon was severe enough that loose material up to substantial boulder size was swept off this narrow portion of the island and piled in the lagoon. Relatively little vegetation, except scattered Pemphis bushes adapted to growing on bare limestone rock, had reappeared in the 35 or more years since this storm. The natives tell of a storm about 1918 but are not certain of the year. It is quite possible, though that we were observing the effects of an earlier storm, in the last part of the 19th century. Some areas of bare coral sand were characterized by a thin crust of sand held by a mass of blue-green algae. Rains were frequent enough to keep this sand washed fairly free of salt, but once in a while very high tides would give it. a salt-water bath in low areas. This happened at least “ -5— once or twice in the days. sisi we si diel there. The Polynesian » senayaraéh'y Taeea -Igontopetaloides, grew in ensues abundance and luxuriance as ground. co cover ‘in the coconut groves here. Each year, in the late fall, it fruits and dies down to the ground. Here it was beginning to turn. yellow, and the fruits were essentially © mature, The tubers, mistaken for potatoes by other members of our party, were being harvested in some quantity by the Marshallese. They were grated and the starch was washed out and dried.in large balls, about the size of a child's head. Whether this was normally so widely practiced was not certain, It may have been a result of food shortage because of ERe typhoon. There was some complaint about lack of flour. Several pit wells were observed, and the water in en was - surprising- ly fresh. Dragon flies and damsel flies were seen around them, but no mos- quitoes were noticed, Several holes were dug in an attempt to get water © samples and to study the behavior of the ground-water body, as well.as to collect soil samples, The upper layers of the soil were surprisingly black. Digging was extremely difficult because of the amount of rubble in the soil and becatise bedrock was usually reached abéve the water table, This bed- rock is a curious cemented fine coral gravel, quite hard, but shattering © completely under a hard blow of a hammer. — MHI. 2.81 In the central part of the islet are a number of elongate depressions or trenches about 10 meters wide and 2 meters deep. They are said by the natives to have been made by the "old people," and are doubtless long— - abandoned taro pits. They have been abandoned long enough to have mature ~ coconut trees growing in their bottoms. In the bottom is a layer of black mucky soil almost 6 decimeters deep. A hole dug in the bottom of one of these reached water at less than 1 meter.» The water had a strong hyd Reeen: sulfide odor and a peculiar sweetish taste. © On the northeast part of the islet, near the edge of the eeeeae plantation,: but within it, were noticed some curious low rounded mounds of small, sharp, broken coral fragments. Their origin was not apparent. On these mounds Fleurya ruderalis and Boerhavia diffusa aré common. On Bekrak Islet, north on the reef from Utirik, is a tiny mangrove swamp, serving as a wallow for pigs. On the north passage beach of this islet small pumice pebbles were embedded in a bank of white coral sand that was being cut away, These were, in most cases, entirely enveloped in a casing or capsule of closely matted small Scaevola roots. Appar- ently there is something in this pumice, floated across the sea from some far-off volcano, that the Scaevola plant needs, and that is deficient in the coral sand. Eluk Talat to the north of Eeeaes has few coconut trees and much — natural scrub vegetation, Dark=blue velvety. butterflies (Hypolimnas bolina) , were abundant here, FE Nene the flowers of Achyranthes, Here on Utirik, when our ship returned from fueling at Kwajalein, we were joined by Ted Arnow, third member of the scientific party. After this the task of supervising the digging of holes or ‘wells for water and soil samples was largely taken over by him, leaving more time to tramp ~6— the islands, making geographical, vegetational and general ecological ob= servations and collections. . ta : . At our camp on the open western projection of Utirik.Islet, I had a canvas shelter built to protect my plant drying stand. Unable to get the preferred type of kerosene stove in the United States before starte ing on the trip I had allowed myself to be sold: two-stoves of a type I had not seen before, About the third evening, one of these set the plant presses and shelter.on fire, Fortunately all specimens were saved, but the shelter was a total loss. Taka Atoll On December 4 we departed for Taka Atoll, just over the horizon, with a feeling that we had barely started to learn something about Utirik, The last observation made on Utirik was of a white-tailed tropic-bird fly= ing over the lagoon, the only one I was to see until many months later. We arrived at Taka the same day but did not go ashore until Decem= ber 5, Because the ship could enter Taka Lagoon, we did not camp ashore but returned to the ship at night. Here, after some investigation, I de= cided that plant-presses could be dried in the funnel of the ship, There were doors on the funnel sides, and a rack between the hot exhaust pipes, on which the presses could be laid. Soil samples aiso-could be placed in their bags on this rack to dry. The Chief Engineer, Charles Frey, readily. consented to this use of his facilities, and plants were dried this way for the rest of this leg of the trip, For the first week or so, close watch was kent, but there seemed no danger whatever of fire. Drying was quite satisfactory, except when the ship was anchored in lagoons for con—. siderable periods, Then there was not sufficient heat and, in spite of the use of formalin, a few specimens molded. Taka is an uninhabited atoll with rather little land area, It has on¢ fair-sized islet, two small ones, and several bare sand bars. The largest, Taka Islet, is roughly rectangular, and only a third or fourth . of it along the lagoon beach was planted to coconuts. The rest is brushy woods with a few openings and one small grove of typhocn-beaten large Pisonia trees, The ground in the coconut grove is luxuriantly covered locally by the fern Polyocdium scolopendria, which is practically absent from nearby Utirik, This islet is occasionally visited by the Utirik people when copra is harvested, pai Several pits were dug on Taka Islet to examine soil profiles and to obtain water samples, One of these, dug to a depth of over 2.5 meters, showed an interesting series of buried soil horizons, In most of the holes, rock layers were encountered that prevented us from reaching water. Lojiron Islet, a very small one to the north of Taka Islet, has a tiny but beautiful grove of Pisonia trees, Some of these had been knocked down by the typhoon, showing their very shallow root systems with no strong . taproots. The trees were not dead but were sending up quantities of vig- orous sprouts all along the trunks. The surface layer of the soil here is a black peaty material or raw humus a few centimeters thick with a pH of 5.6 to 6 when unmixed with sand, whereas that of the coral sand or materials mixed with it is about 8. This accwmlation of humus, as well as its low pH, was a rather unexpected phenomenon on well-drained limestone soil in the lowland tropics. The rock slope from the general level of the islet-down to. the reef flat demonstrated some of the processes by which raised reefsurfaces are gradually reduced to a base-level at about low-tide mark, Conspicuous | among these processes are the formation of solution basins ‘and the spalling off of slabs. Where this slope was covered,with sand and gravel, process- es of colonization by plants were also very apparent. Portulaca and Lepturus are the most conspicuous and abundant early contingent, with Messerschmidia and Scaevola pene in smaller ors and peep slightly later. Wotwerok Islet, west: of Taka on the south reef of the aon, is a barren-Looking, rocky flat only a few acres in area put inhabited by great numbers of birds, ‘In order to have more opportunity to study the extreme ecological conditions exhibited, I had myself put ashore there alone, to be picked up the next day... The vegetation is generally .a sparse to dense Messerschmidia- scrub, with some Sah aie of Fisonia and.,Scaevola. There are irregular openings with Lepturus ,: if she spay is sandy, and with Fleurya and Boerhavia if entirely stony, and large areas on the two seaward corners are entirely bare. The Fleurya is an unusual population’ — in that it shows no traces of red color in stems or leaves. Obviously two species of Boerhavia are present, showing a series of distinct morpho- logical characters as well as the fact that one is not attacked by the white rust, Albugo platensis, whereas the other is frequently attacked. This fungus changes the habit of parts of its host from elongate prostrate to short erect branches, probably a. type of witches-broom effect. For this reason these infections are easily seen, and the parasite is known from plants of the Boerhavia diffusa complex from widely scattered localities in the Pacific. This islet is a great tern rookery, as thousands of sooty terns, two species of noddies, and fairy terns, all nest there. The sooty terns, or wideawakes, lay their eggs on the bare gravel on the seaward side. | When disturbed they fly up in great clouds. They so resented my presence that after I went to bed.a large column of them flew screaming above my — cot, circling and circling. They kept this up steadily from about. 6: BON p. m. until about 7 a. m., making it rather difficult to ey To the seaward of this islet is a definite cpiaiiielatea ridge, even though it is on the south reef, The tide was low enough so that a short trip out to the edge of the reef was feasible, and a number of algae, mainly lime-secreting ones, were obtained. The algal flora, how= ever, is relatively meager. The land flora is extremely restricted, only 11 species being observed. Insects and other small land inverte- brates were common, however, and a considerable number were collected. The Taka Atoll plant and animal collections are important because they very likely come closer than those from most other islands to repre- senting the flora and fauna of the northern Marshalls prior to the coming of man. No flies and no rats were seen; but grasshoppers, one mosquito, and two lizards-~ a skink and a’ gecko--were noticed. agh Likxep Atoll On December 10 we left Taka bound for Ailuk. However, Ted Arnow had developed an ailment, and it was necessary,,to get him to more expe~ rienced medical attention than was available on the ship. By radio it was ascertained that the Air-Sea Rescue PBM plane from Kwajalein would not land in Ailuk lagoon but would come to Likiep, so we changed our plan and made Likiep our next stop. We reached it and anchored in the lagoon on December 11, and the PBM arrived promptly to take Ted to Kwajalein. We were sorry to see him go, as he was both an excellent companion and a great help with the work of .the ;expedition, We hoped that his trouble would prove to be minor and that he would return’shortly. Likiep was an atoll that I had visited on the Economic Survey in 1946, so I chose to concentrate my efforts on a different islet than Likiep Islet, studied then, The astronomical party of the surveying team set up their station on Lado Islet, so MacNeil and I moved ashore with theme Before going to Lado, I visited Likiep Village and renewed acquaintance with the local magistrate, Anton DeBrum, Anton, a middle-aged Marshallese halfeaste, is head of the DeBrum family, rivals of the related Capelle family for leadership in northern Marshall affairs. I well remember a _ celebration of the birthday of an elder of the Capelle family at which I was a guest in 1946, The two families displayed their friendly rivalry in doing honor to this old gentleman, and I had a chance to observe, from @ vantage point, Marshallese high society at an important function. On Likiep, also, I met. a priest, Father McCarthy, with whom I later had some interesting talks. A brief walk on the islet confirmed the im- pression gained in 1940 of very thin soil and sparse vegetation in the co- conut groves south of the village, probably an effect of the great typhoon that swept the atoll clean about 90 years ago, This same sparseness of vegetation is apparent on Lado Islet, especially on the east end. Being entirely planted to coconuts, Lado has a singularly wminterest— ing vegetation, This, with the fact that I had collected many Likiep plants in 1946, made it possible to concentrate more on other things such as col- lecting insects, water samples, soils, and algae on the windward reef. The moon was almost full, and one night was largely spent lobster hunting out on the reef flat and algal ridge of the windward reef. The night life of the reef was observed and, incidentally we had lobsters for breakfast next day. My own visit to Likiep was short, as I had decided to visit Jemo Island with a small party of surveyors who were to spend several days there, Before leaving I spent one night and most of a day on Likiep Islet, talking with Father McCarthy and walking around the islet. With low-level aerial photos taken during the war, it was possible both to test my abil- ity in identifying plants on the photos and to assess changes in the island. Plants collected on Likiep (mostly on Lado Islet) were largely algae. A search was made for Hippobroma longiflora, a poisonous weed newly estab- lished in 1946. I had then advised the natives to destroy it, and they apparently had, as I found none on this visit. Anton confirmed that they had pulled it up whenever they had seen it, eo -J- Jemo Departure —_ Tete was on | December 18, and the. voyage ook only. two banker Landing there is. never very. certain, and this landing could have been exciting, but ‘beyond. a. wetting. there was no especial incident. ‘The ship left for re again as soon as we were ashore, __ Jemo is a tiny egg-shaped patch of tha, less than one-tenth of a souare mile-in area, on the end of a reef about 4 1/2 miles long. In pre- European times the Marshallese. kept it as a ‘sanctuary.for birds and turtles, visiting it only ondé’a- year to harvest a’ limited number of these animals -and their eggs for food: It was largely cleared and planted to coconut trees by the Likiep people 50 or 60 years ago. Fortunately for my investiga- tions, they left a strip of: vegetation completely aroynd the island. Jemo * is uninhabited, though-there ,is a small frame house there for use during + the times when copra*is haryested. Fortunately we were permitted by the “owner to occupy this house during our visit, so that less of our limited + time was wasted making: ‘camp and protection from the rain wes more effect- ‘ive. My first act on entering the house was to collect a scorpion, which was the first and only record of this species (Isometrus maculatus) from the Marshall Islands. It was the common pan—tropical house scorpion, but that it should have been coliected only here, on an uninhabited island, is Oa) curious. On landing, the enlisted men in the party were quite excited at what they first thought were tank tracks going straight up the beach from ~ the.water's edge. It was obvious that they were tracks of sea turtles that had come ashore to lay their eggs. When I walked around the island, I ‘eounted the riumber- of fresh tracks in the undisturbed sand and found hi in et indicating’ that 22 turtles had come ashore the previous night or two. Ab the top of ‘the ‘beach,. in the edge of the vegetation, were wide, shallow .- pits and mounds cf sand. We dug in several of these pits, looking for eggs. This was exactly what the turtles had intended we should do. They had been smart enough not to lay them in the obvious place, We eventually found the eggs in a small, deep hole under the’ pile of sand excavated from the main pit. In this hole were 106 eggs, white, spherical, and somewhat elastic, about the sizé and appearance of pingpong balls, packed together under 2 feet of sand. When cooked, the whites ofthese eggs did not coagulate; and scrambled, they tasted more like soft cheese than chicken's eggs. It was just past full moon the first night we were there, and at about 1:30 a. m. I went out with two of the boys to see if any more turtles had come ashore. After walking around almost the entire sandy part of the isiand we found two sets of fresh tracks, one going up the beach, and one down, A large dark form was seen just about to enter the water. Racing to it, we found a turtle, stopped it, and with some effort, turned it over on its back. “After struggling etieae for a bit, Pe aSe wildly with its flippers, it calmed down, emitting a sighing "ah'th" sound, with tears run- ning from its eyes. Seeing this, one of the boys, an American-born Japanese . interpreter, who had been all excited about having turtle meat, asked me . anxiously if I were going to kill it. When I told him that’ I Genes only ' to take pictures of it the next day and then to let it BO; he was relieved. The tears had ‘changed -his., mind ‘ es turtle meat. ie it~ Next day we got some excellent pictures of this large specimen of green turtle before sending it back to sea, The Japanese surveyors did not think much of this procedure, it being considered bad luck to molest turtles. In fact, when the sea got choppy later, and there was some _ doubt that we would be able to get off the island, there was some mutter- ing that it would have been better if we had not bothered the turtle at all, ¥ When the island was cleared a strip of vegetation 30 meters or more wide was left completely around the island. On the west side this strip is a magnificent forest of giant Pisonia grandis trees. Elsewhere it is lower and of mixed scrubby forest, , This forest grows mostly on a ridge of dunes 5 to 6 meters above low-tide level, not high, as dunes go, but striking for a low coral island. It was fortunate for my investigations that this belt of forest was left, as in it I first got an idea of one of the most interesting sets of relationships that were to appear as results of the expeditione/ It was noted here that the surface of the ground in the Pisonia grove was covered by a thick layer of a peat-like material, similar to the "raw humus" or "mor" of northern forests and heaths. Under this was a layer of cemented sand, the cement dark brown, that corresponded to the descriptions I had been given of phosphate rock.on Arno Atoll. Red=footed boobies were nesting in the trees, and the ground was liberally spattered with white guano, Broken and weathered pieces of rock were abundant in the half of the coconut plantation next to the Pisonia grove but were absent in the other half of it. The part of the coconut planta- tion with the rock fragments was dense and luxuriant; the other part was in very poor condition, and most of the older trees were dead or dying. The island was combed for plants and land animals, and good collec- tions were made. Descriptions were made of the vegetation, the topography, and the arrangement of beach rock and peripheral ridges; and soil profiles were examined. It would seem that more than four days on such a tiny speck of land’ might be almost enough, but when the ship came for us on December 23, I felt that only a preliminary examination had been made and that if only a few more days were available I might begin to learn just what was happen- ing in this microcosm. Much to my delight, Ted Arnow, having recovered. completely, was aboard, Ailuk Atoll Ailuk was sighted late’ in the. afternoon, and we were able to enter the lagoon through the north passage on the west side, where we dropped anchor not far inside, Two days, including Christmas, were spent on board getting collections taken care of and notes in shape. The Christmas dinner produced by Captain Shoaf's steward's department was a great achievement, and was the gastronomic high point of the expedition. To our surprise we were served everything we would have had at home or in a fancy stateside restaurant, MacNeil and Arnow had gone ashore on Christmas eve and had established camp on Ailuk Islet, at the south end of the lagoon. I joined them on the 26th, but spent the entire day getting there from the ship. 1/ See Soil Science 78: 99-307, 1954, ~Ll= Since we arrived at Ailuk a stiff tradewind had been blowing continuously, and it neither stopped nor slackened the entire time we were there. If I had needed to be disillusioned about calm tropical lagoons this day on Ailuk lagoon would have done it very well. The waves on the lagoon were fully as rough as on an ordinary day in the open sea. Travelling in an open motor whaleboat meant a continuous drenching. The water was not really cold, but because of the wind everyone was sure that it was. With one stop to put up a surveying signal on the reef, and an hour ashore on Akulwe Islet, the only. one on the west reef of Ailuk, we spent all iota going the 13 miles from the ship to the main island. Ailuk Teas is by: oe the ieee islet on the atoll,, and is situated on the southeast corner of the elongate ring-like reef. It is: almost entire- ly covered by coconut and. breadfruit. trees, which provide much of the live- lihood for the 413 people. At the southwest corner of the islet is a tri- angular projection of sand with a hook-like spit on the end of it, This small peninsula is bare of trees except for.scattered Pandanus, and here the party of surveyors had set up their camp, and MacNeil and Arnow had been comfortably established for two days when I arrived. The people: of Ailuk, who are extremely friendly, had welcomed both Americans to their Christmas festivities, and after I arrived, brought presents and invitations to a village party. Their help in digging holes for water and soil samples facilitated our work greatly. Some distance back of.the village on this islet is an area of several acres where the otherwise healthy coconut groves seem to be in sorry con- dition. They resemble those on the eastern half of Jemo Island in that most of the old trees are dead or dying, but young ones are not present. Also, the soil here is black, as black as any.seen on any of the islands visited, Nothing was apparent in the pit dug in the soil, or in the samples secured, that would account for this condition. The remaining trees still standing did: show more than usual signs of fire around their bases, so that it is conceivable that a severe fire may have killed most of the trees, Old taro pits are abundant near the center of the islet, most of them being elongate and winding, with the excavated material piled up as much as 2 meters above the general ground level between them. Coconut trees are growing.on their bottoms, and they are choked with Clerodendrum and Ipomoea, One or two pits are in the village near the lagoon. These show a few persisting plants of Cyrtosperma, and still have a good muck layer in the bottom, highly organic and very wet. But taro culture is just as effectively abandoned here as in the other northern Marshalls. .And here, » as elsewhere, Paspalum vaginatum forms a dense mat on all recently used pits. Ailuk, like Likiep, has abundant and healthy breadfruit trees around the villege. They do not, however, extend much beyond halfway to the outer ». side, and at this distance are very yellow and unhealthy looking. One | healthy tree, however, grew on the boulder Pade on the southwest side only about 16 meters from high-tide mark. : . ice 2 A that it would be possible to walk from islet to islet at low tide, and that there were low tides about midday, I decided to walk northward "along the chain of islets on the east, or windward reef of the atoll. I arranged to be picked up at one of the surveying stations on an islet about the middle of the atoll two days later..With a pandanus -l2= mat, a gift from the villagers, to sleep on, C rations for food, two canteens of water, machete, insect net, and collecting vials, I left in the middle of the morning. These islands all seem to be remnants of an old higher reef plat- form that had its surface well above present high-tide level. Most of this platform on every islet is covered by locse material, but the seaward ends have been recently swept clean of loose material and vegetation. Along some passages there are wide exposures of rock surface,. On these, though, there is a well developed forest of Pemphis acidula, dense and impene- trable, After a fair number of these islets were examined, a vegetation pattern became apparent. The lagoon side in most places had been planted to coconuts, leaving a crescent-shaped band of native scrub. and forest around the seaward sides and extending along the passages between the islets. The outer edge of this is low scrub; principally Pemphis if the substratum is rock; Scaevola, Messerschmidia, Guettarde, and Suriana if sand and gravel. The Pemphis does not seem at all inconvenienced if its roots are covered by the sea at high tide. The trees in this band become taller inward, until a well-developed forest, principally Messerschmidia, Pandanus, Guettarda, and Ochrosia, forms an excellent windbreak to protect the coconut trees against the strong spray-laden trade winds. The need for haste to take advantage of the low tides did not permit very careful study of these islets, but extensive notes were made and some facts became obvious. Perhaps the most interesting thing was that, at least during the trade-wind season, there is no reversal of the current flowing between these islets with the tide, The flow is always into the lagoon on this side, if the channel is deep enough to contain water at low tide, At high tide the current is like that of a millrace, quite capable of sweeping aman off his feet, as I found out, The water, of course, drains out of the lagoon over the leeward reef, which is lower, ee below low tide level, and not obstructed by islets. , On some of the islets were native huts, not permanent residences, used apparently only during copra harvesting. On most of these islets were pigs, left to shift more or less for themselves. Correlated with the pre- sence of pigs were plagues of flies, some of the most persistent and raven- ous flies that I have ever seen. : After being picked up on schedule, I was able to examine most of the other islets to the north from a boat in the lagoon, landing on only four of them. On one of these, Enejelar Islet, was a ridge of rather well- developed sand dunes; the sand had obviously been caught by the strip of scrub vegetation growing along a long spit. On the windward side of this, as well as earlier on a sand bank on Ailuk Islet, were again found pumice pebbles enclosed in a capsule of closely matted roots, similar to those observed on Utirik, certainly roots of Scaevola, this time. It was the only plant near, and one such capsule was still attached to the root of Scaevola bush. The only reasonable explanation for this seems to be a deficiency in the coral sand of some element needed by the plant that is not serious enough to prevent the growth of Scaevola. The last stop on Ailuk was on an open stretch of the leeward reef, where the surveyors had set up a tower, The reef here is a broad surface wif Fa below low-tide level, thickly studded with coral needs and iui strewn with boulders thrown up by storms , ‘some of them quite large, up to 2 meters across, and. almost completely devoid of plant.life. Among the abundant animal growth, bright pink clumps of Liagora were the only plants .seen. The vegetation" seemed almost entirely a animal in natures. ni dae A Atoll | i On January Lh, 1952, we: lett, Ailuk and on January: 5 arrived at Lae. _, Lae is a tiny atoll compared. with Ailuk, but a beautiful one, From inside the lagoon the whole. atoll is’ wisible at once, and there are many well- wooded islets, For its size, Lae had more undisturbed vegetation than any other atoll we had seen up to this time. Here large patches of a peculiar forest type, very conspicuous. on aerial photos, but which until now defied identification, turned out to be pure stands of Ochrosia o oppositifolia, except one of ‘very similar appearance, which is-a pure ure stand of Barringto- nia astatica. Pure forests of neither of these trees had been reported previously, to the best of my knowledge, and.the pattern that their crowns make on. the: Sachi resembles “dabatbege else wit h. which I I am familiar. oS additd on to much of scientific sinbeiviedtc! on Lae, there was other excitement aplenty. In the lagoon was anchored a small schooner, that proved to be the Laura, from Likiep, which had disappeared on a voyage from Kwajalein to Likiep two and a half months previously and had been given up for lost by almost everyone, Her engine had been disabled and, with the rotten sail-canvas, she had managed to sail down-wind to Lae, far. tothe westward of her course and destination. Having no radio, her fate’ remained : obscure until we were able to announce her safety. — SNe Our own ship, after putting us ashore, left, for Kwajalein, . The me next news we had of her. over the radio was that she was laid up in Kwaja- lein, awaiting a replacement part, which would have to be brought from — Yokohama. We thought that; perhaps, this would give us a day or two more. than the scheduled time herd, and would enable us to do a somewhat more * thorough job of this atoll. than we.'had been able to do on any of the. others. | This proved a vain hope, as the surveyors finished in less than their allot-.: - ted time and a patrol boat was sent up from. Rvadadein to pick us’ up. Meanwhile, we got around the atoll, one did‘ the best job we could. As was expected, the vegetation was. conspicuously more luxuriant ‘here than’ on the atolls farther north. In the Marshalls the annual rainfall increases . rapidly from north.to south. Here in Lae were the. first functioning taro pits, a few among the many abandoned ones. ‘These had: Cyrtosperma and Colocasia growing-in a jellylike brown muck lying on a sandy bottom, with the water - ‘table practically at the surface.. Alocasia has invaded these pits and in most of ‘them has crowded. out the two edible taros. . The natives seem little concerned about this, as vey can get rice and on from. _ Kwajalein only 70 miles he ye 2 Here, for the first time on ‘tne hee we scout’ ‘Intsia: biiua, si noted in Guam where it is called ifil,.for its fine hard wood, od. This Rep) not its northern limit in the Marshalls, however,°as we later found ad on Wotho. It is a notable component of. the mixed forest. The mixed forest here, as well asthe breadfruit: forest and the ccoconut-breadfruit forest, willilion have denser canopies than seen on any other atoll so far on the trip, and the usual sparseness of undergrowth when heavily shaded was: apparent. In the Ochrosia forest, ‘mentioned above,. there is no undergrowth except small seedlings of Ochrosia. In the Barringtonia forest, the only other plants were a small colony of Peperomia, growing on boulders, by far the northernmost record for this in.the Marshalls, This forest is especially interesting because it is growing on the inner slope of the highest boulder ridge seen in the Marshalls, about 5.5 meters above low-tide level, The trees are very large, the ‘largest being almost 4 meters through, though the average is well under. 1 meter, The natives have cut a‘trail across the boulder ridge, digging well into the loose material. Here it can be seen that the layer 0.5 meter or more thick of boulders was depos— ited after the trees had reached aa ies aah ee present size. In the mixed forest on the windward eletiss which is apparenbn original uncieared forest, it was noticed-that the only Messerschmidia trees are very old ones. Some dead logs are found, but no young trees. . Young ones are abundant, on the other hand, around the peripheries of these same islets. The obvious inference. from’ this is that Messerschmidia is not a tree of mature mixed forest. It reproduces itself only under more or less pioneer conditions, The patrol craft from Kwajalein « came for us, all too soon, before we had had a chance to visit all of the 21 islets of Lae Atoll, We left at 3 p.m. on January 11 end arrived at Kwajalein ay 10 p.m. the same night. Kwajalein Atoll Kwajalein had changed radically since my last visit in 1950, Then it seemed in the process of being slowly abandoned, growing up to weeds, Now it had become, again, a busy base, with much construction going on, and very little to be seen in the way of plants. The prospect of an indefinite stay here was attractive only if transportation to the other islets was available. Kwajalein Islet, itself, would afford little of interest, scientifically. On January. 13 an opportunity afforded itself to fly to Majuro Atoll for a few hours, This gave me a chance to see any obvious changes there since 1950 and to talk to the Trust Territory officials at the district headquarters there. Tobin, the staff anthropologist, provided some infor- mation on the history of Pokak, Bikar, and Jemo Atolls, He had been working on land tenure and land use among the Marshallese and had found that these three atolls had been maintained as bird and turtle sanctuaries in pre- Kuropean times, and that they were visited periodically and a limited number of birds and turtles and their eggs PakeD Such a short time was available that i a brief ride in the vicinity of the headquarters was possible. The contrast with the northern atolls in greater luxuriance of vegetation even on very narrow islets, was striking. Only one plant, a conspicuous species of terrestrial Nostoc, was collected, Ein route from Kwajalein, we saw Nama Atoll briefly from the air. During our flight, from a short distance south of Kwajalein to Majuro, and the same distance back, the sea. was almost completely: covered by a thick layer of clouds, in a season when | there had been few clouds 1 ee - alSs and little or no rain for some time on Kwajalein and the other northern atolls. The principal observations on Kwajalein Islet during the next two and a half weeks were of the effects of continued drought and severe winds on even the most halophytic plants, Even Triumfetta procumbens and Ipomoea pes-caprae were severely killed back, at least on the areas exposed to the wind, Coconut leaves were turned brown well’ back from the tips of the leaflets, The effects of even slight shelter were immediately evident in much greener weed growth and cultivated plants. A few weeds previously unrecorded from the atoll were picked up, such as Desmodium canum and Heliotropium ovalifolium, the latter, at least, an obvious recent immigrant from Guam, growing along the airstrip. Since 1950 Paspalum vaginatum had spread completely over the islet, Pluchea indica had increased greatly in abundance, and Pluchea odorata had decreased notably. ,; Kwajalein Atoll, in dimensions, is one of the largest, if not the largest atoll in the world, and has 92 islets, on its 195 miles of reef. Few of these, except the southernmost ones which were badly devastated during the War and since, have ever been studied scientifically. lfforts were made to get transportation to some of the others with only partial success, A visit to Lojjairok and Lojjaiong, on the windward reef, was managed on a "recreation" trip. These islets have been used as recreation spots for military personnel. and have little unaltered vegetation left on them. Trips were also made to Enebuoj and Enewetak Islets, through the kindness of wr, Henry Wahl of the Island Trading Co, These islets present an extreme contrast. Enebuoj was an active military establishment until 1948, when it was abandoned. Now it is covered by a dense blanket of Wedelia and Ipomoea pes-caprae vines that effectively conceal practically all traces of the former establishments, and certainly retard establishment of much else in the way of vegetation. A short distance off the lagoon shore of this islet lies the capsized hulk of the German cruiser Prinz Eugen, Enewetak Islet, on the other hand, has scarcely been altered in any way by man. it is almost completely covered by a forest of giant Pisonia trees, the home of innumerable sea birds, This is unquestionably the finest native forest seen anywhere in the northern Marshalls, and probably the best single stand in any of the Marshall group. Here was afforded a further opportunity. to study the type of phosphate rock formation first observed on Jemo Island. This islet differs from most atoll islets in - being in the lagoon, rather than on the peripheral reef, It seems to be _made up entirely of sand, except for the superficial phosphate bed, that it should have been left in forest is interesting, and the reason is not clear, It seems possible that this, also, may have been a bird sanctuary. This is more likely, in’ view of the discovery by Wm H. Hatheway (personal communication, 1952), that certain islets on’ Arno Atoll, in the southern Marshalls, were in pre-Huropean times so preserved. It would be a fine thing if this tradition could be continued and such bits. of original vegetation as that on Enewetak Islet could be set aside as bird and vegetation reserves for the future Marshallese. MacNeil, during this time, was enabled to visit several of the southwestern islets, because an extra berth was available on the FS-216, ~16- another ship of the survey then operating in Kwajalein. He made important geological observations during this period. I was afforded a complete, if extremely quick, look at the rest of the atoll when Lt. Comdr, C.K.Brust, U.S.N., took me on a low-altitude flight around the atoll in a small training plane. Rough notes on the general vegetation patterns on many of the islets were made, On Bikej Islet, which had been visited in 1946 and 1950, it was possible to note that the scrub forest in the old U.S.Navy tank-farm had grown perceptibly, but that the airstrip was still about as bare of vegetation as in 1946. On some of the southern islets, Pemphis forest makes up a conspicuous part of the vegetation. On Nimur and Ruot Islets, at the northern point of the atoll, abandoned military establishments were covered by the usual blankets of Wedelia and ipomoea, Ochrosia and Pisonia forests occur on some of the smaller islets, At the we westernmost point t of the avoll, where the reef extends for some distance beyond the lagoon, broad expanses of bare reef were marked by transverse strips of boulders, which from a distance resemble causeways. The Rte, of these strips does not seem evident, Several visits to itbheye Islet were sgltatie through the courtesy of the Island Trading Co. officials, who have their headquarters in the native village there, This islet, also, has little or nothing left of its original character. The most striking observation made here was the amount of spray carried by the strong trade winds. The inside of the porch of the Island Trading Co. house was continually wet and dripping salt water, even though somewhat protected from the wind, The windward windows of the house had to be kept closed in order to keep anything dry in the house, even tough no rain fell during the entire period. The drinking water situation in the native village would have been serious if the Naval Air Station authorities had not sent over water from the station supply. Ujelang Atoll After the ship was repaired we promptly left Kwajalein on February 1, arriving at Ujelang on February 3. Here it was again possible to take the ship into the lagoon and work from her. This is a long narrow atoll with about 24 islets scattered fairly well around it. Ujelang, the largest of them, was a German coconut plantation, end the trees are consequently planted in an exact checkerboard arrangement, No Marshallese had lived there for many years until, in 1948, the people from Hniwetok Atoll were moved to Ujelang in order to permit the usa of Zniwetok as a testing site for atomic weapons, These people live in a village built for them by the U.S.Navy, on Ujelang Islet. One of the things of interest to me here was to see how well these peopie had reacted to transplanting. When I had seen them in 1946 on Eniwetok, the war and subsequent events had reduced them to a sad state of dependence, It was interesting that there was little or no complaining, in spite of some obvious homesickness, and that these people were already much at home, though such signs as most of the canoes being out of repair did not eal too encouraging. For the first two days of our visit I had a fast sailing outrigger canoe with a crew of four enthusiastic Marshallese men at my disposal. Consequently I was able Fe visit briefly most of the islets on the atoll, Bay ly mane iti This type of canoe, with its lateen saik,- is: epenabkebaly fast. ‘ahd will sail almost straight into the wind. aa . Here, on one of the smaller islets, I found coconut crabs for the first time on the trip, small ones only.:#iy boat crew gathered turtle eggs, sooty tern eggs, and young noddy terns for food. Inland on Kirinyan Islet was quite an. abundance of pumice pebbles about*the sige of.a man's fist, scattered on the. surface of the ground, especially’ on the .lagoon half of the islet. The lower sides of the pebbles were closély invested — in a "basket!" or cup of closely grown roots, The gregarious nesting habit of the white-capped noddies was very noticeabl {= here, | also. Comparison of photographs taken in 1944 with oa es ‘eonditions as showed remarkably rapid growth of Pemphis forést. on baze rock flats just at or above high-tide level on ‘nimoni Islet. On Ujelang islet was one of the few cases seen anywhere .of Pemphis growing in sand, - After two days with the canoe, the rest of the available time was spent on shore on Ujelang Islet. Along the lagoon shore, ‘at about low tide level, was found a rather extensive strip of a sod of Thalassia ; hemprichii. or turtle grass, the second occurrence of this plant, “and, the - only extensive one, known in the Marshalls. Stenotaphrum micranthum, a grass hitherto unknown from the ‘larshalis, possibly introduced, was found. here, also, These were the only piants seen that are not common generally in the Marshalls, save a few weeds that date from Japanese or German contact with Ponape. It had been thought that, beceuse Ujeiang is so far west, there might be some relationship to the Caroline flora, but the two species ment ioned are the ay BRAeRaP tone of such a relationshin. ° ly attention was -ealled to a few ostracods, minute ‘erdistacea, which | were swimning in’a water sample brought from Raij Islet by Arnow, To collect some I made a special trip to Raij on the last day of our stay. Returning with a good sample, I found that MacNeil had found them inde- pendently in the same. well. and. had brought a bottle full. ~ ie Visiting a aoe nunber of islets, haat ‘piving a Better geographical | . picture of the atoll,:.resulted in the: rnwinber of collections of plants and . animals. from Ujelang being. henponals.ve ly. small, This should not be taken’ ~ to indicate a smaller fauna than on as where more animals were coilected. Wotho. Atoll On January 1o, _ with. ntl HEtea feolane ae not’ , Waving had quite enough time. to make even a good superficial: survey, we left for Wotho,. We arrived there on January-12, This*atoll premised to be very ‘interesting... Its land area is large and its human population sitall, and the aerial photos showed large areas of apparently undisturbed forest. There actu- ~ ally is on Wotho much more native forest in its original condition than on any other atoll in this climatic belt; arid probably more than on any other of the Marshalls, hisihiae possibly Ss Our camp was set. up ion the west ae OL Wotho ‘Islet, the cen of the islets on the atoll... The first distinctive thing nobiced here was that the mixed forest contained a large percentage of Soulamea amara, a small tree which, thcugh widespread in the northern Marshalls, is gener- ally quite local and not very common, The soil in this rather open mixed forest is also unusual, of a fine grayish silty character and naturally rolled up into small pellets like BB shot. The total population of this atoll is 26, The people live in a row of widely scattered houses along the broad sand ridge at the top of the lagoon beach. These houses are connected by the usual perfectly straight, wide path, lined with slabs of coral set on edge, dating from the German period, Such paths may be seen on every inhabited atoll that I have visited in the Marshalls and Carolines. Here are a very few breadfruit trees, The vicinity of this "village" is well planted to coconut trees, most of which appear to be very healthy. However there is an area of some acres in extent back of the houses that has no coconuts and is in grass, except for scattered Guettarda and Scaevola bushes and some Wedelia. There are no dead coconut trunks and only a few very yellow coconut seedlings; the origin of this grass-covered opening is not clear. Although there are only three or four men who make copra, a considerable amount was piled up, waiting for the Island Trading Co, ship. Something about the bags in which the copra was packed seemed familiar. On examination they turned out to be "fique" coffee bags made in Bogota, Colombia, identical with many thousands in which we had shipped Cinchona bark from the South American republic during the war, The little old man who was chief of Wotho could be seen husking and chopping coconuts for copra at any time during the day. These people were friendly and helpful and seemed glad to have visitors. The center of the islet has a series of long, winding troughs and ridges, remains of ancient taro pits, Here and there these have been ~ cleaned out and Cyrtosperma planted, which is struggling with the weeds, Most of the pits support dense tangles of Clerodendrum, Pandanus, Vigna, Canavalia, Wedelia, and breadfruit trees, The breadfruit trees also surround the pits. Back of the plantation and taro pits stretches a fine expanse of pure Ochrosia forest, identical with that studied on Lae. One could walk for a good distance in the dim light that diffused through the dense canopy of this interesting woods, A feature noted in most large stands of Ochrosia studied here and on other atolls was the presence of patches where the trees are yellow and unhealthy, some even dead. There is no obvious reason for this, but the patches are apparently of long duration, as they were to be seen in exactly their present positions on aerial photos taken eight years before, On the east side of the islet, between the Ochrosia and the beach scrub is a fine strip of Messerschmidia forest of large trees with little undergrowth. The scrub belt is unusually broad here, and the Scaevola leaves at its outer edge are thickened and twisted, somewhat yellow, apparently showing the effects of too much salt spray. Scaevola does not usually demonstrate such symptoms. The inadequacy of the published charts of these atolls is nowhere better demonstrated than on Wotho Islet. Not showing at all on the available H.O. chart is a tremendous shallow embayment on the windwand side that cuts a roughly rectangular section to the middle of the islet. This embayment runs out into a sort of inlet of sand that rapidly narrows and pinches out just back of the lagoon ridge. It has every appearance of an old stream bed, ‘though stream beds do not exist on coral islands. A ‘similar channel, but one that does not pinch out, cuts the northeast corner of. the islet off.as a separate islet, "Enerikan" of the natives, which is not shown at all on the chart, Whether these features were simply missed during the. surveys on which the chart is ‘based, or ‘whether they came into existence subsequently, and if so, how, are interesting questions. Ujae Atoll Before our exploration of Wotho was well started an. accident to one of the small boats necessitated stopping work and leaving for Kwajalein, to await spare parts, again to be sent from Yokohama. We left on February 15. The Major. decided to call at Ujae on the way, to see what smiall-boat transportation might be obtained there, We anchored off Ujae on February 16 and went from the passage to the village, on Ujae Islet, in our remain- ing small boat. To have quieter water, as the wind was making the lagoon very choppy, we crossed to the windward side and skirted the leeward side of the windward reef, This trip to the village took several hours. , On this trip I first noticed a phenomenon frequently seen’ afterward. Extending out into the lagoon from the reef in the direction parallel with the wind were a series of narrow strips of smooth water resembling oil "slicks." They ranged from several centimeters to half a meter or even a meter in width, They extended out into the lagoon for several hundred meters, becoming more broken up and "braided" by the choppiness further _ from the reef, They also-seemed to be of different "ages," judging by the _ freshness of appearance and sharpness of margins, the "older" ones appear- _ing "braided" and showing signs of breaking up. They seemed to start at the reef itself, where water from the open sea was crossing it. These were seen actually in hundreds, unevenly distributed along: the entire distance from Wotya Islet to Ujae Islet, at the south end of the qpelt Their origin and actual nature are completely obscure. Ujae Village Peotiadtumnicwadiiy well Read ney ppeedercdawiooiins: and the people were very friendly, They had a community-owned small sailboat, the "Helper," which they were willing to rent to the surveying party, so it was decided to start surveying this atoll while waiting for the spare’ parts that had been Ce let dig ae panee a by nT Bock . Islet,. on. the north side of the entrance to the lagoon, was selected for the astronomical station. This islét looked very well wooded and only partly disturbed by man, so I took advantage of the opportunity and set up camp on shcre with the surveying party. Only ‘about one-fourth of the islet had been cleared and planted to coconuts, so that an excellent sample of what seemed to be the original vegetation was preserved. On the , south end enormous Pisonia trees ‘towered to about 30 ‘meters, and in the center were Intsia at Least 25 meters in height, The undisturbed parts | of the islet were quite rocky. Some of this. rocky ground ‘supported a few coconut trees, as though an attempt at cultivation had been made at one time, The coconut trees there did not seem to be bearing as well as those on the sandier parts. A small family group of Marshallese cee a bid caninaah ‘encampment o on this islet and were aaa some Pouhae Large numbers of reenearhen noddies| were nesting i in the Pisonia trees, oa and the almost full-grown young were being killed and eaten in large numbers by the Marshallese. Since the Pisonia branches are very brittle, the men did not care to climb the trees to get thebirds. One day I heard a tremendous crash in the forest. When I reached the spot I found half a large tree down and the natives cat ching the young birds in dozens. They had some hours before lit a fire in a hollow part of the trunk and burned it until it split apart and one half feta The fallen part was 30 paces long. A stay of four days made it te to investigate this islet more leisurely and thoughtfully than was feasible on any of the previous stops. Better collections and perhaps a better understanding resulted. It was also possible to collect a series of logs of the comnon trees for testing. How- ever, the first attempt of the surveyors to use the local schooner ended in disaster, They tried to enter the narrow curved passage at dusk and ran the boat on the reef, breaking several holes in the hull, Several days of frantic efforts followed, which resulted in floating the boat off the reef, putting in temporary patches, and towing it across the lagoon to kbeju Talat, where it was beached, Then we left for Kwaja- lein to get repair eateries. as well as the spare parts for our own dis— abled whaleboat.. While at Kwajalein, through the courtesy of the Administrative Officer of the Naval Air Station, I was able to accompany a routine photo-— graphic flight over Likiep, Jemo, Ailuk, Utirik, Taka, and Kwajalein Atolls, lt was most interesting to study from the air the atolls we had previously seen on the ground. Many geographical questions were cleared up, and corrections were made in the sketch maps prepared on the ground. The vegetation was guite drab and brownish after several months of dry weather and wind, Some kodachrome photographs were taken, to record the vegetation patterns of the smaller islets, It was noticed that most of the passes, especially on the leeward sides of the larger atolls, have islets or reef patches in the lagoon opposite them. Some of them also have inward—curving sand horns extending from the corners of the adjoining islets. Captain Fretz arrived at Kwajalein, from Tokyo, as a replacement for Major Hudson as officer in charge of the surveying party. As soon as the whaleboat was repaired, on March 1, we returned to Ujae to finish © the survey, as well as to finish the repairs to the wrecked schooner "Helper." The latter task was taken in charge by our able chief engineer, Charlie Frey, and the hull, when finished, was undoubtedly in better condition than before the boat was wrecked, During this period I was able to spend time on most of the islets on the windward reef, as well as on the larger isléts at the north and south ends of the atoll, Hbheju, at about the center of the east side, has a fair-sized patch of Ochrosia forest showing the same yellow patches as noted on Wotho, In the interior of Anuij, the small islet connected to Ebeju on the south by a ridge of small dunes, was a patch a few yards square where the sand was literally covered by pumice pebbles. In places where these were oye very abundant the surface of ‘the ground wag ae up of a pemelnliies mat of roots in which the bottoms of thé pebbles were embedded. This seems to. be an‘elaboration of the phenomena described earlier, in,which the pumice pebbles were ‘surrounded, by roots or enclosed in a’ REPS oii cup - ele ant mane ae On oe islet "Pend americana is fairly common, poems small spiny thickets, Hlsewhere in the varshalls it has appeared to be exceedingly rare or absent. Its Tequneik acid,’ plumlike fruit is quite neva E to the palate ona hot day. On Wojia Islet, south of Ebeju, the scrub belt, normally found on the seaward sides of windward islets, is lacking. Its place is taken by an irregular platform of rock 3 to 12 decimeters above the level of the reef flat. This platform is of several layers, which are being removed by the waves ard other agents, The top layer is of very rough conglomer— .ate, not as well consolidated as the lower; finer layers and only a portion of it, on the outer edge of the platform, remains. The lower harder layers are actively spalling off or exfoliating. It seems probable that the. vegetation-was at some recent time removed from this platform, exposing -it to.destruction by waves and weather. On this islet’ two interesting vegetational phenomena were evident. One was the ‘tendency of Pisonia’trees, when knocked ‘down by wind, to send up covses of Sprouts, which develop: into dense thickets. The other was the ability of Ochrosia to establish. itself under Pisonia. Solid stands of Ochrosia saplings we were seen in the ‘Pisonia. forest wherever a seed tree was present. This suggests that once’ an Ochrosia tree becomes established in such a forest, eventually the forest: will be changed to Ochrosia, That all the forests in this belt are not pure stands of Ochrosia may well be due only to: the poor dispersal powers of the seeds. The fruits are about the size and shape of eggs, with a thick layer of corky floating tissue inside the fleshy layer and surrounding the seeds. They float very effectively and are often cast up in drift, but are probably only carried into the shady. interior of an islet, where they will become established, by the relatively rare storm waves, Once established they would normally spread by being dropped from the ends of the branches of the parent trees, certainly an extremely slow dispersal. Of course storms and other accidents might greatly increase this rate, The slowness of this succession from Pisonia or mixed. forest. to Ochrosia forest is one of ‘the best réasons for considering the ‘Bchricistis forest: to be one of the original vegetation types of these atolls. “Stands — of Ochrosia forest such as'‘on Wotho could scarcely have come into PAs ence in less than hundreds of years. — During our: =e on this atoll there were several opiont und pies for. further observation of the "oil slicks" extending downwind from the reefs, and described on our first visit to Ujae, These were seen to extend at - least half a mile into the lagoon and, some distance. from: the: PeSte GOn become as much as 6 to 8 meters wide, Near the reer. where they are more sharply defined, they range from a few centimeters. to 1 meter in. width ; and are characterized by an abrupt damping out of: the surface ‘disturbance of the water and an accumulation of small bubbles and flecks of foam in ‘a streak near the center of the strip. They seem obviously to-be caused by continuous emission for a period of time of some substance which changes the surface tension of the water. They are remarkably stable, considering -22- the choppiness of the’water, and are much straighter and more visible when there is a fair breeze than when there is little. They present exactly the appearance that would be expected from a series of small vents of oil situated at close but irregular intervals along the reefs, It was at first thought that oil or some other substance was being carried over the reef from the open sea, but they were observed clearly in the lee of some of the islets, especially the large. Enelamoj at the north end of Ujae. An attempt was made later, on Wotho, to follow one of these myste- rious "slicks" to its source,on the reef. It obviously originated in a consolidated rubble-flat, barely exposed at low tide, but was impossible to follow in the very quiet water in the immediate lee of the reef, In a small area on Alle Islet, near the north end of Ujae Atoll, pure Cordia forest was seen for the first time. Here also were enormous numbers of hermit crabs, hiding in the day time in and under rotten coco nut logs. They occupied many kinds of shells, but mostly those of several kinds of cerithids. A large series of the crabs was collected, as they had various markings. — ae ; The chief of Ujae Atoll is a young man named Enti, who had learned to speak English very well at one of the Navy Civil Administration schools on Kwajalein, His father, a dignified, middle-aged man, had also learned English at the same time, Both seemed to grasp very well our reasons for . wanting information on the natural history of the island and on the customs of their people. Many points that had previously been in doubt were cleared up in conversation with them, and much information, especially on the utilization of fish, birds, and other animals, as well as the names by which these were called, was obtained. These people are a very attrac-— tive and interesting group. We left Ujae for Kwajalein on March 14 and arrived there the next day. Our stay on Kwajalein this time was brief, with no opportunity to do much more than answer mail and lay in a few supplies.. Ted Arnow left the party here and returned to Guam, his part of the expedition finished... Wotho Atoll On March 17 we left Kwajalein for Wotho to finish our work there and to make another attempt to visit Bikar and Pokak Atolls. This time, on Wotho, we spent most of our time on the islets other than Wotho itself, which we had not visited at all on our earlier stay on the atoll. These are all completely uninhabited and, except for Kabben, relatively little disturbed, On the east reef is a narrow spitlike islet, several miles long, which does not appear on the hydrographic charts at all. That it is not merely an ephemeral sand spit is evidenced by the presence of beach-rock on one side or other of it for most of the length of the part examined, Near the north end the beach-rock on the lagoon side is conspicuously pot-holed, This ridge of sand is mostly covered by a scrub of Mcssersch~ midia, Scaevola and Terminalia, varying from scattered to continuous, and one large clump of Pemphis, a second occurrence on sand. The effect of vegetation on sand accumulation is very obvious on this islet. lwhere the scrub is continuous the sand ridge is conspicuous and several feet higher than in the gaps, where it is low and very flat. no al aly ren Qn Enejelto Islet, near the south end of uel ease ane ae ieeen beach is covered by piled-up slabs of beach-rock, apparently thrown there. - by lagoon waves during’ storms. The process of quarrying these Slabs from the beach-rock beds ‘by small lagoon waves was very obvious , certain beds being more shideoueniile to solution by the continuously moving water than others, causing the harder upper ones to collapse. and crack into large sections, _ Kabben Islet, a large triangular piece ‘of land at the. southern tip of the atoll is partly in coconut trees and partly in: completely undis= ~ turbed forest. Much of this forest is solid Ochrosia. The coconut planta» tion is generally sparse and has a rather dense undergrowth of bushes and small trees. On the south point of the islet is an enormous boulder ridge. — Drift seeds were more abundant on the beaches of this and some of the islets on the “west reef than anywhere else visited on the expedition. Most of them were ..of Mucuna, but some other kinds were collected also. The islets on the west reef had conspicuous sand dunes ‘and conspicuous patches of: Pisonia-.forest. Humus underlain by thin layers of phosphate.hardpan was found on several of these islets, as well as on Eneobn&k Islet an the n north reef, Birds were abundant and the humus was liberally stained with guano, On Eneobnadk. the origin of the curious low mounds of. coral rubble noticed on Utirik, Likiep and other atolls was clarified. Such mounds were seen around the roots of blown down Pisonia trees, with, in some cases, the mass of roots partially or almost. completely decayed away. Some of the Pisonia root systems are enormous and the trees might'well pry ae a very sizable pile of stones. Once formed, though the sand might wash. - down from its surface, such a mound would likely ‘persist for a long tine, unless swept away by typhoon waves : On our last day at eeliake Charlie Frey, the phat engineer, took Captain Fretz trolling in a small boat, and I went along to take advantage of a chance to get ashore on Mejurwon, the third largest islet of the atoll. The fishing was exciting, several large jack and other more unusual fish being brought aboard. Me jurwon was of interest in that it had the only apparently unplanted stands of Calophyllum aoe seen in the northern Marshalls, This is ordinarily a tree found in villages and near houses, or solitary along paths. Here, on this completely uninhabited islet were large patches of it, clumps of good sized trees, on sandy areas near the lagoon beach. While we were on the islet we met some of the Marshallese from Wotho Islet, who had been there on a food collecting expedition, They had gathered a large bundle of dried Pandanus leaves for plaiting. or thatching, a small amount of copra, a batch of turtle eggs, and three or four dozen coconut crabs (Birgus). They had roasted some of the latter. and gave us several of the great claws to. eat. They were still hot and the meat was delicious, somewhat similar to lobster, but with a very distinctive flavor:of its own. They gave us. three enormous live’ specimens, tied with strips of coconut leaflet.. One got.loose.in the boat and caused quite a commotion, I preserved mine, and it is now-in the U. Ss National Museum collection. , Bikar and Pokak Leaving Wotho on March 23 we proceeded northward. for: ‘another try at Bikar and Pokak, ie arrived off Bikar the next day and investigated the = Dili channel, The current flowing out of the passage was too strong for the small motorboat to make any progress against it so the attempt was given up. We spent the rest of the day examining the atoll from all sides, making what notes we could from the ship. On the leeward side the "oil slicks" described above were very conspicuous, extending out from the south half of the reef as much as half a mile. Birds were abundant, and great numbers were scared up by blasts from the whistle. Departing in the late afternoon, we were off Pokak the next morning. The passage, at low tide, again resembled the traditional millrace, There was obviously no point in trying to enter at this time. We cruised around the atoll examining the islets through binoculars, taking notes, The vege-- tation had a definitely dry, gray appearance, At almost high tide we re= visited the passage. There seemed to be almost no current at that time, and that would clearly be the proper time to enter. However, a west swell had set in and was breaking at times clear across the entrance, so no attempt was made to get a boat in. Again, on the lee side, especially near the passage, the "oil slicks," seen on previous atolls, were very conspi- cuous, this time extending as much as several miles to leeward and becoming very diffused. In the neighborhood of the mouth of the passage the water seemed to have a somewhat lighter blue color, suggesting the effect of colloidal calcium carbonate. It is possible that a certain amount of very fine sediment was being swept out of the lagoon. It was with a considerable feeling of frustration that we received the Captain's decision to give up any attempt to land on Pokak, An opportunity to investigate a place never before visited by a scientist does not come every week. Its bleak appearance did not lessen at all its interest. And John Cameron's story of the basalt blocks remained as tan— talizing as ever. We started back for Kwajalein that evening and arrived the morning of March 27, Return Trip The next two days were spent in packing and stowing our gear in the hold of the ship, and in arranging for air transportation to Guam and Tokyo, Early in the morning of March 31 MacNeil and I left for Guam, arriving at about the middle of the morning. We planned to spend a couple of days here, discussing some of our findings with the party of geologists engaged in working out the geology of Guam. Joshua I. Tracey,.chief of the party, was in the hospital, but not especially incapacitated. Ted Arnow met us at the airport, and we had a good visit. He was busy getting ready to go to Palau, so the others in the party took us around Guam, enabling me to check a few details of the vegetation, which I had studied some two years before, Some of the areas of swordgrass that have not been burned since before the war are now conspicuously covered by Casuarina saplings. The obvious effects of the 1949 typhoon have in many places almost disappeared. Rocks. that were completely denuded of vegetation, except for root crowns in crevices, are now fairly well covered again by low Pemphis brush, The forest on the north plateau seems to be generally in rather decadent condition. Field work on Guam for the next year was planned to fit in with the program of the geological party, On April 2 MacNeil and I left for Tokyo. We stopped at Iwo Jima long ih ~25— enough for a stroll around the airport and. to make a Bey observations on the weedy vegetation that fads a ae since the War. We arrived in Tokyo in the: ene. Two and a helf spsdies in Japan were spent in writing i tinny reports, making plans for the reports: and papers that will embody the . results of the expedition, and in packing and shipping the specimens, The FS-367 arrived a bit late with our collections, having been badly battered by a storm on the ‘way up. We were able to take two short trips into the countryside of Japan, being fortunate enough to arrive during the season of the cherry blossoms, for which’ Japan is famous. This country was fully as beautiful in the’spring as it was when we saw it’ in the fall, Wake Island : I had arranged to” spend . two i making a quick reconnaissance of Wake Island on the way home, so I left Tokyo on the night of April 18 and sighted Wake on the afternoon of the 19th, I was able, while we were landing, to take some kodachrome photos of the atoll from the air. The vegetation seemed to be noticeably affected by the dry weather, the atoll appearing quite as gray as Pokak had looked from the sea, Good fortune pied tole with me here. One of the first persons I met was Mr. Fred Schultz, in charge of pest-control on the island. He offered to drive me around the island and act as guide. This was an excel-~ lent arrangement, as he knew where. all of the variations in the vegetation could be seen and was:also. quite willing to explain his very successful campaign of pest-controls: He ‘had, within a year, brought the island's three plagues--rats, flies, and mésquitoes-— so completely under: control that in two days we had, trouble ‘finding any, even for specimens. We saw’ "one rat, three or four flies, and no, mosquitoes at all. He had applied what he knew or could learn‘of the ecology: and habits of these. creatures, ‘destroying the breeding places of the insects and systematically poisoning the rats. ‘In poisoning the rats he had apparently accidentally destroyed the hermit ‘crabs also, as ‘we. saw none, and he said they were common a few ‘months Dee OR hi The ponent in, ‘of Wake, described quite well by Es He Bryan in 1923: ‘(published by Christophersen, 1931), was almost entirely: destroyed during the War, The remains of fort ifications, Japanese and American, are to be seen practically everywhere. Only three rather small areas of the original forest cover remained. The astonishing thing about the vegetation was the “rapidity with which ag had recovered. Large Messerschmidia bushes, 3 to 5 meters tall, dominate the landscape; they cover the “ditches, tank-traps , ‘platforms, gun emplacements, arid revetments and give the appearance of . long-established vegetation. Four years: earlier the general plant cover © on the island was said to’ have been no more:than a foot high, On favorable, sandy places, according to the Civil Aeronautics Administration, officials, Messerschmidia had grown as much’ as. 2 meters in a year, - Pemphis here. seems to favor situations of, broken’ coral rock. and of fine silty. sand. Two very obvious plants’ not found in the Marshalls. but common here are Sesuvium portulacastrum and Heliotropium | ariomalun.: Quite a flora of introduced weeds has, established itself. Indeed; it is ; hard, ‘sometimes, to tell which plants really neta, here. Ipomoea | Reszeapras ‘and: Gossypium hirsutum var. reli- —26~ giosum, of which one plant of each was reported by Bryan, were now common, One of "the old patches of forest, persisting from béfore the War, was an interesting mixed forest of large low trees of Pisonia and Cordia. After two very busy days here, I left for Honolulu early in the morning of April 22, There an opportunity was afforded to see Kilauea volcano in eruption, and incidentally to make some study of the vegeta= tion. The return to Washington with a stop in California was without incident. Another Attempt- Mail and many questions had piled up in my absence, so I settled down to take care of them and to work on reports of the expedition and its results. But only a few weeks had passed, when a cable came from Tokyo asking if I were interested in joining the FS-216 at Wake Island for another attempt at Pokak and Bikar. I was taken aback by this; my mail was scarcely answered, but nevertheless I decided to go. So preparations were again in order and a few weeks later, on — July 9th, I was again flying westward. The principal incidents of this flight were a three-day enforced wait at Travis Air Force Base, Cali- fornia, and notification on: eee in Honolulu that I was expected in Wake within four hours.. - re Needless to say, I was not there by that time. Several appoint- ments in Honolulu had to be kept. There was also the matter of trans- portation from Honolulu to Wake to be arranged; and such arrangements are not usually made on a moment's notice. However, because of superb cooperation of the Visitor's Bureau of the U. S. Army, at Fort Shafter, which put a car at’ my disposal and took care of all the arrangements . with Military Air Transport Service, I was on a plane again by the mid—— dle of the afternoon and on Wake Island by 2 o'clock the next morning. Ki Enroute I had a short stop, unfortunately just after dark, at Midway and was able to examine briefly from the air Niihau, Gardner’ Rocks, and Pearl and Hermes Reef, of the Leeward Hawaiian Islands. The size of the trees on Midway was surprising. Some of the Casuarina trees, planted many years ago when the Cable Station was established there, were at least 15 meters high and almost 0.5 meter through above the base.: From the air in the dusk the island presented an almost wooded appearance. Albatrosses were to be seen along the runway as the pilots played a searchlight on them, Young ones were objects of much passenger curiosity around the terminal, too. Arriving at the Wake Island terminal at 2 a. m., I was dismayed at finding no one who had the slightest idea whether or not the FS=-216 was still at Wake or had departed. After exhausting the possibilities of finding out, I went to bed for the remaining few hours of the night. In the morning it was almost as hard to find out anything definite. But after the superintendent of the island came to his office it was possible to get transportation to the boatlanding, and it was a relief to see the FS=-216 still at anchor and to meet its captain coming in to get his final clearance for departure for Pokak and the Marshalls, On climbing aboard I was greeted by Charles Johnson, my geologist ol Me companion. for the expedition, Our first lunch-table ce tesedat ae with Captain Clover, the officer—in-charge, allayed, somewhat, my skepticism about getting ashore which was natural after two abortive attempts. There seemed no doubt in his mind about it. © During the drive from the Pan-American terminal to the boatlanding it was possible to observe the striking change from the dry aspect of Wake island exhibited in April. The herbaceous layer, especially Euphorbia heterophylla, gray and dry then, was green and attractive now, The Messer= _schmidia trees looked more luxuriant now, but those near the Transocean Air Lines compound that had appeared dead were still very much so. The dry season had been too much for.them, especially where they were growing on the loose. rubble piled up in the fortifications, Heliotropium ancmalum _. was flowering abundantly south of the airstrip. Pokak Atoll On the morning of July 20 we were off Pokak Atoll once again. The sea was quiet, and no breakers were to be seen on the leeward side. A strong current was running out of the narrow crooked passage, just as on the two previous visits, but the:small motorboat negotiated the passage easily and the landing operation was under way. Crossing the lagoon to the northeast end of Sibylla Islet, the largest of the string of rock and sand heaps that occupy most of the southeast reef of this remote atoll, we stopped ashore on one of the bleakest, loneliest spots that it has been my Sik saab to explore. Pokak is a crescent-shaped atoll, about 11 miles from tip to tip, oriented north and south with the convex reer to the east, and with all the land on the southeast quadrant. At high tide water pours in over the reefs, But as soon as the tide begins to go down, only the single narrow passage on the west serves as an outlet. Though the water rushes out of this as through a millrace, in 6 hours the water level inside is not low- ered much, and the level in the lagoon is at all times except at high tide, ‘significantly above that of the surrounding sea. This, of course, makes surveying and the determination of land area a less than usually exact procedure, as altitudes are commonly expressed in relation to mean low tide. The usual conception of a palm-bedecked atoll does not fit Pokak at all, The vegetation is a low scrubby wood of Messerschmidia trees and bushes, very sparse and, at this season, grayish and dry, looking. Large areas in the interior and toward the lagoon side on the wider parts are covered by a thin bunch grass, honeycombed by burrows of wedge-taiied shearwaters, each burrow marked by a pile of white coral sand. These piles of white sand explained the curious salt-and-pepper appearance of these areas on aerial photographs. On the seaward side are vast boulder ridges and boulder flats, some wooded with scattered low Messerschmidia, others open, or with occasional plants of Ipomoea tuba, These presented a curious appearance, Normally this plant is a liana, climbing to the treetops in forest, forming dense tangles over trees and bushes, the stems reaching several centimeters in thickness. Here, in this dry climate the elongate twining stems die during the dry season, remaining in the form of a thin ~28— network over the bare rock flats. These déad stems are utilized: by the frigate birds for nesting material. These branches die back practically to the root crown, which forms an érect: stem a’ foot or so tall and half that or more thick, crowned with ‘stubs of branches with a few green leaves and buds ready to produce next season's vegetative growth as soon as sufficient moisture is available. There seems little doubt that this is the same plant that-is a liana elsewhere, and that this curious habit is induced by the severe dry seasons common in this forbidding» habitat. Seaevola scrub, curiously enough showing less signs of drought ‘than the other vegetation, covers: some: areas, especially ones where flat reef- rock lies atthe ground surfacé anda few small areas of dune sand. Else- where this bush may be mixed with the Messerschmidia. In-some of the sand—- flats dominance is shared between the bunch grass, ‘Lepturus repens, and the slender low shrub, Sida fallax. In: other places, especially certain areas on Kamome Islet, the “widest. | and, ‘curiously, the most treeless of the atoll islets, Sida. - assumed. ‘complete dominance! heré reaching a height of two meters, making a thin gray scrub. The response of this plant to the drought is also interesting. At the time of our visit practically every individual plant had all but one or two of its branches leafless, gray, and dead—-brittle with no‘sign of living tissue. Almost invariably, how- ever, one or two branches were healthy, leafy, and even flowering. Also on Kamome Islet are several low patches of Pisonia grandis. This tree, which forms magnificent forests on wetter atolls, there is low, not more than 5 or 6 meters tall, and with small trunks. At this: season. the canopy is very thin, as the irees lose most of their leaves in the’ dry season, and here the leaves are not as large as they are elsewhere, The patches are circular and obviously are slowly spreading, as is easily seen by comparing aerial photos taken even as little as eight years apart. These are the only colonies of this tree on the atoll and probably have not been there long. The fruits of Pisonia are. extremely sticky and quite capable of being carried stuck to birds! feathers from either Wake or PRES on both of which the trees are found. - Previous information on’ this atoll has been almost wanting. Kotzebue, on his voyage around the world, passed by in 1819, and Chamisso, the famous German naturalist and writer who accompanied him, described it from half a mile away, This description, only two paragraphs long’ has provided the only reliable information to the time of our visit. John Cameron, Pacific wanderer, adventurer, lain and guano-digger, visited it in 1893, as recounted in his "Odyssey" He describes huge basalt blocks-=-one of them 15 feet 6 inches long, 5 feet 4 inches wide, and 3 feet thick--comparable to those on Ponape, and wonders about their origin. The German writer Irmer, in 1896, speaks of the atoll-as being covered with guano several meters thick, These last two accounts are interesting but quite untrue. A week of constant searching by Charles Johnson ‘and myself, as well as by the surveyors, revealed no basalt and ‘ho thick deposit of guano. Other than coral limestone, there were a few of the usual smaller gray fine- grained pumice pebbles anda large chunk of black scoriaceous pumice cast up on the beach, Great boulders ‘of coral, darkened by algae in their outer layers, some of them of rectangular shape, are scattered over the surface of islets and reefs; also a few retmants of an older, higher reef surface remain in place, especially onthe ‘bare’ ‘southwest ernmost islet. The coral boulders may have. been. mistaken for basalt, or’ the story may have been pure invention,. ‘As for guano, in spite of the presence of Le See isiewaditsic numbers of birds, practically no guano exists: on the. ssiieady ; -Under trees where birds roost there may be up-to an. inch.or so, very lo- _ cally, but guatio was 50° scarce that ib: was _difficult to get a proper spec= -. Amen for analysis. -And in the: great rookeries of sooty terns, | according ... to some authorities the source of large guano deposits, there was no vis- ible fae toe on the ground, even’ around the nesting places. The largest islet is called Sibylla. On its lagoon shores are con= spicuous lobes of blackened reef=rock, with rough pitted surfaces just above high-tide level, At: several ' eee these lobes are arranged in pairs,-as though they marked the inner ends of channels. No evidence of the former existence of channels across the islet at these nlaces was to be found on’ large-scale aérial photos or on. the ground, though consider- -; able search was made, However, on photos at a scale of 1: 20,000 or ' smaller, traces of the chamiels were quite .evident.: Furthen to the south- west.were several much more obvious former channels across the islet, now » filled with sand and gravel. In Fact, it. was possible to walk dry-shed as ' far as Pokak Islet, the next to the last. on the reef, with the channels becoming more and more’ obvious until the last, ;west of: Pokak Islet, was impassable, On Sibylla. some elongated. areas, Looked, on. the. peepee to be. grassy, at least similar to areas. on photos: of other islets known . to be-grassy. Here, however ,. examination showed :them.to- be enormous ° peut der or cobble flats, in places absolutely bare of Veseloueene, Pokak Islet was the site of the d Japanese ere as on the atoll, Said to have been a radio relay station and obviously, also, a small bomb dump. The pathetic remains of this tiny. base, a blackened heap of rusted- through galvanized iron, half burned. timbers, broken bottles and utensils, @ cement cistern, scattered unexploded bombs, and, off to one sidé, a rude "torii" marking a temple site, even here, should serve very well as a les- son to would-be empire builders, Here was the remotest outpost of the former Japanese Empire, a place of tnimaginable loneliness and discomfort for the exiled, normally socially inclined Japanese garrison. It was bomb- ed completely out of existence in one day, in April 1944.: A well at this site, dug‘down through the sand and gravel to the | water table, had only salt water at the time of our visit, during a long dry season. It seems reasonable, however, that the water may have been useful during more favorable seasons. Two other wells that we dug at the widest, part. of jain Islet also yielded: water too eae for drinking nur perses: South Islet, or . Bokdik of the Me aimee is bare of all ee ee eee Its* exposed rock platform is interesting geologically: The general level is above high tide. On the lagoon side it is conspicuously undercut. Here and'there on its surface are masses of rock, at first ap- pearing to be boulders cast up on the platform by storm waves, as seen elsewhere, Examination showed, though, that they are actually a part of ‘the island, itself, remnants of a higher, surface, with no joint or suture between eaem and the: underlying rock, This. is an important part of the overwhelming mass -of evidence to be seen on this atoll, of a relatively higher sea-level in the not too remote past, The surface of the general platform of this islet is most peculiar in being scarcely pitted, with no sharp edges to’ the pits and solution surfaces. Also it is light gray,’ rather than the usual dark or almost black, It is clearly a surface oe subjected to abrasion, and the low deposit, on the seaward side, of white cobbles and gravel is the obvious abrasive. This is well above high-tide level, but its whiteness and rounded character is mute evidence of the fury . and frequency of the storms that must roll these pebbles around to abrade the general surface of the islet, Another spectacular evidence of a higher sea level was found on the south coast of Sibylla Islet, It is a huge perched boulder, resting on a much narrower pedestal of reef rock, the base of the boulder about 2 meters above the present reef flat. The top of this pedestal corresponds in level with remnants of reef rock which protrude from under the mass of loose material that make up the islet nearby. This mushroom-shaped structure stands erect at the outer edge of the beach and inner edge of the present reef flat. A distinct suture is obvious between the boulder and its support— ing colum, Clearer proof could not be wanted of a higher stand of the sea in relation, at least, to this island. The boulder is in no way different from the ones which occur sporadically seattered on the present reef flat, on this and other atolls. In a wetter climate it would probably have bem gradually dissolved away. The impressive thing is the enormous expanse of reef flat that has been planed from this level down to the present lower level at about mean low tide. Even with maximum estimates of time invol- ved since the post-glacial high stand of the sea this cutting has been remarkably rapid. One of the major interests of the geologists on the expedition was to discern and establish the processes responsible for this degradation, Except for the enormous numbers of sea birds, the land fauna of Pokak is meager, The Polynesian rat, Rattus exulans, is present in some abundance, That the birds, even ground=-nesting ones, do not seem to be seriously bothered by these rats is most interesting. A lizard, a dwarfed form of the common blue-tailed skink, was occasionally seen, Here it is to be found most frequently under loose bark of dead trees, rather than in its usual habitat on the ground, though it is also seen on the ground at times, The most evident animal is the large red hermit crab, Coeno- bita perlata, which inhabits Turbo shells, It would be interesting to know if the factor that limits the population of this animal is the restricted food supply or the number of Turbo shells. The shell commonly used by this species of hermit crab, when adu adult, is Turbo lajonkairi, apparently not a common shell elsewhere, but an far the commonest Turbo seen here, Its habitat is in cavities in the flat reef surface, expecially on the small reef patches in the lagoon. None of these shells were seen empty on the beaches or islets, And since very few of the large hermit crabs were seen inhabiting any other shell, and of course none were without shells, the relation between the number of crabs that reach maturity and the number of available Turbo shells is close, indeed. Two species of moths were very common, and they were the only ones seen in any abundance. One or two individuals of other kinds were caught, including a sphinx moth. A few other kinds of insects were found, includ- ing a large carrion fly, several species of ants, several bugs ne a number of beetles. Two wingless primitive insects, belonging to the Lepismidae and Psocidae, respectively, were common, as were one or two kinds of Spiders, Mites and pseudoscorpions were also present. It is not immed- lately obvious how the wingless creatures, including a minute land snail, came heres “Absent were vishal ses iced MOSQUITO a bubvemeties. The Rea: on tthe te practically shadeless ‘atoll was, at least in this midsummer season, excessive. It was noticeable even to _ one sitting quietly. Tramping around the island wes a desiccating ex= perience, But the. fascinating studies to be made, and the shortness of the visit and resulting urgency about making them caused a certain amount of forgetfulness of the heat. When the. available week was up, and it was ‘time to leave on July 27 for Kwajalein, I, at least, thought more of the things I had not yet got to look at. than of the. frying-panlike surround- ings I was leaned behind. Back aiesra the ship there was the problem of getting my plant specimens and soil samples dry. On the FS~367 I had dried them in the funnel of the ship, next to the hot exhaust pipes. The arrangement on the FS-216 was a bit different, put this seemed a practical solution. © . So I. got .permission from the Chief Engineer and piled plant presses and soil bags around the hot pipes. The first few times I had done this on the FS-367 I had kept careful watch over the materials, being afraid of fire, It soon was evident that the problem was to get the things warm enough, .ict danger of overheating. So, on the FS-216 I paid no attention ' tothe specimens after putting them in to dry. That evening, before we “had left the vicinity of Pokak the crew began to smell smoke. Soon it ‘was: discovered.that my specimens were on fire, Getting them out, putting ~out the fire, and keeping the sailors from throwing everything overboard “.7- provided a-busy two hours. Most of the plants were saved, but, surprising- - ly enough, most of the soil samples were lost. The bags were charred and burst when they were thrown out on deck. A few of the plants, ‘mainly “- galeareous algae, were lost in the fire. ne ta a Kwajalein Atoll” mae went to -ccdehaee to refuel and to enable the surveyors to re- check: their astronomical observations made there’ the previous winter, ‘ We renewed acquaintance with a few of our friends from the previous visits, but the usual Navy turnover had replaced most of the ones we knew. The. - vegetation on Ebeye and Kwajalein Islets had practically recovered from the. winter's drought. A short visit was made to Enelapkan Islet, on the south reef, where there is a small amount of forest vegetation in addition to coconut groves, . By no means all of the islets of Kwajalein have been studied, in spite of its being the center of activity. in the Marshalls. It is so big that transportation is a major problem, The demand for boats is always greater than the small number available, and Se rom do the boats eal to uit more remote islets. ; ham this mie only one plant was collected, ‘and. a “few saute Some iO these were: insects that were infesting stored rice in cae zeta Trad— inh “hse id Gace at Ebeye. i . - ‘Bikar, Atoll 3 | On. August 4 we left for Bikar and arrived there on the 6th. Here we'did not even bother about the narrow passage but landed over the reef on the leeward side.of Bikar, Islet in rubber rafts. At high tide this indi presented no problems at all, but as the tide went down there was some danger of the corals on the reef edge tearing the bottoms of the rafts. On this side of the islet there is no algal ridge, and the reef has a rounded sloping edge. Bikar, previous to our visit, was almost as little known as Pokak, but there were no reputed mysteries or exaggerated accounts to disprove. We knew, from our own examination from the sea last winter, that the is- lets are mostly densely wooded with Pisonia, that there are a few coconut trees that have been planted by visitors from Likiep, that a few birds have been recorded from there, and that the Japanese had found a thick buried layer of phosphate rock. Mr. Jack Tobin had also found out from the Marshallese that, previous to annexation by Europeans, Bikar, along with Pokak and Jemo, had been regarded by them as a. bird reserve. Birds, their eggs, and turtles could be taken in limited numbers, after proper ceremonies, on the one visit made during the year. That this wise policy was effective was immediately obvious to us when we arrived. Birds were present in large numbers, and it was clear that this is the turtle breeding- place above all:others in the Marshalls. The Bikar reef is oval, about 6 miles long, and has three wooded islets and two small gravel bars on its southeast quarter. Its one pass is on the west side, and is rather narrow, but not like the one on Pokak. The water rushes out of this one most of the time, also, but not in the torrent found in Pokak Channel. The boats used it repeatedly and had no difficulty at any time. The largest islet, Bikar, is on the south point of the atoll. It is actually very tiny, and the south third of it is bare reef-rock, stripped of all soil and vegetation, probably by storms. This rock flat is mostly above even extreme high-tide mark and has some small ridges and irregularities that are even a meter or more higher than the general. surface. There is practically no loose material accumulated here, The north point is a sand flat with scattered bushes of Scaevola and Messerschmidia, both of which form a thin belt around the periphery of the wooded part of the islet. We camped on this open north part. The small coconut grove is at the north edge of the forest next to our camp spot. We had looked forward to a supply of drinking coconuts on Bikar, an island luxury which we had sadly missed on Pokak. In this we were dis— appointed, There were few nuts on the trees and what there were were small, malformed, and had bitterish water. Shells of large nuts littered the ground, so it is probable that the dry season just ending was responsible for this stunted condition. Turtle tracks across the beaches were even visible on our large- scale aerial photos of Bikar Islet, so we were not surprised to find tracks in abundance when we arrived, My first activity after getting our equipment carried up the beach to the campsite was to walk around the is— land and count the turtle tracks. There were almost 600 of these, repre- senting 300 turtles. The pits from which sand had been scooped to cover the egg-pits were so abundant that they were the dominant feature of the surface of the sand in the peripheral belt of this island. That night young turtles hatching out scurried through camp, heading directly for the sea; but only a few escaped the clutches of rats and hermit crabs. Several adults came ashore and were seen laying eggs. One blundered right through the cook tent. Observations on their habits will be given “33- in a later ‘article on’ the reptiles collected on the expedition, Curi-. ously enough, ‘turtle tracks were. almost. absent from the other: aod probably because of the lack of. loose ‘sand, of whi ch é a nines can Cie Bikar Islet is made up, ly “The: “P¥ sonia. ‘forest,: which covers the greater ai Ms eae. fe “26 faerie and ‘edntains. some, great. trees, . though it is uneven and shows - the usual effects’ of. typhoons in, the form of fallen trees, Ordinarily. these take: root wherever they. touch the ground, but a number seen here — on’ Bikar. were dead,.: Probably. they were blown down during a severe dry spell, The Pisonia. forest contained two remarkable things~-white-tailed tropic birds ne nesting in holes in the tree ‘trunks, and water collected in cavities and irregularities in. the large tree bases | ‘containing swarms of — ostracods., Where: these fresh-water animals came from on an island. that ea absolutely no vobher:. fresh water is indeed a mystery. By this baton I had =e ye look for a humus ieee Soe ey phosphatic hardpan on the floor of a Pisonia forest. Here was no excep— tion. Aso, a Japanese expert on phosphate d. deposits, had reported phos phate ‘on Bikar, but he--reported it buried under 2 feét of sand and gravel. The buried ‘layer was easily found. In places it was under as much as 2 feet of sand, elsewhere much-less,. and in places it was not buried at all. _ Usually where it was buried there was also an additional layer of very ‘fresh brown hardpan near..the surface, under an inch or so of humus. The situation’ was'¢lear!after a study was made of the terrain, of the bases of the ‘trees, and: of. a. few. test holes. . Apparently a severe storm from the west had spread. the -material of the. large dune ridge along the. west side inwardin’a. layer thinning toward the east, burying the great— er part of the surface’ of the. islet. The humus thus buried had gradually disappeared by oxidation, : staining the sand, and leaving the hardpan .. layer. ‘Then another ‘layer had.started to form’ on the surface of this new sand, Birds are’ abundant enough on Bikar to provide the neceanany guano. for this ee lenreviblag SeeRyMGeES in the forest . inviub a, Rats Bee ineeb adie sicsintocs _were here, as on Poel The ae red hermit crab, Coenobita perlata, again inhabits the two kinds of Turbo shells, but the proportions-.were different, the common Turbo setosus here supplying about one-fourth of the, phot. ‘Land shells were rere nob ~éommon but at least two. genera were, represented, Insects were. much _ more abundant: ‘than: on Pokak, but by. no mearis as varied as on the atolls to the: south. AS pon! Pokak, the higher’ plant species numbered. ; nine, but the lists differ ‘somewhat And the vegetation is almost com~ pletely different. On the three eel islets the main body of the vegetation is Pisonia, surrounded by a thin sparse belt of Messerschmidia, this on Bikar Islet mixed with. Scaevola, Bare areas have a thin cover of , Portulaca and Lepturus, very locally mixed with Boerhavia, or nothing at aes Oe .On..Jaboero Islet, which is a gravel bar and a sooty tern CS ae the entire vegetation is made up of Portulaca lutea. Jaliklik Teter, is Sapevestine in, having a ET ct boulder. ridge along its. lagoon side. Its seaward side has extensive denuded reef=rock flats,:Almeni Islet is of. rather coarse gravel, On Bikar Islet we attempted to dig down to.the water table. This islet is higher than usual; and no water-was.