Suborder Jugulares 503 



Japan and numerous others in the waters of Polynesia. Pseu- 

 deleginus majori of the Italian Miocene must belong near Para- 

 percis. 



The Bathymasterida, or ronquils, are perhaps allied to the 

 Nototheniida; they resemble the Opisthognathidce, but the jaws 

 are shorter and they have a large number of vertebrae as befits 

 their northern distribution. Ronquilus jordani is found in Puget 

 Sound and Bathy master signatus in Alaska. The ventral rays 

 are I, 5, and the many-rayed dorsal has a few slender spines in 

 front. 



The Leptoscopidae. The Leptoscopidcs of New Zealand re- 

 semble the weevers and star-gazers, but the head is unarmed, 

 covered by thin skin. 



The Star-gazers : Uranoscopidae. The Uranoscopida, or star- 



FIG. 444. Bathymaster signatus Cope. Shumagin Is., Alaska. 



gazers, have the head cuboid, mostly bony above, the mouth 

 almost vertical, the lips usually fringed, and the eyes on the 

 flat upper surface of the head. The spinous dorsal is short and 

 may be wanting. The hypercoracoid has a foramen, and the 

 body is naked or covered with small scales. The appearance is 

 eccentric, like that of some of the Scorp&nida, but the anatomy 

 differs in several ways from that of the mailed-cheek fishes. 



The species inhabit warm seas, and the larger ones are food- 

 fishes of some importance. One species, Uranoscopus scaber, 

 abounds in the Mediterranean. Uranoscopus japonicus and 

 other species are found in Japan. Astroscopus y-gf&cum is the 

 commonest species on our Atlantic coast. The bare spaces on 

 the top of the head in this species yield vigorous electric 

 shocks. Another American species is Astroscopus guttatus. In 

 Japan and the East Indies the forms are more numerous and 

 varied. Ichthyscopus lebeck, with a single dorsal, is a fantastic 



