270 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF 



Body moderately elongated, subfusiform, compressed, especially behind the 

 anus, which is situated a little in advance of the middle of the length ; caudal 

 peduncle oblong and contracted towards the middle, but slightly narrowed 

 towards the caudal fin. 



Scales regularly imbricated, moderate in size, hexagonal, but apparently 

 rather pentagonal, generally higher than long, with the posterior margin pec- 

 tinated, the nucleus at or next to the posterior angle, from which striae radi- 

 ate towards the anterior border ; the scales advance on the head. 



Head scaly, the scales advancing forwards above to the snout, and covering 

 the cheeks and opercula, cycloid and smaller above and on the cheeks ; the 

 head is rather small, considerably compressed and much higher than wide, 

 nearly uniform in width, declining downwards to the snout ; the latter is 

 convex, and its periphery arched ; the whole upper surface is convex and 

 fleshy; the cheeks scarcely tumid. Eyes rather small, subcircular, entirely 

 lateral, widely separated, and situated in the anterior half of the head. 

 Opercula unarmed ; operculum fully developed, its length being nearly twice 

 as great as the interval between it and the eye. 



Mouth with the cleft oblique, transverse, the periphery of each jaw semicircu- 

 lar, the supramaxillars ceasing nearly under the front of the orbit. Lower jaw 

 nearly even with the upper. Intermaxillars, little protractile downwards,with the 

 posterior processes short and wide, (connected), and the lateral branches thick 

 and attenuated backwards, but near the ends with a thin, convex expansion 

 above the posterior half. Supramaxillars longer than the intermaxillars, nar- 

 row, twisted, little curved, and behind compressed, and with a slight expan- 

 sion downwards. 



Tongue fleshy, moderate, subtruncated in front and free at its tip. 



Teeth slender, conic, in a narrow band in each jaw, moveable in the external 

 row in the lower. Palate smooth. 



Branchial apertures lateral, nearly vertical, continued above in a short slit 

 of the oculo-scapular groove, below curved slightly forwards between the 

 membrane and throat; isthmus moderate. 



Branchiostegal rays five. 



Anal papilla long and compressed. 



Dorsal fins two, the first generally with seven (6-8) spines, the anterior 

 nearly uniform ; the second, short and high, (I. 8 9) ; the rays generally, with 

 the anterior branch simple and the posterior forked ; the last ray free be- 

 hind. 



Anal fin nearly opposite and similar to dorsal. 



Caudal fin large, convex behind. 



Pectoral fins well developed, equally convex behind, with the rays well de- 

 veloped, and only one or two upper and lower ones simple. 



Ventral fins inserted below the base of the pectoral, closely approximated 

 but entirely free ; each with five rays, the fourth of which is longest. 



This genus is well distinguished by the combination of characters above 

 given, especially the large scales, compressed and nearly uniformly wide de- 

 clivous head, and the extension forwards of the bra-nchial apertures above. 



The genus Eleotris, from which the present is detached, as understood by 

 Cuvier and his followers, appears to be rather entitled to the rank of a sub- 

 family than to that of a genus. Valencinnes has distinguished the genus 

 Philypnus. Bleeker recognizing the difference of many of the types referred 

 to it, even after such restriction, has proposed to separate from it Culius, Butis, 

 Valenciennea (== Eleotriodes) and Belobranchus ; Poey has founded ErotelU and 

 the Writer has established the genera Bostrichthys aud Dormitator. After all 

 these dismemberments, there still remain, as types of distinct genera, the 

 Eleotris ophiocephalui C. et. V. (genus Ophiocara); E. Mogurnda Rich. (g. Mogubn- 

 da) ; E.gobioides (g. Gobiomorphus) ; G.cyprinoides (g. Hypseleotris) ; E.mae- 

 crodon Blkr. (g. Odonteleotris) ; E. ttrigata 0. et V. (g. Callbleotris) and E. mi 



[Sept. 