- reached after a laborious full day of ug he. digging by two strong boys, surveyor's helpers. Sand kept caving down, so the hole had to be made very large. It afforded an interesting oppor— tunity to study the buried phosphate layer and the stratification of the materials of which the islet is built. The reef to the east of the south point of Bikar Falabes ely examined and showed several interesting features. A conspicuously under- cut "mushroom" rock a meter or more high protrudes above high-tide level on the outer reef flat. It was not easy.to be sure whether it was part of the reef or.the remains of a boulder ‘that had been cast up by a storm. There were striking tide pools on the outer part of this reef, with bright- green coral (Millepora) and pink algae, and with great ‘unset of the large black—purple slate-pencil sea urchin, Heterocoentvon trigonarius Lam. The edge of the reef here is especially interesting. It appears to be an al- gal ridge in the last stages of being removed by solution. Apparently the rate of deposition of calcareous material in this position is barely or — not quite able to keep up with the rate of removal by solution. North of this there is a better developed ridge, while around the point in the . other direction the ridge disappears altogether. Well back of this, on the flat, the tops of the corals are abruptly truncated, as though they — had been shaved off, presumably indicating the exact Level at which oe is too much exposure to air for survival sis the Conte. As usual, we had to 1st before we were somptat alee satisfied with our survey. ven islands as small as these provide much opportunity’ for observation. And in such relatively simple situations one feels that perhaps only a little more time would have sufficed to give an understand- ing of what is actually happening, ecologically. It is to be hoped that the present-day Marshallese and the American Administration will see fit to continue the wise policy of the ancient Marshallese and maintain this atoll, and Pokak, as bird and turtle reserves. Then, perhaps, another expedition can start where this one left off and really get a grasp of the ecology of these tiny bits of land, Certainly the number of people that would ever be able to eke out an existence on them would not justify destroying these fascinating microcosms. On August 12 we left for Kwajalein, spending a last night there on August 14, entertained by my friend Kenneth Moy and his wife, of the Island Trading Co., to whom thanks are due for many favors and assistance both while we were there and later, when I wrote for needed specimens and observations. Here the expedition ended, Charles Johnson leaving for Tokyo and I for Honolulu. Sendendea Itinerary of Localities where Collections and Observations were Trade Date Locality Collector or Observer Oct. 22, 1951 Johnston Island Fosberg 23 Wake Island Do. 23-24 Iwo Jima Do. 2h, Tokyo, Japan. Fosberg, MacNeil 28 Hakone, Japan Do. Kanagawa Pref., Japan Do. 25 Nov. 26-Dec, 4 Dec. 4=9 11-18 18-23 18-23 Dec. 23, 1951- Jane hy 1952 Jan. 4-10 10-Feb,. 1 aS Feb, 3-10 12-16 16~24 25—Mar. 1 28 Feb, Mar. 1-14 15-17 18-23 2k 25 27-30 Mar, 31-Apr. 2 Apr. : 13 19-21 July 16 16 16 16 16-18 20-27 Aug. 6-12 14-15 %* Did not go ashore,’ © #4 Observed from air, =35— . Locality 3 Chiba’ Peninsula, Japan” ~ .. Fukuoka, Japan At sea, Yokohama to Pokak Pokak Atoli* Bikar Atoll* Utirik Atoll Taka Atoll Likiep Atoll Jemo Island... Likiep Atoll Ailuk Atoll... Lae Atoll Kwajalein Atoll . Majuro Atoll © Ujelang Atoll Wotho Atoll “ Ujae Aboll:!<: " “Kwajalein Atoll _ Air circuit of Likiep, demo, Ailuk, Utirik, Taka, and Kwajalein. _ Ujae Atoll Kwajalein Atoll ‘Wotho Atoll Bikar Atoll* Pokak Atoll* Kwajalein Atoll ~ Guam “Iwo Jima Yokosuka, Japan “Chichibu: Mountains, Japan “Wake Island “Niihau Island? Gardner Rocks** Pearl and Hermes Reef** “Midway Island Wake Island _ .Pokak Atol _ Kwajalein Atoll Bikar Atoll ~ Kwajalein Atoll Collector or Observer Posberg Doe: : Feehan? Fosberg nee, Do. MacNeil, Arnow, Fosberg hy DOs, i. MacNeil, Fosberg _ Fosberg.- . MacNeil MacNeil, Arnow, Fosberg i) De . Do. Fosberg . MacNeil, Arnow, Fosberg Do. Do. Do. Fosberg MacNeil, Fosberg Do. Do. . Do. Do. Do. MacNeil, Arnow, Fosberg MacNeil, Fosberg Do. MacNeil, Fosberg Fosberg Do. ; rf Luo Wake Iwo Jima Japan Utirik Taka Likiep Jemo Ailuk Lae Ma juro Ujelang Kwajalein Ujae Wotho Pokak Bikar =366 y List_of Collection Numbers by Islands Plants 33614-33628 33629 33630-33641 33642-33719 33720-33778 33779-33861 33862-33907 33908=33990 33991-34107 34108 34142-34216 "34109-34141 34381-34382 34422 34549 3428h—-34380 34383-34421 34217-34283 34423-34413 34497-34548 34550-34596 eeoeoveoeeev e008 eoepwreovoesevee eseeceeoeeeese@ . Animals 4,5—50 111-1811 51-59 ' 1824302": 60-63 303-368 64-72 369-84 h 7399 185-556 84-90 557-663 36-h4 692-750 80-83 664-691 1299-1327 1438-1447 1494-196 1-24 874-1063 25-35 751-863 | 872-873 1484-1493 1064~1072 1092+1120 1184-1298 1073-1091 1121-1182 1328~1437 eb9I oc! 002! 089) 0991 ; (Sd1S{AD) | NISTWEUMY Le I AD ot ea < “\anouv ania ‘ Ye in) = : oO VW A DOS _ws.§ TIOLW aven ~Spss a Sd as SS West PSS i) | 14 SS, =, % i] i 1 PS ra) ! ! Ae g I P| eee uy = = | 1 2 / gros / = ° 3rLOM Tow 430917 Vy, E ae / i 7 > >=. _110lv onviaen pr ag, 1 age / SS Ta Baas ! = 20! o. (4}0 @yy wWody persosqgo. f= a = = f as =o i é eee =e ce =—_—— ShISIA =—— = SS = 08/0 puoje] Owe pud s}jo1y do)4\7 pud ‘ni Woe) owar 7 eae i TAN OHIOK, 4 Sars eo ee sr Nairawe — snouv vin} (k----- i als ve | eae \ fe H Ee gee : i poe < Be (4) (410 044 wosy porsasqo osjo - / H eras a sie ey puonvtin)| em I04Y wav } we2 Thowy aVNIONTTIV a aL Pelee enemies — [i - ; = Ae é, 3 re 4 yee, S see TOL H3ONOY Pac Caan = ee ! OLY dv139NOu f ‘, Tnoiv yoramina BAS Nypsent “er? 3 } Bos i TOL INDIE 1 aa | zi — a ° = ha ; Sl ERE ofl © ToL uvyia Ale ! wo 4 Sl I @ \ §S 1 = \ \ U (o} \ \ 1 ot \ x i] J0YD * wo, 3 \ \ i GitvS 1042 OH |} UBYD} asDg \ N it i 3 x \ i ZS61 isnBny nyt Ajnp wos usyd} ajnoy ——— ——— —— Ki a i ZS6I Mady mays [GGI ‘AON Wosy UayD} efnoy -—-——--~-—~_ \ ‘ ; aN39371 Re ; (SSS s \ ‘ i $19)9W9)!)) 0OZ osi 001 os to) os a \ \ 1 t a \ ‘ i 2S61-IG6l SNOILIGAdXS TIVHSYVW NYSAHLYON 340 1 = VAS ° = « ¥ i AYVYANILI GAZIIVYANAD GNV SANOZ NOILVLA9SA SNIMOHS od 3 y NS | ni ey a SONV ISI TIVHSYVW NYSHLYON S (sds yjog uo doys \ \\s i 484}}) SOM [JOLY YOH0d) \ wd ©) \x W101v yv0d 099) 0991 ob 9! ocd 004! . ° RR an Pe 22's ag >! \ As Joan ser ; a dagigirs saa erie pr ea vee ; é : y teat 2 ; ATOLL R&SZARCH BULLETIN No. -39 Northern Marshall Islands Expedition, 1951-1952. Land biota: Vascular plants. by F. Rk. Fosberg Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIuNCH BOARD National Academy of Sciences-—-National Research Council Washington, D. C. May 15, 1955 4 ; ee, q a ie i , ' ; y bn yi Uh Aware IOC: iy Ps eas alle i a Mee fe 3 f ray i , F * 4 / i Northern Marshall Islands Expedition, 2 1951-1952. Land biota: Vascular plants.’ by F, R. Fosberg 3 1/ Publication authorized by the Director, U. S. Geological Survey 2/ Preliminary results of the Expedition to the Northern Marshall Islands, 1951-1952, no.2,. 3/ Botanist, U. S, Geological Survey Northern Marshall Islands Expedition, ~1951-1952, Land biota: Vascular plants. ; a byes te, atte F. R. Fosberg «. Following the narrative of the expedition to the northern Marshalls made in 1951 and 1952; it seems worth while to present the raw data _.collected in a series of preliminary papers, to make them available for general use and reference without waiting. until they are completely studied and -interpreted. Formal publication ofa more permanent character is “planned as detailed studies are completed; This paper presents distribu- '** tional and ecological records, as well as native names, of the vascular plants collected on the expedition. To these have been added records from “the author's 1946 and 1950 collections, a few Wake Island collections made in 1953, and a few miscellaneous collections by others, Other signi- ficant collections from the northern Marshalls, not included here, are those of Wm. Randolph Taylor, published by him in his "Plants of Bikini," those made by Adelbert de Chamisso while on the Kotzebue Expedition, and _ those made on Beverat: bahep By, pores St. John, mostly as yet cia cai _ The rete eee plant names: are. poeeteed here in the form in which they were.written down, in ‘the field;- san! attempt being made to reproduce. the sounds -as: heard, "thus; ‘they: include,’ sometimes,, a number of variants of the same. word which’ sinply ‘indicate: differences, in ‘the: “way the word was heard, .No. attempt, “has - been made: to edit ithese names according to any of the existing. Marshallese orthographies... ‘As tais series of papers is intended: hee spreserye raw fines its is’ felt. that the nailes will be ote more Place names are given as’ “they appear. on. ‘the labels of the a se tions, with an occasional correction: given in parentheses. Thus the localities for the 1946 and 1950 collections are given, generally, as on the Hydrographic Office charts, whereas those for the 1951 and 1952 collections. are given according 'to the revised list ‘of names supplied by Mr, E, H. Bryan and Mr. Leonard Mason. of oe as a result of their work on the Miarshall Islands Atlas (unpublished) .,. The determinations of the plants are all by fhe author. ‘They repre- sent the present state of the taxonomy of these species. Some of them are in need of revision and may later be changed. All. ‘of the: Marshallese Pandanus are here referred té PP. tectorius. Parkinson, asthe numerous "species" that have been described or recorded from thesé islands are . “considered to. be, actually, nothing more than horticultural forms and > genetic. segregates, One or two: plants are . detéiinizied- ‘to: ‘genus only, either | ee ci ESCHER has eta heer Gener ibed, or because the material wie available or the state of the classification is such that convincing specific identification is at present impossible. No new taxa are described and no nomenclatural changes are made in this paper. Collection numbers cited are from thé author's consecutive series except those few definitely ascribed to other collectors, This series applies only to plants. lee ch a ee en ee ee eee Polypodium scolopendria Burn.f - Utirik Atoll: Utirik ae. 33674. Taka; Atoll:.Taka Islet, 33723. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27010; Lado Islet; 33789. Aiiuk Atoll: Akulwe Islet, 33913. Lae Atoll: ine Islet, 33994. Kwajalein Atoll: Enewetak Islet, 34135. Ujelang atoll: Bieto Islet, 34144. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34237. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34328. fai .... Indigenous. Common, mainly terrestrial. cae found also on the bases of:.coconut trees and, more rarely, on the lower trunks of other trees, principally in hougant plantations and mixed forest. Marshallese: "kino." Pandanus tectorius Park. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33697. Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, 33725. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27017; Aikini (Aekone) Islet, 27048, 270553 _Lado Islet, 33818. Jemo Seilerae: 33900, 33905, 33906. haan Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33927. Lae Atoll: Loj Islet, 3040. Kwajalein: Bennett (Bikej) Islet, Islet, 264,96; Enewetak Islet, 34131. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34212, Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34280, Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34346. Bikar Atoll: Bikar Islet, 34568. Eniwetok : Atoll: Japtan ‘Islet, 2h317. Of aboriginal ‘introduction “(?),.Many varieties, both wild and planted, the latter used’ as’ food and thatch. The varieties differ mainly in fruit size, shape, ~ juiciness,:flavor, and other. edible qualities. Planted forms usually around villages: and: forming: a second story in coco- nut groves, wild ones: in’ mixed ye as ince in. pure. stands, Marshallese? "bop. " L ; i ne : PANY a) Mea Thalassea hemprichii es ) nate. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34189. Indigenous, forms a thin sod at low tide level on lagoon beach on the east end of Ujelang ae bg eres Atoll; Sten unknown in the northern Marshails, ~~‘ Cenchrus brownii R.& S.” Wake Atoll: Feale re 31,929. Introduced weed. Ghanen: not raat Cenchrus echinatus L, Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 33624, 3477. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33665. Jemo Island: 33868, Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 26486, 34140; Bennett (Bikej) Islet, 26504, Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34310. Eniwetok — Atoll: Eniwetok Islet, 24300; Japtan Islet, 24324; Engebe Islet, 24378. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet; 27036, Introduced weed. In open, sandy disturbed areas, especially around villages and military establishments, and in thin coconut plantations. In places very abundant. Marshallese:"lek e lek." LuGue Chleris inflata Link » Kwajalein Atoll: Bennett (Bike}) Islet, "26522, 31202; Kwajalein Islet, 31187. Eniwetok Atoll: Engebe Islet, DLLO7» Wake Atoll: Peale Istet, 34926. Introduced weed. In cles places where there have been ey operations. " Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers Wake At Atoll: Wake Reflet . 34450; Peale Islet, 34931. Eniwetok Atolls. Eniwetok Islet, ees Engebe. ae 24,379. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein. . Islet, 26489. “Introduced ‘ieeald deinen: in. open places around military establishments, persisting from plantings made in 1945-46, when there was concern about revegetation of aoe ‘devastated fetes gat Dactylocteniun anes ts » Richt. ie rele ee Wake Atoll: Wake Islet ,33617. se Geen ‘Atoll: iets san ae, Introduced weed. Deedosenat in open, disturbed places around pea tes establishments. Digitaria microbachne (Pres1) sia ts i Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet; 33790; Likiep Islet, 27018." ns Tsldfid, 33870. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet; 33946. -Lae Atoll: Ted islet, ‘BhO50e". Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34240... Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 3,363. Kwajalein: . Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 31161, 261,75 ; Bennett (Bikej)* Islet, 26498 4 : Eniwetok Atoll: Japtan Islet, 24340; Aomon Islet, 24355; Baeectol Islet ,: 243693; Engebe Islet, 24373. Introduced -(? 2}- “weed. Occasional.to ccmmon in coconut plantations. Marshallese: gotds ae _Mujos ea a “inikan, pueue," Digitaria inane ste: ‘(Kuintti) Bal. A : | neh ; Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 3366h< Taka’ ‘Atoll: Taka Islet, 33761, Introduced weed, Villages atid. plantations. Marshallese: wujoij. US ly Eleusine indica, (L.) Gaertn. | Wake Atoll: Wake‘ Islet: 336235, ‘34482. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 5 33663. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Taleb y 33971.. Lae: Atoll: Lae. Islet, 34060. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet: 34,182. Wotho Atoll: Wotho peace: Bu23 ois Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34309." ‘Sniwetok Atoll: Eniwetok Islet, 24289; Japtan Islet, 24320; Engebe ’ Islet ,".24384. Kwajalein , Atoll: enatean Islet, 261,853 Bennett (Bikej) ‘Tolet, "20517. Taken Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27013. Jemo Island, 33876. «— : : Introduced eeas Common Br ound Cee and in ‘disturbed places. ° Marshallese: etal " A giant form occasional in openings in coconut plantations on Jemo 4sland’ (33876) is possibly only a Beta LO. abundant phosphate in soil. Eragrostis amabilis (L.) W. & A. Utirik Atoll: Utirik: Islet, 33653. Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33791; Likiep Islet, 27017. Jemo aiead) DS lea Atluk Atoll: Adduke Islet, 33944. Lae Atoll: Ese | Islet, 34065. Upgiene Atoll: Raej Tslet, 34153. — Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 31,230. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 31,305. Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 34459. Eniwetok Atoll: Eniwetok ‘Tslet, ‘24290; Japtan Islet; 24344; Aomori“ Islet, 243473 ingebe, Islet, 24387. Kwajalein Atoll: eee Islet, 26483; Bomete (Bikej) Islet, °26505~ re bah Introduced weed. Very common around villages, in disturbed places, and in coconut groves. Marshallese: "ujoij,'" "ujos." Eragrostis poaeoides Beauv. Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, he Introduced weed. On bare ground’ near air strip. Not are ucants tl known from the Pacific Islands. Lepturus repens (Forst,f.) R.Br. Se st Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 33627, 34950, 34623 Peale Lslet, 34941; 34942, 34943, 34944. Utirik Atoll: Ubirik Islet, 33861. Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, 33732. Jemo Island: 33864. Ailuk Atoll? Ailuk Islet, 33923. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34064. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34173. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34271. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34359; Rua Islet, 34378. -Pokak Atoll: Sibylla Islet, 34504; Kamome Islet, 34506, 34509. Bikar Atoll: Bikar Islet, 34571; Jaliklik Islet, 34577. Eniwetok Atoll: Eniwetok Islet, -24298; Japban Islet, 24,3253; Aotmon ue. 243533; Pngebe Islet, 24395. fore aden Atoll: aegis Islet, 264773 Bennett (Bikej) Asean 26510. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 26995. Indigenous. A very common grass, found in open places, in serene: tions end forests, but mostly confined to places with at least some sand or fine gravel. Extremely variable in habit and luxuriance, with great. latitude in tolerance of different moistureconditions. Pioneer species on newly deposited sand and fine gravel.’ Marshallese: "ujoj," "ujos aitok" (Eniwetoic), "ajuj." aah : . Lepturus aly : . . Pokak Atoll: Kamome Islet, 34511. Wake Atoll: Peale Islet, 31,940. Indigenous, A form with soe anlly coarse habit. ‘robably a distinct Species, found only very locally on open gravel, growing with, but not intergrading with, Lepturus repens. Apparently endemic to Pokak and Wake Atolls. Common ,on Poxak only on a part of Kamome Islet, and on wake 24) in a small. area on the west end of Peale. slet. 4 Paspalum vaginatum Sw. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 33854, 27039. Kwajalein 4toll: Kwajalein Islet, 34123, 31189; Ebeye Islet, 31207. Wake atoll: Peale Islet, 34932; Wake Islet, Bh49K9. Ailuk Atoll: Aue Islet, 33969a. . Intrdduced weed. In open places and especially luxuriant in taro pits. An aggressive weed, recently. introduced but spreading rapidly, forming a dense tough sod, Possibly responsible for the failure of the revival of taro culture in the northern Marshalls, Seteria verticillata (L.) Beauv. | Wake Atoli: Wake Islet, 34470. minetok atoll: Japtan Islet, 24,3273 Engebe Islet, 24,392. Introduced weed. In disturbed places, not yet common. Sorghum vulzere var. technicum (Koern.) Fiori, & Paoli Fniwetok Atoll: Enzebe Islet, 24.383. _ - Introduced. Apparently persisting from planting by Japanese, rare when collected, probebly not a permanent member of the flora. ipsa aA DED 682 AND, pon 1/ See Fosberg, F, R,, The Pacific forms of benenete R. Br. (Gramineae). Occ. Pap. Bishop Be 1955 (in press), on Stenotaphrum micranthum (Desv.) Hubb. Ujelang Atoil: Ujelang Islet, 34200, 34201. Introduced weed. A widespread but not common. Pacific species, found here for the first time-in. os Lic sicgcua Islands, growing along paths in coconut plantation. RENE HA: Thuarea involuta (Forst.) R.& S. ~ Utairik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33692. icin) Atoll: _bado Islet, 33841; Likiep islet, 26993. s#iluk ef tun Ailuk Islet, 33922. Lae Atoll: eae Islet, 34020. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34174. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34238. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34300; Sock Islet, 34360. Eniwetok Meola: Fniwetok Islet, 24295; Japtan Islet, 24341; 4omon Islet, 24354. Kwajalein :Atoll: Kwajalein tsiet, 264743. Bennett (Bike §) Islet, 2652. Indigenous. In sandy places, shaded or in the open, locally very common, forming a soft green.ground cover. Marshallese: "ujoij," "ujuj," "ujos maroro" Caaneor Tricachn 4 iaenibaigeis (Ti: ) Nees Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 34476. Eniwetok Atoll: Japtan Islet, 24328. Kwajalein Atoll: Bennett (Bike}) Islet, 26502. Introduced weed. Occasional in disturbed places around abandoned military installations. Cyperus compressus L, mae ys eens Atoll: Kwajalein Teen 31189. Introduced weed in disturbed places. Cyperus javanicus Houtt. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 33859, 26989. Indigenous(?). Rare around village. Marshallese ‘i"sapasap." Cyperus odoratus L. Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33845; Likiep Islet, 27043, Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33967. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34014. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34,260. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 31172, 26484. Introduced (?) weed. Common in taro pits and other wet places. Cyperus Probmdusy Ls) iid . Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein etek 31200, Wake Atoll: Peale Islet, 34933; Wake Islet, 34948. Introduced weed in gardens. Eleocharis geniculata (L.) R.& S. ' .Lixiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33825. Auk, Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33969. Introduced (?) weed. In taro pits. Fimbristylis spathacea Roth i" Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34259, 34272. 2. wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 33619, 34457, 34478. Utirik Nee Utirik Islet, 33642. Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, 33737. Likiep AvoLl: Lado, isbet, 33895, Aniuk Abell: Atul”. Islet, 33941. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34062. Ujelang Atoll: Raej Islet, 34154. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34327. Kwajalein atoll: Bennett (Bikej) Isiet, 31204, 26518; Kya jalein Isiet, 26488. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27016. a Indigenous. Common to abundant in open places, coconut plantations and mixed woods, variable in habit, tolerant ofa great range of moisture conditions. Pioneer in disturbed places, Marshallese: "derelij'man," "dralij'man," "perelijman," "ujoj maroro, "' Magid Cocos nucifera L. Jemo [sland: 33899. Fniwetok Atoll: Igurin Islet, 2,306. Introduced. Planted in large numbers on all abolis except Pokak and Wake. Dominant in the — extensive vegetation type. ee Me u “Alocasia macrorrhiza -(L.) Schott. , i i f, me » Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Tsleby,, 33970. Ujelang Atoll: Bieto , Isiet, Of dard asian: introductions Planted around villages, and spontaneous “* Sony coconut: plantations, also a weed in taro pits. liarshallese: "wot," wat," Gil apacis esculenta (L.) Schott Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34013. ‘e Of aboriginal introduction. Rare, persisting in taro pits. Marshall- ese: "katak." Gyrtosperma chamissonis (Schott) Mere hr ii ‘ Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33968. Wotho. jeoulae Wotho Islet, 31,261. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34302. Likiep Atoll: ‘Likiep Islet, 27040 Of aboriginal introductien, Planted and persisting ‘in taro pits. Marshallese: "iarij" or "iarej." Rhoeo discolor (L'Her.) Hance Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33974. Introduced. Rare garden pileaee Agave sisalana Perr. . Jemo Island: 33862, Likiep Atoll: Aikini Uiektone), Islet, 27050 (?). Introduced. Rarely planted. . Crinum procerum Carey ~ Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33686. Likiep ket) Lado Islet, 33820. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33956. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34278, 34225(?). Of aboriginal introduction (?). Widely planted. and ereaae, Marshallese: "kiep," "kieb." , Crinum rumphii Mierr. Lae Atoll: Loj Islet, 34051. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34197. ' Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34311 (?); Bock Islet, 34345. Of aboriginal introduction (?). Widely planted and persisting. liarshallese: "kiep," "kieb." Crinwa asiaticum L. (7?) ~ Lakiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27001. Introduced. Planted.Marshallese: "kieb," a. Hymenocallis littoralis (Jacq.) Salisb. Aiiuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33976. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34093. — Ujelang atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34185. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Isiet, 34284. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 26992... . Introduced. Planted in villages. liershallese: iigiep, it "small kieps" | Zephyranthes rosea (Spreng. ): Lind. . Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet; 21083 eK ik Introduced, Planted around dwellings. Tacca leontopetaloides (L.) 0.Ktze. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33695.: \Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33839; Likiep Islet, 27000. Jeo: Island: 33877. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33938. Lae Atoll: ae Isiet, 31,009» Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34206. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34242. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34288; Ebeju Islet, 34.398. Rniwetok Atoll: depen Tslet, 24333. ee isis Atoll: Bennett '(Bikej} Islet,: 26493... Of aboriginal Meeaedekion (2). ‘Abundent and spontaneous in coconut plantations, especially so. on. Utirix and Ailuk Atolls. Tubers used for food, especially in northern atolls. Marsiiallese: “mckeniok," "mokmok." Musa sapientum L.: |. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk ie 33065, Lae Atoll: Lae Ishet, 3,022. “Ujae™ Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34287. eee (not collected).: Introduced. Planted in shaded and ‘sheltered places, neem on Ujae. clara chlorotic when exposed to salt BPEOY | Henehe eset "banana," : Peperomi a Sp. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 3027. Indigenous. Very .rare, one colaee on ‘rocks in’ Barringtonia ‘forest! first record’ from northern Marshalls. Marshallese: Mrabikdaga." Fleuryu ruderalis (Forst. ) Gaudi éx Yead. ’ Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33679. Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, 33°7hb3 Watwerok Islet, 33764. Likiep’ eo Likiep Islet, -27004; -Lado islet, 33794. Jemo pete 33880. Ailuk atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33939. Lae oii Lae Islet, 34030. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34175. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34,341. Eniwetok Atoil: Japtan Islet, 2321; ; Engebe Islet, 24399. Indigenous. Common- locally, especially in very rocky Pieces with lattle soil,. 5 olinaalpnage in .the , shade ‘but also in full sun. -Warshalleses en’ isiniaieluaiie Beaver argenteus (Forst. ) Wedd, Lae Atoll: Loj Islet, 3404'7. aie eeers enki eens ae 34129; - Bennett (Bikej) Islet, 26509, le ie Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34176. Ujae | Atoll: Ujae Islet,, 34,299. Indigenous. Common in mixed forest and thickets, as. well as in undergrowth in. coconut plantations in the southern tier of atolls of the northern Marshalls.. Marshallese: Narme," Hareme. or Varumes Hh. Artocarpus altilis (Park.) Fosb. + Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33683, 33691. Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33840; Aikini (Aekone) Islet, 270 5|ce Jemo +siand! 33901... Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33924, 33957, 33980. Lac Atoll: Lae Islet, 33992, 34091. Ben Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34198. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34233. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34361; Ujae Islet, 34417. Fniwetok (Qakley). Introduced, Planted, thé seeded form possibly spontaneous, around villages and houses and in coconut plantations on the lagoonward half or two thirds of islets, especially from Ailuk south. Two forms, one with seeds, the other seedless. Trees were found growing within 15 m. of passage and lagoon beaches, without apparent ill effects. None were found close to the outer beach, Marshallese: "m%," 'mei," "me," Ximenia americana L. ite . > fae uboLLs Lwejap Islet, 34073. Ujae Atoll: Epa Tebd 34399. 34400, 34.383. Mniwetok Atoll: Japtan Isiet, 24319. Han: Indigenous. Rare in thickets and in undergrowth in plantations. Marshallese: "Nkailikelik," "kalikelik." Coccoloba uvifera L. Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 34471; Peale Islet, 34935. ‘peneiese) atoll: Ebeye Islet, 31212. Introduced, sgerugrnpunre | planted around American installations. Boerhavia diffusa L. Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 33626, 34453, 34946. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33680, Taka Atoll:. Taka Islet, 33743, 33748; Watwerok Islet, 33765. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33931. Kwajalein Atoll: Enewetak Islet, 34136. Pokak Atoll: Breje Islet, 34503; Kamome Islet, 34517, 34546. Bikar Atoll: Bikar Islet, 34572.: Eniwetok Atoll: Igurin Islet, 24306; Japtan Islet, 24334; hese Islet, 24356. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Tslet, 27006; Aikini (Aekdne) Isiet, 27058. Jemo Island: 33879. Indigenous. Common, especially in rocky and sandy places, not too much shaded; more abundant in the drier northern atolls. Apparently occasionally hybridizes or intergrades with B. tetrandra (33748, Bees 24306, 24356), Marshallese: "matok"! (Geneon) “trebijraka." Boerhavia form with leaves as in B. mutabilis Re Bre Wake Atoll: wake Islet, 34947. Introduced? Commen locally on coral sand and gravel. Boerhavia patna Forst. f. irik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33644. Taka Atolls: Taka Lstees 337163 Watwerok Islet, 33761, 33762 (nybrid?). Jemo Island: 33881. Ai luk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33937. Lae Atoll: Bikenaj Islet, 34074, 34076. Ujelang Atoll: Bokan Islet, 34163. Wotho Atoll: wWotho eee 34277.'Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34320. Wake Atoll: wake Islet, 34454. hwenok Atoll: Aomon pd 24,362; HEngebe Islet, 24394. apne! Atoll: Aikini (Aekone) Islet, Indigenous. Common in rocky or gravelly, even sandy places, especially in the open, also in open coconut groves. Apparently inter- grades or hybridizes with B. diffusa (33746, 31,074, 34076, 24362, 2439h,27057 338€1). Marshallese: 'nat'to,® "perial," "matok aitok" (imiwetok). Wirabilis jalapa L. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33657. Ailuk atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33960. Eniwetok Atoll: Eniwetok Islet, 21,3770. Likiep oF Likiep Islet, 27029. + sei jevecuved, Planted in Salon eu around houses and graves. Pisonia grandis ReBani pik. +) Utanik. Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33676. ees ae Taka Islet, 33735. Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33852; Aikini (AckGne): Islet, 27052. aie Island: 33895, 33898. Ailuk atoll: Akulwe Islet, 33910. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34026. Ujeieng Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 31,208. Wotho atoll: Wotho Islet, 34263, 34268; Ombelin Islet, 344,30. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34336, 34337. Pokak Atoll: Kamome Islet, 34,507. Bikar Atoll: Bikar Islet, 3569, Wake. Atoll: Wake Islet, 34472.° eye eok Apeil: “Lzuran ytstet, 21,30k,, 24,3083 Japtan Islet, - 24332, 24337; Aomon Islet, 243575 -Engebe Tslet, 2402. Kwajalein atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 26512. Indigenous. Frequent tree in mixed forests, usually away from direct exposure to wind. Important in forming pure stand: forests. Favored by birds for roosting and nesting. Marshallese: "kangl," "kangae" (Eniwetok). Achyranthes aspera L, Eniwetok Atoll: Aomon Islet, 24345. Introduced weed. fee in disturbed places. Marshallese: "kalekleks" Achyranthes canescens R. Br. Utirik Atoll: Bekrak sean 33714. Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, Bolts Jemo Island: 33894. Indigenous.Very local in scrub on drier islets. Arietebetlste dubius Marte °--+ Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein rete BITS 5: ShLS5s Bennett( one Islet, 26503. Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 344525 Peale Islet, 34938. Eiiwetok Atolls Engebe:Islet, 24,390. | derecneed weed. Common around military installations. ” Amaranthus s Spinosus L. - . a Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 31174. Introduced weed. Infrequent around military instailations. Amaranthus viridis L. Wake Atoll: Wake a 34446. Eninetok Atoll: Eniwetok Islet, 24372. Introduced weed. Infrequent around military installations. Gomphrena globosa Le Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34294. Introduced. Rare in Berseuee Portulaca lutea Sol. Utirik Atoll: Eluk hon et 33701. Pokak Atoll: Kamome Islet, 34510. Wotho Atoll: Biken Islet, Bb, 3lss Bikar atoll: Bikar Islet, 34567, 34,5705 Jaliklik Islet, 34578. Wake Atoll: vake Islet, 34468. Fiviwetok Atoll: Igurin Islet, 21,3075: Japtan Islet, 24326; Aomon Islet, 24358. Tes sonens. Abundant in the northern atolls, less so southward, in open sandy or gravelly places and under trees where other ground cover is not thick, Pioneer on new sand and gravel bars, beaches, and typhoon- stripped areas. Marshallese: "purya," "kiran." -~10— Portulaca oleracea L. Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 33620, 34481. Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, 33742. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 31,308. Friwetok Atoll: Eniwetok Islet, 24296; Ingebe Islet, 24408. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein: Islet, 264913 Benet (Bikej) Islet, 26500. fntroduced weed. Comiion in sandy places salina villages daa in disturbed places. Portulaca samoensis v. Poelin.' Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33675. Tee Atoll: Lado ree 33818; Likiep Islet, 27005. Ailuk Atoll:. Ailuk Islet, 33940. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34216. Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 34460. Eniwetok Atoll: Iniwetok Islet, 24297; Japtan Islet, 243233 imgebe Islet, anus Kwajalein Atoll: eaten Islet, 26469, 26513, Introduced (? ) weed. Common in sandy open or disturbed places. Marshallese: "nat! oa) "oujang." Sesuvium portul aranae Le Wake atoll: Wake Islet, 34461. Indigenous. Common on open saline flats. Cassytha filiformis L, Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33694. Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, 3372h. Jemo Island: 33889. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33936. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34,080. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34172. Woche [eolauaenns Islet, 34266. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34,330. EKniwetok Atoll! Eniwetok Islet, 24,288 5 Igurin Islet, 243133 daptan Islet, 21,3303 Aomon Lslet, 24,3656 Kwajalein Atoll: Beonert (Bike3) Islet, 26497. les Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27009. : Indigenous. Common Beside in openings, in open coconut Bes and in loose scrub, parasitizing grasses, shrubs and even small trees; forming loose mats covering Megcte ten: Marshallese? "kaanin, Wkend, i oe nk3nun. Hernandia sonora L, Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 33997; Loj Islet, 3,01. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34211. Likiep Atoll: Aikini (Aekone) Islet, 27060. Indigenous. Rare in mixed forest and in coconut groves. Seedling found in germinated beach drift at top of beach (33997). Marshallese? "“pingiping," "bing bing." Brassica sp. Fniwetok Atoll: Engebe Islet, 24388. Rare, persisting after ene a zon, probably has now ‘disappeared. epidium o-waihiense Cham. & Schlecht. Wake Atoll: Peale Islet, 34930. a Indigenous. Very common locally on steep warned of "Lake Peale." Bryophyllum pinnatun Lam. ) Kurz Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33850. Introduced. Planted in garden. -li~ Caesalpinia pulcherrima (L.) Sw Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27031. Introduced. Rare. Planted in gardens. Caesalpinia bonduc (L.) Roxb. (?) Ujae Atoll: Alle Islet, 34416. Indigenous, Rarely seen as seedling from drift seeds; seems not to persist in northern Warshails. Caesalpinia major (Medic.) Dandy & Exell (7) Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34034. Rarely seen as seedling from drift seeds; seems not to persist in northern Marshalls. Pence alee microcarpa (DC.) Piper Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 33857. Jemo Island: 33888. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34012, 34031. Ujelang Atoll: Bieto Islet, 34146; Ujelang Islet, 3420k. Wotho Atoll: wotho Islet, 34227; Kabben Islet, 34431. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34319. Eniwetok Atoll: Igurin Islet, 24309. Kwajalein Atoll: Bennett (Bikej) Islet, 26515. Indigenous. Common but local in coconut plantations and in mixed forests. Roots of seedlings, at least, bear bacterial nodules. Marshallese: ‘manlap," "marlap." Cassia occidentalis L. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34184. Introduced. Persisting after planting by Japanese; said to have been used by them as coffee substitute. Desmodium canum (Gmel.) Schinz & Thell. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 34125. Introduced weed. Common around military establishment on Kwajalein. When clipped makes fairly attractive lawn. Erythrina variegata var. orientalis (L.) Merr. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27045. Introduced, Rarely Pienbed. Intsia bijuga (Colebr.) Ktze. eo ae Atoll: Lae Islet, 33995; Bikenaj Islet, 34077; Bikelabet Islet, 34079; ‘Enemanman Islet, 34099. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34246. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 343173 Wojia Islet, 34387. Indigenous, Compenent of mixed forest on SRN ees atolls of northern Marshalis. Marshallese: "kubuk." Leucaena glauca (L.) Benth. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33669. Ailuk Atoll: sais Islet, 33972. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 31176. Introduced. Persisting after cultivation. Rare around former Japanese establishments, Sets seed but seems not to establish itself in northern Marshalls. Hawaiian: "koa haole." 4. Tass aL Sophora tomentosa L. A peat ii ah Ujelang Atoll, Ujelang Islet, 34210. Ujae_ Atoll: Beja Ietet, 34385. Likiep Atoll: Aikini (Aekdne) Islet, 27065. Indigenous (?). Along lagoon sides of islets, just back of beaches in edges of coconut plantations, not COMMON» Matrsha it lepet jie lean Ohudag tt - Vigna marina(Burm.) Merr. . nies ae . Lae Atoll: Loj Islet, 34054; Tee Islet, 4036. Likiep Atoll: Aikini-® (Aekone) Islet, 27062; Lado Islet, 33822. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34179. Wotho cola: Wotho Islet, 34234. Ujae atoll: Ujae Tslet,. unos Kwajalein atoll: Bennett (Bikes) TsliebPebSete hy! Indigenous. .Common ground.cdver dn ‘coconut groves, ‘climbing in bushes in mixed forest, pioneer on cleared areas and on new sand and gravel bars. o, bear hacterial nodules. tiarshalLese? "marulcunen jojo," "marlap" (Uje- lang). Tribulus ciktaines: L. Eniwetok Atoll: Bngebe Tice 2hL03s: : Introduced (?) weed. Rare on open sand;_ probably intraduced acciden- tally with sae ane PouP Penis) i. Citrus aurantifolia (Christm: ) Srinete, Shc Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34,303 ( *). Likiep Atoll: Aikini Pstteet Islet, 27051. Introduced, Rarely planted in villages. Soulameaamara-L. a eC Ailuk Atoll: Akulwe ee 33012. Lae atoll: Fnemanman eee 34100. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34,269. Ujag Atoll: Ebeju Islet, 34384. Indigenous. ieeetoee common in ge as tehcee arshallese: "kil! Lig Ege ee agg aie ; Re et Suriana mari ein Le Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, eee. “Elk Islet, 33699. Taka Atolls. Taka Islet, 33738. Likiep Atoll: ‘Lado Islet, 33788; Likiep Islet, 26996; Aikini (Aekone) Islet, 27066. Ailuk Atoll: Akulwe sy: 33909; Ailuk Islet, 33947. Lae Atoll: Lae Isiet, 34033. Ujelang Atoll: Bokan Islet, 34166. Wotho Atoll: wotho Islet, 31,2733 Bokanaetok Islet, 34441. Ujae. Atoll: Bock Islet, 34335. Eniwetok Atoll: Igurin Islet, 24310;:Puraai Islet, Hosaka 2691.00 a are Indigendus: .Common “in: soridy vstecpenoes in’ an a especially along outer peegiees peer gees llarshallese? Pitney Pike aibeas " "ngiangi." eres godseffiana ier Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27022. Introduced. Rarely planted does not appear healthy. Acalypha hispida Bur at. ee tae Likiep Atoll: Likiep*Lslet,’.27027...- | Aaaies Introduced. Harely planted; does not appear healthy. Acalypha wilkesiana M.-4. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33977. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34097. Introduced. Uncommon in villages, does not appear healthy. 13>. Codiaeum variegatum (L.) Bl. Likiep Atoll; Likiep Islet, 2702). . Introduced. Rarely planted. Euphorbia chamissonis Boiss. Utirik Atoll: Utirik islet, 33662. Likiep Atoll:. ace Islet, 337933 Likiep Islet, 27012. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33921. Lae Atoll: Fnemanman Eset, 34102. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 3,207. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34232. Ujae Atcll: Bock Islet, 34,329. Fniwetok Atoll: Eniwetok | Islet, 24286; Rngebe Islet, 24385. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 26470. Indinegous. In coconut groves, dominant in ground cover in many places. Marshallese: "mal dok," "beran," "puripur," "perul." Buphorbia heterophylla L. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33672. Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33842; _Likiep Islet, 27011. Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 34474. Aiiuk (not collected). Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 31162, . 261,82. Introduced weed. Common in disturbed places, abundant locally, especially so on Weke Atoll. Warshallese: "nukuni." Euphorbia hirta L. “ pi ue. jake Atoll: Wake Islet, 33628,- 34465. Jemo Island: 33873. Kwajalein Atoll; Bennett (Bikej) Islet, 26501. Fniwetok Atoll: Eniwetok Islet, 24367. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 26991. . Introduced weed. Common in disturbed places. Euphorbia hypericifolia L. ; Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 33618, 33622. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 31166. Introduced weed, In disturbed places, local but common where found. Euphorbia prostrata Ait. 2 Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33829. Jemo Island: 33874. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 34122, ° 261,73 (2). Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34307. Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 34455; Peale Islet, 34939. Introduced weed. Common in Bletoroed: places and around villages Euphorbia thymifolia L. va Kwajalein Atoll: Kw ajalein Islet, a. Bie Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang: Islet, 34181. Introduced weed. Very locally common:in disturbed places. Marshall- ese: "nat!to." Phyllanthus niruri L. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33688. Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33832; Likiep Islet, 27015. Jemo lee 33369. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34092. Ujelang Atoll: Ujeiang Islet, 34183. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34,306. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 31173, 26487. Introduced weed. Common in disturbed places and arcund villages. Ricinus communis L. Iniwetok Atoll: Engebe Islet, 24377. Introduced. Occasionally planted SOM bay installations, probably by Japanese. i, a Allophyllus timorensis (DC) Bl. Utirik Atoli: Bekrak Islet, 33710. Lae Atoll: Lae Taleb, 33991. Kwajalein Atoll: Mnewetak Islet, 34134; Bennett (Bikej) Islet, 31201, 26511. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34199. Wotho Atoll: Wotho islet. 34226. Ujae Atoli: Bock Islet, 31,3335 Ujae Islet, 34419. Indigenous. Common in mixed forest in Cdthern Aeon. in Utirik in scrub, Marshallese: "katak," "kutak," or "keda." Dodonea viscosa (L.) Jacq. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, Beco Incigenous. Rare in openings in coconut plantatioris. Marshallese: "kamin," Triumfetta procumbens Forst, Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33693. Taka Atoll: Taka Toiee 33721. Jemo Island: 33863. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33932. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34107. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34193. totho Atoli: Wotho Islet, 34270. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 3321. Bikar Atoll: Bikar Islet, 3,575. Eniwetok Atoll: Eniwetok Teles, 24299; Igurin Islet, 24311; “ied Islet, 24322; Aomon Islet, 24366; Ingebe Islet, 24401. Ge geleun Aces Kwajalein Islet, 26478; Bennett (Bike 3) Islet, 2651. Lixiep Atoll: Likiep wbaileea. - 2701. Indigenous. Very general in disturbed places, coconut groves, mixed forest, at top of beaches, and other’ pioneer habitats, sometimes forming pure ground cover. Flowers open in morning and afternoon, closed in middle of day. Marshallese: "at'at," "atat." Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet Wake Atoli: Wake Islet, 34451; Peale fates, 34934» Indigenous (?). Conon: locally in open scrub. Gossypium barbadense L. tirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33656. Kwajalein (not 5h eR OE. Introduced. Rare, planted in village. aus pat not collected in nursery on Kwajalein. Gossypium hirsutum var. religicsum (L.) Watt Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 34469. Introduced. Persisting after cultivation. Common, es pecially around old Japanese installations. This plant is identical with a specimen collec- ted in 1923, Pollock & Bryan 33, when it was reported to be rare, only one plant seen. Hibiscus tiliaceus L. Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33823. Lae Atoll: Loj Tak. 3h0K2. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 321k. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34297. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 34549. Of aboriginal introduction. Rare, growing in or near villages and around dwellings, not generally appearing healthy. Marshallese: "law." Hibiscus (hybrid) Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27026. Introduced, Rarely planted. / al 5- Sida acuta Burm.f. “Ujelang Atoil: Ujelang Islet, 34180. Introduced weed. Very local, only seen in peel village. Sida fallax Walp. “Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33087. Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, 33726. Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33844. Ailuk atoll: Ailuk’ Islet, 33962. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34096. Ujelang Atoll: Nelle Islet, 34142; Bokan Isiet, 34164. Wotho iupeae Wotho Islet, 342/1. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Te. Bi30He Pokak Atoll: Kamome Islet, 31,505, 34518. Eniwetok Atoll: Aomon Islet, 24359; Eniwetok ‘slet, 24371; Engebe Islet, 24369, 24393. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Isiet, 26481. Weke Atoll: Peale Islet, 34945. Eanes Very abundant on Pokak in open areas; local in openings on drier or more saline isiets on other atolls; planted and persisting after planting on more favorable islets where not found naturally. Mar- shallese: "kio..!! Thespesia populnea (L.) Sol. Kwajalein (not collected). Introduced. Planted in military establishment. Hess fad len © iti 19: m Calophyllum inophyllum L. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33678. Jemo tslana: ede Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33926. Ujelang Atoll EFnellap Islet, 34139. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34228. Ujae Atoll: Bock islet, 31,343. iaep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27020. ‘Of abor iginal introduction. Planted in villages, especially along lagoon beaches: occasionally established in mixed forest near lagoon side of islets, On Medjurwon Islet, Weuhe, this species forms coiispicuous thickets. Marshallese: "liéj," "lugej," "luech."' Pemphis acidula Forst. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33682. Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, 33747. Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33847. Ailuk Atoli; Ulixa Islet, 33984. Lae Atoll: Lae Isiet, 34032. Kwajalein Atoll: Inebuoj Islet, 341273 Bennett - (Bikej) Islet, 261,99, Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 3,188, Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 31,336 Wotho. Atoll: Bokanzetok Islet, 34442. Eniwetok Atoll: Puraai tee Hosaka no.2690, Be eceeace us. Common, growing especially on denuded rock flats, rarely on sand. Forming dense pure stands. ee ae "kengi," or "kungi." Citrullus vulgaris Schrad. ; Eniwetok Atoll: ingebe Isiet, 24375. introduced. Rare, persisting after military occupation. Cucumis melo L, , Hniwetok Atoll: Engebe Islet, 24409. Introduced. Rare, persisting after military occupation... Cucurbita maxima Duch. Ujelang Atoll: Bieto Islet, 3/147. Eniwetok Atoll: Engebe Islet, 24376, 24380 (?) (no gray spots on leaves). ee. Introduced, Persisting after military ate TAL 8 also planted by Marshallese on Ujelang. Carica papaya L. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33760. Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, 33736. demo Island: 33882. Ailuk Atcli: Ailuk Islet, 33961. Lae Atoll: lige Islet, 34059. Kwajalein Atoll:. Fnebuoj Islet, 34128. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang- Islet, 34213. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34344. Introduced. Commonly planted in interiors of islets in coconut groves, sometimes persisting | there, Fruit appreciated by ee Marshallese: "papaya. "! | Bruguiera conjugata (L.) Mierr. Utirik Atoll: Bekrak Tslet, 33712. ‘Ailuk Atolls Ailuk Islet, 339k. Lae Atoll: Lae aye 33993; Loj Islet, 34043. Indigenous (2). Rare, in wet depressions. Marshallese: “idiotic "jong." Terminalia catappa L. PRUPOMRN Shel 76 Sri! Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27019. Kwajalein Atoll: (not collected). Introduced. Rarely planted in villages. Marshallese :kutil." Terminalia samoensis Rech. Ujekang Atoll: Bieto Tslet,* 34143; Enellap Tenet 34150. Utirik Atoll: Bekrak Islet, soi gbee ‘Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, 33739. Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33783; ines Islet, 26997; Aikini (AekGne) Islet, 27059. _ Jemo Island: 33891., Ailyk Atoll: Akulwe Islet, 33911. Lae Abell: Enendinman Islet, 34037. Kwajalein atoll: Enewetak icine 34138; Bennett (Bikej) Islet, 26495. Wotho Atoll: yjotho” Islet, 3427h3 Eneobnak Islet, 34439; Tbe Baaok Islet, 34440. Ujae Atoll: Bock Tslet, 34.3313;Wojia islet, 34388, Fniwetok Atoll: Japtan Islet, 24331.° Indigenous. Common oapencae of scrub and mixed forest, oe sbeuen te in coconut groves. Marshallese: ets Hakungkung, " meaieung." . Barringtonia asiatica (ay, Kurz, Hy . . Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, Hanca et Atoll: Lae maybe 34028. Indigenous. Forming pure forest in one area on Lae, seen as drift seedling on Likiep, not seen otherwise except ¢ as drift fruits on beseHes- Marshallese: "wuj," NWoije", hi Jussiaea suffruticosa nes Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, beees) 27044. troduced (?) weed. In ieee pits. Polyscias scutellaria (Burm. f.) Fosb. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33959. Lae Atoll? Lae Ieee: 34,066. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34289. anne Atoll: Rbeye Islet, 31211. Introduced. Occasionally planted around villages: Polyscies Sp aa Ne AT ten Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27034. Introduced. Rarely planted. 27063. 7 ae Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. Likiep Atoll: Lado, Islet 33830; Aikini. Caewdna) Islet, --2706u. Ailuk » Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33913. Bjee nels Ujae Islet, | BLe98. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islét,. 261,90. Local introduced weed in villages, plantations, and around, a itary establishments. Marshallese: "marukko," "margo," 'mariko." — Catharanthus roseus (L.) Lamba Rania fh Likiep Atoll:iLado Islet, 33843; Likiep Islet, 27037. Alu J ‘Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33978. Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 34/56. . _ Introduced. Plenjed around houses and graves, sometimes’ persisting, Nerium indicum Mill. . A: MT EE (oo) Wjae Abo Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34291. Likiep Atoll: Aikini (Acne). Islet, Introduced. Bionted around villages. Nerium oleander ie ‘eer ~ Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34000. ent Atoll: Ujae Islet, 31293. Introduced. Planted around villages. ae Nerium sp... : Utirik SiciMinaeieea sil Tiglete es Eairodueeds Planted. around . house. © Ochrosia o eet (Lain. ) K Schum. Likiep Atoll: Likiep'Islet, 33782. Ailuk Atoll: “Akulwe. Islet, 339k. Lae Atoll: Inemanman Islet, 34038. kwajalein Atoll: Enewetak islet, 34133; Bennett (Bike;) Islet, 261,92. Ujelang Atoll: Ujeleng Islet, 34215. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34,262, 34.279. Ujae atoli: Ebeju Islet, FAOTT« Ramer ce Atoll: Japtan Islet, 24,329. Indigenous. Th mixed forest and forming pure forest's. Harshallese: "kabui jiling," "kijbar," "kejebar," "kejbar.'" Plumeria rubra L, | Wis , Utirik Atoll: Utirik Tames: "33689. dene eae 33865. Ailuk ‘Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33966. Lae Atoll:. ize Isiet, 34094. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34296. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27021. . Introduced. Planted around villages. Marshallese: "meria. Latin Asclepias curassayica ik Utirik Atoll: Utirik Is et, 33658. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33975. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34068. Introduced: eee: Planted around st and graves, occasionally, | escaped, ice lel ida: Nyelo.'. Ipomoea ee Te Nie tee Pia gig : ua Eg ek Saha Wake atoll: wake Islet, 34449. Likiep 4toll: Likiep Islet, 2/038: Introduced. Rarely planted; not deine well; on Wake persisting around Japanese garden site. ; Ipomoea littoralis Bl. Lae Atoll: Loj Tete, 34,053. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang, Islet, 2) 202 aa Introduced (?) weed. Occasional arourid villages, houses and paths. goa fe Ipomoea pes-caprae (L.) Roth. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 33999; Loj Islet, 34044. Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 34473. Rniwetok’ AtoLL: Iniwetok Islet, 24287; Ingebe Islet, 24404. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 26480; Bennett (Bikej) Islet, 26506, Introduced (?) weed. Very abundant around military tach ameeons, especially abandoned ones; seen eisewhere only as drift seedling. Ipomoea tuba (Schlecht.) G.Don : jake Atoll: wake Islet, 336ih. Utirik atoll! Utirik Islet, "33661, 33677; Eluk Islet, 33700. Jemo Island: 33890. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Tailed, * 33942. Lae Atoll: Loj Islet, 34056; Fnenbao Islet, 34083. Kwajalein Atoll: Lojjairong Islet, 34119; fqagallem: Islet, 264723 Bennett (Bikej) Islet, 26519. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34178. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, .. . - 34239. Ujae Atoll: Bock Isiét, 34362, Pokak Atoll: Sibylla Islet, 31,526. Eniwetok Atoll: Rniwetok Islet, 24285; Igurin Islet, 24305; Japtan islet, 24342; Aomon Islet, 24349. ee Ss Atoll: Aikini (iieeene) islet, 27053. Indigenous. Very common to abundant in coconut plantations, mixed forest and scrub; also on open rock ees on OES At oll. Marshallese: .. Mmarbele," "bele" (Ujelang, Iniwetok). : Cordia subcordata Lam. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33671. Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet,' 33784. Jemo Island: 33883. Lae Atoll: es Islet, 34035; Enenbao Islet, 3,032. Kwajalein Atoll: Enewetak Islet, 34132. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Isiet, 34,205. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34,332. Wotho Atoll: Enearik Islet, 34427; Kabben Islet, 34435. Wake At oll: wake Islet, 34480. Eniwetok Atoll: Igurin Islet, 21,3033 Japtan Islet, 24,338; Aomon Islet, 24351. : “ip eneecoee, Rare to common in mixed forest and Scrub, locally heer pure stands. Marshallese: "keno," "kono. Heliotropium anomalum H. & A. Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 33625. Indigenous. Common on open ground between trees iid raatitl ee Heliotropium ovalifolium var. depressum (Cham. ) Merr. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 34124. introduced weed. Occasional along air strip. liesserschmidia argentes (L.f.) Johnst. Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 33615. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33643. Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, 33722. Jemo Island: 33886. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk ‘ Islet, 33930; Ulika Tele, 33985. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34089. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34195. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34267. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34314. Pokak Atoll: Kamome Islet, 34508. Bikar Atoll: Bikar Islet, 34574. Eniwetok Atoll: Rniwetok Isl eb) 242933) Dearinyislengi2yan5; aoe Islet, 24339; Aomon Islet, 24352; Eng ages Islet, 24396. kvajelein Atoll: Wenn Islet, 26479; Bennett (nee Islet, "26520. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 26994. Indigenous. Common to spnaadt generally, except in mature forest in interior of islets, pioneer on new sand and gravel and in disturbed areas, Marshallese: "kirin.” Cestrum nocturnum L. ; Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27035; Les: Introduced. Rarely planted. Nicotiana tabacum L, Wake Atoll: jake Islet, rae Introduced. Persisting after cultivation. Rare, around old Japanese garden site. Physaiis angulata L. ar : Jemo Island: 33872. Ujae petite Ujae Islet, 34286. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 34381. : : Introduced weed. Occasional in disturbed places. Solanum lycopersicon L. ~~ —~Fniwetok Atoll: Engebe Islet, 24374. Introduced. ene after military pe Solanum nigra m L. ~~ Kwajalein Atolls mpealiein cee, Tit ASIEO s Introduced weed. Occasional in faeuebed mene around military installations. Clerodendrum inerme (L.) Gaertn. si ~Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33673. Likiep Atoll: ‘Lado Tislicesc 33816; paleeee Islet, 27008.: Jemo' Island: 33867. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33945. - Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34067. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34186. Wotho _. Atoll: Wotho Islet; 31,229. Kwajalein Atoll: Ebeye Islet, 31213; Kwajalein Islet, 26468 (planned. Indigenous. Common as undergrowth in coconut plantations. Also filling abandoned taro pitse Planted near chouse on: demo.’ Marshallese? Nulij, " anes We ; ‘ Premna obtudivelia R.Br.’ ORE Utarik. Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33696; Bekrak Islet, 33711. Likiep. “Atoll: Lado Islet,’ 33821, 33849; Aikini (AekGne) Tsligt, 27061 « Ailuk . Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33963. ‘Lae thot: Lae Islet, 3,011. Ujelang ‘Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 3,203 wotho Atoll: Viotho Islet, 34250. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34418 . eee Cee emenad in’ mixed forest and around villages and houses. Marshallese: "kaar," "kar." Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (L;) Vahl | Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27028. Introduced. Planted in ee tachytarpheta indica Vahl Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein ‘Islet, 3y,121, 31182. Introduced. \jeed around military installations. Ocimum sanctum L, —“Utirik Atoll: Utirik. Islet,’ 33659. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33979. Lae, Atoll: Loj Islet, 34052. Ujac Atoll: Ujae.tslet,. 34292. — : : react eine Planted in Bardens. Marshallese: Nketarin. 1 —20— Russelia equisetiformis Schlecht. & Cham. ~~ Takiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 33858, 27046. Introduced. Rarely planted in gardens. Scoparia dulcis L. ’ Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 31184. Introduced weed. Rare around military establishments. Graptophyllum pictum (L.) Griff. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27023, Introduced. Rarely planted, Pseuderanthemun atropurpureum (Bull.) Bailey Jemo Island: 33866. ean Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33973. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34063. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34290, L421. Kwajalein ioe Islet, 31206. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27025. Introduced. Commonly planted around nit nis Pseuderanthemum carruthersii Seem, Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33690. Lae Atoll: Lae meee 3,098. Wotho Atoll: Wotho tslet, 34.236. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, 34295. Kwajalein Atoll: Ebeye Islet, 31206. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27030. Introduced. Commoniy planted around villages. -The form with entirely green leaves and white flowers with crimson.dots in the center. Marshallese: Nulij," "wut tiroj." Guettarda speciosa L. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33667. Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, 33740. Jemo Island: 33897. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33934. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34106. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34196. iyotho Atcll: Wotho Islet, 34.276. Ujae atoll: Bock ee 34316. Fniwetok atoll: Aomon Islet, 21,364; Fniwetok Islet, 24294; Igurin Islet, 24312; Japtan Islet, 24,3183; Engebe. Islet, 24398. (ome ieke Atoll: Bennett (ike) Islet, 26494. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27002. Indigenous. Common in mixed forest and scrub, also in coconut groves, Marshallese? "wut," "wut i lomar." Hedyotis biflora (L.) Lam. Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33792; Likiep Islet, a70h Aikini (AekOne) Islet, 27049. Introduced (?) weed. Rare in coconut plantations. Ixora casei Hance Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 27032, troduced. Rarely planted, Morinda citrifolia L. Utirik Atoll: Utirik Islet, 33684. Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, 33734, 33745» Jemo Island: 33878. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33955. Lae (ere Lae Islet, 34008, Ujelang atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34177. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34231. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34315. Eniwetok atoll: Igurin Islet, 21,3023 Japtan Islet, 24335; Aomon Islet, 243503 Engebe Islet, 24381. Kwajalein atoll: Bennett (Bikes) Islet, 26507. Likiep Atoll: * Rikind (AekGne) Islet, 27056, Se Of aboriginal introduction. Common in coconut and breadfruit groves and in mixed forest. “arshallese: "nen," "nin." Scaevola frutescens (Mill.) Krause Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 33616. Utirik atoll: Utirik Islet, 33715. Taka Atoll: Taka Islet, 33720. Jemo Island: 33887. Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, 33933. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, 34090. Ujelang atoll: Ujelang Islet, 34194. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 34275. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, 34,318. Pokak Atoll: Pokak Islet, 34524. Bikar Atoll: Bikar Islet, 34573. Eniwetok Atoll: Fniwetok Islet, 24291; Igurin Islet, 24314; Japtan Islet, 24336; Aomon Islet, 34361; Mgebe Islet, 24397. “wajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 26471; Bennett (Bikej) Islet, 26516. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 26999. Indigenous. Common in scrub and as undergrowth in coconut plantations, usuelly forms a fringe along top of beach. Marshallese: "kannat," mar" (Ujelang), "mar kinat" (Eniwetok), "konnat." ry Hippobroma longiflora (L.) G.Don Likiep atoll: Likiep Islet, 27042. Introduced weed. Rare around taro pits on Likiep, now probably - gone, as natives were advised in 1946 to destroy it; not seen in 1951. Adenostemma lavenia (L.) 0.Ktze. Lae atoll: Lae Islet, 34025. Introduced (?) weed. In coconut and breadfruit groves, but only seen on Lae, Marshallese: "bulibulgas." Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronq. Wake Atoll? Wake Islet, 34463. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, ALee S117, Introduced weed. Common around air strips. Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 31169. Introduced weed. Around airstrip. Eclipta alba (L.) Hassk. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 31163. Introduced weed. Occasional around airstrip. Emilia javanica (Burm.f.) Rob. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 31186. Introduced weed. Common around military installations. Pluchea indica (L.) Less. "Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 26523; Ebeye Islet, 31210. Introduced weed. Abundant around military installetions. Pluchea odorata (L.) Cass. Wake Atoll: Wake Islet, 34447.. Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 31170; Ebeye Islet, 31208. Rniwetok Atoll: Rngebe Islet, 24405. Introduced weed. Abundant around military instellations. “22- Sonchus oletacea L.’ Wake Atoll: Wake Islet; ith Pai 3483. Introduced weed. In disturbed an eT MEM RYAPON Gat lure 2) ph Sel Dane Synedrella nodiflora (L. ‘ Gaertn. a Kwajalein atoll: Kwajalein Islet, 34120. ‘Bide Introduced weed, Around military installations. Neuse Tridax procumbens i | Ae ee OR it ped aciete Gs ~——~"“Kwajalein Atoll: Kwajalein Tslet, 31165. ee Introduced weed. Around an ‘Vernonia cinerea (L.) Less. ~ if Kwajalein Atoll: Ebeye Islet, 31209. Eniwetok- Abolls Enivetok Islet, 21,368; Rngebe Islet, 24382. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, 26990. Introduced weed. Common around ae Be a eeOS in Likiep village. Wedelia biflora (L.) DC. | es ; Likiep Atoll: Lado Islet, 33819; Likdep Teiee! 27003. aD oe Marib Islet, 33983. Lae Atoll: Lae MR cue Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet,.. 34,301. ee cok, Atoll: Engebe eee: 24391. Swajalein - — Kwajalein . Islet, 26476; Bennett (Bikej) Islet, 26508 a ie eat “Indigenous, Common as ground ; cover and Asis een. in pllaneotdoneh climbing in trees in mixed forest, and forming dense thick blanket over abandoned military installations. “arshallese: "margueue," “"marajej.'. ATOLL RESHARCH BULLETIN No. 40 Bryophytes collected by F. R. Fosberg in the Marshall Islands by Harvey Alfred Miller Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National Academy of Sciencese-National Research Council Washington, D. C. May 15, 1955 Bryophytes collected by F.:R. Fosberg in the Marshall Islands by Harvey Alfred Miller 2 1/ Preliminary results of the ixpedition to the Northern Marshall Islands, 1951-1952, no.3. 2/ Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, California. ‘ Paranrtiys | Di “Sryophytes ‘collected by. Fy Rae Fosberg: in the Marshall Islands . me aah "Harvey Alfred Miller Pee Pays Fosberg_ Coleen ed bryophytes in the Marshall’ Islands from November, 1951 to April, 1952 on Utirik, Ailuk, Likiep, Wotho, Ujae, Lae and Ujelang atolls (see fig,.1.) as a part of "Project Atoll" of the U.S, Geological Survey. The collections cited herein and those: previously reported survey the bryophyte flora of the Marshalls but further collec- tions are desirable for specimens, especially Hepaticae, of. plants: now > incompletely identified or as yet undiscovered. Mosses and liverworts’ should preferably be collected during the rainy season when many species (e.g., Riccardia spp.), dormant or present only as spares eae eee ary season, are actively growing and reproducing. ar I thank F. R: Fosbere for allowing me to study his collections. A, .L. Andrews has been of considerable aid in identifications and has given much time and encouragement. E. B. Bartram has also been ‘of’ kind assistance. The Farlow Herbarium of Harvard University and the New York Botanical Garden provided research facilities during visits sponsored in part by a Sigma Xi-RESA Grant in Aid of Research. The Department of Bio-~ logical Sciences of Stanford University. generously provided equipment and laboratory space. To these and others who have aided me I pode my. south ae tei “fat teré “HyophyTiaceunt Ure aaa var. robustum Fleisch. traded Fl. ~ Buitenz. I1:265, 1904. Lae Atoll:. Bwi Islet, Jan.. dy 1952, Fosberg 34078a. Distribution: Sumatra, Java, Philippines, Marshalls (Arno (2). The distribution given is that, of the typical form of the species of which var. robustum wiay~be only a luxuriant form due to optimal growth Condi tionse i145, 4-,.. calymperes tenerum he Mull, Linnaea 37:174. 1871-73. _ Utarik Atoll: Utirile Islet, sieve 29, Fosbérg 33660, 33652. Ailuk Atoll; Ailuk Islet, Dec. 27, Rosberg 33929; Akulwe Isle Tslet, Dec. 26, Fosberg pei 33916., Lakiep. Atoll: Likiep Islet, Dec, 12, Rosberg 337805 Lado- 1, seein cited eal be deposited in the U.S.National Herbarium and the herbaria of the B, P. Bishop Museum and of the author, hii Islet, Dec. 14, Fosberg 33824. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, Feb. 13, Fosberg 34253a, 34254. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, Feb. 16, Fosberg 34373b, Feb. 20, Fosberg 34374b, Mar. 9, Fosberg 34402c; Ebeju 1slet. Mar. 9, Fosberg 3403b, 3440'7b; Bock Islet, Feb. 17-20, Fosberg 34326. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, Jan. 6-7, Fosberg 34001, 34002b, 34017b. Ujelang Atoll: Raej Islet, Feb. x Fosberg 34155b, 34156b,34157, 34.1600; Kiloken Islet, Feb. 5, Fosberg 34162. rei Distribution: India, Malaysia, Philippines, Pacific Islands to Hawaii - Marshalls (Rongerik, Hongelap, ‘Bikini, Eniwetok (5), Arno. (2}). This moss is very common and widespread in treed Pacific Oceania. The known distribution in the Marshall Islands is shown on figure 1.. Calymperes tenerum has been collected on every atoll in the Marshalls: which has recently been explored bryologically although Stone (4) did not: find. it on Arno and the Horwitz collection from there. was small (Zen Splachnobryum indicum C. Mull. Linnaea 37:174. IS. hi Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, Feb. 14, Fosberg 34257b. Distribution: India, Java, Philippines (7), Marshalls (Arno (2). This collection, as the previous one from Arno (2), consists of scattered plants growing among other mosses—in this case Bryum se Bryum nitens Hook, in Wall. Cat. Me 7592 et Toon, Dip Yar. (ae: 2om, Bien m 6. 18 yo Ailuk Atoll: Ailuk Islet, Dec. 28, Fosberg 33981. Likiep Atoll: Likiep Islet, Dec. 12, Fosberg 33779, 33781; Lado Islet, Dec. 14, Fosberg 33817, 33827. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, 2 Reo, 14, Fosberg 34257a. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, Feb. 21, Fosberg- 34376. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, Jan. 10, Fosberg 34103. i he : “ Distribution: Nepal, Ceylon, Java, Bali, Fiji, Marshalls (Arno (2)). Pelekium velatum Mitt. Journ. Linn. Soc. Bot. (1869) 176. Ujelang Atoll: Ujelang Islet, Feb. 7, Fosberg 34209. Distribution: Malay Peninsula, Siam, Malaysia, Pacific Islands to Samoa (1). New to the Marshall rain Pelekium velatum is common in the Philippines and provides further evidence that the bryophyte flora of the Marshalls must have originated there. It has not, to my knowledge, been reported from the Carolines but I should not be reseed to learn that it does exist there, Eetrovabneeten sandwichense (Hook. & Arn. ) Mitt. in, Seeman, Fl. Vite. p. 400. fig. 185. 1873. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, Feb. 17-20, Fosberg 34340, 34364, 343653 Enelamoj Islet, Mar. 9, Fosbere’ 34413. Lae Atoll: Lae ri, Jan. 7, Fosberg 34015, 34023; Loj Islet, Jan. 8, Hiesbere 340, ° Distribution: Australia, New oP Pacific Islands to Hawaii. _ This moss has been prenatally ja cbeea from Arno by Stone (i) and by Miller and Doty (2). The latter reported it as: E. monument orum, a cee related species with similar distribution. LIVERWORTS (HEPATICAE) Lopholejeunea subfusca (Nees) Steph. Spec. Hep. V:86. 1912. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, Feb. 16, Fosberg 34375a. Distribution: Indomalaya and Oceania. Lopholejeunea. subfusca was first reported from the Marshall Islands by Stephani (3) who described it as a-new species, L, finschiana, apparently based on:a’ collection from Jaluit Atoll. Stone 4) reported this hepatic from ee Woe Michie jeunes mariana Ht eh ) Steph. Spec. Hep. IV:729. gil. Ujae Atoll: Ujaé Islet, Feb. 16, Fosberg 34375¢, 3i3Ba--Feb. 20, Ree 3437ha——Mar. 9, Fosberg 34402a; Bock Islet, Feb, 17-20, Roshers 3432h, 34367; Hbeju Islet, Mar. 9, Fosberg 34403a, 34404. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, Jan. 7, Fosberg 34017a; Bwi Islet, Jan. 9, Fosberg 34078b. Ujelang Sold: Raej Islet, Feb. 5, Fosberg 3i155n, 34160a, 34156a. Distribution: Indomalaya and Oceania. New to the Marshall Islands. Archilejeunea mariana is a very wide- spread species in Oceania and fits well into the distribution patterns of bryophytes known from the Marshalls. Hygrole jeunea vesicata (Mitt.) Steph. Sp. Hep. V:572. 1914. Wotho Atoll: Wotho Islet, Feb, 13, Fosberg 34247, 34253b. Ujae Atoll: Bock Islet, Feb. 17-20, Fosberg 34325b. Lae Atoll: Lae Islet, Jan. 6 Fosberg 34002a. Distribution: Samoa, Stone (4) reported this plant from Arno as "Lejeunea sp., (Subgenus Cheilolejeunea)." I have compared Stone's material with the type of Lejeunea vesicata Mitten and find the material inseparable except for a minor size variation. The plant probably does belong in Cheilolejeunea but further study seems desirable at this point. Lejeunea spp. Ujae Atoll: Ujae Islet, Feb. 16, Fosberg 34375b--Mar. 9, Fosberg ~ She 34402b; Bock Islet, Feb. 17-20, Fosbong. 3432585 ‘Ebeju Islet, Mar. 9, Rosberg 34407a, 34408. ~ US ideo UMMA eat Thiskwibation: Worldwide. All of the collections cited above belong in the Schizostipae, an extremely large and poorly understood group of hepatics. Three species are represented in the above collections but they are almost uniformly sterile and it seems impossible, for the present at least, to even eee them in the correct Scie ala genera of Lejeunea. ; LITERATURE CITED l. Bartram, E. B. 1939. Mosses of the Peaioeis >s. Philipp. Journ. Sci. 68:1-423, 29 plates. 2. Miller, H. A. and M, S. Doty 1953. Bryophytes from Arno Atoll, Marshall Islands. Atoll Hee. Bull. 25:1-10, 7 figs. 3. Stephani, F. 1900-24. Species Hepaticarum. 6 Vols. Geneva. 4, Stone, HE, Le, Jr. 1951. Soils of Arno Atoll, Marshall Islands (Appendix D). Atoll Res. Bull. 5:56. 5. ‘Taylor, W, .R. 1950. Plants of Bikini. 216 pp., 78 plates. Univ. of Mich. Press, Ann Arbor Michigan. : O 110Lv NO@S TIOLY MINOWVN of II anys SIvsny T1IOLV XON T10LV LINTVE o | Q ts | GNV1SI dV 139ONId » V10Lv ITN 110.1 ONY ay eae ONNPVN OLY dv IvdvONIMIV (> GNV ISI LOMEVr. 4 TIOLVY YNV ne Ta) D GNVIS! gin. T1O1lV dv1307VW W101V 3Vv7 Wo1vy anys \ se | W101v 3avrn Tov arLomC_) TIOLY NI3TWeVMy Holv daly T101LV OHLOM Tolv oNvIarn S TVIOLVY ANTIV z y yi ONV1SI OWS? TIOLY VAVL TIOLVY MIMILA y? LY T1O.LV SVNIONITIY = 7101V MOLAMINA a) 7T01v INDIA > T1OLV dv 139NO¥ TV1IOLV MINSONOY TV10LV YVyIg 4) ‘SONV1SI TIVHSYVW 3ut Ul T101lvV ISNOVL q WAYANSL SSYSdWATVO 40 UOolLNgiysip UMOUy wir gp nee a cape i wher 2 Selon th Aree eR ce aC me Srey RP Alot eae” Nos. 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 oye August 15, 1955 506.73 WARTS ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN 41. Canton Island, South Pacific by Otto Degener and Edwin Gillaspy a 42. The imsects and certain other arthropods of Canton Island by R. H. Van Zwaluwenburg 43. The natural vegetation of Canton Island, an equatorial Pacific atoll by William H. Hatheway 44. The hydrology of Ifalik Atoll, Western Caroline Islands by Ted Arnow 45. A partial list of the plants of the Midway Islands by Johnson A. Neff and Philip A. DuMont 46. Conspicuous features of organic reefs by J. 1. Tracey, Jr., P. E. Cloud, Jr. and K. O. Emery Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council Washington, D. C., U.S.A. TOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN 41. Canton Island, South Pacific by Otto Degener and Edwin Gillaspy 42, The insects and certain other arthropods of Canton Island by. R. H.. Van Zwaluwenburg 43, The natural vegetation. of Canton Island, an equatorial Pacific atoll by William H, Hatheway 44. The hydrology of Ifalik Atoll, Western Caroline Islands by Ted Arnow 45. A partial list of the plants of the Midway Islands by Johnson A, Neff and Philip A. DuMont 46. Conspicuous features of organic reefs byid. 1. Tracey, dr., PP. EB. Cloud, Jr. and K, 0, Emery Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National Academy of Bits tees Net onal Research Council Washington, D. C. August 15, 1955 ACKNOWLEDGMENT It is a pleasure to commend the far-sighted policy of the Office of Naval Research, with its emphasis on basic research, as a result of which a grant has made possible the sae of the Coral Atoll Pro- gram of the Pacific Science Board. It is of interest to note, historically, that much of the funda- mental information on atolls of the Pacific was gathered by the U. 5S. Navy's South Pacific Exploring Expedition, over one hundred years ago, under the command of Captain Charles Wilkes. The continuing nature of such scientific interest by the Navy is shown by the support for the Pacific Science Board's research programs, CIMA, SIM, and ICCP, during the past seven yeaxs. The Coral Atoll Program is a part of SIM. The preparation and issuance of this Bulletin is assisted by funds from Contract N7onr-29154. The sole responsibility for all statements made by authors of papers in the Atoll Research Bulletin rests with them, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Pacific Science Board or of the editors of the Bulletin. Editorial Staff F. R. Fosberg, editor M. H. Sachet, assistant editor Correspondence concerning the Atoll Research Bulletin should be addressed to the above c/o Pacific Science Board National Research Council 2101 Constitution Avenue, N. W. Washington 25, D. C., U.S.A. ATOLL RSSEARCH BULLETIN No. 4l Canton Island, South Pacific by Otto Degener and Edwin Gillaspy Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National Academy of Sciences--National Research Geunedt Washington, D. C. August 15, 1955 A Oe Fa ae Pissie fo et ea ee LEM ON ae ar SM ARP We Malia tines 2" 4ry a NR ORR Me N43 Ewa Lidase? Hardopalt, Lomo. faite poneamecvena fant tes pM x ae ’ ats elon 4 ENED bail pial Mite? ey. ate Pte , i CANTON ISLAND, SOUTH PACIFIC By Otto Degener Seed adarin Gillaspy 2/ Mr. Garrison Costar, Engineer with the Civil Aeronautics Administration, in June 1950 commissioned Mr. Otto Degener, Collaborator in Hawaiian Botany of the New York Botanical Carden, to cover Canton Island with vegetation. Degener con- sulted with Col. Edwin H. Bryan, Jr., for firsthand information regarding the atoll. Bryan had visited Canton as early as 192) for study and, when the "Southern Cross" was about to fly south in 1928, advised Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith to select this atoll as the best emergency landing place between Hawaii and Fiji. Degener flew from Honolulu to Canton for a week's stay in July 1950 - a distance of 1,630 nautical miles - with Mr. Costar and Mr, William H, Hatheway, a graduate assistant in botany at the University of Hawaii, whom he had selected as the man best qualified to assist him. Degener returned to Canton for six weeks in April and May of 1951 to continue his biological studies and to prepare the present paper jointly with Mr, Edwin Gillaspy, then Island Manager, who is most familiar with the administrative and non- biological aspects of the island. The following pages contain a conglomeration of personal observations and a compilation of observations already in print by others or recently expressed to the two writers by various observant friends. PURPOSE Now that Canton Island is the site of an important air- field, there are two reasons for wishing to cover its bare wastes of coral rock and sand with plants. First, a cover of vegetation will stabilize the land. It will keep the sand from blowing about and away, and from penetrating costly wireless transmitters and other instruments to foul them. Second, it will be a boon to the 300-odd people stationed there, They wil: no longer be obliged to inhale clouds of dust nor be exposed to glare so intense as to cause in some cases symptoms of snow blindness. It will make living there much more pleasant and worthwhile, 17 New York Botanical Garden 2/ Civil Aeronautics Administration pe PUG 1S 195 TOPOGRAPHY Canton is the most northern of eight low coral islands . known as the Phoenix Islands and lying between latitude 2° 30! and ° hot S., and longitude 170° lo! and 17° ho' w. It is a typical atoll with presumably a volcanic core. Its fringing reef rises so abruptly from the deep in most places that effective anchorage facilities are practically lacking for a vessel too large to enter the lagoon, In 19.3 one natural channel through the rim of the island was deepened by dredging, and a new one cut so that sea-going vessels not exceeding 20 feet in length can now tie up at a wharf 385 feet long in the lagoon. The current, however, through the channels between lagoon and open ocean can be very strong and treacherous, running at six to eight knots at flood and ebb tides. Ebb currents likewise produce a marked rip when mixing with the ocean currents up to a mile or more off the channel entrance. The hazard to which ships are exposed at Canton is apparent. In 192, the SS "President Taylor", formerly the "President Polk", under contract from the President Lines to the United States Army as a troop ship, was caught in the channel current while trying to disembark troops as close to shore as possible because of enemy submarine danger. As a result she piled up on the reef at the entrance of the channel with her bow 270 yards from Musick Light. Salvage operations were abandoned when attempts to refloat her proved unsuccessful, The Army and Navy personnel, numbering up to 10,000 on Canton, soon stripped her of all usable gear, and to this day odd pieces of ship furniture and ventilators may be seen still in use on the island, A Japanese submarine once in late 192 ineffectually shelled the useless hulk, The "President Taylor" became a favorite hant for an afternoon of fishing or to while away a few hours from duty by island residents until it was gutted by fire in May i9h8, rumored to have started from the explosion of an illicit whiskey still in her hold. She burned four days. The rusted and fire- blackened wreck then served as the most prominent landmark of the island, her funnel and masts being visible for eighteen miles at sea, In 195, according to Mr. William J. Evans, the present U. S. Resident Administrator, the vessel is being cut up for scrap and hauled away. ik Canton has been likened in shape to a pork chop. Its rim, now served with an auto road, is 150’ to 1,800 feet wide. This encloses a lagoon of twenty-five square miles, which is about eight miles long and four miles wide at the west end. . Until . dredged out to a depth of about ten fathoms near the dock and the 1,600 by 1,800 foot ship turning basin, the lagoon was badly choked up with live coral near the entrances where the fresh ocean water enables the organisms to grow. The natural - OQ = depth of the lagoon is seldom more than two and a half fathoms, and extensive whitish mudflats, inhabited by colorful fiddler crabs, adjoin the shore. The lagoon, warmer than the sur- rounding ocean, is stocked with fish of many kinds, as well as with sting rays and sharks which last make swimmers keep a sharp lookout. The island rim varies in height from twenty to ten feet or less. At certain areas along the outer or seaward coasts, where the waves hit the shore with great violence during storms, large flat polished boulders of broken reef, of breccia consisting of reéf fragments, of hardpan consisting of consolidated sand, and tridacna clam shells are piled up to considerable heights. The inner shore slopes gently to the lagoon, ending in a white sandy beach or in low ledges of | overhanging rock. The island has no supply of fresh water except the little that may be trapped during showers in. up- turned tridacna. shells - natural Holy Water fonts. Such water, due to the humid atmosphere, evaporates but slowly during the day. The average annualrainfall of about 19 inches is sparse for a tropical latitude and there is a scarcity of fresh water, To augment the supply that is caught in the form of rain from roofs of buildings and led into individual cisterns, both the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and the Pan American World Airways (PAA) have elaborate installations for the distillation of fresno water from the sea. This is a costly process making, of course, the watering of garden plants im- practicable. An indication of the costliness of this process is shown °Y the fact that one good shower in April 1951 saved PAA about %3,000 in distillation costs. — The surface soil of Canton contains not a particle of autochthonous or native lava, notwithstanding the island's presumed igneous foundation. But here and there, ‘particularly along the windward shores, are fragments of pumice. These are mostly tawny in célor and less than six inches in diameter, though a few may be as large as a man's head. Several rounded pieces about a foot in diameter, for example, were discovered by Dr. S. G. Ross in April 1951. Such stones have been cast ashore after having floated here from some actively volcanic region perhaps thousands of miles distant. Another unexpected though extremely rare source of foreign soil is rocks embedded in the firm grasp of the roots of trees that have washed ashore. One large tree observed had transported six rocks, about a foot in diameter, to the island. ‘Two of these rocks crumbled into fragments upon being hit with a club. The surface of the land varies. The finest calcareous "e@lay" or silt occurs chiefly along the lagoon. Light, readily blown, pink sand consisting of Foraminifera shells of the genus Baculogypsina, and less abundantly of Spaerulata lessoni Pa ee and a species of Heterostegina, is common along the beach and far to the lee of it. It sifts in among coral fragments, shells and rubble. But where these are exposed to the full force of the wind, this pink sand hardly covers them, being blown away to find a wind-free resting place elsewhere. Canton, by the way, is the farthest north from which the almost microscopic organism, Baculogypsina, is yet known, The coral fragments are of all sizes up to about five inches in diameter, w«lsewhere, especially along the beach, occur wave worn, solid platforms of consolidated reef fragments and sand half a mile and more long. The soil consists mostly of calcium carbonate derived from marine animals and plants comminuted in the main by wave action. In addition, there are extensive thin areas of porous hardened guano, the legacy left by myriads of sea birds of past ages, Such deposits were formerly exploited by man for fertilizer. The ruins of a stone wharf, perhaps built about 1870 and jutting out into the lagoon, and rusted iron rails overgrown with kou tree trunks remain today as a souvenir of this industry on the north central side of the island. Here and there are smaller but distinct areas of decayed vegetation forming an acid, moisture holding humus. Around large boulders, logs or other objects casting shade, is a very curious friable and rare soil con- sisting of the accumulated excrement of the terrestrial hermit crab (Coenobita perlatus) that may congregate by the hundreds in such situations during the heat of the day. Thus Canton soil varies from basic all the way to very acid, depending to what extent these types of soil are intermixed. Areas of acid soil, however, are very sparse indeed. In addition, these types of soil and their mixtures bear a trace to very high concentrations of salts derived from ocean spray, from flooding, and from capillary rise from the water table. These soils are rarely if ever leached out by an adequate supply of rainfall. In many regions of the atoll the loose sand grains are cemented together to form at various depths a sidewalk-Llike hardpan, This cannot be penetrated by deep taproots, thus giving advantage to plants with shallow spreading roots or to quick-growing annuals that complete their entire life span after a few strong showers have drenched the upper inches of ground, Canton, situated at latitude 2° l6' S., is sun baked. This, and the fact that many areas have been cleared of the little native vegetation they ever possessed by the bulldozers of the military during the war, makes the glare from the alabaster-white ground still more intense. The resulting heat, coupled with the warm water of the lagoon, causes a current of warm air to rise.” When large rain clouds approach such an island during the day, they sometimes split, drift around the island, ana then coalesce again as they nave passed; or if Se ~— a See Appendix A, p. 5l. an “s ee these clouds are small, they tend to skirt the edge of the island, shedding most. of their rain in the ocean. On the other nand at night, when the island heat no longer rises appreciably, the clouds no longer bypass the island and thus most of the rain falling on it consists of lisht, night showers, Covering the island with more vegetation will slightly increase the fall of rain during the day which, in turn, will promote a slightly better growth of vegetation, a very desirable condition. If it were not for the warm water of the lagoon, almost landlocked, such an increase might be as much as six to ten inches annually. In time it may be found practicable to construct channels through various narrow parts of the rim into the lagoon to cool its waters, to reduce the salinity so as to increase vlant and indirectly fish life, and to reduce the hazardous current that snips must now buck to tie up at the wharf. Due to man's changes in the surface of Canton, it will be interesting to compare the future climate with that of the past. The following tables are reproduced from "Local Cli- matological Data, U.S. Weather Bureau, 1954. Some weather statistics for early years, not shown be- low, have been consulted also. These, however, appear to be garbled in several instances, It is thought by some that for two years the figures for barometric pressure may. have been added .in error-to rainfall, giving unusually high and spurious records of 80 and 100 inches. Be that as it may, the average rainfall based on carefully kept records is but 19 inches, with a recorded low of &.71 inches in 1938 and a high of 35.97 in 1953. Most of the precipitation falls in showers during the period from March to Ausust, with Avril and Hay often the wettest months. When the rainfall is scant curing these two months, then the island vegetation becomes truly dry and sere. Lightning and thunder are rare; hurricanes are unknown, Barometric vressure, following an almost regular semidiurnal tide-like movement, is worthless as an indication of weather changes. Average visibility ie encom. 