628 TELEOSTEI CHAP. 



Snout tubiform ; ventral fins with 1 spine and 4 soft rays ; ribs flattened, 

 fused with the lateral bony shields ; anterior vertebrae not enlarged 



3. Aulorhynchidae. 

 Snout tubiform ; ribs slender, free ; first vertebra enlarged 



4. Protosyngnathidae. 



2. Pelvic bones not connected with scapular arch ; ventrals 

 without spine, with 5 or 6 rays ; snout tubiform ; first 

 vertebra very elongate, formed by the fusion of several. 

 Isolated dorsal spines ; body scaly . . .5. Aulostomatidae. 

 No dorsal spines ; body naked . . . .6. Fistulariidae. 



B. Mouth toothless ; snout tubiform ; two short dorsal fins, the first 

 with a few spines ; ventral fins with 3 to 5 rays ; anterior 

 vertebrae elongate. 

 Body covered with bony shields and small rough scales 



7. Centriscidae, 



Body completely cuirassed by bony shields which are fused with the endo- 

 skeleton ....... 8. Amphisilidae. 



III. Praeoperculum absent ; symplectic much elongate ; branchial 

 apparatus more or less reduced ; gill - lamellae reduced in number and 

 enlarged, forming rounded lobes ; post-temporal simple, immovably attached 

 to the skull ; mouth toothless, at the end of a tubiform snout ; body covered 

 with bony plates (LOPHOBRANCHII). 



Two dorsal fins ; ventral fins present, with 7 rays ; gill-openings wide ; 



exoskeleton of large star-like plates . . 9. tiolenostomidae. 



A single dorsal fin ; no ventral fins ; gill-openings very small ; exoskeleton 



in the form of rings . . . . .10. Syngnathidae. 



IV. Praeoperculum and symplectic absent ; gills pectinated ; mouth in- 

 ferior, toothless ; body entirely covered with bony plates ; ventral fin with 

 2 or 3 rays (HvposTOkiDEs) . . . .11. Pegasidae. 



Fam. 1. Lamprididae. Body short and deep, with minute 

 scales. Snout short ; mouth toothless, bordered by the prae- 

 maxillaries and, to a small extent, by the maxillaries ; opercular 

 bones well developed. Gills four, pectinated ; branchial apparatus 

 fully developed. Post -temporal bone forked. Vertebrae very 

 numerous (21 + 25), without transverse processes; ribs strong, 

 long. Fins without spines ; dorsal and anal elongate. Pectoral 

 fins with very short pterygials folding downwards against the 

 body. Pelvic bones connected with the coracoids, which are 

 very large, and do not form a suture at their ventral extremity. 

 Ventral fins with 15 to 17 rays. 



The Opah or King-Fish (Lampris luna), the sole representative 

 of this family, is remarkable for its large size (growing to a length 

 of four feet) and its vivid colours. Its flesh is rich, and inter- 

 mediate between that of the Salmon and that of the Tunny. It 

 is a pelagic fish of wide distribution, known from the North 



