i,oipU Vol. 57, pp. 107-112 November 30, 1944 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON NOTES ON FISHES IN THE ZOOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY. XV.— TWO NEW MINUTE GOBIES OF THE GENUS MISTICHTHYS, FROM THE PHILIPPINES. BY ALBERT W. C. T. HERRE. From the Coromandel coast of India to the Philippines occur a number of translucent or practically transparent gobies. Some of them are the smallest living vertebrates, with adult males from 7.5 to 11 mm. in length, and adult females from 9.5 to 14 mm. Some of them occur in fresh water lakes, on the island of Luzon, while the rest are found in either brackish or salt water, or both, in lagoons, esteros, river mouths, and nipa and mangrove swamps. Because of their minute size and practical invisibility in life, most of them are little known, or are entirely overlooked by fisher-men, collectors, and students. The proper generic allocation of some of these gobies is very difficult. Aurich has lumped them all under the genus Gobiopterus Bleeker. This is the easiest way to dispose of them, but brings together divergent species, so that the genus becomes a heterogeneous assemblage of species with little in common but their size. Aurich is however perfectly correct in removing Gobiopterus from Kouman's subfamily Sicydiaphinae. Kou-mans recognizes Mistichthys, but says that my Mirogobius stellatus is the same as Gobiopterus brachypterus Bleeker. Since the last named has 25 scales, to select but one distinctive character, while the two species of Mirogobius described by me from Luzon are naked, Koumans seems to have a very elastic idea of a species. Mirogobius lacustris is entirely naked; Mirogobius stellatus is also naked, except that occasionally old males may have 2 to several scales at the caudal base. Sometimes specimens of Mirogobius seem to have scales, but examination with a compound microscope shows that none are present, the skin being merely striated. Koumans would not have lumped these species if he had made ^ careful examination of them. It is not enovgh tp look at fishes, .22— Pboc. Biol. Soc. Wasi,, Yo}" 57, 1944. ^107) JWC -J '45
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