12 40 30, MAES 2, uo cuiowy, clouds are few, and fog or mist is unknown. A haze, known to Hawaiians as ehukai, and caused by salt varticles cast into ~ the atmosphere by waves breaking on the reef, may at times prove troublesome to.land aircraft. The air temperature is vractically constant throughout the year, reaching about 68° F., in the afternoon and dropping to 78° F. at night. The following shows the tempera- ture, taken over a period of eight years. The prevailing winds blow from 2.N.E. to E.S.E. West win are very rare. The breeze is usually a steady one of 12 to 14h miles per hour. This refreshing breeze makes this equatorial Bice atoll livable for man. It makes it more difficult for plants, however, to retain in their tissues the scant amount of water they have absorbed from the soil. Because of local weather conditions, such as strength and direction of wind, it is difficult to predict the tide and cur- rent accurately for navigation. The mean high water interval is exactly 5 hours. The mean range is 3.3 feet, and the spring rangs is ho feet. As there are but two breaks through the > surrounding rim of land into the lagoon, the movement,.of water within the lagoon lags behind the océan tides. When driving » along the narrow southwest rim of the atoll with both expanses of water in full view at close range » the difference in water level between lagoon and ocean is at times so great as to look. strangely unnatural, Because of the great shallow expanse of almost landlocked seawater exposed to the tropic sun,. the lagoon water is far saltier than that of the open ocean. The influence of the tide is noticeable throughout the entire rim of the island, no matter where test holes are bored to the water table, From tests made in early 1950 by Dr. L. H. MacDaniels, we find that the salt content varies tremendously on or in the rim, That of water from the open ocean has (as chloride) 20,300 mg. of chlorine per liter, Water froma drying pool at the extreme southeast end of the island was actually supersaturated and had a ‘content of 90,000 mg. That of the Frigate Pool, where the birds with open beaks and lowered heads swoop down to dip ‘up a drink of water in their lower bills measures but 4,200 mg, The new British well, three hundred feet northwest of the old one and tnree hundred feet from the _lagoon, had only 2,000 mg., at a depth of three feet, HISTORY _ As prehistoric ruins prove, Sydney and Hull Islands, south of Canton, were evidently inhabited for some time by Pacific islanders before the coming of the white man. There is, however, no good evidence to'’show that such islanders ever lived on Canton for any length of ‘time,* though according to Carl HE, Meinickex quadrangular ruins of large coral blocks occur there which he considers as certainly ancient temples. Such people, with the aid of a large shell, could have dug down to potable, though salty, water. Whether they did so no one presently knows. The whaler "Phoenix" discovered Winslow Reef, northwest of Canton, in 1851, and the name of this vessel became attached to the entire group of islands. As guano had’ become a commodity of great value, the American Guano Company, the United States a *Veinicke, C. E.. 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TOTAL PRECIPITATION °""™ "+> °3ohsau‘Sinio 1954 me | | es [ne | oe | [|r| | Jnr [ie [ase / 1937 AL 41 .03 - 1938 23 18 82] 1.93 -57| 2.3 85 ce 27 21 06 8.71 1939 15 05 110 1.58) 3.75 iss 3.01 i me -25| 1,23 -30) 4,81 | 18.57 | 1940 4.94 ~75| 9.34/11.50| 2.92] 4.80] 3.03 | 3.04 - - - - - 1941 | - = = é e ze = = a = = 3 2 | 1942 - - - - - - 15 03 37 20 - | 1943 e12 17 +11] 1.17] 1.92] 2.56] 1.23] 6.78 30 +28 .60 -29) 15.53 1944 2.96 +52] 2.12/ 3,02) 5.37) 1.83] 1.17] 1.05} 1.24 08 40 »74| 20.50 1945 T -04) 1,21 90) 2.60) 5.26) 5.73 54 +93 61 yy! .23 | 17.65 | 1946 - - - - - - - - - - - 2 = 1947 | 84.9) 84.8) 85.3) 85.2/84.8/ 85.0 84.5 1947 17 26 -08} 1.59 65 65 -60/ 1.40] 1.69 89 42 . 06 8.46 1948 | 83.4) 83.2) 83.6) 83.8) 85.3/85.8 84,4 1948 .86) 1.24] 5.99)/10.32| 4.44) 3.19] 1.20/] 3.18 | 1.64 17 06 -88 | 33.17 1949 | 85.2) 84.9) 83.9) 83.9/ 84.4) 84.8 84.3 1949 a 2.10) 1.16) 2.16) 3.45] 1.00 98 18 19 09 . 02 -17 | 11.50 1950 | 81.4) 82. 4/ 81.9] 82.6/83.1/ 82.3 82.5 1950 it 29 .08| 1.83 «44! 2.36] 5.50/ 4.04 05 16 24 10} 15,09 1951 | 82.8 83.3 65.4) 84.7 85.2) 84.2 84.5 1951 2.40 32 07) 5.55] 5.36] 5.19] 2.35) 3.81 17 44 22 | 3.88 | 30.36 1952 | 84.7) 84.8) 84.6/ 84.6/85.1| 85.0 84.6 1952 19 05 -97| 2.67) 5.21) 2,10} 3.23 | 3.48 -80 79 .97 27 | 20.73 1953 | 84.6) 84.1) 8F.5) 84.1| 83.7) 84.4 84.1 1953 77 -61|) 3.41] 6.46} 8.33] 4.14] 3.55] 4.77 -65| 1.41 97 -90 | 35.97 1954 | 83.8) 82.7/ 83.7) 83.4/ 84.5) 83.6 83.5 1954 43 20 09} 1.09 235 82) 2.27 | 1.98 13 .24 03 -16 7.79 | mscon> | | MEAN RECORD q TEMP | 83.9) 83.8) 83.7| 84.0| 84.5/ 84.4 84.1 MEAN 64 -46/ 1.25] 3.10) 3.26] 2.54] 2.44] 2.58 68 ol 34 -97 | 18.77 MAX 89.3 peat ears 89.9/ 90.7) 90.4 89.9 MIN 78.4 Geet eos 78.1) 78.3| 78.3 78.2 Records Sept. 1937 - April 1940 incl., Gilbert and Ellice Island Colony Administration (U.K.), 2° 49" S., 171° 43' W.; May-August 1940, US. Dept. of Interior, 2° 49' S., 171° 43' W.; Sept. 1942 - December 1945, U.S. Army Air Force at or within 2000 Ft of 2° 46' S., 171° 43' W. prior to August 1943 and at that location thereafter; Jan. 1947 - Present , U.S. Weather Bureau Office, 2° 46' S., 171° 43' W. § A 3 8 Z g 3 % s Remarks Location 8 az 3 o é 5 FI & 4 x B b 4 £ 3 8 Bs) 3 | §|s A ge 9 3 3 3 3 g a q a 3 i a | 8 rf B qi a | : a | § as g|s g | 8 3s Baie E/ Sieg SiS] aE 3/= 2/8 jae| fa | & BRITISH HEADQUARTERS SEP 1937| PRESENT 2° 49' 171° 43' Good exposure, RADIO PRESENT HOTEL AREA, SEP 1937/O0CT 1940 - 2° 49! 171° 43' - Details not known. DEPT INTERIOR | HOTEL AREA IN BLDG, AT SEP 1939/NOV 1941 - 2° 49' 171° 43' - APPROACH TO FIRST SEA- . PLANE DOCK (PAA) NAVY ADMINISTRATION BLDG|NOV 1941|APR 1945 - 2° 49! 171° 43' - Move may have been a bit (PAA EMPLOYEES IN later than this. NAVAL RESERVE) : TOPHAM 1942|O0CT 1946 - 2° 46' | 171° 43'| 9 AF station moved into termin- ete Re i. , al bldg. in July 1943. Prior location not known? Many de- tails not known as part of this time Canton was a combat area. " " n OCT 1946| 1/24/47 - Uap ie) mq 1 9 11 Between time AF abandoned station and the Weather Bureau took over with its own per- sonnel, the WB contracted with PAA to man the station. On 12/28/46 the first WB employee arrived and on 1/24/47 the last PAA employee was relieved. = a pi 1/1/47| PRESENT - Wy a tt uw WY " 30 19 19 3 3 25 Good exposure. This emall land mass, being at most 20 feet above sea level, presents the minimum topographical influence. REFERENCE NOTES Unless otherwise indicated, dimensional unite used in this bul- letin are: temperature in cours F.; precipitation and snow- D fall in inches; wind movement humidity in percent. miles per hour; and relative Record mean values at the end of the Average Temperature and Total Precipitation tables are long-term means based on the pe- riod of record beginning in 1947 and 1938 respectively. Values have not been corrected for changesin instrument location list- ed in the Station Location table. Partial years' data,1940 and 1942, not used in computing precipitation means. Sky cover is expressed ina range of 0 for no clouds or ob- etructions to 10 for complete sky cover. The number of clear partly cloudy daye is based on average cloudiness 0-3 tenths; days on 4-7 tenths and cloudy days on 8-10 tenths. Degree days are based on a daily average of 65° F. Sleet and hail were in- cluded in snowfall totals, beginning with July 1948. Data for earlier years may be obtained by contacting the Weath- er Bureau Office for which this publication was issued. Heavy fog in the Means and Extremes'Table also includes data referred to at various times in the past as "Dense" or "Thick". The upper visibility limit for heavy fog is 1/4 mile. Less than’ one half. No record, Also on earlier dates, months, or years. Trace, an amount too small to measure. wei * Sale Price: 10 cents per copy. Checks and money orders should be made payable to the Superintendent of Documents. Remit- tances and correspondence regarding this publication should be sent to the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. Cc. -8- NWRC, Asheville, N.C. --- 2/15/55 --- 350 Guano Company, and the Phoenix Guano Company were formed, Then in the Honolulu missionary publication .""The Friend" of April 20, 1859, and elsewhere, the claim of ownership by these companies of about fifty guano islands was recognized by the United States Government. It stated that these islands which "have become the property of citizens of the United States. . . have been recog-~ nized by the Government as pertaining to its territories under the act of Congress approved August 18, 1856." One of these islands now newly under the American flag was Mary's Island. Its longitude and latitude were. given, and these practically coincide with those of Canton. When Mary's Island was actually .first discovered by the white man is not known, but it must have been previous to 1828 because that year it was listed in the 'Reynold's Report on page 12 as Mary Balcout's Island. On March , 185), the New Bedford whaleship "Canton", Capt. Andrew J. Wing, piled up on the reef of Mary Balcout's “Island or, briefly, Mary's Island. After a short sojourn on the waterless island, tne captain and crew took to their open boats:and reached Guam after forty-nine days at sea. Commander R. W.. Meade. of the U.S,S. "Narragansett" surveyed Mary's Island in 1872,‘ and at that time renamed the island "Canton". to com- memorate the shipwreck eighteen years before. The name,: though inappropriate, stuck... Unlike that of the city of ‘southern China, however, the name Canton is now pronounced with the first syl- lable accented, ; Bek As’ the supply of guano became depleted in the. Phoenix Islands, the American companies abandoned them. John T. Arundel and Company'!,.a London concern, then stepped in and took over the islands. between 1883 and 1890, the British flag being hoisted and a protectorate declared. In 1916 Canton and the neighboring islands were leased for eighty-seven years to Capt. Allen of the Samoan Shipping and Trading Company. . He planted some coconut trees, with the purpose of starting a copra industry. The last tree, now an erect dead. trunk thirty feet high, survived until 1950. Because this tree was visible to ships at sea, Canton was ‘often known as the Lone Tree Island to sailors. Se After Capt. Allen's death in 1925;:the islands: were again abandoned. But with aviation coming to the fore and the Phoenix Islands being possible airplane‘ stepping ‘stones between North America and Australia, the United States and Great Britain both became vitally interested in the. Phoenix Group.’ Though the British sloop "Leith" claimed Canton for the crown in 1936, when H.M.S. "Wellington" brought New Zealand scientists to this atoll on May 26, 1937 to study.a solar eclipse, a U.S. Navy - National Geographic Society eclipse party aboard the Navy seaplane tender U.S.S. "Avocet" was already there. It had erected a concrete monument bearing embedded in it two American flags of porcelain enamel on stainless steel, is 9 - claiming ownership of the atoll for the United States. One flag faces the rising sun; the other, the setting sun. On one side of the cement block, at right angles to the flags, is the small brass seal of the National Geographic Society. On Memorial Day the monument was unveiled with appropriate ceremonies. The "Avocet" had selected the best anchorage in the channel and refused to move when the British demanded it. The British then fired a shot across the bow of the American vessel and, accord- ing to some reports, the Americans retaliated in like manner. Both captains, realizing that their behavior in this affair smacked of a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, then wired their respective governments in London and Washington what to do next. Both received quite similar instructions to do nothing rash. Scientists of both nations then studied the eclipse of June 8, personally cordial though officially a bit cool. Then before departing to leave Canton to her sea birds and crabs, they left the flags of their respective nations flying, their flagpoles embedded firmly in stone foundations. In July the U.S. mine- sweeper "Swan" sailed to Canton in a vain search for the tragic Amelia Earhart Putnam and her navigator Fred Noonan. The following month Great Britain landed two radio operators and equipment there. The British Ambassador in Washington - asked the U.S. State Department to remove the American markers . claiming sovereignty. Instead of complying, President: Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 3, 1948, put Canton, as well as neigh- boring Enderbury Island, under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior. Four days later four Americans of Hawaiian ancestry were disembarked from the U.S. Coast Guard cutter "Roger B. Taney" on Canton as colonists. On April 1 the Secretary of the Interior granted Pan American Airways a license to use Canton as a stop on the California-Hawaii-South Pacific flying route, all personnel to be American citizens. Full title to Canton has not yet been settled. England claims ownership of the island because of her hoisting her flag on various members of the Phoenix Group, though not actually on Canton itself, between 1889-1892. The United States claims ownership because of discovery and advertised claims of owner- ship during whaling days, and particularly on the proclamation issued in the President's name on the general subject of etenes which reads as follows: "The first claim to title over undiscovered Henares aeeren rests on the discoverer, 2. Under this point, many islands in the Pacific were first discovered by American flag ships. 4. The United States nas always held that mere discovery does not give final title. If it is not followed by reasonable occupation it is insufficient. h. In relation to tne islands in question, of which there are many, the United States is assuming the right to occupy either because of (a) discovery, ees HN (b) former occupation, or (c) failure of any other nation to occupy, or a combination of (a), (b), and tie ja! Differences regarding Canton were finally resolved between the two Powers on April 6, 19439, when U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull and British Ambassador Sir Ronald Lindsay signed a treaty whereby British aircraft are guaranteed equal use of American aviation facilities on Canton, the island to be an Anglo-American condominium for fifty years or until later modified or terminated, As a result, a distinct American and a distinct British community were built on the island in close proximity to one another on the southwest rim. The pioneer in this work was Pan American Airways, which commissioned the "North Haven" to leave San Francisco in May 1939 and to place a construction crew of forty-three and a great quantity of supplies on Canton. In seven months these men had built a modern hotel, &@ hospital and a radio station on Canton and had blasted danger- ous coral heads out of the seaplane runway in the lagoon. The first plane flight occurred in August 1939. With outbreak of war, PAA service was temporarily suspended, and the Army and Navy made extensive improvements on the island, Thereafter the | company resumed flights, operating under contract to the Naval Air Transport Service. In late 19li2 Japanese submarines shelled the island thrice, On March 25, 193, Japanese aircraft bombed the island, inflicting "slight damage." The island was surveyed between March and July 1938 for the Department of the Interior and recently revised, chiefly vege- — tationally by Hatheway, see Fig. 1 of Atoll Research Bulletin ag As Canton provides the best facilities for landing both sea -and land planes in the Equatorial Pacific, the United States first dredged out parts of the lagoon for a seaplane runway. But as seaplanes becarie obsolete, landing strips were built by U.S. Army engineers, one running east and west and the other north and south. Revetments, for the protection of fighter planes, also were built, and still remain. The east-west run- way was extended and resurfaced by CAA in 1950. The north-south runway has since been abandoned as well as a fighter strip about three miles east of the main runway. The present runway is built to handle the largest commercial airliners now in use.’ It has a rotating beacon approximately forty feet above mean sea level with a split white light turning at 6 r.p.em. This has been — reported as visible at distances of sixty miles by approaching planes, and thirty-six miles by surface vessels. It is lighted from dusk to dawn. The construction of this beacon makes Musick Light, a white cylindrical stone tower twenty-eight feet above the water on the south side of the lagoon entrance, less important. For some time it was lighted by request only. In 195 it was maintained by the U. S. Coast Guard, and burned every night. oe Musick Light was named in honor of Capt, Edwin GC. Musick who inaugurated the first scheduled cargo and mail service between the United States and New Zealand on December 24, 1937. He and his crew perished off Samoa during the second flight in the following January. The plaque on the monument, erected in July 1938, reads as follows: DEDICATED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR TO THE CREW OF PAN AMERICAN AIRWAYS "SAMOAN CLIPPER" LOST AT SEA ON JANUARY 11, 1938 WHILE SURVEYING FIRST SOUTH PACIFIC AERIAL TRADE ROUTE ay) a, y) w % ° Captain H. C. Musick 94, Ww Gu. G. Sellers Pe Si Brunk, Jr. F, J. MacLean Je W. Stickrod dat hen brooks De ide, Hamdley During the war pillboxes and other fortifications were erected, their cement remains still dotting the flat landscape. With the fall of Tarawa, Canton declined in military importance and in 1946 aviation facilities were transferred: from the War Department to the Department of Commerce. In 1950, modern housing units for tne CAA personnel were constructed near the runway on the northwest rim of the island. Plans are under way to consolidate all activities on the north side of tne island. Pan American Airways, now renamed Pan American World Airways, and the British community are still on the south rim, as well as tne quarters for American bachelor employees of CAA. Canton Island gains its present importance from its stra- tegic location. It is the fueling stop for three different commercial airlines, namely, Pan American World Airways, Qantas Empire Airways (QHA), and Canadian Pacific Airlines (CPA). These fly an aggregate of fifty passenger planes per month between Hawaii and Fiji. From these centers, as hubs, passengers can radiate by plane or boat to all parts of the earth. Canton Island has a wharf where vessels of 5,000 gross tons can tie up if necessary. It boasts two post offices in the very same building; one American, the other British. Postal service by air is available twice a week both north and south; by surface carrier at irregular intervals, averaging perhaps once in four to five months. Wireless service is available to the public. Being a center of air transport, installations are of the best. It has a modern weather bureau, employing seven men. A hotel operated by PAA provides room and board at approxi- mately $10.00 per day for transients. Moving the American population from the southside of the atoll to the northside has gone apace. By 195) CAA had ready for occupancy in the latter area 25 modern family quarters, had set up five quonsets, and had rehabilitated five former military quarters. PAA now has five family quarters; and Standard Oil, a two-family house there. A hospital, with a physician in constant attendance, is in the vicinity. In 1951 there was no school for American children; but the few children of Gilbert and Ellice Islanders living in the British settlement were being taught by the fifteen year old daughter of the Chief of Police, a native of the Ellice Islands. By 1954, according to Evans, Canton "has a good school with a teacher furnished by the Department of the Interior, and a kindergarten-nursery school with a teacher hired by the residents, Twenty-six children attend tae "grade" scnool, and twelve are in > kindergarten. Three of the grade school pupils are Gilbertese - two girls and a boy. These Gilbertese children are bright. There is also a Gilbertese school in the British Compound," Three oil companies do business on Canton. According to their announcements Asiatic Petroleum Corporation specializes in aviation gasoline and aircraft oils; Standard Oil Company of California, in Chevron aviation gasoline and R.P.M. aviation oil; and Standard-Vacuum 0i1 Company, in aviation gasoline 100/130 and Esso-aviation oil 120. The only industry, not comected with air travel, is fishing, Three concerns are now licensed by the American and British governments to engage in this enterprise. Their catch is shipped by air to Honolulu. An impression of the relative importance of this business may be gained from the catcn of one of the com- panies in July 1950. It removed a total weight of 17,98h pounds of fish from Canton, this amount breaking up into: iMoiteteesa. = 13,488 lbs. Manini------ SD Aholehole--- 1,079 " Ofpecstesann 899°" Wier nate ens ney gs The census of Canton Island, as of December 31, 191.9 , is illuminating; Le. Population Nationality | Men Women Children Total U. S. citizens are Te es 15 17 Gilbért and Hllice Islanders 10 15 13 13h New Zealanders 18 2 0) 20 Fijians t2 0) ) lis Australians 8 0 O 8 Tongans a 0) On: B) Part-Fijians a O 6) 2 Prench °” haga yor e) Wehate Total 267) 192 29 427 el Employer Organizations (employees only; dependents shown in totals above) a. Fisher Associates U. S.citizens--------------------- 42 Gilbert and Ellice Islanders------ 9 New Zealanders-------------------- ik b. Pan American World Airways Sa Gilbert and Ellice lslanders------ New Zealanders--------------------15 Fijians-----~---------------------12 Australians--------<-----+--------- C U. S. citizens-----------+---------- Tongans ------------ een en ee en ene 4 Part-Fijians---------------------- i French ----{----------------- meeen-- i ec. OTL) companies U.S. citizens--------------------- 5 Gilbert and Ellice Islanders------ 5 Austral ians----------------------- a d. British Station Gilbert and Hllice Islanders------16 New Zealanders-------------------- 1 Part-Fijians---------------------- ot e. Private A Gilbertese------------- ween n---- 1 (The 2 Fisher Associates personnel and the 5 U.S. citizens under Oil Companies are engaged in construction and do not represent "Dermanent" population, nor does the personnel of R.C.S. "Margaret", which vessel was in port on December 431, 19l19,) Je Federal Personnel Civil Aeronautics Administration----- 70 U.S. Weather Bureau------------------ 7 U.S. Post Office Department ---------- 1 The U.S. Government on Canton Island is administered like a ship at sea. Tne U.S..Administrator represents other government agencies in the following capacities: for example, for the CAA he is Island Manager; for Treasury he is Disbursing Agent/Cashier; for Justice he is Deputy Marshall; for Coast and Geodetic Survey he is Tide Observer, (Of the 70 CAA employees shown, 25 are engaged in construc- tion and do not represent "permanent" population. ) - 1h - a ee ll. Traffic Data Carrier Weekly Flights Passengers Pan American World Airways 6 0) British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines 6 90 Canadian Pacific Airlines ne 1 U. S. Navy (Samoa) 7 15) Civil Aeronautics Administration 2 10 Weekly total ER 27S 220 Annual total . 762 2/3 eae sil (PAA has two weekly round trips from the U.S. mainland to Australia and one to New Zealand. BCPA has four round trips. CPA from Canada to Australia transits south one week and north the next. CAA aircraft fly from Oahu, Hawaiian Islands, to Canton Island and return approximately every three weeks.In 195 Qantas Empire Airways replaced BCPA.) 5. Ships calling at Canton during the year Oil companies------------------------ Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony----3 The British Government on Canton is administered by the Colonial Office, and is in perfect harmony with the United States Administrator, British subjects are governed by British law; Ame rican citizens, by U.S. maritime law. Hach nation respects the other's laws. It is forbidden under British law for Fijians and Gilbert and Ellice Islanders to drink intoxicating liquors; they have their harmless and refreshing kawa or yangona as a substitute. It is likewise forbidden for any British subject to supply any alcoholic drinks to such Pacific islanders, the punishment being imprisonment for three months or a fine of £50/0! or both. For an American,.for example, to aid a British subject in breaking this British liquor law might subject him to dismissa’ from his position on the island as an undesirable troublemaker. For any heinous crime, on the other hand, the suspect would be tried in Federal court in Honolulu, Hawaii. In this condominium, American workmen receive wages as high as or higher than workmen performing similar tasks in Hawaii or the continental United States. . British workmen under British rule receive wages according to British standards. For instance, according to a regulation posted by the District Officer, June 1, 1950, the following wages for the employment of domestic colored labor were established as the legal rate: Duties Frequency Rate per month Washing and/or ironing Once per week ' ! i, .00 i Twice per week 7.00 General housework Up to 4 hrs. per day 12.00 (6 days per week) ie "(Employers are not expected to maintain employees as regards rations, should they desire to do this, the District Officer will immediately be advised of this intention and will determine a reduction in the salary or salaries concerned, to meet such a contingency.)" LAND FLORA From the biological standpoint it is more logical to begin a discussion of a flora with the most primitive plants, aquatic ones, and to end with the most complex. But as the purpose of the visit to Canton dealt primarily with land plants, we shall begin our discussion with these, According to a- manuscript of Bryan's, who visited the island in 192): "The rim varies in height from ten to twenty feet, and is for the most part covered only with low, prostrate vegetation, consisting of herbs and vines of common wide-spread Pacific species of Portulaca, Boerhaavia, Sesuvium, patches of Lepturus (bunch grass), Triumfetta, two species of Ipomoea, and stunted Sida bushes. A stretch of about two miles along the south side is covered with scaevola bushes, from 8 to 12 feet high. There are a few scattered Pemphis”™ bushes, a few Morinda, Tournefortia / Messerschmidia/, and dry, scrubby Cordia trees. Most of the trees are scattered along the middle portion of the north rim; there are two patches near the N.W. point. Near the main lagoon entrance (on "Observation Point") are hslf a dozen coconut palms, the remnant of a number which were planted; and two other coconut palms are standing on the N.W. point. In-1937 the New Zealand solar eclipse expedition planted about 43,000 sprouted coconuts, some on the S.W. side and some on the N.H.; in time some of these may grow." | Before dealing briefly with the plant communities, each kind of plant observed or collected up to May 1951 is listed, with pertinent notes, below. These are arranged taxonomically, Numbers after the names of Fosberg and Walker refer to actual specimens collected in January or March 19,9 and to be deposited in the U.S. National Herbarium in Washington, These have not been studied by the writers, but are here recorded on the basis of personal information submitted by F. R. Fosberg. Numbers after the names of Degener and/or Hatheway refer to specimens collected by these workers in 1950 or 1951 and deposited at the New York Botanical Garden, at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, in the U. S. National Herbarium, and usually elsewhere, © Pandanaceae Pandanus tectorius, the screwpine or hala, is native to the tropics but not to Canton. It is cultivated on the grounds of the PAA hotel on the southwest side of the island, The larger of “Evidently in error for Suriana, age | ae the two specimens is about ten feet high, picturesque and moderately healthy. Degener shipped seeds from Honolulu to Canton in July 1550. These germinated and are now planted out in the CAA housing area. They should thrive with perhaps a little watering during the driest seasons until their roots penetrate the sandy soil to depths allowing them to draw upon the layer of lighter brackish water which floats upon the heavier sea and lagoon water underlying every part of Canton's rim of land, and rises and falls with the tide. ’ Gramineae Cenchrus echinatus (Fosberg & Walker 30,202, 40,217; Degener & Hatheway 21,252), the common sandbur, is a grass native to tropical America ded obviously of recent accidental intro- duction. It was first recorded as collected on Canton in late 1949 or early 1950 by Katharine Luomala in her "Plants of Canton Island, Phoenix Islands", in Occas. Pap. B. P. Bishop Mus. BO! eo Rats 1s Poop Ss, however, is not the first collection of the species as Fosberg & Walker had collected it January 30 - 4.1, 19.9. It is ubiquitous about the airport and the civilized areas and still rare or wanting where man, carrying the burs on his socks, has not gone. It is an annual, springing up quickly during rainy weather, maturing its troublesome burs and then dying until the next rains come to wake the seeds into life. GhiEPrE inflata (D. & H. al, 251), a finger grass, was growing naturaiized in a small pateh in July 1950 near the abandoned runway. Seeds scattered by Degener about the same time had grown and matured by May 1951 in a thick stand near tne wharf and oil tanks on the north side of the island, and near the hotel on the south side. Gynadon dactylon (D. & H. eos, the Bermuda grass, is sparingly naturalized and carefully planted by residents near the hotel, at the: airport and in the CAA housing area. According to Van Zwaluwenburg in the Haw. Pl. Record for 191, this grass cams to the island in importations of soil from Oahu, Seda were also imported by a resident of the CAA housing ‘area’ for planting in 1950. Digitaria sanguinalis (D. & H. 21,315), a slender creeping grass, Was found sparingly naturalized about the airport in July 1950. Digitaria pacifica ecanene 30, 886; De & He 2.516 =20 58) is the native annual bunchg?.2s known as D. stenotaphrodes to some authorities, It has fingered flower heads. It is found scattered here and there, preferably in recently disturbed areas such as along the sandy side of“the road. It is.a lush green,’ grows quickly after rains and usually dies shortly before the next rainy season, It is variable on Canton, requiring extensive study and probably segregating into several varieties. It has Se = been collected since éarly days. This grass is badly eaten by a grasshopper (Ailopus tamulus), accidentally introduced from per- haps Samoa or Tonga, Digitaria timorensis (Hatheway 518) is an Oriental grass of aa dulentet introduction growing in a few waste places near the hotel. It was first collected in February 1951. Eleusine indica (F. & W. 30,211; D. & H. 21,25), the goosegrass, is native to the Old World. It is naturalized and very common only near human habitations, It is evidently of recent introduction, being first collected by Fosberg and Walker in January 1949. It is very successful because it is a quick- growing annual that can complete its life span during the short wet season, Eragrostis amabilis (D. & H. 21,297), a pretty and delicate grass, is naturalized mainly about the hotel, and will undoubt- edly extend its range, It is of recent accidental introduction. Eragrostis whitneyi (F. & W. 30,206; D. & H. 21,319. and 21,320), very closely related and perhaps not specifically distinct from E, paupera, is a native grass first collected by Bryan in 1938. It is a pretty, dwarf, tufted annual growing: on hard, sandy plains as, for example, near the airport. Eragrostis pectinacea (D, & H. 21,312) is a very rare grass growing near the wharf on the north side. It is of recent acci-~ dental introduction, Lepturus pilgerianus (D. & H. 21,291) is a' very rare, native bunchgrass thus far known only from Canton, where it grew in sand. It is peculiar in being the only annual in the genus. Lepturus.repens (F.;%& Ws) 30,212; .D, & H.)2,510)" Pepaqmabive perennial bunchgrass with columnar flower stalks. It has been collected since early times. It is somewhat variable. It is darker, harsher, denser and more abundant than the native Digitaria, and is tolerant of drier, more firmly packed areas. Its leaves. are eaten by the introduced grasshopper. The terrestrial hermitcrab, described later, may kill certain tussocks by pulling out with the roots clawfuls of culms, starting these depredations from the outside of the cluster and gradually working toward the center. Perhaps their tender bases taste akin to corn on the cob. Panicum miliaceum (D. & H. 21,31h) was found growing very localized near the hotel in 1950. It is of accidental introduc- tion, perhaps derived from spiiled canary bird seed. Setaria verticillata (Donk, Ho.21,253),, the .brishly .Poxmbedt, is a nasty weed native to Europe. It is found everywhere near si) UP ale habitations and is obviously of recent accidental introduction, Tae clusters of seeds adhere to clothing of all kinds. This grass is a. successful annual, disappearing during the dry season, Cyperaceae Cyperus rotundus (Degener 21,13), the nutgrass, is a troublesome sedge of lawns and gardens throughout the tropics. It was one of the plants recorded by Van Zwaluwenburg in the Haw. Pl. Record for 1941 as imported in "soil from Oahu." Degener observed a few good stands in 1951 growing near the hotel but nowhere else. Fimbristylis diphylla (D. & H. 21,288 and 21,289), a perenniai sedge, grows near the outdoor theater, Bedause of its proximity to human structures or habitations, it is suspected to be foreign to Canton. It was probably accidentally introduced as seed from some other South Sea island, perhaps in a clod of earth stuck to machinery or to the shoe of some member of the Armed Forces. Fimbristylis pycnocephala (D. & H. 21,290), another perennial sedge, grows on a barren plain near the CAA housing area, It forms harsh tussocks with pincushion-like flower-heads radiating in all directions. Because of its occurrence only in an area disturbed by man, it likewise is suspected to be a: foreigner. This is probably the species recorded by Luomala as occurring on Caton in 199 - 1950.(ibid. 168) and identified as Ps cymosa, Palmaceae Cocos nucifera, the coconut. Not a single coconut palm is native to Canton, All were obviously planted, As mentioned above, Capt. Allen planted some coconut trees in 1916, Two, probably relics of tnat planting, grew for many years on the northwest point and were conspicuous and useful landmarks for ships at sea, They had become about 10 feet tall by 192). The last ‘survivor died in 1950, at a height of about 25 feet. In 1947 the New Zealand eclipse expedition set out about three thousand, but few survived. According to H. W. Bigelow in 1949, there were "nine scattered palms," and according to E. J. Witt in April of the same year also "many very small ones" about 18 inches high. There are some nice trees of medium size about the hotel, unfortunately infested by: the Florida red scale insect (Chrysomphalus ficus), evidently -due to the introduction of unfumigated plants. Small coconut palms are no longer rare elsewhere on the atoll, but grow only successfully where given a little care, . Araceae Anthurium and Philodendron of several species were being grown as house plants in 1951, as well as a number of other = ti) plants, belonging to various botanical families, which will probably never survive to become an element in the local flora, Many of these are purchased in flowershops in Australia, Fiji or Hawaii, carried in ladies!. handbags on the planes, and then kept alive on Canton for a limited length of time. To list such casual and ephemeral introductions kept on bookcases and dining- room tables is hardly worthwhile, Amaryllidaceae Crinum asiaticum, the grand crinum, is native to the Orient, This hardy herd was introduced recently from Hull Island for planting about the hotel and the Terminal Building. The plants readily propagate from the base and become crowded. They then need thinning and replanting for best results. Musaceae Musa nana and other kinds of bananas have been imported from various regions and planted out. They persist with some care. It is recorded that some were.set out in 1957 and later, but in July 1950 none was observed. By April 1951 new corms had been imported and were growing nicely where properly watered, Casuarinaceae eens eens ee an re ee the horsetail beefwood or ironwood, is native "ae Australia and elsewhere in the South Seas, It is not native to Canton, ~ Several trees are growing near the hotel, and are quite healthy. More should be introduced, even though no other plants, excepting perhaps the tree hekiotrope, will grow beneath their falling branches, which simulate pine needles, Casuarina glauca (Degener 21, 372), the coarse ironwood tree, is likewise native to Australia and is foreign to Canton) iis grows near the hotel, where it was planted many years ago, It is peculiar in sprouting from the roots at considerable distances from the main trunk, Polygonaceae Coccolobis uvifera (Fosberg 430,878), the seagrape, is native to the Bahamas, It is a densely leaved shrub or small tree planted and tariving about the hotel. The fruit is edible and can be made into jam and jelly. The plant was 7 by Van Zwaluwenburg in 193 (Proc. Haw. Ent. Soc. ll. 306) as "recently introduced.” The trees flower and fruit ee after rains, the seeds often germinating in the rainy season where they fall: under the trees. These seedlings die for the most part during the prolonged drought, The annual supply of seeds from these trees, properly planted out, could soon markedly improve the entire aspect of the atoll. The plants are often - 20 - infested with the long-tailed mealybug (Pseudosoceus adonidum), for the control of which an insect enemy: “@an be introduced. Amaranthaceae Amaranthus dubius (D. & i. 21,295), an amaranth possible to use as a potherb in time of famine, now grows sparingly as an introduced weed near human habitations as, for example, about the hotel. It is a welcome addition to the island, which the spiny one, not. yet here, would not be. Should the latter COME dea should be eradicated before it has tie opportunity to - spread and become another prickly pest. An amaranth, species not given, was mentioned first by Van Zwaluwenburg in the Haw. Pl. Record Por. 19h as reaching Canton in importations of soil from Oahu. Then in 1943 in the Proc. Haw. Ent. Soc., he refers to it again as "the recent immigrant Amaranthus." Nyctaginaceae Boerhavia tetrandra (F. & W. 30,207; D. & H. 21,305, 21,313), is a native perennial herb. It is found throughout the island, thriving everywhere excepting in the lowest, saltiest area, Tt has a few exceedingly long,fleshy, juicy roots at the surface of the ground to take advantage of the gentlest showers whose rain- fall fails to penetrate the soil deeply. . Its leaves are fleshy and its long-stalked flower clusters are: white, not pink, as reported by some writers. The entire group is a difficult one. Some authors consider our plant to be B. diffusa, perhaps cor- rectly so... It: is subject to a native fungus disease (Albvugo sp.) that dwarfs its leaves, Aizoaceae Sesuvium portulacastrum var. griseum (F, & W. 30,2043 - 30,205; D. & H. 21,5753 Degener 21,451) is a prostrate, herb forming extensive mats of thick stems and leaves, preferably in depressions near the lagoon beach where salts may accumulate on drying. The plant’ is. somewhat evil smelling. Being fleshy and rather brittle, it dies in solid black lines soon after the wheels of a car have passed over it. Its pale pink flowers are hunted out by the hermitcrab which, as in the case of the native pursiane., eats stamens and ovary. In this case these crabs also extract the ripening | seeds from the somewhat fleshy capsules for food. Perhaps in doing so, some escape, thus aiding the plant's dissemination, The plant readily roots at the nodes. The species itself has been recorded in error from the atoll by previous writers. Portulacacéae Portulaca lutea (F. & W. 30,208; D. & H. 21,285), the native yellow portulaca or purslane, is a beautiful succulent, pale green perennial, resembling the jade plant. It grows everywhere. Its thick branches rise slightly from the ground, Its flowers open tardily in the morning and do not wilt uhtil sunset or shade overtakes the plant. It can be eaten as a potherb in times of famine. The terrestrial hermitecrab feeds on the stamens and ovary, usually leaving the rest of the flowers attached to the plant. Portulaca oleracea (Fosberg 30,881; D. & H. 21,283), the common purslane of Europe and America, is obviously of recent introduction, It may well have come from Hawaii to which Don Marin purposely introduced it in the early part of the nineteenth century. It is still of local distribution, growing mostly near human habitations, It is bound to spread and, from the appear- ance of a few plants, may be sparingly hybridizing with the native species. It differs from its native relative in being more prostrate, more slender, often somewhat red-stemmed, and in bearing smaller flowers opening usually in the morning and wilt- ing at noon. It is used as a potherb, especially in France. Cassythaceae Cassytha filiformis (D. & H. 21,282), the love-vine, is native to Canton. It was first collected by Bryan in 1938. It is a rootless parasite consisting of pale green, intertwining string-like branches bearing tiny whitish flowers and marble-like fruits. Its sucking organs or haustoria rob other plants of sap. One love-vine may twine and gain nourishment from many different — kinds of hosts. In one instance it was observed tnat one plant was growing on the native triumfetta alone, and thriving on this limited diet. Leguminosae Leucaena glauca (Fosberg 40,882; D. & H. 21,296), the haole koa of Hawaii, is a small tree with feathery leaves, pompons of small whitéscflowers and flat brown beans. It is native to tropical America. A few mature plants are in cultivation about the hotel, where they flower and sparingly reseed themselves. Van Zwaluwenburg stated in 191 that the haole koa reached Canton in the importation of soil from Oahu. Thousands of seeds planted in April 1951 in many parts of the island appear to be tolerant of salt in tne soil, and the seedlings are maintaining themselves in most cases where not exposed to extreme dryness. Zygophyllaceae Tribulus cistoides, the large-flowered caltrop or puncture vine, is typically a beach plant with flowers resembling a butter- cup, and with nasty spiny fruits. These are a menace to barefoot bathers and may even puncture auto tires. This pretty weed was may) nie recorded from Canton by Van Zwaluwenburg in the Haw. Pl. Record Hs 17. 1$41. It has not. been observed by the writers who therefore consider the record erroneous. Simaroubaceae Suriana maritima (D. & H. 21,305), the baycedar, is native t coastal regions of both the Atlantic and the Pacific. It is a densely leafy shrub with small yellow flowers, and commonly | grows gregariously. It is often used as a shelter by the ground- nesting tropic bird. This plant may have been mistaken for Pemphis by earlier writers. Euphorbiaceae Acalypha wilkesiana, the painted copperleaf, is a Fijian shrub now planted throughout the tropics as an ornamental hedge plant. A few specimens were observed cultivated in 1951 about the hotel, They were responding favorably to a:little care and watering. Chamaesyce hirta (Fosberg 30,873; D. & H. 21,298), the hairy-leaved spurge, is a low spreading herb with milky juice native to tropical America. It is a recent accidental intro- duction and grows well and often common in many areas influenced by man. It is a welcome addition to the ground cover of the island. More conservative botanists place this and the following | two species in the genus Euphorbia, Chamaesyce hypericifolia (F. & W. 30,216; D. & H. 21,300), the hypericum-leaved spurge, is related to the above. It is taller and is still rather rare, being known as yet only from the vicinities of the hotel and the airport. Chamaesyce prostrata (D. & Hs 21,299), the prostrate spurge, is another South American relative. It lies flat on the ground, has thread-like branches anc tiny leaves. It is localiy naturalized near the airfield, about the hotel and elsewhere but not away from the influence of man, This in itself proves its recent introduction. These three species may be the ones men- tioned by Van Zwaluwenburg in 191 as having come from Oahu in imported soil. The erect specimens collected by Luomala and recorded as E. prostrata were either parasitized by the fungus Nigredo proeminens or the specimens were misidentified. "Euphorbia" (Fosberg 30, 21h, 30,880), not seen by writers, Buphorbia, see under Chamaesyce and Poinsettia. Phyllanthus niruri, the niruri, a pantropic weed of American origin, was growing in 1951 in and about a box of soil imported from Fiji. It appeared to be spreading rapidly from seed to the surrounding area, MeL Ae Poinsettia cyathophora (Fosberg 30,885; D..& He, year 1951) is sometimes called Euphorbia heterophylla var cyathophora. It is the fiddle-leaved poinsettia native to tropical America, Its upper leaves are basally blotched with bright red, adding color to the landscape. This erect herb is sparingly naturalized and protected in the spic and span British Settlement, where it grows on sun-scorched coral rubble that may act in parbias, 4 mulch to conserve ground moisture. It is of course a modest, wild relative of the garden poinsettia (P. pulcherrima), of | which recently imported cuttings were being propagated in 1951 in cans by a resident of the CAA housing area. ans Tiliaceae en et ee ee centers additional trailing branches arise. The leaves are thick, roundish to slightly lobed, and bright green. The flowers are yellow and soon mature into spherical, spiny burs that lie in black masses where the Mother plant may have eventually succumbed to an especially dry year. This plant could be mistaken for Tribulus. a) Malvaceae Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, the common hibiscus, is represented in gardens by less than a dozen plants, Hibiscus tiliaceus, see under Pariti. Pariti tiliaceum (Fosberg 30,888; D. & H. 21,28), the hau or vau of South Sea Eslanders, is a relative of the hibiscus and by more conservative botanists placed in the same genus, It is a small tree with yellow flowers having a maroon center. These flowers fade reddish at night. In 193 Van Zwaluwenburg reported insects "on the recently introduced thau'," thus giving us an approximate date as to the plant's coming to Canton. One slowly growing tree, suffering from drought, stands near the hotel _ laundry; a few others in neighboring gardens, and one at Musick Light. It produces flowers in spite of abuse. This tree, like many others introduced by Degener in 1950 for CAA, thrives when exposed to a little brackish water. A deep hole should have been dug for it through the coral rock and hardpan down to the water table. Into this hole a few posts or:old boards should have been placed in an upright position before refilling with earth and planting the tree. The presence of the decaying boards would deter future formation of a troublesome hardpan and would facili- tate root growth down toward water, - 2h - Sida carpinifolia, the hornbeam-leaved sida, is a native of tropical America but is now almost pantropic in distribution. +t was represented in 1951 by a single wild plant growing near the hotel from a box of soil imported from Fiji. Sida fallax (FP. & We 30,201; Ds & H. 21,329), the ilima of the Hawaiian Tei vendors, is a twiggy perennial shrub with finely velvety leaves and many small orange-yellow hibiscus-like flowers, It is native, and almost everywhere. For their dances, the South Sea islanders on Canton bedeck themselves with garlands made from this plant. The red-tailed tropic bird prefers to nest under its spreading canopy of branches and under the Suriana. Unlike the common ilima of Hawaii, whose flowers usually possess a dark eye, all flowers on Canton are uniformly colored. In studying thousands of plants, a few freaks or sports were observed. Should such plants become isolated on some island devoid of Sida otherwise and thus be prevented from cross-pollinating with more normal plants, they might develop into entirely new species or kinds. Such freak plants, therefore, are worthy of mention, One (D. & H. 21,430)possessed an unusually pale corolla; another (D. & H. 21,4331), growing near the old guano diggings, bore filled flowers; and a third (D. & H. 21,332), growing near the CAA housing area, was densely twiggy and bore innumerable small leaves, These Sida, and the Scaevola as well, may be attacked by aphids. The ladybird beetle, Harmonia arcuata, however, tends to keep them under control, Thespesia populnea (D. & H. 21,308), the milo of the Hawaiians, is a small tree with numerous leaves that can be eaten raw during times of famine. It bears an attractive hibiscus-like pale yellow flower with dark eye, and roundish corky seed pods that break open irregularly. Van Zwaluwenburg, at a meeting in May 1942 (published in the Proc. Haw. Ent. Soc. 11. 3 : 306.19)3.), mentioned the occurrence of certain insects "On the introduced malvaceous tree 'milo'", thus proving that this species was on Canton previous to 192, and even at that time was. considered foreign to the native flora. In 1950 several trees were observed cultivated at the hotel and growing near the wharf on the north side of the island. ‘This tree prefers access to brackish water. Guttiferae Calophyllum inophyllum, the true kamani of the Hawaiians, is native rrom India to the South Seas, exclusive of Canton, Where native, it grows to be a huge tree, bearing attractive white flowers and large round corky fruits from whose kernel a medicinal oil is expressed. The logs were used for canoes. A few trees were observed planted near the hotel. Their seemingly parallel-veined leaves were badly infested with the Florida red scale. Potted plants shipped to Canton by Degener in July 1950 and set out in the open were thriving in May 195l. ee Tamaricaceae Tamarix aphylla (Fosberg 30,877; D. & H. 21,306), the European tamarix, confusingly resembles the beefwood or irnnwood,. It bears, however, pink, heather-like flowers, Beautiful speci-= mens have been planted on the hotel grounds. Cuttings from Oahu plants set out about some buildings in July 1950 were growing in April of the following year but were suffering from drought. They | require a little watering and aid for their roots to penetrate the soil to greater depths. Passifloraceae Passiflora foetida, the foetid passionf lower, native of tropical America, was observed in July 1950 growing carefully tended at the hotel and near the airport building. It is a recent introduction. Seeds planted in July 1950 by Degener did not germinate until after the unusual rains of April 1951. Coieepede Carica papaya, the papaya, is native to tropical America and frequently grown locally.from seeds derived from imported fruits. The seeds readily germinate and some of the resulting trees may grow to good size. Those observed are fruitless and invariably chlorotic, or yellowish. This is due either to the lack of some necessary mineral or more likely to the plant's inability to extract it from Canton, this soil perhaps holding it too firmly in some complex chemical bondage. Success might be gained by planting the seeds in a compost pit and adding a little solution recommended by local devotees of hydroponics. Reducing exposure to the intense sunlight ss ae be od in PT aera a duction of a Crop. Geek WeAE Terminalia catappa (Fosberg 430,875), the Indian enone? is native to the Old World. It is one of the few tropical trees that exhibits autumn coloration in its foliage. The kernel is” edible and, rarely, the outer part of the fruit. It has been planted on the hotel grounds and would thrive excepting for insect injury. Seedlings, introduced in July 1950, were in a - thriving condition the following May, Terminalia samoensis (Fosberg 30,879), collected by Fosberg on March 6, 1949, was not collected by the writers. Nor did they notice T. melanocarpa or T, littoralis mentioned by Luomala. Araliaceae Polyscias guilfoylei, the panax of Hawaiian residents, was recorded in 1951 by Luomala as having been planted recently and = 26 os to have died later. It was noticed growing by Degener in the British Settlement in May 1951, but not thriving. Apocynaceae Ochrosia, species not determined, was observed in cultiva- tion in 1950 on Canton by MacDaniels according to a personal communication, Plumeria rubra (Degener, year 1951), the pink flowered frangipani, is native to tropical America. Several trees, cultivated in the hotel grounds living in July 1950 and covered with the crater scale, succumbed shortly after, Only one was surviving in May 1951. This scale insect is just another foreign pest that has been able to slip into the island for lack of proper regulations of inspection and fumigation, A few trees with small flowers from New Providence Island, Bahamas, where they are native and still growing wild, were set out in 195 by Degener and are thriving. Asclepiadaceae Calotropis gigantea forma wilderi (D. & H. 21,29), the white crown flower, is a color form of the more common purple crown flower native to tropical Asia, It is commonly planted and grows well from cuttings. It, however, also suffers from chlorosis and its leaves may be eaten badly by caterpillars of the monarch butterfly, an insect occasionally flying here from over the ocean. The plant was recorded from tne island for the year 190 when Van Zwaluwenburg wrote about "the introduced Calotropis or ‘crown flower!'." Today a huge shrub grows near Musick Light, from which residents commonly gain cuttings. Convolvulaceae Calonyction species (D. & H. 21,309, 21,310), a moon-~ flower, is obviously the second native morning glory recorded from Canton. It has been variously identified as Ipomoea grandiflora and I. tuba. It grows chiefly among arid guano deposits inland along the northeast rim. It is a climber bearing dark green, heart shaped leaves and large white floers that bloom at night. By the time dry weather comes, it has matured its seeds and has died back to a massive rootstock. It is occasionally planted as an ornamental on trellises. Ipomoea pes-caprae (Degener, year 1951), the beach morning glory, is practically pantropic, being limited in its extensive range, however, almost solely to sandy beaches. It was collected in 192h by Bryan from "Canton Island, Obs. Point, lagoon side, small patch, el. $ - 2m. " and in 1938 on "west end, near camp, on sandy beach, alt. 2 = 3m." Van Zwaluwenburg recorded it from Canton in the Haw. Pl. Record 5 : 17. 1941. Degener found an old flowerless plant with massive rootstock near the hotel - 27 - rubbish dump in April 1951. The plant grew inlead) near the remains of an army camp. No other mature plants are known to him, And as the cotyledons of seeds, he. planted in April 1951 were injured as soon as they appeared. above the ground by land hermitcrabs, he suspects that the one: 01d. plant may have been planted bya soldier and partly guanded by him from injury until it had become established, The previously:-recorded plants, like- wise, may have been protected by man, Because: of the abundance of this creeper along tropical shores, new wave-borne introduc- tions to Canton probably arrive from time to time’ and may persist until they,succumb to the ravages of the crabs during some period of food scarcity. Boraginaceae Cordia’ sebestena (F osberg 30, 87h3 asenae 21, ee the geigertree, is native to Florida and the Bahamas, as ts a small tree with sandpapery leaves, brilliant scarlet flowers, and whitish fruit. From the size: of the trees about the ‘hotel grounds, this ornamental must.have been planted ten or so years ago. it suffers a bit from dryness, but more from’ ‘leaf-eating insects and from scales, It fruits freely and some of the seeds germinate where they fall. These should be planted in new localities as this tree is worthy of: more extensive: cultivation on the. island, Cordia subcordata (Fosbere 20: 687% De & H. 21,287), the kou of the Hawaiians, has. corky ‘seeds .adapted. for dispersal. by ocean currents, The -kou’ may ‘have, reached. Ganton without ‘human aid. — Lf 2G: didy it ishint serest ing ta speculate how many seeds reached the atoll before one finally escaped destruction by hermitcrabs and grew to maturity. Two small healthy patches of ‘kou forest, occurring on the southwest end of the, island have long ng been shown on maps and used as landmarks, at sea...Qne of’ these interesting groves is’ unfortunately being damaged by picnic parties, ‘some of whose members are apt. to wield an ax: indiscriminately. Other clusters of kou trees grow mainly near tne old guano wharf, practically at the edge of the: lagoon. These are said to,.Kave | been planted years ago. Seeds from such trees should be rn collected for cultivation. elsewhere on the island, The branches of the kou grow mostly erect, making.them impossible nesting - ag sites for clumsy nest builders Juke. boobies and frigate. birds.” These branches bear large, pale.:leaves and nectar-filled orange _. flowers followed by the corky fruits enclosing several sedds. The trees near the lagoon are, sickly, their branches ofter ‘dying back to near the base during dry seasons and thus lending to the tropical landscape a wintry appearance, Death of the branches is hastened by land hermitcrabs which climb them to shred and eat the crisp, juicy bark on one side, usually the upper, for a considerable length, Though many fruits are produced to litter the ground under the trees year after year, only those that are fortunate enough to get buried can sprout their seed. The seedlings bear two dark green, longitudinally pleated cotyledons, ee) 2 ae - 4 . ¢ As the kou casts Rodis sitaaé about itself, it is always the resting place for hundreds of hermitcrabs. Some of these may wander eee in the grove any time of day, while the majority sleep until the heat of the sun has waned and it is time to sally forth for food. Thus, every hour of the day, these seedlings -ape at the mercy of an army of voracious crabs, Though many seedlings appear above ground after a period of rainy weather, the writer has yet failed to see a single one escape annihilation. Obviously, seedlings arising from seeds transported away from Crab-infested groves have a better chahce for survival. In spite of the destruction of seedlings, the groves often increase in size. This ais accomplished mainly by suckering. The kou grows rapidly, seeds planted in July 1950 being erect trees a foot or more high by ths following April. Trees are often badly defoli- ated, particularly on the lee side, by the caterpillars of a moth (Achaea janats), which prefers to lay its eggs on the side of the tree protected from the wind, About the only natural enemy this caterpillar has on Canton is a true, evil-smelling bug. This predator inserts its needle-like beak into its victim, sucking its juices and killing it. It is called Oechalia consocialis. | Messerschmidia argentea (Fosberg 30,88), the tree helio- trope, is the most beautiful tree on the Aga and. it te Lnceorrects) ly known as Tournefortia and "skayviola." It is native and most commonly forms elumps or small groves, a typical one persisting at the newly established plant nursery near the airport. It : bears small white flowers and silvery leaves which, when dried, may be used as a substitute for tobacco. The leaves are often eaten by caterpillars of an ornamental moth (Utetheisa pulchelloides), but seldom seriously. Near the hotel one of the trees has become badly infested with the minute hibiscus snow scale (Pinnaspis strachani). As long as the tree is allowed to stand in this condition, it remains a menace as this insect may spread from it to all the tree heliotropes on the island. It reproduces rarely from seed, clumps increasing their size from shoots arising from reclining branches. Solanaceae ' Lycopersicon esculentum var. (D. & H. 21,4307), the wild tomato, grows near the airport near the ruins of army shacks. It was observed first in July 1950 and, almost dead, again in April 1951. It is a sprawling plant with unusual leaves. | ie matches perfectly tomato plants growing wild in the Galapagos Islamds and may prove to be’ an undescribed variety. Nicotiana glauca (D. & H. 21,305), the tree tobacco, is. native to the Néw World. It is a slender tree with bluish stems and leaves, and yellow flowers. A single plant was found in July 1950 near the CAA housing’ area. It was without-flowér: and fruit, and had been badly mauled by a bulldozer. Seeds brought from Honolulu in July 1950 and sown among coral rock had flowered by April of the following year. The plants had been blown flat by the prevailing wind and were chlorotic. It. is a very desirable introduction of great promise. ~ 29- Physalis angulata (Degener 21,11), the husk tomato, is sparingly introduced, a few plants growing naturalized in the British Settlement in May 1951. Rubiaceae Morinda citrifolia (Degener 21,12), the noni of the Hawaiians, is native to Pacirtic Islands and can be readily transported by water from one region to another because of a special air chamber located at one side of the seed. If it were native to Canton, one should expect to find seedlings, but none was observed. Bryan in 192h reported the noni as occurring "Single or in clumps." Degener found a single large tree, loaded with flowers and fruit, near the old guano wharf. Scores of hermitcrabs were resting in its shade, and not a single seedling anywhere. The seeds are probably eaten upon germination. Cucurbitaceae Cucumis melo, the muskmelon, was found growing near some abandoned shacks in July 1950. The seeds probably came to the island in a breakfast fruit. Goodeniaceae Seaevola frutescens (Fosberg 30,872; D. & H. 21,301, 21,302), known as naupaka in its Hawaiian variety sericea by the Hawaiians, is found in many varieties and forms along many coastal regions of the Pacific. Through local confusion, its name obviously has been transferred to Messerschmidia as "skaviola." The plant native to Canton is a shrub eight or more feet high bearing large shiny smooth leaves, and white flowers and fruits. It grows gregariously. It is extremely important as, from time immemorial} its extensive groves were preferred as rookeries by boobies and frigate birds. The accumulation of their excrement, century by century, built up the guano deposits for which Canton first gained commercial recog- nition. Being gregarious,. these birds avoid isolated naupaka bushes and instead nest in those growing in dense groves. Isolated bushes and groups of young bushes too small for nesting sites are usually a beautiful, crowded mass of healthy green leaves and white flowers and fruits. Bushes in the rookeries, in contrast, are sickly, dying or dead. This unfavorable condition of the naupaka in the rookeries is not due so much to mechanical injury caused by the heavy birds clumsily alighting among the branches, as to the chemical action of the bird dréppings, The details of these chains of chemical reactions; especially in a calcareous soil impregnated with sea salt, still remain to be worked out. Nevertheless, we are reasonably sure that two types of injury occur: first, the excre- ment of birds, rich in uric acid, is splattered wet over the leaves, in part absorbed by them, variously modified into other poisonous substances, and then translocated throughout the plant to its great detriment; second, much fresh excrement litters the ground. To this mass are added the whitewashed dying leaves as they fall or, in tase of rare, cleansing showers, their oh Oa coating of filth. Simply explained, the naupaka in Canton rookénies‘are:ivery like garden plants dying from an excess application of chicken manure, They just can't tolerate these various nitrogenous compounds in such concentrated form. As a result of this interaction between nesting birds and plants, there appears to exist something of a cycle, not clear cut, to be sure. Under simplified, ideal conditions it might best be explained as consisting of flocks of birds gradually killing with their excrement a grove of naupaka bushes in one area, While this is transpiring, seedlings of naupaka are growing healthily elsewhere undisturbed by nesting ‘birds. As the old poisoned bushes finally succumb and break to the ground, the birds, somewhat unwillingly at first, are forced to shift their rookeries to the stands of naupaka which by this time have grown sufficiently tall and sturdy for nesting sites. The cycle then repeats itself as these plants, in turn, gradually succumb to poisoning and crumble away, obliging the birds to shift to still another stand of young bushes, probably actually growing in a locale where their ancestors had been killed out several huddred or thousand years before. Test holes dug by Hatheway show deposits of guano where no shrubs now exist. We cannot imagine tnat the ancestors of our present guano-producing birds had radically different nesting habits from the present. generation. The presence of guano almost certainly indicates the former presence of groves of vegetation. yldling Re: fh Compositae Emilia sonchifolia, the purple emilia, was not observed by the writers in 1950-51. But Van Zwaluwenburg in the Haw. Pl. Record for 191 stated that "Importations of soil from Oahu have resulted in the recent establishment on Canton of several weeds such as Emilia sonchifolia. .." Pluchea odorata (F. & W. 30,210; D. & H. 21,295), the shrubby fleabane, is native from Florida to northern. South America, It is naturalized here and there about the airfield and disturbed areas, and is evidently of recent accidental intro- duction, It is expected to extend its range. Thus far, individual kinds of plants have been discussed. Now we shall deal briefly with associations* of plants. Portulaca lutea and Boerhavia grow together, with the exclusion of every other kind of plant, in large areas of con- solidated reef and rubble. When even slight showers fall, their shallow roots can absorb the rain, and this water is stored in their tissues for use during long periods of drought. In other places the rootless Cassytha likewise occurs, parasitic on the two plants. Where tne soil is more sandy, Portulaca’ and Boerhavia may be associated with the perennial bunchgrass Lepturus. In general, Portulaca and Boerhavia are the two commonest native plants on Canton, growing almost everywhere, * A more technical paper, with statistics, on plant communities is presented by Hatheway as Atoll Research Bulletin )3, a le es associated with practically every other plant excepting with Messerschmidia, Scaevola and kou. The reason is not that these three shrubs and trees are poisonous, like the Eucalyptus and Casuarina to other plants, but that they cast too much shade for these sun-loving herbs to tolerate. Another close community, since historic times, grows only near the influence of man and consists of the annuals Cenchrus, Eleusine and Setaria; Cenchrus being the most abundant and, because of its prickly burs, the most annoying. Suriana often grows alone in slab areas and less often in sandy areas swept by waves during violent storms. In 1951 many of the largest plants were dead, leaving fantastically gnarled branches and twigs reaching toward the sky. The frigate bird often roosts upon the sturdier branches but does not nest among them, | The native annual varieties of Digitaria often grow alone, preferably in recently disturbed sandy soil, as along the shoulders of roads. They require more moisture than Lepturus repens and can survive from year to year on Canton by having art speeded up their life cycle. Being unable to survive periods of drought as growing plants, they survive them in the form of seed lying dormant on the ground. . A plant that occurs mostly amid rock slabs or on sand dunes nearest the ocean breakers is Triumfetta, This perennial creeping shrub has incredibly long, shallow roots able to absorb rain from gentle showers, and thick leaves with water storage tissues. Scaevola grows gregariously mostly on the southeast, or windward, part of the atoll rim, perhaps because the rainfall there is slightly more than on the lee side of the island. A few isolated bushes occur across the lagoon on the opposite side, the corky fruits having been blown across the surface of the lagoon to that shore’ by the prevailing wind. Sporadic plants grow in a few other places as well, ea The kou, probably due to the influence of man, is most abundant along the lagoon side near the old guano diggings. The plants grow alone or perhaps with a few Messerschmidia intere- spersed, Sida, a sun-loving shrub, grows preferably in good sandy soil in association with any plants that do not subject it to shade. The Sesuvium is most tolerant of salt and consequently grows alone; otner kinds of plants cannot survive in low areas that are inundated by the lagoon. During dry weather and exceptionally low tides the ground where it grows glitters with galt crystals. te ce The native land flora of Canton Island, excluding the kou and the beach morning glory as plants of questionable nativity, comprises only fourteen kinds of flowering plants. Not a single fern, moss nor slime-mold is native. How many fungi and ter- restrial true algae and blue-green algae occur is not yet known. There are quite a number to be found in unexpected places, as in the turbo shells carried about by the hermitcrabs on land. Due to commerce, the common molds found on foodstuffs nave reached Canton. There are doubtless numbers of native fungi yet to be discovered, especially after spells of wet weather. husiTar 2 powdery mildew was collected by Degener on the native Sida; an Albugo on the leaves of Boerhavia; and a saprophytic, dirty yellow ascomycete, about 1 cm. wide, on introduced rubbish. The paucity of native land plants on Canton is due to the scarcity of rain and its unfavorable distribution during the year, to the salty or nitrogen- and phosphates-impregnated character of the barren soil, to the low elevation enabling waves during storms and very rare tsunamis or tidal waves to scour the atoll bare of most life, and tc the army of omnivorous hermitcrabs. Canton is not so isolated that seeds and other propagules of land plants cannot reach its shores. Almost all such castaways evi- dently find conditions too unfavorable for survival. Even though Canton is unfavorable for the growth of plants, similarly arid, salty or chemically=poisoned regions throughout the world have been successfully invaded by various rugged plant pioneers. Some are peculiar to the Mojave and other alkali deserts in America; some to the calcareous soils of Florida, the Bahamas or Dalmatia; some to the ‘Sahara; to Madagascar; to India; to Australia and the South Seas; or to the leeward sides of the Hawaiian Islands; etc. To cover Canton with a mantle of vege- tation, however, is more than just selecting seeds of such pioneer species and sowing over the rim.of the atoll, As a fundamental practice, seeds of potentially poisonous plants, such as those of the yellow oleander (Thevetia ae or of thorny plants, such as the klu (Vachellia farnesiana) and algaroba (Prosopis chilensis), have been omitted. The ili ouine isa list of plants or seeds, with their native home, shipped by the writer to Canton chiefly in 1950. All were properly fumigated by the Board of Agriculture and Forestry, Honolulu, to guard against the danger of introducing insect pests. Some seeds of plants that should be able to grow on Canton could be supplied in only small quantities due to their extreme rarety. Others, of plants that probably will not grow there, were sent anyway because of their availa- bility without extra cost or labor. After all, some of these may germinate and grow in particularly sheltered places. Only after these plants have actually: become naturalized will it be worthwhile describing them in a supplement to tne present paper. 1, a BB oe Species sent to Canton in 1950, unless other date given, and place of origin: MARSILEACEAE Marsilea villosa = Hawaii GRAMINEAE Dactyloctenium aegyptium - Egypt Digitaria henryi - Formosa Echinochloa colonum - Pantropic Ischaemum brachyatherum - Africa Lagurus ovatus - yvugoslavia (1953) Panicum cinereum - Hawaii Panicum nubiseng = Hawail Panicum pellitum - Hawaii Pennisetum: sp. 3 Polypogon monspeliensis - Europe . Sea = Southern United States ‘Tricholaena repens - Africa CYPERACEAE Cyperus javanicus - Hawaii Cyperus trachysanthus - Hawaii eee cymosa - Hawaii ees aes Geeeeeeeto ee eee PALMAE Phoenix dactylifera - Africa Pritchardia pacifica- Fiji Pritchardia sps. - Hawaii COMMELINACEAE Commelina benghalensis - India Rhoeo discolor - Bahamas ~ LILIACEAE Sansevieria cylindrica - Africa Sansevieria guineensis - Africa AMARYLLIDACEAE Furcraea gigantea - America SANTALACEAE . Santalum ellipticum - Hawaii POLYGONACEAE Antigonon leptopus - Mexico Coccolobis uvifera = Bahamas re er ees CHENOPODIACEAE Atriplex angulata - Australia Atriplex halimoides Atriplex semibaccata - Australia Chenopodium oahuense - Hawaii Kochia sp. - Australia - 4 ~ NYCTAGINACEAE Mirabilis jalapa - Mexico AIZOACEAE Dorotheanthus criniflorus - Africa Tetragonia expansa - New Zealand PORTULACACEAE Portulaca cyanosperma - Hawaii PAPAVERACEAE Argemone glauca - Hawaii CAPPARIDACEAE Capparis sandwichiana - Hawaii CRUCIFERAE Coronopus didymus - Europe | Lepidium o-waihiense - Hawaii CRASSULACEAE Kalanchoe tubiflora - Africa LEGUMINOSAE Acacia choriophylla - Bahamas Desmanthus v; virgatus - Tropical America CGhamaecrista leschenaultiana - India Dolichos s Lablab - Africa Eryt hz: rina sandwicensis - Hawaii Indigcfera suffruticosa - West Indies Medicaso hispida - Asia Medicago Tupulina - Asia Phaseo.us - lathyroides - Tropical America Phaseolus trilotus = Asia Sesbania tomentosa - Hawaii Sophor ra tomentosa - South Seas Tephrosia purpurea - Hawaii Vigna marina - Hawaii ZYGOPHYLLACEAE Guaiacum officinale - Bahamas MELIACEAE Melia azedarach - India SAPINDACEAE Sapindus oahuensis - Hawaii RHAMNACHAE Colubrina asiatica - Hawaii - 35 = MALVACEAE } Abutilon mollissimum var. sandwicense - Hawaii Gossypium brasiliense - South America Gossypium tomentosum = Hawaii Pariti tiliaceum - South Seas Sida fallax - Hawaii Thespesia populnea - Hawaii STERCULIACEAE Heritiera lLittoralis - South Seas ae ee terete Waltheria amoricana - Hawaii GUTTIFERAE ee Calophyllum inophyllum - Hawaii TAMARICACEAE Tamarix aphylla - Asia PASSIFLORACEAE Passiflora foetida - Bahamas CARICACEAE Carica papaya - Tropical America PUNICACEAE Punica granatum - Mediterranean LECYTHIDACEAE Barringtonia asiatica - India RHIZOPHORACEAE Bruguiera sexangula - Malaya Rhizophora mangle - Tropical America COMBRETACEAE Conocarpus erectus - Bahamas PLUMBAGINACEAE Plumbago zeylanica - Hawaii OLEACEAE Noronhia emarginata - Madagascar GENTIANACEAE Centaurium sebaecoides - Hawaii APOCYNACEAE Plumeria rubra - Tropical America ASCLEPIADACEAE Calotropis gigantea - Egypt - 36 - CONVOLVULACEAE Ipomoea cairica - Egypt Ipomoea cordofans - Africa Ipomoea indica = Hawaii Ipomoea japonica - Japan Ipomoea pes-caprae - Hawaii Tpomoea triloba - America dacquemontia sandwicensis - Hawaii Operculina aegyptia - Egypt BORAGINACEAE Cordia subcordata - Hawaii Heliotropium anchusaefolium - South America Heliotropium curassavicum - Hawaii VERBENACEAE Stachytarpheta jamaicensis - Bahamas Stachytarpheta urticaefolia - South America Vitex trifolia var. simplicifolia - Hawaii LABIATAE Leonurus sibiricus - Asia Marrubium “vulgare — - Asia Ocimum er gratissimum - India Phloemis fruticosa - Yugoslavia (1953) Plectranthus australis - Hawaii Salvia coccinea - Mexico SOLANACEAE Capsicum frutescens - Tropical America Lycium sandwicense - Hawaii Lycopersicon esculentum var. galeni - South America Nicandra phy physalodes - S - south eee Solanum nigrum - Hawaii ACANTHACEAE | Asystasia gangetica - India MYO PORACEAE Myoporum sandwicense - Hawaii RUBIACEAE Canthium odoratum - Hawaii ‘Casasia cl eluslifolia lia- Bahamas Morinda Citrirolia var. Potteri - Fiji - CUCURBITACEAE Citrullus vulgaris - Africa ‘Cucumis dipsaceus - Arabia _ Momordica ica charantia var. abbreviata - Asia . Sicyos mi microcarpus - Hawaii “ay = GOODENIACEAE Scaevola frutescens var. sericea = Hawaii COMPOSITAE Bidens amplectens - Hawaii Borrichia Sp. Eclipta alba - Asia eee ttcer picta - Texas Helianthus annuus - Kansas Heterotheca grandiflora - California Inula candida - Yugoslavia (1953) Lipochaeta _ integrifolia - Hawaii Lipochaeta remyi.- Hawaii Pluchea indica - India Reichardi2 “picroides - Southern Burges Sonchus cornutus - Africa After Degener with his efficient assistant returned to Hawaii from a week's stay on Canton in July 1950, he never expected to see the atoll again. From Honolulu, as per contract, he shipped the proper seeds, some in enormous quantities, and a few kinds of living plmts, by CAA plane to their destination. Numerous resi- dents of Canton, all busy with their professional duties, tried to sow the seeds during their spare time and even watered some choice plants with precious distilled water. But the task was so Herculean that the greater part of the shipménts a reposed in a warehouse, slowly deteriorating. On the invitation of CAA for transportation and lodging, and PAA for meals, Degener volunteered his services for six weeks to bring the project to a successful close. Back on Canton in April 1951, he noticed numerous damselflies near the airport. Knowing these pretty, delicate insects to be aquatic in the larval stage, their presence proved the existence of fresh, or nearly, fresh water - SOMEWHERE! The source was soon found - a rectangular body of water about 20 by 50 feet, and 3 to feet deep. The site may have been excavated by some branch of the Armed Forces as an emergency source of water to fight conflagrations during the war. The sides were of wooden beams; the bottom, natural coral sand and rubble. The location, near a grove of "skayviolas" (Messer=: schmidia) not far from tne airport, was ideal, It lay near the center of a wide part of tne atoll's rim, just about right to take advantage of the so-called Ghyben-Herzberg lens. Disturbing factors absent, this double-convex lens consists of a body of fresh ground water, originally derived from Canton rain, floating on top of the heavier sea water that has percokated under it from the ocean since prehistoric times (See Arnow, T., 195h, "The Hydrology of the Northern Marshall Islands"; Atoll Research Bull. 30, May.). Here, then, was a never. failing source - 38 - of water that barely tasted salty, regularly rising and falling with the tide, though with a certein. lag in time, and in height and depth, With the help of a gang of Gilbert and Ellice Islanders under the kinky-haired Melanesian Seitoa, a wooden platform was built so that the fluctuation in water level would alternately cover it a few inches and then leave it exposed to drying. With such labor, it took little time to gather froma neighboring kitchen midden thousands of discarded tins, stab holes in them, fill them with the best earth available, and then plant seeds of the more'ornamental plants therein, Many of the species shipped to Canton, as study of the accompanying list shows, are more or less halophytic - salt-loving or at least salt- tolerant. Naturally they throve, irrigated by every tide with an abundant supply of near-sweet water. By the time Degener left the atoll in May 1951, this self-watering nursery was green with seedlings of many kinds, available for any one who wished to plant them about their barren, arid grounds. Many of these plants survived transplanting, particularly when occasionally watered with waste from the dishpan or bath. The great majority of the seeds, particularly of grasses, were scattered, hit or miss, over tne atoll in likely places. Others were planted in holes made in the sand and rubble with the human heel or with the spade, To ascertain what species on Canton can survive and maintain themselves from year to year in spite of drought, salt, intense sunlight, insects, sea birds, voracious hermitcrabs and competition with other plants, will be of considerable importance not only to tiny Canton but to similar islands throughout the world. The Canton project will help show workers elsewhere what activities to.repeat or modify.‘and what pitfalls to avoid, amen L sip genau AQUATIC FLORA . A discussion of the aquatic flora and fauna hardly concerns the present immediate problem of augmenting the flimsy mantle of vegetation on Canton's arid rim of land. Yet were it not for the aquatic flora and fauna, Canton Island would not even be in existence. It consists almost entirely of the accumulated remains of coral, mollusk, sea urchin and star fish, coralline alga, pink foraminifera shell, and the droppings of sea birds that have eaten free- swimming organisms of the open ocean as food. The terrestrial hermitcrabs that are such a. hazard to the land plants are aquatic in their larval stage. So with the importance of the sea life in mind, the reader will perhaps excuse a continuation of this article about Canton. It will be brief, not purposely, but because of our present ignorance. This state of affairs should stimulate the resident having a flair for biology to spend some of his spare time collecting the yet un- known plants and animals of Canton to ship to eager specialists at the Bishop Museum and elsewhere for technical study. The > soy e amateur collector and careful observer on Canton, collaborating with the museum expert surrounded by his musty books and pickled specimens thousands of miles distant, can solve so many fasci- nating and important puzzles. As such knowledge accumulates, a more complete article than the present one can be written for later readers. This one is but a beginning and barely scratches the surface, Of blue-green algae, no one had collected any specimens previous to 1951, thus leaving practically an open field for a local resident in pursuit of an important hobby. The three specimens collected that year were actually found on land, but are being classified as aquatic because they developed mainly during an unusual period of rainy weather or were found in ditches occasionally subject to flooding by rain or tidal-seep- age. They are hardly land plants, Though microscopic, such plants, because of their enormous numbers, may help bind sand grains together and reduce drifting. This action may be mechanical, by means of the gelatinous plant surface, as well as chemical, by the liberation of carbon dioxide and the partial dissolving of the calcareous sand grains followed by cementation. Microcoleus paludosus (Degener 21,31) forms a tough gelatinous coating over the surface of the sand on the atoll rim during periods of rainy weather, Of the blue-green algae on Canton it is the most useful sand binder. Porphyrosiphon sp. (Degener 21, 428) grows on or in the sand during periods of rainy weather but does not form a gelatinous coating. it is similarly useful, but to a lesser degree. Scytonema hofmannii (Degener 21,3l,7), like the previous two species, is dormant during dry weather. Soon after the coming of rain, it reproduces prodigiously, often washing into puddles in loosely flocculent masses to stain them a pale ofive green. A blue-green alga, not yet identified, is paradoxically beautifully pink. It imparts its color to extensive areas of drying salt flats near the narrow end of the atoll, oceueraie among crystals of sea salt, Of the green, brown and red algae, commonly known as sea- weeds, we likewise know very, very Little so far as Canton, is concerned, Some are important reef builders while others consti- tute the fundamental and first link in the complicated food chain terminating, we like to believe, in serving the highest type of organism, man, at the dinner table and elsewhere. It is an old story known to most of us but worth repeating. These plants, bathed by sea water, actually a nutrient solution or nourishing soup to them, vary in size from the micro- scopic to about a foot in length, like the Turbinaria and the a OY sargassum that are cast ashore so often. Employing sunlight as a source of energy - an activity not ordinarily possible to members of the Animal Kingdom - they manufacture sugar, starch and allied products for the purpose of growth and activity. Minute and often humble animals like worms, mollusks and.crus- taceans browse upon these algae for food. These animals in turn usually end up as food for larger and ever larger kinds until we realize that our economic fishes, sea birds, seals and even whales are, in a sense, simply reincarnations on a higher plane of the energy of algae originally trapped from the sun. If conditions for the growth and abundance of algae are favorable, as along the Humboldt Current of South America, the surrounding water and air just teem with valuable fish and sea bird life. If conditions for algae are unfavorable, however, fish and bird life are scant, and our dining table may be missing a fish course and, as lack of guano fertilizer makes farming expensive, an extra vegetable or a salad. Thus the fluctuation in the growth and abundance of algal life in the ocean may affect man most intimately. The first true alga collected on Canton may be Turbinaria ornata (F. & W. 30,213), gathered by Fosberg and Walker January 30 - 31, 199. Subsequént:-collections, made mostly by Degener in abundance in 1951 and eventually to be deposited in the her- baria of the New York Botanical Garden, the Bishop Museum and elsewhere, were turned over to Dr. Maxwell Doty and kindly iden- tified by him as follows: CHLOROPHYTA Ulvaceae Enteromorpha sp. (Degener 23,660) Ulva lactuca ? (Degener 23,661) Cladophoraceae Cladophora sp. (Degener 23,662) Cladophoropsis membranacea (Degener 23,663) Caulerpaceae Caulerpa crassifolia (Degener 23, 66)) Caulerpa peltata (Degener 23,665) Caulerpa serrulata (Degener 23,666) Valoniaceae Dictyosphaeria cavernosa (Degener 23,667) Valonia sp. (Degener 25,668) — = TE PHAEOPHYTA Fucaceae Turbinaria ornata (Degener 23,669) RHODO PHYTA Gelidiaceae Gelidium sp. (Degener 23,670) Gigartinaceae Ahnfeltia concinna (Degener 23,671) Sphaerococcaceae Gracilaria lichenoides ? at 23,672) Hypnea spinella ella (Degener ve Rhodome laceae Chondria sp. (Degener 23,67) Herposiphonia tenella (Degener 23,675) Ceramiaceae Centroceras clavulatum (Dezener 23,676) Ceramium Spe (begener ener 23,677) Grateloupiaceae Halymenia sp. (Degener 23,678) Corallinaceae Jania capillacea (Degener 23,679) Lithothamnion sp. (Degener 24,680) Among diatoms, a species of Navicula (Degener 21,337) was collected. AQUATIC FAUNA No worms seem to have been recorded from Canton thus far. Degener in 1951 observed some wide, colorful planarians, and under rocks on the ocean reef worms (Eurythoe pacifica) armed with stinging bristles; and earthworm-like worms in the fine sand of shal low areas of the lagoon. Lack of proper equipment, unfortunately, made their collecting impracticable at the time, - 2 - Apparently the first starfish ever collected was Linckia multifora (No, 271) by Bryan in 1925. Degener collected L. diplax (No. 1205) and a serpent star (No. 1206) twenty-six years later on the ocean reef, He of course observed sea urchins. Their spines can inflict dangerous wounds, Corals and sponges are everywhere, yet remain to be collected and studied. These can cause scratches and abrasions that at first sight appear trivial yet may cause stubborn ulcers. Application of a poultice wet with a solution of epsom salt to suchwounds is a useful home remedy that may forestall the need of visiting a physician later. Mollusks are probably the best known of the marine animals native to the atoll, Though somewhat disappointing in form and color- ation for what one would ordinarily expedt on a tropic island, they are so easy to preserve that most people wandering along the shore gather tiiem in a casual way. There have been some serious amateur collectors whose finds may have reached museums for determinations, but where is not presently known. Determination of the mollusks, collected cniefly by Degener, was begun by Dr. Louis Brand of Cincinnati and continued by Mr. A. Wray Harris of Honolulu. Due to the latter's untimely death on December 17,1953, the complete list of Canton mollusks will appear as a supplement in the Hawaiian Shell News. The shipworms presently known from the atoll are: ; Teredo samoaensis (R. S,. Danner), 191. Teredo gregoryi (Van Zwaluwenburg), 19)1. ; Teredo bensoni (C. H. Hdmondson), 19.0 (7). This new species of shipworm was discovered in the "dredger Benson on its return to Honolulu after completing operations at Canton Island," Nonmicroscopic crustaceans are abundant in species where coral or other kinds of rocky marine shelves and shores exist. There tney find suitable shelter and food. The unusually salty lagoon of Canton with its barren sand and choking calcareous mud, particularly distant from the channel, is like a desertton land, able to support but little life. But the collector who can search the steep ocean bottom about Canton's rim from a depth of about 25 fathoms to the limit of high water will be rewarded with innumer- able species never before recorded. Thus far the only. crustaceans known to the writers from Canton, mostly from the ocean side, are the following: They were identified for the most part by Dr. C, H. Edmondson. Due to an oversight, original ecological data on the labels were discarded in transferring the specimens to perma- nent museum jars for preservation, ie) Limnoriidae are eet Nii Limnoria multipunctata (U.S.N. Survey 5731), 1950. An isopod destructive to wood exposed to sea water, by excavating small burrows in it. PNB Bi Palaemonidae Anchistus miersi (Degener ), 1951. - 3 - Stenopodidae Gonodactylus sp. (Degener 5658), 1951. Pontoniidae Conchodytes meleagrinae (Degener 5685), 1951. A shrimp living in the mantle or the tridacna, Coenobitidae Coenobita perlatus (Degener 5661, 5662) , 1951. The ubiquitous land hermitcrab; Jisted by Luomala in 1951 as C. olivieri. Paguridae Calcinus elegans (Degener 5665), 1951. A hermitcrab with orange markings. in Calcinus elegans var. (Degener 5669); ‘he blie variety of the above; more abundant. Calcinus herbstii (Degener 5666 - 5668), 1951. A hermitcrab, brown and white. Clibinarius corallinus (Degener, 5670, 5671), 1951. - Porcellanidae ys ee es Pachycheles pisoides ? (Degener 568h) , 1951. Not a:typical crab though like one in appearance, . Inachidae (Ma jidae) Micippa patypes (Degener 5667), 1951. Portunidae Thalamita picta (Degener 5682), 1951. A very active crab, running as well as swimming. Xanthidae Actaea sp. (Degener 5675),1951. me Carpilodes bellus (Pan American World Airways 59), i9h9. Chborodopsis scabricula (Bryan 2386), 192k. Chlorodposis areolata (Degener 5677) ,1951.Common; legs hairy. Eriphia scabricula (Degener 5678), 1951. Eriphia laevimana (Degener 5672), 1951. = hh = Lepto@ius sanguineus (Degener 5679), 1951. Phymodius ungulatus (Degener 5683), 1951. Polydectus cupulifer (Degener 5663), 1951. Crab carrying sea anemones, Grapsidae Geograpsus grayi cents 5681), 1951. Metopograpsus messor (Degener 5680), 1951. Crab of mud and racks, often going into brackish water. Pachygrapsus minutus (Degener 5676), 1951. Crab of mud and rocks of lagoon shore and often crawling onto land, Percnon planissimum (Degener 566), 1951. Very active crab | walking upside down on under side of flat rocks along reef. Ocypodidae Ocypode ceratophthaima (Degener 5659), 1951. Lepadidae Lepas anatifera (Van Zwaluwenburg 302), 191. A goose barnacle. Scalpellidae Lithotrya pacifica (Degener 386), coed A stalked barnacle on “gee exposed at low tide. ‘ Fishes are plentiful and colorful. Casual observation of reef fishes of Canton by one familiar with those of Hawaii will reveal: a high proportion of species common to both areas. Yet. usually a subtle differénce is observable perhaps in color, shape or activity, differences lost upon death and preservation for later study in a museum. Too, food fishes that are wholesome in Hawaiian waters and elsewhere may be poisonous in Canton, especially if caught in the lagoon. Savory looking red snapper and rock cod are usually poisonous to eat. Such fish when eaten may cause paralysis, at times severe enough to endanger life unless the prompt aid of a physician is sought. This fact sug- gests that plant or microscopic animal life, the source of fish food, is fundamentally responsible. This problem presently is being investigated by Dr. S. Gregory Ross and a very few other pioneer workers. Sharks, sting rays and moray eels are common in the lagoon, making bathing exciting if not dangerous. Of course, all these creatures, when caught by birds, may add to form guano deposits of the future. Fishes of Canton are studied in Schultz! Fishes of the Phoenix and Samoan Islands collected in 1939 a the. expedition of the U.S.S:"Bushnell," Bull. U.S.N.M.180:19h3, a daa Except for this the sientific study of the fishes of Canton is still in a preliminary stage. The first fishes collected for serious study appear to be Eviota viridis (E. H. Bryan, Jv. ,4819) and Echeneis remora (Bryan 895) in March 192). Land Fauna The land fauna of Canton is meagre. The only wild mammal noticed was a single rat which ran with a strange jogging gait across the road at night before the car, It lost 1tself in a maze of trunks and twigs of a frigate bird rookery of scaevola bushes far from human habitations, It was the Polynesian rat whose ancestors may have reached the atoll in the double canoe of some adventurous Polynesian centuries ago, or perhaps on a larger vessel during the later guano digging days. I1% is not unlikely that the kou reached the island on the same canoe or vessel with the Polynesian rat. Besides man, of all possible ethnological strains imaginable, who is now furiously changing the sleepyatoll to his peculiar aims, the only other introduced mammals are dogs and cats. The dogs are of many breeds, have many friends and many masters, and are treated far:more humanely than in the Hawaiian Islands where neglected, starving and mangy curs abound. None of tnese dogs is thus forced to run wild to forage for itself, a habit that might be disastrous to the rookeries. Some, strangely enough, enter the shallow water of the lagoon for their peculiar form of sport fishing: pouncing upon an occasional unwary mullet that may swim by. Cats, escaped from domestication, have run wild and obviously take their toll of nesting sea birds. : All Canton crustaceans have aquatic larvae. But a few crustaceans have become adapted for life on land toward maturity. Such, for instance, are the fiddler crabs. I observed hundreds of these brilliantly colored, gregarious animals about their burrows in the pale mud along the lagoon's edge. But the crabs that are really best adapted to terrestrial life, arouse interest and cause worry are the countless small pale hermitcrabs Coenobita perlatus. Every small dead spiral mollusk shell - there must be hundreds of theusands available about Canton - houses one of these lopsided, soft ‘abdomened animals. They are particularly numerous feeding on the jetsam along the beach facing the lagoon, and also pene- trate inland. Here they may be found seeking protection from the heat of the day under branches, fallen leaves and coral slabs, and in shaded crevices. As these crabs increase in size their housing shortage, for lack of an abundant supply of large mollusk shells, must be so acute as to cause a catastrophe eventually among them. Only those that can find the comparatively rare, catseye shell (Turbo), measuring up to about three inches in diameter, survive, Even so, these mature hermitcrabs, now red like boiled lobsters, are numerous enough to over-run the island. To be sure, they are useful scavengers, cleaning the rookeries of dead fledglings, the shores of dead fish and lobsters and the land, in general, of all dead animal matter. But as this supply ae is certainly insufficient to keep these creatures well fed, they obviously must feed also on plants, those living miles from the rookeries being per force mainly vegetarian, They seem to browse among the vegetation, and even climb kou trunks and branches as ' high as four anda half feet in search of food. They eat the bark along the upper side, most kou trees showing long scars, the result of past injury. A common habit, especially of the less heavy individuals is to cleverly tear off and eat only the Ovary and stamens of the flowers of Portulaca lutea and of the local Sesuvium., In the latter, I also observed them boring out of the ovary the ripening seeds for food, These are certainly not isolated acts, but ones perfected by practice and perhaps instinct. They probably decimate the flora, feeding particularly - on tender seedlings of certain species, which ones have not yet been determined. I believe these hermitcrabs are largely respon- sible for the paucity of different kinds of plants on Canton, any seeds of new kinds of plants washing to its shores being subject to their inspection on germination and, if palatable, sacrificed to their appetite. The foreign plants now being intro- duced as seeds and seedlings to Canton likewise must not only surmount the drastic conditions of drought and salinity, but must surmount the hurdle of voracious hermitcrabs. Though a nuisance in many ways, these land hermitcrabs are used as bait and as chumming material. Tney are interesting and, to Canton, economically important creatures. We know far too little about them. A complete life history would be a fascinating problem for sorte resident of Canton to work out during his spare time. In the month of April, for example, the females carry their numerous maroon eggs attached to their abdomens. When do they return to the ocean to allow thése eggs to hatch their free- swimming larvae, that resemble so closely the shrimp-like ancestor of all hermitcrabs? Where do the hermitcrabs molt their hard. un- expanding shells as they grow in size? Do they do so in burrows on land or in the ocean? How, with gills adapted for respiration in water, have they perfected respiration on land? How long do they live? Must they leave their borrowed mollusk shell kilt to defecate, or can they remove their body wastes otherwise? I have observed a loving pair beside a bunch of grass not too tenderly clawing at one another with legs and chelipeds, at the same time uttering their subdued chick, chick, chick, chick - chick, chick, chick, chick love song. How do they emit this sound without a voice or hear it without ears? Scores of similar questions remain to be answered, not all academic ones. Native spiders are rare in kinds. The wolf spider, which weaves no web, is everywhere, running about in the open on the ground in search of insects. It is very beneficial to the atoll, probably the most efficient insect killer, the second being the migratory plover. The female carries its flat egg case wherever it goes. This spider not only sucks the juices of its victim but comminutes, like its common relative the house spider of - h7 - Hawaii, their bodies to almost dust-like particles. A spider found more often in abandoned shacks and bushes is Latrodectus geomdtricus. It is mostly immobile in its sprawling web, and parks its spherical egg cases in a corner of it. Though related to the infamous black widow, no cases of bites from this arachnid are known from Canton, The number of native species of insects are few, as expected considering the difficulty for these small terrestrial creatures crossing extensive wastes of ocean to Canton and, when once there, finding suitable fare with such a limited flora, There is some injury to native plants by native insects, but in the main t aes is not serious. They have always been exposed to such depreda~_ tions, and survived. What is, however, very serious is the habit of amateur plant lovers introducing plants of their choice by — boat and plane from Fiji, Hawaii and elsewhere without fumigation . against insect pests. As a result Canton Island is a safe, enemy free Paradise for some foreign insects such as mealy bugs that harass native and introduced grasses, scale insects that weaken coconut palms about the hotel grounds, crater scale on the single remaining Plumeria, etc, This unnecessary introduction of insect pests not only adds one more hurdle for plants to surmount for survival, it likewise makes Canton a very dangerous stepping stone for the passage of injurious pests to and from all regions touched by planes using the atoll for refueling or otherwise. An up-to-date list of insects of Canton, collected by Van Zwaluwenburg, Degener and others, will be..found in Atoll Research Bulletin li2, by R. H. Van Zwaluwenbureg. Amphibians are entirely wanting. Of reptiles a gecko with its glue-tipped toes may climb slowly about the island shrubbery, driftwood and rocks at night for insects; and a graceful skink, differing in color from those in the Hawaiian Islands, may rush over the level sand and smooth rocks during the day for his fare. This last, if careless, may be snapped up for food by the migra-~ tory plover. A turtle may occasionally climb out of the sea to lay her eggs in the warm sand of the beach. No other reptiles occur. Of birds Bryan recorded the following from the Phoenix Islands: - "the frigate or man-o'-war; three species of boobies or gannets; the red-tailed tropic bird or bos'n bird; several species of terns, including the sooty, gray-backed, noddy, small noddy, white, and gray; three or more species of petrels and shearwaters, Several kinds of migratory birds are to be found in the winter, during their migrations} a few may be found at A other times. These include the curlew, Pacific golden plover, wandering tatler, turnstone, and a few others." The boobies and frigate birds take up a stretch of about eight miles of Canton for tneir rookeries, There are no native land birds on Canton, but about the British community the Gilbertese residents own interesting looking chickens, which never stray far, _- 8.