Plate 11

Lethrinus reticulatus Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1830: 298, New Guinea.
Lethrinus ramak (not of Forsskål); Herre & Montalban, 1927: 411, pl. 9, fig.2, Philip pines.
Lethrinella sp.; Kyushin et al., 1977: 148, Chagos.

Specimens examined.

D. X, 9; A. III, 8; P₁. 13; P₂. I, 5; C. 8 + 7; L. lat. 47; Ltr. 5 or 6/i/14 to 16.

Proportional measurements of some specimens are shown in Table 22.

Head length more than body depth. End of jaws on the vertical through anterior nostril. Interorbital area flat. Third dorsal spine longest. 5 scale rows between lateral line and median dorsal spines. Inner base of pectoral without scales. Lateral teeth of jaws conical.

Color. —Greenish-brown above, paler below. Red to pink stripes around eye, from eye to middle of upper jaw, and along vertical rim of preoperculum. Spots of the same color at the posterior end of opercle and at base of pectoral. Several longitudinal yellow stripes sometimes conspicuous on side of body. Fins yellow to orange, dorsal and caudal with brighter margin.

Distribution. —Chagos to New Guinea, Philippines, Ryukyus.

Remarks. —The name L. reticulatus has often appeared in literature but has been applied to several different species with slender bodies and conical lateral teeth on the jaws. By examining the holotype in Paris, the present author discovered that the name belongs to this rather rare species with characteristic color patterns.