NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 243 



from the dorsal and anal, or, if the vertical fins are united with the dorsal, 

 with a separate anterior portion. Rays of the second dorsal well developed." 



Ophidiid^; with " ventral fins rudimentary (reduced to a filament), or ab- 

 sent, jugular.* No separate anterior dorsal. Caudal generally united with 

 dorsal and anal." 



From the Gadoids I am disposed to separate the genera Raniceps of Cuvier 

 and Bregmaceros of Thompson, the former of which has been already con- 

 sidered by Dr. Parnellf as the type of an independent family, and to similar 

 rank, the latter is probably likewise entitled. 



The only diagnosis, then, which I am at present prepared to give, is the 

 following. I trust soon to be able to examine the skeletons of most of the 

 types, when more definite characters can doubtless be given. Only part of 

 the synonymy of the family is given. 



Family GADOIDS (Cuv.) 



Synonymy. 



Gadini Rnfinesque, Indice d'lttiologia Siciliana, 1810. 



Gadinia Rajinesque, Analyse de la Nature, 1815. 



Metrosomes Blainville, Journal de Physique, t. 83, p. 255, 1816. 



Gadoides Cuvier, Regne Animal, ed. 2, tome 2, p. 330, 1829. 



Gadites McMurtrie, Animal Kingdom Transl., vol. ii. p. 243, 1831. 



Gadoidese Richardson, Fauna Boreali-Americana, vol. iii. p. 241, 1836. 



Gadidse Bonaparte, Systema Vertebratorum, p. 52, 1840. 



Gadidse Giinther, Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum, vol. iv. p. 



326, 1862. 

 Blennidia and Gadinia pt. Raf. 



Elongated fishes behind more or less compressed and conoidal, tapering 

 into the caudal fin, the peduncle convex at its end ; anus in advance of the 

 middle of the body ; the scales cycloid, smooth and small; very wide bran- 

 chial apertures, extending far forwards ; rays of all the fins articulated or 

 branched, extending along most of the back and forming one, two, or three 

 fins ; anal single or double, vertical fins rarely united, and the ventral fins 

 more or less in advance of the pectoral, normally attached to the pubic 

 bones, narrow, and with three to seven branched rays ; rarely represented by 

 articulated bifid filaments. Pyloric caeca generally numerous. 



The Californian representatives of the family belong to two distinct sub- 

 families and genera, which may be distinguished as follows : 

 I. Ventral fins well developed, with five to seven rays. Py- 

 loric caeca numerous, 

 a. Dorsal fins two ; the posterior sinuated, or emargi- 

 nated behind the middle ; anal similar to the 

 second dorsal. Skull with the great frontal bone 

 double, concave towards the middle and between 

 the ridges on each bone diverging from the cor- 

 responding branches of the fork of the occipital 



crest Mekluciin^. 



Merlucius. 

 /?. Dorsal fins three ; anal two. Skull with the great 

 frontal bone single, and with the occipital crest 

 more or less continued forwards, and single or 



entire Gadini. 



Gadus. 



1863.] 



" Except in Brotulophis." Giinther. 

 Magazine of Zoology and Botany, vol. i. 1837. 