- A few red-tailed tropic birds (Phaeton rubricauda) nest under thick tangles of sida bushes or in cavernous retreats under coral rock ledges. They make a frightening, metallic, machine like ‘noise when disturbed, These birds affect vegetation but little. Black, vulture-like frigate birds (Fregata minor palmerstoni), known in Hawaiian as iwa or "thief," are extremely common, nesting by the thousands in the seaevola pushes and very rarely on buncn- grass, After driving through stich a rookery, our windshield and car body were found to be finely bespattered with minute droplets of whitish excrement, that had rained down from the birds flying overhead, Occasionally a parasitic Hippoboscid louse fly, looking like a large flattened black housefly, is knocked off a frightened bird and flies to the car, mistaking its dark body for that of WES LOS . The nests are coarse, excrement soiled and cemented affairs constructed of twigs and driftwood. During rare downpours, this filthy binding material may dissolve away, allowing the eggs to fall to the ground. Nesting material is evidently rare and highly prized, giving rise to cases of theft, a bird in flight occasion- ally filching a loose piece from a carelessly guarded nest. The iwa will even stoop to murder and cannibalism, flying off with an egg or newly hatched young to eat on the wing. There is usually one egg to a nest, entirely white and a bit larger than that of a chicken. Both sexes take turns setting on the egg, and later sitting on or over the growing chick. This is not only necessary to incubate the egg and later keep the chick warm in cool weather, but also as protection from too intense sunshine. At that time the males are resplendent with blood red, semitrans- parent throat pouches blown to balloon size, extending forward to the beak and downward'to hide the breast. This color is supplied by es blood-filled capillaries in the tissue of the Pouca. Not fae from the rookeries of the iwa or frigate birds, which act like the harpies of Greek mythology in stealing food from the more industrious, are the rookeries of the stupid red-footed boobies or gannets (Sula sula rubripes). The name booby is from the Spanish word bobo, meaning "dunce™ or "idiot." At times the rookeries of the aggressive marauder and boob-victim overlap at the edges. The nests of the booby contain a single white egg or a fluffy fledgling apiece. . ¥ According to T. Truman Wright,” the frigate birds "escort the stupid, spoon billed Ganets out to feed on schools of squid and small fish, When the Ganets get craws full and set sail for home to feed their young, the cruel curve beaked Frigates dive screaming after them, seize them by the tails and sling ihe food out of the smaller birds! mouths, which the Frigates scoop up on the wing. This goes on from dawn to dusk, The war cries of the Frigates and the plaintive screams of fleeing Ganets “Wright, T. T., Canton Coral Capers, Trade Winds, Mimeographed publication by C.A.A., July 1951. quiver down the trade winds like the wailings of lost souls." It is commonly reported that frigate birds, lacking webbed feet, never land on the surface of the water because they cannot take off again. This is not true, I have seen a small flock of them playfully land, float and rise oy from the placid surface or the lagoon, The birds nesting in the scaevola are tame or, depending upon one's point of view, too innocent and stupid to fly from their nests when approached. The explanation for this habit is their nesting from time immemorial in areas where no predatory animals, two= or four-legged, have ever existed. Tame birds were not killed off but survived to reproduce their kind. Now, unfortunately, Pacific islanders employed as laborers, occasion- ally club the nesting birds at night, preparatory to a feast. Such vandalism and resulting pandemonium in the rookeries should be stopped by legislation in a condominium involving two great humane nations, The ancestors of these and other kinds of sea birds have inhabited Canton Island during the nesting seasons ever since its existence, catching fish, squid and other sea life for food for themselves and their fledglings. Their droppings have accumu- lated and, because of the climate, have only in part leached away = certain constituents disappearing faster than others. The remaining decomposed and more or less fossilized excrement is known as guano, rich in phosphates, ammonium oxalate and urate. Because of its commercial value as fertilizer, Canton, as we have learned before, first received attention from man, Canton, a Beautiful Oasis in a Desert of Ocean When the native flora, as in the case of Canton, is incapable of covering the land to protect it from blowing away and from making it decently habitable for man, proper exotics should be introduced to meet this lack. In 1950, as mentioned above, CAA therefore engaged the writer to begin to improve Canton floris- tically. Though a good beginning has been made, present residents snould not remain satisfied. The seeds of so many more desirable and beautiful plants suitable for Canton are waiting for them in the arid, saline regions of the tropics, They can import these to make their atoll an ever more beautiful oasis in a desert of ocean. They can show how bare islands through ..the tropics can be made decently livable for the ever-increasing hordes of man- kind seeking a place in the sun - a fascinating. challenge}. a Appendix A Excerot from a letter to the author from Mr. Myron H. Kerner, Meteorologist In Charge, U. S. Weather Bureau, Cantor. Island, dated Nov. 25, 195h.. The statements regarding the local heating effect are in serious variance with the accepted theories. If vertical currents are created by local heating of the atoll of Canton, the effect would increase the amount of cloudiness and result- nom Paint aia. New auyert Lt. AS air is Lifted, it is cooled adiabatically and if lifted far enough, will condense. Lifting may be caused when air is heated locally or when it climbs up the slope of terrain or up the slope of a more dense air mass or by converging air masses. Once started and with the initial force removed, it may or may not continue to rise, depending upon the vertical temperature distribution of the air mass. If the atoll afforded any of the lifting forces there should be a marked increase in cloudiness as a result but there appears to be no difference in cloudiness between that over the atoll and that over the ocean. In my 16 months of continous duty here, I have never observed any deviation in a cioud's course due to the island and there anpears to be no reason to believe that the island has any effect on the rain. Our precipitation is caused in three different ways. There are always some cumulus present; these are probably a result of local heating due to distant variation in the sea surface and converging air. Precipvitation from these clouds is infrequent, light and spotty. The greatest amount occurs when the inter-tropical convergence zone (the narrow band where the trade winds converge on the doldrum belt giving large scale up lift to the air resulting in thunderstorm activity and copious rain showers) lying to the south of us moves over us for a few hours to a few days, Then Canton may get several inches in a day. The third source of precipitation results from small scale equatorial low pressure systems that move slowly from the Gilberts. The occurrence of precipitation from either of these latter two reasons is very irregular, which accounts for Canton's being a place of great extremes in seasonal precipitation, However, there does appear to be a diurnal variation in precipitation, based on 26 months of record available Since the installation of our recording rain gage. This period is still too short to come to any quantitative conc- lusions, but during this time over one half of the precipi- tation fell between the hours of midnight and 8:00 a.m. Of course, the diurnal variation in ocean temperature results in a slightly greater instability at night and we should expect more cloudiness then. ae wont tarene. a hice oF i baste ‘sects fer iekatel “aii ec hnindie pte at ~telwoedd bothehos oct ‘ait ‘eQcne BO 36 ilogs ast io en aes saat £ sie bas Gi8 agenifiots Ae. "Yomi befoos et vi yee tal” Bk ib Ftit .senkimas £iIN donne eae es : adwld io ti ee i) ‘qitatoe 3 ‘2 Sat Taio ennab sion 2 ‘ae Reo, a. Aare o fag eae Lite era att SA nected? ew ‘p00 ,enenne who ‘4 a get aoe) nus my suerte * tort yen. aD. a es be eh gies bit "to ne rind oade Bind eTodatOy See e6 Btocds erred BSStok yenkese gs wee: | ey P"eeneges eed ter Ilyoey Bw a een tbo ie ie ‘Fidts anes? ere Lani fod SUA: eis abe HE HO Me, Yoah suketaue 8 be “esiioer ee: brs ene REO a piel gk rioerstt aah. yen te ig’ j cha wer Bae se 4 EON OE Gas CE eee Saas ee 2 ee aw SHetstteo ony we fy chit py aey oo hee SleReeir. BIB Hey Ft 10 BONE sire preakie ener} Mad AL MERFaIVeV FAIR: aiken fests hALte voys ment St F Ay Mo a Ty) 4h : : move Serod ee Tp Ayuda soy oF Gaol) 5 a4 amore pies eee ‘ pos SVOe , ¥ v Ri) pa ees. | ye nats AN ey , Uh tee y : Le = eee ea my ‘¢ vd SY OF oes!) te bi xi f ) or fied yore ) arene: Shy $1) gil ees ii) , wroteon a ne Coe ae ee res pareris Tt 48 ; a Eye EF | Rpidetier Lermaih Had eM et eta: BS aie oat ‘cau AS eriai carn boas es | eee rita CO ane Tee Pie bt Ea os tat ay qk 20n ame. bo Me ATO REE Rae ROE Mit PES PETE ey i dimeeh: rch an 2 a eke eee od fo remit) hr He me OS. ER 8 Bw eS by ‘bonmee Se byaen oie le ae Bei ORANG OMe 8 Lind eet ly (er: yao h pul. ped 1) < ppp age Ban gh 1 BRO ete MO pt ed tie? reo teed ee mat ty’: B08 i ey rth ete | ASS tay 1 bivths even ss eh) a ee sh Wa 9) eae vidio 1 Ligh ee, ie ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN No. 42 The insects and certain other arthropods of Canton Island by R. H. Van Zwaluwenburg Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National Academy of Sciences--National Research Council Washington, D,. C. August 15, 1955 a eee onod amicioa orihoad sem” I NL \ Fonwcd tonceanl Lanoikveleweoaneio®, to wsbiseh, ap OS Ai tc ae ; | | GROL it Fatih The Insects end Certain other Arthropods of Canton Island R. H. Ven Zwaluwenburg The basis of the present list of arthropods known to occur on Centon Island, in the Phoenix group, is the writer's »oaper "The Insects of Centon Island", which appezred in 1943 in the "Proceedings" of the Hawaiicn into- mological Society (vol.11: 300-312). Ninety-six species were listed in that veper. Since then, following increased air transnortation to end from Canton during the recent war, severel additions have been made to the fauna of the etoll. Besides including the new records, the eresent list corrects e few earlier errors of identification, omits some doubtful‘ records, and supplies synonymous names whenever these have been discovered. . CRUSTACEA ITsopoda Metaponorthrus pruinosus Erendt. Under heaxs of old coconuts. Undetermined sp. Found in similar locations with the preceding sowbug. Ampir Undetermined sp. Beneath stranded timbers on the lagoon beach. ARACHNIDA Scoroionoidea Isometrus maculatus Degeer. Occasionelly found in buildings. Lycosidee - Uridetermiried sp. In and about buildings. Sicariidae scytodes sp. Qonopidee Gemasomoroha minima Berland. Described from Canton Island in Bishop Museum, Occ. Papers, 17 (1): 5, 1942. Pholcidae Undetermined sp. A single sovecimen in a building, September, 1941. aie Theridiidae Latrodectus mectens (Fabricius). The black widow spider was first found on Canton in July, 1949. Argiopidiue Undeteiwtined so. The orb-webs of a spider are conspicuous about buildings. Acarina Gamasidae Laelanps sp. On the ground-nesting Polynesian rat. Dr. C. E. Pemberton studied this material and reports thut the Canton species more closely resembles Laelaps hawaiiensis Ewing, then L. echidninus (Berlese). Listrophoridee Listrophorides so. A hair mite on the Polynesian rat. Oribatidee Undetermined sp. In vegetable mould under Sesuvium plants. Ixoidea Argasidae Ornithodoros sp. The exuyium of en argasid tick was found on a shrub; no other material is available. . MYRIOPODA Chilopoda Mecistocephalus maxillaris (Gervais). In soil beneath old coconuts, and under sacking in outbuildings. The species is probably the same as that occurring in Hawaii. INSECTA Thysenura Lepismidee Undetermined sp. A single specimen among papers. Collembola Entomobryidae Undetermined sp. One or more species in moist soil beneath old coconuts. kee Orthovtere Cutilia soror (Brunner). Under bags on the beach, and in soil be- neeth fallen coccnuts. Perinlaneta emericene {L.). Common both indoors end out. Pyenoscelus surinemensis (L.). This cockroach was found under coconuts. Supella suvellectilium (Serville). A single specimen wes found in- doors, November, i94C. Bletta sp. Collected in the housing ares es Degner in April, 1951. Gryllidae Gryllodes sigilletus (Welker). Numerous in dvellings. Tettigoniidae | Aiolopus temulus (Fabricius). First noted on Centon by N.L.H. Krauss in September, 1950, and more recentiy reported to be numerous. One of the few grasshoppers which is ettrected to lights. ear e Note- The record of Conocephalus sealtator (Seussure) from Canton wes besed on a deed specimen taken to the island in glesswere from Honolulu; it should be deleted from the list. ISOPTERA Kelotermitidae Kalotermes immigrens Snyder. Dr. aA. HE. umerson considers Calotermes curvithorax Kelsey to. be. a etadtieoite this latter nene Wes. propesrd for termites first found on Canton in May, 1937. FMBIOPTERA Qligotomidae’ Oligotoma seundersii (Westwood). Not uncommon under dead birds, in soil beneath old coconuts and in debris of rats! nests. DERMAPTERA Labiduridae Anisolebis eteronoma Borelli. A single specimen was found among plants brought from Honolulu in June, 1941. The species »robably is not esteblished on Canton. he ODONATA Libellulidae Diplacodes bivunctata (Brauer). First noted in June, 1941. Pentala flevescens (Fabricius). First noted on Canton in Februery, 1941. Dragon fly pooletions on Canton presumably die out during adverse periods, but are continually being recolonized by adults flying in from other Pacific isiands. CORRODENTIA : Livooscelidae Undetermined sp. Taken in vegetsble mould under Sesuvium bushes. Peri socidee Ectopsocus perkinsi Benks. One specimen collected by N. L. H. Krauss: in September, 1950, was identified as this species by Dr. D. BE. Hardy. HOMOPTERA Cicadellida Orosius argentetus (Fvans). The symonym, Nesaloha cantonis Oman, wes described from material first collected on Centon in August, 1940. This leafhooper has a wide range in the Pacific. On Canton it-was numer-— ous on Boerhavia diffusa and is suspected of being a possible vector of a "yellows" disease of Boerhavia leaves. Anhididee Aphis gossypii Glover. Very common on Portulaca lutea and on the introduced Coccolobis uvifera; less common on Sida fellax end Scaevola. Coccidae Asterolecanium pustulauns (Cockerell). On Sida and on the intro- duced Thespesia posulnea. Probably an intorduction from Hawaii. Chrysomphelus sonidum (L.). On coconut foliage and on introduced Cellophylium. Coccus hesperidum L. On introduced milo and oleander; an acci- dental immigrant, probably from Hawaii. Pinnaspis strachuni (Cooley). This is the species previously listed from Canton as Hemichionespis minor (Meskell), a misidentifica- tion. On Canton it wes found on Tournefortia argentea. Pseudococcus polmerum (Ehrhorn). On coconut; this is the species listed as Ripersia valmerum in the 1943 list of Canton insects. ee weiliiiie -5— Pseudococeus Adie: . vola; this is the species which earlier was recorded es P. te eerie Aifareioni—Tossetti) . Saissetia hemisphaerica (Targioni-Tozzstti). A probable immigrant from Hawaii, on introduced plants such as Hibiscus tiliaceus end Caiotropis gigantea ("crown flower"). Undetermined sp. A mealybug was common on Side, on the stem at the base of the plant, and on the leaves, which were distorted as a result of the infestation. — ; FETEROPTERA Cynidee Geotomus pygmaeus (Dallas). At light. Epitome ee probably consocialis (Boisduval). Nymphs and adults of this tug were taken in the housing area on Canton by Otto Degener in April, 1951. It is probably consocialis which is a widespread species in the Pacific and occurs on Fanning and Christmes islands to the north- east of Centon. Nabidae Nabis capsiformis Germar. This predeceous bug is comuaon on low herbage; it was recorded earlier unaer the generic name Reduviolus. Miridae Campylomma near hawaiiensis Usinger. Collected in the housing area in April, 1951 by Otto Degener. ' Trigonotylus brevipes Jakowlef. A nearly cosmopolitan grass—inhab- iting bug. Two specimens were collected by Ven Zwaluwenburg in August, 1940. é Cyrtorhinus zweluwenburgi Usinger. Described from material swept from Boerhavia in 1940 ("Proceedings", Hawaiian Entomological Society, 12 (1): 148, 1944). Dr. Usinger suggests that this species which preys on leafhopper eggs, may, in the absence of: Delphacidae on Canton, be feeding on the eggs of the cicadellid, Orosius argentatus (Evans). Note- The undetermined mirid listed in the 1943 paper wes later identified by Dr. R. L. Usinger as Pycnoderes quadrimaculatus Guerin. The species hes not been seen on Canton since 1940, and there is good reason to believe it was brought there from Honolulu in a collecting bottle. Gerridae Helobates micans Eschscholtz. This-marine strider is often found stranded on the ocean beach at Canton. -6- COLEOPTERA Carabidae Tachys mucescens Blackburn. Two specimens at light in June, 1941. Identified by E. C. Zimmerman as this species, known previously only from Hawaii. Tachys sp. A single specimen in the hotel kitchen, March, 1941. Histeridae Carcinops quatuordecimstriata (Stephens). In bird droppings under rockeries. Pe ake foi Corynetidae Necrobia rufipes (Degeer). The "copra" or "ham" beetle. Elateridae Conoderus pallipes (Eschscholtz). First taken on Canton by Otto Degener, in May, 1951. Dermestidae Dermestes cadaverinus Fabricius. Adults in dead mollusk shells. Nitidjulidae Carpophilus hemipterus (L.). Coccinellidee Harmonia arcuata (Fabricius). Often numerous on Sida, the adults clustering on the undersides of the leaves. Also associated.with Aphis | gossypii on Sceevola; on Boerhavia the larvae have been pesceved to feed on droplets excreted by Orosius. Anthicus oceanicus Laferte. Under dead seabirds, Tenebrionidae Gonocephalum adpressiforme Kaszab. First taken on Centon in Janu- ary, 1951, by Dr. P. M. Corboy. Occurs also on Luzon in the Philippines, end on Oahu. Scarabaeidae Pleurophorus parvulus Chevrolat. A single specimen taken in July, 1941. es Sanrosites pygmaeus Harris. One specimen in seil under old coco- nuts, September, 1940. Anthribidae Araecerus Nieillardi (Montrouzier) . First taken on Canton by Otto Gegener, April "8; Psret Curculionidee Calandra oryzae (L.). In hotel kitchen. Dryotribus mimeticus Horn. Two specimens teken by N.L.H. Krauss in September, 1950. ’ LEPIDOPTER A Tineidae ‘Petrochroa dimorpha Busck. This tiny moth feeds in the dead trash about bunchgrass clumps, and is often exceedingly abundant. It oééurs’ on Wake Island also. Hyposmocomidae Aphthonetus sp. Teken at light; first noted in October, 1940. Pyralidae Hymenia recurvalis (Fabricius). Adults come to lights; the: larvae will probably be found to feed on Amaranthus on Canton. Arctiidae _Utetheisa_ pulchelloidesHampson. Breeds on Tournefortia, on the leaves of which the early stages of the larvae produce a "window pane" effect. Phalaenidae Achaea janata (L.). The larvae feed on Cordia subcordata. Amyna octo Guenee. The green caterpillars feed on Sida leaves. Heliothis armigera (Hubner). The notorious "corn ear" worm, or "tomato worm", Laphyema exempta (Walker). The larvae of this armyworm feed on bermuda grass, and on the bunch grasses, Digitaria pacifica and Lepturus repens. An egg—parasite, Telenomus nawai was introduced from Honoluiu in 1941, and promptly began breeding in Laphygma eggs; it is not known if it still survives on Canton. at Predenia litura (Fabricius). On Canton the larvae of this des- tructive species feed on Lepturus, Digitaria, Sida, tomato and sweet- potato. Undetermined sp. Irregular feeding holes are common on Scaevola leaves, made by a bright-green caterpillar probably belonging to this family of moths. The damage is conspicuous, but during my stay on the isiand caterpillars were rare. Apparently they feed by night and hide in the sand during the day. Attempts to rear caterpiliars to the adult stage were unsuccessful. Danaidae Danaida plexinpus (L.). Occasional tattered specimens of the monarch butterfiy were seen on Canton during 1940 and 1941, but the species was not breeding there at that time. Since then occasional fresh speci- mens have been taken which suggest that they are breeding locally, per- haps on the introduced crown-flower. Nymphalidae Hypolimmas bolina (L.). Well established in 1941 and breeding on Sida. DIPTERA Mycetaphilidas Undetermined sn. On soil under old coconuts. Tendipedidae Undetermined sp. On native vegetation. Sciaridae | Undetermined sp. On vegetation. Dolichopodidae Chrysosoma sp. Hydrophorus sp. Abundant on brackish pools. Syrpvhidae Ischiodon peniciliatus (Hull). This fly was misidentified as Ischiodon scutellsris (Fabricius) in the 1943 list. Loncheeidas Lamproloncheea aurea (Macquart).First taken on Canton by Krauss in September, 1950; identified by D. E. Hardy. Otitidae Pseudeuxesta prima Osten Sacken. Determined by D. FE. Hardy. A synonym is Euxesta semifasciata Malloch. This is probably the EBuxesta sp. of the 1943 list, on bits of organic matter along the beach. Scholastes bimaculatus:Hendel. Breeds in rotten meat of green coconuts. — , Tethinidee Tethina insularis Aldrich. Ephydridae | ‘Hecamede persimilis Hendel. Paralimna lineata de Meijere. Collected in November, 1940 by R. R. Danner; identified by Dr. W. W. Wirth. Scatella sp. On brackish ponds. Agromyzidae Ophiomyia scaevolae Frick. A leafminer in Scaevola frutescens; it is parasitized by a eulopnid, Pnigalio sp. The description of 0. scaevolae appeared in the "Proceedings" of the Hawaiian intomological Society, $52 209, 1953. Milichiidae Bearemeearis mandate Zettersted. Breeds in dead mollusks. Milichiella lacteipennis (Loew). Common, hovering over foliage. Chloropidae | 3 "eee pallide (Loew). In the 1943 list as Behdisvel aness Siphunculina signata Wollaston. Not common . Muscidae iW Atherigona exeisa trilineste Stein. Musca domestica L. Callivhoridae Pheenicia sericata (Meigen). Bred from dead rat; very common. Sarcophagidae Sarcophaga dux Thomson. Very common. ahos HYMENOPTERA Evaniidee Evania appendigaster (L.). This species was introduced to Canton from Honolulu in August, 1940, and soon became well established in the egg-cases of Perinlaneta americana. It apvarently continues to be pres-— ent, for Otto Degner collected a specimen in May, 1951. Eulophidae Pnigalio sp., probably external (Timberleke). This insect was bred from mines of the agromyzid leafminer in Scaevola, Ophiomyia scaevolae (called Notonisomorphomyia in the 1943 list). Note ~ In September, 1941, adults of Buplectrus plathpenae Ashmead, were brought to Canton from Honolulu to parasitize the larvae of Laphygma. There appears to be no evidence that this wesp became established. Scelionidae Telenomus newai_ Ashmead. This egg parasite of Laphyema exempta was introducea from Honolulu in August, 1941, and one month later was reared from eggs of the army worm moth. It is not known if it still survives on Canton. Formicidae Tetramorivm Guineense (Fabricius). Tetramorium simillimum (F. Smith). In soil beneath piles of coco-~ nuts, etc. Tanpinoma melsnocephalum (Fabricius). On Sida plants. Camponotus variegatus haweiiensis Forel. The first specimens of the carpenter ant to be known from Canton, were collected there in the housing area by Otto Degener in April, 1950. Paratrechina longiccornis (Latreille). The "crazy ant" was the dominant species on Canton in 1940-41. Paratrechina bourbonice hewaiiensis Forel.. Sphecidae Sceliphron caementarium Drury. ‘This mud-dauber wasp was first col- lected on Canton by N. L. H. Krauss in October, 1950. It was collected subsequently by Degener also. Vespidee Pachodynerus nasidens (Letreilie). First collected on Canton by J. P. Martin on December 30, 1946. It appears to be abundant there now. ie Megachilidae Undetermined sp. Found as early as November, 1941. A series was collected later by Degener. ome Numerical summary of Canton Island arthropods Tsopods 2 Insects Amphipods nk Dermeptera it Scorpions a. kmbioptera 1 Spiders 6 Dragon flies 2 Mites 3 Corrodentia 2 Ticks 4. Homoptera 10 Myriopods uM Heteroptera 7 Insects Coleoptera 15 Thysenura 1 Lepidoptera 12 Collembola 1 Diptera 22 Orthoptera 7 Hymenoptera 12 The above list gives a total of 108 arthropods, 93 of them insects, and 15 belonging to related orders. 6-3-54 ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN No. 43 The natural vegetation of Canton Island, an equatorial Pacific atoll by William H. Hatheway Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National Academy of Sciences=-National Research Council Washington, D. C. August 15, 1955 - | } | : ; AT oe Ay a ‘ t * P f 14 +] fy | ~ a} 7 4 i ’ : f : i ; q § : ” 4 ts , A, : 4 ’ ve ON . The natural vegetation of Canton Island, an equatorial Pacific atoll, William H, Hatheway INTRODUCTION Canton Island (Lat, 2° 50'S,, Long. 171° 38'W), a British-American condominium situated in the Phoenix Group, has gained in political and economic importance since 1939, largely because Pan-American Airways in | that year established a permanent refueling station there, building a ~ hotel on the south side of the island, In 1946 the United States Civil Aeronautics Administration set up a base on Canton, The island was occupied by United States military forces during the war vears 1942-1945, when extensive construction and grading work was done. Before 1939 the island was uninhabited, being visited only-infrequently by occasional guano diggers (Bryan 1942). At the request of Mr, Garrison Costar, of the Civil Aeronautics Administration,’ a floristic and vegetational survey of Canton Island was conducted by Dr. Otto Degener and the author from July 11 to July 19, 1950. The island was revisited by the author in February 1951 and by Dr. Degener in April and May 1951. As a result of these surveys, recommendations were made leading to the introduction of many species of ornamental and other wise useful plants. This paper is a report. or the structure, distribution and ecology of the natural vegetation of Canton Island.’ PHYSICAL BNVIRON2LENT Canton Island is a coral atoll approximately 21 miles in circumfe- rence (Fig, 1). The land surface is at no place wider than 3200 feet, and maximum elevation is about 20 feet above mean sea level. Local relief is slight, but a considerable proportion of the land surface is of sufficient- ly low elevation to be subject at high tide to the influence of a brackish water table. Such swales are occupied by a characteristic vegetation, as is discussed below, Along the ocean side of the northern portion of the island high dunes have formed, and the scanty vegetation of Triumfetta procumbens which occurs there has a distinctly xeric aspect, The soil of Canton Island is derived from fragments of coral rock and calcareous sand deposited by waves and wind on a reef flat. Its texture is mostly rather coarse. In all places investigated a dark. brewn layer, from 7 to 15 inches thick, underlies the upper inch of sand or coral rock, or occurs at the surface of the ground, -This dark layer,. which contains a aren proportion of guano, is ‘pelieved to be of considerable significance in the development of the présent vegetation of Canton Island. During most of the year Canton Island is hot and humid, although actual precipitation is scanty. ean annual rainfall is about 19 inches, 1/ The Rockefeller Foundation, Medellin, Colombia, =a only the months March through August receiving over one inch of precipi-~ tation, on the everage. Indeed, the months September through February constitute a well defined dry season, which attains its greatest intensity, on the average, in November, Extremely heavy precipitation has been reported in two years. In 1940, 70.60 inches of rainfall were recorded, while in the first eight months of 1941, 90.80 inches were reported. The records are to be interpreted with some caution, for there are indications that in at least one case data was incorrectly reported. It is undoubtedly true, however, that exceptionally heavy precipitation was received in those years, since Van Zwaluwenburg (1943) has shown by photogranvhs the. unusually luxuriant vegetation that develoved in 1941, and stated that pools of standing water were of sufficient duration to allow insects with aquatic larvae to complete their life-cycles. Additional evidence for the great variability in amnual rainfall on Canton can be derived from reliable records of only 8.46 inches total precipitation in 1947 and as much as 33.17 inches in 1948. It should also be emphasized that exceedingly heavy downpours often are followed by weeks of drought: thus the total precipi- tation of even a wet month may be received in two or three storms, Very little variation in temperature occurs throughout the year. Mean annual temperature is about 84°F, The maximum recorded temperature for the three year period 1947-1949 was 98°F ., the minimum 71°F. Relative humidity is constantly rather high, varying from a recorded minimum of 57 per cent to a maximum of 85 per cent. Average relative humidity at 1 p.m. is about 62 per cent. A very constant strong easterly wind is an outstanding feature of the Canton climate, and may affect the development of the natural vegetation. Planted ornamental trees and shrubs are commonly severely wind-clipped. Salt spray is undoubtedly a factor contributing to the stunting of the vegetation in some locations on Canton. FLORA The native flora of Canton Island is not rich, consisting of 14 species of vascular plants in as many genera. In addition, approximately 150 species have been introduced as ornamentals or adventive weeds. With only a few exceptions, the native flora is composed of wide-ranging Indo-Pacific strand plants, of which Scaevola frutescens may be cited as a typical example. The fruits or seeds of most of these species exhibit striking adaptations for floating. The native vascular flora is largely confined to those parts of Canton Island which have not been subject to grading or other cultural operations. A weedy flora best characterized by the troublesome but short-lived sandbur, Cenchrus echinatus, dominates the semi-natural vegetation in the vicinity of the Pan-American Hotel, the Airlines Terminal, and the CAA Housing Areas during the wetter months of the year, \itvis (a striking fact that this introduced flora has had very little tendency to invade the vegetation of those parts of the island which have not been subject to much human disturbance. Since this paper is concerned only. with oe rab: vegetation, no further reference to the weed flora will e made. ce NATURAL VEGETATION The natural vegetation of Vanton Island can be conveniently separated into three major types: communit:es dominated by trees, shrubs or herbs, All are relatively simple in com osition and can easily be delineated on a map (Fig. 1). The results of planimeter measurements of the areas domi-~ nated by the plant communities recognized on Canton Island are presented in Table I, TA3LE I Approximate areas included in the p_ant communities of Canton Island Vegetation Tyne Per cent of :Per cent of land :Approximate stotal land area:area covered by area in acres pain? : snative vegetation : Cordia forest : 0.29 ; 0.81 : 8.3 Messerschmidia forest : 1.05 ‘raf aga ia! : 30.0 Seaevola scrub : 6.17 : ee : 176.0 Suriana-Sesuvium flats: 88.58 : 23.80 : 2hh 9 Portulaca herbaceous : 19.96 : 55.37 : 569.6 community : : ~ Areas naturally bare : 23.37 : --- : 667.0 Disturbed areas e¢ “70,60: : --- ToL AGS Total F200 02 : 100.01 $e, (2g OSHS The Cordia Forest--Well developed stands of Cordia subcordata exist today only on the south side of the island, less than one mile from Musick Light (Fig, 1). There two groves of trees flourish, covering about 3500 and 2700 square feet respectively. Other small groves of Cordia occur scattered around the island, but in those the trees are mostly leafless and in some cases actually esat The two groves of vigorous trees consist of pure stands of Cordia averaging about 19 feet in height; the tallest tree observed was 24 feet tall. Both forests’ are in reality nearly impenetrable thickets. Since Cordia on Canton Island reproduces chiefly by ground layering, the numerous shoots arising from decumbent branches make walking through the grove in a straight line virtually impossible. On the basis of a sample plot of approximately 400 square feet, in which 23 upright stems between 2 and 9 inches in diameter were counted, basal area was approximately 272 square feet and density about 2450 stems per acre. Average height to the first branch was only 29 inches, greatest length of clear bole being 75 inches. Light reaching the ground level in Cordia forest is rather diffuse; intensities as measured with a Weston photographic light meter inside the grove were only 5 to 10 per cent of those obtained outside. The ground is littered with dead branches, fruits, and a few leaves. Reproduction from seed within the grove is practically non-existent, but many Cordia seedlings which had recently germinated were observed near the periphery of the groves, most of them severely wilted. A small pit dug in the soil ae es inside the larger grove revealed a very dark sandy loam extending from the ground surface to a depth of about seven inches. Underlying the dark horizon was a layer of coarse sand which graded into fragments of coral rock and sand at a depth of 10 to 21 inches, The dark surface layer is interpreted as being composed chiefly of a mixture of guano and sand with addition of humus derived from rotting leaves and wood. The Cordia groves are during the heat of the day a shelter for land hermit crabs (Ccenobita perlatus). Large numbers of crabs may be found under fallen logs and branches and even climbing in the trees; two hermit crabs were discovered perched in a tree 69 inches above the ground. The crabs seem to do little damage to the trees. In some cases, however, young shoots have been stripped of bark and this mischief possibiy may be attributed to the crabs. A much more serious enemy of Cordia is the moth Achaea janata (L.) Caterpillars were abundant in both groves in July 1950, and it was observed that many shoots had been completely defoliated by these insects; nearly every leaf showed some damage, About 8 months later the author observed that the smaller of the two groves had been completely defoliated. Because of the depredations of this insect, it appears unlikely that Cordia subcordata will extend its range on Canton Island in the absence of control measures. This is unfortunate, since this tree is perhaps the most desirable species now known for purposes of afforestation. It is relatively large, has attractive flowers and foliage, and appears to be well adapted to the physical environment of Canton Island. The Messerschmidia Forest-~Only one healthy, well developed stand of Wesserschmidia argentea exists on Canton Island. This grove is situated a few hundred yards west of the principal airstrip, on the north side of the island, Another grove consisting of dead or dying trees was found southeast of the "fighter airstrip," and many isolated trees grow scat- tered about the island. The healthy grove was studied in some detail. It was 158 feet long and from 35 to 51 feet wide; total area was about 7000 square feet, or 0.6 acre, The average height of the trees was about 15 feet, the largest tree in the grove being 19 feet tall. Like the Cordia forest, the Messerschmidia grove was in most places a tangle through which one proceed-= ed only with difficulty. The trees branched at an average of 18 inches above the ground, and reproduction within the grove was apparently entirely by root suckers. A sample plot of 675 square feet was set out inside the grove, within which 18 living upright stems between two and eight inches in diameter were counted. The calculated density was there= fore about 1160 stems and the basal area approximately 132 square feet per acre. Thus both in density of stems and basal area the figures for Messerschmidia forest were about one half those obtained in Cordia forest, The light intensity at ground level was correspondingly greater than in Cordia forest, being about 25 per cent of that outside the grove. Possibly because of the relatively high light intensity, a scattering of plants of Portulaca lutea, Boerhavia tetrandra, Setaria verticillata and Lepturus repens, all shade-intolerant plants, were established in the understory of the Messerschmidia grove. Soil profile studies revealed a aia pattern similar to that in the Cordia grove. A dark sandy loam, presumably derived chiefly from coral sand, guano and leaf and branch litter overlay a light-colored sand, which contained fragments of coral rock. Like the Cordia grove, the Messerschmidia forest is a favorite shelter during the warm daylight hours for large numbers of hermit crabs, No damage attributable to the crabs or to insects may be observed in the .grove, It is believed that the crabs forage chiefly by night, but feeding habits are imperfectly known, One crab was observed to devour a flower of. Portulaca lutea, however, and it is suspected that damage done to planted New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides) may be attributed to the crabs, The Scaevola Scrub--On Canton Island Scaevola frutescens becomes a shrub ten feet tall and in some places nearly 50 feet in diameter. Reproduction proceeds radially from the oldest and tallest plant in the center of a clump, so that what may appear to be a single enormous bush may actually consist of many individuals belonging to several generations. Scaevola occurred in extensive, nearly pure stands at the southeast corner of Canton Island; other species occurring occasionally in the Scaevola scrub are Messerschmidia argentea, Sida fallax, Boerhavia tetrandra and Portu- daca lutea. In order to determine ae Lied ele ata, of ere eee ene scrub, a sample plot of 625 square feet was laid out in a randomly selected area within the vegetation type. 12 Scaevola bushes were counted, the tallest eight feet high. This. is a density of one bush per 52 square feet. Along a 1000-foot line transect, 115 bushes were counted, or one bush per 8.7 feet. The surface horizon of the soil is a stony sandy loam,, containing considerable amounts of SHEN “An interesting feature of this tract of Scaevola scrub is the © enormous number of seabirds roosting and nesting in the shrubs. Frigate birds (Fregata minor palmerstoni) and réd-footed boobies (Sula sula © rubripes predominate. In July many adults, young and eggs of both oth species were observed, but by February the boobies had largely disappeared. To estimate the number of birds roosting in a single bush, counts were made on the night of July 16 in the Scaevola scrub in the southeast corner of the island. Five bushes, each about 10 feet tall and ranging in area from 300 to 2000 square feet each were studied. As many as 45 birds were count— ed in a single bush; the average population for the five bushes studied was 34 birds per bush, that is roughly one bird per 30 square feet of bush. It..appears not’ unlikely that the principal factor limiting the size of the Canton Island bird population is the absence of more such roosting and nesting sites. Indeed, at times the bushes are so crowded that frigate birds are forced to roost on the Sida fallax plants: these are spindly dwarf shrubs only about 10 to 12 inches high, and form a very insecure perch for a large bird. It is the opinion of the author that the large populations of roosting sea birds, which tend to congregate in relatively small areas, are of great significance in the development of the present natural vegetation of Canton Island. =6, The Suriana-Sesuvium Flats--Bordering extensive areas of tidal mudflats or covering small pockets of land influenced by the diurnal variation in the depth of the ground-water table is a plant comnunity dominated by Sesuvium portulacastrum and Suriana maritima. The former is a fleshy decumbent herb, which occurs in striking bright green mats about 20 to 50 square feet in size. It usually occupies the centers of swales, or occurs near the high=tide level of mudflats of the sheltered lagoon side of the island. Suriana is a woody shrub, commonly about four feet tall, with fleshy yellow-green leaves, It characteristically borders the Sesuviun mats on the gently sloping edges of mudflats and swales. Large numbers of frigate birds are commonly observed in bushes of Suriana a The Portulaca Pecbaseous Community--Portulaca lutea, together with Lepturus repens, Boerhavi ia “tetrandra and Sida faliax dominates by far the largest — area of natural “vegetation | on Canton Island, Portulaca lutea on Canton averages 6.5 inches in height and about 12 inches in lateral spread. It has a very fleshy taproot and main stem, up to one inch in diameter, and many branches radiating from the stem, each about 0.3 inches in diameter. Lepturus repens is a caespitose grass up to 19 inches in height (but averaging about 11.5 inches). It propagates itself at the periphery of clumps by ground-layering. The mats thus formed are occasionally quite extensive, the largest measured being 17.6 ‘feet long and 9.3 feet wide, but covering only about 100 square feet. Generally, however, the clumps cover only about 1.25 square feet, the average diameter of the clumps being about 15 inches. Boerhavia tetrandra is a trailing vine with a large fleshy taproot up to 1.5 inches in diameter. Sida fallax, a dwarf shrub seldom over 12 inches tall on Canton island, is a very common member of the community. The Portulaca herbaceous community was studiede quantitatively at two stations about nine miles apart. As is suggested by the data in Tables II and III, Portulaca is a consistent dominant in the community, while the frequency and cover degree of its associates are somewhat variable. In general it appears that the abundance of Sida and Boerhavia is corre— lated with a somewhat stony soil phase, while Le Lepturus is more prominent in areas of even-textured sand. TABLE II Frequency and Foliage Cover in the Portulaca Herbaceous Community. Data from five meter-square plots. Station I, about 10 miles by road from "Turning Basin." Species Frequency Foliage Cover (Per cent ) Portulaca lutea 100 42 Lepturus repens 60 3 Sida fallax 40 2 Boerhavia tetrandra 20 5 Total 52 —c | TABLE TEL eaiinehey and Foliage Cover in the Portulaca Herbaceous Community, Data from 10 square-meter plots. Station II, about 19.5 miles by road from "Turning Basin.) Species Frequenc Foliage Cover (Per cent Portulaca lutea 100 ee Sida fallax” °° | 100 18 Boerhavia tetrandra ny 100 15 Total | | ab OY, Beaches, Dunes and other naturally Bare Areas--About 23 per cent of the land surface of Canton Island has little or no natural vegetation cover. Such areas include beaches and other places subject to ocean wave action, ‘and high dune. Triumfetta procumbens, a creeping perennial vine occurs occasiorially on dunes on the north side of the island but its cover degree is very low. Ipomoea pes—caprae, which often is predominant in such situations in the Pacific is very rare on Canton Island. Only a single plant of this species was found in 1951, growing among rocks near forti- fications erected in the war. It may have been planted by a soldier. Lepturus repens, reported by Christophersen (1937) to be characteristic of beach crests and shifting dunes on other Pacific equatorial islands, was not found in these sites on Canton. DISCUSSION The most striking-features of the natural vegetation of Canton Island are the areal predominance of the Portulaca herbaceous community and the paucity of forest. This is perplexing in view of the fact that two native trees, Cordia subcordata and Messerschmidia argentea, are known in certain instances at least, to grow vigorously and to reproduce from seed. The forest communities thus formed tend to exclude the shade- intolerant herbaceous species of the Portulaca community. Moreover, the large shrub, Scaevola frutescens, is apparently invading the Portulaca herbaceous community about 9.5 miles by road from the "Turning Basin," on the north side of the island and possibly in other places. A relati- vely open stand of Scaevola might form a nurse crop favorable for the establishment of occasional seedlings of Cordia and Messerschmidia. Seedlings of Cordia soon wilt after ferminating in the open herbaceous communities. 1t is quite possible that existing groves of Cordia and Messerschmidia may be traced to the successful establishment of single seedlings which by vegetative propagation have come to occupy their present areas, Thus it would appear that in the absence of disturbing _ factors the development of the natural vegetation of Canton Island might trend toward greater areal extent of forest and scrub, at the expense of the hearbaceous communities. It is evident, however, that such development is in process in only a few localities. Indeed, in most places the trend appears to be taking a different direction. Patches of native forest and scrub which are oo situated more than one mile from human habitation are generally dead or dying. Extensive areas of Messerschmidia and Cordia forest about 10 miles by road from the "Turning Basin" are leafless and apparently dead. Counts of Scaevola bushes 16.5 miles from the "Turning Basin" revealed in a 1000- foot strip 35 vigorous plants, 40 dying plants and 40 dead ones. In a 625 square-foot plot, seven dead and five living bushes were counted. Since healthy groves of Cordia and Messerschmidia exist on Canton Island possible climatic deterioration is not sufficient to explain the dying condition of most stands. No evidence has been found that the healthy stands owe their vigor to any possible cultural operations carried on within them, Instead, there is much evidence that a causal connection exists between the dead or dying condition of native forest and scrub in areas not affectea by human activity and the enormous populations of fish- eating seabirds which roost and nest in the trees and shrubs. The sees favoring such an hypothesis are listed briefly below: 1. Patches of native forest and scrub heavily populated with frigate birds and boobies remo show high proportions of dying or dead trees and shrubs. 2. Patches of native forest and individual volunteer shrubs of Scaevola near human habitation and not visited by frigate birds and boobies are vigorous except when damaged by insects. Only Cordia exhibited noteworthy insect injury. 3. Soil profile studies in the Portulaca herbaceous community show beneath the surface inch of bleach sand a dark brown sandy loam to a depth of 15 inches, This dark layer is indistinguishable in the field from the guano soil at present developing under dying Messerschmidia, Cordia and Scaevola. The frigate birds and red-footed boobies at present visit only the forest and scrub, and other, smaller birds were observed only occa sionally in the Portulaca community. It is suggested, therefore, that those areas in the Portulaca community exhibiting guano soil profiles were once covered with forest or scrub supporting large populations of . roosting and nesting seabirds, at which time the guano was formed. The mechanism by which birds might damage or destroy the native forest and scrub is not clear, although it appears likely that highly concentrated bird droppings might be as damaging to the trees and shrubs as would be excessive doses of nitrate and phosphate fertilizer. Stewart (1933) reported that roosting blackbirds severely injured a plantation of White Pine (Pinus strobus L.), and demonstrated that the concentration of soluble nitrates in the area of dying trees was enormously greater |. than in the unaffected area, The present author has conducted no experi- ments on the nature and properties of Canton Island guano soils. It is. the experience of CAA personnel stationed on Canton, however, that ornamental plants potted in guano soil obtained from Canton Island foré¢sts grow much less vigorously than those potted in coral sand from the beach; these observations have been confirmed by the writer. -9- SUMMARY 1. Canton Island is a coral atoll situated at Lat. 2° S, Long. 171° W, in the Phoenix Group, Pacific Ocean. The total land area of the island is about 2,850 acres, 2. The climate is warm and humid, but rainfall is scanty and seasonal. 3. The native flora is scanty consisting chielfy of a few wide-ranging Indo-Pacific strand plants. 4. Natural vegetation consists of forests of Cordia subcordata and Messerschmidia argentea, scrub of Scaevola frutescens and Suriana maritima, and herbaceous communities dominated by Portulaca lutea. The last is much the most extensive type of natural vegetation on Canton Island. 5. Most native forest and scrub is in a dead or dying condition. It is suggested that the agents chiefly responsible for the death of native woody species are frigate birds, red-footed boobies and other fish-eating seabirds, which roost in enormous numbers in the forest and scrub. Observations are presented suggesting that certain areas presently covered by Portulaca and its associates formerly may have been dominated by forest or scrub. It is beliéved that in the absence of large populations of birds, native forest and scrub would tend to extend their present areas at the expense of herbaceous communities. LITERATURE CITED Bryan, E. H., Jr. American Polynesia and the Hawaiian Chain. 1-253, Honolulu, 1942. Christophersen, E. Vegetation of Pacific Equatorial Islands. Bishop Musem Bulletin 44: 1-79, pl. I-VII, 1927. Stewart, G. R. Forest plantations injured by roosting birds. Jour. Forestry 31: 421-423, 1933. Van Zwaluwenburg, R. H. The insects of Canton Island. Proc, Hawaiian Ent. Soc. 11(3): 300-312, 1943. 0 ee oe oe oe ee es ee ee Valuable manuscript criticisms have been received from 0, Degener, F, E, Egler, and F. R. Fosberg. The author is indebted to Mr, Edwin Gillaspy, Station Manager, Civil Aeronautics Administration, Canton Island, and Mr, William Cowdon, Pan-American Airways, Canton Island, for many courtesies extended during his visits to Canton Island. “ ‘ a : . -_ a 10° Ot i LANDING STRIPS 2000 7000" °° 2000" #000" SCALE: 1” =4667' FIGHTER STRIP LAT. 02°48 S \— LOWE. 171° 42° W DOCK AREA L TURNING \ BASIN LAGOON MUSICK LIGHT LAT. 02° 50'S Bowe I7!° 40° Ww ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN No. 4h. The hydrology of Ifalik Atoll, Western Caroline Islands by, Ted Arnow Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National Academy of: Sciences-~National Research Council Washington, D. C. August 15, 199) SntrodMetLon 6a: sw Swe a ea La Se leh tek ine ee Geographic Climate ° Tides eo &. 2 OS @ ee we ley Leh wu erelte setting e e ° e ® e e ° e ° e e e e e e e e e ° e e e ° e o e e s e e e e e e e e e e e e e 5 ® e e WEEE? BIDE 6. bale abe Boao te a eR eo ce a ie de os ca) Gel ete Rainwater «2 es 6 ee ee ee we we ew ee ee oo Ground water © OOF fey Oh Op ek Lee te iy Meee nee Carey ee) @), 8). OCCUFreENnce 's) eytenisleet apeshiankety pomeaduedhs) © 0% a6. fe Quality ee ye on ey ee) eee pe el fe ra tie te ler ier sense: celle Use of water « < © & e @ @ val @iNMBeuie 4) el a) ee ey 1 ol ett Selected references 66 6 Me we se) Ve ee) le 6 ae ee! 0) |) we) De ILLUSTRATIONS Figure l. Qe 3a he be 6. Te 10. Outline map of the Western Caroline Islands .. . Outline map of Ifalik Atoll, Western Caroline Islands, showing well locations . . . « « « « » Tide graph in lagoon at Ifalik Atoll, September 14-25, 1953... > a ear beaten ben Werte Hydrograph for well 6, Ifalik Atoll a. at Mah oh gam et cre Mean water levels in Feile. Falarik Island, Ifalik Atoll 5) 6 <6 6,6) ss Relation of damping of tidal fluctuations to distance of wells from shoreline, Falarik Ds lem | (63.)e “lentes. elie: |i alten) rene Relation of lag of tidal fluctuations in wells to distance of wells from shoreline, Palate’ Tetamay 5 eisai Vere ete ena el ie eae dey ee Relation of chloride content of ground water to distance from shoreline, Falarik Island, September’ 21. O53 iene) hei) ta) en itan al cork areioniea anions Relation of chloride content of ground water to distance from shoreline, Falarik Island, November | 2a) (35, Oa Bi Vie) wouliesitaycieis ie) eet Nereis iartite Relation of total hardness of ground water to distance from shoreline, Falarik Island, September 21, 1953 © V6 @ ae @€ © @ CC @ le fe je le TABLES Ragntall at. Tati Avorn ne sss wien) iad el) eule Atmospheric pressure at Ifalik Atoll, 1953... Relative humicity at Ifalik Atoll, 1953... Air temperature aby Tralale AGO) 1O53.) 5 aie. we Partial chemiccl analyses, in parts per million, of water from various sources in ITislik Atoll Chemical analyses of water samples; in narts per million, from Fan Ni Wa well line, Ifalik Atoll ee ¢ @ a Oring. «@ selec 10, 'g © 02 0) & ro =-4 99 mo mM FF 2a 2b 2c 8a 8b 12a 12b 12c 12d 11 13 THE HYDROLOGY OF IFALIK ATOLL, WESTERN CAROLINE TsLanps=/ By Ted Arnow 2/ INTRODUCTION The fieldwork for this report was done as a part of more extensive hydro- logic investigations carried on by the U. S. Geological Survey in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and was coordinated with the 1953 Scientific Investigation of Micronesia of the Pacific Science Board of the National Re- search Council, which was supported by funds granted by the Office of Naval Research by Contract N7onr-29104 (NR 388 001). Logistic support for the work was provided by the U. S. Navy, the U. S. Coast Guard, and the Trust Territory administration, Tide data were analyzed by the U. S. Coust and Geodetic Survey. The writer was on Ifalik from June 22 to 24, and September 12 to 26, 1953. The Ifalik project was essentially a group undertaking of several spe- cialists, each working in his own field but coordinating his activities with those of the others, The writer would like to express his gratitude to "Tom" Totogoeiti who supervised the digging of the observation wells, to Marston Bates who collected the bulk of the climatic data, and to D. P. Abbott who collected additional climatic and ground-water data after the writer left Ifalik. Geological studies and water-level determinations were made together with J. I. Tracey, Jr. Finally, appreciation is expressed to the people of Ifalik for their hospitality and assistance, ‘without which completion of the project would not have been possible. :' The primary purpose of this report is to present the data observed at Ifalik so that they may be available to other workers in the Pacific at an early date. A more comprehensive report of hydrologic conditions on Ifalik will be included in a later report which will cover all phases of the in- vestigations on Ifalik. GEOGRAPHIC SETTING Ifalik Atoll is in the Western Caroliné Islands, which are part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (fie. 1). Ifalik lies 360 nautical miles due south of Guam, 440 miles due west of Truk, and 400 miles southeast of Yap. Ifalik is a small circular atoll having a total land area of 0.569 square statute mile and a lagoon area of 0.939 square mile (Bryan, 1946). The la- goon has one deep-water entrance. There are four islands - Falarik, Falalap, Ella, and Elangalap. (See fig. -2). - Approximately 260 people live on Falarik and Falalap, but neither Ella nor Blangalap is regularly inhabited. 17 Publication authorized by the Director, U. S. Geological Survey. 2/ Geologist, U. S. Geological Survey, Austin, Texas. ALS CLIMATE The 1953 expedition to Ifalik obtained measurements of rainfall, atmospheric pressure, temperature, and relative humidity for a period of approximately 4 months. These data are shown in tables 1 to 4. The at- mospheric pressure as measured daily between O800 and 0900 hours ranged from 1004 to 1011 millibars (29.65 to 29.86 inches), 85 percent of the readings falling between 1007 and 1010 millibars. Relative humidity as measured between O800 and 0900 hours ranged from 77 to 100 percent and averaged 86 percent. Daily maximum and minimum temperatures were measured in the school building (see table 4) which is a thatched structure open on two sides. The extremes observed were 91 and 73 degrees Fahrenheit. The maximum daily range was 15 degrees, the minimum daily range was 5 degrees, and the average daily range during the 4-month period of observation was 11 de- grees. The rainfall measurements at Ifalik were made during the rainy sea- son (see table 1). At least a trace was recorded on 83 percent of the days of observation, and the rainfall exceeded 1 inch on 11 percent of the days of observation. Although a total of 54.25 inches of rainfell was measured in only 131 days, it is probable that the sverage annval rainfall at Ifalik is between 100 and 120 inches. This estimate is based on a cone sideration of annval-precipitation data for Guam (91 inches, length of record, 41 years, Yap (119 inches, length of record, 27 years), Truk (127 inches, length of record, 7 years), and Lamotrek (104 inches, but only a 4-year record). In general it can be stated that Ifalik has a tropical rainy climate with relatively small seasonal changes of the various climatic factors. The temperature and barometric pressure are monotonously uniform through- out the year and the most variable factors are wind and rainfall. TIDES Tide data were obtained for the period September 13 to 25, 1953, by © means of a Stevens type-F water-level recorder which was placed in the lagoon near Falarik Island (see fig. 2). Part of the actual tide record is shown in figure 3. The tide data were analyzed by the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, which computed the following elevations shown in feet: Mean higher high water ....e5. 0.95 Mean (high Water |celsei'siee eisierdin Oe bo Mean sea level C@oeeeseseen20e 0.00 Mean low water alalevalalehelnieleleielelec Olah) Mean lower Low water ecesceee le DD The primary benchmark established in Ifalik is an "X" chiseled ina limestone slab on Falarik Island. The slab is embedded in the ground 20 Lee FAIS FARAULER oSOROL paLaud WOLEAI < é oe ro) EAURIPIK @SONSORO »GAFERUT o ePIKELOT Figure |.— Outline map of the Western Caroline Islands. y 2 oe He ag iewae Pee oS) aay acting ie aa ELANGAL gers e % EXPE Tanna nAsirme Ocean rit —--=---~~~___--—— = Lagoona pecan coscspossaooecosones Sand be —————— Vegetatl Oi. Well. @24 Retting | O26 Pond. | e. Samplini Samplin, _ © ha ie) ell lined os f Maia Channel w f x ELANGALAP \ GpISLAND i EXPLANATION Oceon reef. Lagoonal reef. Sand beaches, Vegetation line on Island. Well. Retting pit. — ; : ' 1.0 MILE s 7 a ee " “ : ; \ >. ® 7 ‘ : out - Ls € ‘4 ~ 4 F > y 7 ~ Ld ie E: 4 i i } . = . Re / 4 > . SEO” ,”,lrl OU CU 33 FR 1 ei — a ee x ky m2. * ae 8 ke i Ia hy rE ay asin Ta ils i CE BGS, TRL CI TEED BIT Ti ee A = nme ne een ewe lw RE ae MR LSU seanmMRNAeR ne Ren am fr HILO R OOM eH AMA NP BSH Fd 90 RRL ARUN ICME Se "EG6I ‘G2-bI1 Jeqwajydas ‘Woy yI]D4] YO UOOHD) ul ydo16 joply -‘¢ asnbi4 €SG6l YAEW3Ald]AS GZ vz £z 22 1Z 02 6 gl LI 91 i vl OG I- 00 "1— CMW HH Uk AUIVCEMIL WL YY VE Py oc’! og - aaa OG’ + + Tie gabon rpc rpeew SICA aly ie en sae mnie ae NVA tae lr fa cy iy ' (aad rtare mE” Oe re i Le e Li atielanas inc! ik ee on cdl Bias) Table 1.--Rainfall at Ifalik Atoll, 1953, in inches Day July August September October November Tale @) (022 A A YG 2 0.00 0.18 2 054 rhs malts «55 2.03 3 34 1.90 @) ,O2* == 4 oie"). OBL 19 a2 1.358 1/ 5 220 wes @) mah eile 6 0 OQ95 me pe T ‘7 ) 205 ~02 0 .03 Sn ny 2.55 239 mele 005 9 7 3.20 QO pales: 10 .02 261 “U5 228 11 .02 ioe. 13 aa 12 »20 Brel -~ 8h. 1/ 13 225 225 1.978/ 053 14 .08 61 76 Oat 15 ) . 2350 91 »(0 16 2.98 - 1.06 Pay me) 17 . ©) oL5 «015 18 1.44 ) 2.70 92 19 22h 0 103 99 20 16 Oe 40 yeu an 16 033 09 035 22 30 a 12 © 23 0 R67 ) 32 2h 205 0 -— Ok 25 32 0 {of 4/ {52 26 0 Ke 50 fat =< 2T 205 425 T 13a 28 11 116 @) 7 29 ald 09 425 3.56 30 30 fe) 0 .02 31 .06 © O Ry! TOTAL 8.72 18.51 11.98 11.39 1/ 48-hour reading. Table 2.--Atmospheric pressure at Ifalik Atoll, 1953, in-millibars observed between 0800 and 0900 hours Day. July August September October 2 a 1008 1008 1010.5 2 a 1009 1008 LOLOGS 3 1009 1009 1008.5 1010 4 1009 1007.5 1008.5 1010 5 1010 1009 1009 1009 6 1010 1009 1010 1009.5 7 1010.5 1009 1010 1009 8 1011 1006.5 10038 1009 9 1010 1007.5 1008.5 "TOS 10 1009 1006 1C09 1010 cu 1010 1008 1008 mes 12 1010 1007 _ 1008 13 1010 1008 -- 1007 14 1009%s . * 1007, 1008.5 1005 15 1008 1007 1008.5 1006 16 1008 1008 - 1008.5 1007 17 1009 1009 1008.5 1007 18 1008 1009 1006 1007 19 1008 1009 1005.5 1007 20 1007.5 1009 1007 " 1008 21 1007 1008 1008.5 1009 22 1009 1007 1009 1008 23 1007.5 1006 1003 LOOT 2h 1008 : 1006.5 -- 1008 25 1008 1006 1008.5 * 1009 26 1008 1005 1009.5 eat 27 1006 1004 1009.5 * 10075 28 1007 1006 1009.5 O85 29 1007.5 1008 LOUO) | + ~* 1008 30 1007.5 1008 1010 1008 af 1007 1008.5 a 1008 oy Table 3.--Relative humidity at Ifalik Atoll, 1953, in percent observed between 0800 and 0900 hours Day July August September October a 84 88 87 89 2 88 90 85 96 a 92 100 85 78 . SE) 81 90 95 5 90 8h 78 92 6 84 85 85 8h 7 8h 86 uf 85 8 8h. 88 82 82 9 83 100 92 85 10 64 88 82 95 ey 92 98 81 we 12 85 83 “= 85 a3 81 91 a3 89 14 8h 85 85 82 15 100 90 100 78 16 95 83 83 78 17 100 81 89 80 18 89 85 96 82 19 92 8h 91 8&6 20 82 82 96 Bh. 21 89 88 91 82 22 89 89 82 82 23 85 85 80 -- 24 85 - 86 — ae 25 90 81 85 -- 26 19 82 87 “= 27 80 81 ie a 28 79 88 88 ve eo 85 93 81 == 30 100 85 85 nil 31 83 83 oe -- 1940490 xoequis.deg qsnsny : ATae eq SUTPTING TOOYOS 9Yy4 UT spel syUSWOANseoM TTV *yToyuoryeY, Sooridap UT s7USMIaIMsvew UMUTUTU pue UMUTXeW ES6T ‘TTOW ATTesI “puertsT yTaeTey ye eyep oanqerodmoq-aty--"y aTqeL =Gm feet west of the west end of the Fan Nap, which is the chief's clubhouse. The altitude of the "X" is 3.57 feet above mean sea level as determined from the tide data. Tide data were not obtained for the ocean. A comparison was made be- tween the tide data obtained in the lagoon and the predicted ocean tides as published by the Coast and Geodetic Survey for Woleai Atoll, which is about 45 miles from Ifalik, No direct corrélation was observed, other than that the observed tide in the lagoon preceded the predicted tide in the ocean 90 percent of the time. The averaged calculated precedence of the lagoon tides was 45 minutes and the maximum precedence was 1 hour 48 minutes. This order of sequence is a reversal of what would normally be expected, and at present no explanation can be offered other than possibly that the actual tides in the open ocean at Ifalik are considerably different from the pre- dicted tides, WATER SUPPLY Rainwater There is practically no artificial catchment of rainwater on Ifalik. Only two catchment systems were observed, each consisting of an oil drum receiving water from the trunk of a palm tree. One provided a household with water for cooking and the other supplied water to irrigate half a dozen puny tobacco plants which were being carefully nurtured to alleviate the island's tobacco shortage. Three sample of rainwater were obtained for analysis, one from the rain gage, the second from catchment on the roof of a canvas tent, and the third from a drum fed by catchment on a palm tree. The sample from the rain gage had a chloride content of 5 parts per million (ppm) and a hardness of 12 ppm. The sample from the tent, had a chloride content of 10 ppm and’a hard- ness of 10 ppm. The sample from the drum had a chloride content of 52 ppm and a total hardness of 36 ppm. The sample from the drum had a higher salt content than those from the gage and the tent because, in the course of rumniing through the crown.of the tree and down the trunk, the water presum- ably had greater opportunity to dissolve salt crystals blown in by the wind from the ocean, Ground Water Occurrence,.--The only source of fresh water on any island in Ifalik _ Atoll is the rain that falls directly on that island. Part of the rainfall evaporates or is transpired by plants, and the remainder, because of the high permeability of the island sediments, seeps directly into the ground. There is no significant surface runoff, The fresh water, which is only about 40/41 as heavy as salt water, floats on the surface of the salt water aie roughly in the shape of a dome, the edges of which coincide approximately with the edges of the island. The fresh water displaces a volume of salt water equal to its own weight and depresses the freshesalt-water interface below sea level under the island. Under ideal conditions in a homogeneous island, because of the 40/41 weight relationship of fresh to salt water, for every foot the water table is above sea level the interface is about 40 feet below sea level. Actually the shape of the fresh-water body varies, depending upon local geologic conditions and variations in rainfall, and the 40-to-l depth ratio is modified by a transition zone of variable thick- ness in which there is a mixture of fresh and salt water. This double- convex fresh-water body floating on sea water is known as the Ghyben- Herzberg lens, It is the only source of potable ground water in Ifalik and is tapped by means of shallow dug wells. Three lines of wells for ground-water observations were established on Falarik Island - the Fan Nap line, the Fan Ni Wa line, and the Maia Channel line, as shown in figure 2. Benchmarks for determination of alti- tudes of water levels at 15 of the wells were tied in with mean sea level as determined by the tide gage. The surveying was done with a telescopic alidade, but because of difficulty with the instrument some of the water- level determinations may be inaccurate by several tenths of a foot. Water- level measurements were made on Falarik Island only. Wells on the other islands were used only for sampling purposes. Continuous measurements of water levels by means of a Stevens type-F recorder were made at nine wells on Falarik Island. The length of obser- vation at each well was 1 day (figure 4 shows a representative day's record), and the mean water levels determined at each well by the day's observation are shown in figure 5. The value of the mean water levels is somewhat doubtful because records of water levels in the wells were ob- tained on separate days during the rainy season over a period of 11 days, during which more than 7 inches. of rain fell. The effect of rainfall on the water level in each well was variable and depended on the day during the ll-day period on which the well was measured. The mean water levels, therefore, are not completely comparable and also probably are not repre- sentative of the means that would be determined if measurements were made over a period of time long enough to average seasonal fluctuations. The configuration of the ground-water body as determined by the water-level measurements does not agree with the configuration suggested by chloride determinations, which are discussed in the next section of this report. The chloride data are believed to be more reliable. The mean water levels, however, do give an indication of the thickness of the Ghyben-Herzberg lens on Falarik. Even allowing for errors due to surveying and shortness of record, the lens on Ifalik undoubtedly attains a head of at least 1 foot and possibly 1-1/4 feet above mean sea level. The depth to salt water below mean sea level, therefore, probably is 40 feet or more. The area of maximum thickness in general is in the center of the island or on the lagoon side of the center and from there the thickness of the lens diminishes to zero at both shorelines. The 40-foot figure is a =Ga HEIGHT OF WATER IN FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL 1.60 1.50 1.40 1.30 1.20 “MEAN WATER LEVEL 1.10 1.00 -90 -80 10 => = SS ES 1200 1600 2000 0000 0400 08so0o HOURS Figure 4.- Hydrograph for well 6, Ifalik Atoll. OOo€! ood! ooll ooo! aulsjasOYys UD8IO aulsasOY$S UBDBIO BUIJAIOYS UDIIC "1]04W HIPOS] ‘puoOjs] yIsD;04 ‘sjjem ul Sj;oAe| 49,0M UDBW —‘G e4nbI4 13343 NI‘3YOHS NOO9V1 WOYS JONVLSIOG 006 008 002 009 oos OOb folo} 3 002 oo} {o) JNI1 VM IN NWS ee Saeed 0° 1SA357 VAS NVAW SAO8V LHOISH JTS Ye ts wet-season figure, and the depth undoubtedly decreases during normal dry seasons and during extended periods of drought. Native informants state that they have no recollection of a drought on Ifalik. It is assumed, . therefore, that the lenses on Falarik and Falalap have never shrunk to the point where food plants or well-water supply have been noticeably affected, The amownt of damping and lag of the tides as they move through Fala- rik Island is shown in figures 6 and 7 by a comparison of the tidal curve obtained in the lagoon and the tidal fluctuations of the water table ob- served in wells on Falarik, The data for each well were obtained by means of continuous observations over a period of 1 day. Both the damping and lag increase progressively from the lagoon shore toward the ocean shore. The full significance of this progressive change cannot be completely ex- plained because of the lack of tidal data from the ocean side of the island. if such data were integrated with the tidal data obtained in the lagoon, a Le ficant change might result in pee slope of the curves shown in figures 6 and 7. The Ghyben-Herzberg lens is incompletely developed on Ella Island and apparently not developed at all on Elangalap Island, These islands are discussed more fully in the section on Quality of water. Quality.--The extent of development of the Ghyben-Herzberg lens con- trols the quality of the ground water in the islands in Ifalik Atoll. The. Lens is well Gave none in Falarik and Falalap anaes The theee Lines of wells on Falarik Island were eemeied on September 723g SF ko and again during the period November 1 - 3, Partial chemical analyses were made for all samples and the results are shown in table 5. The relation of chloride content to distance from the shore is shown in figure 8 for the samples ootained on September ei, and in figure 9 for the samples obtained November 1 - 3. The chloride content of the water along the Fan Nap and Maia Channel lines is greatest near the ocean shore, de~ creases to a minimum about two-thirds of the way across the island, and rises again near the lagoon shore. These relationships suggest that the Ghyben-Herzberg lens has its thickest development about one-third of the way inland from the lagoon shore and from there thins toward both shores. The displacement of the point of maximum development of the lens from the center of the island toward the lagoon shore could be the result of high permeability in the rocks on the ocean side. The chloride content of the water along the Fan Ni Wa line of wells suggests that the maximum develop- ment of the lens along this line may be,nearer the ocean side of the island than it is along the other two lines. If this is so, it may be due to the presence along the ocean shore of well-cemented beach rock which acts as a relatively impermeable barrier which retards the mixing of fresh and salt water that results from tidal fluctuations. The beach rock is not exposed throughout, but according to J. I. Tracey, personal communication (1954) it probably extends along most of the northeast coast of Falarik. It termin- ates, however, before reaching the Fan Nap and Maia Channel well lines. aoe G° LL S°6L S°6L o7n1e.zodmay, EQp29 se ssoup.zey uMToOTeD (0) Ste Oc? O9T Ore OT2 Or? — O6T (elers OHE O2T OLT ORT OeT Otd O¢2 OT 022 Oct Oge OT2 0S2 O6T (0) Ste/ OOT OLT OLT OOT 062 fie Or? Egor se ssoup.zey Te10L (moury poy, Aq suotyeutM19eyap PTET) TOV MTTPSJI UT saommos snotzea wosry epT40TYO T °AON Te *ydeg T *AON Taz °*ydeg T “AON Te *3.dag T *AON “Tz *4dag € "AON Te *3dag T ‘AON Qt *ydesg T °AON Te °3des Tz *3das T *AON te: “odes Td. *3des T °AON Td: “4Ga¢ T *AON Te °3dag T *AOn Les “1Ge¢ € *AON Tez *ydeg T *AON Te *3de¢g Te *qdesg iE ° AO on "Op ice nes a TTEA sng 4Td o7ey, °Oop *Op ‘ - Son TTeaA Sng qtd o7ey, Tz *ydeg royouetp ut year OF “puod motTeys (€46T) 27eC PUSTST YTTeTey aomnos Ta}yen JO (J) eammyeredms, pue (mudd) saskTewe TeoTmayo TeT..1eg=-"S aT Quy, ‘ °ONn _ 9mnyereduey, jaa / rA0)S Zhe gel €ooe9 se ssoup.zey. “UMTOTeD pEnUTUO)D=-TTOLY MITeJI UT soomos snotzea wory TOLeM TO (Jo) amny,etzodus.. pue (udd) sesXTeue Teormoeyo Ret rggcane 2TISL 009 fF 0z6*E 0S2 og2 oes 060‘T OTd o€2 OOT St O92 O8e Ole . OZE O02. oco*e": OT OTT OST OLT . 00t O6E oT ag OT one 099 062 Coge9 se ssoupzey T8701 OT 92 cotst So: eee _eprz0TyO 4 °AON og °ydes q “AON Og °*ydes i * AON Og °4dag + * AON Og °3deg 02 °ydeg ‘€g °qdeg fe °4das €2 *4des Ce *4des Te *ydes Tz °3de¢g Te *ydeg € *AON Te °ydeg. Te. *ydes- €. *AoN Te *ydes Qe. *4des. gz °4das. QT *4des Te °ydag 2 TE" AON Te *4des (€S6T) ae TTeA Sng pueTs—. deTesuelty *op °Op TTan sng 72003 OSE fq OG *puod moTTeys PUeTSI STITH *op "Oop =e TTea snq 7205 GZ fq eT Spuod moTTeyS dureas saorsueyy durems oy, [Tar Snq -duwems O27, TTea Sng puetst dereTed eSe28 UTeI WOLT oTdwes utey 9023 wed worz otdues utey 4Uaq seaued wor oTdwes uTey 4td Sutyzer ynuos0p ~ TTA snq - ' g0amog Ge 6c Ge Le 9¢ * ON elil- The chloride content of the ground water throughout Falarik Island rose slightly between the two periods of sampling, but the only significant change was at well 18, where the chloride content rose from 68 to 1,160 ppm. This’ sharp rise indicates that the lens is thinner in the vicinity of well 18 than elsewhere along the three lines of wells. According to native informants, the northwest corner of Falarik Island was once separated from the remainder of the island by a narrow channel. The channel was filled during a typhoon early in the 20th century and is now marked by the Maia Channel line of wells. Well 16, however, is east of the filled channel which, north of well 17, curves toward the northwest (J. I. Tracey, personal communication). According to Tracey, well 18 is in bedded sands and gravels that are typical of bar or beach deposits. These deposits are very perme- able and permit free movement of water during the tidal cycle. The high permeability coupled with the fact that the shoreline is only 110 feet away | may well explain the poor development of the fresh-water lens in the vicinity or well 18, The relation of total hardness of the ground water to distance from the shoreline for the three lines of wells on Falarik in general follows the same pattern observed for the chloride data (fig. 10). Because of the acid environment created by decaying vegetation, sampling points 2 and 2h, a small taro pit and a coconut retting pit, yield water harder than that of nearby wells. In addition to the partial analyses discussed above, a set of water sam- ples from the Fan Ni Wa line was analyzed for all major dissolved constitu- ents (see table 6). The results in general agree with those discussed above. The only significant departure from what would generally be expected in the composition of ground water from a coralline atoll is the high silica con- tent, which in four of the six wells exceeded that of sea water, The source of the excess silica may possibly be a concentration of sponge spicules or large amounts of drift pumice, _ Analyses of water samples obtained on Falalap Island indicate that the Ghyben-Herzberg lens is as well developed there as it is on Falarik Island. Much of the central part of the island is a fresh-water swamp (see samples 20 and 22 in table 5), but closer to the coasts where boulder ramparts ex- ist the ground water becomes more saline as the lens becomes thinner (see sample 19 in table 5). The northwest coast of Falalap, however, is formed by finer grained sediments which are conducive to the formation of a well- developed Ghyben-Herzberg lens. Samples from wells 30 to 34, which are 125 to 180 ,feet from the coast, all showed less than 50 ppm of chloride. The fresh-water lens in Falalap Island is disrupted along the ocean shore by brackish or saline areas in which mangrove trees grow. A ground-water sam- ple obtained from one such mangrove swamp (see sample 23 in table 5) hada saline content approximately one-third that of sea water. Three wells were dug on Ella Island along a line where the island is approximately 700 feet wide (fig. 2). The two outer wells, numbers e7 and “1104 HID] ‘PUDIS] YI4D]D4 ‘auljasOYS WOs, S|JaM 4O DDUDISIP Of S]JOM UI SUOILONJON|} JOP} yo Hurdwop jo uolpojay —'9 esnbi4 13343 NI 3YOHS NOOSV1 WOYS JONVLSIOC 00€| 0021 ool 000! 006 008 002 009 00s 00v oo¢ 002 (Je) ) ( 30IL NOO9V1 OL GSYWIWOD NOILVNLINIA 39NVYESAV 4 ‘LN3S9Y3d NI T1OLY YIIDS] SpUDIS] YI4ID]Oy ‘eul] B1OYS WOs} S]]aM JO BDUDISIP OF SjjaM UI SUOI}ON{ON|} |OPIy $0 BHO] Jo uolpDjay —y a4nbi4 1334 NI‘3YOHS NOOSV1 WOYS JONVLSIG 00¢! 0021 ool! 0001 006 008 002 009 00s 00% 00¢ 002 001 0 e Bais ae Sem ie SYNOH NI “3GIL NOOSV1 GNIH3S 9V1 JOVYSAV ‘CGEI‘IZ saquiaydas ‘ory YI110}] ‘pUDIS| yl4D]D4 SasOYS WOI} BDUDJSIP Of 49}0m PUNOIB Jo ,Ua,UOD aplsiojYyo yo VOI,DJay —°g aunbi4 1354 NI ‘3YOHS NOO9SV1 WOYS JONVLSIG oo¢€E!l 00ZI ooll ooo! coke) OL 009 00G oOov oko} 002 ool Oo auljasOYs UDIIO (2) N3SLNOD 3GIYOTHD °o Te) e AL (oKo} °o NOIMTIW ¥3d SLYVd NI os JNI1 TANNVHO VIVW SG6I'S-| 4aquenon ‘}Josy HI]D¥] ‘PuD]S] yYI4D]D4 ‘ev0ys wWoay BIUDISIP Of 1ALDM punoib yo JuapUod aplsojYyo yo uol;DJ9aYy —~6G aINbIY 1334 NI‘SYOHS NOOSV1 WOYS JONVLSIG OOf! __ 002! ool 0001 006 008 Oo2 00 JNI1 dVN NVS = os aulsasOYys UDIIO auljasoys UDII0 e & JNI7 VM IN NV4 9 OOS OOv OO€ 002 oXe}i] O os LNSLNOD 30IYO1HO « NOITIIW ¥3d SLYVd NI "SG6I ‘12 4aqwajdas ‘Joly yITO}]| ‘puo]S] YIsDj[O4 ‘asOYyS WO4J} BDUDISIP Of 194DM PUNOIH Jo sseupiDY JO uolpojay —’O| aunbi4 1334 NI°SYOHS NOOSV1 WOYS JONVLSIG oes 00d! ool! ooo! OoOd 008 Go a ee | 002 ea ‘ies eane : : ac 00% = a?) oO 2 9uljasoys UDAIO Oo vn 002 2 a”) > a JNIT VM IN NVS ra) v or M aD fe) = - aUI/aJOYS UDIIO Ee (e) 2 002 BY ae rd r he ee 4 mt at eta rh aks a es ei Bertani ale Ahura Table 6,--Chemical analyses of water samples (ppm) fram Fan Ni Wa well line, Ifalik Atoll Analyses by U. S. Geological Survey, Quality of Water Branch Well number Well 7 Well 8 Well 9 Well 11 Well 12 Well 13 Date of collection 9/23/53 9/23/53 9/23/53 9/23/53 9/23/53 9/23/53 Dissolved solids ihe 271 232 ney 233 174 Specific conductance | (micromhos at 25°C) 748 467 290 272 a a Hardness (as CaC03) 331 eke 20h 134 172 132 (as caco3) Harti ilk 0. fe) 10 4 8 13 og Silica (Si0s). nee 15 8,8 | 13 i |) eae 3.6 Iron (Fe) 17 37 06 203 ‘ 07 03 Calcium (Ca) 103 Be 68 47 59 hy Magnesium (Me) 18 9.2 8.3 41 6.0 5.4 Sodium (Na) . 29 be7 528 369 15 12 Potassium (K) | 8.3 Ry : 3.0 4 ae One Carbonate (coz) ) o Dab sets fe) ome Bicarbonate (HC03) 408 298 237 15h ‘igh ) 163 Sulfate (so,) 5.8 3.5, : 4a 2.6 8.7 Tat Chloride (C1) 47 male 10 5 26 14 Fluoride (F) .e Be A | 05 Pa) 02 Nitrate (No3) } .6 DD sano tales 3 .6 Lie. 29, which are about 175 feet from the ocean and lagoon shores respectively, contain fresh water, whereas, oddly enough, the middle well, number 28, contains water averaging about 2,000 ppm ir. chloride. (See table 5) The higher salinity at well 28 may be due to tne presence of a section of un- derlying reef which has a more permeable matrix or a larger number of cracks than the sections of reef underlying wells 27 and 29. The greater tidal mixing would permit the developmeit of a thicker zone of mixture within the GhybeneHerzberg lens. Prestnably at well 28 the edges of the zone of mixture extend to the water table, The lens is practically undeveloped in the southwest end of Ella Island where the land, is only about 350 feet wide. There a shallow ground-water pond, with dimensions of about 50 by 350 feet, has salinity greater than half that of sea water (see sample 26 in table 5). langalap Island is divided into two roughly equal segments which are independent hydrologic units. The larger segment has maximum dimensions of about 75 by 150 feet and an area of 0.0004 square mile. It does not support a fresh-water lens, Two samples obtained from a well in the center of that land unit ranged in chloride content from 60 to 80 percent of that of sea water (see sample 25 in table 5). , The temperature of the ground water at Ifalik ranged from 76° to 81° Fahrenheit and averaged 79° Fahrenheit. 