244 PROCEEDINGS OP THE ACADEMY OP 



Subfamily MERLUCIINiE (Sw.) Gill. 



Synonymy. 

 Merluccia Rqfinesque, Analyse de la Nature, 1815. 

 Merluccinse Swainson, Natural History of Fishes, Amphibians and Reptiles, 



vol. ii. p. 300, 1839. 

 Gadini pt. Bon. 

 Gadinae pt. 



The present subfamily has only its type in common with those of Rafines- 

 que and Swainson, the former having included in his Merluccia the genera 

 Gadus, Merluccius, Trisopterus, R., Strinsia, R. and Brosme, while Swainson 

 referred to his Merluccinse the genera Merluccius, Lota and Motella. 



Only one genus is yet positively known. Uraleptus and Physiculus appear, 

 however to be nearly related. 



MERLUCIUS Raf. 



Synonymy. 

 Meluccius Rqfinesque, Caratteri di Alcuni nuovi generi e nuovi specie di Ani- 



mali e Pianti della Sicilia, 1810. 

 Onus Rqfinesque, Indice d'lttiologia Siciliana, p. 12, 1810. 

 Merlangus Rqfinesque, op. cit., p. 67, 1810. 



Stomodon Mitchill, Report in part on the Fishes of New York, p. 7, 1814. 

 Hydronus Mindling, Lehrbuch der Naturgeschichte der Fische, p. 83, 1832. 

 Homalopomus Girard, Proc. Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila., vol. viii. 



p. 132. 

 Homalopomus Girard, Explorations and Surveys for a Railroad Route, &c, 



vol. x. p. 144, Fishes. 

 Merlus Guichenot, Historia Fisica y Politica de Chile, Zooloqia, t. ii. p. 328, 



1848. 

 Epicopus Giinther, Catalogue of the Acanthopterygian Fishes, &c, vol. ii. p. 



248, 1860. 

 Gadus sp. Linn., &c. 

 Merlangus sp. Ayres. 

 Gadus (Boreogadus) sp. Giinther. 



Body elongated and slender, fusiform, highest under the first dorsal fin, 

 tapering into the caudal peduncle, which is slender and compressed ; back 

 transversely arched ; abdomen not tumid. 



Scales small, perlaceous, regularly imbricated. 



Lateral line slightly declining from the scapular region, and thence rec- 

 tilinear, in a groove covered by a membranous linear band. 



Head oblong conical in profile, above very gradually narrowed towards the 

 front, rectilinear, flattened at the nape, with a well-defined, oblong triangu- 

 lar excavation at the forehead, bounded by the ridges on the separated fron- 

 tal bones, which converge backwards into the low occipital crest ; snout not 

 extending as far forwards as the maxillars. Eyes rather large, chiefly in the 

 anterior half of the head. Opercula distinct ; preoperculum with a channel 

 behind its crest or inner margin, and with short, radiating bars crossing it. 



Mouth with its cleft moderately oblique and deep, the supramaxillars ex- 

 tending entirely or under the greater portion of the eyes ; their ends are 

 obliquely extended backwards and downwards in a curve from the lower 

 angles ; intermaxillars elongated and extending nearly as far back as the supra- 

 maxillars. 



Lower jaw with no barbel, rounded in front, more or less projecting beyond 

 the upper. 



Teeth nearly biserial in the upper as well as lower jaw ; the teeth of 

 the inner row moveable, longest, slender, bent or curved inwards, crystalline 



[Sept. 



