Jordan and Evcrmann. — Fishes of North America, 2029 



The following are tbe species in question : 

 Plati/cephalus americanus, Sauvage, Nouv. Archiv. Mus., 148, pi. 14, fig. 3, 1878, Potomac 

 River. 



This specimen, of course, never came from the Potomac Eiver. The following is the 

 substance of Sauvage's description : Head nearly 3J ; width of head nearly 2 in its lengtli. 

 No spines at end of snout; a strong spine before eye; rim of orbit armed with spines 

 directed backward, those in front smaller; ridges of vertex slightly prominent, with few 

 spines; cheek with 4 or 5 strong spines; edge of opercle soft; preopercle with 2 spines, 

 the upper a little the longer, about half space between it and eye; maxillary reaching mid- 

 dle of eye; snout2ineye; lateral line spiny throughout its whole length; second dorsal 

 spine shorter than third, as long as maxillary. Veutrals inserted far from anal; pectoral 

 a little shorter than snoiit and eye. Body reddish, deep red at caudal peduncle; second 

 dorsal and anal with 2 oblique bands of yellowish ; pectoral with similar band. 

 Platycephalus angt'stu.s, Steindachner, Sitzgber. Akad. Wiss. Wien 1866, 213, taf. 1, fig. 4, 

 Surinam. 



This specimen may not have come from Surinam. The following is the substance of 

 Steindachner's description: Head 31; breadth of head 11 in its length. D.I- VIII, 13; 

 A. 13; scales 108. Eye 7, somewhat greater than breadth of forehead. Caudal with 3 

 deep, blackish-brown, lengthwise stripes; body with small spots and some larger liglit- 

 brown spots; 3 brown cross bands on posterior half of body. Numerous little raised 

 ridges on preorbital rim, and a short spine; no tentacles: 2 spines on preopercle, the 

 lower J eye. Greatest height of first dorsal i of second or {'^ of head. Caudal rounded. 



Family CLXXX. RHAMPHOCOTTID.E. 



Body short, elevated. Hoad very large, its greatest depth greater than 

 that of the body ; skull with 2 strong bony ridges from above the front of 

 the eye, continuous with 2 large occipital ridges, leaving the int<^rorbital 

 space and middle line of the top of the head strongly concave; snout 

 slender, narrow, and abruptly protruding; mouth very narrow, D-shaped, 

 its gape longer than wide; teeth villiform, none on the vomer or pala- 

 tines; gill opening confined to the region above the base of the pectorals, 

 the memln-anes below completely united to the shoulder girdle and isth- 

 mus; apparently no slit behind last gill; a stout, straight, preopercular 

 spine; nasal spines present; no other spines on head. Slcin everywhere 

 on head and body firm, immovable, densely covered with stiff, bitid or 

 trifid spinous jirickles; spinous dorsal very small; pectoral with ])ro- 

 current base. North Pacific; a single species known; a sniiill shore fish. 

 The following account of the skeleton of Ilhamphocotius is given by Mr. 

 Starks : The posterior end of the prouiinent lidge, which runs backward 

 from the superior orbital rim on each side, is formed by the epiotic pro- 

 cess. It ends in the form of a hmg "occipital spine;" almost directly 

 under it is the short parotic process. The post-temporal is short, wide, and 

 fiat; its u})per end is attached to the inner side of the epiotic spine, and 

 for the whole length of its anterior edge, to the skull between the epiotic 

 and parotic processes. From its lower inner surface it sends a wide, thin 

 bone, which is firmly fastened to tin; base of the skull. It bears a back- 

 ward projecting spine on its loAver end, inside of which the supraclavicle 

 is attached. Actinosts large, wide and thin, without an opening between 

 them. Subopercle absent; preopercle large, sending a spine backward; 

 opercle triangular on its lower inner angle; the iuteropercle is developed 

 and strongly coossifiexl with it; it sends a slender process forward under 

 the preopercle; a projection downward from the posterior end of the 

 articular; suborbital wide, thin, and concavo-convex, its convex surface 

 outward. Skull without basal chamber; vertebne 10-|-14. 



