DISCUSSION OP SPECIES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION. 151 



Family NEMICHTHYID^^. 



Nemichthyina, GiJ'NTnER, Cat. Fish. Brit.- JIu.s., viii, 1870, 21. 



NemichtJiyklw, Gnx, Arriiu^'emnnt, Families of Fislies, 1872, 20 (No. 20.3), name only.— Jordan and Gilbert, 

 Bull. XVI, U. S. Nat. Mus., 36.").— .Ioudan and Davis, Rep. IT. S. F. C, 1888 (1891), 652. 



Body very slender, .somewluit couipressed, tapering into a long aud very slender tail, 

 and a very long and slender neck. No scales. Lateral line consisting of pores in three 

 series, tlie upper and lower alternating in position with the median row, or of a single series 

 of widely set pores. Head resembling that of Belone, the head proper small, short, and 

 rather broad, with flat top and vertical sides. Nostrils large, close together in front of the 

 eye, without tube or flap. Jaws prolonged, beak-like. Teeth in both jaws small, very num- 

 erous, close-set, retrorse. Gill openings rather large, running downward and forward, sep- 

 arated by a narrow isthmus. Pectorals well developed. Anal fin beginning near the vent, 

 higher than the dorsal, becoming obsolete on the caudal filament. Dorsal beginning close 

 behind occiput, or not far from end of pectorals. The soft rays of the fins are connected by 

 thin membrane, instead of being imbedded in thick skin, as in the eels. Stomach not dis- 

 tensible. Muscular and osseous systems well developed. Abdominal cavity extends far 

 behind the vent. 



ARTIFICIAL KEY TO THE GENERA OF NEMICHTHYID^. 



I. Pectorals present. Gill openings separate and distinct. Jaws exceedingly attenuate ; the upper the 



longer, and bent upward Nemichthyina: 



A. Gill-slits lateral, vcrtiial. Vent (dose to the head. Dorsal rays slender and nearly free. 



1. Lateral line with three rows of pores. The tail ending in a long tilanient. Color dusky, with 



silvery reflections above Nemichthys 



2. Lateral line witli single row of pores. Tail probably filamentous (but truncate, and perhaps 



mutilated, in all existing specimens). Color black Labichthys 



B. Gill slits separate, inferior. Vent remote from head and far behind pectoi'als. 



1. Dorsal origin behind jiectorals and above vent. Jaws moderate C'yema 



II. Pectorals present. Gill openings partly confluent. Vomerine teeth large SpinivomeriiKe 



A. Jaws very long, attenuate. Vomiriue teeth conical Spinivomer 



B. Jaws moderate (snout not longer tlian rest of head). Vomerine teeth lancet-shaped, close-set 



SeRRI VOMER 



III. Pectorals absent. Gill openings separate, but reaching nearly to middle line of abdomen. Snout spat- 



ulate. Tail long and filiform GariaUcipiiinw 



A. Vent somewliat remote from throat. 



1. Teeth small, sliarp, in double row in each jaw ; teeth in vomer larger G.avialiceps 



NEMICHTHYS, Riciiardson. 



Nemichthys, Richardson, Voyage of the Samarang, Fishes, 1848, 10 (typc,^V. sco?oj)flceMs).— GCnther, Cat. 



Fish. Brit. Mus., viii, p. 21.— .Jordan and Davis, Rep. U. S. F. C, 1888 (1891) 656. 

 Leptorhynchus, Lowe, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., x, 1852, 54. 

 Belonopsis, Brandt, Mem. Ac. St. Petersb. Sav. Etrang., vii, 1854, 174. 



Body very elongate, with slender, whip-like tail, which tapers to a point. Vent under 

 pectorals. Jaws greatly elongate, forming a long, slender bill, the upper formed by the 



\CW<.'W\'WiWSS::^'<^^ 



Lateral line in Nemichthys. 



vomer and intermaxillaries. Inner surface of the jaws covered with small, closely set teeth. 

 Eye large; nostrils close together in the hollow in front of the eye, witliout tube or flap. 

 Gill openings wide, running downward and forward, nearly confluent. Pectoral and ven- 

 tral tins well developed. Lateral line with three series of pores. 