4 Use of Water Ground water is used by the people on Ifalik for drinking, cooking, and washing. Bathing is done in the lagoon or in wells, The ground water is obtained from shallow dug wells which, for the most part, are uncased and uncurbed. Several wells which are reserved for drinking and cooking purposes have wooden covers and curbs and are cased with limestone blocks. Practically no rainwater is caught or used directly. This is in contrast to the Marshall Islands, where the people prefer rainwater to well water for all purposes (Cox, 1951; Arnow, 1954). Ground water is equally important to the people of the atoll through its control of vegetation. The existence of extremely fresh ground water permits the growth of taro and breadfruit in widespread areas in Falarik and Falalap. Breadfruit will not grow successfully in certain parts of Falarik - notably in the filled Maia Channel and along a narrow strip of gravelly sand which parallels the lagoon shore and expands to cover about half of the southwest corner of the island. The ground water underlying these areas is fresh however, and the failure of the breadfruit is appar- ently due to a soil deficiency. The explanation offered by the people of Ifalik is that not enough “brown soil" is present. The coconut palm, the backbone of the Ifalikian way of life, grows successfully almost wherever planted on the three larger islands in Ifalik and is even found on tiny Elangalap. There is no fresh-water lens in Elangalap, but because of the heavy rainfall the palms evidently obtain sufficient fresh water directly from the zone of soil moisture, eS es SELECTED REFERENCES Arnow, Ted, 1954, The hydrology of the northern Marshall Islands: Atoll Research Bull. 30. Bryan, E. H., dr., 1946, A geographic summary of Micronesia and notes on the climate of Micronesia: U. S. Commercial Company Econ. Survey (unpublished). Burrows, E. G. and Spiro, M. E., 1953, An atoll culture: Human Relations Area Files. Cox, D. C., 1951, The hydrology of Arno Atoll, Marshall Islands: Atoll Research Bull. 8. U. S. Navy, 19:8, Handbook on the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; Navy Department, Washington, D. C. Wentworth, C. K., 1947, Factors in the behavior of ground water in a Ghyben-Herzberg system: Pacific Sci., v. 1, p. 172-1864. Sole ~ dace ip ih Os 4 4 %. ee ‘i he Ve ne AN MA e', heey « + ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN No. 45 A partial list of the plants of the Midway Islands by gohnson A, Neff and Philip A. DuMont Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National Academy of Sciences—-National Research Council Washington, D. C. August 15, 1955 haat is hens A partial list of the plants of the Midway Islands by Johnson A, Neff and Philip A. DuMont The Midway Islands, 1,300 statue miles northwesterly from Honolulu and only 56 miles southeast of Ocean Island, the end of the Leeward chain, are known to tens of thousands of Americans. Sand Island, the larger of the two, was an operating base for Pan-American Airways from 1935 to 1950. It has been an east—bound refueling stop for Armed Forces trasnport planes since the end of World War II. During one stage of the hostilities the 1,282 acres of the two islands held more than 15,000 fighting men, their equipment, housing, shops and warehouses. Sand Island, too, has long been an active U. 5S, Navy base. The Midway Islands were discovered in 1859 when Captain W. C. Brooks took possession of them from the U, S. Government. Being very near the exact center of the north Pacific they were termed the Midway Islands, or just Midway. Eastern Island, the older of the two geologically, covers 334 acres and is composed of broken coral, shells and coarse sand. Sand Island, 948 acres, is made up largely of white coral sand. Except for a survey in 1867 by personnel from the U.S.S. Lackawanna, only shipwrecked sailors saw these isiands until the Rothschild #xpedition visited them in 189i, Eastern Island has been somewhat vegetated for a much longer period than Sand Island. Photographs taken in 1891 be members of the Rothschild Expedition show fairly dense grass, some Boerhavia and extensive low Scaevola bushes on Eastern, but only a few Scaevola and a few Boerhavia vines on Sand Island. When the Commercial Pacific Cable Company came to Sand Island in 1902 the island was described as a level waste of glaring white sand with only a few bunches of grass, a few Boerhavia vines and’ one or two “small Scaevola bushes. In.1907 the company planted hundreds of ironwoods, Casuarina, and San Francisco grass, Ammophila, around their coumpound. Within a few years the trees were large enough to protect the northern end of the island from the winter storms and the Scaevola, Boerhavia and Ammophila began to spread. By the beginning of World War II some of the original ironwoods were 70 feet tall and natural re-seeding had spread them over most of Sand Island and even onto Eastern Island. ~ In the years that followed.the original plantings, other plants were introduced, largely close to the Cable Company buildings on the north end of the island. When Pan-American Airways set up their operating base on Sand Island in 1935, a number of plants, largely from Hawaii, were set out near their Gooneyville Lodge, According to Hadden, who was their unofficial gardener from 1936 to 1941, over 200 species of plants were tested on this island. Some of the ornamentals now growing about the residential area of the island were listed in his report of successful introductions, and many of the ornamentals planted about Gooneyville Lodge are still thriving. During the intervening years, new introductions have occurred as seeds were introduced in packing materials, and as flowers or shrubs were ns ih brought in by resident Navy personnel. We find no record of actual plant- ings on Eastern Island, but either through man or natural means a number of the plants found on Sand Island are now established on Eastern; in some instances their smaller size indicates their relative youthfulmess in this location, In the autumn of 1954 the authors were assigned by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to study bird problems on the Midway Islands, and were there from November 6 to December 5. linroute to the islands, while conferring with Mr. E, H. Bryan, Jr., of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, we learned that the Museum herbarium lacked specimens of many plants known to be growing on Midway. It seemed small repayment for Mr. Bryan's many courtesies that we attempt to add to the Museum's Midway heroarium. Our objective concerned the bird life of the islands, and plant collecting was entirely a side-line, Plants were picked up during the course of other work so a complete collection was not attempted. We did not search the residential area for flowering plants, nor did we collect specimens of a number of larger ornamentals such as banana, coconut and banyan. At the end of our stay we had transmitted to the Bishop Museum specimens of 48 species of plants. Duplicate specimens of 46 of these were placed in the herbarium of the Wildlife Research Laboratory in Denver. Plant identifications were made. by Marie C, Neal of the Museum. In suggesting a modernized revort on the plants of the Midway Islands Dr. Fosberg generously contributed his own notes covering observations _ made on Sand Island on February 13, 1954. He further abstracted information from two earlier lists of Midway plants (1931, 1935) and furnished a list of ee references on Midway plants. Neither we nor Dr. Fosberg saw any specimens of a considerable faabee of the plants listed by these earlier writers. Ecological conditions have changed greatly on the Midway Islands since 1940 when defense preparations were put into high gear there. Some of the earlier species may have passed from the picture, or may now be so restricted in their distribution that we did not encounter them. There has been little attention to gardening on Sand Island since Hadden left there in 1941. Soon after Pearl Harbor military activity on the two islands literally changed the face of the landscape. Bulldozers cleared off the brush and miles of hard-surfaced runways were built. Bulldozers also threw up hundreds of yards of sand revetments and cleared plane parking behind them. Literally hundreds of buildings were scattered all over both islands. Though many of the latter are now falling down, and though Scaevola bush has covered the top of most of the revetments, the mark of wartime activity on the plant ecology of these islands remains clearly visible. On Eastern Island, slightly more than 100 acres are in runways, buildings, and plane varking strips, to say nothing of the great area of revetments, On Sand Island, more than 200 acres are occupied by the run- ways, plane parkings, roads, tumbledown wartime buildings, and the resi- dential and administrative area of the active Naval base. Bulldozed areas of ironwoods, Scacevola and other plants that had spread from Cable Com— pany and Pan-American plantings, have in large part been replaced by ees apparent later introductions, many of them weed plants. In the following report of plants that have grown or are now grow- ing on Midway it has been necessary to make use of a series of symbols. C, & C. refers to plants reported by. Christophersen and,Caum in 1931. St. J. refers to plants listed by St. John in 1935. The symbol. FWS refers to observations made by the authors, and FWS-C to those species where specimens were collected by us. FRF refers to plants observed by Dr. Fosberg on February 13, 1954. Comments made are necessarily general, mostly based on our own observations and such notes and records as we made, Since it is necessary that in such a paper there be but one taxonomic standard, we have followed Dr. Fosberg's recommendations on such matters wherever questions arose. Without the generous assistance of Dr. Fosberg, Mr. BE, H. Bryan and Miss Marie Neal of the Bishop Museum, neither this paper nor the collection upon which it is largely based would have been prepared. . Psilotum nudum (L.) Griseb. Gees Araucaria excelsa R. Br. Norfolk Island pine. FWS. A few fine specimens are growing in the old Cable Company coumpound area and on the lawns of a few of the officers' quarters, Sand Island. Pandanus tectorius Park. Screwpine; Hala. FWS. Occasional specimens occur in the administrative and residential area,’ two of them at the Administration Building. One was seen in the Scaevola scrub near the south end of Sand Island. Ammophila arenaria (L. ) Link San Francisco prass C. & C. The planting of San Francisco grass as a soil binder by the Cable Company is reported in every description of the flora of Sand Island, Late in our stay the senior author had not found any grass that seemed to be this species, and spent a number of hours looking for new types; several were collected, but none turned out to be Ammophila. Cenchrus agrimonoides var. laysanensis F. Br. Ga mine Cenchrus echinatus L. Sand, bur. ' C. & C,; FRF; FWS-C. Locally common, found mostly along the edges of runways, roads and about the larger buildings on Sand and Eastern Islands. Chloris inflata Link ~~ FRE. FWS-C, Locally common in open spaces on Sand and Eastern Islands. ssi Cynodori dactylon (L.) Pers. Bermuda grass. FRF; FWS=-C. Abundant. The common lawn grass and spread over much of Sand Island. Locally common on DEERE island. Now the best Sand=binder growing on the islands. Digitaria ciliaris (Retz.) Kcel. Crab grass. FRF. Dr. Fosberg calls it rare in open sandy areas on Sand Island, Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn. Goose grass. FRF; FWS-C. Locally common, scattered about in open spaces on both Sand and Eastern Islands. Eragrostis amabilis (L.) W. & A. Love grass. FRE, KWS-C. Locally common in open spaces on Sand Island. Was not noted on Eastern Island. ragrostis variabilis (Gaud.) Steud. — see ee Gees ; FWS-C. Rare. Found in only two places on Sand Island, one of them a large patch near the terminal. Eragrostis whitneyi var. caumii Fosberg C, & C.; FWS Seer ray Fairly abundant on parts of Sand Island, locally common on Eastern Island. Found growing along edges of runways, and in cracks in runways and plane parking stands. Lepturus revens (Forst.) R. Br. ss Ge Cone Panicum purpurascens Raddi Para grass. FWS--C, Occasional; found in only two areas on Sand Island, under the ironwoods near the Cable Company compound. Rhynchelytrym roseum (Nees) Stapf and Hubb. Natal redtop. FWS-C, Rare, found in only two or three small areas on the older, undisturbed part of Sand Island. Setaria verticillata (L.) Beauv. rwS-C, Locally abundant in open spaces on both Sand oe Eastern Islands. “icus (L.) Kunth Sporobolus virgi st. os Stenotaphrum secuncatum (L.) 0. Ktze. Buffalo grass. FRE; Tws-C, Occasional, in open spots in the older vegetated section of Sand Island. Cyperus alternifolia L. Umbrella plant. FRF; fwWS-C. Two or three densely grown clumps were seen under old ironwoods near the Cable Company compound, a few small plantings about residences, on Sand Island only. Cyperus javanicus Houtt, ote ds Cyperus rotundus L. Nut grass. © FRF; FWS-C. Found locally abundant on both Sand and Eastern Islands, mostly along the margins of runways, along edges of paved roads, and near foundations of larger buildings where run-off of rainfall apparently controls its distribution. Fimbristylis cymosa R. Br. $ FWS-C. ~ Locally common in same general cane as the last, but more restricted in distribution, on both Sand and Eastern Islands, Cocos nucifera L. Coconut. say “FWS. Planted oniginanny = the Cable Company and later by Pan-American, the coconut palms seem to be doing well; on Sand Island only. Phoenix sp. : FWS. A number of palms of the Phoenix type are to be found on Sand Island among the Cable Company and Pan-American plantings, and on lawns of a few residences. Commelina diffusa Burm. f. Day flower. Ste ae Crinum sp. FRF; FWS. Occasional fine specimens of "spider lilies" may be seen on Sand Island on the lawns of residences and about admin- istrative buildings. Agave sp. Century plant. FWS. Occasional plants locally called sisal occur on Sand Island in the residential and administrative area. Musa sp. ; ie FWS. Some few banana plants were found on Sand Island in the older area near the Cable Company and Pan-American buildings, and an occasional one as an ornamental about a residence. They appear to be surviving but not thriving. Casuarina equisetifolia L. Ironwood. FRF; FWS-C. Abundant on both Sand and Eastern Islands. The original plantings appear to have reached maturity and some are dying. Spreading by natural means the ironwoods have scattered all over Sand Island and trees dully 30 feet high were seen on beach-= line dunes on the opposite end of the island from the original plant- ings. A few trees of similar height were found on Eastern Island: and small seedlings occur almcst all over this island. Within a few years it, too, will very likely be ironwood-—covered. Morus alba L. ? Mulberry. FRF. Reported by Hadden as growing here; we did not find it but Fosberg located one unhealthy-looking specimen growing in an opening in the scrub on Sand Island. iiss Ficus retusa L. Chinese banyan. FWS. A number of banyans of varying size appear to be doing well about the old Cable Company area and about Pan-American's deserted Gooneyville Lodge, on Sand Island. Coccoloba uvifera (L.) Jacq. Sea grape. FRF; I'WS-C.. Not uncommon, single trees growing widely scattered over both Sand and Eastern Islands. Achyranthes splendens.var. reflexa ‘Hid. Gi Beas Boerhavia diffusa var. tetrandra (Forst.) Heimerl C. & C.3; FRF; FWS-C. Common trailing vine found in much of the open or very slightly shaded sandy area of both Sand and Hastern Islands. Bougainvillea sp. Bougainvillea. FWS. A few very nice vines noted growingon residential porches on Sand Island. Portulaca lutea Sol. Ge ae G.. Portulaca oleracea L. | . Purslane. FWS-C; FRF. Locally abundant, widespread in open sandy areas on both Sand and Eastern Islands. Capparis sandwichiana DC. Ce GC. Lepidium o-waihiense C. & 5S, Cpe Gy Lepidiun virginicum I, ‘Popperserace. FWS-C, Rare, only two or three plants noted on each of the islands. Lobularia maritima (L.) Desv. Sweet alyssum.. FRE; FWS. Sweet alyssum grows in abundance over large portions of both Sand and Hastern Islands. Desmodium uncinatum (Jacq.) DC. 7 ae Medicago lupulina L, Nonesuch. FRF; FWS. Fosberg found it growing as an escapee from a lawn. We found a few specimens about the residential area, on Sand Island. Trifolium sp. Sia Js -J= Crotalaria incana L, Rattle-pod. FWS-C. Only ‘two or three plants were seen aa on each of the islands. Crotalaria mucronata Desv. Rattle-pod. | St. J. | , | Leucaena glauca (L.) Benth. 3 Tol race. FWS-C. The only plant seen was growing on the lawn of the _ Administration Building on Sut Island. Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd. ee ala, St. J.; FWS-C. Found as a planted ornamental in some places on Sand Island. One small wild spot has grown up near the enlisted men's residential ared. Albizzia lebbeck (L.) Benth, = — Woman's tongue. FWS-C. Found as an ornamental and in a few scattered small wild patches about the older part of Sand Island. Oxalis cornichlata Ta Sorrel, -C. Occasional, scattered about on both Sand and Eastern Islands. Tribulus cistoides L. C. & C.; FWS-C. Locally abundant trailing ground: cover on sandy areas on both Sand and Eastern Islands. urraya —— (L.) Jack Mock orange. FWS-C, Seen only as a planted hedge in the residential area on Sand Island. Euphorbia geniculata Ort. Spurge. St. Jd. Euphorbia heterophylla L. Wild poinsettia. FRF; FWS-C. Abundant on Sand Island, common as an understory among the thinner stands of ironwoods and as dense marginal growth about the edges of thick stands. Also present on Eastern Island. Euphorbia hirta L. Spurge. - na 5 J.3 FRF; FWS-C. Occasional or locally common. Most frequently seen in open sandy Lae al areas where the soil has been disturbed during recent years. Euphorbia prostrata Ait. Spurge. FWS-C. Seen only Ecce ee on Sand Island, growing along . the edge of paved runways. Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. Poinsettia. FWS-C, Found growing as an ornamental at one residence’ formerly occupied by Pan-American emplayees,, on Sand Island. on age Ricinus communis L, Castor=-oil bean. FRF; FWS. An occasional small plant was seen on Eastern Island. On Sand Island there are several fairly large patches, some of them” : far distant from the residential area. Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi Christmas berry. FRF; FWS-C. Noted only as a hedge plant on Sand Island. Hibiscus tiliaceus L. é Hau. FWS-C. Hau trees are to be found about the residential sector on Sand Island, and one or more near the old control tower on Eastern Island. Occasional specimens occur widely scattered about the Sand Island scrub. Hibiscus sv. 4 Hibiscus. FWS. Quite a few nice specimens of flowering hibiscus shrubs occur in the residential sector on Sand Island. Malvastrum coromandelianum (L.) Garcke ; ‘ an) tetas es ae FWS—G; FRF. Occasional plants may be found about the residential area on "Sand Island, and two or three are growing near the old control tower on Eastern. ' Sida fallax Walp. Ilima. ‘Ge & Ge Thespesia populnea Sol. ex Correa Milo. FWS. One milo tree was noted growing on the Lewri’ of the Administration building on Sand Island. Waltheria indica L. Ste Se Terminalia catappa L. Tropical almond; false kamani. FWS. Scattered trees may be found almost all over Sand Island, and a few nice specimens were seen on Eastern Island. Carissa grandiflora A. DC. - . Natal plun. FWS-C. Found growing Paty as a 2 NeBee plant in the residential area of Sand Island. Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don Periwinkle. '., FWS-C. Seen only as a flowering: ornamental near the old Pan— -- American Gooneyville Lodge on Sand Island. Thevetia peruviana (Pers. ) K. Schum. Bestill tree. FWS-C. Found only as an Pines. in the residential area. ae Sand Island. yale at Nerium oleander L. Orearett St. J.; FWS-C. Seen only as an Pre and A hedge plant in the residential area of Sand Island, lee : Ipomoea indica (Burm.f.) — . _ . Morning glory. eee C.; FWS--C. Growing profusely near one residence on Sand Island, Several plants growing near an old pbuilding in the revetment area on the south shore of the island. Ipomoea pes—caprae (L.) Sweet = Beach morning Emery C. & CG. FWS+C. Locally common, this plant is most often found in open sandy areas in the interior of both islands, or along the sandy upper beach-lines. Rsacieiantes ate argentea (L.f.) Foe Tree heliotrope. FRE; 3 FWS-C. Not uncommon, but widely scattered on both Sand and Eastern Islands. Often seen emerging above the Scaevola scrub. Lantana canara L, Lantana. FWS-C. Found only as a hedge and ornamental plant in the residential and administrative area of Sand Island. Stachytarpheta Jamaicensis CE) gabe False vervain. St. J. setuid Vitex trifolia var. bicolor supine ) Mold. FRF; FWS-C. Found only as an ornamental planting in the pecidcntial area on Sand Island. Phyllostegia variabilis Pitter C. & C. Solanum nigrum .. Nightshade. : St. ny FRF; FWS-C. Occasional, found mostly in utility areas about buildings. Solanum laysanense Bitter Ce & Gs Solanum nelsoni var. intermediun F, Bre C&C. Plantago lanceolata iJ ‘Plantain. “mowste! dig While this nee was reported 20 years ago, the senior author, thoroughly familiar with it at home, did not find it. Scaevola frutescens (Mi11;) Krause Naupaka. C. & C.; FRF; FWS-C. Abundant. The dominant vegetation of - both islands. It is gradually creeping to the tops of the old’ _ revetments, recapturing areas lost to military destruction. Where undisturbed, in vacant lot, and in waste land, Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronq. Horseweed. St. J.3; FRF; FWS-C. Locally abundant, mostly along the margins of runways and unpaved roadways; also noted in utility areas where the sand has been disturbed, in vacant, lots, and in waste land; on both Sand and Eastern ilandes -10— Gnaphalium purnureum L, Purple=cudweed. : FRF. Very rare, found in the shade of a building at the Air Terminal on Sand Island. Gnaphalium sandwicensis f. canum Sherff : FWS-C. Locally common along margins of runways and in old administrative areas on Eastern Island, and thinly but widely scattered in similar locations on Sand Island. Ehucnee Te ae widespread on Eastern Island than on Sand | Island, but abundant on both. This weed species has taken over many open areas where the soil was disturbed by construction work, such as along the margins of runways, and now forms an almost impenetrable barrier to heights of four to five feet. Bidens pilosa L. Spanish needle. . FRF. Dr. Fosberg found it common in weedy ground on Sand Island. Sonchus oleraceus L. Sow thistle. FRF; FWS-C, Rare; only an occasional plant was seen growing along utility toads and in service areas on both Sand and Eastern Islands. Xanthium saccharatum Wallr. Cocklebur St. J, We knew of St. John's report of cockleburs on Midway, but did not find the plant. Verbesina encelioides Gray FRF; FWS-C. Abundant on both islands, though more widespread on Eastern than on Sand. Forms a dense cover on many of the open areas in the interior of the islands, taking over areas that would be better vegetated if in grasses. Offers the only bit of color on the islands with its multitude of golden blossoms. The plants reported herein represent 35 families and 91 species. Of these, 24 species listed in the 1931 and 1935 papers were not seen by either Dr. Fosberg or the authors in 1954. Their present status is there-~ fore unknown. In addition to these, Hadden (1941) and Bryan (1942) listed a variety of plants that had grown on Midway, some of them by common name. We did not find the following group of plants listed by Hadden and Bryan: Kou Baobab Coprosma Flame tree Papaya Tamarix Brassaia Cypress Acalypha Dieffenbachia Sanseveria Panax Plumeria Ti Pinus, Oregon forms. Limes Dracaena Buttonbush Croton The Midway Islands of today are a different sight than that seen by the early explorers, or the first Cable Company employees of fifty years ago. There is little expanse of glaring white sand, As the plane approaches the islands, and as the newcomer catches his first glimpse of them, his first reaction is to note the geometric pattern of runways, and the second is to comment that these are green islands, not deserts. As the plane comes sa as closer the green of the uneven forest of Casuarina and the Scaevola scrub begins to outline the working facilities of the islands, and as the plane sinks down onto the runway it flashes, in early November, past bright golden Verbesina growing along thermway's edge and in the open spaces. We board the bus and drive into the shaded ironwood section that is the residential portion of Sand Island, where, as we listen to the ocean breeze through the ironwoods, we may easily forget that we have travelled to the islands Midway of the north Pacific and think ourselves back home again — until the bus driver slams on the brakes and we wait while a strolling gooney bird parades across the road. Whereupon we either smile or cuss a bit, and say "This is Midway." Literature cited Bryan, EB. H., Jr. American Polynesia and the Hawaiian Chain. 1-253, Honolulu, 1942. Christophersen, E. and Caum, &, L. Vascular plants of the Leeward Islands, Hawaii. . Bishop Museum Bulletin 81: 1-41, 1931. DuMont, P. A. Gooneybird studies on Midway. Elepaio 15(9): 52-55, 1955. Hadden, F. C. Midway Islands. The Hawaiian Planters' Record 45: 179-221, 1941. St. John, H. Additions to the flora of the Midway Islands. Bishop Museum Occasional Paper 11(14): 1-4, 1935. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Denver, Colorado and Washington, D. C. erga - ‘Bfovas wept sa 20 | Mare sire saooeds sogo ott th: hth Ry tig ee euebid tpano tds od ont 67 hallsvert a } eolwnt weerbie bits ‘eat a. ; PARR Tye. iis whaTosay “ot Ge ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN No. 46 Conspicuous features of organic reefs by J. I. Tracey, Jr., P. E. Cloud, Jr. and K. O. Emery Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National 4cademy of Sciences--National Research Council Washington, D. C. August 15, 1955 Le ae eee na ee re a Re Oe samba ltt Pha eae BORE, gL ens Conspicuous Features of Organic Reuter, by 2/ 3/ ( 2 J. I, Tracey, inp, E, Cloud, Jr., and K. O. Emery Introduction Cooperative studies of Pacific reefs, especially in the last 10 years, have brought together oceanographers, biologists, and geologists, each dependent on the work of others and each to some degree inconven- ienced by the diversity of names used to denote parts of reefs. The nomen— clature of even the conspicuous features of reefs has varied widely. Although the field is. much too active for stabilization in detail to be practicable, agreement is desirable for those features of reef and lagoon that appear to be generally present and therefore especially important. in reef studies. The following list is purely utilitarian and descriptive; it is not intended as a comprehensive terminology with established pri- ority of usage, The immediate stimulus to this paper was provided by D. P. Abbott, Marston Bates, F, M. Bayer, and R. R. Harry of the Pacific Science Board's 1953 Ifaluk Atoll team, who worked up a set of names and discussed them with Tracey at Ifaluk and Guam. Discussion of these and other terms by Tracey, Cloud, and Eméry at Manila in November 1953 led to the circulation of a provisional draft’ of the present paper to 17 colleagues for. review and criticism, The replies were «generally favorable and the .comments that were received on specific features and terms helped greatly | in pre- paring the final revision. ; 4 The following list, then, oeee forth hat we consider to be the most widely distinctive zones or features of reefs, illustrated by a hypothetical cross-section of an atoll (fig. 1). The zonation of barrier reefs (which are separated by a lagoon from preexisting land) and of fringing reefs (which border preexisting land) is close enough to that of atoll reefs so that most of the names are generally applicable. - Discussion An atoll consists of a ring-shaped organic reef that encloses a lagoon in which there is no preexisting land, and which is surrounded by the open sea. The primary ° distinctions’.to us drawn are between outer slope, reef,. island, lagoon, and: smaller reef structures vegeta the lagoon. 1/ Publication authorized by the Director, -U. S, Geological Survey. OF ean Geological Survey, Washameben: 253 Daas, 3/ U. S. Geological Survey, University of Southern, | California, Calif. ~2Q— Channels and passes between ocean and lagoon are also of primary importance, Most of the difficulty with names, especially for those who must rely on collections and data gathered by others, lies in boundaries between the principal zones. The following terms are suggested, with purposely broad definitions: l. 2. 4. Quter slope.--the steeply descending outer slope of the reef below the dwindle point of abundant living coral and coralline algae, which is ordinarily at about 10 fathoms. Reef front.—-the upper seaward face of the reef, extending above the dwindle point of abundant living coral and coralline algae to the reef edge. This zone commonly in- cludes a shelf, bench, or terrace that slopes to 8-15 fathoms, as well as the living, wave—breaking face of the reef, The terrace may be an eroded surface or may be veneered with organic growth. The living reef front above the terrace in some places is smooth and steep; in other places it is cut by grooves separated by ridges that together have been called groove and spur systems, forming comb—tooth patterns. If the terrace is broad and well defined it may be well to designate it a separate reef zone. Seaward reef margin.--the seaward edge of the reef flat, marked in places by an algal ridge and cut by surge | : channels, which are the landward extensions of the reef= front grooves. Reef flat.--the upper surface of the reef, commonly exposed or’ awash at lowest tide. The presence of islands on the flat modifies the ecology of the reef; therefore, an important distinction should be drawn between island reef flats, or flats seaward from islands, and inter- island reef flats or flats between islands. The reef flat is commonly divisible into outer and inner reef flats, or outer, central, and inner reef flats; but one "inner" or "outer" zone may not be the close ecologic equivalent of another "inner" or "outer" gone. On inter-island reefs, and on seaward reef flats adjoining islands, the outer zone is toward the ocean, the inner is toward lagoon or shore, In rare instances a broad reef flat on the lagoon shore of an island may be subdivided into an outer lagoon reef flat, near the lagoon reef edge, and an inner lagoon reef flat, near the island; but careful distinction should be made between its parts and those of reef flats that abut the open sea, If a reef flat is not present on the lagoon side of an island, its place may be taken by a lagoon shelf, on which detrital sediments predominate over organic growth. aa 5. Seaward beach.--the seaward-facing beach of reef islands, 6, Lagoon beach.==the lagoonward-facing beach of reef islands. 7. Lagoon reef margin.—-the lagoonward margin of the reef; unlike the seaward reef margin, it is not necessarily defined by growth. In some places, especially where islands are present, there may be no lagoon reef margin at all, If the lagoon reef margin is well defined, a lagoon reef front may be present and even a lagoon terrace, comparable to the seaward reef front and terrace. If the lagoon reef margin is poorly defined, a lagoon shelf may separate lagoon slope from reef flat or lagoon beach (fig. 2). 8. Lagoon slope.--the border zone of the lagoon that slopes downward from the lagoon reef margin or lagoon beach to the lagoon floor, 9. Lagoon floor.—-the undulating to nearly level floor of the lagoon, Minor organic prominences on lagoon floors or slopes, all broadly related, range from small mounds or tall narrow pinnacles to large masses, hundreds of feet in diameter. Some prefer to use a single term for all such features, for example, coral knoll, bioherm, or patch reef. The con- siderable physical and organic variety of these features is ecologically significant, however, and should be indicated in some way. In general it seems preferable to use informal names that will describe both the dominant organism and the physical appearance. Examples are: algal knoll; coral- algal mound; millepore patch; Acropora thicket, etc. Sy eae iri . nspeipee ean ead ‘ce palucieaet ‘els: oe nye - wy iD eat , is a) by 7 yet shed i seo mm ; 4 ' ores s% ‘See? ake te 4 af &t sen a "gle whee nk hogmathat trsstbon> wit fated: dw kites tea paecioeatr aLgnia ee ; é aide eth ‘ge dconest ; 1 be: wseuokid - , a) ed : : ia ) : ao ‘i viet RIS 4 CORRE) Meme na ; CaO tt r ean tt h L > ; hae : MV M ce Ay a I ' oy ay F : r b : y / } De } ; ; i 4 } \ fi al A q wt ft Hi ! it Ha y t : , nt i oe) ie) i Liha a 44. i i ; Yb Ryu es 4 Wtrannvan fon ot 3h sania aps DrwneD ‘ Lig aon 0 i asibing si ‘ay i he Oe ea aan Windward ISLAND REEF SEAWARD REEF MARGIN (Algal ridge and surge channels REEF FLAT where present) SETAE bert D Oe COCO cre care REEF FRONT (terraced locally) (Marked dwindling of abundant living coral and coraline algae, + 10 fathoms) i i * i : : i's ? 4 . i = eliaee * a ‘ Drekis @ is ; y iJ E . 4 ah 4 ig ‘ * E as i f i : u ae 4 eg = * ; 2 = z 437 } i i i} E ‘ia ‘ Windward LAGOON ISLAND REEF REEF SEAWARD REEF MARGIN LAGOON LAGOON (Algal ridge and surge channels REEF LAGOON REEF FLAT peer : MARGIN — (or lagoon shelf) REEF FLAT Where LEE) MARGIN ¥ at, aon = looms Intertidal zone Ss a{terraced locally) Sea (Marked dwindling of abundant living coral and coraline algae, + 10 fathoms) FIGURE |. CONSPICUOUS FEATURES OF AN ATOLL AND ITS PERIPHERAL REEF Hypothetical section, not to scale, shows principal features by capital lettering; other features, subdivisions, and explanatory notes are indicated by lower case letters. sii i ayy S Ms 589s ea ne a ats ee wl a my = << <—e a cs * = * Coles. CAN oe. a r = = one aoe MaAlA NV 1d NI N3AS JOVAYNS 4dgaY YdAddN JO SNOISIAIGENS NOWWOS “2 SHYNdI4 NOOSV 1 Sec reese see ceewevetesveeteeeesezerc st 3” ee 2 WaNNI — no” a Be ' ee LO NISUVW J33u GYVMVaS VIS $06.73 AARPUTS — No. 47 | August 31, 1955 ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN 47. Fishes of the Gilbert Islands by John E. Randall Pore = : VSN (/ : “™N CED Af 40ee \\ \Va CP dV 1955 ) ff Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council Washington, D. C., U.S.A. ATOLL RESEARCH BULL=TIN No. 47 Fishes of the Gilbert Islands by John E, Randall Issued by THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD ‘. ) National Academy of Sciences--National Research Council Washington, D. C. August 31, 1955 SEP 9.9 1055 ACKNOWLEDGMENT It is a pleasure to commend the far-sighted policy of the Office of Naval Research, with its emphasis on basic research, as a result of which a grant has made possible the continuation of the Coral Atoll Program of the Pacific Science Board. It is of interest to note, historically, that much of the fundamental information on atolls of. the Pacific was gathered by the U. S. Navy's South Pacific; Exploring Expedition, over one — hundred years ago, under the command of Captain Charles Wilkes, The continuing nature of such scientific interest by the Navy is shown by the support for the Pacific Science Board's research programs, CIMA, SIM, and ICCP, during the past seven years. The Coral Atoll Program is a part of SIM. The preparation and issuance of this Bulletin is assisted by funds from Contract N7onr-2915h. The sole responsibility for all statements made by authors of papers in the Atoll Research Bulletin rests with them, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Pacific Science Board or of the editors of the Bulletin. = ee ee oe ee oe om Oe ee oe oe ome = oe Porcporivae Stars F, R. Fosberg, editor M. H. Sachet, assistant editor Correspondence concerning the Atoll Research Bulletin should be addressed to the above c/o Pacific Science Board National Research Council 2101 Constitution Avenue, N. W. Washington) 25 0.) Ces Wee he FISHES OF THE GILBERT. ISLANDS” "by John E. Randall Department of Zoology and Entomology University of. Hawaii honetaia*té:.*'Ts ‘Hs CONS et, ee Submitted as a report for the Office of Naval Research Contract No. 695(00) Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted for any purpese of the United States Government. TABLE OF CONTONTS AGknowled ements ous new wiciee 6 ae ke © sie oneal INGCrOGUGEPONs da sieaaeen soa we a Lit at talaal Family OrectoOLobuGaey audi eae dwe 6 he pe wie euete TYLAKLEASS 4 sw stare aliehic cbs Gini Hie ome RS « CarcharnamiGacae eae cea awe Gs kw ecole a egiee MylLLobatxudaey a ade news aie ie ws wa e.e welt Mobulidae@us ccee eee wbeeee sd Siig, os ot Ge lanene CUUPSLGAC sie sain oe wie minis ns sels os a's ele iim DusSSumieridaeas & dem cies aahae «ele ose 60s Chaniadae..c ss seek eRe eee ee ae ie blow e ems DVTOA ONEIDA is «6a cceie a Wile We Mis © eiaus pecans MUPrASHLGae 5 & s diese tie 6 he euauereiieeiaiel © a 0 a 3 Ophichthidac....ccrcccrcccsvscsncsece Morineuldae sc. ea sie mesma sO @) os 6 6 816) 8 AUVOSEOMEGAC ss 4 cetera eee ee we als bie wee PIStuUlarvIdae sss caSeiers weld ease evela ae DYNENACTHICAG.s ss sce sees sews cveele ate las BELGMMAGS 6 ccc 6 68 Ble eee we ele ee ew ores HeMEroMpRIGAC s« s's\s «7 waa ose elses aelalele EXOCOGCELAGS. 20h sic cia cloves Bialeuem ale a wie ois) aye HOLOCENtridac.. sk Uecee Senge see ow simiie Mae Lidaes. 4 ss oes aime Sele Waele eaaiae 's AGH SPIMT GAGs s ss 6 ele Bek ee Oe eee wie SPAY TACALOAC. » «eee sitter aioe eee isle ele lee SEPPONIGAC. 's 5.05% = bie me Wate Siete S Wivtete-« wie lal PSCUGOCHLOMILAAG » 6c sicle ath wiele te ow aun Mel ee APOPONUGAG so 6's x a au a ave erate Sr aie eeuasiante) atistiele WURLDTASC sb seis wise s plaee eae anne stella Sl et vont PRLACAN TN TUGAC soso ele eleliw el ois Blade aateren aneians SOMBIE UGACS oes vba bg osu cele eie olialla ere llemelin eon leole HUSULODNOMIGCAG:s 4/6 lc'e\cc «oe eye eleiare erereeel wows COMOVET EAC aig sale wo 006 Sieve alisavaln Sla\\e lel eer fle CAPANEIAAGs 6 6 6 i630 see aio ei ae le eacieemae EU JAMUAS Ces aiis'e: od caieswsie enn e Wine te ere lueme LOLOenathidaes |. sls eis eecc we eae ees omie Ie DY SS e'g' ce) ei iwiie: foes ola wa oer aia ee lore ene POMBE TAA aiaieliavee ie! me's. 5 0'® Wle e's) oitoler eva alerene POMACENEUUOAS asin a aie 6 wo le Ore # a alalel elon MAU ACAMEA TA AG oi a'ae ole od eae ope a bale ne wh Mos dalle rey c eh eae Wee ae ay ne er ey MPM MaDeAaS rey et OCA LOAEC s, 44 Giasa me vetede: #16: jaa oaidiayal as diene ola ena ere MY ONOSIGAC ss simian y ses sie) e nen s w/e), eel aie GAASTOACIET Cae wi aim 5 ba sisi 6:18 wi iecaiw alm eae TOPANGA Ci Lace hic itDh-o: thi a8 Banh '0 as ot ws thm © docs ae CANCE UAC a5 5)'e Beier die 5 ae 6 a ale’. w we Orme alalele ROAGEC IOLA CS yisio a aide ee aly alae ieaiweeia a m eunie Teuthididac (Sigantdac)ss.iecescenc as CPAP WG EG Ag oo Gi a) aaa «nied & wien ® awa, ave ioe piel TABLE OF CONTENTS Page number PCO ICMMM IG: Se terediguaisrs vei afeenmerene vyateis “LO PTAs SO BAS raiser a tle shaiqves ais Siete ecaya.6ah AOD Dee OM BAIS meas eras & © St ernreidie Sime siercina..2O3 BOG MSR Melt ata ele ehh Rrale 4-4 ee cia cin chats (OU, BLOM POROE IAS fee a ds slarn el aiss noite seve OD: Tea Re Vn. niet Koja ayes. «46 cece MOO Oe) Bo. aisies mila ss, oem ceeds mente Somat a ae se EE ie EARN wm aces avalie aly mcera ache S80 COC 6 OITA gaia ia d apie HOS aible > tad Hes, 200 PARSE RGR SE ats din. 9s oi avgersiey es ecmaln ayers. #8 pp) ALOR DESMOIINee cries rtesttsaapastgessevs 200 FE Le eA etre 215 * Carapidae...... Sods eas. Se HR ERs oF tite BLO Heol ope IS ee « RS i. Gales Dethie a dew al. 27 th MiemAesyEEUesS. foe say. dale e MOUs Lae 1227 Oscrcerenseade, 856). ota. Si owe. Uo. wd eer ead Canthigasteridae......... ee a obra Riana 2 Meteaecoteidae. oo. gue. Jaaosecll. 1233 Snveraei daed. ove... csoeul. lamee ced. 0236 -Gilbertese fish namés..sss.ees vos cess) 238) Food habits (index to species : reg ere ache“ 241 (Het GRERECE. aS S89. Teeeee ess. psu BL2 iv ACKNOVLEDG=NTS The present systematic work constitutes the final report for a part of the research conducted under Contract 695(00) between the Office of Naval Research of the Navy Devartment and the University of Hawaii. It is based largely on a collection of fishes made -by the author while a member of an expedition ‘to the Gilbert Islands in 1951, the second in a series of five in connection vith the Coral Atoll Research Project of the Pacific Science Board of the National Research Council. The field work in the Gilberts was supported by Contract N7onr-29104 (NR 089 001) between the Office of Naval Research of the Navy Department and the National Academy of Sciences, : The study of the fishes has been undertaken at both the’ University of Hawaii and the United States National Museum. I am very gvateful for the guidance of Dr. William A. Gosline of the University of Hawaii who has supervised much of this work. Dr: Leonard,P. Schultz, the Curator)of Fishes of the United States National Museum, Dr. Ernest A. Lachner and’ others of the National Museum nave been. most cooperative. Dr. Schultz has made the extensive. collections of fishes of the northern Marshall Islands and the manuscrinots of his work and that of his collaborators on these fishes freely available to me... The. identifications of Gilbert Islands: parrot fishes (Scaridae) and frog fishes (Antennariidae), difficult taxonomic srouns, were made by Dr. Schultz who is monographing these families. The gobies and eleotrids from the Gilberts will be worked un by Dr. Lachner and the results incorporated with Bikini material for volume 2 of Fishes of ee the Marshall and Marianas Islands. Dr. Lachner kindly con- firmed my identifications of the goatfishes (family Mullidae) for this report. Dr. Harl 5. Herald identified the seven svecimens of pinefishes from Onoto2., The identifications and meristic data of the blennioid fishes (families Blenniidae and Tripterygiidae) were made by Dr. D. W. Strasburg. I wish to express thanks to the former director, A. B. Walkom and the ichthyologist, Gilbert P. Whitley of the Australian I‘useum for the loan of a collection of fishes made in the Gilbert Islands by Dr. 8. Catala, My associates in the field, Dr. Preston E, Cloud Jr., the leader of the expedition, Dr. Albert H. Banner, the senior marine zoologist, Dr. D., . Strasburg, Dr. W. H. Goodenough, 7 i and Dr. &. T. Moul were most helpful in innumerable ways. Special thanks are due Mr. Harold Coolidge, Miss Ernestine Akers, and Mrs. Lenore Smith of the Pacific Science Board who worked tirelessly organizing and equipping the expedition. Assistance was also provided by personnel of the Armed Forces. In the Gilbert Islands the Colony Lands Commissioner Mr, Richard Turpin and his wife at Onotoa and the British officials at Tarawa were exceedingly cooperative. INTRODUCTION The Gilbert Islands are a part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Crown Colony of Great Britain. They lie in the Pacific Ocean directly southeast of the Marshell Islands and straddle the equator from 3 degrees North Latitude to 3 degrees South Latitude. All are low islands and most are atolls. They are densely inhebited by Micronesian people who are greatly dependent on the sea for food. In 1951 e research team of six men was sent by the Pacific Science Board of the National Research Council to the Gilbert Islands, specifically Onotoa (1° 47'S., 175° 32' E.), where from June 24 to August 30 a general study of the geology, biology, ald anthropology of the atoll was made. The author was given the task of studying the fishes and native fishing methods. In view of the paucity of records of fishes from the Gilbert Islands, the necessary first step was the collection and identification of the fishes of the aree. The limited time in the field did not permit much investige- tion beyond this approach; therefore the present report is largely systematic. A preliminary report on the marine biology of Onotoa has been published (Banner and Randall, 1952). The section of fishes was devoted mainly to fishing - methods of the Gilbertese.* An approximate breakdown of the _ Mumber of species of fishes taken in each family was given, _ and the methods of collecting fishes were described. This constitutes the final report on the ichthyofauna of the Gilbert Islands. The majority of the specimens reported On are from Onotoa. A few were taken at Tarawa and Butaritari (Makin). Specimens of 98 species of fishes (excluding gobies and eleotrids) were collected in 1951 by R. Catala at Tarawa, Abemana (Hydrographic Office chart spelling, Apamama), Nukunau, -and Marakei (see Figure 1). ‘The Catala collection was loaned -by G. P. Whitley of the Australian Museum in order that it might be combined with the collections made by the author. *T wish to report an error which eppeared on page 43. The Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, through Mr. R. Davies, informed me that. the outrigger canoes on Onotoa are not built of Australian plank lumber but Canadian red wood which is imported both by way of Ocean Island and Terawa. Also it was felt that my statement on page 57 concerning the short time required by the Onotoan fisherman for his daily catch of fish should be qualified by adding "when tides, weather, etc. are suitable". JI concur ib this. vi Also included are all records of Gilbert Islands fishes from the literature which appear to be valid. Those with insufficient descriptive information which could be confused with closely related forms are excluded. In spite of my caution, some misidentifications probably occur among the literature records I have chosen to incorporate. A list of works in which Gilbert Islands. fishes are cited is given at the end of this revort. Only three of these contain more than a few records of fishes from the Gilberts: Gunther's Andrew Garrett's Fische der Sudsee (1873-1910), Fowler's Fishes of Oceania (19287) and Whitley. and Colefax' Fishes from Nauru, Gilbert Islands, Oceania (1938). Like Gunther, Fowler based his Gilbert tslands fisa records on the specimens collected by Garrett. He examined many of these at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard College. Although he duplicated many of Gunther's references to fishes from the Gilberts, some original records are to be credited to him. Gunther often generalized on the range of widely distributed species whereas Fowler listed most of the locali- ties by island groups. Both Gunther and Fowler often em- ployed the locality name Kingsmill Islands. This is prob- ably equivalent to the Gilbert Islands as a whole; however the name Kingsmills has also been applied to Tabiteuea and subordinate islands within the Gilberts. Therefore all’ locality records of Kingsmill Islands are cited as such. Whitley and Colefax added new records to those already known for Nauru and reviewed the literature for revorts of collec- tions of fishes from this island and Ocean Island. The most important vorior work was that of Waite (1903). Although - Nauru and Ocean lie about 370 and 220 miles, respectively, from the nearest of the Gilbert Islands prover, they are often treated as part of the Gilbert Islands, Therefore I am including herein the seeminsly authentic records from Whitley and Colefax, These should be regarded with even more suspi- cion than records from Fowler, however, for most are mere listings of the scientific names of fishes without any des- criptive data. Mr. Whitley has informed me by letter that the majority of the specimens of the Australian Museum upon which the Nauru-Ocean study was’ based are no longer in existence... fe. When specimens of a species reported in the literature were available to me, the previous records are not included, generally, unless there is a disparity in nomenclature to which I wish to call attention. No new snecies are described in this report. A total of 396 species of inshore marine and pelagic fishes are here recorded from the Gilbert Islands. An estimated 16 more in the familics, Gobiidae and Eleotridae will be reported on by E. A. Lachner in volume 2 of Fishes of the Marshall VLa and Marianas Islands. It should be emphasized that this is not even a near-definitive list of all the species which occur in the Gilberts, a fact which is readily apparent when the number of species in almost any family of fishes from the northern Marshall Islands treated by Schultz and collaborators (1953) is compared with the same family in this report. The fish fauna of the oceanic islands of the tropical Pa- cific is varticularly uniform (the Hawaiian Islands excepted) for so vast an area, It is therefore not surprising that the fishes of the Gilbert Islands are very similar to those of the Marshall Islands, especially since only about 170 miles separate the northern Gilberts from the southern Marshalls. The Similarity was evident from underwater observation by the writer in the southern Marshalls prior to and following the expedition to Onotoa. Subseauent study of the Gilberts col- lections and comparison with Marshall Islands material clearly demonstrated the high percentage of species of fishes common to both island groups. Disparity in the recorded faunas,‘ such as the greater number of species known from the Marshalls, is undoubtédly a result of differences in the intensity of col- lecting. Of the species from the Gilberts of which I have seen Be ron only 31 in the families treated by Schultz et al in volume 1 of Fishes of the Marshall and Marianas Islands are here listed from the Gilbert Islands and are un- recorded from the northern Marshalls. These are as follows: Harensula kunzei Anthias squamipinnis fats chanos Mirolabrichthys tuka Murencphis pardalis Avogon auritus . Cropteryeius micropterus Apogon doryssa Urooterygzius macrocéphalus © Pseudamia volystigma Hemivamphus 1 marginatus Gymnapogon philippinus Cypselurus suttoni Lutjanus vaigiensis Proznichthys albimaculatus Caesio caerulaureus iyrivristis™ adustus Gerres oblongus Musit ‘seheli Chaetodon bennetti Bpinephelus horridus Cheetodon vagabundus eee tees coeruleopunctatus Chaetodon meyeri Epinephelus flavocoeruleus deniochus acuminatus Cephalopholis hemistiktos | neniochus varius Cepnalopnolis Sonnerati- Acanthurus maculiceps Paracanthurus hepatus Nine of the above, H. kunzei, C. chanos, U. micropterus, M. adustus, M. tuka, G. philippinus, L. vaigiensis, C. vagabundus, and C. meyeri have been recorded by De. Strasburg from the soutnern Marshall Islands in a mimeographed report for the Office of Naval Research. Most of the rest will probably ultimately be taken from the Marshalls for they are known from other island groups in Oceania. Only Cevhalopholis hemistiktos, Anthias squamipinnis, Pseudamia polystigma, Acanthurus maculiceps, and Paracanthurus hevatus are here recorded from the Gilbert Islands and not elsewhere from oceanic islands of the Pacific. ee Nearly all of the Gilbert Islands eine: re 6 bh “ehe | present renort. aré also found in the Indo-Nalayan reg gions: This is contrary to Ekman (Zoogcog: raphy of the sea, 1953: 19) who states, "In 1905 Jordan & Seale listed 475 “spécies Of) £usn from Samoa of which 92 (or 19%) were new up scienéé, although they belonged. to Indo-Australian genera.' "The great number of endemic species among the Samoan fish fees which we have just mentioned suggests that the present faunisti¢ connections between Polynesia-“licrenesia’ and the Indo-Australian centre of distribution are rather weak." It-.is unfortunate’that Ekman chose the ‘work of Jordan and Seale upon which to draw conclu- sions concerning the zoogeography of marine fishes in the trop- ical Pacific, for many of the species described as new by these authors are no longer, valid (or are valid but have turned up in the Indo-Malayan region). 65 of their new svecies are, listed as synonyms by the authors of The Fishes of the Indo-Australian Sees (Weber, de Beaufort, Chapman, and Koumans) (I91I- ~ 1953), and by Schultz and collaborators (1953) and by Fowler (1928}. Species placed in synonymy by one of these authors (except Fowler) but recognized as good sveties by others are not included among the 65. Although some of these 65 synonyms may ultimately prove to be valid snecies, still oo not yet in synonymy will probably become synonyms. i Although there is no large number of species apparently endemic to Oceania in- general, a sufficient number exists to indicate that some are truly confined to’ the oceanic islands of the tropical Pacific. A few of these, apparent examples being Acanthurus achilles, Pomacentrus vaiuli, and Apogon snyderi, are abundant in the Pacific. Ail Such species need not be ‘regarded as trulv endemic in the sense that they arose in Oceania. “It is possible that some of them were once present in the Indo-Malayan. region but are surviving only in tier Paci tic, Endemic species of fishes with pelazic larvae would not be exoected, a priori, to arise in the waters of the islands of most of Oceania because of insufficient isolation. Of the major isiand groups in Oceania, only the Hawaiian Islands are well. isol ated, and. the high percentage of endemism in Hawaiian fishes. attests to the efficacy of such isolation, .. One’vossible means of increasing the number oF species of fishes peculiar to broad areas of Oceania makes use of Hawaiian endemism. If a species of fish of the western Pacific reached the Hawaiian Archipelago at such infrequent. intervals that it ‘was effectively isolated in Hawaii and evolved to a degree that it was no longer capable of interbreeding with the prozenitor stock, it might invade more southern and western areas from Hawaii an a niche were available. Avogon sny@eri and Avogon menesemus represent possible examples of this mode of evolution and distribution (sce discussion under’ A, snyderi). The enormous number of species of marine organisms yaa the Indo-Malayan region, along with a large number peculiar to this le 3 area, has led to its designation as the center of distribution of the Indo-Pacific fauna. It is generally accepted that most of the fishes of Oceania have been distributed out into the Pacific from the East Indies and Philipvines. Since these islands are not isolated from other islands or continents, the exnolanation of the evolution which has occurred in these waters would seém to demand some effective means of isolation within the area, The islands are numerous, volcanic, and many are -large. It is know that thev have been variously connected in the vast. It is not difficult to suppose that good-sized arms of the sea might have bcen isolated for long periods of time. Perhaps even the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans were sep-~ arated by land, resulting in a situation comparable to that at the isthmus of Panama (witness the geminate species of Jordan). The identifications of the fishes in this report and the original citations of the genera and snecies are based largely on volume 1 of Fishes of the Marshall and Marianas Islands (1953) by Schultz et al and the manuscripts to volume 2, This work supercedes Schultz' Fishes of the Phoenix and Samoan Islands (1943) as the most important and useful taxonomic treatise of the fishes of the oceanic islands of the tropical Pacific (except Hawaii). As pointed out by Schultz (1953: xix) the vast Indo-Pacific fauna cannot be interpreted on a local basis. More than most authors of faunal studies, Schultz et al have not restricted themselves to the mere tagging of species with the most convenient names at hand‘but have attempted ten- tative revisions of many of the genera, Complete revisions are, of course, beyond the scove of their study. In spite of the great improvement they have brought to the systematics of fishes in Oceania, many of the groups treated are in need of further revision, not from the faunal approach, however, but on a world-wide basis. Therefore some of the names in Fishes of the Marshall and Marianas Islands and hence of this report will eventually be changed, In my write-up, I have sought to provide sufficient diag- nostic information for each svecies to enable subsequent workers to resolve their identity with assurance, name changes notwith- standing. The imnortance of coloration as a factor in the recognition of fishes has been stressed by Schultz (op. cit: xix). A detailed color description alone will serve to dis- tinguish the majority of the species herein, even from closely related forms. I have therefore placed considerable emphasis on color. |The life colors of many of thé species are given from notes made when they were collected. The colors of still more are described from 35 mm Kodachrome transparencies taken by me in the Gilberts. Some of these descriptions represent the first records of the color in life of the species. Meristic data are tabulated for the following families: Exocoetidae, Cirrhitidae, Pomacentridae; Acanthuridae, Balistidae, Monacan- thidae, and Tetraodontidae, These tables appear at the end of the resvective family sections. The counts made for other x families are given for the individual species in ‘abbreviated style after the listing of the number of specimens examined and the island where collected,. ‘The number of specimens on which counts were made is indicated in narenthesis following: the counts. Too few species have been collected in the Gilbert Islands from most of the families, to warrant ‘the’ preparation - of keys. Keys are given oniy for the Apogonidae, Cirrhitidae, Pomacentridae, Acanthuridae, Balistidac, and Monacanthidae. Generally, the keys presented by Schultz et al work very well ome for the identification of Gilbert. Islands fishes. All. lengths of specimens are standard length. Gill raker' counts include all rudiments. When a single number is given, it represents the total count on the first oul hei . Counts of ESSE fin uaa include all elements. a In ‘addition to . descriptive data, there are often remarks on the relative abundance of the species, and the areas: cea the atolls whére they were collected and/or’ observed. are - usually given. .No: field data of any sort were ‘available - with the fishes collécted by Catala, however. It should. be jee noted that the relative abundance of many of the species,, varied jnarkedly ..from: ‘atoll to ‘atoll and -even:at what. acemed to be equivalent: localities within. the same atoll. Also the: listing of the area. where 4 particular species was collected or observed does not’ imply that this:area. represents the”. physical habitat of: the’ species, Sa pees such is epee oe often the. case. The areas ee, which species “ate Fishes were eaees were usually designated by the following: lagoon (with qualifica- tions), channel, outer reef flat, surge channel, coralliferous. terrace (outer reef bench).; or pelagic (open sea). ‘Figure 2 may assist the reader in visualizing these localities. The lageon is ‘the. body of water enclosed by the ring of coral reef and’ ‘4glands that comprise the atoll..: OQnotoa is lacking land area.on the lee or southwest side. of. the) etolls never= - theless the customary reef occurs here to more or: ‘less -com-= plete the ring. The lagoon side of this reef is designated lagoon ‘or west, reef (no collections were made fromthe ocean or western side of this reef). Much-of the Onotoa lagoon is shallow and sandy with only occasional isolated coral heads’ reaching near the surface.’ The greatest. depth is 8 fathoms. Channels connecting. the Tag6on and ‘the open':sea ‘are very shallow on the weather or ‘northeast ‘side of the atoll; they are usually exposed. -or nearly exposed: at low tide. Breaks. or vasses through the reef on the lee side are of greater depth, up to 2 fathoms or more. The term outer reef is ap= plied to reef areas outside of the lagoon. Extending out from shore on the weather side of the atoll there is “a reef flet which varies from about 600 to 2000 feet in width. It is entirely covered at high tide and exposed with numerous shallow tide pools at low tide. The outer edge of this reef Xi is dissected with highly tortuous surge channels of about 40 to 60 feet in length and sloping from about 4 feet in depth down to § or 10 feet at the reef front. Surf breaks heavily against the reef front and sweeps into the surge channels. The reef area between the surge channels is somewhat elevated and pink in color due to the encrusting growth of coralline red algae, largely Porolithon. Behind the surge channei area there is a distinct shallow depression in the reef flat, the so-called back ridge trough. Beyond the surge channel zone is the coralliferous terrace sloping from 8 or 10 feet down to about 50 feet in depth over a distance of about 200 feet or more. This bench ends suddenly with a cliff-like drop into deep water. The coralliferous terrace is very rich in coral growth, being dominated by low flattened stands of Acrovora. It possesses an abundant and highly varied fish fauna. Un- fortunately it was not adequately sampled. For a more de- tailed account of the geology and marine environments of Onotoa, see Cloud (1952), An analysis of the stomach contents of some of the fishes was made, especially when a surplus of specimens was available, The local Gilbertese names for fishes are recorded on pages 238 to 240. These were obtained by interviews with natives on Onotoa. It was found that many of the smaller species had no names. Collecting with rotenone resulted in the taking of many fishes which the natives had never seen and for which they obviously had no names. There was not al- ways complete agreement among the Gilbertese on Onotoa for their names of fishes, Also it is expected that considerable variation of local names will be found from atoll to atoll. The first series of specimens from the Onotoa fish col- lection is deposited in the United States National Museum in Washineton, D.C. The bulk of this series is cataloged under U.S.N.M. numbers 167177 to 167553. A second series is lo- cated at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu. The Catala col- lection was returned to the Australian Museum at Sydney. The typewritten field notes are on file at the Division of Fishes, United States National Museum. biiroosa phys aes . i ware brates: qe boniedd ae Geol a he semen ¢ S Mae es mit ee... ROsLmey Shonede: Hine satdoet ios De cunasdl ia tae dae Red Govite ots dete eee a or. MOG. yal age pirat oe Maes ela fede. vei ine "07, 2 SIGH rh ‘MOLL Od Lots POOR IRE: I D. Lig Poblenog.. 198 th Oe OE ORT. uti ieee eo) a eben ic) & oa ox Susic’t en. Lid shiiidl ca nod $c ie ig FY nesied) a eee acho 04 MOM Loli toh wadssd bodied! eh Oo. mite LY) ae | es Herken oe ee ide ‘i five fadng a . EE quad al eit gobas Sem A pe RT ee ANS ee me me ip “ote meet, ent a tucouon i Doves: _ vat borrow hall ole oe Wat TR LON. ay. aE sah mat Garde us oe Patents: 6 ate ® ‘ootety BM ets ad of YY Pa ay wo) pe ae Lonel eot ganna. s. IB], B rr B * ONOTOA ATOLL Adapted from a map by P. Ee) Cloud wor. Roman numerals I to X indicate location of fish poison stations ’ g c 5 A i] ¢ , a ) i ae v v4 ad Figure 2 Family ORECTOLOBIDAZL. Genus GINGLYMOSTOMA Ginglynostoma Muller and Henle 1837. Sitz-Ber. Ada. ‘Yiss. Berlin, p. 113. (Type species Squalus cirratus Bonnaterre). es Gi aglymostome ferrugineun Scyllium f “errugineun Lesson 1830. Voyage autour du monde... MCoguiiie”, wooly, vols 2, pb. E,/p.95.. (Type locality, Port Praslin, New Ireland and Offack Bay, “laigiu). l specimen. 877 mm (total length). Onotoa. Snout blunt, the distance from tip to mouth aperture 26 mm; interorbital space 90 mm: eye small, its greatest diameter 9 mm; spiracle 13 mm behind eye and slightly ventral to eye, its diameter about 2 mm; third gill opening | just above origin of pectoral fin; fourth and. f£irch etry’ Openings close together: length of first gill onening 21 «am, of last’ 22 mm: horizontal distance from snout to first gill Opening 122 mm; nasal opening with an elongate papilla, 15 mao in length; all fins pointed, posterior margins slightly concave; origin of first dorsal fin slightly in advance of origin of pelvic £iLnsS* origin of second dorsal fin about 15 tO. 20 nm in advance. of origin of anal fin; length of caudal fin from origin of lower lobe to outer tip of upper lobe 275mm; tip of caudal fin bilobed ventrally, the outer lobe about 8 iam wide, the inner about 17 mn; teeth small (one upper tooth measured £5 Aim |i height and POPs Melina width), the margin rounded, with 14 denticulations; center- fost denticulation about twice as broad as adjacent denticulations and projecting slightly more than others. ‘Color yellowish brown, shading to tan ventrally. The specimen was captured by a Gilbertese native who * grabbed it by the tail when he observed the shark with its head in a hole in the coral, apparently trying to feed on fish poisoned by rotenone. The poison station was run on the ‘lagoon side of the wést reef in about 5 feet of water. The shark seemed quite unaffected by the rotenone. This Specimen compares closely with the description given by Schultz (1953: &) for an 885 mm specimen of the species, The most notable difference is in the teeth. Schultz states that the teeth of his specimen had a central pointed cusp, notably projecting. In my specimen there is a broad central denticulation, but it projects only slightly more than the others. I was unable to locate the head of the 2260 mm specimen from Bikini in the U. S. National Museum for direct comparison. The 885 mm Bikini specimen is at the University of Washington and was not seen by ms. Family TRIAXIDAE Genus TRIAENODON yy ; + ° Triaenodon Muller and Henle 1837. Sitz.-Ber. Akad. ‘Jiss. berlin, p. 117. (Type species, Carchérias obesus Ruppell). Triaenodon obesus Carcharias obesus RUuppell 1635. Neue Wirbelth, Fische. p. 6h, ple 15, fig. 2. (Type Mocalitiy, Red Sea). No specimens of this blunt-nosed species were secured; however, it was often seen in both the outer reef areas and the lagoon. The tips of the dorsal fins and both lobes of the caudal fin were white and in sharp contrast to the dark eray color of the rest of the shark. Family CARCHARHINIDA Genus CARCHARHINUS Carcharhinus Blainvilile 1816.» Bului.. Soe. Philoms yo. giant (Type species, Squalus commersonii Blainville). Carcharhinus menisorrah Carcharias (Priodon) menisorrah Muller and Henle LS Sys. Beschreibung Plagiostomen, op. 46, pl. 17. (Type locality, Java, Australia, and Red Sea). 1 specimen (dorsal fin, caudal fin, and part of upper jaw only). estimated length 6 feet. Onotoa. The specimen was seen only after it was cut into pieces by Gilbertese fishermen. It was dark gray in color. The larrest upper teeth measure 9 mm at the base and 6.5 mm in vertical height from the gums; edge of these teeth serrated, the serrations becoming very smail at the tip; largest denticulations on basal third of anterior margin (this margin showing a slight angular indentation at this point); posterior margin of teeth indented about 2 mm at half-way mark, the two edges of this indentation being nearly straight length of upper lobe of caudal fin 450 mm; end of unper lobe of caudal fin with 2 small ventrally-directed lobes, the outer one pointed and measuring 11 mm at its base, the more anterior one 64 mm at the base, with outer margin concave; dorsal fin (probably the second dorsal) measures 144 mm at the bese and 145 mm in height: it has a long (about 70 mm) pointed postero-basal projecting portion; 23 round radial élements of the fin have been cut in cross-section, Carcharhinus melanopterus Carcharias melanopterus Quoy and Gaimard 1624. VYoyage autour du monde... "Uranie", ZOO, De Lon. pis bo, Piles. Ly 2 (Type locality, Waigiou Island). 1 specimen. 415 mm (total length). Onotoa. 1 specimen (fins only). Tarawa. Color in alcohol: upper two-thirds of body grayish brown, lower third light tan; a light tan band in lower part of eray-brown region from above pectoral fin to above origin of anal fin (this band only faintly visible); tips of all fins and margins of lobes of caudal fin jet black.) This was the most common reef shark at Onotoa. It was rarely troublesome. Genus WEGAPRION Negaprion Whitley 1940. Fish. Aust., vol. 1, p. 111, (Type Species, Aprionodon acutidens queenslandicus Whitley). Negaprion acutidens Carcharias acutidens RUppell 1835, Neue Yirbelth., Fisch, Py Gb.pet, 1S, £92, 3 (Type Locality, Red Sea). Aprionodon aaa Garman 1913. Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol 6) ponte. (Apdiane . Gilbert Islands). Bigelow and Schroeder (Fishes of the Western North Atlantic, pt. 1, 1948: 304) referred Carcharias acutidens Ruppell to the genus Negaprion. Family MYLIOBATIDAE Genus ALTOBATUS Aetobatus Blainville 1816. Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, vol. 8, p. 127. (Type species, Raia narinari Euphrasen). Actobutus sp. A white spotted eagle ray was observed to leap free..of: the water in the Onotoa lagoon. It may-have been -- A. narinesri, Shallow, roughly circular exeavgtions were found in Channel: areas separating islets at.Onotoa,.. The presence of pelecypod ' shell fragments sugeested that these excavations were dug by rays. A. Bee ‘Is well known for such a mode of feeding; however, Many other rays also feed in this manner. Genus PTRROMNLAEUS See Garman 1913. Hee ‘nus Comp. Zool. , vol. Bo, L37.. (lype species, Myliobatis asperrimus Jordan and eae? sone Ny ie Pteromylacus punctatus Sey. punctatus Maclay and Macleay 1886. PEOG oy) ld Mee Soc. We. S. Walea, , VOls, 10... DesO7 5g. Daw, FOahtaes. Blea (Type locality, Admiralty. and. Lub or Hermit Islands) (Reference copied from Fowler, 1928; Herre, 1942, gives the authors as Mikluho-Maklai and Macleay). pheromyiseus punctatus Herre 1942. Coneia,' no. 3, pe LIL. Nauru Family MOBULIDAE Genus MANTA Manta Bancroft 1828-29, Zool. Jour., vol. 4, p. 144. (Type Species, Cephalopterus manta Bancroft). Manta sp. A large manta:ray, at least ten. feet in total width was observed swimming slowly near the surface at the outer edge -of the coralliferous terrace-.at Onotoa.’:. It appeared to be entirely black on the dorsal-surface; however, it was viewed from the side and distinctive markings could have been missed Family CLUPEIDAE Genus CLUPEA ‘ Olupea Linnaeus 1758. Syst. nat., ed. 10, p. 522. (Type species, Clupea harengus Linnaeus).’: ae Po " Clupea ‘sirm pipes sirm Forskal np > ¢ Hescr : > animalium, -p. 17. (Type locality, Red Sea). Clupea sirm Gunther 1910. Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, vol. 16, TG: 185 | Be 383. , (Kingsmill Islands). Both Jordan and Seale (1906) and Fowler (1928) placed this species in genus Sardinella Cuvier and Valenciennes). Genus HARENGULA Harengula Cuvier and Valenciennes 1847. Hist. nat. poiss., “vol. 20,-p. 277. (Type species, Harengula latulus Cuvier Valenciennes | = Clupea macrophthelma 1 Ranzant Harengula kunzei Harengula kunzei- Bleeker 1856. Nat. Tijdschr. Ned.-Ind., Vole 2, Ba oOo. (Type locality, Ternate). 6 specimens. 61 - 94 mm. Tarawa . DR EL,U6 or. Laid P16 tox (evs PES ox 16; v 8: transverse scalé rows from gill opening bo base of caudal fin L2 Or i398 scutes in midventral line posterior to origin of ventral fins 13. (2 specimens). ae ‘, Color in alcohol silvery, brown on ee cits tips of jaws . blackish; e short black line mid-dorsally on snout. | “Depth of body 3; 8 in’ standard length; head 3.5 in standard length; eye 3.2 in head; adipose eyelid covering iris.” anteriorly and posteriorly. A sehool of this species was observed at the surface next to a dock in the lagoon at Tarawa. Large carnivorous fishes (probably barracuda or carangids) were preying upon it from below. Family DUSSUMIERIDAS Genus SPRATELLOIDES. Spratetloides Bleeker 1851. Nat. Tijdschr..Wed.-Ind.. vol. 2, Pe 214. (Type ' species, Clupea ae Bleeker). Spratelloides delicatulus Clupea delicatula Bennett 1831. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, —_—— Dos Lo;p.. 168... (Type locality, Mauritdus). 97 specimens. 7 = 24 mm. Abemama, ll specimens. 35 - 45 mm. Marakei. ees A 08) Pola 13; v 8&8. (4 specimens). The specimens are in very poor condition. No scale counts could be made. Family CHANIDAE Genus CHANOS Chanos Lacépéde 1803, Hist. nat. poiss. vol. 5, pp. xxix, 395. (Type species, Chanos arabicus Lacepéde). Chanos chanos Mugil chanos Forskal 1775. Deser. aninalium, pp. aiv, 7h, (Type locality, Djedda, Red Sea). 3 specimens. Pure Go fm. Onotoa. D 15; A 10; V 10; P 18; lateral line scales 83. (2 speci- mens). ae Color in life silvery. This species is well known to the Gilbertese who used to Capture the young and place them in brackish ponds, ulti- mately to harvest them as adults. Such a practice has only recently been discontinued. Family SYNODONTIDAE Genus SYNODUS Synodus Scopoli 1777. Introductio ad histor. natur...p. 449. (Type species, Esox synodus Linnaeus). Synodus variegatus Salmo variegatus Lacépede 1803. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 5, Dp. 157, pl. 3. fle. So. Nivype Locality, Mauritius). 3 specimens. 90 - 148 mm. Onotoa lagoon. De Debs It st Ur aig AS lateral line scales 61; scales: from lateral line to origin of dorsal fin 53. (2 specimens). Color in alcohol tan with about 9 vertical dark brown bars dorsally on body, the lower part of each being spot-like and centered on lateral line; all fins pale; 3 pairs of small black dots on upper surface of snout; a black dot at anterior base of anterior nostril. Palatine teeth in a single band. Teeth nearly completely covered by lips.-: A Genus SAURIDA Saurida Cuvier and Valenciennes 1849. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 22, p. 499. (Type species, Salmo tumbil Bloch). Sauride gracilis seu sia eracilis Quoy and Gaimard 1824. Voyage autour du : monde... Uranie’, Zool., p. 22h. (Type locality, Hawaiian i. ‘Islands and Mauritius) 9 specimens. 108 =~ 150 mm, Onotoa, DAs AO PoUhess Loteral Line eeales 52° scales trom lateral line to origin of dorsal fin 34. (3 specimens). Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency white, densely mottled with blackish brown, the most conspicuous markings being a series of nine blotches along the side of the body, each of which extends slightly above lateral line; a pair of smaller blackish blotches, one above the other, (or a Single small blotch) in the pale area between: each of: the larger blotches; caudal fin and posterior, half of dorsal fin with irregular vertical blackish markings; paired fins with dusky spots; anal fin pale; adipose fin with 4 single black- ish spot; dusky spots on chin; pupil of eye green. Teeth on palatine in’, two rows, the inner row much shorter than the outer; teeth in jaws extend teteret ty — are €xposed when mouth US (eLCsed All of the specimens but one were see MRE ga faible of the lagoon. Family MURAENIDAE The moray eels were abundant at Onotoa, and a good representation of all of the genera except Anarchias were taken. Apart from one instance of biting a fish impaled on @ spear, no moravys exhibited any overt viciousness such as is often attributed to them. The Gilbertese valued eels as food and captured them with traps, by spearing, and with hook and lire. An old method, not much used today, involves a noose wiich can be tightened on the end of a stick. This is placed over an eel‘s hole and drawn tightly around his body after he is lured out with bait. Genus ECHIDWA Echidna Forster 1777. Icones ineditae, p. 181.: (Type. species, Echidna variegata Forster). : . Echidna zebra Gymnothorax zebra Shaw 1797. Nat. Misc., vol. 9, pl. 322. 2 specimens. 550 and 600 mm. Onotoa. Color in alcohol dark brown with numerous pale yellowish lines encircling body more-or-less vertically (the 550 mm specimen has 55 such lines and several shorter lines | dorsally which do not encircle body); vertical lines agen one-third to one-fourth as narrow as intervening dark areas anterior part of head with short reeeeulan pale yellow Ainge and spots. The teeth are molariform, as in other species of Echidna. The two adult specimens were taken with rotenone from the lagoon side of the west reef. Bchidna polyzona Muraena polyzona Richardson 1844. Zool. voyage "Sulphur", ~™ Tehthyology, De Ave, a DO figs. 11-14. 1 specimen. 160 mm. Onotoa. Color in alcohol light reddish tan with 30 broad black vertical bars on the body which extend and become narrower on dorsal and anal fins; vertical black bars about 2 to 3 times broader than intervening pale areas; head with a broad vertical band which passes through eye on to chin; tip of snout and lower jaw dusky; nostrils pale. The specimen was collected from a coral-rich area of the outer reef in about 7 feet of water. Echidna nebulosa Muraena nebulosa A4hl 1789. Specimen ichthyologicum de Muraena et Ophichtho (Thunberg), p. 7, pl., right fig. (Type locality, Bast India). 1 specimen. 220 mm, Tarawa. Color in alcohol light brown with 24 round black circles in a row on side of body, each with arboreal-like projec- tions radiating from outer margin; a second row of similar blotches dorsal to the first, each of which is usually in line with a blotch of the row below; blotches of dorsal row extend into dorsal fin; a third row of blotches anterior to anus and ventral to mid- lateral row (these' blotches’ are solid black and less dendritic); between the major black blotches on the body are tiny short irregular lines and Spots, many of which are stellate or dendritic. Echidna leucotaenia Echidna leucotaenia Schultz 1943. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. 180, p. 22, pl. 3. (Type locality, Phoenix and Samoa Islands). 2 specimens. 280 and 420 mm. Onotoa. Color in alcohol brown; fins dark brown with broad whitish margins (the margins are about twice as broad rela- tive to the rest of the fins in the 280 mm specimen as in the 420 mm specimen); head anterior to a line running from just behind rictus to just behind eye dark brown with whitish blotches surrounding the mucous pores on the sides of the jaws. The two specimens were taken from the same habitat as the specimen of Echidna polyzona. . Genus ENCHELYNASSA Enchelynassa Kaup 1855. Areh. Naturg., vol, al, De toe Type species, Enchelvnassa bleekeri Kaup = = Muraena a Quoy and Gaimard . Enchelynassa canini Muraena canini Quoy and Gaimard 1824. Voyage autour du EAE ae PRN Te”. 2201. , p. 24.7. (Type locality, Waigiou and Rawak). 1 specimen. 750 mh. Onotoa. Color in life derk brown with very narrow irregular vertical blackish lines on body. The single specimen taken was poisoned with rotenone in a surge channel. 10 Genus MURBNOPHTS Murenophis Cuvier 1798. Tableau élémentaire de l'histoire ~—— a naturei'e des enimaux, p. 329. (Type species, Muraene helena Linnaeus). iupenepess peadalis Muraena pardalis Temminck and Schlegel 1816. Fauna Japonica, Pieces. abs 90. Das: 2a Digs a2) 2 specimens. Pe ane 180 mm. Onotoa surge channel. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency orange-brown with prominent white spots and smaller dark brown spots on body and fins; head with alternating vertical white and dark brown, orange-centered bands. Genus GYMNOTHORAX Gymnothorax Bloch 1794. Natur. ausldnd. Fische, vol. 9, Dag aS TPP AGE ER Gymnothorax reticularis Bloch). A raat yas oe sohi gna borhynchus Muraena schi smatorhynchus Bre 0 BY 18 53, Nat. Bet eeaea Ned. - 7 fhd.,:VOl.4, Dp. 30. (Type Locality, SUmetrai, 6 specimens. 190 - 750 mm. Onotoa. Color in alcohol grayish brown with a narrow whitish margin on fins. This species has slender, slightly ! hooked jaws similar to those of Enchelynassa canini and Murencphis pardalis. is Beak ot Oh ott fits the diagram given in Fig. & by Schultz 1913 All of the specimens were taken from two stations of the outer reef in the northern part of the atoll in about 6 to 7 feet of water where coral was abundant. Gymnothorax monostigma ° Muraena monostiema Regan 1910. Ann. .Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, Sea ee vol. 4, p. 438. (Type locality, Tahiti, and Raiatea). 12 specimens. 90 = 500 mm. Onotoa. Color in alcohol orangish brown; fins orangish, especi- ally posteriorly; a large black spot immediately behind eye lie (this is missing on the 90 mm specimen and just making its appearance in a 130 mm specimen); posterior nostrils white; two mucous pores below eye and 4 or 5 on lower jaw surrounded by white, thus appearing as spots (in the 130 mm specimen the white spots are large and co~joinéd). The specimens were taken from four stations, each quite different; surge channel, windward side; surge channel, léeward side} backridge trough; lagoon reef. The specimen from the backridge trough was the 130 mm one mentioned above. It was caught by hand by A. H. Banner from a smell head of Pocillopora meandrina. In life it had a bright orange border on its fins which was broad caudally, and the eye was bi “ight red. .Gymnothorax picta Muraena picta Ahl 1789. Specimen ichthyologicum de Muraena et Ophichtho, p. 8. (Type locality, East India). 2 specimens. 340 and hit as mm. 2 specimens, 70 and 85 mm. Onotoas .... z Specimens, | 250 and 310 | mam, Tarawa. t Cotor in ‘Life white, densely Speckled with tale oxeept . ventrally. This eel is Bed mioh iibawltant Gr the crevices of Mihe outer reef flat. At low tide it was at times encountered by turning over rocks exposed on the reef. Gilbertese natives were occasionally seen hunting for it in aah this manner for USE as food, rive) get Seu tery se bess * 8g _. Gymnothorax petelli Muraena telli Bleeker 1856. Nat. Tijdschr. Ned. nas 11, Pp. 64. (Type locality, Java). : - Siderea picta Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, vol. 63, p. 287. (Nauru). i 5 specimens. 110 - 300 mm. Onotoa. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome of 200 mm specimen white with 19 vertical bars on body, .about equal or slightly smaller in width than white inter-spaces (posterior 14 dark bars do not _ extend to extreme margin of dorsal fin); a black band across head slightly behind eye, this band not extending ventral to eye; a blackish area from eye anteriow to nostril; a black mark on chin next to mouth. Larger specimens were browner and the black bars did not stand out in such sharp contrast. 2 Specimens were collected from both lagoon and outer reefs. Gymnothorax runelli Dalophis rupelliae McClelland 1845. Calcutta Jour. Nat. Hist., VOL, 55, D+, 213. (Mype, locality, Red) seat) Lycodontis rare Fowler 1928. Mem. B. P. Bishop Mus., Seg Oe Ore (Abaiang, Kingsmill Isl pandas l specimen. 250 mm. Onotoa. Color in alcohol light brown with 17 black rings which completélv encircle head and body; dorsal half of' body between dark bars dusky. G. rupeili can most readily be distinguished from the similar petelli by the nature of the rings. In the latter those anteriorly on the body and head do not circle the ventral part of the body. Gymnothorax zonipectis Gymnothorax zonipectis Seale 1906. Occ. Pap. B. P.. Bishop MUSs5 VOlash, Der / a ties pla (Type, bocality, Tahiti}. Gymnothorax zonipectis Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc. Linn. SOC + Ne pon WAleSs aVO de G2.) Deas. (Nei Gymnothorax gracilicauda Gymnothorax gracilicauda Jenkins 1903. Bull. U. S. Fish Goma., Vol. 22, p. b26, fie. 6. (Type locality, Homeluin). 4 specimens. 688 - 240 am. Onotoa. Color in alcohol light brown with dendritic dark brown blotches in two to three irregular lengthwise series on body; two irregular vertical dark brown bars on head between eye and origin of dorsal fin which reach from mid-dorsal line to mid-lateral line; an irreguler dusky area behind eye which extends to rictus; a dusky area from snout to nostrils; fins paler than body. I compared my specimens with Jenkins’ type. The dentition is the same and the color pattern very similar. gue HN ‘Specimens were collected from iagoon and leeward outer Ee 13 Gymnothorex fimbriata Muraena fimbriata Bennett 1831. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, po. Ll, p. 166. ((Sype locality, Mauritius). l specimen. 60 mm. Onotoa lagoon. Color in alcohol tan with highly irregular brown markings vertically aligned on body except ventrally anterior to anus; 2 brown spots behind eye and an irregular brown line over top of head behind eye; snout mottied with brown. Gymnothorax margaritophorus Gynnothorax maT ae Bleeker 1865. Ned. Tijdschr. Dierk., vol. 53. (Type locality, Ambon, East Indies). 6 Bes “160 - 350 ma. Onotoa. eeu in alcohol reddish. pron orange-brown ventrally, with pale spots and blotches on the body, these more dis- tinct caudally (in some specimens the vale blotches are interconnected, and the color pattern would more appropri- ately be considered as dark blotches on a pale brown ground color); a series of about three to six dark brown elongate blotches behind eye; a pale band mid-dorsally on head Ls running from snout apie to level of eyes. G. margaritophorus was socdaag-jiqon in coral areas of the lagoon and outer reef. eg flavimarginata Wiiida aE? flavimarginata: Ru ppell 1828. Atles Reise nord. Afrika, Fische Rothen Weers, p. 119, pl. 3, fig. 3. VE locality, Red Sea). 2 specimens. 320 and 396 mm. 1 specimen. 80 mn. Onotoa. bia “Color in altohol orangish brown with a fine mottling of dark brown blotches; gill opening in a black spot (this spot just forming in 80 mm specimen); posterior margins of fins narrowly white (bright green-yellow in life). The two large specimens were taken from a surge channel on the windwerd side of the atoll.. The 80 mm was collected from a small coral head ina shallow, sandy channel. 1h Gynnothorax javanica Muraena jevanicus Bleeker 1859. Nat. Tijdschr. Ned.-Ind., Vol, 19, pb. She \aybe locality, Jgava). 2 specimens. 170 and 1000 mm... Qnotoa. Color in alcohol of large specimen reddish brown with numerous irregular black spots and blotches covering head, body, and fins (these blotches of two different sizes, the large ones about the size of a dime or larger and often containing irreguler brown areas, the others smaller than Size of the eye); no large-sized black blotches on anterior fifth of body except one which encloses gill opening: corner of mouth blackish. In the 170 mm specimen there are Only large-sized blotches which are rounder than those of the 1000 mm specimen and extend on to head; also there is narrow pale margin posteriorly on fins. Smaller javanica have a color pattern similar Go" @) fimbriata. In the latter the spots are, in general, smaller, more scattered, yet more inclined to co-join with other spots: pale margins extend the whole length of the fins in fimbriata, and the gill opening is not surrounded by a largs black blotch. . The dentition of the large specimen compares closely with that given in the diagram for this species by Schultz (1953; fig. 27); the small specimen, however, has several large teeth in an inner row on the maxillary end small teeth. interspersed between the large marginal ST teeth, Similar to the pattern for figbria ata. Ae The large Specimen was encountered with its een protrud- ing from a crevice in a coral head near the center of the lagoon. Three spears were shot into its head before it could be pulled from its hake and even then it was a oo task. ‘ Gymnothorax undulata s - ss Muraenophis undulatus Lacépede 1803. Hist. nat. poiss., VOU) 5, pp MOLT, Oke, *Olikin- Pies 2. : 3 specimens. 240 = 600 mm. Onotoa. Color from 35 mm «odachrome transperency of 600 mm speci- men Chestnut brown anteriorly, dark brown posteriorly, with narrow white lines dividing body color into irregular. blocks; enterior half of head with only traces of whitish spots and short lines; gill opening not in a black blotch (though the margin is darker than rest of body); no definite pale cargin on fins. In the smaller specimens there is a pale margin posteriorly on the fins, and the pale lines on the body are 15 broader and less irregular; tnus the dark brown of the body is more spot- ~like. The specimens were secured from both lagoon and seaward receis. Gymnothorax burvensis Muraena buroensis Bleeker 1857. Nat. Tidschr. Ned.-4nd. vol. 13, p. 79. (Type locality, Nova-Selma, Buro, Ambon, and Ceram). 24 specimens. 92 - 245 mm. Onotoa. Color in-alcohol dark brown with numerous close-set black blotches, more or less arranged in bars (posteriorly on body these blotches are so large that the pale areas between are restricted pas small spots which tend to forn rows ) ; fins with pale’ margins posteriorly (bright orange in life). Many speciiiens are almost black, and the color pattern can be perceived only with difficulty. There are two rows of teeth on the maxillary, the teeth of the inner row being longer. There are three rows of long canines on the intermaxillary in addition pos the marginal teeth. This melanistic eel appeared to be the most abundant species of the genus at Onotoa and was taken from many different habitats. Gymnothorax (fovaginea?} Gymnothorax favagineus Bloch and Schneider 1801. Systema ichth., p. 525. (Type locality, Tranquebar, India). 1 specimen. 60 mm. OQOnotoa. Color in alcohol light’ brown with large round black spots in a row on the body and a second series of spots dorsally, each spot: cut off at edge. of dorsal fin. I assign this tiny juvenile specimen to favaginea mainly on color pattern. The dentition is different than that given by Weber and de Beaufort (1916: 379). There are three rows of three fangs mesially on the intermaxillary which are longer than the leteral series. Smaller teeth extend posteriorly from the first and third rows to meet in the midline at the anterior end of the single row of vomerine teeth. U6 Gymnothorax moluccensis Priodonopiis moluccensis Bleeker 1864. Atlas ichth., vol. 4, po l06, ol. 187, fie. ls (Pypeshocalitypuambony Bast Toadies), x 1 specimen. 300 mm. Onotoa. Color plain brown, a little darker posteriorly. Teeth on dentary very finely serrated on posterior edges two medial canine teeth on intermaxillary, the more posterior one the longest tooth in the jaw (there are sockets, however, for two more, one on either side and slightly anterior to the long tooth); no inner row of maxillary teeth; a single row of short teeth on vomer; roof and floor of mouth finely papillate; eye 1.5 in snout; snout 6.5 in head; fins some- wnat elevated, though not as much as described by Schultz (1943: 38) for G. pseudothyrsoidea. The specimen was taken with rotenone from an area of the outer reef with numerous coral heads at a maximum depth of sbout 7 feet. Gymnothorax bikiniensis Gymnothorax bikiniensis Schultz in Schultz and collaborators ~ 1953, Bull... S&S. Nat. Mus..202) op, 100.6 iar eee ve) Alf vie) ClO ce tart) Ba kpay Atoll, Marshall Islands). 1 specimen. 263 mm. Onotoa surge channel. Color in alcohol brown (under a dissecting microscope one can seé a fine mottling of light and dark brown); edges of fins a little paler than body; snout darker than lower jaw. I have in my field data a note on the color in life which reads, "Narrow dendritic vertical dark brown bars on a dusky greenish yellow background. Snout and anus dark; belly - pale." I can find no evidence of bars on the preserved specimen. The specimen was compared with Schultz' type. This species resembles Enchelynassa canini especially in dentition, and may form the basis for considering the genus Enchelynassa sa a arena of SUR ORD OF aN t Gyanothorax thyrsoidea ea Richardson 1644. Zool. voyage "Sulphur", Muraena thyrsoide iil. (Type locality, China Seas and Canton). fishes, p. Lycodontis thyrsoidee Fowler 1928. Mem. B. >. Bishop Mus., vol. 10, p. 52. (Abaiang, Kingsmill Islands) Ly 2 specimens. 70 and 155 mm. OQnotoa. Color im. liretwhite? ‘in alcohol, Light’ brown. The teeth are short and conical, none of them being long and fang-like as in most species of Gymnothorax; two stout medial teeth on the intermaxillary, one behind the other in the mid-line; two rows of short teeth on vomer which join posteriorly to a single row; Snout 6 in head; eye 1.4 in Snout. Richardson's specimens were brown with a reticulation of white lines. My specimens are everywhere pale and may thus be distinct from thyrsoidea. Because of the similarity in dentition, however, I prefer to consider the Onotoa ones a color variant. in view of their small size, they may be exhibiting juvenile coloration. Gyiinothorax sp. 3 specimens. 190 - 220 mya. Onotoa lagoon. Color in alcohol light yellowish brown with a dense reticulation of slightly browner, highly tortuous lines. Maxillary teeth in one row (a Single inner tooth in two of the specimens); three elongate canines in mid-line of intermaxillary; a single row of vomerine teeth; six inner elongate canines in two rows anteriorly on dentary; snout 5.8 in head length; eye 1.6 in snout; origin of dorsal fin 1 to 2 snout lengths anterior to gill opening. I em unable to identify this species. Genus UROPTERYGIUS Uropterygius Ruppell 1835. Neue Yirbelth., Fische, p. 8&3. (Type Species, Uropterygius concolor Ruppell). Uropterygius concolor Uropterygius concolor Ruppell 1835. Neue irbelth., Fische, Ce ea.nel (200) Tie) bo (Pyne locality, Red Sea). 4k specimens. 100 - 140 ma. Onotoa lagoon. l specimen. 185 mm. Tarawa. Color in alcohol uniform light brown; four mucous pores On side of upper jaw posterior to anterior nostril, their margins slightly paler than rest of head. Le _ Two rows of maxillary teeth those of the inner row much longer than the outer ‘and well-spaced: one row of sHort,. stout vonuerine teeth; two large curnine teetn in mid-line on intermaxzillary; snout 5 in head léneth; eye 1.9,in snout; center,of eye slightly closer, to rictus. than tip) ofaisnout: posterior nostril above center of eye and with a slightly slevated rim; distence from tir of snout to anus contained 2.2 times in total length. Uropterygius so. Ce ee ree eee 1 specimen. 184 mm. Qnotoa lg goon, Color in alcohol uniform light brown; rims end interior of four mucous pores on side of upper jaw behind anterior nostril pale & single row of about ten testh on maxillary which pro- ject backward at about a 45 degree angle; a cluster of about four stout teeth on median part of ne ae cillary, the most posterior and median one the og es t: no teeth visible on vomer; anterior nostril tubular Sister noetril with a Slightly elevated rim, located above center of eye, ‘and followed by a depression inthe head; distance from bier snout to'anus 2.1 in total length; dis stance ‘from tip of snout to rictus 2.7 in head length (to gill opening); snout: dength 4,8 in head length; eye 2.2 in snout length. This specimen was not ee eels from U.. concolor until the teeth were examined. ILI follow Schultz in considering the above species, and not this one, U. concolor, Uropterygius xanthopterus | Uropterygius xanthopterus Bleeker 1859. ‘Nat. Tijdschr. Ned.- ind., vol. 19, p. 350. (Type locality. Java and Ambon, Fast Indies). 20 pre nae L2G = 350" fm. Onotoa. Color in naan dark brown, mottled with darker brown, with numerous tiny white spots, most evident on head and anterior part of body; margin ot tail broadly pale orangish. Sixteen of the specimens were collected from the lagoon side of the west reef in from 6 to @ feet of water. The remaining four’were from the outer reef. ay Uropteryeius warmoratus Gyanomuracna marmorata Lacépede 1803. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 5, pp. 648, 649. (Type locality, New Britain). a 1 specimen. 380 mm. Tarawa. Color in alcohol light brown, mottled with blackish patches, and this overlain with numerous black spots (mostly larger than diameter of eye) which tend to be larger dorsally than ventrally; nostrils blackish. ss Uropterygius supraforatus Gymnomuraeéna supraforata Regan 1909. Ann. Meg. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, vol. 4, p. 439. (Type locality, Savay and Tahiti). 4 specimens. 170 - 250 mm. Onotoa lagoon. Color in life light greenish gray with about 5 rows of irregular brown blotches which are slightly larger posterior- ly than anteriorly (average size about equal to size of eye) (posteriorly on body the blotches tend to join vertically to form irregular bars); spots on head not arranged in rows and of a size about equal to size of pupil; a slight bluish cast over abdomen. Numerous sharp elongate teeth in jaws, the longest maxillary teeth being the innermost of many rows; a single row of long teeth on vomer, continuous with teeth on mid- line of intermaxillary. Uropterygius micropterus Muraena micropterus Bleeker 1852. Nat. Tijdschr. Ned.-Ind., vol. 3, p. 298. (Type locality, Flores, Buro, Morotai, Ambon, Ceram, Aru, and Timor). 3 specimens. 210 = 245 mm. Onotoa. Color in life light grayish, almost white ventrally, with a fine reticulation of small blackish dendritic blotches. Two rows of teeth on the maxillary, the teeth of the inner row about four times longer than those of the outer; a single row of long teeth on the vomer; eye slightly closer to end of snout than rictus; diameter of eye contained 1.9 in iength of snout. The specimens were collected by hand from beneath exposed rocks on the outer reef flat. Uropterygius macrocephalus Gymnothorax macrocephalus Bleeker 1865. Ned. Tijdschr. Dierk., vol. 2, p. 5. (Type locality, Ambon, East Indies). 