XXII 



HAPLOMI 



6l 5 



Fam. 9. Chirothricidae. Praemaxillaries delicate and styli- 

 form, completely excluding the maxillaries from the upper border 

 of the mouth ; jaws with feeble dentition or toothless ; opercular 

 apparatus complete. Praecaudal vertebrae with robust para- 

 pophyses, to which ribs are attached. Ventral fins far forwards. 



These Fishes, of which three fossil genera are known from the 

 Cretaceous of Germany and Syria, appear to be related to the 

 Scopelidae, from which the strong parapophyses distinguish them. 

 Chirotkrix is remarkable for its excessively enlarged ventral fins 

 with about 1 7 rays ; these fins were taken for the pectorals by 



FIG. 373. (Jhirothrix libanicus, restored by A. S. Woodward. 



the early describers. In Telepliolis and Exocoetoides, the ventral 

 fins are smaller than the pectorals, and formed of 7 or 8 rays only ; 

 the dorsal region, in the former, is protected by a covering of 

 small, thin, rounded or polygonal dermal scutes, each bearing a 

 median tubercle. 



Fam. 10. Kneriidae. Margin of the upper jaw formed by 

 the praemaxillaries ; mouth toothless, not protractile. Parietals 

 separated by the supraoccipital. Pharyngeal bones toothless. 

 Praecaudal vertebrae with parapophyses. Body covered with 

 small scales. Ventrals with 9 rays. No adipose dorsal fin. 

 Air-bladder present. 



