NEMIPTERIDAE Scolopsis margaritifera (photo by Ukkrit Satapoomin) Scolopsis margaritifera, 12.1 cm SL (from North Sulawesi, Indonesia; photo by Seishi Kimura) Scolopsis margaritifera (Cuvier, 1830) Pearly Monocle Bream D X, 9; A III, 7; P1 16-17; P2 I, 5; LLp 37-39. Body relatively deep, compressed; body depth 2.4-3.8 in SL. Posterior margin of suborbital with a large backwardly pointing spine and a series of smaller spines or serrations; a small forward pointing spine below eye absent. Preopercular margin serrated. Caudal fin forked, upper lobe not produced into a filament. Scales on dorsal head reaching forward to or in front of level of anterior margin of eye; temporal region covered with scales. Color: body olive dorsally, whitish ventrally. Center of scales with pearly or yellowish spots, forming longitudinal and transverse lines. Size: maximum length 17.5 cm SL. Distribution: distributed in the Andaman Sea and the western central Pacific, from the South China Sea to northern Australia and Vanuatu. Remarks: occurs in shallow waters on sandy or muddy bottoms close to reefs, to depths of 20 m. Feeds mainly on small benthic invertebrates and small fishes. (Hiroyuki Motomura)