20 l specimen. 200 mm. Onotoa lagoon. Color in life light gray-browh, with reticular white blotciies in irreeular vars along sides: of body; end of caudal fin whitish; posterior nostril above center of eye, rim Slightly elevated, interior pale; anterior nostril brown, like rest of snout. “Two:rows of teeth on maxillary, those of the inner row close-set and about one-fourth to ons-third as long as the well-speced teeth of-the inner row: a single row of 7. teeth On Vomer: three rows of.2 teeth each on median part of intermaxillary, those of the oe row the longest; two. rows of teeth on dentary, similar to those on maxillary; no Elongate canines anberiorly on den tenes snout contained 7 times .in head length; eye 1.8 in snout; center of “eye eloser to tip of snout ‘than eorner of. mouth; distance from snout EOt Buns 24 30.20 total en ole Genus “RABULA ., Rabuis Jordan and Davis 1882. Rep. U. S. Comm. FPish..and ‘7’ Pisheries, vol. 16, pp. 590, 598 (Type species, Rabula “davis 1 Fowler). | Re bula fuscomaculata ‘"-Rebula fuscomaculata Schultz in Schultz and collaborators “PO 19590" Balt. Oo. Nat. Mus. 202) (pp. 0239 9Lue, fie reo. (Type locality, Rongerick Atoll, Marshall Islands). 3 specimens. 120 ~ 160 mm. Orotoa. Color in alcohol lieht brown wi th numerous dark brown “spots about the size of ing eye: ‘covering body and fins (anteriorly these spots are smaller and indistinct) ; mucous pores on side of upper jaw ena to a lesser extent _ of the lower jaw) broadly outlined with white. The Onotoa specimens were compared with the holotynve in the United States National Museum and found to be the same. Two of the svecimens were “collected on the lagoon side of the west reef and the third on the outer reef in the northern- ‘most part of the atoll... In:each case the depth of the water was about 8 feet. Tet ioe ies i i ¢ Family OPHICHTHIDAn The gnake eels are sand dwellérs and often occur in sreas where few other fishes are found.’ Usually a large amount of rotenone is needed to poison them. There wes not sufficient Ba. rotenone on hand at Onotoe to warrant its use for ophichthids alone; thus oniy one species wes taken. A large specimen of another species, probably either Myrichthys colubrinus (Boddaert) or Myrichthys bleekeri Goslineé, was seized in ankle-deep water on a tidal flat zone of the lagoon, but it escaped, as snake eels are prone to do. The specimens from Tarawa and Abemama were collected by R. Catala. Genus MYRICHTHYS Myelchibys Gaverd 1650, Eroc. Aead. Nat. Sei. Philea., .p. 58. Type species, Myrichthys tigrinus Girard). Myrichthys maculosus Mureena maculosa Cuvier 1817. Régne animal, vol. 2, p. 232. (Type locality, Evropean seas). 1 specimen. 241 mm. Onotoa. Color in life pale greenish yellow on back, shading to whitish on sides and ventrally, with 31 round black spots fnot all the spots are in alignment with ones on the other side): a black saddle on head over both eyes; 4 epee black marks on chin at level of eye. _ The single specimen was taken with rotenone from a sandy reghon of about 8 foot depth between coral heads on the outer reef in the northernmost part of the atoll. Myrichthys colubrinus Muraena colubrina Boddaert 1781. Neue Nord. Rey tL «|, VOdi. vex UD. 55, Dla c, figure, Locality. “Ambon, Hast Indies). 1 specimen. 290 mm. Abemama. Color in alcohol brown with 32 semicircular black saddles in line on body and 2 such saddles on head between gill Opening and:ceye (these seddles are twice eas broad dorsally as intervening paie areas; they do not extend into dorsal fin and reach to or slightly below the lateral line). Snout pointed and flattened dorso-ventrally; length of snout 6.5 in head length (to gill opening); pectoral 5 in head length; eye 2 in length of pectoral. T am uncertain of the use of the name colubrinus for (thes specimen. It has been returned to the Australian “Museum. Genus LEIURANUS Leiuranus Bleeker 1853. Verh. :-Batav. Genootsch., vol. 25, p. 30. (‘type pou Leiuranus lacepedei Bleeker). Leiuranus. Semicinetus te ee ee ee ete Ce ee Ophisurus seuicinetus ay and Bennett 1639. Zool. Capt. ~ Beechey'’s voyage, Pishes,.p. 66, pl. 20, fig. 4. (Type locality, Oahu if specimen. 580 mn. Tarawa. Color in alcohol brown with a) ‘narrow black bars on the body which extend up into.dorsal.fin but which do not meet ventrally (the posterior ‘end of the body is blunt and-it is believed that the hind section of the body was lost during life; the maximum body depth of the specimen is 12 mm); faaximum width of black bars contained nearly 4 times in width of pale interspaces; head which 1 such bar between gill Opening and: eye; *a black saddle over interorbital space with bifurcates at upper edge of eye, one limb extending Woe oS, oO. PL. (type locality. Bava) 5 specimens. 88 - 285 mu. Onotoa. Pores in lateral line from gill opening to near end of body. (not including vestigial pores which are closely spaced at extreme end of body) 103 to 109. (3 specimens). Color in alcohol uniform light yellowish brown. — The following proportional measurements from a 280 ma. specimen: body depth contained 47 times in total length; distance from tip of snout to rictus 4.6 in head lengths snout 6.4 in head length; eye about 6 in snout; pectoral fin about the size of the eye. Lower jaw projects anterior to upper jaw; caudal fin Slightly pointed; a single row of teeth on maxillary; a Single row of vomerine teeth; six prominent canines on inter- maxillary; posterior nostril located immediately anterior to eye. a The specimens were secured with rotenone from sandy aress of both the lagoon and outer reef. Moringua javanica Aphthalmichthys javanicus khaup 1865. Cat. apodal fish in collection British fus., Da (LO Si: PA Bey (iy (Uy per domedel ty, Jave). a Specimens. 5lOMaigd 7150 ma. Onotoa. Pores in lateral line from gill opening to near end of body 139. {1 specimen). ‘ Color in alcohol light grayish brown, The following proportional measurements from the 510 ma specimen: body depth conteined 78 times in total length; distance from tip of snout to rictus. contained 5.8 times in head length; snout about 6 in head length; eye about 7 in snout length; pectoral fin tiny, its iength.equal to about one-half the diameter of the eye. 25 - Lower jaw projects anterior to upper jaw; caudal fin. Slightly pointed; dentition and nostrils similar to ebove. One specimen was collected. from a shallow channel between islets and the other from q surge channel. Moringua sp. 1 specimen. 390 mm. -Onotoa. Number of lateral line pores on posterior 155 mm. of body 17 (difficult to count anterior to this because of twisting f the body); thus the total number of pores to the gill Opening is estimated at LO. Color in alcohol yellowish brown. Body depth 52 in total length; distance from tip of snout to rictus contained 4 times in head length; snout about 7 in head length; eye about 4.7 in snout length; pectoral fin about the size of the eye. Lower jaw projects anterior to upper jaw; caudal fin pointed; teeth similar to above two species except they are directed more Sharply backward. I am unable to identify this moringuid to species. It appears to be distinct in its low. pore count and moderately stout body. The specimen was collected from a protected outer reef area. Family AULOSTOMIDAE “Genus AULOSTOMUS pee he Lacépéde 1803. ee nat. poiss., vol. 3, De 356. Type species, oe chinensis Lacépéde = Fistularia chinensis Linnaeus Aulostomus chinensis Fistuleria chinensis Linnaeus 1766, ‘Syst. nat., ed. 12, “Tbe oL5. (@ype locality, India). 1 specimen. 300 mm. OVnotoa. Pigeon 27 AsO Vo O- P 16> lateral Dine scales 260. Color in life brown, becoming abruptly black posterior to origin of soft dorsal and anal fins (this black area with linearly-arranged light brown spots or elongate blotches, 26 mostly in 2 rows which continue on to caudal peduncle); maxillary with an eloneate black blotch: enus black; soft dorsal reddish, black anteriorly and basally; anal fin reddish, black basally; caudal fin yellow with a black spot in the upper central part of the fin; ventral fins with a black spot basally. The trumpet fish was not common at Onotoa, with only 2 Specimens being seen. One of these was speared for the collection at a depth of 12 feet in the lagoon. Family FISTULARIIDAL Genus FISTULARIA Fistularia Linnaeus 1758. Syst. nat., ed. 10, p. 312. (Type Species, Fistularia tabacaria Linnaeus). Fistularia netimba Fistularia pétimba Lacépéde 1803, Hist. nat. poiss, vol. 5, Pps 349, 350 Vols 1S, Pos), in Bodl.2) Jo ype: Miocene y , New Britain; Union Islend). Fistularia depressa Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, vol. 63, p. 287 (Nauru and Ocean Island). 2 Specimens. 130 and 530 mm. OQnotoa. 2 specimens. 159 and 403 mua. ‘Tarewa. Fin ray counts of 530 mm specimen: D 14; A 13; P 15; V 63 The cornet fish was occasionally sighted in the Onotoa lagoon. The 530 mn specimen was speared in water of about 4 foot depth over an eel grass (Thalassia) flat. It was a dark forest green in color and matched its surroundings well. On being speared it immediately flashed its body color to light gray. The 130 mm specimen was caught by hand from a shallow outer reef flat tide pool at low tide. Family SYNGNATHIDAE The Onotoa pipefishes were identified by Earl S. Herald, to whom I am very grateful. Genus CORYTHCICHTHYS Corythoichthys Kaup 1853. Arch. Naturg., vol. 19, pt. Il, p. 231. (Type species, Synenathus fasciatus). a7 Corythoichthys flavofasciatus conspicillatus Syngnathus conspicillatus Jenyns 1842. Zool. voyage “Beagle”, Fish: pithy, pee ey) ae. (eypeelocality, Tahiti). 5 specimens (4 female, 1 male). 56 - 81 mm. Onotoa. 2 2 specimens (female). 58 and 62 mm. Abemama. Color in alcohol light tan with dendritic brown blotches in a row on the side and in line with a similar row on dorsal surface of trunk; a horizontal brown line from middle of posterior margin of eye to pectoral, a portion curving dorsally on opercle; a:Similar line extending posteriorly frou lower edge of eye, and anteriorly on to snout as a row of elongate spots; anal region of male with a large blue spot, of female whitish. In life the male had short yellow lines across the back and a bright red caudal fin; the females had a red spot on the caudal fin. Genus DORYRHAMPHUS Doryrhamphus Kaup 1856. Cat, lophobranchiate fishes British Mus., p. 585. (Type species, Doryrhamphus excisus Kaup). Doryrhamphus melanopleura melanopleura Synenathus méelanopleura Bleeker 1858. Nat. Tijdschr. Ned.-Ind., vol. 15, p. 46h. (Type locality, Cocos Islands, Indian Ocean). 2 specimens (female). 33 and’45 mm. Onotoa. Color in life brilliant orange with a median black line from snout to base of caudal fin and irregular black markings “On Caudal fin. AY Bride wine | Family BELONIDAE Genus BELONE ~ Belone Cuvier 1817. Régne animal, ed. 1, p. 185. (Type Species, Esox belone Linnaeus). | 7 Belone platyura Belone plat ura Bennett PEGI) Proey Wools Soe. Londons pt. i Die 18 cone locality, Mauritius). Platybelone platura Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, vol. 63, p. 287. (Nauru and Ocean Island). 26 8 specimens. 215 - 280 mm (rictus to base of caudal). Onotoe. ; cA: + Lae NE ; l specimen. 270 ma. Tarawa. 1 specimen. 188 mm. Nukunau. D 13 or 14;'A 17 or 18; P 12. (5 specimens). Gill rakers (including all rudiments) 25 or 26. (2 specimens). Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency: back. blue, sides and ventral part of body silvery. Teeth in jaws of approximately the same size; width of body slightly greater than depth; width of body contained about 14 times in length from rictus to base of caudal fin; caudal peduncle: on each side with a prominent lateral scaly keel which extends out on central part of caudal fin; least depth of caudal peduncle half as wide as width; greatest diameter of eye 1.7 to 1.9 in pastorbital length of head. All of the Onotoa specimens were taken in outer reef areas. The Gilbertese often caught this species at night by wading on the outer reef flat with a torch and striking the backs of the fish with a long sharp Knife or Stick as they were attracted to the light. - The stomachs of two spécimens taken at night on the outer reef flat contained fragments of unidentified red crustaceans. Of five poisoned with rotenone during the day, four were empty and one had recently eaten a small fish. Genus STRONGYLURA sido sletvilele van Hasselt 1823. Ale’ Konst. Letterbode fino. 35; 1 BO Ve Sea Na ti (Férussac), VOLES py Shoe Type species, Strongylura caudimaculata van Hasselt = Belone strongylura van Hasselt Strongylura incisa Belone incisa Cuvier and Valenciennes 1846. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. ip, p. 451, (Type locality, Indian Ocean). 1 specimen. 310 mm (from rictus to base of caudal). Tarawa. eee De 22 6 ie aie Gill rakers rudimentary, with only 9 perceptible near angle of first arcn; teeth in jaws of two different sizes, the long canines being 4 to 5 times longer’ than the numerous short teeth lying between the canines; canine teeth vertical or angling slightly backwards in jaws; .no well-developed keel 29 On Side of caudal peduncle; least depth of caudal reduncle about equal to width of .peduncle at this point; lateral line ends ventral to mid-lateral point of caudal peduncle at its least depth; greatest diameter of eye 2.3 in post- orbital length of head. Family HEMIRAMPHIDAE Genus HEMITRAMPHUS _Hemi-Ramphus Cuvier 1817. Régne animal, ed. 1, vol. 2, p. 186. Type species, Esox brasiliensis Linnaeus). Hemiramphus marginatus — “, p. 269. (Naurn). 2 specimens. 93 and 205 mm. Onotoa lagoon. 2 specimens. 92 and 93 mn. Tarawa. DL Gr em ii 8: P16: seale rows Lrom upper end of gill opening ‘to base of caudal fin 25'or 26. (2 specimens). Color in life of large specimen silvery white; scales on back with blackish edges; upper half to two-thirds of pectoral fin black, lower half pale; other fins dusky bluish except pelvics which are white. The 93 mm specimen had a yeLlowish, eeudal, fin in life. Mugil tade : i , QO 3 n Mugil crenilabis var. tade Forskal 1775. Descr. animsaliun, poy kin, 7ge (Pype Vocality, Red Sea). Mugil tade Fowler 1928, mem. B. P. Bishop Mus., vol. 10, rip a2 2 ite). 26. eabavahe, Kingsmill’ Tslands)'. Genus CRENIMUGIL renimugil Schultz 1946. Froc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. Vo bo7. (Type Species, Mugil crenilabis Forskal). Crenimugil crenilabis Mugil crenilabus: Forskal M75. DEscr. an Unaliun. De i kivie 73 Type: locality, Red Sea). 1 specimen. 108 mm, Onotoa lagoon. 46 D IV=1,8; A IIL, 9%) P17), scale: rows. from uppervend) jot gill opening to base of caudal fin 39. Color in alcohol dark brownish dorsally pea to tan on sides and véntrally; a blac spot at upper edge of base or pectoral rin. Margin of Lower lip strongly oe inside of margin a row of ridge~like,.irregular papillae; upper lip with about 4 rows of ssiall papillae OL outer edge. Faiai ly Al iss ai Genus ALLANUD?A Allanetta Whitley 1943. Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. “ales, vol. 68, Be be (Type species, Atherine mugiloides McCulloch). ray hee Sk abe letee ovalsua Atherina ovelaua Herre 1935. Publ. Field Mus. Nat. } fist. ZOOL. S€Ps, Vols EG.’ p. LOLI (type Locality, P81) poanes ne 3 specimens. 27 e- Olea tim, Gnoted lagoon. . 3, specimens. 2h = 43 ran « Abemama. | D: VI. or VII-1,9 or 16s A Ijl9 or 10+ Bidets Geos pecimens ).. Transverse scale rows from gill opening to base of caudal fin 43. (1 specimen). Color of 61 mm specimen in alcohol light -brown with a dusky bluish line about equal to diameter of pupil in width running froia upper axil of pectoral fin to base of caudal fin; scales on dorsal part of body edged in black; end of snout and lower jaw with a concentration of black pigment; a narrow black dotted line at base of pectoral fins a tiny black spot anterior to upper base of pectoral fin; all fins hyaline except a bilobed. area in mid-~ bass of caudal fin which is dusky. | Rani of mandibles distinctly elevated at en toothed area; anus between rélvic fins; depth of body 6.5 in standard length. ‘Family SPHYRAENIDAE “Genus “SPHYRAENA a Sphyraena ei heut 1792. retri Artedi sueci genera pisciun, pp. 94, 584. (Type species, Bsox sphyraena Linnacus). 17 Sphyraena forsteri Syhyraena forsteri Cuvier and Valenciennes 1829. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 3, ps» 353. (Type locality, Tahiti). 1 specimen. 820 mm. Onotoa. (Only head ait caudal fin preserved). DV-1,9; A dL, orrrtes taterat rine scales 116. - Angle of preoperculum rounded; maxillary reaches a verti- cal through anterior edge of eye; no elongate gill raker at angle of first sill arch; numerous tiny bony spinules on gill arch from angle over half way to ventral origin of arch ;. eye. 7.7 in length of head from tip of upper jaw to end of overculum; eye 3.3 in nostorbital part of head; no rasp- like teeth visible on tongue; an elongate canine tooth in upper jaw adout an eye ciameter distance from tip of upper jaw, this tooth flanked with one anteriorly end one posteri- orly about one-third to one-half as long; a gap slightly less than an eye diameter in distance separates the long anterior canine tooth from a series of four of comparable length posteriorly in the jaw which, in turn, are followed by teeth of gradually smaller length; teeth in posterior part. of lower jaw short, shark-like, the anterior edze of each somewhat longer than the posterior edge; edge of opercle with two flexible flattened spines, the lowermost more projected than the upper; posterior margin of caudal fin deeply concave with two »rominent bumos in mid-portion, This specimen differs from forsteri as described by Weber and de. Beaufort. (1922: 223) in | Lacking rasplike teeth-on the tongue, and having a smaller eye, and a bi-lobed shape to the postero- -central margin of the caudal fin. - The eye is smaller than snecimens of this snecies revorted by Schultz -(1953: 284) from the Marshall Islands. Since my specimen is: larger than any seen by Weber and de Beaufort and by Schultz, ‘it is possible that' the differences in size ps eye ere shape of caudal fin:are-a function of age. sf The snecimen’was > caught’ by a itbertebs fisherman. ie trolling. ae ee This family, as based ‘on Gilbert Islands collections, in- cludes the grouners, anthiids, and the genus Ypsigramma. The groupers were numerous at Onotoa. The youns of some species were very abundant in tidepools and were caught by the Gilbertese and dried in the, sun ‘or food, Adult groupers were not so commonly ‘seén because of their procilivity for hiding in holes and caverns in-the reef, but now and then one could be observed purvosefully eae from one vart of the reef to another.: a Genus EPINEPHELUS Epinephelus Bloch 1793. Natur. ausldnd. Fische, WOLAV7, p. ll. (Type species, Epinephelus marginatus Bloch = Perea fasciatus Forskal) Epinephelus fuscoguttatus Perca summana var. fusco-guttata Forskal 1775. Descr. “animalium, pp. 11, qe. tiers locality, Red Sea). - Serraaus fuscoguttatus RUuppell 1828. Atlas Reise nord. Afrika, Fische des rothen Meers, p. 108, pl. 27, fig. 2. Epinephelus fuscoguttatus Schultz 1943 (in part). Bull. U.S. Net. Mus. PEO py. LOG. l specimen. 288 ma, Onotoa. D X1,15; A III,8; P17; gill rakers 25. Color in alcohol brown with large irregular dark brown blotches on head and body (most profiinent dorsally) and ' everywhere covered with numerous, small, close-set dark brown spots; a prominent: black saddle dorsally on caudal “peduncle. a whsayglednias Another grouper, Epinephelus horridus (Cuvier and Valenciennes), has a very similar color pattern to fuscoguttatus, and the two have long been confused. It is difficult. to decide from Forskal's brief description of ‘“fuscoguttatus which species should bear his name. TI have Chosen the more slender form as figured by Ruppell (1828) from the Red Sea. I am influenced further by seeing three Specimens of this species from the Red Sea among the collections in the United States National Museum and failing to find any (nor any definite reference from the literature) of the deeper bodied form which I am designating horridus from this locality. Forskal'’s deseription of the Spots as reddish brown supports my decision, for there are several ‘ preserved spécimens from the Marshall Islands in the museum on which the spots are still slightly reddish. A Kodachrome transparency of horridus from life shows the spots as definitely not reddish. in view of the well known ability for the groupers to attain varied hues, this bit of evidence must be taken lightly, however. is % Counts were made from one of the Red Sea specimens and one of the Marshall Islands specimens. The counts were the Same as those of the Gilbert Islands specimen except for the dorsal soft rays and pectorel rays of the one from the Red Sea which were 14 and 18, respectively. For further discussion of fuscoguttatus, see horridus below. 4,9 Epinephelus horridus Serranus horridus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1828. Hist. nat. 7poxes.(,f vol 6 2stmesels (Type) locality, Tava). Serranus: fuscoguttatus Day 1876. Fishes of India, p. 22, Pisiogurses ls. Epinephelus: fuscoguttatus Schultz 1943 (in part). Bull. We Ss Nat. Mus. 180, pe 108. . j l specimen. 304 mm. Onotoa. D XI,14; A IIT,8; P19; gill rakers 36. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency light yellowish brown with large irregular dark brown patches on head and body (darkest dorsally) and numerous, close-set, small brown spots on head, body, and fins; a very dark brown saddle dorsally on caudal peduncle. ra tk BE. horridus may be told at a glance from fuscoguttatus by” Body aepth and by the profile of the head. The latter is a more slender species and has a slightly and smoothly convex forehead; in horridus there is a distinct indentation at the eye where the convexity of the snout meets a marked convexity of the nape. Gill raker and pectoral fin ray counts provide conclusive mweristic separation. Gill, raker counts included all rudiments. A specimen of horridus from Canton Island, Phoenix Group, identified as fuscogzuttatus by Schultz (1943), gave the same meristic data as the Onotoa specimen, Epinephelus corallicola Hpinephelus corallicola Cuvier and Valenciennes 1828. Hist. Boos Petese. VOL. 2, Db. 330. Se macrospilus Bleeker na eda 764, AGLes) Behth. ovbls UO nO bne Oe Pty 2OU nnd Lee 2 | Epinephelus altivelioides Bleeker ibid, pl. 308, fig. 1 Epinephelus fiacrospilus Scnoultz in Schultz and collaborators 1953. Bui a SP Nat. Mus. 202, vol. h PDP. 2.305 34h, Oe eos ys Hpinephelus spilotus Schultz in Schultz and collaborators 17 Seem mee Nak mus)" 202) vol. 1s pp. 3325 352.5 5 Ba i 5 specimens. 72 - 310 mm. Onotoa lagoon and lee reefs 2 specimens. 98 and 160 mm. Nukunau. 50 D XI (one with XID)s) Réher Aye ae: PL te los ela rakers 24 or 25. (3 specimens). . Color from 35 mu Kodachrome transparency of 120 mm spe- Cimen: body’ dull white with widely scattered blackish orange spots (slightly smaller than pupil of eye in average size); caudal fin yellowish white with scattered black spots, a concentration of these forming a submarginal band; margin of caudal fin light yellow; dorsal fin dull white with scattered black spots and pale margin; anal fin similar to dorsal but duskier; paired fins blackish, the pectorals with narrow light yellow margin and the pelvics with narrow white margin; iris yellow; pupil bluish. The 72 mm specimen has fewer spots (a total of 23 appearing on head and body, the most prominent being the 5 at the base of the dorsal fin and One dorsally on caudal peduncle. In the 310 mm specimen (which differed from the rest in having XII dorsal spines and.17 pectoral rays), the spots are relatively more numerous and smaller than the 120 mm specimen, but still well-spaced. There is a slight concentration of spotting at the base of the last few spines of the dorsal fin and dorsally on caudal peduncle to form a small black saddle. A 126 ma specimen included among the five above is dark brown with black spots instead of light brown with black spots. Gill rakers of 5 specimens from the Marshall Islands (paratypes of spilotus) numbered 25. The stomach contents of a 275 mm specimen were examined. The specimen had eaten a scyllarid lobster. The stomach of &@ 150 mm specimen was empty. Epinephelus sp. lL specimen. 215 mm. Onotoa lagoon. D R272 A) Tee Pile od) pakke rc Sew I am unable to identify this species. In color it is more-or-less intermediate to fuscoguttatus and: corallicola. The body is brown with irregular darker brown areas and faint spots; there are 4 darker areas along the base of the anal fin, but these can be perceived only with difficulty. The head is densely spotted with small brown dots like fuscoguttatus; the fins are brownish with dark brown to black spots (larger and more evident than those on body) and pale margins. The edge of the hollow area in the cheek into which the maxillary fits when the mouth is. closed is i blackish. | The scales are more evident on the body than the previous épinephelids, and.100 were counted from upper edge of gill Opening to base of caudal fin. Caudal fin rounded; longest dorsal soft ray about equal in length to longest dorsal spine; 51 head 2.7 in standard length; pectoral fin 1.7 in head; greatest diameter of eye 5.5 in head; depth of body 2.9 in standard length. There is no definite black saddle on the caudal peduncle; there are no white spots on the body or fins. Epinephelus socialis Serranus socialis GUnther VWe73s Jour. Mus. Godertroy, vol. 2. pie) Oe Bs wees cae BS. Be .( eimesmijl Lie leands)., Epinephelus merra Epinephelus merra Bloch 1793. Natur. ausland. Piscine, VOL. 7. pt..10, p. 17, pl. 329. (Type locality, Sea of Japan). 10 specimens. 40 - 132 mm. Onotoa. D Ke teentn Lhe: P AY or 18°, eidd, rakers. 22, bo; Zhe (3 spnecimens). Color from 35 tm «Xodechrome transparency of a 145 mm Specimen (discarded in field): white with numerous close-set roundish brown spots on head, body, and fins (those on body mostly larger than size of pupil but smaller than size of eye); spots on pectoral fin smaller and darker than spots elsewhere on body or other fins; ground color of pectoral fin light yellowish; spots distally on caudal and soft ‘portions of dorsal and anal fins smaller and darker; no large black spot or spots at base of dorsal fin or dorsally on caudal peduncle. Depth of body 3 to 3.2 in standard leheth; length of pectoral fin 1.5 in head length. This was apparently the most common species of Epinephelus at Onotoa. It was confused in the field with E. hexagonatus, and many specimens of-both species were discarded. It is now impossible to decide on the exact localities at Onotoa where the two were collected. It is definite, however, that the young of merra were abundant in the outer reef tidepools. The two species may be separated by gill raker counts (see table under hexagonatus below). Both H. merra and E. hexagonatus appear to be small species, rarely exceeding 200 mm in standard length. Epinephelus he xagonatus Holocentrus hexagonatus Bloch and Schneider 1801. Systema Lene spy Bes (Type Locality.) tani ti) . 52 Epinephelus ge lanosti gma Schultz in Schultz and collabora-~ tors 1953. Bull, U. S. Naté Mus. 202, Vol. Pel ap.yaon: 348, fig. 54. (Type locality, Swains "Islands, Samoa Group). Epinephelus Seti aosem Schultz in Schultz and collaborators 953. Bult; oS; Net. Mus. 202, vols pp. Gey. fips. 56, 7. "(Type locality, Bikini Atoll, Mershall Islands). 7 see etaene. 25 = 91 al Onotoa. 2 geeeimenee 42 aad 102 ao. Tarawa. l specimen. 148 mm. Nukunau. “DX, 15 or 26+ A 1D,8; P 1s, (2 specimens). Color in alcohol light brown with numerous close-set roundish to hexagonal dark brown snots on body {in average diameter about one half eye diameter); 4 to 5 very dark brown to black blotches along base of dorsal fin and another dorsally on caudal peduncle; spots in fins generally not dark and often with pale centers; outer half of pectoral fin unspotted or very.faintly spotted. I examined type material of Epinephelus spilotoceps . Schultz and E. melanostigma Schultz, and I am convinced that these are the same as hexagonatus. Schultz separated spilotoceps from hexagonatus primarily on the presence of Small black spots on the front part of the head of the- former and white triangular spots at the anglés between. brown ° Spots on the body of the latter: JI found examples from the” Marshall Islands collections which were intermediate between these two color patterns. One showed very distinctly both the small white spots between the large hexagonal brown spots on the body and the tiny black spots anteriorly on the head. Gill raker counts were made on the .type and paratypes of spilotoceps and are given in the table below where they can be compared with the counts of hexagonatus. Intermediate specimens were not counted. / ; Schultz separated melanostigne from other eee groupers primarily by its lacking a black dorsal saddie on'the caudal peduncle and in. having Only one large black spot at the base of the dorsal fin. Actually most of the type material shows a darkening of ‘spots dorsally on the caudal pedunele and the: four or five dark blotches along the dorsal base as in © hexsfonstus, although the large spot at the rear base of the spinous portion of the dorsal fin is relatively more promi-. nent in melanostigma than hexaconatus, ‘In the table of gill raker counts 1t will be observed that: melanostigme has more gill rakers. In most of the specimens this hieher count was due to the addition of two tiny rudiments, on the average, at the extreme upper end of the arch.:.The type and all of the paratypes of melanostigma: are fron the Phoenix and Samoa 93 Islands; Schultz records no specimens of hexagonatus from these island groups. His spilotoceps and hexagonatus are from the Marshall and Marianas Islands. Until melanostigma and hexegonatus can clearly bé' shown to occur in the same area, . prefer to consider the slight differences which separate these two forms as subspecific. Table 2 Gill Raker Counts of Species of Epinephelus of the "merra"™ Complex Number of rakers (including rudiments) on the first arch | 21 22 23 2h 25 26 27 28 29 merra ~ Marshall and ses sae Islands i 3 5 2 hexagonatus : “Marshall and Ghana ree: Islands uf 2 2 We. cde Spilotoceps Marshall Islands 1 x 5 L ug melanostigma ¢ ’ Phoenix and Samoa Islands se Dy SDP ol ote Epinephelus flavocaeruleus Holocentrus flavo-caeruleus Lacépede 1602. Hist. nat.) polss,,), VOR. We po. sole G07.) (7 Type locality, Meuritius). Epinephelus Hoedti Bleeker 1873- 76. pees ichth., NOL DD. 32, 45>, sow 285, tte ste Serranus flavo-cacruleus Fowler 1928. idem. B. P. Bishop Mus., ile ee pe ey - (Gilbert Tslands). 10 specimens. 50 - 10h ram; ondtad: “1 specimen. 310 mm, Tarawa. D SEG or eRe -A CIID, 8: P yh or 20; .g011 rakers 2%. (2 specitiens). Lig Color from 25 mm sea eG hivtektes transparency of 104 ma specimen purplish -blue, shading to yellow on caudal peduncle ; blue part of body and head with numerous small black spots; spinous dorsal fin blue with small black spots except margin which is broadly yellow; soft part of dorsal fin yellow except antero-basal portion which is blue with small black spots; anal fin yellow; caudal fin yellow with whitish posterior margin; pectoral fins hyaline yellow; pelvic fins yellow, the tips blackish. Dl Caudal truncate; depth of body 2.4 in standard length; middle of three opercular spines nearest the lowest spine. This colorful grouper was common in shallow sandy areas of the lagoon with scattered, well-isolated coral heads. It was seen in no other habitat. iy Bpinephelus caeruleopunctatus Holocentrus caeruleo-punctatus Bloch 1790. Natur. ausland, Pische; vols, pueGhe ple tle. esi) l specimen. 44 ma. Tarawa. D 0,16, A Tit,6, P les Blld repens ie, Color in alcohol dark brown with scattered small white spots of different size on head and body (38 spots, in all on one side); fins.all dark brown with small white spots and white margins. Genus ClLPHALOPHOLIS Cephalopholis Bloch and Schneider 1801. Systema ichth., p. 311. (Type species, Cephalopholis argus Bloch and Schneider). Cephalopholis argus Cephalopholis argus Bloch and Schneider 1801. Systema ichth., Dp. iam pl. OL. (Type locality, Bast- Indies). 12 specimens. 38 «= 209 mm. Onotoa. a specinen, “140 mm. Tarawa. DP teés A TId 9: P18; gill rakers 27. and 26 {ineludes many rudiments) 2 b) (2 specimens). Color from 35 mn Kodachrome transparency dark purplish brown with numerous derk-edged bright blue spots on head and body; five vertical pale bands on nosterior half of body (not seen in all specimens); basal part of spinous portion of dorsal fin colored like body, ends of membranes orange: remaining fins dark blue with blue spots somewhat obscured; posterior margin of caudal fin whitish. This was a common species at Onotoa and was seen in many different habitats. The stomachs of 10 specimens, 95 to 260 mm in standard length, were ovened. One contained 3 small fish (very fresh and probably prior victins of the rotenone). Another con- tained a penaeid shrimp; the rést were empty. D2 Cephalopholis sonnerati Sserranus sonnerati Cuvier and Valenciennes 1828. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 2, p. 299. (Type locality, Pondicherry and Ceylon). Ll specimen. 61 mis OQOnotoa lagoon. i specimen. 223 mm. Tarawa. Dil Rod 3th ol Oe bP le or 19: gill rakers 22 -and23. (2 specimens). Color in life of 61 mm specimen light yellowish brown with 5 or 6 faint dark vertical bars on upper half of body; Small brown spots covering head and body (orangish brown on head); faint white spots posteriorly and ventrally on body; dorsal and anal fins brown with whitish margins on soft portions; caudal fin brown with a broad whitish poste- rior border (broader at ends of upper and lower rays then median rays), the extreme margin reddish; pectoral fin dusky in basal central portion, whitish on outer half; pelvie fins dark brown. The 223 ma specimen is uniform brown in alcohol. Middle opercular spine nearest lower spine; caudal fin rounded; palatine and vomerine teeth present; 127 vertical scale rows from upper anterior end of gill opening to middle base of caudal fin; depth 2.5 in standard length. Cephalopholis hemistiktos Serranus hemistiktos Ruppell 1828. Atlas Reise nord. Afrika, Fische, rothen Meers, p. 109, pl. 27, fie. 3. (Type locality, Red Sea). Epinephelus hemistictus Boulenger 1895. Cat. fishes British Wus., Pp. L290. l specimen. 84 mm. Onotoa lagoon. Dy en, oe Ge Pole eu reakers .22 « Color in alcohol very dark brown with small blackish spots on head, body, and median fins (more prominent on head, but difficult to see even here because of dark ground color of the specimen); caudal fin with a distinct white posterior margin (broader at upper and lower part); soft portions of dorsal and anal fins with a very narrow whitish margin; pectoral fin blackish, shading to dusky pale on about outer one-third of rays. To my knowledge this species has never been recorded from the Pacific. Boulenger (1895:191) lists it from the Red Sea, south coast of Arabia, and Zanzibar. JI have compared my 56 specimen with a 138 fm one from: the Red Sea. The counts of the latter are D IX yh; A, 2ID,9; BP 7s, Si rele ed ci. ee Gilbert Islands specimen, Ls more nelantstic; there is a large black spot posteriorly on the opercle; the pale band posteriorly on the caudal is broader; the pale outer part of the pectoral is less obvious. “Phe. déntition is very Similar in both. There ig aypair‘of: ‘canines anteriorly in the upper jaw Separated by about 3/4 of an eye diameter and a pair anteriorly in the, lower jaw separated by about half an eye: diameter; the bands ef palatine and vomerine teeth are narrow. The snout is: Slightly shorter in the Gilbert Islands specimen, its length, ;conteined 4.7 in the :head length; that of the Rea. Sea Paice is about 4. 2. “te the head, length. | Oh Gaae =o Adentify- mv specimen as \ i ea with some uncer- tainty. I believe that the differences noted might be due to the difference in size of the two specimens which were compared and to their great. spatial separation, When spe- cimens of Indo-Pacific species of fishes from the Red Sea are compared with ‘ones from Oceania slight differences are often apparent. Gephalopholis urodelus: Percam urodétam (Forster) Bloch and” Schheider LEOL. eittome ichth., p. 333. (Type locality, St. Christina, Waitaho). Serranus urodelus GUnther 1873. Jour. Mus. Godeffroy,” aoe mk pi, 35 Pees, pls 35 fig. A. (Kingsmill islands), Cephalopholis urodelus Fowler 1928. Mem. B. P. Bishop Mus., Wii, Oe ayo: ee Islands). 8 specimens. 34 - 69 mm. Onotos. D tA, lo OF fom ArT 193 P wie, or! 18; a rakers AS. a ¢2 specimens). Color in alcohol ‘dark ahah a promi aseit: black spot posteriorly. on opercle; caudal :fin' ‘blackish with a broad — angular region of the upper and lower Gorners pale with... dusky (bright red in life) center; dorsal’ and anal fins blackish, the soft portions of each with a narrow, dusky margin and a broad pale submarginal band; centro-basal part of pectoral fin blac«ish, outer. part pale; pelvic fins pale with dusky margins. By hagdte ; Schultz (1943) confused C. leopardus with urodelus. The specimens from the Phoenix and Samoa Islands which identified as leopardus were actually urodelus and vice versa... He corrected this error in U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 202 (1953: 366). 57 Cephalopholis leopardus Labrus leopardus Lacépéde 1802. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 3, pp. 450, 516, pl. 30, fig. 1. (Type locality, “le grande Océan équatorial"). Cephalopholis urodelus Schultz 19,3. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. LEO ie Oe, 33 specimens. 27 - 95 mm. Onotoa. D IxX,j); 8 DEL,9; P17; eill wakers 23 or i2kevl2 ispeci- mens). Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency of 95 mm specimen: body light grayish pink with 5 indistinct pink vertical bars which. contain light erayish pink spots; an Elongate black spot (in ‘some specimens 2 spots) mid-dorsally on caudal peduncle; head light purplish gray with numerous faint pinkish spots and a dusky band from eye to upper posterior edge of operculum; dorsal fin color of body except for broad light red margin; anal fin light red; caudal fin light red with a diagonal black band on upper hind corner; pectorel fin orange with a narrow faint reddish margin. This snecieés was abundant in coral areas of the legoon and the oieets reef. The stomachs of 6 specimens 80 to 109 mm in standard length were opened. One contained a small fish, and the. rest were empty. Genus ANYPERODON on erodon Gunther 12 59. Cat. fishes British Muss. Vol. 1, 95. (Type species, Serranus leucogrammicus Cuvier and TAGE onto Anyperodon leucogrammicus Serranus lencogrammicus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1828. Hist. ‘abt. pOiSS.,, VOl. 2, p» 347. (Type locality, Moluccas and Seychelles). 2 specimens. 160 and 169 ma. Onotoa lagoon. D1,15; A T1t,9; P16; gill rakers 29... (1, specimen). Color in life olive green with rust-colored spots on head and body. Body slender, depth about 3.7. in standard length; no palatine teeth; caudal rounded. 58 Genus *PLECTROPOMUS Plectropomus Oken 1782. Isis, p. 1782. (Type species, Bodianus maculatus Bloch). Mat duh Yall Plectropomus truncatus 3 bi Sie daluhis bradeatws Fowler ana ‘Bean 1930. BULLS. We fect. Mus, LOO, vou. 10, p, 196, fle 5 yee Locality, Atulayan taba tet, Luzon). . “ties Specimens. 290 eae nin i ateuiaat: 3p mm. Onotoa. . mS im PA te ets oD yIIZ,11: A III,8; P15 or 16. (2. specimens). gill rakers 11 (all -but 3 are rudiments). (1 specimen). Color from 35 aan 1 rodachrome teaehastaey of 368 ma: speri- men dark brown with head, body, and: fins covered with . numerous small dark-edeged fietallic blue-green spots. Caudal fin truncate; depth of body about 3.2 in standerd length; a pair of close-set canine teeth anteriorly on each side of upper jaw, each pair separated by about an eye diameter in distance; lower. jaw with similar anterior denti- tion, the pairs being slightly closer together, and two - additional well-spaced canines posteriorly. The ends of these long canines fit into sockets on the opposite jaw. The’ small specimen was taken with rotenone from the surface of a’ lagoon coral head in three:feet of water. It was brown with dark blue spots. One of the adults was collected from the lagoon side of the west reef in about 5 feet of water and the other from the leeward outer reef in the northern part of the atoll at about the same depth. ibaa VARIOLA VYariola Swainson 1839. Nat. hist. class. eunnueul siidhe Bias coe, VOL. 2, p.' 202. (Type species, Variola: longi pinna Swainson). Variole louti Perca louti Forskal 1775. Descr, nisalton, pp. Le 10» (Type locality, Red Séa) . 2 specimens, 182 end 225 (ati Tarawa. DD) Tee. der ee P 52H yo eh ig rakers 2h (counting all rudiments) (1 specimen). DY Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency of a specimen collected at Kwajalein, Marshall Islands: greenish brown, shading to purplish on chin and abdomen, with numerous dark-edged red spots on head, body, and fins (those on body horizontally elongate); pectoral fin yellow, blackish basally; margin of caudal fin orangish. A pair of elongate canine teeth anteriorly in upper and lower jaws, those on lower jaw more medially located than those on upper jaw; two elongate canines in middle of side of dentary; canine teeth fitting into sockets in the oppo- site jaw; caudal fin very lunate. Genus GRAMMISTES Grammistes Bloch and Schneider 1801. Systema ichth., p. 182. (Type, Species, Grammistes orientalis Bloch and Schneider = Perosa sex-lineata Thunber2. Grammistes sexlineatus Perca sexlineata Tuuabere 1792. Kongl. Vet.. Akad. Nya Handl., WOE. TS edhe. Pl, o-n Aly pe, LoceLity, Last Indies). Grammistes orientalis GUnther 1873. Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, Wal, 2, pus oo pr LOL '(Kingsmi 1? Tshands).. Genus YPSIGRAMMA Ypsigramma Schultz in Schultz and collaborators 1953. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. 202, p. 372. (Type species, Ypsigramma lineata Schultz = Chorististium susuni Jordan and Seale). Ypsigramma brocki ig sigramm i@ brocki Schultz in Schultz and collaborators 1953. Pulte oe Net, Must 202, pp. 373; B794/miet GO (Type locality, Rongelap Atoll, Marshall Islands). 1 specimen. 58 mm. Onotoa. D VI-1,12; A III,8; P 14; gil] rakers 6-1-13. Color in life light gray with irregular olive-brown longitudinal lines on the body, three of which carry forward to hind edge of eye; fins pink; snout reddish; iris yellow. This specimen was designated by Schultz (1953) as a paratype of brocki. I examined the holotype of ¥. susumi (Jordan and Seale 1906:256, fig. 48). The chief basis for Schultz’ 60 consideration of Y. lineata as distinct from susumi is the possession by the latter of 10 predorsal scales instead of 12. .I counted 12 on.susumi. .In view of this andthe great Similarity in color pattern, I place lineata in the synonymy of susumi. ¥Y. brocki is obviously very closely related to susumi from which it differs slightly in color pattern. The holotype of brocki is 40 mm long. It has only: traces of lengthwise lines on the body. The Onotoa paratype, 58 mm in length, is intermediate in color between the holotype of brocki and the holotype of susumi, which measures 66 mm. Probably brocki should also be a synonym of susumi. More specimens are needed to elucidate this problen. Genus ANTHTAS Anthias Bloch 1792. Natur. ausland. Pische, vol. 6, pt. 9, p. 97. (Type species, Labrus anthias Linnaeus). Anthias squamipinnis Serranus (anehies) squamipinnis Peters 1855. Monatsb. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, p. 429. (Type locality, Mozambique). ? Anthias nobilis Franz 1910. Abh. Bayer. Akad. Wiss.,°vol. LE De SO PLease. ble. 1 specimen. 64 ma. OQOnotoa lagoon. D- %,173) A LTL,73.P.183 fill rakers 9-1-22.. Color in life brown with an orange band from eye to pectoral fin (faint in preservative); snout and tip of lower jaw orange; rows of longitudinal orange spots on side of body (no longer visible in preservative); a bright red spot On Upper distal part of pectoral fin between third and seventh rays (this spot blackish in preservative); caudal fin bright yellow, the upper and lower lobes orange; dorsal fin brown basally, orange distally; anal fin yellowish. There are 45 to 50 lateral line scales. The spécimen was speared and badly damaged in the middle of the body on both sides, hence an accurate count of lateral line scales can not be made; 5 scales between anterior end of lateral line and origin of dorsal fin; two opercular spines; entire head Scaled; maxillary scaled; caudal fin deeply forked, the lobes drawn out in filaments; distance from tip of upper lobe to most anterior part of posterior margin of caudal fin contained 4.7 times in standard length; depth of body 3.1 in standard length; cye 3.7 in head length: head 3.6 in standard length; a canine tooth extending antero-laterally from each corner of tip of lower jaw; a second canine tooth, 61 slightly larger, a short distance behind the first and recurved vosteriorly: dorsal fin continuous; third dorsal Spine not produced to a filament. According to Fowler and Bean (1939:305) the third dorsal spine of this species is not always elongate. I examined a specimen from the Philippines identified as Sqguamipinnis by Fowler and Bean. It differed from the one from Onotoa in having the third dorsal spine produced, a less evident blackish spot on the pectoral fin, 4O lateral line scales, and a gill raker count of 10-122, Fowler and Bean considered Anthias nobilis Prana from Japan as 4 variety of squatipinnis. inis. At least in coloration, the Onotoa specimen more nearly resembles this forn. Genus MIROLABRICHTHYS . Mirolabrichthys Herre 1927. rhilippine Jour. Sci., vol. 32, p. 413. (Type species, Mirolabrichthys tuka Herre and Montalban). Mirolabrichthys tuka Mirolabrichthys tuka Herre and Montalban 1927. Philippine iS PRoUmCr Se. ,otets: 325° pli 1.13) ple Tee Gaypes Lowality, Maricaban Island, Philippine Islands). 1 specimen. 85 mm. Onotoa. pap Se 16; . pti 18% eilt rakers 34. Color in ‘lite _rosy ragendem: shading to light lavender ventrally; an orange line from snout to base of pectoral Pia faint longitudinal lines of orangs dots on body; fins bright magenta. A small fleshy -prominence extending ventrally from tip of upper jaw; maxillary broad, maximum depth more than one-half eye diameter; a canine tooth projecting antero-laterally from each side of end of lower jaw; a second canine tooth, its tip curved backward, on each side of mandible- posterior to first canine; margin of hind half of orbit papillate; caudal fin deeply. forked, the lobes produced -to filaments; depth of body about 3 in standard length; eye 4.5 in head ‘length; dorsal fin continuous. Herre and Montalban described the life color of tuka from the Philippines as brownish red above, the sides roseate, with two longitudinal golden red bands, and golden fins with a violet patch on the soft dorsal. I examined specimens in the United States National Museum from the Philippines and East Indies identified as tuka and found no important 62 differences in the color in preservative or mornhology between these and the Onotoa specimen. The counts froma specimen from Borneo are: D X,15; A ITI,7; P 7% gill rakers 33. I believe that the apparent differences in life color and possible differences in counts are only subspeci- fic, indicative of slight differentiation of the populations in the Philippine-Hast Indies area and the Gi bee Islands. . . At Onotoa this beautiful . species was sighted in small schools hovering above the bottom’ on the outer coralliferous -terrace in about 30 feet.of water, The el) rakers are very long, suggesting that it might be a plankton feeder. The same is true of Anthias Sou eee oat One additional ‘speeduen’ was taken at Onotoa from the stomach of an adult. Caranx: ‘nelampygu - it was about half digested and was discarded. The genus ifirolebrichthys may eventually be placed in the synonymy of Anthias when the Anthiinae is parihartargind Peer a as ee vel should be. Cael PSEUDO CHROMIDAE I am following Schultz (1953: 388) in placing Pseudochromis, Pseudogramma, Pseudoplesiops, and Plestops in the one family seudochromidae. Although, this may be yep abodes shown to be an unnatural grouping of these little fishes, it appears to be a suitable classification at the present time. Genus SEUDOCHRONIS Pseudochromis Ruppell a 36 Neue Wixped Bia seen ee (Type species, Peeudoenrout es pieces climates Peuneerconte Aonolingeens Pseudochromis taneinosoma Bleeker 1853. Nat. “TMjdschr. Ned.-Ind., vol. oy afd tS) cave sath oor a “Ambon, East sactoe) nrg th ae m specinens. 36° ~ . 39 Tara. cnebane 3 specitiens. - 38 = 43 ma. Tarawa. D III,22; A III,13; V 1,5; P 18; dorsal leteral line scales plus scale rows to base of caudal fin 36 and Si te specimens). _ Goler in alcohol brown; fin rays of. dorsal and anal fins dark brown, membranes dusky; basal half of caudal fin (scaled) dark brown, outer. half and dorsal and ventral margins dusky; peired fins dusky. In life the posterior part of the body was yellowish. ‘ ne ta’ 63 Genus PSSUDOGRAMMA Pseudogramma Bleeker 1875. Verh. Axad. Amsterdam, vol. 15, p. 2h. (Type species, Pseudochromis polyacanthus Bleeker). Pseudogramma polyacantha Pseudochromis polyacanthus Bleeker 1856. Nat. Tijdschr. Ned.-Ind., vol. 10, p. 375. (Type locality, Ternate). 7 specimens. 30 - 48 mm. Onotoa. l specimen. 34 mm. Tarawa. D VitpeO; A TIL, 16 or-h7 sev Li sul: sealeotows!drom upper end of gill opening to base of candal fin 51 and 52. (2 specimens). Color in alcohol brown with round light brown spots larger than pupil of eye in approximately five rows on body (those ventrally tend to merge); a round dark brown spot larger then pupil of eye on opercle at level of eye; two irreguler narrow dark streaks running posteriorly from lower part of eye; median fins dark brown with narrow pale margins; paired fins pale, the pectorals dusky at base. The Onotoa specimens were collected from the west reef of the atoll at poison station IV. The Tarawa specimen was taken from a surge channel. Pseudogramma bilinearis Aporops bilinearis Schultz 1943. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. 180, Po. Pile eae fie. 9. (Type locality; Hull Tsland, Phoenix Islands). 5 specimens. 26 = 55 mm. Onotoa. 5 specimens. 34 - 60 mm. Tarawa surge channel. D Vinee AIIr eo. Wir, 5° Pri6s Scale rews!fromiupper end of gill opening to base of caudal fin 63 and 65. (2 specimens). Color in alcohol brown with round dark brown spots about the size of the pupil and vertically elongate dark brown spots on body; median fins brown, a little darker on basal scaled portions; paired fins paler than median fins. Schuitz (1943) erected the genus Aporops for this one species of pseudochromid primerily on the basis of an increased number of soft fin rays in the dorsal and anal fins and the lack of a pair of large pores in the interorbital space, such as is seen in Pseudogramma polyacantha. In my opinion these differences do not warrant generic distinction. 64 Genus PSEHUDOPLESIOrS . Pseudoplesiops Bleeker 1858. Nat, Tijdschr. Ned.-Ind., vol. 15, p. 215. (Type Spec es, Pseudoplesiops typus Bleeker). Pscudoplestops POSsae Pseudoplesions rosae Schultz 1943.-Bull..U. S; Nat. Mus. 180, ppe! Lad: Lees ‘Ties ll. (Type: locality, Rase™ Island, Samoa Islands) 1 specimen. 20 mm. Onotoa. Di 22s 8 133 V 1,33 Pays seeltes from upper ‘end of gill opening to base of caudal fin ae Color in alcohol light brown. The single specimen was collected from the west reef of the aged in poison station number IV. 0,2 Sawer, 38 Plesiops Oken 1817. Isis, ‘ap. 9) “Lie2a. (type apeiae — cers nigricans fippedit} : Plesiops higri¢ans » Pharopteryx nigricans Ruppell 1828, Atlas Reise im nérdlichen Riri, pe 03) pl. 4, fig. 2. (Type locality, Red Sea). l.specimen. 88 mm. Onotoa,. . 2 specimens. 8 5. ea 96 min’, Benet DAIL 7 3 A Di Sha 2O ee from. gill opeAing a base of caudal fin 27 (1 “specimen) . Color in life. bleckish with small light bluish green spots (one per scale) on body end ex tending out on fins; a prominent dark-edged blue spot on opercie;: a blue line at base of dorsal fin; distal end of pectoral fin and membrane between + first branchiostegal ray and opercle bright orange-yellow. The Onotoa eae at wes cau ant by hand by D. W. Strasburg from -beneath a rn. Ha a Ss2allow tide pool just sShoreward of the "Lithothamnion 11¢ze" a6 low tide. - Necordibes GO Ruppe ll! Sg description and ft dt P. “nigricans lacks the’ dark syot ca the opercle which is SO characteristic of the. BEeeteA in Oceania. | ! 65 Family APOGONIDAE This family includes small fishes with relatively large mouths and eyes and two separate dorsal fins. The males of at least some genera incubate the eggs in the mouth. Apogonids are rarely seen underwater as they are nocturnal and are found under rocks or in holes in the coral during the day. There were no Gilbertese names for the species or éven for this group of fishes in general. Lachner in Schultz and collaborators (1953) recorded 22 species of cardinal fishes from the northern Marshall Islands. sixteen are here listed from the Gilbert Islands, five of which were not reported by Lachner. Undoubtedly more species of this family occur in both ereas than have thus fer been collected, ~ Key to the Species of Apogonidae Recorded from. the Gilbert Islands la. A near-vertical dark brown band from origin of spinous dorsal fin to abdomen between pelvic and anal fins; prominent dark brown spots on head and body; body depth great, about 2 in Standard Vernet h ws O iisic « site Cece reer cee cece resi secesesvesen es sANOZON orbicularis lb. No near-vertical-dark brown band on body; no prominent dark brown spots on head and body; body depth not great, about 2.5 to 6 in’ standard leneth. 2.0 ..ee se eek ‘2a. Enlarged canine teeth lacking in jaws; body somewhat elevated, its depth contained less than 4 times in standard length; palatine teeth present or absent....3 2b. Enlarged canine teeth, 3 to 6 times longer than remaining villiform teeth, present in jaws; bocy relatively elongate, its depth contained 4 or more times in standard length: palatine teeth present....ceceseeeelk3 3a. First dorsal fin composed of 6 spines (the first spine is small and easily overlooked), the second spine the longest; body pale (transparent red in life) with no definite markings; palatine teeth present....ccsesovek 3b. First dorsal fin composed of 7 spines, the third spine the longest; body with definite dark markings; palatine Ceci reSeM ub OF POSSI: sieve es so ates wel eletetel e ovel ele sen eles wim D ha. Second dorsal spine very long, 3.6 or less in standard length; profile from snout to origin of first dorsal fin almost straight; posterior margin of preopercle very feebly serrated; 12 pectoral TaySccrceccccerevees re Fah BAe, Lobe, SO. RON, Be. Gb okpoeon doryssa 66 4b. Second dorsal spine of moderate length, fee Or wore. Din standard length; profile from snout to origin of first dorsal fin definitely curved; posterior margin of preopercle with obvious serrations; 14 pectoral rays. pieRCWh atk aile alate efhuereck svete eateverisenrets © ,arauepernd DOR OMMCEIE iG Na ILS 5a. Opercle with a round or elliptical black blotch about 5D. two-thirds diameter of eye in width; lateral line incomplete, ending under base of second dorsal fin (though a few pores may be visible posteriorly); no Palatine teeth; caudal fin rounded; posterior and anterior margins of preopercle not serrated; posterior end of maxillary extends beyond @ vertical throug th the posterior edge of eye {in young specimens the maxillary may reach only to posterior edge of eye).... eeeoseeeseseoseseevneeevae vweteeaeenvowpsevseeveevoeveevevaeveeeeeae teovreeseoeevaeeee Opercle without a round or elliptical. black blotch; lateral line complete; palatine teeth present; caudal fin emarginate or forked; posterior margin of preopercle serrated, anterior margin may or may not be serrated; posterior end of maxillary terminates in front of a vertical through posterior edge of eye....7 6a. Somewhat irregular, ener hwise lines of small black spots 6b. 74. OTe ' BA. Sb. on RGU kv svesreasascetmece teams + 135s abOgee isostigma No small black spots on DOJ ser eereeeseee ApOGON auritus Body with one or a few longitudinal dark stripes; no dark diagonal streak on cheek running from posteroven- tral edge of eye to posterior, margin of preopercile; anterior margin of preopercle smooth on serrated.....8 Body without longitudinal dark stripes: a dark diagonal streak running from eye to posterior margin of preopercle; anterior margin of preopercle smooth....12 Body with 5 longitudinal dark stripes, the uppermost adjacent to dorsal fins; anterior margin of preopercle smooth; suborbital smooth; a dark spot at base of caudal fin may or may. not be: present (if present, it is centered on the end of the. lateral Tiney, . 426 OehOO Body with only 1 longitudinal dark stripe, this stripe passing from snout through eye to caudal peduncle (in @ few specimens this stripe is faint, especially ‘ posterior to head); anterior margin of preopercle serrated; suborbitel strongly serrated; a dark round- ish spot on caudal pedunclé near end: of; and slightly eHOVEe,, LAbLEraL ML Merwiina. esos Rn: ie FUaetallicisia aco a hyirggaugtey Ah Bat 9a. Second and fourth body stripes curve to meet middle body stripe at wase of caudal fin; upper and lower margins of caudal fin not narrowly dark brown; median body stripe ends at base of caudal fin in a roundish jet 67 black spot (obscured by stripe in melanistic speci- METS ete be Stok chit Ade wie SOM ee. ApDOgoh nilgrofasclatus 9b. Second and fourth body stripes do not curve to meet middle body stripe at base of caudal fin (if second and fourth stripes join median stripe, they do so well out on caudal fin rays); upper and lower margins of caudal fin narrowly dark brown (faint in novemfasciatus); median body stripe may or may not end in 4 black spot (if a spot is present, it appears more as an elliptical enlargement of end of stripe than a distinct spot).... Sat NII Near SPA ca eM aa rit hae cm gh gilel prion ablatGhalstelanalate elie be b sie we bO 10a. Second and fourth body stripes end at base of caudal fin (though traces of dark pigment may extend out on caudal fin rays from stripes); median body stripe enlarged slightly to an elliptical-shaped area at base of caudal fin (usually a little darker than stripe)... Cece cercce rece vcccsvoesececcevesceeceeeApogon robustus 10b. Second and fourth body stripes extend on caudal fin, converging to join or nearly join median stripe near end of fin; median body stripe not enlarged at base of Caudal Lin..r.ccscvecccevceseeeessApogon novemfasciatus lla. Body somewhat elongate, its depth contained 3.2 to 3.4 times in standard length; caudal peduncular spot large, 2 to 3.8 in least depth of caudal peduncle; lengthwise body stripe abruptly narrow posterior to head and indistinct on Iarge specimens; pigment on naler regions of body uniform; no dark brown saddle on back beneath second dorsal fin.s.....eseeeeeeseeses -Apogon exostigma llb.: Body somewhat elevated, its depth contained 2.7 to. 2.9 times in standard length; caudal peduncular spot small, 3.4 to 6 in least depth of caudal peduncle; lengthwise body stripe of equal width throughout most of its length; pigment on paler regions of body conceatrated on peripheral portions of scales; a dark brown saddle usually on back beneath second dorsal fin.w.ccrcsaccene Mataietela aise vie ps is) a6 wien teeta st wtelelate see aes oe amieAOOPO snyderi l2a. Caudal peduncle with a dark saddle dorsally (this saddle reaching midventral line in specimens smaller than approximately 45 mm); a prominent diagonal dark mark on cheek, noticeably broader at edge of eye than at posterior margin of preopercle; a dark band in upper and lower lobes of caudal fin........Apogon savayensis 12b. Caudal peduncle without dark markings or with only a small dark spot loceted slightly above midlateral line; dark mark on cheek very faint, narrow, and of almost uniform width; no dark band in upper and lower lobes OE WOON 0 1a ie) dilate s imite cece ees eroescense ss eApogon nubilus 68 13a. Posterior margin of preopercle with a single, stout Spine and a membranous ventral flap which projects posteriorly; body pale (transparent, with silvery abdomen in life) without any definite dark markings; each pelvic fin united in its entire length with.a membrane to mid-ventral line of body; cnudal fin FOL KE dc ceeeeececsseevevccevees ymnapozon philippinus 13>. Preopercle lacking a single stout spine and membranous | flap; body with a definite pigment pattern; pelvic fins not united with a membrane to body; caudal fin rounded or FOTO a ak wy sain, ay HRs ea lah Gitta fol aR US te EN een oan a l4a. Lateral line incomplete, ending beneath second dorsal fin; anterior preopercular margin not visible exter- nally; opercular margin with a notch at level of maxillary; caudal fin rounded; scales small, about 55 in lengthwise series; body with about 15 longitudinal lines and with siaall dark spots super- imposed on line pattern and on head; a large round black blotch at base of caudal fin, its center above midline of body; an elongate black flap et posterior edge of anterior nostril..........Pseudamia polystigma l4b. Lateral line complete; anterior preopercular margin évident externally; no notch in opercular margin; caudal fin forked; scales large, 25 in lengthwise. series; body with 5 longitudinal dark lines, 3 of these extending past ends of second dorsal and anal fins; a black spot contained in a pale area in mid- line at base of caudal’ fin; anterior nostril tubular. SAS SEIS 16:8 sala! bisa: sane sali, a. (eam dei'io Vos ite) tas soil TBI wile etna Par cete Masa eseatia MEST alata 15a. Tip of lower jaw without enlarged canine teeth.....ee.0- cece cece osc cesccceeeesn ee ciicilodipterus guingquelineatus 15b. Tip of lower jaw on each side of symphsis with 1 or 2 enlarged canine teeth........,Cheilodipterus isostiama Genus APOCON Apogon Lacépede 1802. Hist. nat. POLSSh si NOR Oh BO shade) Typé species, Apogon ruber Lacepéde). Apogon orbicularis Apogon orbicularis (Kuhl.and Van Hasselt) Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1628., Hist. nat. poiss.,/vol..2, ps 155. (Fowler, 1928, gives the type locality as Java). Amie orbicularis Fowler 1928. Mem. B. P. Bishop Mus., vol. 10, p. 154. (Kingsmill Islands), 69 Apogon doryssa Amia doryssa Jordan and Seale 1906. Bull. U. S. Bur. Fish., TW weles.! D2, ee Oo. (Type locality, Apia, Sauoa). 2 specimens. 23 and 36 mm. Onotoa. D Wi-A1 958 fie 2. (2 specimens). Color in life was probably transparent red, as this species was not distinguished in the field from Apogon erythrinus which is this color. The color in alcohol is pale with traces of black pigment anteriorly at base of each dorsal fin and at base of caudal fin. Apogon doryssa differs from A. erythrinus principally in having a stouter and longer second dorsal Spine, a straighter profile from the snout to the origin of the dorsal fin, and 12 instead of 14 pectoral rays. The holotype was examined and compared with the two specimens from the Gilbert Islands. - Apogon doryssa appears to be a rather rare species, in contrest to the usually abundant Apogon erythrinus. There may be habitat differences between the two species. The specimens of erythrinus were taken from the lagoon or shallow channel between the sea reef and the lagoon. A. doryssa was obtained from the sea side of the atoll, though in a well- protected area of numerous small coral heads. Apogon erythrinus Apogzen erytnrinus Smydser 1904. Bull. U.« S. Fish. Comm., vol. 22m. elon pin 9s. fiz. 17. (Type locality; Puako Bay’, Hawaii). erly 9 specimens. 23 - 30 init. Onotoa. DVWi-2£.9- A 11,8; PF 14; vertical scale rows 22 to 2). (4 specimens) . Color in life transparent red. Color in alcohol pale, usually with a small elongate patch of tiny black specks posteriorly and midlaterally on caudal peduncle. Occasional Specimens with tiny specks of dark pigment scattered on the body; often the outer edges of scales appear slightly darker than the central portions. All of the above~mentioned pigmentation is inconspicuous, however, and the general color effect is of a uniformly pale fish. The type was examined. This and’ other Hawaiian specimens had more tiny dark spots on the body than the specimens from the Gilbert Islands, and they appear’ to be of larger average Size: we 70 Apogon isostigma Apogonichthys isostigma Jordan end Seale 1906. Bull. U. S. Bur. Fish., vol, 255) pa 251,, Phew 45. dGypel Deceiinys, Apia, Samoa). 7 specimens. 30 - 58-mm. OQOnotoa lagoon and sea reef. DiVela noe A RE Ss. BP 1h veri teat scale rows 21 to 23. (3 specimens). Color in alcohol brown with a prominent roundish black spot on opercle and numerous small dark spots in approxi- mate linear series on bedy; ‘a horizontal dark line above opercular spot; two dark lines extending posteriorly and Slightly downward from lower portion of eye (the lower line is narrow and the upper line, which extends to margin of preopercle at level of opercular spot, is broader and more diffuse); area on cheek between these two lines and around the opercular spot paler than rest of head; fins dusky, especially the caudal, which has a pale edge posteriorly (this pale edge narrower in median portion of fin). A 17 mm specimen from the Marshall Islands can be identified as isostigma; however, the lines of spots on the body are not apparent, though scattered small spots occur. The type was examined. In contrast to Schultz's statement (1943: 93) that palatine teeth are usually present in this species, none were found in any of the specimens from the Gilbert Islands. -° Jordan-and Seale (1906) utilized the lack of palatine teeth, along’ with the opercular spot and interrunted lateral line as a basis for including isostigma in Apogonichthys Bleeker. Apogon auritus Apogon auritus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1831. Hist. nat. poiss., FOL. 7, Ds be. (Type locality, Mauritius). 6 specimens. 26 - 38 ma. ‘2 specimens. 62 and 72 mm. Onotoa. D VII-1,9; A II,8 or 9 (usually 8); P 14: vertical scale rows 24 or 25. (3 specimens). Gill rakers of the two large specimens 14 (counting rudiments). Color in alcohol brown with a prominent round or ellipti- cal black spot on opercle, relatively larger in smaller specimens (in large specimens the anterior portion of the spot is slightly covered by the preopercle); a short horizontal dark line visible above opercular spot (this is rather indistinct in large specimens); two or three dark as lines extending posteriorly from eye as in A. isostigma (in the large specimens only the lowermost of these Lines is distinct). Small specimens exhibit vertical dusky bars on the body. The 38 mm specimen has traces of these bars and is considered intermediate between the adult and juvenile color pattern. This specimen is a sexually mature female. Color in life orange-brown. i The species was collected from both the lagoon and the outer reef. Apogon nigrofasciatus Apogon nigrofasciatus Lachner in Schultz and collaborators [O54 cae ome Meee wus 2022 eo) fh vee, PEGS rps PS). (Type locality, Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands). 17 specimens. 28 - 64 mm. Onotoa lagoon and outer pg ste ae BD Viter os Avil.o: P ih: vertleal scale ‘rows’ 2’ or (25. Color in alcohol pale with 5 longitudinal dusky to black stripes on the body, all converging on the head (the first stripe is located mid-dorsally; the third stripe passes from snout through eye to base of caudal fin; stripes above and below this stripe extend on to caudal peduncle, and all three merge at base of caudal fin). The stripes do not extend on to the caudal fin rays. In specimens in which the stripes are not very dark, a black spot is visible mid- laterally at the base of the caudal fin. An oblique dark streak may be seen basally in the second dorsel and anal fins. In life the body was reddish and the fins pale red. The stripes on the body varied from golden through dusky yellow to black. This variability in coloration occurred in specimens taken in the same poison station. Apogon nigrofasciatus appears to be very closely related to Apogon aroubiensis Hombron and Jacquinot. Lachner (1953) separated the two on the basis of slightly different gill raker counts, larger size of nigrofasciatus at maturity, and broader, browner stripes in aroubiensis; however, these two species have not yet been collected from the same island group, aroubiensis being characteristically Hast Indian and nigrofasciatus from Oceania (Marshall Islands, Mariana Islands, Samoa, and Austral Islands). It is possible that these two forms are merely subspecies of one wide-ranging species. They are however, about as easily separated as other species in the difficult "fasciatus" complex, such as nomenfasciatus, robustus, and angustatus. 72 Apogon robustus Amia robusta Smith and Radcliffe 1912, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., fo WGdie LL ake WED at eee even EOE: LSE it Jolo Reefs, Philippin e Is ‘lands). Amia noveutasciata Tordaa and Beate (in part) 1906. Bull. Wy Se pur. Fish, vol. 29s pe. 2he2, Pe0) Oe . specimen. 58 mr. Tarawa surge channel. | DO Viiear, os A It, Bsc lp vertical scale rows 2h: “This species is colored much like nigrofasciatus. It differs chiefly in the lack of a round black spot at the base of the caudal fin, in the failure of the second, third, and fourth body stripes to merge at the base of the caudal fin, and in the extension of thesé strines faintly on to the caudal tiA ways. there Ts) Grace, .o1) black pigment on the uppermost and lowermost principal Fays:,of..the.. caudal pas a Figure 37 of Jordan and Seale (1906) portrays’ a’Samoan specimen of this BRE hee considered by these authors as a color variety of Apogon novemfasciata. The specimen fron the Gilbert Islands appears very much like this figure, but the posterior 6nd of the middle body stripe is:not as broad or as dark and there is no slight convergence of the stripes above and below the middle stripe toward the end of the middle one. Such marking seems to be characteristic of sbécimens from Guam and the Marshall Islands‘ as well as Samoa. The specimen from the Gilbert: Islands Git ere) aur ber from Jordan and neale! Ss figure in lacking the: broadening of the. stripe on the cheek anterior to the base of the pectoral .fin, and thus. ata possesses a relatively large silvery area _on the operculun above the pectoral base. The isthmus, abdodien’,” ahd, sidé-'of'‘the: body to the énd of the pectoral Pin is somewhat silvery | in. the preserved specimen. _ Apogon novenfasciatus H Apogon noveiifésctatus Cuvier and Taveneeeues 1828. Hist. nat. ae VOLe. 2. De. Lot. (Type locality, Timor and Guam Apogon ere Gunther (in part. 873... Jour, Mus, Godeffroy, vol. 2, pt. 3, ps 19, Bie 20, 5 ae B. inet dasnery Islands). Apogon exostigna : Amia exostig a Jordan and Starks in Jordan. ‘and Seale ‘L906, Bali. U. So) eee Fish. vol. ENS ‘De 228, fig. Ai (Type locality, Apia, Samoa). G2 Apogon fraenatus Lachner in Schultz and collaborators 1953. Burs US ator Mee 202 vole Tp? 504 6 spegimens. 36 - 61 mm. Onotoa. D VII-I,9; A 11,8 P 13. vertical scale rows 2k. (3 specimens). _ Color in alcohol light brown with a blaci stripe extend- ing from snout through eye to middle of base of catidal fin (this stripe narrows abruptly posterior to head; in larger Specimens the portion of the stripe on the body is faint); a small black spot posteriorly on caudal peduncle, generally just above lateral line; a faint dark line basally in second dorsal and anal fins; upper and lower margins of caudal fin nerrowly dark; body and head finely speckled with dark spots, especially ventrally (these spots are relatively larger and darker in smaller specimens). | This species may be confused with Apogon snyderi Jordan and Evermann or Apogon fraenatus Valenciennes, both of which are characterized by a single median longitudinal stripe and a caudal peduncular spot. lLachner (1953) recorded fraenatus from the Marshall Islands and separated it from exostigma on the basis of the caudal peduncle spot being above the lateral line in the latter species and both above and below in fraenatus. Upon examining the specimens identified as fraenatus from Bikini, I conclude that they are actually exostigma in which some of the spot pigment appears below the lateral line tube. TI believe that fraenatus inay be a Philippine and East Indian form that does not occur in the rest of Oceania. Specimens of fraenatus from the Philippines display a more prominent and uniform body stripe and a slightly larger and rounder caudal peduncular spot which is centered on the lateral line. Apogon exostigma may be separated from snyderi, as indicated in the key, in its being a more slender and less melanistic fish, Specimens of exostigma were obtained from both lagoon and outer reef areas. Apogon snyderi Apogon snyderi Jordan and Evernann 1903. Bull. U. S. Fish Comme vel. 22,p. 180. (Type locality, Honolulu). 42 specimens. 41 - 83 ma. Onotoa. DY Poe Lee 2 Ly vertical seawe! rows! 2h orn25) (4 specimens). The gill raker counts of 12 specimens were 17 to 19 (mostly 18). 7h. Color in alcohol light brown with a derk brown stripe (in average width about seven-eighths the height of a body scele) running from snout through eye to base of caudal fin (the intensity of this stripe varies considerably from specimen to speciuen; in some it is barely visible); a dark brown spot otf variable size posteriorly on caudal peduncle (this spot is usually located entirely above the lateral. line, but in occasional specimens a small amount of pigment may extend below it); body scales narrowly cies in dark brown (in paler specimens this coloration of the scales is most evident on the nape); a narrow dark line eerie in. the second dorsal and anal fins running parallel with ‘contour of body; anterior.nortion of first dorsal fin black; - upper and lower margins of caudal fin dark brown; first two rays of pelvic fins with some black pigments; most specimens with a marked concentration of dark brown color below the sécond dorsal fin. .In addition to this dark, saddle-like area many specimens are dark along the dorsal aspect of the body, especially posteriorly on the caudal peduncle where the pigment tends to obscure the outline of the spot in this region. In some .spé¢imens there is a coneentration: of: dark brown pigment anterdorly:on the leteral line.. In life the body has a light lavender or pinkish cary and the pectoral and caudal fins are faintly pink. ae The Gilbert Islands speciméns were compared with the type from Hewaii, with Samoan specimens, and with specimens from the Marshall Islands. They tend to be more melanistic than the others, especially those from the Marshall Islands, and - the ‘anterior Peeere cule serrations are not so well developed. ; i Apogon. sayderi was abundant at irc een where it was obtained from the lagoon, channel, and outer reef. — This species seems to reach much. larger size in Hawaii than the rest of Oceania. In Hawaii it- may attain a : standard length of about 180 mm, a very large size for an apogonid. Of 369 oe wae frou the Marshall Islands, the largest was 97 san. a As far as is known, this species is not recorded from the Philippines, East Indies, or more western waters. Its distribution suggests that it might be a Hawailan endemic form that has drifted southward and become established in the major island groups of the South and Central- Pacific. The closely related Hawaiian species, Apogon menesemus Jenkins, may be exhibiting the same pattern of distribution in an incipient stage; Apogon menesemops Lachner is recorded only from the northern Marshall Islands. lLachner's speci- mens are probably only subspecifically different from Apogon menesemus. The stomach contents, from-10 spe¢imens of snyderi, which were collected during deylight hours, were examinec. One 75: had eaten a small fish which was half digested. Another contained unidentified organic matter with a few snall pieces of hard substance which are probably crustacean fragments. The remaining stomachs were empty. Apogon savayensis Apogon savayensis Gunther 1871. Proc. Zool. Socks, ps! 656. Type locality, Savaii, Samoa). 15 specimens. 34 - 94 mm. Onotoa lagoon and outer reel. D°VirHd Osh Tid or 9 (usually 9); P 13: vertical scale rows 23 or 24. (4 specimens). Color of body in alcohol dark brown dorsally, shading into light brown below lateral line; head and nape dark brown; a dark brown saddle on caudal peduncle (in small specimens this mark extends as a band to midventral line); @ prominent diagonal dark line on cheek extending posterior~ ly and downward from lower rear quadrant of eye. Fins dusky; a dark submarginal band in the upper and lower lobes of the caudal fin. Vertical dusky bars may be seen on the sides of some specimens. Apnogon nubilus Apogon nubilus Garman 1903.’ Bull. Mus. Comp. ZOOL , pad 220, Go. pig lice hen [ene locality, Suvagthagecishands). 7 specimens. 38 - 38 mm. Onotoa. De Vil= t,o} A eh, os in 135 vertical a rows 24 or 25. (3 specimens). Color in alcohol light brownish with body end head very finely and uniformly speckled with tiny black dots. A few specimens show vertical concentrations of these tiny dots to form faint bars on the body. A very faint and narrow Giagonal mark is visible on the cheek as in sSavayensis. Only one specimen has a spot on the caudal peduncle above the lateral ‘line. In all specimens the fins are dusky, especially the first dorsal fin. Color in dife: back Pr Ou Ss sides silvery with a lavender cast. All 7 specimens were taken from one Heliopora coral head in shallow water of a sandy channel connecting lagoon and the open ocean. Such 4 distinctive habitat, if shown to be consistent, may seperate this species ecologically from the closely related A. Savayens sis. Lachner (1951) discussed the 76 the Par em distinctness. of. these’ two species and A. bandanensis Bleeker. Gymnapogon philippinus re ee philippinus Herre 1939. Copela, no. Leet Da eOO ¢ (Type locality, et i, Oriental } bay aa Philippine Islands). . 5 specimens. 11.5 = 24 mm. Onotoa. D VI-1,9 or 10 (mostly 9); A II,8; P15. (4 specimens). Color in alcohol uniform: pale yellowish with melanophores forming numerous individual tiny spots over brain and | usually with a few in mid-dorsal line posterior to second dorsal fin. In one 13 mm specimen the pelvin. fins were dusky. There is in all specimens a criss-crossing of short straight lines of papillae on the head which become whitish when the specimens dry:and the papillae aré penetrated by air. Color in life transparent with silver on operculum and over abdomen; an orange-red line on body from region of pectoral fin to middle of base of caudal fin; an orange-red line at base of SON San and anal fins. _.These 5 specimens were compared with a 28 mm paratype of Henicichthys philippinus Herre. The following differences were discernivle: Small black spots on tip of jaws in the latter, different pattern of papillaé, and’a lavender-silver sheen on the preopercle.. Color -in. life, as described by » Herre, was translucent rose with a “pluish pearly lustre. Regerds body form, fin ray. counts, and: especially dentition tee characteristics which Lachner in Schultz and collaborators ; (1953) has set. down in tabular form for the known species of “4 Gytana pogon) the Gilbert Island and Philippine. specimens were ‘identical. It is therefore believed: that- the. differences ‘mentioned above may be only subspecific. The speciaens were obtained from the ‘first LS) feet’ of a transect of the outer reefiflat at Onotoa at low tide. They were in saall, shallow tide pools which contained sparse algal growth and in which the temperature. during the Gey sometines reached or exceeded eee (oh Gymnapogon has been set cied: in various families, and its peg Oa with the Apogonidae often questioned. Lachner (1953)- has discussed the genus in detail and prefers to include it weenen the Apogonidae, though as a distinct subfamily. Ido not believe that -this is advisable ‘in view of the characters of the monotypic genus Pseudamia which serve to connect Gyiunapogon with more typical @éencra of the family. Gymnapogcn is naked whereas otner apogonid genera heve large, well-formed scales; Pseudamia has small thin 77 scales which tend to fuse: on the body. Gymnapogon possesses a Single spine at the angle of. the preopercle; small Pseudamia have several small spines at this location; the pattern of the lines of pores on the head of Pseudamia is very similar to the lines of papillae on Gymnaposon. Total gill raker counts (including rudiments) of Gymnapogon 11 to 12; of Pseudamia, 1i,.* Genus PSEUDAMIA Pseudamia Bleeker 1865. Ned. Tijdschr. Dierk., vol. 2, p. 264. (Type species, Cheilodipterus polystigma Bleeker). Pseudamia polystigua Cheilodipterus polystigma Bleeker 1859-1860. Nat. Tijdschr. Ned.-Ind., vol. 20, p. 454. (Type locality, Singapore). Pseudamia polystigma Weber and de Beaufort 1929. Fishes LEGGenusibral, Areh,, vol. 5, ps 370, fig. 90. 2 specimens. 47 and 70 mm. Onotoa. 1 specimen. 25 mm. Abemama. -D VI+-I,9; A Tb Ou P 15; vertical scale rows about 50. (2 specimens). _ Color of 70 mm specimen in alcohol light brown with numerous small dark spots on head and body; narrow, some- what irregular, longitudinal dark lines on body: a large round dark blotch posteriorly on caudal peduncle, displaced Slightly above mid-lateral point of body; a black spot in middle of upper 5 or 6 caudal fin rays; a black elongate flap posteriorly on the anterior nostrils; median fins dusky, especially the caudal, with outer margins pale; paired fins bale ‘or falntly dusky. Color in. life bluish» silver with brown lines and spots; dorsal fins and anal fin purplish brown, edged in white; caudal peduncular spot and caudal fin dark blue to purple. ~ “After the above was written, a paper by J.L.B. Smith entitled "Apogonid fishes of the subfamily Pseudamiinae Close affisity of Pseudamia and Gymnapogon; however I question his consideration of these two genera and the new genus Psevjovicns as a subfamily within the Apogonidae. I believe this sutvamily should be re-evaluated in terme of the characteristics of the genus Cheilodipterus Lacépéde. 73 The 25 mm specimen, which was collected by Catala at Abemama Atoll, has no dark spot on the caudal peduncle, but Only the one on the upper part of the caudal fin; there are no dark lines on the body; the dorsal and ‘anal fins are hyaline. The 47 mm specimen, however, is intermediate in color to the 25 and 70 mm specimens. The small specimen has several indistinct spines at the angle of the preopercle, and criss-crossed on the head are prominent short rows of pores (these pores are present on the larger specimens but are not distinct). Pseudamia polystigma serves as a link PeRNeen the bizarre Gymnapogon and more e typical preeent aes See further discus- Sion under Gymn apogon. The 47 mm specimen was taken from a shallow water area of the lagoon where there was considerable turtle: grass (Thalassia) and occasional coral rocks. The large specimen was teken from a poorly defined surge channel region on the lee side of the atoll where the bottom was mostly coral- covered. Genus CHBILODIPTERUS Oheilodipterus Lacépéde LE02. Hist. nat. potas... vous. 25 Da ao (Type species, Cheilodipterus lineatus Lacépéde, as restricted by Cuvier and. Valenciennes, - Paramia Bleeker 1863. Ned. Tijdschr. Dierk., WO ne Met ps! 233. Cheilodipterops Schultz 1940. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 88, De eo . Cheilodipterus quinguelineatus Cheilodipterus quinguelineatus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1828.. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 2, p. 167..(Type locality, Bora Bora, Society Islands). Paraiia guinguelineata Bleeker 1865. Ned. Tijdschr. Dierk., Wot ey De Lee ! Chei lodipterus gquinquelineatus Weber and de Beaufort 1929. Fishes Indo~Austral. Arch., vol. 5, p. 361. Jadamga quinquelineata Schultz 1940. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 88, p. 416. (Corrected to Parsamia quinquelineata by Schultz, 1940; Copeia, ‘no. 63, p. 2032) Paramia quinguelineata Lachner 1951. Proc. U. Sa Naty aes. , VOL: LOL, "py 606. V 1 specimen. 35 mm. Onotoa channel. Color in alcohol very light brown with five longitudinal dark brown lines on the head and body, the pale interspaces between the stripes being two to three times as broad as the stripes themselves; a round black spot centered on lateral Line at base of caudai fin, this spot surrounded by an unpigmented area. (yellow in life). The first body stripe lies in mid-dorsal line, beginning in the inter- orbital space and bifurcating to surround base of the two dorsal fins; the second stripe runs from snout through top of eye, ending at edge of pale area on caudal peduncle; the third stripe runs down middle of body from snout to Caudal peduncle; the fourth extends from the chin through lower edge of eye to caudal neduncie; the fifth stripe is double on chin, triple in pelvic region, double around anal fin, and a single mid-ventral line on caudal peduncle. I am in agreement with Weber and de Beaufort (1929) in not separating this species into another genus, Paramia. Cheilodipterus isostigma Cheiledipterops isostigma Schultz 1940. Proc. U. S. Nat. MWus., vol. RB, p. 413. (Type locality, New Guinea). 1 specimen. 40 mm. Onotoa lagoon. Color as in Cheilodipterus quinquelineatus, except the stripes on the chin and abdomen, which are less distinct. C. isostigma is very difficult to distinguish from CG. guinquelineata without examination of the teeth at the tip of the lower jaw where the presence of one or two canines in isostigma affords a consistent means of separation. Since both species possess canines, I do not believe that their presence or absence in one place in the jaws constitutes a peneric difference as indicated by Schultz (1940). Family KUHLIIDAE Genus wsUHLIA Kuhlia Gill 1861. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sei. Phila., p. 48. Type species, Perca’ ciliata Cuvier). | Kuhlia marpinate Dules marginatus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1829. Hist. nat. POUssee wong. pe LG) pl. 52. (Type Locality, Java) - 60 1 specimén. hat mm. Nukunau. DD trate Si le el Lele): P ae rie een! line scales 56 (last 4 posterior to base of caudal fin); median predorsal scales LAs The gill arches have been removed; therefore no gill raker counts are given. The specimen appears to have been dried before preservation, No distinctive color markings (such as black margin to caudal fin) are apparent. Kuhlis taeniura Dules taeniurus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1829. Hist. nat. WOUSS. c WOlw, Sale dible. (ype locality, Java). Dules argenteus Gunther ea Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, vol. 2, Tle. Oo Pa eo lay LOC Pie Ol ficient suse eigicn iy Kuhlia taeniura Fowler 1928. Mem. B. P. Bishop Haeee vol. TO, pL 7 lor (soe tanc, Gilbert Islands). Moronopsis taeniurus Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc. Lavan Soc. N. S. Wales, vol. 63,. p. 292. (Ocean Island). iy eae 98 ‘mn, . Tarawa. DK 2@s i BAU g by tala ala aa lly ites lateral line scales 56 (last 5 posterior to base of caudal fin); median predorsal scales 11; gill rakers 10-123. pe rellies Color in-alcohol: back blackish, remainder of. body tan; caudal fin-with.5 black bands, 1 median and 2 on‘*éach lobe; spinous dorsal. with. attenuated ends of membranes black; soft dorsal: with broad black band in outer part of:fin. Family PRIACANTHIDAE Genus PRIACANTHUS Priacanthus Oken 1817. Isis, p. 1183. (Type species, Anthias ~ Gacrophthalmus Bloch). Priacanthus cruentatus Labrus grucntatus Lacépéde US0e. Hist. mat.) POassine. MGs oe pp. 452, 522. (Type locality, Martinique). ll specimens, 85 = 220 mm. Onotoa. 81 Do 2,13. A Tit Wee ay, on. Ae usually 18). (7 specimens). lateral line scales 63 and 69; gill rakers 23. (2 specimens). Color in life red, blotched with silver; median fins reddish with small reddish brown spots; paired fins pale readi sh. The specinens were taken in coral areas of the legoon and protected outer reef. Family SCOMBRIDAE Genus NEOTHUNNUS Neothunnus Kishinouye 1923. Jour. College Agric. Tokyo Univ., vol. 8, p. 445. (Type species, Thynnus macropterus Tenmineck and Schlegel). Neothunnus macropterus Thynnus macropterus Temminck and Schlegel 1844. Faune Japonica, Poissons, p. 98, pl. 51. (Type locality, Nagasaki). l specimen. 720 mm (only dorsal and anal fins saved). Onotoa. Genus ZUTHYNNUS Euthyanus Lutken in Jordan and Gilbert 1882. Bull. U. 3. Nat. Mus. 16, p. 429. (Type species, Thynnus thunnina Cuvier and Valenciennes). Eutayvynnus yaito Kuthynnus yaito Kishinouye 1915. Suisan Gakkwai Ho (Proc. Sen. heist SOC.) ke, VOl sn lyn Dew een Diew lay tae dd, (Type locality, Japan). bli id 2 specimens. 265 and 340 mu. Onotoa. i specimen. 120, 6%. (Tarawa. Genus ACANTHCCYBIUM Acanthocybium Gill 1862. Troc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vol, 14, p- 125. (Type species, Cybium sara Bennett). &2 Acanthoeybiun solandri Cybiwa solandri Cuvier ene nelene lence L63l Best, DAG. poiss., Toy Ons 8, p. 192. {Type locality, open seas). 1 specimen (only head saved). Length of head about 250 mm. Onotoa. Family HISTIOPHORIDAE Genus HISTIOFHORUS er ae Lacépede 1603") Hist / nat. poiss., vol. 3, . 27h. (spelling corrected to Histiophorus by Cuvier and Velenciennes 1831: 291) (Type species, Istiophorus gladifer Lacépede). Histi ophorus gladius Scomber ‘gladius Broussonet 1786. Mém. Acad. Sci., p. 454. 1 specimen. 1500 mm (not retained for collection). Onotoa, offshore. D XLVII-6; A XI-7. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency dark blue on back, shading to light blue on side and silvery white ventrally; fins dark blue. Distance fron tip of sword to eye 3.9 in fork leneth; ieee dorsal spine about 3 in fork length; second dorsal fin follows first by a distance less than twice the least depth of the caudal peduncle; paired keels at base of caudal fin; length of pectoral fin slightly ereater than body depth: pelvic fins with one Spine and one ray prolonged to 420 mm, I identify this species as H. er hagas from the ee. des- criptions, and photograph of He orientalis in the work of de Beaufort and Chapman (1951: 2h0- 0-242). Genus MAKATRA Makaira Lacépéde 1802. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 4, pp. 688, 989. (Type species, Makaira nigricens Lacépéde). &3 Makaira sp. The sword from a large marlin was cbtained from a Gilbertese fisherman who stated that he had caught the specimen at Onotoa. The specimen was not seen by me. Fanily GEWP YLIDAE Cenus PROMETHICHTHYS = | 2 Promethichthys Gill 1893. Mem. Net. Ac. Sci., vol. 6, pp. I15, 123. (Type species, Prometheus atlanticus Lowe). Promethichthys prometheus Sateen prometheus Cuvier and Velenciennes 16 3).01 Hab eae POLSS: ,oWO li. 8,9 Pan 2ia, (Type,docality, St... Helena), Promethichthys prometheus Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc. . bin, Soe, Ne S. Wattesoamol. 63, p. 293. (Ocean Island). .. Genus RUVEDTUS BUvettuSs Co¢es 1292. .Giorn. Ser. cieilia, vol. 42, pe 2 (Type species, .Ruvettus. ns Cocco). Ruvettus eyaedaal Ruvet tus Tydemeni Weber 1913. Siboga Exp. Fische, p. 401. “(Type locality, Binongxa Island). Ruvettus tydemani Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, vol. 63, p. 293. (Ocean Island and Nauru). Fowler (1928: 135) maintains that Ruvettus tydemani Weber is not different from the Atlantic Ruvettus pretiosus Cocco. Family CARANGIDAE The jacks represent one of the dominant families of fishes in the Gilbert Islands, as elsewhere in tropical marine waters. Fast swimming and mainly piscivorous, fishes of this group fill the niche of “roving poe uenes on the reef more than those of any other exouns The most important fawily characteristic is the presence of two isolated anal spines anterior to the anal fin proper. 84 Genus BLAGATIS Elagatis Bennett 184C. Narrative of a whaling voyage around ehe globe, vol. 2, p. 283. (Type species, Seriola bipinnulata Quoy and Gaimard). Elagatis bipinnulatus Seriola bipinnulata Quoy and Gaimard 1824. Voyage autour du monde... Uranie™.,.Z00iwe ps BOSeVpl. 61) fie. ay (Type locality, "Iles des Papous"). 1 specimen (only the head saved). 580 mm. Onotoa. D VI-L,24-2; A Li-I,17-2. The specimen was caught by Gilbertese fishermen by trolling off the edge of the west reef of the atoll. Dorsal and anal fin ray counts were made and the head was purchased. Genus SCOMBEROIDES Scomberoides Lacepéde 1802. Hist. nat,” poiss., vole3, p. 50. Type species, Scomberoides commersonianus Lacépede }s Scomberoides sanctipetri Chorinemus Sancti Petri Cuvier and Valenciennes 1831. Hist. hat, poiss., Vol. 6, ps. 37 9,spaeviose. (Type Locality, coast of Malabar). or Chorinemus sanctipetri Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc. Linn. Soo. N. S. Wales, vol. 63, py. 292. (Naurus. 2 specimens. 340 and 390 mz. Onotoa. 2 specimens. 251 and 318 mm. Tarawa. DVI or Vilel,20: A Ti-L,16 or 29: 2 2) Oras rakers 25 or 26 plus 2 tiny rudiments. (2 specimens), Color from 35 ma Kodachrome transparency light silvery blue on back shading to silvery white on sides and ventrally; a row of faint dusky roundish blotches on side of body just above lateral line; 3 or 4 Similar blotches mid-laterally on body below lateral line in a row just posterior to tip of pectoral; a large black spot on the dorsal fin between the first and sixth soft rays (this spot covers all but the basal part of this section of the fin); anal fin pale with @ blackish spot anteriorly; caudal fin purplish; pectoral fin dusky: pelvic fins white. h 85 Bye 4.6 in head; maxillary reaches slightly posterior to vertical from hind edge of eye; depth of body 4.4 in standard length; length of pectorel fin 1.5 in head length; first 6 or 7 dorsal spines and first 2 anal spines isolated; posterior rays of dorsal and anal occur as separate finlets; course of lateral line, especially anteriorly, irreguler. The two Onotoa snecimens were taken with rotenone on the lagoon side of the west reef. When first brought from the water they had a yellowish cast ventrally. The largest Tarawa specimen was speared from a boat anchored in the lagoon after it was attracted by night lighting. Kendall and Goldsborough (1911: 267) and Fowler (1928: 140) recorded Scomberoides tolooparah (Cuvier) from the Gilbert Islands. The former authors suggested that tolooparah might be the young of S. sanctipetri. Genus DECAPTERUS ,becavtenus Bleeker .L851.,Nat. Tijdschr. Ned.