alluded to by Professor Agassiz, who has remarked on the similarity of 

 the Unlets of that genus and the Mackerels. Lacepede has himself per- 

 petuated his appreciation of the same resemblance in the name which he 

 has given to the group. Agassiz has also adverted to the affinity of 

 Echeneis to Elacates an affinity which has been also recognized and in- 

 sisted on by Hnlbrook* and very recently by Giinther.f 



The Cottoids and other Sclerogenoids have been removed from the 

 station assigned to them by most naturalists, and are now placed after 

 the Scombroid and before the Blennoid group. The distinction between 

 the formidably armed Sculpins (Acanthocottus) and the typical Blen- 

 uoids, defenceless and almost totally destitute of robust spines, is indeed 

 great, but there is still an evident likeness between them. There is also 

 a strict gradation between the almost Percoid-looking Sebastes to the 

 loose-set Blennoid through the long chain of striking forms which have 

 been ranged in the respective families of Sclerogenoids and Blennoids. 



From the Blennoids, the passage to the Cod fishes appears to be also 

 gradual. This likeness has been recognized by several of the older natu- 

 ralists, who have referred Blennoids to the old "genus" Gadus, and 

 Gadoids to Blennius. The late Prince of Canino+ had even placed the 

 common "Toad fishes " (Batrachus) of the Americans in a group which 

 he has called the order " Gadi," and in which he has also included the 

 Leptocephaloids, Ammodytoids, Ophidioids, Macruroids, Gadoids and 

 Bibronioids. Nor does the approximation of those fishes to the Gadoids 

 appear very unnatural. There is some likeness between the Batrachi 

 and Raniceps, but perhaps there is more actual affinity between them 

 and the Uranoscopoids, and in the vicinity of the former, we have, at 

 least provisionally, accordingly retained them, thus adopting the views 

 first announced by Agassiz, and recently reaffirmed by Girard. The 

 Uranoscopoids themselves are obviously connected with the Synanchoid 

 genus Trachicephalus of Swainson, and through them with the other 

 Sclerogenoids. The remarkable genus Dactyloscopus of Gill shows the 

 affinities of the Uranoscopoids to the Blennoids. 



This is not the proper place to enter more fully into the affinities of 

 the smaller groups. We turn to the larger. 



Miillerll has divided the class of fishes into sis subclasses, characterized 



* "Ichthyology of South Carolina, " by John Edwards Holbrook, M. D. 4to. 

 Charleston, 1855, (p. 104.) 



j- On the History of Echeneis, by Dr. Albert Giinther, in "The Annals 

 and Magazine of Natural History," 1860. 



X " Catalogo Metodico dei Pesci Europei di Carlo L. Principe Bonaparte," 

 Napoli, 1846. 



This name cannot be retained, as it had been previously applied to a valid 

 genus of Saurians. The name of Uranoblepus may be conferred on it. A new 

 species from China is in the collection of the North Pacific Exploring Expedi- 

 tion, and was collected by Dr. Stimpson. 



|| " Ueher den Ganoiden undden natiirliche System der Fische," and various 

 other Memoirs, by J. Midler. 



