FAMILY, II-SCOPELID^. 503 



Family, II— SCOPELID^, 3fi}Uer. 



feranchiostegals as a rule numerous. Pseudobranchise well developed. Gill-openings very wide. 

 Opercular pieces sometimes incomplete. Margin of the upper jaw formed by the premaxillaries. Barbels 

 absent. Two dorsal fins, the posterior being adipose. Scales present or absent. Ova enclosed in sacs in 

 the ovaries and excluded by oviducts. Intestinal canal short. Pyloric appendages, when present, few in 

 number. Air-vessel small or absent. 



Geographical distribution. — Tbese fishes, which in many respects are allied to the Siluroids, appear to be 

 distributed throughout tropical, sub-tropical, and temperate seas. ^ 



SYNOPSIS OP GENERA. 



1. Saurus. A single band of palatine teeth. Ventral with eight rays, tlie inner being the longest. 



2. Banrida. Two parallel bands of palatine teeth. Ventral with nine rays : the inner not much longer 

 than the outer ones. 



3. Harpodoii. Premaxillaries but no superior maxillaries. Bones of head soft. Ventral with nine rays. 

 Caudal tri-lobed. Thin and deciduous scales present in the last three-fourths of the body. 



4. Scopelus. Bones of head ossified. Scales rather large. Luminous spots along the body. 



Genus, 1 — Saurus, sp. Cuvier. 



Synodus, pt. Gronovius ; La/urida, pt. (Aristotle) Swainson. 



Branchiostegals from eight to seventeen. Gill-openings very loide, the gill-memhranes not attached to the 

 isthmms. Body elongated, suhcylindrical : head oblong, muzzle short. Eyes of moderate size, lateral. Gape of mouth 

 wide, cleft very deep : edge of the upper jaiv entirely formed by long and thin premaxillaries : the maxillary likewise 

 elongated, thin, and adherent to the premaxillaries. Teeth numerous, pointed, some are elongated, slender, and ca/n, be 

 , laid downwards and inwards : they exist on the jaws, tongue and palatine hones, a single band being on the palate and 

 usually none or only afeiv on the vomer. First dorsal with a moderate number of rays, situated nearly in the middle 

 of the length of the fish : adipose fin small. Ventral witli eight rays, the internal ones being the longest: it is inserted 

 anterior to the origin of the dorsal and not far behind the 'pectorals, which are short : anal of moderate length or short. 

 Caudal forhed. Scales of moderate size. Lateral-line entire. Pyloric appendages few. 



Geographical distribidion. — Tropical portions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; Mediterranean. 



SYNOPSIS OF SPECIES. 



1. Saurus Lidicus, D. 13/0, A. 9, L. I. 5.5-57, L. tr. 3i/7. Head ijointed. Madras. 



2. Saimis myops, D. 12-13/0, A. 16-17, L. 1. 52-56, L. tr. 3i/7. Snout obtuse. A black shoulder spot- 

 Longitudinal lines along the body. Seas of India and tropical portions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 



1. Saurus Indicus, Plate CXVII, fig. 4. 



Day, Journal of Linnean Society, Zoology, xi, 1873, p. 626. 



B. XV, D. 13/0, P. 14, V. 8, A. 9, C. 19, L. 1. 55-57, L. tr. .31/7. 



Length of head 4|, of caudal 7t, height of body 7\ to 8 in the total length. Eyes — without adipose lids, 

 diameter 5| in the length of head, rather more than 1 diameter from the end of snout, and nearly 1 apart : the 

 width of the snoirt at its base equals its length. Greatest width of the head not quite 1/2 its length. Inter- 

 orbital space somewhat concave. Upper jaw slightly the longer. Cleft of mouth extending to far behind the 

 eyes. The hinder portion of the frontal and occipital bones on the summit of the head corrugated. Teeth— tho 

 inner row in the jaws the longest, some in the mandible barbed. Five rows of large teeth on the tongue. A 

 single band on the palatines of which the inner row is much the largest. Fins — dorsal about as long as high. 

 Pectoral reaches to the tenth scale of the lateral-line. Inner ventral rays the longest, the fin reaches nearly 

 half way to the base of the anal. Caudal deeply forked. Scales— 17 rows between occiput and base of dorsal 

 fin. Those along the lateral-line rather raised, but not distinctly keeled. Colours — brownish in the upper tw<i- 

 thirds, dirty white beneath. Numerous bluish irregular spots or blotches along the back and sides, in places 

 almost forming horizontal bands. Dorsal and caudal white, with grayi.sh spots, forming irregular horizontal 

 bands. 



Habitat. — Madras to 7 inches in length. 