-Ind.,.vol. l, Dp. 352. (Type species, Caranx kurra Cuvier and Valenciennes). Decapterus muroadsi Caranx murcadsi Teuminck and Schlegel 1844. Fauna Japonica, oe TIC oe, 55, fies ty (type Locarity, Japan). l specimen. 220 ma. Tarawa. D VIII-I,34-1; A ITI-1,26-1; P 23; gill rakers 49. Color in alcohol brown with ae black spot on margin of opercle above the posterior projection of the oOperculer membrane at level of upper edge of base of pectoral. Depth of body 5.3 in standard length;: body- almost cylindrical, body width 1.2 in body depth; ho teeth in jaws, On vomer, or palatines; adipose eyelid well developed, maximum width of the open slit over pupil contained more than 3 times in diameter of eye. Many of the scales and scutes were missing; hence no scale or scute counts were made. Genus TRACHUROFPS Trachurops Gill 1862. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., p. 238i. Type species, Scomber plumieri Bloch = = Scomber crumenopththalmus IGT 86 Trachurops crumenophthalmus . Scomber crumenophthalmus Bloch 1793. Natur. ausldnd. Fische, ~ WOLs 7, PUL LO”, De Pf ah Doe, OHO. (LYRE Osea Gi ua carta Bay, West Africa). | l specimen. 128 mm. Tarawa. 1 specimen. 148 mm. WNukunau, F VIII-1,27; A II-1,22: P 21: gill rakers 37. (1 speci- menj. “ } Color in alcohol: upper) halt of body brown, Lower “nally light brown; tips of jaws slightly blackish. Depth of body 3.7 in standard length; maximum width of body 1.8 in denth; small teeth in jaws, on vomer, palatines, and tongue; adipose eyelid well developed, maximum width of open slit over pupil contained about 3 times in diameter of eye. . The specimens are in poor condition and scale and scute counts could not be made. Genus CARANK Caranx Lacépede 1802. Hist. nat. DOSS ss) VOL 6 | Qua) Ba ae (Type Seen id Scomber carangus Bloch = Scomber hippos Linnaeus). ee Caranx melampygus Caranx melampyegus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1833. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 9, p. 116. (Type locality, Weigiu, Rawak, Baru, Vanicolo, and Mauritius). Caranx ascensionis Fowler 1928. Mem. B. P. Bishop Mus., vol. 10, p. 145. (Abaiang, Gilbert Islands). 2 specimens. 345 and 400 mm. 8&8 specimens. 79 - 127 mm. Onotoa. : 5 specimens. 76 - 245 ma. Tarawa. DP VItiRn1 (22 or 292) (A ele i ro or rete 20 er a. scuGges 36 to 41; gill rakers 26 to 27. (4 specimens).. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency of a 600 mm specimen (not saved): upper half of body brownish blue with scattered small black spots; lower half of body white (no sharp demarcation, however, between the upper and lower halves.in color); head dark grayish, brownish dorsally and 87 whitish ventrally; median fins bluish; dorsal fin with a bright blue band at base; pectoral fin dusky. Color in life of 102 mm specimen: back greenish blue, sides and belly silvery white; dorsal and caudal fins bluish; anal fin yellowish, tipped with bluish; upper half ‘dalle pectoral eee Caranx aelempyeus was the most abundant species of the genus at Onotoa. It appears to be a roving predator on other reef fishes. Adults were often seen Singly or in groups of two to five, constantly on the move and generally in one direction, on the coralliferous terrace of the outer reef. Schools of juveniles were observed in shallow lagoon areas. The stomach contents of four adult specimens from 250 to 450 mm in standard length were examined. Two of the speci- mens were taken with rotenone. They had eaten a great many small fish which were undoubtedly earlier results of the poison than the Caranx themselves. The two other specimens were speared, The stomach of one contained nothing; the stomach of the other contained two fish, one of which was not identifiable and the other was Mirolabrichthys tuka. There was also a mass of fish scales. © Caranx (hippos?) ?Scomber hippos’ Linnaeus L766... vein Wie tien edhe dies | Di, Ole (Type locality, Carolina). , m, Caranx sexfasciatus Quoy and Gaimard 1824. Voyage autour Gi Me noen. SMU PANG VtusZOOlt op Yexepoe Dis 05, fig. 4. (Type locality, "Ties..des Papous"). Caranx sexfasciatus: Fowler 1928. Bull. B..P. Bishop Mus. , vol. 10, p. 149. (Abaiang, Gilbert Islands). Caranx forsteri Keniall and Goldsborough 1911,.Mem. Mus. Comp. Zocl., vol. 26, p. 268. (Butaritari:, Gilbert Islands). . ih ties 2 specimens. 59 and 61 mm, Onotoa lagoon. 2 specimens. 85 and 109 ma. Tarawa. 2 specimens. 149 and 176 mn. Butaritari. a of Kendall and Goldsborough), D aes Poor) 2k AG) or AP oe Ae or’ 2s SCULeS 30 to, 335, gill rakers Penne) De. (4 specimens). Color in eslcohol of 59 mm specimen light brown with 6 broad dusky bars extending from mid-dorsal line to about 88 mid-lateral line of body. The 149 and 176 mm specimens no longer show such bers. I compared the specimens from the Gilbert Islands with Caranx hipvos of comparable size from Florida. The meristic data on tie few specimens counted are identical. .-There are a few slight morphological and color differences; -however I believe these are only subspecific in magnitude {provi- ding hippos is confined to the Atlantic a sexfasciatus occurs Only in the Indo-Pacific region as is arparently the case). The Florida hippos have a prominent blackish spot on the margin otf the operculum at the level of the lower part of the eye; in somes Gilberts specimens a dusky area may be seen at this Same level on the operculum but anterior to the margin. In addition there is’ a small blackish spot at the upper end of the gill opening. There wers minor differences in shape of scutes, pattern of Squamation on the cheek, and in dentition. I believe that further study of this problem is advisable. J. T. Nichols (1910: 159) reported on his examination of the type of Caranx forsteri Ouvier and Valenciennes. From his description it appears to be the same as C. sexfasciatus Quoy and Gaimard of which he made no mention. Nichols con- Sidered Carenx mar inatus Gill, Caranx rhabdotus (Jenkins), and Caranx Ele Ele cate (Jordan and ‘nVvermann) as synonyms of CG, forester. On several occesions at Onotoe I encountered one or two huge individuals of Caranx, probably this species, in surge channels. They appeared £0 be 4 to 5 fect in length. Caranx lugubris Caranx lugubris Poey 1861. Mem. Hist. Nat: - Cuba VO} se De 222. (Type locality, Cuba). Caranx. lessonii Hiyama sey Poisonous fishes S. Seas, Du. S05 Spin ie wee, ne and 12", 3 specimens. 237 = 450 mm. Onotoa. D VIII-1,22; A II-1I,17 to 19: P 22: seutes 28 to 30: gill rakers.26 to 27. (3 specimens Color from 35 mm Kodachrome Lead Sneeenen ayeen gray; head blackish except cheek and opercle which are silvery gray in areas; fins blackish; scutes, except for central, elevated portions, black. All three specimens were speared from the coralliferous terrace of the outer reef. This species appeared quite inquisitive and approached a swimmer. closely. 89° The stomachs of two of the specimens were opened. One contained nothing and the other a half-digested fish. Caranx ignobilis Scomber ignobili ¥or skal 775. ,D6SEr animalium, “ppis xii, 55. (Type locality, Djedda, Red Sea). Caranx ignobilis Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, vol. 63, p. 292. (Nauru and Ocean Island). Caranx ferdan a) seomber Terdau BPorskal) 1775. Descersvanimaliuiy ppiexii, 55. (Type Tocality, Djedda, Red Sea). 1 specimen. 260 mm. Onotoa. D ---- I,31; P 24; scutes 30; gill rakers 32. Color in life light irridescent green above, silvery on sides and below; 7 or & small elliptical bright yellow spots scattered in a group on side of body (on the left Side these are in the middle of the body and just below the lateral line; on the right side they are slightly posterior to the middle of the body and some above and the rest below the lateral line); elongated anterior part of dorsal and anal fins blue; remainder of these fins and caudal fin bluish gray; pectoral fin faintly yellowish; iris of eye yellowish. Faint vertical derk bars were visible on the fish before it was speared and for a short time thereafter. The specimen was taken on the coralliferous terrace of the outer reef. It is lacking the spinous dorsal fin; there is evidence of injury to the usual site of this fin in the specimen. The spear damaged the anal fin such that counts of fin rays could not be made. Caranx speciosus (o) Scomber speciosus Forskal 1775. Descr. animalium, p. 12. (Type locality, Arabia). Two individuals of what is tentatively identified as this species were observed underwater off the Island of Aunteuma in the northern part of Onotoa. They were about 2 feet in length and had vertical dark bars on the body as figured for this species by Fowler (1928: pl. 11, fig. C). One was speared but was not captured. 90 ‘ Caranx ciliaris how ~ pe. Ll, p. 135,cpl. 18. (Kingemiil i febandel, f Family LUTJANIDAE Along with the groupers, the snappers are the most important group of carnivorous fishes in the Gilbert Islands... The species are numerous and the individuals of several are abundant. ie 425 ae As will be noted, ti have fotiowed Schultz etal (1953) in classifying such genera as Lethrinus, Aphareus, Caesio, Aprion, Gnathodentex, and Monotaxis in the Lutjanidae. Genus LUTJANUS ch 1790. Natur. ausland. Fische, vol..&, pt. 7, fype species, Lutjanus lutjanus Bloch). — Lutjanus vaigiensis - Diacope vaigiensis Quoy and Gaimard 1824. Voyage autour du monde...L'uranie...Zool., p. 307. (Type locality, Waigiou). ¥ Lutjanus marginatus Whitley and Colefax LOSS Procy Linn, Soc. N. S. Wales, vol. 63, p. 292. (Nauru). 6 specimens. 61 - 228 mm. Onotoa lagoon. 3 specimens. 141 - 169 mo. Tarawa surge channel. D Z,13 or 14; A III,8; P 16; scale rows from upper end of gill opening to base of caudal fin 47. (2 specimens). Color in life of a 125 mm specimen: light yellowish gray dorsally shading to yellowish white.ventrally; chin, gill membranes, and thorax pure white; spinous portion of dorsal fin light gray with dark red band distally except tips of spines which are white; a line of large orange spots on gray part of spinous portion of dorsal fin; soft part of dorsal fin dusky on basal third and black on upper two- thirds with a narrow dark red band down the middle and a very narrow white margin; caudal fin nearly black with a narrow white margin and a reddish black submarginal area; anal, pectoral, and pelvic fins yellow; upper half of maxillary orange; a small yellow area immediately dorsal “gl and posterior to eye. A 62 mm specimen was colored Similarly. It differed in having eight longitudinal yellow lines on the body and hyeline pectorel fins. The stomechs of six surplus specimens from a Tarawa surge channel (155 to 180 mm in standard length) were opened. Two were empty and two contained small fresh spe- cimens of Thalassoma umbrostygme which had probably been killed by rotenone; one rish had eaten a small holothurian, and the last had made a meal of a Small brachyurean crab. The stomachs of two Onotoa specimens, 75 and 95 mm in length, were empty. Lutjanus monostigmus Mesoprion monostigma Cuvier and Valenciennes 1828. Hist. hat) DOLSS..,) VOL. 25D. 46. (Type locality, Seychelles). Lutianus monostigma Kendall and Goldsborough 1911. Mem. Mus. Comp. ZOOL., Vow. 26, -D.,28/7.. <.putaritarl, Gilbert Islands). 2 specimens. 60 ma. 1 specimen. 29 ma, Onotoa. 3 specimens. 53 - 117 mm. Tarawa. D X,13; A III,8; P 16; vertical scale rows from upper end of gill opening to bese of caudal fin about 54. (2specimens). Color in life very similar to the plate of the species in Hiyama (Poisonous Fishes of the South Seas, 1943: pl. 6, fig. 16) (misidentified as Lutjanus fulviflamma). The lateral line of the Onotoa specimens bissects the blacx spot on the side. The spot is centered below the base of the second soft ray of the dorsal fin. The 80 mm Onotoa specimens were taken by Gilbertese from the outer reef flat at night while torchfishing. The 29 mm juvenile was caught in a tide pool of the outer reef flat. A 290 mm adult was obtained near the end of our stay at Onotoa with rotenone from the lagoon side of the west reef, but could not be preserved due to lack of formaldehyde. Lutjanus bohar ) cy Sciaena bohar Forskal 1775. Descr. animalium, pp. xi, 46. (Type locality, Arabia). 1 specimen. £50 ma. Onotoa. 1 specimen. 285 mm. Tarawa. 92 DX,143; A III,&; P17; vertical scale rows from upper end of gill opening to base of (ogee (ae ty ia pile - (1 specimen). Color from 35 mm Kodachrone transparency ates iseae ly Shading to dull red on sides and ventrally with a whitish spot besally’on each scale;'e prominent white spot, larger than pupil of eye on back adjacent to ‘posterior part of soft dorsal fin; median fins red (except spinous HOn ee which is dark reddish gray) with broad dark margins; upper half of pectoral fin dark orange-red, lower half fyattine orenge-red; iris golden. The Oneeen specimen teken was ‘speared from beneath a coral ledge on the coralliferous terrace of the outer reef by a Gilbertese native in an. estimated 25 feet of water. “Solitary individuals were.often seen in this area, some 2 feet or more in leneth. They were readily identified underwater by the saddle-like white spot on the posterior ’ part. of the body. Some individuals displayed a second white spot below the spinous nen i fin. The gut of the Onotoa specimen was | enpty. Lutjanus gibbus ‘Sclaena. gi bbe Forskal 1775. Deser. aniealiua, took xi, 6. “Yiype locality, Arabia). it: specimen. : 200 fd « 28 ee 35 - 50 mm. Onotoa lagoon. : a h il Speetien. 163 Gh « ' Tarawa. a ae 1ks A LIL) Ply vertical ‘weaned ‘rows from upper end of. gilt opening Co base of aa! Tin about Ga. (2 eee et Profile of head of Bau ves concave, the upper part ascend- ing steeply to origin of dorsal fin; lobes of caudal fin rounded. Profile of head of young straight: ends of caudal lobes pointed. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency of 200 mm specimen: red, the centers of the scales on the body and operculum whitish; spinous portion of dorsal fin red; soft portion of dorsal fin, anal fin, and caudal fin reddish black with narrow white margins; pectoral fins red with a golden spot in region from upper part of base to gill opening at level of opercular spine; pelvic fins reddish; a small golden patch posterior to knob on interopercle; iris yellow except for a narrow red rim around pupil. 93 Color in life of juveniles 35 to 60 mm in length: blue- ereen on back, pale below; borders of scales black, resultines in an oblique lined effect on the body due to the ascending scale rows; a large black area on caudal peduncle and base of caudal fin; rest of caudal fin bright yellow; dorsal grayish with a pale margin and a dark sub- marginal band. The adult specimen which was retained for the collection was poisoned with rotenone at station VI at Onotoa. The site of this station consisted of a large truncated coral head which reached to within 3 feet of the surface of the lagoon. The juvenile specimens were taken from the Thalassia flat region of station V. The species was observed only in shallow lagoon waters around coral heeds. In the northern Marshall Islands, however, Schultz (1953) reports taking it only from moderately deep water. The stomach contents of three Onotoa snecimens, 250 to 290 mm in standard length, were examined. These fishes were collected with the use of rotenone. They had eaten small. fishes which were probably prior victims to the poison than the lutianids themselves. Lutjanus kasmira Sciaena kasmira For skal 1775. Descer. animalium, pp. xi, 46. (Tyve Tocality, Arabia). 20 specimens. 30 - 120 mm. Onotoa. 2 specimens. 37 and 45 mm. Tarawa. D X,155 A TIL,8; P, 16;.vertical scale rows from upper end of gill opening to base of caudal fin about 65. (2 spe- cimens). Color from a 35 mm Kodachrome transparency of a 90 mm Specimen: yellow dorsally, shading to white ventrally, with four longitudinal light blue bands on head and upner two-~ thirds of body; fins yellow. No large adults of the species were taken. Most of the Onotoa specimens were collected from around coral heads in Shallow areas of the lagoon. Lutjanus rivulatus Diacope rivulata Cuvier and Valenciennes 1828. Hist. nat. Poles.) gowns bp. Ble eDl ar oes Kode, .Ocailty,,..coromandel , Java, Red Sea, and Malabar). 94 Lutjanus rivuletus Fowler 1928. Mem. B. P. Bishop Mus., vol. 10, p. 202. (Abaiang, Gilbert Islands). Genus APRION Aprion Cuvier and Valenciennes 1830. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 6, p. 543. (Type species, Apron yin virescens Ouvier and Valenciennes). | Aprion virescens Apriog :vire virescens Cuvier and Valenciennes 1830. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 6, p. 544. (Type locality, Seychelles). 1l--specimen (head only). length of head 164 mm. Tarawa. ; Genus APHARBEU Aphareus Cuvier and Valenciennes. 1630. Hist. nat. “poiss., VG. Of: Delooe (Type species, Aphareus caerulescens Cuvier). Aphareus furcatus Labrus furcatus Lacépéde “E802 « Hist. nat. se vol. 3, DP, L2Or e Detek. fig. l. (Type Loeality, te grand O¢ean) . Le specimens. 120 re, ge ma. Onotoa. D X,11; A ITI,8; P.15; lateral line scales 76 and‘77; gill rakers 26 (the last 5 of the 10 on the upper limb of the arch are tiny rudiments). (2 specimens). Color in life of a 230 mm specimen: blue-green above, shading to pale blue below, with anterior third of the exposed part of each scale dark brownish gray, giving an overall bluish grey effect to the fish; a-broad bright yellow band from tip of chin across mouth to interorbital Space, narrowing beyond this point as it extends to origin of dorsal fin (posterior to interorbitel space the yellow ~ is suffused with brownish gray on the edges of the scales); dorsal and anel fins orange~yellow;. caudal fin yellowish brown besa@lly, shading to brownish.red distally; pectoral fins light. yellow on upper half, clear reddish brown below; pelvic fins yellow, red aedislly; iris of eye orange next to pupil, light blue in. outer half. The-other- three specimens were colored Similarly except they lacked the bright yellow band medially on the head. The fish with the yellow band is a ripe female, 95 As has been pointed out by Fowler (1928: 195), specimens of A. furcatus with the yellow frontal band (A. flavivultus Jenkins) do not seem to differ in any other way from those lacking this yellow coloration. This species was always seen as solitary individuals actively swimming several feet off the bottom in coral-rich areas such as the coralliferous terrace of the outer reef. The stomachs of all four specimens were opened. Two were empty, One contained an unidentified fish, and tne last had eaten what anpears to be a specimen of Priacanthus. Genus CAESIO Cacsio Lacépéde 1802. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 3, p. 85. Typé species, Caesio coerulaureus Lacépéde). Caesio coerulaureus Caesio coerulaureus Lacépéde 1802. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 3, p. 65. (Type Locality, Moluceas). l specimen. 240 mm. Onotoa,. scales eee a -D X,15; A III,11; P 22; lateral line scales 69 from lateral line to base of spinous dorsal fin 7 rakers ohh. * ay x A single bony process on premaxillary besides the median process; teeth on premaxillary in one row (one or two tiny teeth were found medial to this row); no palatine or vomerine teeth visible; depth of body 3.7 in standard length. Color from a 35 mm Kodachrome transparency dark blue dorsally, shading to light blue on side and white ventrally; a greenish yellow longitudingl band from upper edge of gill opening to upper base of caudal fin; median part of lobes of caudal fin broadly black; a triangular black mark on upper half of base of pectoral fin; dorsal fin gray; anal fin reddish; pectoral fin light yellowish; iris pale yellow. Ths specimen was speared from a school of about 12 individuals swimming at a depth of about 30 feet on the coraliiferous terrace of the outer reef. Caesio xanthonotus Caesio xanthonotus Bleeker 1853. Nat. Tijdschr. Ned.~Ind., VOl.. 4, .Daqho0., (Type, Locality,» Batavia), 7 specimens. 125 ~ 185 mm. Onotoa. 96 Dux 15; A, 12; P 21; lateral ate saaiiee 59 and 62 (these extend haif way out on caudal fin); scales from lateral. line to base,of spinous portion of dorsal fin 6; gill rakers 3h and 35. (2 specimens). wy en Gat elongate process extending prey See from side of premaxillary (in addition to median process); two rows of teeth:on premaxillary, the. outer row short and conical, the inner row minute and villiform; no teeth on palatines: vomer essentially toothless (under high power of a binocular microscope several tiny teeth were found after probing in the palate lining); depth of: body 3.6 to 3.7 in standard length;. pectoral fin longer hoon head. 2.9 CO) gah) oa standard length... ; Ha Color in, diffe; poneeeuce half of body above lateral line, caudal peduncle, and caudal fin bright yellow; lower third of head and body white; rest of head and body between the yellow dorsal and ventral white regions bright blue . (blackish in preservative); black on.tip of chin, axil of pectoral fin, and base of péctoral fin (broader at upper. part of base of fin than lower); dorsal fin gray on basal scaled portion, yellowish Gistally except for. a narrow black margin;: anal fin reddish basally, shading to yellow and finally whitish. distally; paired fins hyaline; inner part of iris red. After death the brilliance of the, sharply defined yellow region on the back changes to dull yellowish . green and reddish areas appear on the white ventral region. This species was. commonly seen in eae ece te meine of about 650 or more individuals ‘in mid-water ‘on the coralliferous terrace of the outer reef; sometimes the school was disversed o¢arly from the surface to the bottom in about 30 or more .feet of water and tended to remain in approximately the same location. The individuals of the school were surpri- singly unafraid of an approaching swimmer and could be speared with ease. All seven specimens were taken in this ) manner. 5 ‘s ; The stomach contents of two- ét the. specimens was examined. As the elongate gill rakers and the swimming position well off the bottom suggest, these individuals proved to be plankton feeders, The bulk of ‘the food material consisted of pelagic copepods. Other typical planktonic constituents such as mollusk larvae, larval stages of shrimp, and fish eggs were found. Genus PTEROCAESIO . ner Pteroenesto Bleeker 1875..Versl.. Akad. Amsterdam, SERS fy 9, 0. 153. (Type species, Caesio multirediatus Bee iad ecee = Caesio tile Quvicr and Valenciennes). oi Pterocaesio tile Caesio tile Giiee and Valenciennes 1830. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 6, p. 428. (Type locality, Caroline Archipelago). lL specimen, 140 mm. 23 specimens. 70 - 90 mn. Onotoa. “Ora or Kiiieomr ran Natt, 23 orden: Pi 22.0%, 23: piheped line scales 79 or 8&0 (last lateral line scaie is nearly half way out on caudal fin); scales from lateral line to base of Spinonus,portion of;dorsal fin 64; gill rakers 35 and 36. (3 speciméns). — Two elongate processes on the side of the premaxillary in addition to the median process; teeth on premaxillary in a single row; no teeth on palatines or vomer; depth of body 3.9 in standard length of 14,0 mo specimen, about 4.6 in the small specimens; length of pectoral fin about 4.5 in standard length, Color in life of 140 mm specimen: dark blue dorsally (dark by virtue of each scale being rimmed in black) down to -@ narrow longitudinal black band which extends from the upper part of eye: out into upper lobe of caudal fin; belew this black band ‘to middle of fish irridescent light blue; lower half of body and head white (this became reddish shortly after the fish was speared); a black longitudinal band in lower lobe of caudal fin medial to lowermost two principal caudal rays (like band’ in upper lobe except that it does not extend on to body); fins faintly reddish; a triangular black spot at upper base of pectoral fin. _ Specimens of about 140 mm in length were observed in - loose aggregations in mid-water on the coralliferous terrace of the outer reef. All of the small specimens were obtained Over coral heads in the lagoon. During our stey at Onotoa, the young of C. tile appeared in the lagoon in great numbers, a phenomenon which I was. told occurs once in about every ten years. The Gilbertese hold these small fish in high esteem and employ a special fishing method to catch them (see Randall in Banner and Randall, 1952: 52-53)... Genus FENTAPUS Pentapus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1830. Hist. nat. poiss., “vol. 6, p. 258. (Type species, Fentapus iris Cuvier and - Valenciennes). Pentapus caninus Seol ops! des caninus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1830. Hist. nat. Poiss., vol. 5, p. 266. (Type locality, New Guinea). 98 Heterognathodon caninus GUnther 1874. Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, Vol. 2=3, pt. 5-6, p. 32. (Abemama, Gilbert Islands). Genus SCOLOPSIS Scolopsis Cuvier 1814. Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, p. 90. Typé species, Scolopsides kurite Cuvier = Anthias vosmeri Bloch Scolopsis cancellatus Scolopsides cancellatus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1630. Hist. “neat. poiss., vol. 5, p,)351)) (Type. locality) Hawail, Waigiou, Rawak, New Guinea, Vanicolo, and Ulea). 32010 ops is cane cellatus Fowler 1928. Mem. B. P. Bishop Mus., 10, p. 208. (Paanopa = Ocean Island). Genus GNATHODENTEX Gnathodentex Bleeker 1873. Versl. Akad. Amsterdam, ser. 2, vol. 7, p. 41. (Type species, Pentapus aurilineatus Bleeker). Gnathodentex aureolineatus Sparus aureolineatus Lacépéde 1802. Hist. saat. persss, vol, ie pp 2a 2e Pentapus aurolineatus Ginther 1874. Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, vols, 2-3, pts. 5-6, p. 33, pl. 25 B. (Kingsmill Islands). 18 specimens. 53 - 185 mm. Onotoa. D X,10; A ITIL,9: P15: lateral Line scales’ /L and’ 77. (2 specimens) . A strongly serrate longitudinal ridge on maxillary. Color in life of a 185 mm specimen: silvery brown with @ prolliinent yellow blotch at base of soft dorsal fin and longitudinal yellow lines of about a scale's width on side of body; fins reddish. Adults were most commonly observed swimming in groups of about eight or ten close to the bottom on the inshore part of the coralliferous terrace of the outer reef. The young were taken from shallow lagoon and channel areas. SS eee —— 99 Genus MONOTAXIS Monotaxis Bennett 1830. Memoir...Sir Stamford Raffles, Die 688. (Type spegies, Monotaxis indica Bennett = Sciaena erandoculis Forskal). Monotaxis grandoculis Seiaena grandoculis For skal 7) Oe DeSCrn, Ehamalium, Dp. Xi, 7 53. (type deealicoy, Djedda, Red Sea). 24 specimens. 34 - 169 mm. OQnotoa. D, x, 102.4 Dior Pike lateral Line scales 47... (3 Spe- cimens}, Jaws with canine teeth anteriorly, large truncate molariform teeth posteriorly. Specimens up to 39 mm in standard length show no indication of molariform teeth. The last tooth in the lower jew of a 40 mm juvenile is slightly enlarged. In a 49 mm specimen this last lower tooth is further enlarged and apically rounded, and teeth in front of this tooth are enlarging. The small specimens display a distinct ridge on the maxillary with about 10 to 12 pointed denticulations along the top as seen in Gnathodentex. In the lerge specimens of Monotaxis this ridge is flattened and inconspicuous and the denticulations rounded and variously fused. The color in life is variable, some specimens being more melanistic than others and some displaying broad vertical black bars dorsally on the body which are completely absent in others. The color of a 158 mm specimen from my field notes is as follows: greenish purple dorsally, shading to Silvery on the sides and ventrally; a large black area above pectoral fin; interorbital yellowish; shout), Lips, and. chin blackish; dorsal, anal, and pectoral fins light red; caudal fin light red except proximal half of upper and lower lobes which are yellowish orange; pelvic fins hyaline; axil of pectoral fin black. A striking color change in the young is apparent from my series of juvenile specimens. Specimens from 32 to 37 ma are pale (light greenish dorsally in life) with two length- wise dark lines, the first running from slightly above center of eye to upper base of caudal fin, and the second from lower base of pectoral fin to lower base of caudal fin; there is a region of black pigment distally in the dorsal fin between the second and sixth dorsal spines. A 40 mm specimen is light brown with four broad black bars on upper half of body, the second and third of which extend up into dorsal fin; a short vertical blackish line extends ventrally from the middle of the lower edge of the eye. A 39 mm Specimen exhibits intermediate coloration. 100 The juvenile specimens with the two lengthwise.dark lines were all collected from around small coral heads in sandy, Shallow lagoon and channel areas. Adults were taken from coralline areas of both the lagoon and outer reef. Adults were common on the coralliferous terrace of the outer reef. Individuals several times larger than the largest specimen taken were observed. Most species of reef fishes either seex refuge in holes in the coral or flee a cons ea bis distance when alarmed by an approaching: swimner. Monotaxis, however, usually moves away from an Sy ene ae very siouly in the direction of deeper water. " The gut contents of two specimens, 158 and 160 mm in standard length, were examined. These consisted mainly of the crushed shells .of small mollusks along with the remains of small seéa urchins. Considerable ees debris’ was PRCEONG as would be expected. Genus oo Lethrinus Cuvier 1829. Beene aninal, ed. 2, vol. 2, Oe Leh. Type species, Sparus ea HAL a and Schneider). Lethrinus variegstis Lethrinus variegatus Cuvier and anehon bance 1830. Hist. “hat. poiss., vol. ae p. 287. (Type Heme i Massuah ” and Suez). ~ 1 specimen. 345 mm. Onotoa, l specimen, 2h5 mia,: Tarawa. eA DVB $k. Se eis z 13; lateral line scales 48; scales fron lateral line. to middle of: Spinous portion of dorsal fin La. (1 specimen). Snout 1.7 in head length; depth: of body. 3h in eteneers length; eye Dey An head- PREM Color hon 35 1am Kode chrome transparency of a large adult: light gray, edges of scales rimmed in dark gray (especially dorsally), with a small orange-red spot at upper base of | pectoral fin; axil of pectoral fin orange-red; dorsal and anal fins eray; caudal fin brownish gray; pectoral fin rays fee orangish; iris pare yellow. This stomachs ‘of two laree specimens collected with rotenone were filled with small fishes which. had undoubtedly been prior victims of the poison. The Onotoa specimen retained for the collection was collected at station VII on the lagoon side of the west reef of the atoll. on Lethrinus nebulosus Sciaena nebulosus Forskal L77e. Desers Yanrna lian! pp. ‘xil, 52. (Type Locality, Arabia). 1 specimen. 225 mm. 2 specimens. 95 mm. Qnotoa. D X,9; A IIL,8; P13; lateral line scales 48; scales from lateral line to base of middle part of spinous dorsal fin 5 (53 in small specimens). (3 specimens). Length of snout 1.5 in head length; depth of body 2.7 in standard length; head 2.9 in standard iength; least depth of caudal peduncle 1.5. in snout; eye 2.3 in head length; third anal spine as long as eye (proportional measurements based on 225 mm specimen}. Color in life: light greenish on back; scales narrowly rimmed with dark brown; faint longitudinal stripes of bluish and of orange; a moderately prominent orange longitu- dinal band at level of pectoral fin; head light greenish yellow with brownish mottlings; dorsal, anal, and caudal rays with dark annulations,. : The 225 mm specimen was’ taken in poison station VII; the two small specimens were seined from the pond-like body of water nearly enclosed in the northern part of the most northern of the two principal islands of the atoll. Lethrinus rhodopterus Lethrinus rhodopterus Bleeker 1852. Nat. Tijdschr. Ned.-Ind., VOl. 3, p, 05. (Type locality, Singapore). 13 specimens. 50 - 158 mm. Onotoa lagoon. 1 specimen. 112-.mm. Tarawa. D X,9; A III,8; P 13; lateral line scales 47 or 48; scales from lateral line to middle of base of spinous dorsal fin 5. (2 specimens). Length of snout 2 in head length; depth of body 2.6 in standard length; length of head 3.2 in standard length.. Color in life of a 158 mm specimen which was speared in about 7 feet of water over sand near a lagoon coral head: light gray, each scale center a whitish spot; a large blackish spot just below lateral line, nearly centered on tip of outstretched pectoral; fins reddish, especially the caudal on the posterior half of which there is a broad irregular reddish band which contains pale areas. Immedi- ately upon being speared, the entire posterior half of the fish became dark. 102 The stomach of the above specimen contained a small, unidentified fish. The stomach contents of 10 specimens from poison: station: V which measured 75 to 134 mm in standard length were examined. One fish was empty, and the others contained small fishes which were probably eaten following their being: killed or nearly so by the rotenone. In addition to fishes one individual had previously eaten an unidentified crustacean. Lethrinus reticuletus Os ee ERY, Lethrinus reticulatus Cuvier mee aie Vesetnabe nets 1830. Hist. hat. HOISs.), VOL. 16, mh 2986) { Type locality, New Guinea). Lethrinus moensii GUnther 187k. Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, vols. [ees ee DES. SSO.) pr Guaaeun 46, piles? A. (Kingsmill Islands). Lethrinus ranak -Scieena ramak Forskal 1775. Deser. animaliun, p. “ee (Type . Locality, Red Sea). | | peeciens ranak Kendall and ree BOO Le oe ms Comp. Z0ol,, vol..26, p. 289.) (Butaritariy» Gilbert Islands). wee This species may doar be distinct from Lethrinus ne bulosus Forskal. Family LETOGNATHIDAE Genus GERRES Gerres Quoy and Gaimard 1824. Voyage autour du monde... "Uranie’, Zool., p. 292. (Type species, Gerres vaigiensis — Quoy. and ‘Gaimard). ; Gerres oblongus Gerres oblongus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1830. Hist. nat. poiss., Vol. 6, p. 479. (Type locality, Ceylon). 1 ‘specimen. 243 mm. Onotoa lagoon. 1 specimen. 187 rw Tarawa. D IX,10; A III,7; P16; lateral line scales to base of caudal fin 45 or 46; scales from origin of dorsal fin to lateral line 7; gill vakers 5 or 6-1-7. (2 specimens). 103 Color in life silvery with 5 or .6 vertical lines of faint orange spots in middle of side of body. Depth of body contained 2.6 BO 24)/ Fn standard length: eye 3.6 in head length (with mouth not produced). Gerres argyreus Cichla argyrea Bloch and Schneider 1801. Systema ichth., p. 344. (Type locality, Tanna Island and Pacific Island). _ Gerres Kapas Fowler 1928. Mem. B. P. Bishop Mus., vol. 10, p. 225 (Abaiang, Kingsmill Islands). 2 specimens. 97 and 99 mm. Tarawa. D IX,10; A III,7; P 16; lateral line scales to base of caudal fin 41; scales from origin of dorsal fin to lateral line 4 or 53; gill rakers 5-1-7. Color in alcohol dusky dorsally shading to light tan on sides and ventrally; margin of spinous dorsal dusky. Depth of body contained 2.7 to 2.8 times in standard length; eye 2.7 in head-length (with mouth not produced). Family MULLIDAE The goatfishes are readily distinguished by their elon- gate bodies and pair of long barbels that originate on the chin. These fishes are bottom-dwellers and are usually found over sandy areas. The barbels are normally directed backward, but when searching for food they are extended anteriorly and downward into the sand and kept in rapid, almost vibratory, motion as the fish swim forward. The goatfishes were most commonly seen in the lagoon at Onotoa. The Gilbertese give each species a different name, a fact which reflects the value of these fishes as food. Identification of the Gilbert Island mullids was made with the assistance of Dr. Ernest A. Lachner. Genus UPENEUS Upeneus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1829)" Hist. nat. poiss;, vol. 3, p. 448. (Type species, Mullus vittatus Forskal). 104 Uveneus arge Upeneus arge Jordan and ivernann POO Si) BU Pee esta SS Comm., vol. 22, p. 187. (Type locality, Honolulu). Upeneus arge Lachner 1951.’ Proc. Ue 8s. Nace) Msp ea LO. Potsce, ple! Witte ae 2 specimens. 235 and 270 mm. Onotoa. i -specimen. 225 mm.'° Tarawa. D VIIT-I,9; A I,6; P14; leteral line scales 40 or 41. (2 specimens). si | Color in life: body light greenish dorsally, silvery white on sides and ventrally, with 2 lengthwise orange- yellow lines from back of head to base of caudal fin (upper- most of these two lines begins at level of eye and is broader than the lower one which starts at axil of pectoral); 5 narrow lengthwise orange lines on back above the 2 prin- cipal lines which break up into spots in linear series anteciorly on body; head with numerous short irregular orange lines dorsally, a prominent horizontal orange line anterior to eye, and irregular orange-red blotches ventral to eye and on operculum; first dorsal fin with faint orange bands: second dorsal fin with 4 horizontal orange bands; upper lobe of caudal fin with 7 dusky orange to black horizontal bands; lower lobe of caudal fin with 5 such bands. The two specimens were speared from a small school of about six rapidly-swimaing individuals in the lagoon in about 5 feet of water over Sand. . The stomech of the largest specimen was opened and found to be. empty. Genus PARUPENUS Parupeneus Bleeker 1863. Ned. Tijdschr. Dierk., yol. dy, p. 2h2. (Type species, Mullus trifesciatus Lacépéde). Parupeneus trifasciatus Mullus trifasciatus Lacépéede 1802. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. Be ORL OSS, LOL, Jee on amen a Upeneus multifasciatus Fowler 1928. Mem. B. P. Bishop ee VOL, LO, p. 226. (kingsmill] Islands). 17 specimens, 53 = 120 ma. Onotoa,. 105 D VITI-9; A 722 16; lateral line scales 29. (2 speci- mens). Color from a 35 mm Kodachrome transparency white with a vertical black bar extending ventrally from anterior part of second dorsal fin, and another black bar. on caudal peduncle; a narrow dusky vertical bar between first and ‘second dorsal fins and a broad dusky vertical bar beneath first dorsal fin; a short blackish band extending posteriorly and slightly dorsally. from just below middle of eye; snout, lips, and barbels pink; iris red; first dorsal fin pale pink; remaining fins faintly yellowish. This is the most omnipresent goatfish at Onotoa. The stomach contents of three small specimens (54 HO D5 mm) were examined. The fish had eaten amphipods, copepods, other smell unidentified crustacea, and unidentified eggs. Surprisingly, there was no inorganic sediment present. .Parupeneus barberinus NMullus barberinus Lacépede 1802. Hist. nat. DPOLSS as) WOdue| oy pp. 253, BOs ae Dl. 13; fig. “3. (TypemLocelity. near Moluccas i 10 specimens. wor - 280 mm. Onotoe. 1 iP arian 168 mm. Tarawa. D VITIe9;-A-75—P “17; lateral ‘line scales’ 30; “(2° Specimens). Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency of a 280 mm specimen: a black: band running from just above upper lip through eye along back to beneath rear base of second dorsal fin; body above this band bright yellow, below white with occasional small yellow spots; a large round black spot on posterior part of caudal peduncle centered slightly above midline; black band on head bordered with blue; a reddish violet patch on opercle; short irregular yellow lines on head below black band; lips and lower part of head orange; dorsal fins pale grayish lavender; caudal fin lavender; anal fin whitish; pectoral fins light dusky yellow; pelvic fins light orange; iris yellow except eae narrow ring next to pupil which is orange. This species was patra in sandy areas of both tine lagoon and outer reef. ; 106 Parupeneus chryserydros Mullus chryserydros Lacépéde 102. Hist. Nat Moolssa yi wooly. Bg pb. 38h, 406. 5 specimens. 60 = 130 mm. Onotoe. D VIII-9;,A 7;.P 17; lateral line scales 17.(2 specimens). Color in life of all of the Onotoa specimens entirely bright yellow. H. A. Lachner (MS} is unable to separate eres) eee meris Giecally or otherwise fron the pepat ee De Reale Because of its yellow menace oiacle pemles was easily spotted underwater. It was seen-in both lagoon and outer reef areas; however it was not common. Parupeneus pleurostigma Upeneus pleurostiema Bennett 1831. Proc. ZOO de Joe. London, VOL. 1, D. 59. (Type-Loeality.- Mauritius). Upeneus pleurostigma Fowler 1928. Mem. B. P. Bishop Mus., ee Vote Oe a. (ag Abemame,, Gilbert Islands). Genus MULLOIDICHTHYS. Mulloidichthys Whitley 1929. Rec, Australian Mus., vol. 17, p. 122. (Type species, Mullus flaveolineatus Lacépede). Mulloidichthys samocensis Mulloides samoensis Gunther 1874. Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, vols. Zo Oe. ree Dano, pl. oy. ee (Type ARAL Ey Apia, Samoa 8 specimens. 80 - 145 mu. Onotoa.- 3 specimens. 90 - 193 ma. Tarawa, - 2 specimens. 70 and 71 om. . Nukunau.. -*D VII-9; 4 7; P17; lateral line scales 37; gill rakers 27 and 28. (2 specimens). Color in alcohol light brown, the edges of the scales slightly darker, with a blackish spot, about half the size of the eye, on side of body at level of the first dorsal fin just below the lateral line; peritoneum black; a dusky spot on inside of onercle. a ee 107 All of the Onotoa specimens were obtained from relatively Shallow sandy areas of the lagoon. The species is abundant. Mulloidichthys (euriflamma?) Mullus auriflamma Forskal L777 oe Desesn: enimalium.: pp... Lo, (Type locality, Red Sea). 1 specimen. 78 mm. Onotoa. Color in life: a bright yellow band from eye to upper base of caudal fin, bordered above and below by narrower blue bands; upper blue band ends below posterior part of anal fin; region below lower blue band yellowish, shading to white ventrally; dorsal fins dusky vellow; anal, caudal, and pelvic fins bright yellow; pectoral fins “Lieht “yellow; no black spot was visible on the side. This small specimen has been given to Dr. Lachner who is still not certain of the identification. He counted 30 gill rakerse The specimen was speared in a Thalassia flat area of the lagoon. Family PEMPHSRIDAE Genus PEMPHERTS Pempheris Cuvier 1829. Régne ih Soe Odi Hick avon qe pai (195. Type species, Pempheris touea Cuvier = Sparus? compressus Shaw). . vy Pempheris oualensis Pempheris oualensis Cuvier and Valenciennes VS Ah! Hist. nat. poss.) vol. 7, ps 299. (Type locality .\Oualan) . Pempheris Ireangule GUnther 1873: dour. Masi Goderfroy, vol. ee ee 8. be le, bee oo, eee. ben ei neem Liste nds): 4 specimens. 115 - 153 mm. Onotoa. 1 specimen. 15C mm. Tarawa. D°VI,9; A TII,40 to 43: P17; lateral line Scales 65 or 66; gill rakers 29, (3 specimens). Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency brownish silver; a black spot at base of pectoral fin; dorsal fin yellowish brown with anterior edge broadly black; anal fin yellowish 108 brown, ‘black anteriorly and at base; caudal fin base and upper and lower lobes dark brown, rest of fin yellowish brown. | This species was taken in surge channels and outer reef terrace near the entrance to surge channels. It is very secretive, being seen only in recesses in the reef during the day. fr Suspect that it mey be a) noehuronais fish. of The large eye supports this contention. | Family POMACENTRIDAE. The damsel fishes. are usually small and often vividly colored. As a erdup’ they’.are characterized chiefly by having a Single nostril on each side of the snout. They were well ‘represented at Onotoa, both in number of species and abun- dance of individuals. © Most species exhibit distinctive habitat preferences; they usually take cover ir interstices in coral? or holes in the reef (or, in the well-known case of Amphiprion, in sea anenomes}) upon approaching canger. The Gilbertese general name for pomacentrids is tc reibu, Key to the Svecies of Pomacentridac Recorded from the Gilbert Islands la. Dorsal spines me Or is seales small, about 50 scale rows from upper edge of gill opening tO base of caudal fin; body with 2 or 3 vertical pale bars (light blue in LDP Gy as Ge iovsas wise a SUA ARPA AS, amet ich al tar alrey me arlene er en ese aetela Rene ibe, DorsalMspines KIT “on IRD: scales inet smal 1.930) erneatewer scale rows from upper edge or gill opening to base of caudal fin; body without 2 or 3 vertical pale bars.,. si Bic ich Gh my tbo. Os Mw fw Gl 1g Cams iyi as vg aoe atte MaUPRNGa Hest GEA eta seg ea era) Ua Tere 2a. Body, at least in adults, with 2 vertical pale bars, one on head running from nape behind eye to suboper ele and interopercle and the other, noticeably narrower (covering 2 to 4.5 lateral Line scales), located in middle of body, and lacking an upper portion extend- ing obliquely backward on unscaled part of the dorsal fin; next to last dorsal spine contained 1.2 to 1.4 tines in longest dorsal spine; caudal fin uniformly PALO ss eeeseceeecoeveoeescevee eee emphi orion bicinetus 2b. Body (at least in Gilbert Islands specimens) with 3 vertical pale bars, one on the head as in 2a, the second, nearly as broad (covering 6.5 lateral line sceles), located in middle of body and extending obliquely backward to outer edge of dorsal fin, and the third on caudal peduncle; next to last dorsal Spine contained nearly 3 times in the length of the longest dorsal spine; caudal fin with @ large, circu- lar centro-posterior dusky area.......Amphinrion scbse 34-6 ae ier iD. 5a Biti. 6a. 6b. 7a. Sas 8b. ga» F 109 Teeth in front part of jaws conical, usually well- SE WAT AGS Gyasedalntn ite aleyelinys aielerate aletatel few late’ dtete: stelledele oo a wee ole ‘Teeth in front part of jaws not conical, at least some- what compressed, and usually. close-Set......eseee0e lO Body deep, the greatest depth contained 1.5 fol lee. times in standard length; suborbital evident exter- nelly and serrated; prgoperiets SSMMADSH cpelsticle 6s e's ele ne D Body not deep, the greatest depth contained more than 2 times in standard length; suborbital not evident externally or poorly-defined end lacking serration; preopercle not serrated (except in C. lepidolepis)...6 . Body pale with 3 broad vertical black bars; caudal fin ROPES Gein is ie olernpele ialls © serbte'ory ere exe fers ersiletereters DESCYILUSY ArUANUS Body dark, without vertical bars, and with a pale spot in middle just above lateral line (more evident in young); caudal fin truncate or slightly emarginate... Sip Wie cela M leielpinly Glauptarbie orks oe oul o-apuets s DESO bmi maculatus Hach body scale with 1 to 3 small, basal, auxiliary scales; edge of preopercle serrated; region fron nostril to upper lip scaled........Chromis levidolepis Wo basal auxiliary scales present; edge of preopercle | smooth; narrow region from nostril to upper: lip RY Pe es sigs sn Gecckaise iat ah eT taut ketal Dial Cee ehlos GRBISEEATE Body more or less uniform brown in color aster uray life) without sharply-contrasting markings; second dorsal spine the longest; dorsal and anal soft rays 9 or Brmbige anh se ons FE e+ RS eran -eCRRODAS cacruleus Body noe “unifora light brown and with distinctive dark and light contrasting markings; middle dorsal spines the longest; dorsal and anal soft rays fe ony 12. whseS Upper and lower lobes of caudal fin dark ictal scales on anterior 1/3 of. interorbital space and dorsally on snout very small, about 1/8 the size of those in the mid-interorbitel region; basal third of pectoral fin pale (yellow in life), outer vortion of fin with rays dusky, membranes clear.........eChromis xanthochir Upper and lower lobes of caudal fin pale dike rest of fin or very slightly dusky: scales on anterior 1/3 of interorbital space. and dorsally on monks not markedly sMaller than more posterior scales; basal. third of pectoral fin not paler than eh nr Of £1 Wisely os 0s 69 osterior part of body abruptly pale (white in life and an ‘sharp contrast to remainder of body which is dark ass 10a’. 10b. TAs 11lb. a ial 13b. lha * lib. 110 brown) in a verticel demarcation at the level of base of 7th dorsal soft ray; a large round black spot at base.of-pectoral fin; preoperculsr -aperture not thargined with dark brown; gill. opening without a dark brown.‘edge; pectoral rays 16 OF 17... 1. eee ewe si Mai Ww Swi wilbelea priate W sla yie, ihe ie joie origi oe pum CARUE ORE che pl Mamie totale Posterior part of body paler than rest of body (with sharp contrast only in large adults) at a level vostsrior to base of last dorsal and anal rays; a narrow curved black or dark brown line at the base or the pectoral fin; preopercular eperture margined with dark browa; gill opening (especially dorsally in small specimens) edged in dark brown; pectoral FayS 1S OF 19 vescneseccsc mess ses Clrdnic Opereularis Margin of preopercle smooth; suborbital smooth........11 Oe vie. Jt yeu) SELTALEI scan wcvavorcces eoeeee Ba BPs °° oe 23 re 6; . aie me 5 or 6 vertical derk bars on. body; doftsal spines XIII; size cften greater’ than 130 mm in standard length (except Abiudefduf curaceo which probably does not exceed LOOT Ry Se FO ee ee ee ee. Lule anate Le 5 or 6 vertical dark bars not present on body; dorsal Spines XII or XIII; size rarely exceeding 80 mm in standard Le Mate eS cM Riese teeters oun te eae ell 6m eye ere 6 cue a) wal eh ted Dorsal soft rays 15 or 16: anal soft rays 14 or 15; a _. black saddle dorsally on caudal peduncle in adults.... Cece cece eee eens e cee resscescesses ADUdEfdul sordidus Dorsal soft rays 12 or 13; no black ‘saddle dorsally on caudal peduncle in adults (upper part of caudal : pedunele: bar no darker than Lower’ part) oe c.ccsessecel3 6 vertical dark bars on body; forehead scaled to least interorbital space; caudal fin moderately forked, . horizontal distance from ends of middle caudal fin reys to tips of upper rays contained more than 2 times in head length.........Abudefduf septemfasciatus 5 vertical dark bars on body; forehead scaled to nos- trils; caudal fin deeply forked, horizontal distance from ends of middle caudal fin rays to tips of upper vays contained less than 2 times in head length.....14 Preorbital naked; body depth contained 1.65 to 1.8 times in standard length; vertical scale rows 26 to Qo vorsscccccccccccscccsseesscesevesApudefduf saxatilis Preorbital scaled; body depth contained 1.75 to-1.9 in standard length; vertical scale rows 2h or 25 .cceceueer w Bae hr) Cia 0. ior iw Geir Waianae We os Gals aitaitw Valin arta. a tes te ioe a Re ean curecao Lan EDD: l6e. Ao} sy D7 Ae. 17D 184. 18b. 19a. 19b. 20a. 20b. 21a. Ta Dorsal.fin rays ALL, 15:to.18; anal soft rays 13 to Eleva lekuicnistetema oedema Maem Pi ctauiibs lal oxakatchefay Stal hele Oidiatelale 6lovale « aes ae Dorsal. Tim ray xe 12 or 13: anal woeftrays 12 or 1 Body and fins yellowish white with no distinctive pigmented markings (except anterior 2/3 of eye which LS, eGR ene cueareysiinyoys,n.0,0,0,0.0ehbOuae raul: imparipennis Body brown or dark brown with distinctive pigmented 1, Deen eee Pee ia hire ae ateite le alate oldies eee eww kp vertical pale (pink in life) bars on body (a 5th is present at base of caudal fin but is not readily visible due to caudal being pale); a broad black bar on caudal ee ees» + aie ss vain bbe rae phoenixensis No vertical pale bars on. body; caudal peduncle paler than rest of body and’ without: a black bare .d.eeccceeelS Body light brown with a broad vertical black bar on side at level of 2nd to 6th dorsel soft rays; no SPObE Gm Dedyeaitorsal: soft rayes L7nete LSsthalh ss eecne es nations ane eee weticie ls oats ctaGoa'> « libi-atels schist ahhh oA buger dur dicki Body very dark brown with no, vertical black bar; small, 4 pale (blue in life) spots widely scattered on body; donead setts Pay sii6'to, 17. (usual lyo i 52 or dbodaws one Cet eee e cere er eee veers ssvevcce ee Abudefiulr lacrymatus round black spot at upper edge of base of caudal fin; a bluish (bright blue in life) line passing from snout through upper edge of eye and widening to a baud along back adjacent to spinous dorsal fin; a large black spot at base of last 2 dorsal spines...... sec cece eccceccccsesevcesesveserseAbudefduf leucopomus No black spot at. upper edge of. base of caudal fin; no blue line from snout through eye to base of spinous dorsal (except young of A. glaucus and possibly also biocellatus); a black spot may or may not be present atl maseuos last stwongorsal “smd mesic esis cletieeiale os «seo oe0 Body light brown or gray (bluish gray in life); margin of anus black and contrasting with light color of POGhE Leelee eeu chews «vine eee Houde Tait, elaucus Body brown or dark brown; anus not black (if dark, not contrasting with Bae of WOW) ial citohal aie imile) ene iel . lateral Vine scales 27. wil rakers 14 to 17. (7 specimens). 136 Color in life of 84 mm specimen: dark green on back shading to light purplish ventrally with vertical red lines on scales (these more pronounced in middle of body); a broad region from nape to about mid-point of spinous portion of Gorsal fin yellow-green (more green dorsally, more yellow ventrally) (no evidence of this color in preserved specimen); head bluish purple with a green area antero-ventral to eye; a narrow dark _burple-bordered eold band from snout through lower third of eye nearly to end of opereulum; a similar band from corner of mouth to postero-ventral portion of Operculum; dersel fin red with oblique dusky streaks, a narrow clear margin, and a.thin submarginal black line; caudel fin hyaline excent for reddish brown on uppsr and lower lobes; pectoral yellow, black at base, with a large black area in outer part of fin. The 2 large specimens were speared next to a large coral head in the lagoon. The smaller specimens fib the description of Thalassome Marnae Schultz, The largest is los ae the black band down the middle of the body: all but’ the smallest specimen dis- play faint vertical dark lines on the scales. The gill rakers of the two large specimens number 14 and 16. Those or 5 of the smaller specimens range from.15 to 17. The type of garnae has 16 gill rakers. Thalassoma lunare. tenn lunaris Linnaeus 1758. Syst. nat., ed. J (Oia ton Char fous I (Tyge locality, India). A Specimens. (120 and 125 mn. Onecon. D- Vili 3s AT tis PS on ior tla Vernet Mt ine Serie sees zill rakers 16 and 19. (2 specimens). Color in life; body forest green with narrow vertical purplish red lines on scales; head green with violet stripes; central and posterior part of caudal fin bright yellow, bordered with blue; elongate upper and lower lobes of caudal fin orange with narrow blue margins; basal part of dorsal fin green, outer part orange; pectoral fin blue with second to sixth rays orange except for basal and extreme distal portions (this orange color preserves as an elongate black- ish area). Not noted in the field but readily apparent in both specimens in alcohol are 4 dark bands on te abdomen, the two median ones extending to anal fin. The specimens were speared in the lagoon where the maximum depth of the water was 20 feet, but numerous coral heads reached to 5 feet of the surface. 137 The species of Thalassoma in Oceania which develop a black area in the he ig fin’ include melanochir (Bleeker), _ lunare ee jutescens (Lay and Bennett), aneitensis (Gtinther), duperre er and. Gaimard), and neanis “Jordan and Evermann (in Toren end Snyder, 1907). The latter two species are apparently restricted to the Hawaiian Islands. In addition to color, gill raker and pectoral. fin ray counts are useful in separating the species of this group, T. lutescens and T. neanis have a total of 16 rays in the © vectoral, the others (aneitensis not seen) generally 15. cae melanochir has 14 to 17 gill rakers; lunare counts in the Gilbert Islands were 16 and 19 (three from the Philippines had 18 to 20); three examples of lutescens from the Marshall Islands had 22 er 23 rakers, three ¢ duperreyi from Midway Island and 21 or.223; the type of neanis has 17. Fowler (1928: 354) has olaced neanis in the synonymy of lutescens. Admittedly these two are closely related; if the life color as given by Jordan and Evermann (p. 214, and pl. 12, fig. 2) is correct (especially with respect to the lack of vertical lines on the scales), I believe they are distinct species. Adult lutescens in. the "Marshall Islands are yellow with orange stripes on the head and abdomen; there is a.§- _ lengthwise orange band down the middle of the dorsal tiny a black spot centered on the second dorsal snine, an orange 1,band at the base of the anal fin, orange unver and lower — lobes of caudal fin, and orange vertical lines on body scales; there is a black spot at the. upper edge of the base of thé eek and a blackish area in the outer part of the fin. No specimens of lutescens were seen in the Gilbert Islands. The species was common in the Marshall Islands. I have not sten the specimen from Honolulu identified by Jordan and Evermann (Bull. U..S. Fish. Comm., vol. 23, 1905: 303) as Thalassoma _ ‘lunaris and later by Jordan and_ suydem o Budd au 29. Bur. Fish .i,. vol...26,7 1907: es as lutescens. Julis prebensis Gtinther (1862) may be a synonym of lutescens. JI have examined no specimens of the. former, The specimen collected by Berndt and identified by Jordan and Evermann (1905: 304, pl. 41) as Thalassoma aneitense is probably neanis. The white spots on the scales as described and figured seem to be some sort of deposit on. the underside of the scales and may be an artifact of preservation.. Genus" HALICHO@RES Halichoeres Riipvell 1835. Neue WVirbelth., —— Dishes “(Type species, Halichoeres bimaculatus Rippell). 138 Halichoeres centriquadrus Labrus centriquadrus Lecépéde SOR. ils ty.) Math OSS eWOR 6 PRS ep PP. hay, 295. (Type Vocal i ty, Meee Mauritius, and Réunion) Labrus hortulanus ibid, pp. 449, 518. Halichdéres eximius RUppell 1835. Neue Wirbelth., Fische, ie Loeeemest oa. Ween 2h 8 specimens. 68 ~ 140 mm, 3 specimens. 25 - 43 mm. Onotoa. 2 specimens. 126 and 128 mm. Tarawa. Die, TL; Av Ii yl, Pater aie sd ine tscakes, 26a specs — mens ) | Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency of 135 mm specimen: body light gray dorsally, white on sides and abdomen, with an elongate black spot at the base of each scale; two prominent yellow spots on back adjacent to dorsal fin, the first at base of fourth to fifth dorsal spines and followed by a blackish area, and the second at the base of the fifth to sixth dorsal soft Trays; head light gray (snott greenish) with irregular short pink bands; dorsal orangish with numerous yellow spots (more evident basally); caudal fin bright orange-yellow; anal fin light yellow; pectoral fin hyaline with a black spot at upper edge of base; pelvic fins white. The two smallest specimens (25 and 38 mm) have a different color pattern from the larger specimens, as is so often true of the Labridas. There is a large black spot on the nape, a large black ocellated spot in the middle of the dorsal fin, end a large black spot basally at the anterior part of the anal fin; lesser black spots are present on dorsal and ventral edges of the caudal peduncle, mid-centrally at base of caudal fin, and on body at base of last few anal rays. In the middle of the body running from dorsal to anal and pelvic fins and on the caudal peduncle there is a network of scales with dark edges (this pettern on the scales of the body is similar to that of H. margaritaceus; in the latter species the dark edged scales are restricted mostly to the dorsal half of the body). A 42 mm specimen has lost most of the black spots except the dorsal océllus; a 68 mm specimen still has a vestige of the dorsal ocellus. Ruppell's plate of H. eximius from the Red Sea shows some differences in color from the Gilbert Islands specimens. Notable are the blue-green ground color, three instead ofr two yellow spots on the back; lack of a black spot behind the first yellow spot, and presence of a siall black spot at 139 Upper base of ecalndeliwrin,. hese differences are perhaps of sufficient magnitude to recognize them by applying subspe- cific nemes. I definitely do not regard them as distinct species, however. This species of Halichosres was common. tt did not seem to prefer any specific habitat, but was seen in nearly all areas, . The stomach contents of two adult specimens were examined, They consisted mostly of small gastropods and pelecypods, In both stomachs the remains of a single unidentified crustacean were found. Halichoeres trimaculatus Julis trimaculata Quoy and Gaimard 183). Voyage ‘tAstrolabe", , Z0ol., vol, Poeeeavo>. pl, 20. fie. 2. (Veotxolo). Platyglossus vicinus Gunther 1909, Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, NOW Om Memes gu 2o7, pi. Lea, fie. Ce (Kingeni 1 Islands). 23 specimens. 29 - 95 mm. Onotoae. MD dL bales Te, ll; P 14; lateral line scales 27. (4 spe- cimens). Color in : late of 95 mm specimen: back areenish, shading to light tan below; outer edges of scales darker on upper two-thirds of body: head. green, the upper half from snout to: just behind eye irridescent light green, with bright orange-rose bands which are narrowly dark bordered; round- ish and elliptical spots of orange-rose on head behind eye, On nape, and anteriorly on body to pectoral region; a long orange band from axil of pectoral obliquely downward and backward almost to mid-pelvic region (this band shaded outwardly with blue);.a dark purple spot above lateral line on caudal peduncle broadly bordered with bright green; dor- Sal fin with 2 orange-pink bands. in spinous portion and 3 in soft portion; anal fin greenish. in proximal half with a rosy lengthwise band in middle of fin; caudal fin orange. Many specimens were very pale and had little bright color; these were connected with intermediates to bhe Gas Ren. more colorful form as depicted above. . This species is abundant; it appears to be primarily a lagoon form. It was seen in outer reef areas only where the water wag quiet and the bottom predominately sandy. 140 Halichoeres margaritaceus Julis margaritaceus Cuvier and NiGES Lentia ¢ De 3Su Biste nat. ""POISS.,; VOL, 13, ps BOks)\ Type locality, Vanicolo). Julis kawarin Bleeker 1852. Nat. Tijdschr. Neds Dade, vol. 3, ies nah F } Katy Halichoeres kawarin Bleeker 1862. Atlas Loe VG) Wey AG, ea ele, os Pula. by Waals, Jy Pe Geet copie: Platyglossus Kawarin Glinther 1909, Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, Vol. 6, pt. 16, p. 266, pl.. LY2 wae) Bet aici Islands). . 3 Bpecimens a0) 7th & asonebios.s 2 specimens. 54 and 55 ma. Nukunau. 1 ie gt it DRE a By a 13. or 14; lateral line scales 27 or 2G specimens). Color in Aiicomadls leis tan with edges of most of seales dark brown on dorsal two-thirds of body (groups of scales Within this region without dark pigment, giving an overall mottled effect) (in the 71 mm specimen the scales are more broadly darkened); head with dark stripes running through eye (faint in small specimens); a vertical black mark just behind eye; a blackish spot on opercular membrane (much more evident on large specimen); a black ocellus in outer part of dorsal fin between second and third soft rays | (nonocellated in 71 mm specimen); rest of dorsal fin with faint irregular lines which outline paie spots; remaining fins paren pot eioeees marginatus Halichdres marginatus Bilwe i 1835. Neue Wirbelth., Fische, — p. 16. (Type locality, Red Sea).’ _ dulis hotopsis.Cuvier and Valenciennes 1839. Hist. nat. poiss., VOL 2, Me tS » | Platyglossus marginatus Bleexer 1862. ee Lehihvawyol. 1, Pel LOO? ply nearer Dp Bis Platyglossus notopsis Bleeker 1862. Atlas siete WO Te Wk. PPM is pl. EL a ieee let es | Halichoeres farginatus Schultz 1943. Bull. UsuwSsaNam. aus. 180, pp. V208),7 cio Haltiehoeres hotopsis Schultz LDLa. 141 3 specimens. 81 - 104-ma. .4 specimens. 26 = 63 mm. Onotoa. cies Bi . D Id,13; A 11,12; P.14; lateral line scalés 28. °— (4 specimens). on Color in life of the 81 mm specimen; body green except antero-dorsal portion which:is blue; 4 lengthwise lines of bright red spots beneath pectoral fin; head blue with orange stripes, these becoming golden on nape; dorsal and anal fins dark purplish blue with a. narrow green margin and a light blue submarginal line; caudal fin green with a large light blue-edged, dark blue crescent-shaped blotch, the upper and lower edges of which reach the upper and lower margins of the fin (concave side of crescent faces anteri- ‘ orly); pectoral membranes hyaline. In the field I identified the four smaller specimens as notopsis. Upon closer examination I am convinced that notopsis is the young of marginatus. The 26 mm specimen is pale with 5 dark brown bands running the entire length of the body from snout to base of caudal fin (these bands about as wide as alternating pale interspaces). There is a protiinate ocellated black spot in the dorsal fin between the second and fifth soft rays. In a 39 mm specimén the dark bands are twice as broad as the pale. In a 60 mm spe- cCimen they are.no longer apparent, A dusky area can be seen in the caudal fins of the 60 and 63 mma specimens which presages the. formation of the dark crescent-shaped blotch so typical of marginatus. The ocellus is still evident in the dorsal fin in these specimens, though the dorsal fin has become darker. The 81 mm specimen has the adult colora- tion of the species. In this and even the 104 mm specimen the ocellus can be faintly made out if the dorsal fin is élevated with a bright light behind it. Small pale spots develop in the fin and invade the ocellus and the intensity of the black spot diminishes. The last remnant of the océllus is the pale ring. A pale margin develops on the dorsal and anal fins during this same period of alteration An’ eoi0r ; Two of the specimens were collected from protected waters of the outer reef and the rest in the lagoon, Genus MACROPHARYNGODON Macropharyngodon Bleeker 1861. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p. 412. (Type species, Julis geoffroyi Quoy and Gaimard). Lhe Macropharyngodon geoffroyi Julis Geoffroy Quoy and Gaimard 1824. Voyage autour du monde on WUPante!) (Z260L,, PIeZ70, (pl. 56,1928, 030 Coe peiloce— lity, Hawaiian Islands). Julis meleagris Cuvier and Valenciennes 1839. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 13, p. 481. (Type locality, Ulea = woleai, Caroline Islands). 2 specimens. 72 and 76 mm. Onotoa lagoon. DeEXslts AMILT, Tis -P le lateral Tine “Scalesv2ss vehit rakers 17 (2 specimens). Color in alcohol blackish with a slightly paler spot in the center of each Scale; 2 black spots, one above the other, just posterior to upper end of gill opening; a black spot anteriorly on isthmus; head with pale dark-edged bands radiating from eye or running diagonally below eye and with pele dark-edged spots ventrally; median fins light dusky with irregular pale bands and spots; a blackish area anteriorly in dorsal fin; paired fins hyaline. Some authors have considered the species in Hawaii distinct from that in the rest of the Indo-Pacific, giving the latter the name of meleapris (Cuvier and Valenciennes). TI com- pared two specimens from the Hawaiian Islands with the two from the Gilbert Islands. Counts of fin rays, lateral line scales, and gill rakers of the Hawaiian specimens were identical with counts of the ones from the Gilberts. I can find only slight color differences as follows: the Hawaiian specimens lack the black spots just behind the upper end of the gill opening and the spot on the isthmus, and the bands on the head are narrower. In my opinion these differences are not specific. Mecropharyngodon pardalis Leptojulis pardalis Kner 1867. Sitz. Akad. Wiss. Wiean., vol. Bol oh, FoR (Type locality, Fiji Islands). 3 specimens. 58 - 67 mm. Onotoa lagoon. D TX,ils A TL, Vier 12) lateral fiMerscales 282° (2 ispe- cimens), Color in life white, light greenish on back, with numerous large irregular black spots on body and most of head; dusky orange lines on snout and interorbital space; dorsal and caudal fins with small brownish orange spots (these form vertical lines on caudal); anal fin yellow with a row of black spots basally and small orange spots distally; iW) pectoral clear; iris of eye yellow with a green ring and 4 short radiating red-orange lines. Genus LABRICHTHYS Labrichthys Bleeker 1854. Nat. Tijdschr. Ned.-Ind., vol. 6, p. 331. (Type species, Labrichthys cyanotaenia Bleeker). Labrichthys cyanotaenia Labrichthys cyanotaenia Bleeker 1854. Nat. Tijdschr. Ned.- tnds, Vols oO. » Sateetrype locality, Larantuka, Flores). 1 speGimen. 30 mm. Onotoa. Doe eos Pee Lateral: line: scales’ 27", Color in alcohol dark brown with a pale line from snout through lower part of eye to middle of caudal fin; a second paleé longitudinal line, less distinct than the first, runs _ from chin, beneath base of pectoral, to lower part of caudal peduncle; margins of median fins hyaline; pectoral. pale, the extreme basal part of the rays whitish; pelvic fins pale with dusky centers. The coloration ss described above is based on the single 30 mm specimen taken. This is different from the usual color pattern of numerous faint longitudinal pale lines, but I believe my specimen exhibits the juvenile color pattern for the species. It has the well-developed fleshy tubular lips and peculiar dentition of the genus. Genus LABROIDES Labroides Bleeker. 1851. Nat. Tijdschr. Ned.~Ind., vol. 2, p. 2) On D3. (3 specimens). Color in life bright light blue with a black band running . from snout through eye along upper part of body to end of caudal fin, this band becoming progressively broader as it LAL passes posteriorly; a black line at base of anal fin which connects narrowly with a hook-like ventral extension from end of broad black band on caudal fin; a vertically- elongate small black spot below axil of pectoral; dorsal fin black basally, pale distally; paired fins pale. This species was seen only in quiet outer reef areas or in the lagoon. It often exhibited an unusual mode of swimming by oscillating the posterior part of the body up and down as if to attract attention, It was seen to dance around other fishes in this manner and to intermittently pick at their bodies. The fishes receiving such’ attention often slowed their swimming or came to a stop. It was thought at the time that the Labroides were picking off external parasites from these fishes. The gut contents of two specimens from the Gilbert Islands and three from the Marshall Islands consisted of calagoid .copepods and a few fish scales. The two remaining Gilbert Islands specimens. had eaten tiny isopods along with several fish scales. Barnard (1927: 749) noted the great resemblance of Labroices dimidiatus to the petroscirtian blenny, Aspidontus taeniatus, and suggested that the phenomenon of mimicry might “pe ye involved. He offered no explanation of such mimicry beyond a statement that one of the two species might have poisonous qualities. The similarity in color pvattern of these two phylogenetically dissimilar species is certainly striking, and mimicry inieht well be operative. If so, it is my belief that the blenny is mimicking the labrid. Labroides Gimidiatus may escape predation by virtue of its parasi te- Teeding habit. A blenny of comparable size and the same color pattern mig eht gain the same protection. Labroides bicolor - Labroides bicolor Fowler and Bean 1926. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. 100, vol. 7, p. 224. (Type locality, Port Maricaban, Philippine Islands). 1 specimen. él mma. Onotoa. DIX, 123 A. LILO e PLL es lateral ime nseawes 2a. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency: head and ante- rior part of body black; posterior part of body and caudal peduncle bright yellow (this yellow region rounded anteri- orly); caudal. fin green anteriorly and centrally, this area outlined posteriorly by a black crescent; region of caudal fin posterior to the crescent light blue; margin of soft portion of dorsal fin and anal fin light bluish; pectoral fins pale; pelvic fins black. This rare species was sighted only twice, both times on the coralliferous terrace of the windward reef. The single specimen taken was obtained with a spear. 145 Genus STETHOJULIS Stethojulis Gunther 1862. Cat. Fishes British Mus., vol. 4, pe 140. (Type species, Julis strigiventer Bennett). Stethojulis strigiventer Julis strigiventer Bennett 1832. Proc. Comm. Zool. Soc. ~ London, p. 184. (Type locality, Mauritius). Julis (Halichoeres) Renardi Bleeker 1851. Nat. Tijdschr. Néed.-Inds, vol, 2orpH-253. Stethojulis strigiventer Bleeker 1862. Atlas ichth., pl. 43, ote 5 BEY Stethojulis Renardi Bleeker, ibid., fig. 2. 10 specimens. 52 - 75 mm. Onotoa lagoon. Dei ee is P 1, or 15 (mostly L5)e lateral’ Tine scales 27; gill rakers 24 to 26. (5 specimens). Color in alcohol of a 65 mm female specimen: light brown except upper part of head and nape above lower edge of eye which is dark brown; narrow lengthwise white lines on lower half of body; a small black spot (a pair of spots on some specimens) at base of caudal fin just above last lateral line scale. . Five of my specimens were identified in the field as S. renardi. These ranged from 72 to 75 mm in standard length and were more colorful than the smaller strigiventer. The lower half of the body was whiter with. only traces of brownish longitudinal lines; on the upper half of the head and body were 4 dark=edged red lines as figured for renardi in Bleeker; the areq between the two lowermost red lines was blue. I sexed these five specimens and found that all were males. The five specimens of strigiventer (52.to 69. mm) were either males or females. I then examined a large series of specimens of both species in the United. States National Museum which were collected at Guam. There were’ 18 specimens of renardi, ranging from. 62 to.81.mm, and all were males. 42 specimens lerger than 34 mm wsye labelled stnrigiventer; of these 14 were females from 63 to 68 mm. The remaining 28 consisted of 16 females and 12 males. Three specimens, 61 to 62 mm in standard length, were intermediate in color pattern to typical renardi and strigiventer. I therefore conclude that renardi is the large adult male of strigiventer. 146 The male apparently reaches a larger size than the female. The largest female specimen was 68 mri; 10 males were longer than 70 mm. .In, addition to the small caudal ‘spot, the smaller speci- mens had.a- tiny black spot on the next to last dorsal ray near thé base and another-on the next to last anal ray. The anal spot disappears at a sizeof about 50 mm in. standard length and the dorsal spot at a benge of atone: mn. Stethojulis axillaris Julis axillaris ‘Quoy and cue 182k. Voyage autour du “monde... "Uranie", Zool., p.’ 272. (Type. locality, Hawaiian : Islands)... PRs Munthe ict. 10 specimens. 38 ~ 80 mn. Onotoa « D Iie Ae ee 1h; lateral line scales 27. (4 spe-- cimeus) _ oN = arts CoLar tan teen of a 6h mn’ specimen: dorsal half “of head and body: dark grayish brown, lower half light brown, these two areas separated by a light brown band (smaller specimens with a second pale band from above eye to ‘top of caudal peduncle); -1 to 3 small black spots in mid-line at base of caudal fin; all fins pale. Small specimens with a siaall black spot. 2 anal.fin near base of .last 2 aes tl In. life diese was.an orange area at upper. ‘axil bf" pecto- ral fin and a yellow band from snout to lower edge. of! eve continuing as a light gray band to base of caudal. ahs This species is apparently abundant. Pp tOG SHOE abe of ‘Oceanta; it was taken in several different habitats at Onotoa from shallow lagoon to outer reef. ; Stethojulis | SDs. Stethojulis casturi GUnthér j909 ioe of Bleeker). Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, v WOln IO, pe. MO, pla Me ee Stethojulis albovittata Fowler 1928 (in part). Mem.’ B. P. Bishop Mus., vol. 10, p. 335. (Kingsmill’ Islands). :. Stethojulis casturt Schultz 1943. Bull. .U. S. Nat.’ Muss 160, pp. yah a ve Baledy, : . : ; 3. specimens, 74h - 82 mm. Onotoa. ae. sy uO Dg | 3 Lh or 15: lateral’ line seales 27. (2 specimens). 147 Color in Jife ike the plate or S.,¢asturi in Gunther (1909) and the key to casturi in Schultz (1943: 213). This species will be described as new by Schultz in volume 2 of the Fishes of the Marshall and Marianas Islands. The species first described as casturi (Bleeker, 1852) is now recognized as trilineata (Bloch and Schneider). De Beaufort (1940: 161) has discussed the problem of whether to consider Stethojulis albovittata (Bonneaterre) (pl. 141, fig. B in Gunther, 1909) a distinct species or . Just a color variety of the form known in recent times as Casturt (pli, Wi tie. Gunther.” 1909). Genus CORIS Coris Lacépede 1602. Hist. mat... poliss.. VOlly dig pp. 96, 97. Type species, Coris aygula Lacépéde). Coris gaimardi Julis gaimard Quoy and Gaimard 1824. Voyage autour: du. _ BO0de, etree! “29616. 0.205," DLs Sse Ligerds. (TYPE locality, Maui, Hawaiian Is lands). No specimens of this colorful species were collected in the Gilbert Islands. D. W. Strasburg sighted one when swimming underwater at Onotoa. Genus NOVACULICHTHYS Novaculichthys Bleeker 1861. Proc. Zool. Soc., Pp. hih. (Type species, Labrus taeniourus Lacépéde). Novaculichthys taeniourus Novaculichthys taeniourus Fowler 1928. Mem. 3B. P. Bishop Menem. NOD, os Goo, pl. Al, Tig. A. (Kangsmill Tslends)), Genus ANAMPSES Anampses Quoy and Gaimard 1824. Voyage autour du monde... "Uranie", Zool., p. 276. (Type species Anampses cuvieri Quoy and Gaimard). Anampses caeruleopunctatus » Anampses caeruleopunctatus RUppell 1828. Atias Reise nordlichen Afrika. Fische, p. 42, pil. 10, fig. 1. (Type locality, Red Sea). ds ie specimens ‘were colledted. din the’ Glibert Is lanses I observed the species on several occasions :on Onotoa reefs. Genus GOMPHOSUS Gomphosus ANS LSO2 4 ist). oe OBS Siac voll, ee Ps LOO ‘Type pec tes pee omyhosus caeruleus Lacepede). Y é Gomphosus tricolor t Comphosus tricolor Quoy aa Gatinand 182h. ioyane ‘autour du monde... "Uranie™, Zool.. ~. 280, ol. 55, few Ae tyes locality, Hawaiian Tsiands hs 3 specimens. 228 wis aga. Snouea DO i eA oe Le lee Met oe line scales 27, (2 spe- cimens). Gill rakers (23 (i ‘specimen). Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency of 230 mm specimen: head purplish blaex, body bluish green with a- light apple green band from nape to" pecteral iin base: dor- sal and anal fins and a large crescent-stiaped area posteri- orly in caudal fin turquoise blue: mectorsal fin blackish - with outer edge Pe eer Due Ga aie a black spot at upper edge of base. ; . The stomach contents of two specimens, 220 and 230 mm in standard length, were examined by A. H. Banner. The fish had eaten stomatopods and crangonid shrimps. ' Gomphosus, varius omphosus varius Lacépsde 1802. Hist. nat. polss.n,) Vou. \3, aoe 100, 104, (ive toca lity. .Wamneaye: 4 specimens. 42 - 89 mm... Ge ay DV Lie AN Tele awe ols eee line scales 27; gill rakers 24 and 25. (2 specimens). Color in alcchol of 89 mm specimen: head and anterior -half of body light tan,with a single black spot on.outer ‘edge of each scale of nape and body: (except abdomen). and a horizontal black line through eye; posterior half of body blackish, the scales with similar black spots which, however, are visible only in the anterior part of black portion of body where pigmentation,is not so intense; dorssl fin black- ish with a narrow pale wtargin on soft portion; anal a black with @ pale margin and:a pale spot on each intérradial- membrane; caudal fin black with saa pale ES margin; paired fins pale. 149 Color in life of 42 mm specimen: two narrow black bands running entire length of body, the first from snout through eye to upper base of caudal fin, the second from chin to lower base of caudal fin (the two bands connect irregularly at base of caudal fin); body dorsal to first band green, ventrally white. Both species of Gomphosus were seen in the lagoon and outer reef areas, but never where wave action was strong. Genus HEMIGYMNUS Hemigymnus GUnther 1861. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., London, vol. 8, p. 386. (Type species, Mullus fasciatus Thunberg = Labrus fasciatus Bloch). Hemigymnus fasciatus Labrus fasciatus Bloch 1792. Natur. ausland. Fische, vol. 6, p. 6, pl. 290. (Type locality, Japan). 1 specimen. 205 mm. Onotoa. Ctr Ass P as lateral, Line ‘scales 26. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency: body black (except for chest anterior to origin of pelvic fins which is white) with 4 vertical white bars, the first running from anterior part of spinous portion of dorsal fin to mid- abdomen, the last crossing caudal peduncle; dorsal part of head and nape black; head below level of eye light yellow- green with broad, irregular, blue-edged, rose-colored bands; median and pelvic fins black; pectoral fin with rays black, membranes hyaline. | The one specimen seen was speared at a depth of about 30 feet on the coralliferous terrace of the outer reef. Hemigymnus melapterus Labrus melapterus Bloch 1791. Natur. ausldnd. Fische, vol. 5, Deotee, pl. coo. (Tyee wlocality, japan). AZ specimens. 00 and 119) mm...) specimen. 230 min, Onotoe. De, A TT.J1s P th: Jateral line’ seales 28.).(2. spe- cimens). Color of 330 mm specimen after one day in formalin: dark green with a purplish cast; slightly curved vertical narrow blue lines on scales of body; head with tortuous rose bands 150 wea except for a naamet block of this color under eye; eye rimmed with irridescent green. Color in life of 100 mm specimen:. body anterior to a diagonal line of demarcation from second dorsal spine nearly to end. of pelvic fins white; body posterior to this line to caudal peduncle black; caudal peduncle and caudal fin yellow; 3 black spots in a vertical line at base of caudal fin on one side of fish and a single spot at this location on the other side; head dorsal to lower edge of eye black, ventrally whitish: pale blue spots, one per scale, located posteriorly on black portion of body. dorcel win plac as with “a reddish marginal band; anal fin black with ‘a narrow reddish margin and a blue submarginal band of about equal width. : Genus’.PSE CE Pseudocheilinus Bleeker 1862. Proc. on Soc. London, p. LOO. (Type species, Cheilinus hexataenia Bleeker). & specimens. 38 - 49 fh sy OM Sto. Ii * Pseudooheilinus: hexetaenia Cheilinus hexataenia Breeiee 1857, AC. (SOG% Gem. int seer ° four. Mus. Godefiroy, TOLIGO pies loin Pen Oe lal Diu» L124 (Type, Locality,. Tahiti and Abemana, Gilbert Islands). 7 specimens. 23 - 225 ma. Onotoa. scarus lepidus Searus lepidus Jenyns 1842. Zool. voyage "Beagle", pt. 4, Fish, «pu, los..4 Type, locality, Mehiti). Callyodon laxtoni Whitley. 1948. Rec. Australian Mus., vol. 22, p. 94. (Ocean Island) Searus vermiculatus Callyodon vermiculatus Fowler and Bean O26. Bole U als. Nae. Mus, POOWPNO leo, pe ob 725 pls #9. CTYpe, locality, Philippine Islands). 2 specimens. 65 and 240 mm. Onotoa. Scarus chlorodon Secarus chlorodon Jenyns 1842. Zool. voyage "Reagle”™, pt. 4, Fish, ps 105, pl. 21. (Type locality, Keeling Island, Indian Ocean). Pseudoscarugs altipinnis Gunther 1909. Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, Pome pil elo. 6. 326, pl. LOO. (Kingsmill islands). 3 specimens. 150 - 205 mn. Onotoa. 1 specimen. 260 ma. Butaritari. Scarus oviceps Searus oviceps Cuvier and Valenciennes Mego. Ha Sit).) eG 2 POS Sans Vous th) o,) Chbei (Eyre ocelity; Tahiti), 4 specimens. 128 .-.220 mm. Onotoa. Scarus niger - ae 2) bs la al ae si scarus niger Forskal 1775." Deser. ehimaiiuny pp. a.) 2c. Type locality, Red Sea). 3 specimens. 135 - 200 mm. Onotoa. ocarus aeruginosus Searus aeruginosus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1839. Hist. nat. Wa ea vol. ly. p. Baws. (Type eee — oe al! 2 specimens. 129 Bee 13)! tim. -onereya te: Searus pectoralis oT oe Scarus pectoralis Cuvier end Valenciennes 1639. Hist. nat. Poles. , vou, “ pe 265... (Type locality, Djedda, Red Sea). e specinens. 150 and 230 mm.’ Saiceteat Bonne specimen. 60 mn, Butarivart. Scarus dussumient Scerus dussumieri ‘Cuvier and Walenciennes 1839... Hist. nat, HO1ss,, Vol. 1k. ps 2526 (Type. locality,. Seychelles). 2 specimens. 250 and 300 mm. Onotoa. Scarus taeniurus Scarus te eniurus Cuvier and Valenciennes. 18639. Hist. “nat. poss, 1. Vol’ Lh, 4pe1 257. UTyed loeality, “Mearitius). 2 specimens. 78 and ee iin, | Omotgmae 4a. 1 Scarus ghobban TUNA EA EE UEDA ED ae 3 eveven Forsie cal 1175. Deser. anitffalium, po. 26. (Type Scarus ghobt ‘locality, Red Sea). Pseudoscarus garretti Gunther 1909. Jour. Mus. -Godeffroy, EL ch ND Ne el 14. oua 306, pin Beguvfie. CO. (Type Locality, Cine Islands). i specimens. 160 = ° 190 mint Onotoa. SST a a uot Scarus sp. This is a reddish brown parrot-fish with longitudinal lines on the body, red fins, end a pale caudal peduncle which will be described as new by L. P. Schultz. Genus CHLORURUS Chlorurus Swainson 1839. Nat. hist. class. fishes, amphi- Drains giles NOU 2 meee? (Type species, Scarus gibbus). Chlorurus gibbus Searus gibbus Ruppell 1828. Atlas Reise nordlichen Aftrira, Dy OL. Dig ay gio. 2. (Pype Locality; Red Sea). A school of over 20 very large parrot-fishes with tremen- dously swollen foreheads was Gbeenved at the west reef at Onotoa. From my description Dr. Schultz believes that these were gibbus. Chlorurus bicolor ee aa aee Ruppell 1828. Atlas Reise nord] Lichen Afrika, . fen eee i “(Tipe locality, Djedda, Réd Sea). Although this species was seen on numerous occasions, no specimens were taken. A close-range spearing attempt resulted in the securing of a Single scale from a large adult. ‘Family KYPHOSIDAE No kyphosids were collected in the Gilbert Islands by the author; however, unidentified individuals of the genus Kyphosus were occasionally seen underwater. Pitot row Powber (1928) 221.) in considering Pachymetopon squamosum Alleyne and Macleay as a synonym of Kyphosus cinerascens Forskal. Genus KYPHGSUS Kyphosus Lacépéde 1802. Hist. nat. poiss., WOH Wenp ais D. de. Type species, Kyphosus bigibbus Lacepeéde = xyster fuscus Lacépéede). CMR 158 Kyphosus cinerasgens Seteang cinerastens Forskal 1775. Descr. animalium, pp. xii, 3. (Type Loc: Hegel TN, Arabia). sa i Cpisthistius squamosus Whitley and Colefax 193& . Proc.’ Linn. Bot; Nv So. Vales, vol. 63) P 293. (Nauru). ibe ae | CRAETODONT TDAL hs “The iiorent ls and angel poets need no- introduction. With their striking color patterns and high compressed bodies, they are well known to all. They were very conspicuous on Gilbert Islands reefs, @Specialty the species with bright ‘- yellow color. .Qne wonder s at the survival value of such color which so. attracts the eye. To my knowletige it does not advertise poisonous spines of distasteful qualities (at least to- man)... Some authors such as Norman ft O31; ee have stressed the. rolevor disx uptive . coloration ‘in the bla bands and spots that are so often present in Cheetodon,. These markings may be operative in this wey fdr some me marine predators, but I have never found myself nearly ‘overlooking a chaetodons on this basis. I believe that the bright color and distinctive markings function more for species recogni- GLO, Oty Ful ty in cHactodonts, but in reef fishes of trope Sséas 18 general. This 1] lafer from the great, multinligiby of species and. from the clear water which ep use of visual stimuli in species’ recognition. Also, ‘fishes of tne, reef areab are provided with excellent aS in, the many interstices in the coral, and the need for blending with the surroundings to. escape notice of roving predators is not such a keen one. Under such circumstances selection against bright color pattern is lessened. rests Some species of butterfly fishes such as Chaetodon aurigza employ.a mode of swimming by which they may eveld detection They angle: their bodies’ toward-a Be Es 1 danger, displaying them in eae a dorsal BER ES Yr The high Dody ae array of stout dorsel and anal snines of. these fishes is probably of, considerable importance in their escaping predation. At Onotoa the Gilbertess referred to nearly all ‘the species of Chaetodon by the one name Teibaba. MT t aur ily, CHAETODON TINSE Included in eae 5 Gass ere: the’ putterfly pane dis- tinguished from the angel fishes primarily by lacking “the long stout spine near the angle of the preopnerele. ttl 2? Although observed in nearly all habitats, the butterfly fishes were no where abundant. They were usually seen Singly or in pairs. Genus CHAETODON eiactoden Linkacic 4756. syst. ‘nat., ‘ed. 10, vol. .1, p. 272. (Typé species, Chaetodon capistratus Linnaeus). Chaetodon auriga Chaetodon euriga Forskal 1775. Deser. animalium, pp. xiii, O's; (Type locality, Red Sea). Gheetadon setifer Kendall and Goldsborough 1911. Mem. Mus. Comp. Z001., vol. 26, p. 306. (Butaritari}. 2 Specimens. 90 and 125 mm. 12 specimens. 22 = 25 mn. Onotoa.. Bi ee eo 2h A TTT, 19 or 20: P 16. (2 specimens) Color in life white, yellow-orange posteriorly and on soft dorsal and anal fins; a broed vertical black bar through eye; a large black spot. in outer part of soft dorsal fin adjacent to ray which extends as a filament; 5 diagonal black lines running from opercle toward spinous dorsal; about 9 similar parallel lines perpendicular to the first set and running across chest and side of body to base of anal fin; a brownish region dorsally between yellow and white coloration of body in which there are yellow lines ail aK ing both sets of black lines as described. This was the most abundant species in the Onotoa lagoon. Chaetodon ephippiun Chaetodon ephippium Cuvier and Neh Lente lennee ae oh: Hist. nat. Virpeess Svol 7, pb. 60.9): 17h. (Type: Locality, Moluccas and Society Islands). : 1 specimen. 135 mm. .3 specimens. 19 - 36 mm, - Onotoa. D XIII, 23; A III,.20; P 16. (1 specimen). | Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency light gray with a large purplish black area on back and dorsal fin posterior to 6th dorsal spine, this -area broadly bordered ventrally in white; tip of snout and e broad region ventrally on chest to origin of pelvic fins orange; about 6 lengthwise purplish lines on lower half of side of body; caudal fin purplish 160 hyaline with upper and lower lobes narrowly yellow and base reddish orange; a band of vellow and red-orange in outer part of soft dorsal fin running from base of filament to axil of soft dorsal; anal fin white with a broad yellow marginal and a reddish submarginal band; pelvics yellow. This species was seen only in the lagoon at Onotoa. chaéteden lineolatus 1 rere Chaetodon Lineolatus Cuvisr and Valenciennes 1831. Hist. nat. Tpeiss., vol. 7) p40. (type localicy, Meuritmia)| Chaetodon lineolatus Gunther 1873. Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, vol. 2, pt. 3, pb. Hos pl. Bh. fig. Reiki necma ey ie temoisiis Chaetodon vagabundius Ce mnee ere rere meee mente ee nee Chaetodon vagabundus Linnaeus 1758. Syst. nat., ed. 10, Tome 75. Ciype Locality, tnai dah B specimens. 105 = 215 mm.” 2 specimens.) 22 — oun, Onotoa. 2 specimens. 97 and 107 wm. Tarawa. D XIII, 2h or 25; A III, 19 or 20: P16. (3 specimens). Color from 35.mm Kodachrome transparency white, dusky white posteriorly, with a vertical black bar extending from nape through eye to isthmus; a blacx line at base of spinous dorsal, broadening into a band at base of soft dorsal, and continuing across base of caudal fin on to anal fin: 6 diagonal narrow black lines running from upper part of head toward spinous dorsal fin; 12 similar lines perpendicular to first set running across body toward anal fin and base of caudal fin; soft dorsal fin vellow with a broad black margin; anal fin yellow with a pele margin and a black submarginal line; caudal fin yellow (except narrow margin which is hyaline) with 2 vertical black bars, the outer one narrow and submarginal to hyaline outer part of fin. C.. vagabundus was taken only in the lagoon. It was more characteristic of areas of rich coral growth than auriga or ephippium which seem to prefer sandy regions with Tittle coral. Chaetodon orneatissimus - Cheetodon ornatissimus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1831. Hist. fats polse,, Vol. 7, poCe2ae (Type Vocalit yeah wes 16h 1 specimen. 115 mm. Onotoe. 1 specimen. 145 mm. Tarawa. Di Maoh), Qe) tele Zhi: Plo iM lodspete imen)i: Color from 35 mm Kodechrome transparency white with 6 prominent diagonal orange bands crossing body, the most ventral nearly parallel with base of anal fin; head and nape yellow; a vertical black band through eye; a vertical black line just behind eye extending as a submarginal line into the dorsal fin, meeting at its terminus the fourth orange body band; a vertical black line on snout; lower lin black; a dusky orange vertical line on operculum; caudal. fin with basal half white, then a black band, a broad yellow- ish area, and a black margin. The species was only sighted on two oceasions, each time on the coralliferous terrace of the outer reef. Cheetodon meyeri Chactodon meyeri Bloch and Schneider 1801. Systema ichth., p. 233. (Type locality, Moluccas). 6 specimens. 32 - 130 mm. Onotoa. Deel Bares’ fen tassAcLTiEs 20 or 021; Bell? to(kispechwens). Color from 35 mm Sodachrome transparency white with long curving black bands as follows: one beginning as a submargi- nal band near end of soft dorsal fin, leaving fin at level of 4th dorsal spine and sweeping across operculum and chest to base of anal fin; a second beginning dorsally near base of caudal fin, extending to base of pectoral fin, up to spinous dorsal, and curving back to pectoral base; third and fourth beginning beneath pectoral fin, running diagonally baeckatovgert dorsal, and curving .—forward,on this Pin; a yellow-margined, vertical, black bar through eye; all fins yellow, median fins with black bands; a row of orange dots in soft dorsal, several rows dorso-anteriorly on body, and 2 narrow, vertical, orange lines in caudal fin. This striking species was taken both in the lagoon and in outer reef areas, but always in regions of high coral cover. Chaetodon falcula Chaetodon falcula Bloch 1793. Natur. ausland, Pische, pts 7, Dyno e Mus vI2 Se LEE iio 3 specimens. 103 ~ lllmm. 1 specimen. 36 mu. Onotoa. 162: D; SLE) Vs A aime 20; P15 or ee iG specimens). Color from 35 mm Kodachrome CERNE Seer, dusky white, yellow posteriorly, with 2 large vertical blackish areas: on side and extending on to’ dorsal fin, the first just behind head, the second adjacent to yellow. color of posterior part of body ;- about 17 vertical bleck lines on body, more ‘apparent in whitish area between the two blackish areas;: s vertical black band crossing head and passing through eye; a black spot at base of caudal fin; median fins yellow, ceudai with edge hyaline and a su buarginal black line; indistinct: su baarg inal black lines in dorsal and anal: pelvicc fins white; pectorals hyaline. All of the specimens were collected in the 1aeobn around coral ! heads Chaetodon kleini Chaetodon kleinii Bloch 1790. Natur. ausldnd. Fische, pt. 4, MH. 7, pl. ele, fie. 22 \@ypeiocalaty. Bast indies): 4 specimens. 36 - 80 mm. Onotoa. Dien 28 or 22.7 OAT) MO ee ibaa (4 specimens). Color in life of 80 mn specimen Biel yell owish on ; anterior half of body, dull orange posteriorly and on dorsal - and anal fins; a vertical black band. running from nape across head through eye and curving across chest to pelvic fins which are dark; 2 indistinet broad'vertical brown areas, the first just behind head, the second at front of posterior orange part of. body; caudal fin yellow with a white band at base, outer one- -four th hyaline; posterior part of soft dorsal and soft anal fins with narrow hyaline margin and a narrow black submarginal line; tip of snout black. A rare species, Cc. ‘Kleini was taken in only two locali- ties, oné in the lagoon in 18 feet of water near a large coral head and the other on the outer reef on the lee side. Ghaetodon bennenti Chaetodon Bennetti Ouvier and Valenciennes 1831. ‘Hist. nat. TapOleSm au wolLe Pu, ay bh. (Type locality ec a 5 specimens. 79 - 120 mm. Onotoa. D MEV, 17) or Ss) A es Pho Orn) (mos tivo Regi (5 specimens). Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transnarency yellow with a large round black spot rimmed in blue on the back just 163 posterior to midpoint of body; area around this black spot dusky; two bright blue bands originating on opercle and passing posteriorly and ventrally on body; a blaciish blue- bordered band running from nape across head through eye. Chaetodon bennenti was found in all major regions of the atoll, but was not common in any. Chaetodon quadrimaculatus Chaetodon quadrimaculatus EMG (LG oe SOO. WMI SeG. pis) 2 316 (Type T locality, Hawaiian Islands). il specimen. 3&8 mm. Onotoa. DY Ay ee heir hee iP 16. Color in alcohol: body dark brown on dorsal half, pale yellowish (yellow in life) ventrally; a round pale (white in life) spot on middle of back just above lateral line; a- second pale area (also white in life on back, half way fron pele spot to base of caudal fin (this area confluent with pale yellowish of lower half of body); head pale with a4 black bordered band (recalled as orange in life) running from origin of dorsal through eye to lower edge of operculum; caudal fin and posterior parts of soft dorsal and anal oe pale; pelvic fins pale; pectoral fins hyaline.. ; The single small specimen was the only one seen at Onotoa. It was speared close inshore off the small islend of Aunteuma in the northern part of the atoll. - Chesetodon lunula (A ae em Se ee SR Ce Pee oOG, voll 51D. 2 spscimens. 62 and 129 wm...7 specimens. 19 - 22 mm. Onotoa. Pomacentrus lunule- Lac épede 1802. Hist. nat. DOLGS , VOla he Peomie eh or 25. A it 18. Pe. (2, Specimens)),. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency of 62 mm sneci- men: dorsal half of body and base of dorsal fin blackish purple; ventral half of body. Se ey, yellow; head pale with a vertical black band through eye; adjacent and posterior to this, a broad white band; a broad black band bordered with yellow narrowing as it passes to middle of base.of spinous dorsal fin; a large black area on caudal peduncle edged in bright yellow; a black spot in middle base of soft dorsal fin with a yellow line running from its base to yellow area’ at front of black area on caudal peduncle; basal half of caudal fin yellow, outer half clear, these two r regions separated by a narrow black band; dorsal’ fin with a distinct black marginal band, yellow submarginally; anel fin yellow with a narrow black margin; pelvics yellowish; pectorals yellowish-hyaline; faint diagonal lines on body. This well-known species was seen in many atoll environ- ments, but most commonly in the lagoon. Cheetodon trifasciatus Chaetodon tritasci atus Mungo, Park 1797, “Trans.> Linn. Soc. Pougen, Vol. 3, pb: on . (ype locality, Sumatra). 10 specimens. 22 - 97 mm. Onotoa. D ATIT, 21 or 22 (mostly 21). A Ine ocr 2oej mee (5 specimens). Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency tan dorsally shading to orange-yeilow ventrally with about 14 narr ow, slightly curved, lengthwiss, purplish lines on side of body: a black bar, edged in bright orange-yellow, on head passing through eye; posterior and adjacent to this a narrow white end a nerrow black band; end of snout black; basal part of spinous dorsal with many narrow lines such as appear on body; outer membranes of spinous dorsal whitish; soft dorsal with 4 lengthwise bands of about equal width, a light dusky outer band, a white band narrowly edged in black, a yellow- ish band, and a black basal band (broader posteriorly and edged in yellow); base of anal soft fin bluish, then a broad white line, a black band, a narrow bright yellow line, a broad blackish area, and a narrow whitish margin; anal Spines dusky orange; caudal peduncle bluish with a black spot dorsally (in line with black band at base of soft dorsal); caudal fin white on base, followed by a vertical black band, a narrow yellowish line, and outer one-third hyaline; pelvic fins yellow; pectorals hyaline. A very omnipresent chactodont, this species was probably the most abundant generally at Onotoa. The stomach contents of 7 adult specimens were examined. They consisted primarily of green algae. Chaetodon reticulatus Chaetodon retioulatus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1831. Hist. nab. poles... VOlw 7a Ou Gen Ol’. 1/7 e Use) Loeag mami. sued and Ulea = Woleai, Caroline Islands). This distinctive species was seen at Onotoa, but no specimens were taken. 165 Genus MECGAPROTODON Meraprotodom Guichenot 1648. Rev. Zool.» vol. 11, p. 12. (Type species, Cheetodon bifasciatus Cuvier and Valenciennes). Megaprotodon strigangulus Chaetodon strigangulus Gmelin 1788. Syst. nat., ed. 13 p. 1209. 2 specimens. 5 and 140 mm. Onotoa lagoon. D ATV, U5s AL mide som 5s) P15. 2 specimens). Color from 35 mm Kodachrome of large specimen white with about 14 "V"~shaped lines on side of body, the bottom of each V pointing forward about in mid-line of body (poste- riorly there are more dorsal limbs of the V's than ventral); a black band, bordered in yellow, running from nape through eye to isthmus; caudal fin black with upper and lower |. fiargins narrowly yellow, a black posterior margin, and a yellow submarginal band; dorsal fin orange-yellow with a very narrow black margin posteriorly; anal fin pale yellow- ish with a narrow black margin over ends of soft rays; pelvic fins white; pectoral fins hyaline with a yellowish spot at upper edge of base. The 54 mm specimen has a Large black crescent-shaped area (preceded by a pale band) on hind part of body, posterior part of dorsal and anal fins, and base of caudal fin; posterior to this in the caudal fin is a pale triangular area with a black line at its base which is submarginal to outer hyaline part of fin. Genus HANLOCHUS Heniochus Cuvier 1817. Régne animal, ed. 1, vol. 2, p. 335. (Type Species, Chactodon macrolepidotus Bloch). Heniochus permutatus Heniochus permutatus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1831. Hist. nat. PoUsstanivols. —77 5 pis GQ. 2 specimens. 118 and 127 mm. 6 specimens. 36 - 4.2 mm. Onotoa. One D ili ee er 235 4 tnd, 17 or Les P15. (hk specimens). Color of 42 mm juvenile specimen from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency white with 3 diagonal black bands on body, the 166 first running from nape across’ head to pelvic region, the |. second from the 3rd to 9th dorsal spines (and extending out — on long filament of 4th dorsal spine) to’ the soft anal fin, and the third (a narrower’ band) -at basé.of soft dorsal; a pale-rimmed, black spot’ in soft anal fin; caudal fin hyaline with a black spot at base of upver rays; pelvic fins black: pectoral fins hyaline; snout yellow. ‘The young were taken from tidepools on the outer reef flat and in shallow lagoon or channel waters. The two adults were poisoned with rotenone from a protected outer reef area with numerous coral heads. err een mere eS STE corre Chaetodon acuminatus Linnaeus 1758. Syst. Hatti., “EaeadO; p. - 2/2. (Type locality, Indies). 24 specimens. 25 - 46 mm. Onodtoa. D 100 mm, Onotoa. Day tS er 1G: A TTT, 162 P 16 or 17. (3 speeinens) : Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency bright yellow with a blue ring around the eye; edge of opercle light blue with extreme margin above base of pectoral black; spines at corner and lower limb of preopercle light blue; soft dorsal, soft anal, and caudal fins with a narrow pale blue margin and a thin black submarginal line. Py The species was taken on the outer reef or in the lagoon where coral was abundant. It is the most common angel fish at Onotoa. Centropyge bicolor Chaetodon bicolor Bloch 1787. Nat. ausland. Fische, pt. 3, Oe Oy, wl. 206, siz. 1. (Type, locality, Bast Indies). Holacanthus bicolor Fowler 1928. Mem. B. F. Bishop Mus., vol. TO. cole teinesnil) Uslands). 168 A small, bright yellow angel fish with broad blue bars was sighted at a depth of about 25 feet in the Onotoa lagoon near a coral knoll... It was probably this species. Genus PYGOPLITES Pygoplites Fraser-Brunner 1933. Proc. Zool. Soc..‘London, p. 567. (Type species, Chaetodon diacanthus be cinaicebiii Eyeourit es CSE US _ Chaetodon diacanthus Papreent "1772. Epistola...de Chaetodonte oe ‘deseripto, p. 19. (Type pues acne “Bast ndies if SEO STARE ES aor ae Onotoa. ae specinien. 131 rom. Tarawa . D XIV, 193. A TEI, 19%) P16. 4) specimen). Color from. 35 ma Xodachrome transperency: body with alternate bers of blue and orange (the blue dark with pale centers) which extend on to and curve backwards on dorsal and anal fins; caudal fin bright yellow; head and chest purplish, 2 vertical blue lines running from nape to eye; margin of opercle and margin of preopercle with a blue line; Spine at corner of preopercle:blue; mouth orange-yellow; pelvic fins orange; pectoral’ fins hyaline- yellow. The Onotoa specimen was Spee ree near @ coral head in the lagoon, Family BPHIPPIDAD genus PLATAX. Bian CuvYer BMY EVAR Reone SSiee ia ed. we VO? 24 By 33h. Type species, Chaetodon tiera Bloch) - Platax orbicularis Chaetodon orbicularis For skal ET Ss nenee: animaliun, py 59; (Type locality, Red Sea). 1 specimen. 88 mm, Tarawas' — UN Gog 2 Lin, Cog ae Teeth as in Fig. 49 b and body shape as in Fie. ae (ieft. of ‘leber and de Beaufort .(1936). Sais Bie ek ae i ee 2 169 Family GANCLIDASE Genus ZANCLUS 4anclus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1831. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 7, p. 102. (Type species, Cheetodon cornutus Linnaeus). Zancius cornutus Chaetodon cornutus Linnaeus 1758. Syst. mat., ed. 10, p. 273. ~ (ype locality, Indies). Chaetodon canescens Linnaeus 1758. Syst. nat., ed. 10, p. roeak _ " Zanclus cornutus Gunther 1876. Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, vol. 5, Die ee Meee Oe oe Zanclus canescens Herre 1927. Philip. Jour. Sei., vol. 3h, Cie ee on Moncius cornutins Herre, ibid, p. 473, pis..9, 10. azancius cornutus Weber and de Beaufort 1936. Fishes Indo- Baetrat, Brea, VOL, 7, Db. 170, Lig. Ad, Zanclus canescens Weber and de Beaufort, ibid, p. 172, fig. 15. Zanclus cornutus Woods in Schultz and collaborators 1953. Buen te owen. Mas: "202... O10. Odi 50. Be Zanclus canescens Woods, ibid, p. 612, pl. 60. L*specimens. “57° - 130 mm. Onotoa. See ao ae A ee a or (She PS oF oO. Cs Specimens). Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency of 130 mm specimen: body white and yellow with a verv broad black region from origin of dorsal and nape, enclosing eye and ‘base of pectoral fin, and broadening ventrally on chest and abdomen; a broad black band on posterior part of body extend- ing into soft dorsal and soft anal fins (this area followed by a narrow white and a narrow black line); caudal peduncle and posterior part of soft dorsal and anal fins yellow; caudal fin black with a white margin and a white dlagonal line at base; snout white with a black-edged, orange. saddje- like mark dersally; lower lip and outer half of chin black; pectoral fins hyaline with dusky rays; pelvic fins black. Specimens were taken from both the lagoon and outer reef. The stomach contents of two adult specimens were examined 170 and found to be mostly algal. A small amount of bottom sediment had also been ingested. There has been a long-standing controversy as to whether Zauclus canescens Linnaeus is the young of Zanclus cornutus Linnaeus or whether the two are valid svecies, “The consensus of.recent works favors the latter opinion. Weber and de Beaufort (1936: 173) have reviewed the problem in detail. “Although these authors admit .thet canescens is probably lag a wore pelagic habit and no specimens. éns. above 80°mm in length (apparently total length) are known, they prefer to recog- nize both Species. © i have examined Zanclus in the eqilie seen of ae United States National Museun, Stanford hepa History,,Museun, California Academy of Sciences, ishop: Museum, ‘and rage ‘of Hawaii. All of the large ace are cornutus. Thos specimens with 4 prominent preorbital spine just above aia slightly posterior to the rictus (canescens of some authors were all small, the largest béing 63 mm in standard length. Some specimens Of typical cornutus were as small as 52 mm. In my .opinion canescens is “the late post.larval stage of cornutus, and the size at transformation from the canescens fora BO othe Juvenile cornutus is eres as-has been demon: comteceaere eatere an tene> wrong covets, 1949: 296} (Randell, Mayo Alchough specimens were found which were variously. inter- mediate in color between the pale (probably tran isparent® tn life) canescens with silvery abdomen and the bila ck-banded cornutus, none were seen.with the preorbital spine under- going pradual resorption as was expected. Two specimens at the Galifornia Academy of Sciences (No. 7162), 52 and 5h mm in standard length, provide a possible answer to this enigma. Although traces of silvery color are still present on the abdomen of these specimens, and the broad vertical. bars are not intensely black, the spine on each side of both is com- pletely gone. At its-.site is a slightly depressed. area of exposed preorbital bone about the size of the base of the spine. The epidermis at the margin of this.area is free and jagged. This suggests that the preorbital spine may be shed as a unit during transformation. It seems unlikely that the spine on both sides of the two specimens would have been torn off during or subsequent.to their capture. Confirmation of the hypothesis that the spine is shed could be most convin- cingly obtained by placing a live canescens in an aquariun and haar THE the ae aah g transformation into cornutus. I examined the 63 mn specimen reported by Woods in gehultz and collaborators (1953: 612, 1. 60), as Z. canescens. It, was taken at the entrance to a channel to “Bikini Atolz by. night lighting, and it still shows the silver coloration over the abdomen. On recount ing the fin reys, I find that there are 33 soft rays in the anal fin tnstead. of 32.. The. 5/7. mn specimen from Onotoa is a late cenescens form with tne Lee pmeor bite wSpine sibs tiin ray counts are) VIT)42" A°TTI, 35, well within the range given by Woods for cornutus: thus the apparent separation of canescens and cornutus Seby © fin rey counts as tabulated by this author is probably not valid. it resulted from his two specimens of canescens being, by chance, ones with low counts. To my knowledge, Gunther (1876: 142) was the first to indicate that 4. canescens is the young of 4. cornutus. He used: only the name cornutus; therefore this name is preferred in spite of the page priority of canescens. The pair of supraorbital horns that are deemed characteris- tic of cornutus were not seen on any small examples of 2anclus. Some specimens as large as 120 mm in standard length lacked these bony prominences; others as small as about 90 mm had them et least partly. formed. Good-sized adult specimens generally showed either well-developed horns or short nubbins. Fifteen such specimens were sexed. Seven hed iarge horns and were all males; the remaining eight had short horns and were females. A 128 mm male from the Philippines had horns which exceeded in length the diameter of the pupil of the eye. The horn length (measured from tip to base where head squamation appears) of a 130 mm female taken in the Gilbert Islands was contained about 4 times in the diameter or the pupil. It is suspected that the variability in length of fish at which horns develop is also a manifestation of sexual differences, the males forming their horns sooner. This could not be demonstrated because of the difficulty in determining the sex of subadult specimens thet have been in preservative for many years. Family ACANTHURIDA® The surgeon fishes are well known for their herbivorous food habits and the possession of defensive apparatus in the form of a single folding spine or a pair of fixed, keel-like Spines on each side of the caudal peduncle. At Onotoa they were the most abundant family of fishes of their size on the reefs. Some species such as Seenuaurus mata , A. bleekeri, A. pyroferus t= celebicus) and certain or the Naso were not Seen or taken in the Gilbert ea but probably occur there. Fowler (1928: 270) recorded Acantnurus dussumieri (as Hepatus bariene) from the Kingsmill Islands. In view of the known distribution of this species (Randall, in press), this reeord should be checked. An intersting zonation of different species of acanthurids was observed on the outer sea reef at Onotoa. In inshore reef areas, exposed as tide pools at low tide, the young of Acanthurus triostegus were very abundant. Farther seaward but still on the reef flat the adults of A. triostegus were Lye the dominant surgeon fishes. In the surge channels three species of Acanthurus were commonly seen. A. guttatus was observed in small schools in the: ‘highly turbulent water toward the apices of the surge channels. A. achilles was occasionally seen in the same arga but seemed tO prefer less turbulent surge channel water to-seaward. The colorful A. lineatus occurred throughout the surge channels but pre- dominated in the broad outer parts as they opened on to the coralliferous terrace. A. glaucopareius and Ctenochaetus striatus were especially ebundant in the latter Zone. Key to the Species of Acanthuridae Recorded from the Gilbert Islands la. Caudal peduncle armed on each side either with 2 sharp, ‘laterally-projecting, fixed spines or a pair of small . bony protuberances; dorsal spines V to VII (usually - VI or VII) anal spines II; pelvic fin rays I,3; teetbh. conical or almost so, without denticulations or with very slight marginal serration; least depth of caudal peduncle contained 3.5 to 6 times in head length; a prominent bump or horn often present on forehead.....2 lb. Caudal peduncle armed on each side with a single, sharp, folding spine, fitting into @ horizontal groove in . side of body; dorsal spines IV, V, VIIT, or Ik; anel spines, Til; pelvic fin rays 1,3) ors 1,530 teeth flat- tened, always with prominent marginal denticulations; least:depth of caudal peduncle contained 2.1 - 3.5 in head length:a prominent bump or horn never present OHat ORE Ea Gis uls Liagte-s «Laue oie tele, 0 ted Aoteee oe S eR Caudal peduncle spines and broad area surrounding each spine pale (orange in life) and in sharp contrast to dark brown color of rest of body; no horn or bony prominence present on forehead; a distinct pale (yellow in life) line running dorsally fronernebus and curving posteriorly to eye; margin of preopercle PALO se eseeee eee eee eee ee tees cs eee ees «Mase Lituratus v~O m 2D Gaudet. ‘peduncle spines or pea pnbenemeds and surround-_ ing area not distinctly paler than rest of body; a conspicuous horn or rounded bony eminance present on Toncehead ion adults: color nots inpZelaels dale state «> 3a. A horn-like protuberance on forehead of adults. ..c..ceeeh 3b. A prominent hump on forehead of adu LUSiiy sidisichels dielatlenele «2 ha. Base of rostral horn posterior to rictus; body (except:: in acronurus or keris stage which is spotted) with- out spots or vertical lines; caudal spines surrounded by blackish areas (blue in’life); teeth without small denticulations (though teeth at sides of jaw may show 4b. 5b. 6a. 6b. 7a. 7d L723 faint marginal serration); pectoral rays 17 or 18 fell "evenness Younbed bP. e.c0) 2. 722.2 Naso unicornis Base of rostral horn anterior to rictus; body faintly marked with indistinct vertical dark lines, ventral- ly with spots; no blackish areas around caudal Spines; margins of teeth with small denticulations; pectoral rays 5or 15 (all elements counted). i viseees Peer cree eee eee e eres eesensecesesceese sNASO brevirostris Side of body without numerous long vertical dark lines; head, dorsal 2/3 of body, and caudal fin with many smal black spots; dorsal and anal fins not elevated, length of last dorsal spine contained more than 2 times in length of snout; caudal spines (at least in specimens as large as "250 mm in standard length) not long and blade-like with tips curved forward; caudal fin without long narrow pil amen Gs ll... . sss 00s WN Wane aw ae chee oe aes oe CS ere eRNESR Mago tuberosus Side of body with numerous long vertical dark lines; back, head, chest, and abdomen with small dark spots: dorsal and "anal fins elevated, length of last dorsal spine about equel to length of snout; caudal spines of adults long and blade-like with tips curved forwerd (similar to lituratus and unicornis); caudal fin may have long, narrow, posterior filaments, one from the upper and one fx “Olt the lower LODE... .esvaves Jos ee eh ste. g SO Vlam ined eeeoeeweevoseseepeeeeeseeeeveev een eve Pelvic fin rays I, 3; soft dorsal rays 18 to 20; scales On head broad and tuberculated; a broad black area on back enclosing an oval grayish (blue in life) region at tip of pectoral fin; a long yellowish triangle (yellow in life) with apex anterior to cau- dal spine and base formed by truncate posterior margin of caudal fin; upper and lower lobes of caudal fin black, this color continuous with black on back; rest of body grayish (blue in life)...Paraeanthurns hepatus Paivae*ria rays "5: soft dorsal rays 22 to 33; scales on head not broad and tuberculated; color not as in Sa LC TE ET eS Tea. 8 to) Sa Dorsal spines IV or V: dorsal and anal fins elevated, the first soft ray of the dorsal fin contained 2.0 to 3.7 times in the standard length; snout markedly PO lyse tate he te hata Mate alate talte, oe poe won ols atleast el oh etn er etd te 6 6.0/6) eileie Dorsal spines VIII or IX; dorsal and anal fins not elevated, the first soft ray of dorsai fin contained. 4.5 to 7.5 in standard length; snout not markedly | GAM ee aac abie ete ele Weiciig Wie foe oe eles! alate evala ere ain le a lel mio) e 8a. SU, 9a. 9b. . 10a. 10b, ley: Jib. 124. 174, Dorsal soft rays 30 to 33; anal soft rays 24 to 26: dorsal and anal fins extremely elevated, the first Sort ray, of . dor sal fin 2,0; tov2.3 im standard length (1.8 in a 25 mm juvenile specimen); hody with alternating pale and dark vertical bands.......:. SES) w SASS fae whe ehatohiaitehe qhdrelulalavel es dreile! ai piietetin GR Oma eu at eau Dorsal soft rays 23 to 25; anal soft), raya, wb9to 21: dorsal and anal fins moderately elevated, the first Soft ray of dorsal fin 2.7.to 357 mm) stendard length (2.2 in a 32 mm juvenile specimen); body of adults brown with faint, pale, narrow, longitudinal lines (juveniles with narrow vertical pale lines ANd SMaAL Ts Spots) daaievaye slateriela sree hie Mena SoOna Seopa Teeth very elongate, freely-movable, and numerous (varying from 20 in the upper jaw of a 37 mm speci- men of C. striatus to 42 in a 130 mm specimen), the tips expanded, incurved, and bearing..lateral denti- ood es dorsal spines VILE. cece deere sere ence ser sce Tedth not very ellgngate. not movable, and not numerous ' (not exceeding 22 in upper jaw of largest adults), flattened, and denticulated on entire margin; dorsal spines BC (rarely VLE insets aba etainials delete aes) cle eter ee Body light eray with 6 vertical black eee (l on head passing through eye, 4 on body, and 1 on caudal. pedun- cle); anal, soft rays..19 to 21; * caudal peduncle spine very small, its greatest length contained about 3 to 4 times in greatest GLAMELEST: (OL TOYS veucite are lela wiilaiie lols: alain a) « anaes HANS eae Vicks. upto. sbiciicacote te opal chtamtell idide alta inh) etiege ee AET Na Meg NL Ss triostegus ee re et errors Bate Body not light. gray with vertical black bars; anal soft. rays 22 or more; caudal pedunele spine not very snall, its length contained 1.5 times or less in gereavbest dame ber vOL /OYiS moledvare iota Nie 6 Tou torsietio: tele mea 5) ene, old Posterior half of body and dorsal. and anal fins with numerous white spots on a@ dark brown background; body. with 3 broad vertical pale bands; body very deep, greatest depth contained 1.5 - 1.6 times in standard Lengths sesseesesesesees es AGanthurus guttatus Posterior half of body and need ania anal fins’ without white spots; body without 3. broad, vertical pale bands; body not. very deep, greatest depth contained 1.7 - 2.2 times in standard LENG EA cere eee e neve esos cree ee le Upper 3/h of body lined with about 10 black bands, each containing a median pale line (blue.in life), runnine nearly horizontally (many of these bands continue on to head. and converge on eye); spaces between bands pale (yellow.in life); caudal ‘spine very long, about 1,9, to 2 in’head length......«/.....Acanthurus lineatus 12d. 13a. Le doe lha. 14d. Loa. 15h. l6a. A black spot at base of last few dorsal and anal rays... 16b. Lao Upper 3/4 of body not lined with about 10 nearly horizontal black bands containing median pale lines; caudal spine not very long, about 2.5 to 8 in head SAVE ION ae cite ree OMe Pet ona, 5 tlhe bt AM ais ishetalh sie eo alae edl Body very dark brown or black with a white line under chin and a pale line or band at the base of the dor- sal and anal fins; mouth very small, its width from rictus to rictus contained 5 to 6 times in length of head; maximum number of upper or lower teeth 12; body depth relatively: great, about 1.7 to 1.8 in standard length; dorsal soft rays 28 to 33; anal SORUMMEMa ere TUOV sO VOUOY . Oct. Case rss Peano. als. Ly Body not very dark brown or black with a white line under chin and a pale band at base of dorsal and anal fins; mouth not very small, its width from rictus to rictus contained 3.2 to 4.8 in length of head; humber of teeth in upper or lower jaw 14 to 24 (in specimens over 50 mm long); body depth not great, 1.6 to 2.4 in standard length; dorsal soft Taye "9 wo Ss anal) sort Payev22 to. 2OPR, Jom oe wet L5 Body with a large elliptical pale vellowish (orange in life) spot posteriorly, enclosing caudal peduncle spine (this pale area absent in specimens of about 65 mia or less in standard length); an elongate white spot at edge of opercle; no pale area under eye; pale line on chin not extending above rictus; caudal fin lunate; dorsal soft rays 29 to 33 (mostly 30 to Deis te ahelalgtalt: sleis ins ohh sure SAM Se OR A CAMbIEMS Bohl Lies Body without a large elliptical pale spot posteriorly; no elongate white spot at corner of opercle; a pale area under eye; pale Line on chin extending well above rictus; caudal fin emarginate to moderately concave; dorsal soft rays 28 to 31 (mostly 29 to COV ee sce c's ee tem tee oe eels oe sACAN ThUTUGH Blanco pareius Snout very short, its length contained 7.9 to 6.2 times in standard length; teetn very small (greatest length of undetached upper teeth .7 mm in 135 mm specimen) ; ea dark brown spot extending slightly below axil of ‘pectoral fin; entire caudal fin paler than body....... PNM eo GHE Sh sbe reed eWeoeees eee. ce oe pHCAMUUITUS I LNOmpSOnT Snout not very short, its length contained 3.9 to 5.3 in standard length; teeth not very small; no dark brown spot extending below axil of pectoral fin; eibirerequdel fin not paler than body 10... bose. eae eb RRM EE ig eae at RN ile. onal a aru aN GN Sella air al hill gliul ilvale/ler teed No black spot at base of last few dorsal and anal Hees tail vos cays Les eesveeeve2eeerenevneeveeesevneveeeneeeeoeeeeweweeereteeoeseeeeeeoeeee ee Las 176 Caudal fin lunate, caudal concavity (horizontal distance from tip of upper lobe of caudal fin to most anterior portion of hind edge of fin) contained 4.5 to 6 times in standard length; a definite black Margin around caudal peduncle spine Saban black spot at axil of soft dorsal fin large, its greatest width contained less than.2 times in greatest dia- meter of eye; a definite .white-margin to posterior edge -of .eaudal Tin; shape, of ends,of)medial.upper testh (ignoring denticulations) pointed. .ssessesceevas tess eeeeeeceeeeess ACaNthurus nigrofuscus see@eeteoeeese 17». Caudal fin not lunate, caudal concavity contained 6.7 - 18e. 18b. 12 times in standard -length; ‘nad black margin around caudal peduncle spine “Braoves ‘black, spot.,.at axil of sort dorsal fin small, its greatest width contained more than 2 times in greatest diameter of eye; white margin: to postérior edge of caudal fin barely dis- cernible; shape of ends of medial upper teeth POURAE 5. wae nian vie gies sieaie ono ele eA CANShURUS nigroris \ horizontal pigmented bar on shoulder, either entirely black or- pale yellowish with dark margins (this bar not present in jUVend1 6) 5 lar occpieesleons intel “phe suetnfle 1 No horizontal pigsented bar on fil USA.) site Repetto en Ga ee 19a. Shoulder bar pale yellowish (orange in life) edged in black (in specimens below about 80 mm the black border is not present; in specimens below about 45 mo there is no trace of a:bar at all); a broad, white, crescent-shaped region in postero-central part of caudal fin; body uniform brown (pale in juveniles which are yellow in life) without longitudinal lings; dorsal soft rays 23 to 25, (usually 24); anal soft rays 22 to 24 (usually 23)........Acanthurus olivaceus 19b. Shoulder bar black; no broad, white, crescent-shaped 20a. region in postero-central part of caudal fin (though a white terminal margin is present on the caudal fin of A. gahhm); body dark brown, with or without faint, narrow, irregular, pale, longitudinal lines; dorsal Sette Paysv 2490/2564, anal” soft. rays:.cewtOu2Gemsscepan ce Posterior edge of caudal fin with a distinct white . Margin; a long, black, lancet-like line extending forward from anterior end of caudal peduncle spine; no longitudinal bands or lines in dorsal or anal fins; no narrow, irregular, pale, longitudinal lines on body; no yellow spots on head in life; dorsal soft rays 25 to 28 (usually 26 or 27); anal soft rays Zip MC OH26 J.devaddidia e/dlehe daualtes eens, sralidiel< hay» vieisyeA CARD M INT yeeaet te 20b. Posterior edge of caudal fin without a distinct white margin; no long black line extending forward from 7 caudal peduncle spine; dorsal.fin with longitudinal dark brown bands (about 8 in soft dorsal), alter- nating with pale bands (yellowish in Life} of about the same width; numerous irrezular pale (yellowish in life) longitudinal lines on body (faint or absent in preserved specimens); yellow spots on head in lave: “dersal sot rays 24h to 26 (usually 25); anal soft rays 22 to 2h (usually 23)..Acanthurus maculiceps 2la. Outer 1/3 of pectoral fin vale (yellowish in life) and contrasting with darker basal 2/3 of fin (in specimens over about 120 mm in standard length); dorsal fin with about 1 broad, lengthwise bands; caudal fin very lunate, caudal concavity about 4.5 ° to 7 in’ standard length; caudal spine usually small, about 4.5 to 5.5 in Length of nead; dark marsin around socket of caudal spine usually narrow and indistinct; anterior gill rakers 16 to 22; poste- rior Gall raicers 17 ‘to’ 22. (inde! PacwPdey locas a ne oa ae ie e wlal'a non) 90 © 9% 0 # o 6 siicce Acanthurus xanthopterus 21b. Pectoral fin uniform brown;:‘dorsal fin (at least in Hawaiien specimens) with about & narrow lengthwise bands; caudal fin not very lunate, caudal concavity about 6 to 10 in standard length; caudal spine. usually not small, about 3 to 4.2 in length of head; a definite dark brown or black margin around socket of caudal spine forming an area about twice as high as maximum width of spine; white band at base of caudal fin usually distinct; anterior gill rakers 21 to 25; posterior gill rakers 23 to 25. (Indo-West- Ceca eer ee snes ee i aeus lala waite a Maaee Bie aishecs eure wuala aut }.Acanthurus mata (not yet known from Gilbert Islands) 22a. Body with numerous pale longitudinal stripes (may be bape faint in preserved specimens); interradial membrenes of vectoral fin hyaline; margin of lower Lip smooth; teeth of upper jaw with 5 to 7 (usually 6) denticu- whataens on expended ends........ .-Ctenochaetus striatus err neo te ee 22b. Boacy with stripes, wnen alive speckled with numerous bright blue spots which may or may not persist in preserved specimens; interradial membranes of »vec- toral fin dark brown; margin of lower lip pvapillate; - teeth of unper jaw with 4 denticulations (counting the tip) on expanded ends.......:.....€tenochaetus sp. Genus NASO Naso Lacépede 1802. Hist. nat. DOE SSiag) MOM. Zoey Ona atl l ype species, Naso fronticornis Lacepéde = Chaetodon vnicornis Forsk&l, = 73 Naso ombunedus Acanthurus lituratus pan ane Schneider LSOl, Systema ,. wonGhen, bi. Se. RM 216. This unmistakable species was sighted occasionally under- water at Onctoa and also at Butaritari; however, no speci- mens were secured. Naso unticornis Chaetodon unicornis ‘Yorskal 1775) Deser’. “animalium, p. «iii, 63. (Type Locality, Djedda, Red Sea). Naseus unicornis Gunther bS7 Bi. dour Mose Coder inoy val. Lh), Pape eI. Sat Ses Naso unicornis Whitley aad Colefax LIBG w EROC.4Leon., Soe. N. S. Wales, vol. 63, p. 297. (Nauru). Naso brevirostris Naseus brevirostris Cuvier and Valenciennes 1835. Hist. nat. oe ere emer ree ee eee 'polss., Vor. LO, p. 277. ‘(Type Vocality ,” Moltceds, Mauritzme) New Guinea, and. Indian Ocean). Naseus brevirostris Gunther 1873. Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, vol. ne LO 2, P79 ie A Ane Sra Islands). Naso tuberosus Naso tuberosus Lacépede 1802. Hist. nat. poiss., vol. 3, Ory AD lp Ng eee Dis Naseus tuberosus Gunther 1873.0 Jour, .Mus. “Godeiiroy, vol. 1, De 123), Yon; OC. sievete tuberosus Fowler 1928. Mem. B. P. Bishop Mus., vol. 10, 276. (Gilbert islands), Naso vlamingi Naseus vlamingii Cuvier and Valenciennes 1835. Hist. nat. POUSGan VOL. VO. pp. 292... hype LOGel Lis | Moluecas).. Although this species was consistently seen at the seaward edge of the outer reef at Onotoa in about 40 feet of water, nce specimens were taken. It appeared almost black underwater. One specimen, when speared at Arno Atoll in the Marshall Islands, suddenly altered its dark color to pale, thus making evident the characteristic vertical blue lines and small blue Spots on the body. 179 Naso sp. A 37 mn specimen of Naso in the keris stage was obtained with rotenone in a tide pool 160 feet from shore on the sea reef flat at Onotoa. It is pale (transparent in life) with Silver over abdomen and posterior part of head. There are 6 near-vertical rows of indistinct blackish spots on the dorsal half of the body, scattered tiny blackish flecks on posterior half of body, "and a dusky band at the base of the caudal fin. The dorsal rays are VI, 27 and the anal rays II, 2&8. There are 16 pectoral rays. TI am unable to iden- tify the specimen to species; however I suspect thet it may be brevirostris, Ib ls definitely not uhnicornis, for this species has 17 or 18 pectoral rays and reaches a larger size in the keris stage (over 50 mm in standard length). Genus PARACANTHURUS Se a Bleeker 1863, Ned. Tijdsear., Dierk. vol 1, 25e. (Type species, Teuthis henatus Linnaeus, in pert). Paracanthurus hepatus Teuthis hepatus Linnaeus 1766. (in part). Syst. nat., ed. 12, Car DOr. Acanthurus theuthis Lacepede LEOZe. USE pe Cp OO LoS Aes) lb. Arie Gs, fae Acanthurus hepatus Gunther 1873. Journ. Mus. Godeffroy,.vol. eee io ot >, Aniogemiiy Islands). Genus ZEBRASOMA Zzebrasoma Swainson 1839. Nat. hist. and class. fishss, Sipul Stake... VOL. 2, Ds 250. (Type ,Sweeles, Acenthurus velifer Bloch). Zebrasoma veliferun Acanthurus velifer Bloch 1795. Natur. aus Nend. rieche. pt. oO. Pe iee aes b27, fies Ls (Type Vocelity. mast indies). 2 specimens. - 175 and) 193 mm. .6 specimens. 20 = 25 fn. Onotoa. Color of adult from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency purplish ~ black with 6 vertical yellowish bands about 1/3 width of dark interspaces (except dark interspace through eye which is of comparable width) on head and body; narrow dark lines visible within the pale yellowish bands and narrow orangish 180 vertical lines in the dark interspaces; snout purplish, densely covered with small greenish-yellow spots; fins purplish bleck; base of caudal fin with a whitish vertical band. Color of -20 mm juvenile pale yellow with vertical black bands, the 2 anterior ones (through eye and at edge of operculum) much blacker and more distinct; snout and _ base of caudal fin ea orange. tg rt gin! Adults were seen on both sea reef and deeper sections of the lagoon with moderate coral growth; the Small juveniles were. all. baken in shallow-water lagoon area. aebrasoma scopas Acanthurus scopas Cuvier 1629. Régne eiaimea li, Jed@) 2 mom.) 24 De eens +) (Eye locality, Neira, Proviice of Bande}. ‘Zebrasoma flavescéns Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc. Linn. Soc N.S) Wales) “vow. os) B- OMe (Nauru). 1 specimen. ‘88 mm. 2 spe cimens. 32,and 3h ram . Onotoa. gues in life of $8 mm specimen dark brown: with numerous, nerrow, wavy, light blue, longitudinal linésion body (anteriorly on the body these lines become Cotted; on the head the linear pattern is lost and discrete blue dots occur); anterior median portion of the boay yellow-brown; all fins ‘except the pectoral dark brown; pectoral fin clear with dusky orange rays and a narrow black upper edge; caudal peduncle spine sheath white. Color of juvenile from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency: anterior fourth of body brownish yellow, posterior three-fourths dark brown; snout ‘and. inter- crbiteal space brown, remainder of head brownish yellow; body with nuserous verticel lines; head and: chest with many tiny ‘pale yellow ‘spot s.. At Onotoa adults were seen only. in the lagoon, baa in the recesses in a Maes | of dead staghorn coral. They were observed on the sea reef at Buteritari-: on the lee. side of the atoll. At Onotoa ‘the young were taken from the environs of small isolated coral heads in a shallow-water section of the lagoon. No eee Zebrasoma were seen by me in ie Gilbert Islands. Genus 5 A ACANTHURU 3 30 A&eanthurus Forskal 1775. Descr. ‘animalium, p. 59. (Type ~ species, Chaetodon sohal Forsk&l as des stpnated by Jordan, 1917) (The genus Teuth{S Linnaeus was’ restricted to the Siganids by Opinion | Gor the Internat ional Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.) 1é1 Acanthurus triostegus Cheetodon triostegus Linnaeus 1758. Syst. nat., ed. ine ps L63. (Type locality, Indies). Teuthis troughtoni Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc. Linn. Peace. N.S. Weed wel Ol na 2G, Lex fig. .3,,..< Maur) . 118 specimens.. Ao, A. Mi. | OnOGOA 1 specimen. 112 mm. Tarawa. Color in life: light greenish gray, becoming abruptly white ventrally, with 4 narrow vertical black bars on body, ‘1. near-vertical bar through eye, and a short bar dorsally On caudal peduncle; a median black line on forehead; a Small black spot ventrally on caudal peduncle; a small blaek . spot, 2.spots, or a short bar at the base of the pectoral p05 oye & Hoag A. triostegus was a very common species on both inshore sea reef and sandy shallow-water lagoon areas. In the first 175 feet of a 50 foot wide transect of the outer reef flat at Onotoa,.29 juvenile specimens were taken with rotenone ranging in size Troi 23 to 35.mm. In the next 120° feet (approximately 95% covered with water at low tide when the inshore 175 feet is about helf covered), 81 specimens were obtained of sizes 21 to de fm, In the ‘next 120 feet only 2 small specimens were taken. Adults appeared in the Jania zone still farther from shore and in the so called back ridge trough. No quantitative data were secured from the deeper .areas of the outer reef. Acanthurus guttatus ' Aeanthurus guttatus Bloch and Schneider 1801. Systema ichth., ph. Heevii), 215. (Type Jocality, Tahiti). Teuthis euttatus Kendall and Goldsborough 1911. Mem. Mus. Cai, Zool. vol. 26, pb. 30. (Butariteri, Gilbert Tslands).. Teuthis fuliginosus Whitley and Colefax 1938... Pro¢. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, vol. Sop. 29k, Ole yee da. CNeua)). 3 specimens. 33 -- 165 ma. Onotoa. l specimen. 160 mm. Tarawa. 182 Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency brown with posterior half of body covered with small white spots; a vertical white band from origin of dorsal to edge of Opercle; another broader white band from the base of the 3rd to 5th dorsal spines to region of anus; a third, narrow, white band from the 3rd dorsal soft ray to the 3rd anal soft ray; region of chest white; pelvic fins bright yellow with narrow dark brown margins; caudal fin brown, whitish at base, and dark brown terminally. This species was observed only in the surge chennels of ‘tne outer reef where it swam rapidly about in small schools ‘in the roughest, milky-white water of this habitat. The stomach contents of 10 specimens were examined; the bulk of the material was algal, though there was some fine calcareous sand. Meany kinds of algae were’ present, but Jania probably predominated. Presence of the blue-green Calothrix indicates a cropping close to the substrate, jm Acanthurus lineatu Chaetodon lineatus Linnaeus 1758. DY Su, MER, (EO Oa Efi, Wey pe locality, Iidivles)™ WOM specimens. os = 870 me Ono Les. 2 specimens. 163 and 170 mm. Tarawa. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency: upper 3/4 of body yellow with 10 black lengthwise stripes, each stripe containing a bright blue center (these stripes continue on to Head where they are narrower and tend to converge on eye); lower fourth of head and body bluish white; pelvic fins orange with dark lateral margin; caudal fin black with a large crescent-shaped dusky: yellowish area narrowly margined in blue in the posterior tiedian part of the fin; pectoral pale; dorsal fin yellowish, lined with blue; anal fin yellowish. te Juveniles about 40 mm in length displayed, in addition to colors like adults, red coloration on dorsal and anal fins (sspecially posteriorly). This species was abundant in or near surge channels of the outer reef at Onotoa and was also very common in relatively shallow quiet water of protected reef areas such as the lagoon side of the west reef of the atoll. The gut contents of LOU Spee ime ns ZO iee 160 mn in length, consists primarily of finely divided red algae. Les Acanthurus achilles Acanthurus achilles Shaw 1803. General zoology, vol. 4, pt. 383. 3 specimens. 108 ~ 119 mm. .Onotoa. 1 specimen. 129 mm. Tarawa. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency bleck with a large bright orange elliptical spot enclosing caudal pedun- cle spine; dorsal and anal fins black with narrow dual- colored (outer half orange, inner half bluish white) lines basally in posterior parts of these fins; anal fin with a narrow blue margin; a white patch at edge of opercle; a light blue line under chin; iris blue; pelvic fins black with lateral blue margin; caudal fin with a narrow white fargin, a narrow black submarginal line and then a broad brignt orange zone; basal half of fin black. This species was seen only in the surge channels at Onotoa. Its abundance varied in different parts of the atoll in spite of apparent similarity of the inane channels in the different areas. Acanthurus glaucopareius Acanthurus Es areius Cuvier 1829. Régne anima, eq bay. TFwols’ 2 ey Ge locality as indicated by Gunther neo. ranted) Acanthurus aliala Lesson 1830. weeee autour du monde... Hep e oO eVOLs 2, pbs Lb, pe 250. Teuthis glaucopareius Whitley and Colefax 193@. Proc. Linn. Soe. N.S. Wales, vol. 63, p. 297. (Nauru). ll specimens. 50 ~ 107 mm. Onotoa. 1 specimen. (155 mm. Tarawa. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency Pipea tah black; dorsal and anal fins with a yellow band basally which broadens posteriorly; anal fin with narrow blue margin; a prominent white patch under eye; a white line on chin edjacent to lower lip extending well above corner of mouth and running adjacent to upper lip; caudal spine yellow; caudal fin light bluish gray with a submarginal yellow band; pelvic fins black with a blue lateral edge; membranes of pectoral fins clear, the | ‘rays Diaektet Tn three ye ath sin enGir fin was red instead of yellow. 184 This was a very abundant species on the coralliferous terrace of the outer reef at Onotoa and in coral areas in the lagoon. It was also observed at Butaritari. The gut of six specimens, 70 to 145 mm in standard length, was filled with algae, mostly filamentous reds. Acanthurus thompsoni Hepatus thompso oi Fowler 1923. Occ. Pap. B.. P. Bishop Mus. , VOl. 7,0 De 260. (Type locality), Honolulu}. Acanthurus’ philippinus»Merre, 19275) Padlips. dour, Serpy vol, Pots he As Wo DAA , fie. lL. Acanthurus philippinus Schultz and Woods in Schultz and collaborators 1953. Bull. Garg, NeatseWises2024 VO Regie Bs ORT « 1 specimen. 138 mm... Onotoa. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency: uniform brown with a dusky white caudal fin; iris blue; dorsal and anal fins dark brown with still darker longitudinal bands barely discernible. In life the most conspicuous feature of this specics was its pure white caudal fin; ‘this: Taded to dusk white after death. Only two specimens were seen at Onotoa. Both of these occurred as solitary individuals at the extreme seaward edge of the coralliferous terrace of the outer reer. One was speared from 35 feet of water. Acanthurus nierofuscus Chastodon nigro- -fuscus Forskal 1775. Descr. animalium, pp. Kili, ob. (Type locality, Red Sea). Acanthurus elongatus Schultz and Woods in Schultz and. "Teoltaborators (inl part) 1953. Burl, U.S. Neu. Mey oz, TOM lawns CSL AWOL Wwoem fie wD\, 3 specimens. 38 - 93 mm. Onotoa. No life color notes taken for adults. Color in life of 38 ma juvenile: body brown with a proiinent black spot at the base of the last few rays of the dorsal fin; dorsal and anal fins with a thin pale blue margin and a narrow black sub- marginal line; remainder of these fins with faint alternating red and blue bands; caudal fin brown with upper and lower margins reddish. 185 _ Specimens were obtained from both the sea reef and from the lagoon near the west reef. Acanthurus nigroris Acanthurus’ nigroris Cuvier and Valenciennes 1835. Hist. nat. poiss.,; vol. 10, p. 208. (Type locality, Hawaii). Acanthurus lineolatus Gunther Sg aS Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, Wor. 1, p.-lie, Cin toe Lae, A. a Teuthis atrimentatus Jordan and Evermann POO Dy Mes) Use ‘Sa ish Coun” vot 722, p. 196. Acanthurus elongatus Schultz and.Woods in Schultz and collaborators (in part) 1953. Bull. UTS. Nat. Mus. 202, oy Le le ete Di oy OF yy TLE, Co, ; ; Z specimens. — 57 and-93 mm. Onotoa, 1 specimen - 143 mm. Tarawa. Onotoda’ specimens were taken with rotenone from the outer 4 ¢ Sea. TeeT.. . wpe ese gs ACanthurus olivaceus Acanthurus nigricans var. olivaceus Bloch and Schneider 1801. Systema ichth., pn. xxxviii, 214. No specimens were obtained. D. W. Strasburg observed a bright yellow colored juvenile in shallow water of the QOnotoa lagoon. a | », ; Acanthurus gahhm Chaetodon nigro-fuscus var. gahhm Forskal 1775. Descr. animalium, pp. xiii, 64. (Type locality, Red Sea). Acanthurus nigricans Schultz and Woods in Schultz, and collaborators 1953. Bull. U. S$. Nat. Mus. 202, vol. 1, p..633, aan 68. ie ; 27 specimens. 23 - 188 mm. Onotoa. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency of a 165 mm specimen: dark brown with an elongate, nearly horizontal black bar originating just anterior to upper end of gill opening and extending posteriorly to level of the 6th dorsal Spine: caudal peduncle spine socket narrowly margined with black, this color extending anteriorly in a horizontal, lancet-like mark greater in length than the length of the 186 caudal spine; pectoral fin with basal two-thirds dark brown, outer one-third yellow, especially in upper part; dorsal fin uniform dark brown; anal fin dark brown with a narrow bright blue margin; caudal fin dark brown with a distinct white margin, broader in central part of fin and gradually disappearing on the greatly extended upper and lower lobes of the fin. The shoulder bar is absent in juveniles. It Can be seen just forming in a specimen 57 mm long. The black lancet-like line extending forward from caudal peduncle Spine is also an adult feature; it is just beginning to form in an 82 mm specimen. Small juvenile specimens were chocolate brown in color with the caudal fin abruptly white basally, dusky white distally. Specimens were obtained fear from the Acronurus stage at a length of 23 to 26 mm This species was very abundant at Onotoa and was seen at Butaritari. It was found around the base of isolated coral heads in sandy lagoon areas and was never seen on the ocean side of the atoll. The very small juveniles were common in tidal flats and shallow tide pools in the lagoon, but were never taken from sea reef tide pools. This suggests that the majority of the species either completes the life cycle in the lagoon or that the pelagic young avoid outer reef areas and pass through channels to reside in the shallow quiet waters of the lagoon. A third, but unlikely possi bility is that the young experience heavy mortality in sea reef tidepools. The young of Acanthurus a cpeheeSkah however, do not appear to undergo any serious mortelity this. habitat. The gut of a 160 mm specimen was filled with fine yellow- ish grit such as can be found in the gut of scarids. Acanthurus maculiceps Hepatus maculiceps Ahl 1923. Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin., vol. i, po. Ll, pe 360, ther (Gypexbocality, Talassia, New Britain). pe 1 specimen. 194 mm. Onotoa. 1 specimen. 203 mm. Tarawa. Color in life dark brown with numerous, narrow, pale yellowish, longitudinal lines on body; a short horizontal bleck bar on shoulder (19 mm in length in the 194 mm specimen), its forward end located slightly posterior to upper end of gill opening; head brown with numerous promi- nent cream-colored spots; pectoral fin blackish witn a large yellow spot on the distal third of the upper 6 rays; caudal fin brown with a bright white band at base which quickly faded upon death of the specimen. 1e7 The Onotoa specimen was speared in about 20 feet of weter on the coralliferous terrace of the outer reef. This constitutes the first record of this species in Oceania. Acanthurus xanthopterus Acanthurus xanthopterus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1835. p. 215. (Type locality, Seychelles). Acanthurus blochii Gunther 1873. Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, vol. H, iB. OOF ph.o9, fis. B. Acanthurus matoides de Beaufort 1951. Fishes Indo-Austral. ATGh ys SVOE Oe" pl 156. Acanthurus fuliginosus Schultz and Woods in Schultz and Goa: een Re nese. Salle Ue Ss. hac. Muss 202, vole 1: py O57: 2 specimens. 47 and 200 mm. Tarawa. The 200 mm specimen was speared at a depth of 39 feet in the Tarawa lagoon. While still alive the following color note was made: the color changed back and forth from a Uniform purplish gray to a phase where highly irregular dark gray lines alternated with light blue-gray lines, all of these lines about 2 scales in width; base of caudal fin and adjacent portion of caudal peduncle very light gray; ventral two-thirds of eye edged in yellow; a region of dull yellow extending anteriorly from eye a distance equal to about 1 eye diameter; a lesser posterior extension of yellow from lower corner of eye; dorsal and anal fins yellowish (especially distally) with a bluish gray line at the base and 4 longitudinal blue bands; outer margins of dorsal and anal fins very narrowly black; basal two-thirds of pectoral fins dusky, then a region of yellow, then clear; pelvic rays purplish, the membranes dusky yellow; caudal fin, except basally as noted, purplish gray. The gut of this specimen was filled with yellowish perticulate calcium carbonate like the specimen of A. gahhn. Genus CTUNOCHAETUS Ctenochaetus Gill 1885. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 7, D. 279. (Type species, Acanthurus strigosus Bennett). eee stems errr eens 6 GEER mere 188 Ctenochaetus striatus Acanthurus striatus 1s_Quoy and Gaimard 1824. Voyage autour ~ de monde... "Uranie", Zool., vol. 2. p. 373; Atlas, pl. G34 See 3a) | ype locality, Guam). Ctenochaetus ctenodon Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc, Wann, BOCs Ole Se. Wallesuian vol. 63, Pe 29k. (Nauru). 36 specimens, 32.- 130 nM. Onotoa. Color in life of adults dark olive browm with numerous narrow lengthwise bluish lines on the body; head finely spotted with orange dorsal and anal fins: olive. brown. With. about 5 lengthwise Aine bands. Specimens about 40 mm in’ length presented a different coloration. On the body were narrow, red, lengthwise lines-which inclined slightly’ down- ward as they ran posteriorly. The brown interspaces. between were about 2 to 3 times the wicth of the red lines, and centrally within ‘these brown areas, bluish lines were be- ginning to appear. The tips of the caudal fin were red. Of the fishes collected at Qnotoa, this. species was the dominant one on a weight basis. ~At most of the poison Stations the take of Ctenochaetus striatus exceeded that of any other species, and the number of specimens was frequent- ly the highest. It was abundant in almost all habitats. The gut contents of séven specimens, 110 to 135 mm. in- standerd length appears to consist only: of ine pantleee of. yellowish calcium carbonate. Ctenochaetus SD. en re re ee ee ee me a ee eS ee ‘@tenochastus sas as 193. Rep. of an tageee™ ee Pies — fishes of the South Seas, Dia, Joy pl. 19, fig. 53+ Ctenochaetus girigosus Schultz (in EH @ 1943, ‘Bull. U, tat Nat, Mus, 180, py wer 2 bbe. ee 170 and 175 Mim... - ONoOboag. cc Color in life: head and body brown, covered with small bright blue spots; dorsal and anal fins dark brown with 9 to 10 lengthwise bluish bands; pectoral dark brown with blue spots; caudal and pelvic fins dark brown. Both specimens were sveared from a poorly-defined surge channel region just beyond the surf zone in the northwest corner of the atoll in about 5 feet of water. The species was observed only in small schools in turbulent water. 189 Ctenochaetus sp. ete teen ee ee rhe eet ere a which was collected from the Onotoa lagoon. It had a bright yellow caudal fin in life. Later examination of the speci- men in alcohol revealed the last few rays of the soft dorsal and anal fins to be colorless except for a small black spot at the base of these rays; small brown spots could be perceived on the head and anteriorly on the body. The; counts, sree vit, 27: A Tit, 25; P LS; anterior gill rakers 27; posterior gill rakers 27. There are 22 upper and 22 lower teeth. The upper teeth bear 6 or 7 (usually 7) denticulations and the lower teeth 3 or 4 (mostly 4). This may be the young of Ctenochaetus sp. Randall (in press, Zoologica), reported only from the Philippine Islands and East Indies. 3,90 “nou JO qUOWeTe Teseq owes oj poreys suTy Teue pue Tes -iop 93 jo sker omy qseT oy AeyjeyM cuTuTeqep of AzessooeU SBM UOTJOSSSTP SOUT 4V ‘oq qUusTW sfer quooefpe esoTO Moy jo sseTpredea ‘peqyunod sem oseq JouTasTp e YIM Aed UTE yoeqx TS ee ee tr Ge ai Ou a eda A oaNN N loan arg > OVN-TTO SPRANNANAO tO GY: eo Foe | SASK € OT SNYVTIYS snje .gnsouvAd STiodd LU Ssnosnjoustu sdeotpTnoeul wyyes Snieqaoyjuex TuoSsduoyy Suitededoone Ta seT Tryoe Snqeoutt snjeqans Snve4Sor.t4 _sedoos UNIOTTTOA MINICK Std | | Pian SouLtdg Ps i Z 4 Fae, Cl © 7. Te OFS G62 9 eee. “Ghe-ce usher 4590S ULF Tesaog — eee —- - NR er = SpuctsT Ioq tty 5UI UT poddaT Tog SepTMyyuedy OT Fo squmop Aey uta °s iL None —t-\o snqzetiqs snyeqagnsoueko ; STIOIS TU SnoSsnyjots tu sdeottnoew wyyed sniteqdoyquex Tuosauioyy sntorzedooneyta 3 seTrryoe $nyeq4ns snseqsotsy sedoos . Unto TT LOA NE odode HAN — ANS 4 a fa CoN OAM TH STNRANNNAMNNO lon EN lar, -! on! Oj XN . On Fo | La iy red KH Ker 4FO soutds uly Teuy- (°3U09) G STqelL. tlt tet keot e NNI : = 38 mm 2 Peeayie surge channel. D x11, ls pad ce (2 specimens) . : Gator ‘in Me eter brown with vereiess dark brown bars: head with a faint reticulated pattern of whitish lines. One small specimen ‘has a lengthwise black band’ “aliong ° Side of body from upper edge of gill opening to caudal fin. In.another specimen with a similar band, vertical bars’ are forming >. ventrally from the band. Cirripectus a agea Rupiscartes guagga Fowler ree Bal? -192h. Proc, Acad, Nab, Sei. Ee es POePisgaeyl 2+ lat SIRE lgcality, Wake Island). 6 ie) 47 - 59 mm. . Onotoa. Pi, eo AG dO. a specimens). a. Ati ‘ Color, in alcohol brown with vertical dark brown bars on atc of body; some specimens with numerous small pale. Spots; head with irregular dark lines and pale spots. Be Cirripectus jenningst Cirripectes jenningesi Sehultz 1923. Bull, U. S. Nat. ie.) 1s0) Seamnaenert bo ceranreacee camer were pp. 273, 27h, fig.) 27% (Type locality, Swains Island). t Specimen. ,) Vo) mm. OU Onetaa. Pert 15: Acad Color in alcohol: anterior half of body tan with 2 verti- cal dark brown bars running from dorsal fin toward abdomen; posterior half of body-dark brown; body covered with smali whitish spots (more evident on dark brown portions); head with small dark spots (also faintly evident on anterior half of body). Cirripectus fuscoguttatus Ci irripectus fuscoputtatus Strasburg and Schultz 1953. Jour, Wachineton Acad. "Sci, yon, Woo io. coe oem aaa (Type locality, Rongerik Atoll, Marshall Islands). 2 specimens. -60 and 79 ram. Cnotoa. DALE, Ley kik, a The two specimens were used as paratypes by Strasburg and SeouuLlez.. ! Cirripectus stieneticus Cirripectus stigmaticus Strasburg and Schultz 1953. Jour. Washington Acad, "Sere *voll., 13. Mop. NO i Is Aaeibet ee (Type locality, Rongerik Atoll, Marshall Islands). 16 specimens. 36 - 76 mm. Onotoa, 8) ig) arp Ml a et These specimens were used as paratypes by Strasburg and Schultz. Cirripectus sp. L specimens. 30 ~ 66 mm. Onotoa. D XT, TAs A TL e5 or os. “(4 “speeimens))”: Color in alcohol: body and fins uniform dark brown. This species is distinctive in lacking a notch in the dorsal fin between the spinous and soft portions. Falbe Genus RHAEDOBLENNIUS Rha bdoblennius Whitley 1930. Mem. Queensland Mus.,.vol. 10, si Type species, Blennius rhabdotrachelus Fowler and Ball). or eam Rhabdoblennius snowi Blennius showl\ Fowler 1925. Mem. B. P. Bishop Mus., vol. 10, Ce Ger Prey. 4 (Type locelity, Strong's Island, Caroline Islands). ; Nixiblennius snowi Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, vol. 63, p. 298 (Nauru reef flat). 20 specimens. a - 42 mm. Onotoa. D XIL, 29. 4 Zietes (2uspeeimens). Color in alcohol amen t tan with 7 white marks in linear series on oe of bod the anterior 4 or 5 each in the form of the lett i 3 ae ae specimens with irregular dark brown blotches ee anteriorly on body; head with widely- scattered ‘siiall white spots. All of the specimens were collected from the highést tide pools of the outer reef flat which are normally covered by high tide. . We Rnabdoblennius sp. 2 specimens. 22 and 23 mm. Onotoa.. | D XII, 15 or 16; A II; 17 or le. Color in aleohol light browt with 2 lengthwise rows of about 12 brownish spots down..the side of the.body (these spots tend to be arranged in groups of 4); 2 irregular oblique dark -broywn lines on head behind eye which join below eye and continue on to chin; a dark brown snot ventrally on gill , membranes gust anterior Arley ‘base of pelvic fin; anterior pert , Of head and upper lip with: 4 concentration of dark pigment Spots. -;,, Body elongate, its depth contained about 6.5 times in standard length; one broad simple nuchal cirrus on eech side; anterior nostril with a tubular rim, one edge of which is produced into a broad, simple flap; a median cephalic crest with a dark brown spot. in its center (and an anterior and posterior spot as fone inthe larger Recetas The two specimens were collected by use’ ent ap tenon on the outer reef in an area of the northern part of the ‘atoll with 214 numerous small heads of coral reaching to within a foot of the surface; maximum depth of the water was 7 feet. Genus ISTIBLENNIUS Istiblennius Whitley 1943. Australian Zool., vol. 10, p. I&5. (Type species, Salarias mulleri Klunzinger). Istiblennius edentulus Blennius edentulus Bloch and Schneider 1801. Systema ichth., p. 1/72. (Type locality, Huahine Island, Society Islands). Salarias edentulus Whitley and Colefax 193€. Proce. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales,. vols 63,.ps 298 (Naurwhey 5 specimens. 35 - 61 mm. Onotoa. 5 specimens. 51-92 mm. Tarawa. 1 specimen. 53 mm. WNukunau. D XLTL, 19 to 21; A Ii, 21 or i220) cpeeimens iy Color in alcohol brown with pairs of vertical derk brown bars on the side of body; median fins darker than body. All specimens from tide pools of outer reef flat. Istiblennius lineatus Salarias lineatus Cuvier and Valenciennes 1836. Hist. nat. peiss., VOL. Ll,.p..3PLd0( Type locality segevale eS oe eee 8 specimens. 31 - 108 mm. Onotoa. D XIII, 22 to 24; A II, 22 to 24. (8 specimens). Color in alcohol light brown with pairs of brown spots on back adjacent to dorsal fin and in line with these on the side brown bars which follow myotome contours; about 10 or 12 small dark brown spots on side of caudal peduncle; fins light brown. The specimens were collected from tide pools on the outer reef flat. fe a oe ae ae Istiblennius paulus Salarias paulus Bryan and Herre 1903. Occ. Pap. B. P, Bisho, Mus., vol. 2, p.» 136. {Type locality, Marcus Island). 215 Salarias periophthalmus Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, vol. 63, p. 299. (Nauru). 12 specimens. 18 - 69 mm. Onotoa. DseLil 19 om p20 ATT. 20 or 21, (5 .epecimens).. Color in alcohol tan with about 7 brownish "H" shaped marks in linear series on side of body, the upper part of the "H* less distinet; two tiny elliptical dark-edged white spots, one above the other, within each "H' shaped mark; soft dorsal fin with basal half dusky, outer half pale; anal fin with outer one-third dusky, inner two-thirds pale; lower portion of caudal fin dusky (orangish in life), upper half pale. This species was taken both from tide pools of the outer reef flet and in deeper water (about 5 feet) of the outer ' reef and lagoon. Istiblennius gibbifrons Salarias gibbifrons. Quoy and Gaimard 1824. Voyage autour du Peer ne eee ls, Be 253. (Type locality, Hawaiian Islands). . " 3 specimens. 35 - 57 mm. Onotoa. Dg bo, Or. 3.92 ALG, 19, 0% 20.0, 1(3 specimens), Color of female speciimen in alcohol light tan with very faint irregular vertical dark markings on side of body; a jet black spot on fin membrane between first a dorsal rays; dorsal and caudal fins pale with small black spots forming irregular lines. The specimens were collected from tide pools and water up to 7 feet in depth.on the outer reef. Family TRIPTERYGIIDAE Genus TRIPTERYGION STALE noe Risso 1826. Hist. Nat, Bur. Merid., vol. 3, 2yu1. (Type species, Tripteryelon nasus nasus Risso). Tripterygion minutus Tripterygium minutum Gunther 1877. Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, vol. hy) DEA el ype Locality. Apia, Samoayyrs 216 5 specimens.” 15°- 16"mm: Onotoa., D ITI-XI-9; anterior lateral line pores 13 or 14. (5 spe- ,recinens). Color in alcohol pale with tiny small black spots . (melanophores)... on body and fins, most concentrated on edges Of body scales, ‘caudal ‘Reale anal fin, ana ventral half of head and che'st. ~ Malibeball This small spectes was taken in tidepools on the outer reef flat about 200 feet from shore. ea Genus HELGOGRAMMA Heleogramma MeCulloch and ‘Watlte 1918. Rec. South Australian emtice vole Lr. ps ar nye eae Helcogremma decurrens McCulloch: and atvel She ; bf Helcogramma sp. 4.specimens., 30 - 31 mn. Onotoa. . D TII-XIII or XIV-11 or 12; A I, 20 of 21+ Pele, spe- cimens); anterior lateral line scales 25. (2 specimens); posterior scales 14; oblique ‘scale rows: 39. {1 specimen). Color in life light brown with 7 pairs of vertical red lines on-each- side of body extending from mid-dorsal: line about four-fifths the body depth (the members of each pair of lines tend to meet ventrally); head blackish due to numerous black dots (except oecipital region which is bright red); eyes red. ; The Sedation. was’ eee in two different localities at the atoll; one,was in the lagoon near the west reef with consi- derable coral and in il.feet. of water; the other,was a. similar region though on the outer reef, .the ee being & fect. |» ee These specimens have been sent to D. W. Strasburg at’ Duke University who bet eNGe: they may represent an undescribed species. : Family CARAPIDAE Genus CARAPUS Carapus Rafinesque 1810..Indice d*tittiologia sicilanas Dp. 37, 57. {Type species,. ‘Gyonotus acus Linnaeus}. ~ 217 “Carapus homei Carapus homei Oxybeles homet Richardson 1846. Ichthyoldgy voyage "Erebus" bid “error papa pieeipy, Les. 7 ‘=, 19. (Type locality, seas of Australia? and Timor } . : y 7 specimens. 70 = ding mmm . -Qnotoa. Color in alconol uniform pale yellowish. -Pectoral rays counted as 17, 3 elongate gill rakers on upper part of first arch, remaining rakers rudimentary. 3 stout teeth in mid- line on vomer with small teeth in a single row on either Side; 2 rows of teeth’ on palatine; teeth in jaws in 2 rows, those near avn EY ae about’ 2 or’ 3 times longer than remain- ing teeth. Six of the ‘specimens were brought to me by Gilbertese children; when. queried as to how the fish: were collected, they replied that they were taken from sea cucumbers in the lagoon. “ : nite One. specimen of this species, 90 aie Heniee was inadvertently collected by P. E. Cloud at Onotoa. He aioteed up a4 sea urchin with long banded spines (either Diadema or “Echinothrix) andyplaced it in a face plate. Later the little .péarl tish.wes.discovered in the seme face plate. Because of the habits of these fishes, it was at first assumed that this individual fish. had been inside the test of the urchin when it was picked up.:-In view of the diffictilty in visuali- Zing a means of exit from an echinold, especially: one améll enough to fit into a face plate, I now believe the fish might have hidden among the spines of the urchin when it was collected. Dr. Cloud, however, still suspects that the fish may have been within the urchin and somehow fenaged to extricate aa A Sap sh is by ' ae Family BALISTIDAL ‘The trigger fishes ae their unusual eee bright -eolor, and peculiar mode: of swimming by undulation of the sort dorsal’ and anal fins, proved to be a. prominent group of fishes on Gilbert Island reefs. They were always seen as solitary individuals and were usually wary of an observer. The hatives referred to species in this family as te bubu. Most are readily caught with hook and line. At Onotoa Rhinecanthus aculeatus was the most abundant in typical legoon areas while Balistarpus undulatus penerally predominated elsewhere.. The distinctive Roinecanthus rectanegulus was commonly seen on the outer reef, seeking refuge in very small holes in the reef when’ approached. Only six species were taken at ‘Onotoa. Another, Melichthys vidua, was often seen underwater at this atoll. It was 21é& previously collected by Andrew Garrett at Abaiang and reported by Gunther (1910). Also collected by Garrett from the Kingsmill Islands were Pseudobalistes fuscus and Sufflamen chrysoptera. Odonus niger, Balistoides niger ( = B. conspicillum), Pseudobalistes flavimargina tus and SU ee eee not , mviar iawn manmade“ ~ eammmnenene aed the se species, and possibly others, may occur a eae Key to the Species of Balistidase Recorded from the Gilbert Islands la. A short groove running forward below the nostrils from the, most,.a nberlor, par G, yOL, SVC, cae, eer ere syelshe mpegs misielin sn eae Lb. No .eroowe running Lorwer dG g.F ON) Cae cve,crabe(evayereheeeus vecunee lela 2a. Third dorsal spine not visible in elevated fin; ventral profile from mouth to pelvic spine prominently con- VEX sheieyee sheve c @releies,s we slate evel nex e)el ene! elian oi 6) ejeiele,s-heyel suene) sete) s) «\s 2b. Third dorsal spine readily visible in elevated fin; ventral profile from mouth to pelvic spine straight OF. ONLY SLIGHTLY .CONVE Ke ciaye oieyeue,mge sna. syoushersunie sungene mune © 56 D 3a, A series of 5 long oblique grooves on cheek, the 3 ; central ones most prominent; body depth not great, 2.5 in standard length; color of body in alcohol light brown with a single round brown spot on each SCALES s soc es a esinie os 09,0 0,0 026 see oe ee KOO Clulys, Cr neeas 3b. No series of long grooves on cheek; body depth great, about 2 in standard length; color of body very dark brown to WGK oi aint a) so: oo lo 0 arpa) silo, iter item Cette eyed arte Gal fetal fae Uatlod ata ha. A series of 8 to 10 conspicuous lengthwise ridges on posterior third of body; caudal fin lunate; all fins dark except a narrow pale (light blue in life) line at the base of the soft dorsal and anal fins......ceoe syaAvijaije bh suigae eum wtauaysital © 8:61 o)eijejgae bike) a seieigariel Cente eee ee Eee are ae cs 4b. No series of conspicuous lengthwise ridges on poste- rior third of body; caudal fin double emarginate to truncate; pectoral fin pale (light yellow in life), soft dorsal and anal fins white with narrow black margins, caudal fin pale (in life with basal third white and distal two-thirds bright salmon-pink)..cerec- Fo oolie uate” oie is ibe velo Vcc RMB a BAAR ices Blas to dbsekcas wale! a deste NLC ae Capos aire ere 5a. No rows of spines on caudal peduncle; head naked ante- riorly, scaled posteriorly; 4 short horizontal grocves on cheek; soft dorsal and anal fins markedly elevated 5b. 6a. 6b. a. 7b. 8a. 8b. ALY anteriorly; caudal fin with prolonged pointed upper and lower lobes; margins of pectoral, soft dorsal, pabak, 2nd caudal fins abruptly Pe oy Sona eee e@eeoerreneee .Pseudobalistes fuscus Rows of small forward-projecting spines on caudal peduncle; head- completely scaled; no horizontal shallow grooves on cheek; soft dorsal and anal fins not markedly elevated anteriorly: Margins of pecto- ral, soft dorsal, anal, and caudal fins not abruptly ee ee eg We tare hcusc toils yee sade shin en 9 b's Dorsal profile of head from mouth to origin of spinous dorsal fin slightly convex; body with dorsal saddle~ like black areas extending midlaterally; eve large, , contained about 4 times (3 in young) in distance fro: snout to upper end of gill opening; caudal fin maredly WOUNGEE. seinein'alvie «nialene BAlistoides, viridescens Dorsal profile of head almost straight; dorsal part of body without any saddle-like black areas; eye rela- tively small, contained about 5 to 5.5 times in the distance from the snout to the upper end of the gill Opening; caudal fin slightly rounded or slightly eg IM se reisurstie 5iei aie, aig atte HT AGW Ow alee weno ale a aA 6 HBO Caudal fin slightly rounded; caudal fin-uniform brown in color; membrane of spinous dorsal fin extends to tip of first dorsal spine, the free edge of this membrane being almost straight....Sufflamen capistrata Caudal fin slightly emarginate; caudal fin very dark ‘brown with broad white crescentic marginal sreg peste~ riorly and narrower white marginal areas dorsally and ventrally; membrane of the svinous dorsal fin does not extend to extreme tip of first dorsal spine, and the free edge of this membrane is distinctly PPUCAU BL gihas05 sete e Boa ay dsp oe «BUTE Lamen carysoptera ‘Third’ eee sp ine large, thet,seen above dorsal body profile contained .i. to. .& times in greatest diameter of eye; spines’on caudal peduncle large, irregularly arranged in 2 short rows, and contained in a large round black area; body dark brown with numerous narrow sweeping pale (orange in Life) Lines..cseoseeee CE ie Pa eine hl a hee undulatus Third dorsal spine minute, ‘not visible or only barély visible above dorsal body profile, spines’ on caudal peduncle small, linearly arranged in 3 to 4 rows, ° and not contained in-a round black area; body pale to light brown with distinctive black markingsS.......9 220 Qa. Spines on caudal peduncle in 4 horizontal rows, the upper row about half the lensth of the lower 3; spines on caudal peduncle contained in’a triangular black area, the anterior point. of which terminates at about the LEVER Oto Ging jC hh) Goma lls) ian ai eialasaiits (guiel Weil eae se vee sie ees wie wees Wkm Wale cle oe Ome Conn Gls rectangulus 9b. Spines on caudal peduncle in:3 horizontal rows, the lowermost of which.is less than half the length of the upper 2; spines on caudal peduncle not contained in a triangular black area......Rhinecanthus aculeatus Genus XANTHTICHTHYS Xanthichthys (ex Kaup) Richardson 1856. Encycl. Brit., ed. S, vol. 12, p. 313. (Type species, Balistes curassavicus ' Gmelin 1788 = Balistes ringens Linnaeus 1758 xanthichthys zingens Balistes ringens Linnaeus 1758. Syeh . Neb Bee ewe. vol. DB, Dp. 329. (ype locali ty, Ascension Island). Xanthichthys ringens Whitley and pone 1938, Proc. me mM Soe ans. Wales, — VOL.) 634) pr’ 299%, (Ne uru). Genus MELICRTHYS Melichthys Swainson 1839, The nat. hist. and class. fishes, ampaibians,...,vol. 2, pp. 194, 325. (Type species, Baligstes ringens Bloch = Balistes buniva Lacépéde 1803). Melichthys buniva Balistes buniva Lacépéde 1803. Hist nat, “polss., vol. Be Sop - 668, 669, Dilys Pas ffi 2, Ane : ea ieher radula. “Solander, in Richardson 1848. Zool. "Samarang", Met ee. 3 sone 8 106 - 215 mn. Onotoa. Color-in 1ifé dark blue-green with black longitudinal lines; a narrow bright light blue line at base of the soft dorsal and anal fins», this Line being slightly broader poste- riorly.; Blue dines radiate dorsally and anteriorly from the eye. Just visible in the dark caudal fin is a somewhat darker submerginal vertical line, faintly edged in light blue, which curves posteriorly to extend to the ends of the somewhat prolonged upper and lower lobes of the caudal fin. Immediately upon death the fish takes on a uniform greenish ie mel black hue, thus obliterating the longitudinal lines on the body; the blue lines radiating from the eye disaprear. The most conspicuous color, the light blue line at the base of the soft dorsal and anal fins, remains, ultimately fading to white in preserved specimens. All specimens were speared on the corallifcerous terrace of the outer reef, the only habitat where they were seen. They were often observed well above the coral-covered bottom. Rapid swimmers for balistids, they usually moved swiftly away from an aréa intruded by a swimmer, There has been considerable confusion ee respect to the correct name for this circumtropical species Three specific names have been in common use buniva, ee and ringens. The ringens of Linnaeus (17585 {s clearly not this Species, for he mentioned the three grooves on the cheek such as we see in the Atlantic Xanthichthys, and these are not present in Melichthys. The name buniva va Lacépéde predates radula Solander. Melichthys vidua Balistes vidua Solander, in Richardson 1844. Zool. "Sulphur", Fishes, p. 128, pl. 59, hes v0 1OanlType locality; Tahiti). Melichthys vidua Whitley and Colefax 1938. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. “Wales, vi vol. 63, p» 299. (Nauru), An elusive species at Onotoa, it was frequently seen on the coralliferous terrace of the outer reef near the entrance to surge channels. It avoided capture by retiring to deep recesses in the reef. A specimen procured in the Marshall Islands provided the following color description; body purplish black; basal third of caudal fin snow white, distal two-thirds bright salmon pink; pectoral fin-clear yellow; soft dorsal and anal fins edged in black; within the black margins fin rays white, membranes hyaline; spinous dorsal fin black; lips faintly reddish; iris yellow. Genus PSHUDOBALISTES Pseudobalistes Bleeker 1866. Ned. Tijdschr. Dierk., vol. 3, p. ll. (Type species, Balistes flavimerginatus Ruppell). Pseudobalistes fuscus Balistes fuscus Bloch and Schneider 1801. Systema ichth. p- 471 (on Le. Baliste grande-teche Lacépade 1799). Bae Balistes: chrysos spilus Bleeker 1865, ‘Atlas ichth., Vote, B. Pp. Tri "ple: ta fig. 3. : ‘ : Balistes fuscus GUnther 1910. Jour. Mus. aeaseerays vol. 9, pt. 17, p. 442, pl. 168. °(Kingsmill Islands). “Genus BALISTOIDES Balistoides - Fraser-Brunner'’ 1935. Anh; Mae. Nat. | Hist.; ser. Or a L5, pe 662. (Type species, Balistes viridescens Bloch -Balistoiaes Gin amaeeen : “TELM LUN AES TORRE Cae ES Balistes viridescens Bloch - aad Schneider 1801. Systema: been pe. 477 (on Le Baliste verdatre Lacépede 1799). (Type locality, Mauritius). . thas, ie 6 specimens. 23 = 29 mu. Onotoa. Color of juveniles in.Jife light. golden with scattered dark brown spots on head and body. A faint dark aree occurs beneath the soft dorsal fin; a similar blotch can be seen adjacent to the base of the spinovs dorsal fin; dorsal, anal, and pectoral fins unspotted except in the largest specimen which possesses 3 faint spots in the soft dorsal fin; caudal fin dusky with sima]i)’ ‘blotches centrally. - These small specimens were identified as TinloGaeene an thé basis of fin ray counts which were consistent with those of specimens from the Philippines, East Indies, Samoa, and the:Marshall Islands and by comparison with proeressively larger specimens from these areas which gradually assume _ typical adult coloration’. An 80 mm specimen from the | Philippines displayed the characteristic broad dark band “extending and narrowing posteriorly, from the upper ‘Lip and containing a thin pale line. Bleeker has nortrayed this species in color as Figure 2 of Plate 131 in Volume e of his Atlas Ichthyologique (1865). 5 specimens (22-23 mm) were collected by hand in a sandy channel region where the water was only a few inches deep. The 29 mm specimen was. secured with rotenone from a depth of about 5 feet in the Onotoa ae ; , Adults are seaued by glint her (1910) to reach a length of 2 feet. A specimen of nearly this size from the Line Islands, erronéously identified as fuscus, is present in the Bern 1ice P, Bishop Museum, Honolulu. The adults were not infrequently seen in the Onotoa lagoon well out of spearing range. It is possible, however, that they might be confused at tais distance with P. fus cus or Pb, flavimarginetus which also reach large size. ' Genus SUFFLAMEN Sufflamen Jordan 1916. Copeia, no: 29, p. 27. (New name for Pachynathus Swainson ey: preoccupied). (Type species, Balistes capistratus Shaw Sufflamen capistrata Bai totes capistratus Shaw 1804. General Zoology, vol, 5, * pee ot SF (on Le Baliste bride Lacépede 1799) (Type ice Indian Ocean). Sufflamen fraenatus Whitley and Colefax 1938. PrOtsy lias Soc. N. S. Wales, vol. 63, p. 299. (Nauru). Pee aes 135 mm. Onotoa. Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency brownish gray; proximal half of lower lip bright yellow; remainder of thie lip and upper lip bluish; a pale line on chin extending: upwards almost to rictus; spinous dorsal and caudal fins dark brown, the former fin with a black spot distally in the fin membrane; pectoral, soft dorsal, and anal fins brownish, becoming: yellowish distally. a & second line under the chin and a prominent line extend- ing from the rictus almost to the base of the pectoral fin were not present in the Onotoa spécimen. Such markings are shown in Lacépéde's plate and are included in Shaw's deserip- tion. The absence of such markings, however, is considered within the variability of this species by uenge (1928). Sufflamen chrysoptera eee ehrysopterus Bloch sand: Schneider 1801, Systema ichth., oe (on Le Baliste armé Lacépede 1799). (Type locality, Indian Ocean). Balistes niger Gunther , 1910, Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, Woes 19), pt. 17, p. 439. (Kingsmill Islands). " Genus BALISTAPUS Balistapus Tilesius 1820. Mem. Acad. LBeveN ye Claes ees ae Vole 7: pe 306. yee species, Balistapus capistratus Tilesius 1820 = Balistes undulatus BRE. Pa | 5 Balistapus undulatus Balistapus: -undulatus Mungo Park 1797. pee Tinans, Soe\. London, vol. 3, p. 37. (Type locality, Sumatra). 22k, 6 specimens. 32 - 153 mm. Onotoa. . Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency metallic bluish brown with about 20 narrow bright orange lines, occasionally broxen, running somewhat irregularly in a diagonal fashion across body antero-dorsally to postero-ventrally; a broad orange line extending from above upper lip diagonally across chest to pelvic spine (this line is joined at about the level of the eye with a similar orange line which circles the chin); a third and narrower orange line runs above and just parallel to the first; lower lip with a broad orange line; a round, jet black area surrounding caudal peduncle spines; spinous dorsal fin dusky with a prominent black spot distally in the membrane between the first and second dorsal spines, and a lesser black spot in the next interspinous membrane; rays of soft dorsal and anal fins orange, membranes Clear; caudal fin rays dark brown; membranes of caudal fin orange in dorsal and ventral part of the fin, yellowish centrally. Some variability in color pattern, especially of the orange lines on the body, was apparent from specimen to specimen, . The 32 ma specimen, displaying the juvenile balistid Fegture of a relatively long fiyst, dersal) spine. hasvenicolor pattern very similar to that of adult fish. Instead of about 20 oblique orange lines on the body, however, it has 6. B. undulatus was probably the most abundant balistid at . Onotoa and was taken from outer reef, lagoon, and channel areas. The stomach and intestinal contents of 8 adult specimens from Onotoa were examined. Only one contained a fish, this being in the forepart of the stomach and probably a prior victim to rotenone than the balistid itself. Three svecimens had eaten largely green algae; one of these had a good- sized brachyuran crab, another a number of small Acropora fragments, and posteriorly in the intestine of the third were the broken spines and test of a sea urchin. Included also in the green algae were several small sponges, tunicate fragments, an egg mass, a few small foraminifera, and con- siderable bottom debris. Three other specimens contained mostly the coralline red alga Jania, one of these having in the posterior part of the stomach a mass of coral fragments. One specimen contained only a little bottom debris and an isopod. The last had made a meal of what appears to be a large polychaete. It seems, therefore, that this species does not have spe- cialized food habits, but is a rather general bottom feeder. By virtue of its rugged dentition it is able to cope with such unusual food items as coral and sea urchins. In spite of the preponderance of algae in some specimens it is doubtful if algae constitutes important food to the species, for the gut is very short. op Genus RHINECANTHUS Rhinecanthus Swainson 1839, Nat. hist. and class. fishes, amphiblans,..-, vol. 2, pp. 194, 325. (Type species, Balistes aculeatus Linnaeus). Rhinecanthus rectengulus Balistes rectanguius Bloch and Schneider 1801, Svstenua LCA GH ais De roe oe ( on Le Baliste ds Lacépéde 1799). (Type locality, Indian Ocean). 3 ‘specinens. 26 - 86 mm. Onotoa. 2 specimens, at and ll fain Tarawa. 3 ‘Color from 35 mm Kodachrome prheeear sane light. brown, shading to white ventrally on head, ¢hest, send abdomen; a black band extending diagonally from eye, becoming proader just before reaching pectoral fin,-and angline more sherply backward at this location to end in midventral line at anterior two-thirds of anal fin and a short distance before this fin; a broad blue band across interorbital Space containing 3 black lines; three blue lines extend diagenally downward from eye to pectoral region, 2 of these Serving as margins to the previously mentioned black band at this location; a blue line over upper lip; a large triengulear black area on caudal peduncle har eined with golden lines; slightly removed from, but in alignment with the anterior pointed portion of this black area is a second goiden line, the lower limb of which lies adjacent. to the upper edge of the broad diagonal black band which extends from pectoral region to anal fin area; red.line-at: base of pectoral fin rays; pectoral, soft dorsal, and anal fins pale, spinous dorsal and caudal fins dusky. The 26 mm specimen has typical adult coloration. This species was poeeey ee and taken only in the outer reef area. Rhinecanthus aculeatus Balistes aculeatus Linnaeus 1755. Syst. mat., ed. 10, p. - TiBaeo(ivype Local ity) (indie lk a ym es t 5 specimens. 28 - 145 mm. OMovoOa we «eee Color from 35 mm Kodachrome transparency: ground color of body light tan above, grading to white ventrelly; a black band bordered by blue lines extending from eye to base of pectoral fin; a separate blue line starting from just in 226 front of eye parallels the blue-bordered band and curves to join it at pectoral base; interorbital space blue with 3 black lines running from eye to eye; a large dusky black area centrally on body sending an orangish black band upward to origin of soit dorsal fin and a second dusky branch to posterior part of soft dorsal fin; ven- trally the central dusky area is dissected by 4 light blue bands running diagonally back to the anal fin; a 5th band is marginal, running to region of anus; immediate circum- anal region black; caudal peduncle spines black and contained within a light blue area; lips bright orange, this color extending broadly from lips to lower base of pectoral fin, narrowing as it approaches this location and displaving a slight hook at the end; a blue line occurs within the orenge yellow area just above the upper lip; pectoral, soft dorsal, and anal fins pale: spinous dorsal almost black, caudal fin dusky. ; The 28 mm specimen has typical adult coloration. This species was observed only in sandy lagoon areas around small coral heads. Table 6 Counts Made on the Balistidae Collected in the Gilbert Islands Sort Faye Of vite dorsal) rin 23 ‘2 \Byo"ablaaat las soae 1306 /guy 3 32 iS Fi buniva DO are Ea viridescens 3 Moos aes en cCapistrata Me undulatus Bm 2 rectengulus 2 aculeatus w 0% fae) e (OH col cal bol = Anal fin ravs* 2 22 23 2h 25 26 ieee ae ae wo FLO buniva viridescens 3 capistrata ab undulatus CUE) rectangulus ns aculeatus 2 2 IAD IIS 227 -Seale.rows** -, Gs UO to a hyrty ; ign ae “Sh 55. S. eapistrata-. FON a I RE tele 2a By. Baduletus © ...- .: sy alg ef R. rectangulus RTM JW ie ex Ge, red R. acules t BS AS ee ti AIA ies Sie, = ie 7 sp ve FEIT STeasncs of .soft dorsal. and anal lt Spe kha articu- lated or Of, Pieiiae counted as. ‘Pays. Seale rows.were counted fron’ tine upoer éna of the gill open- ing. to. the, end of the-hypural plate. iNfo) scale counts could be ma de for B. viridescens, for they were not completely forme in the. guponete specinens which were podsected Family MONACANTHIDAE UGS File Pishes were not abundant at Onotoa, with only nine spécigens of four species being taken. Garrett collected Aleuftera scripta at Abemama. The general Gilbertese name for the fercoenthias at PREERe was te bubuawai. : ’ Key to the Species of Monacanthidae=~ - Reecorced from the Gilbert Islands 19. Saudal fin very: targe, its length contained about 2.5 timse. in standard, Length, dorsal spine small and feevle, conta ined more than 5 times: in standard . length: body gray or brown in life with’ black spots and shor t curved, blue LANES es v0 020402 Aleutere sor inte lb. Caudal fin not very larg ge, its length conte ined L, to j 5 times:in, standard length; Gor ae, spine Hot small and feeble. , contained 3 to 5 times in standard length; color not as in fet oe ae eC cael 2a. Snout long an? .t.cvlar; mouth very suiall and directed sharaiv unssvds, oi2) opening smell (less than half Tw Me RS Glen Lor Lecath), vertical, and posterior SU eye; boo» light brown (blue-ereen in life) and cove: -d with numerous roundich, pale (orange in life) SHOE Liisa sdd ee Ceo t Le oT Oey MOne GaN thus longirostris 2b. Sedo ios lors end tubular; mouth not very small and Si ceetved unc y slightly upwerds; pill opening not fwall (0 be 2 eye diameters. in length), oblique, and LOD posteri OAS to GV Swaine e's * siesta ss viaieie miele s 6 siein h 4 89 68 @ 228 3a. Dorsal spine with a lateral series of 8 to 12 promi- nent downward-curved spines; pelvic spine long, with 2 outer articulated portions bearing stout spines; gill opening relatively short (about .& eye diameters) and contained in a black area; body scales (in specimens over 50 mm) with a vertical series of 3 to 5 large spinules (the central one being about twice as long as adjacent 2), these Spinules becoming conspicuously longer on caudal peduncle, giving it a marked brush-like texture....... wig) ats iel' ein, 6 n vahaite: 0iar ai arial ietadlasraayie lectelintten alia’ elke ete Were melanoce phalus 3b. Dorsal spine without prominent series of spines; pelvic spine short, without outer articulated portions; gill opening relatively large, 1.2 to 2 eye diameters in length, and not contained in a black srea; spinules on body .scales small and mot (48 -1n 3a se 's's es as ose «ool ‘ha. _ prominent (at least in adults) anteriorly curved Spines in 2 rows on caudal peduncle; caudal fin OFANES WA) VIPS. o oe steiner erates s ieiiar elets/ a) elie te eI Siu ieert oy bene 4b. No spines on caudal peduncle; caudal fin grayish- PFOWM 424 LATS siieveieiereie's, VO Hk ° 30 e ee panbatcerin Se (a ML | Ginther, 4. 1873-1910. Andrew Garrett's Fische der SlUdsee. Jour. Mus. Godetfroy, vols. 1-9. Herre, Ae Ws On Ds LOL2. A oewreecord or ja above Vanown ray: Cope ta), 90.) Bit oO. Jordan, D. S., and A. Seale. 1906. The fishes of Samoa. Eull. U. 2. Bun. Fisheries, vol. 25: 175-455 + xxx pp. Kendall, ‘. C.,. and hg, js, GOlAsboroughy; TS ekaeSonag, Oh bne sé¢fentific resuits of the expediticm he eaetoreriea! Pacitic.,. "Albatross".,.XIII. The shore fishes, Men. Mus. Comp. .Zool., vol, AOD): 2hl=3hl. trlaer, A. 1901. Der Purgierfische der Gilbertinseln. Clobus, Braunschweig, vol. 79% 181-183, ee ee ee iloyd, A. P, Vil. Pacitic Tslands Monpaiy, wots icet a) a7. ~ Randall, J. EB. 1955, in press..A revision of the surgeon fish genus Ctenochactus, family gee aes with descriptions of five “Tew species Zocicegica. Randall, J. BE, 1955, in press. Stevhojuivs Perarai ane sauce ee oe eee ~—— io—- male of the labrid fish Stethojuli S strig “iventer. Cornelia. a ae ey ae a 2h,3 Randall, Jd. EB. £955, ip press. A revision of the surgeon fish genera Zebrasoma and Paracanthurus. Pacific Sei. Randall, J. EB. in press. Aganthurus rackliffei, a possible hybrid surgeon fish (A. achilles X A. glaucopareius) from the Phoenix Islands. Copeia. Randall, J. H. in press. A revision of the surgeon fish genus Acanthurus, with a description of one new species. Pacific Sel < *Schultz, L. P. 1943. Fishes of the Phoenix and Samoan Islands collected in 1939 during the expedition of the U.S.S. "Bushnell", Bull. U. S. Natl. Mus. 180 schultz, L. P. st al. 1953. Fishes of the Marshall and Marianas Islands. Bull. U. S. Natl. Mus. 220. ptirasbure, Ds W., and L. PB. Schultz. 1953. The: blenniid fish genera: Cirripectus and Exallias with descriptions of two new species from the tropical Pacific. Jour. Washington Aead. Sci., vol. 43(4): 128-135. Waite, EH. R. 1903. Notes on the zoology of Paanopa or Ocean Island and Nauru or Pleasant Island, Gilbert Group. Fishes, Bec. Australian Mus., vol. 5% 2-3. Weber, M., and L, F. de Beaufort. 1911-1936. The fishes of the Indo-Australian Archipelago, vols. 1-8. E. J. Brill, Leiden. Whittier. oie £935. Studies’ in iehthbyology. No. 9. Rec. Australian Mus., vol. 19: 233. Whitley, G. P. 1936. The Australian Devil Ray, Daemonmanta alfredi (Krefft) with remarks on the superfamily Aaa aa (order Batoidei). Australian Zoologist, vol. Bi Byte) Tek, Whitley, G. P. 1937. Further ichthyological miscellanea. Mem. Queensland Mus., vol. ll: 146. Whitley, G. F. 1948. Studies in ichthyology. No. 13. Rec. Australian Mus., vol. 22(1): 70-94. Whitley, G. P., anc A. N. Colefax. 1936. Fishes from Nauru, Gilbert Islands, Oceania. Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales, VOL, 163%) 282-301. *No mention is made of fishes from the Gilbert Islands in this work. It is included here because it is cited in the text and because it was found to be the most useful work at the time of the expedition for the identification of fishes in Oceania. pins ui ¥ we ix wets iy oe (a ~~ OR aes eld Les ry dea i? - ~ : ai: ‘Weary & iu ns : P , ‘ ho if ae nay : i - aah eee ah eRe: a: ¢ f ’ ‘ tha hiss) ih) AN ¥ e se . veel « _ : tbe, A a eben diiey ae K U ry, ee. 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