Jordan and Evertnann. — Fishes of JSForth America. 545 



prominent beyond the upper jaw. Cleft of the mouth Avide ; maxillary 

 much developed, very movable, much dilated behind. Teeth in narrow 

 villiform bands in the jaws ; on each side of the broad vomer a small 

 patch of similar teeth ; none on the palatines or on the tongue. Eye 

 very small. Scales cycloid, adherent, of moderate size. Rays of the 

 pectoral fin much elongate, some of the upper being separate from the 

 rest and forming a distinct division. Ventrals abdominal, 8-rayed, with 

 the outer rays prolonged. Dorsal fin inserted in the middle of the body 

 above, or absent; anal short.; caudal forked. Gill openings very wide; 

 gill lamina> well developed, separate from each other ; gills rakers long. 

 Pseudobranchiaj none. Deep-sea fishes, the American species belonging 

 to the subgenus Synaptiretmus. {jiadi%, deep; rterois, a genus of *S'cor- 

 ^yanoid fislies, with pectoral filaments.) 



Synapteretmus {crvvaTTToi, joinetl together; epernds, oar): 

 (I. Outer ventral rays filiform, simple, prolonged, appressed or inscparalily united. End of 

 dorsal and origin of anal in same vertical, or overlapping. 

 b. Anal origin in nearly same vertical as end of dorsal. Dorsal origin over axis of ven- 

 trals or nearly so. Ventral rays elongate. 

 r. Ventral outer rays appressed; lower caudal ray prolonged; upper pectoral ray not 

 extending beyond upper lobe of caudal. A. 9 ; scales 59. quadkifilis, 822. 



cc. Ventral with the outer rays closely appressed; lower caudal lobe produced; upper 

 pectoral ray as long as the whole fish. A. 10 ; scales 55. longipes, 823. 



' Subgenus SYNAPTERETMUS, Goode & Bean. 

 822. BATHTPTEROIS QUADRIFILIS, GtintlKr. 



Head 5; depth 7; B. 12; D. 14; A. 9; P. II, 9; V. 9; scales 6-59-8. 

 Eye small, about 3 in snout, or 5 or 6 in postorbital portion of head. 

 Uppermost and lowermost of the pectoral rays filiform, the former 

 bifid for more than f its length, the latter simple. Outer ventral rays 

 much prolonged, not dilated ; dorsal inserted close to root of ventrals ; 

 adipose fin present, narrow. Head remarkably flat above and the width 

 of the interorbital space greater than length of snout. Dorsal fin mid- 

 way between tip of upper jaw and root of caudal ; anal inserted imme- 

 diately behind dorsal, its origin e(j[uidistant from roots of pectoral and 

 caudal ; caudal emarginate. 



This species possesses not only the long detached upper pectoral ray, 

 but also an e([ual]y long lower ray, which, however, is not removed from 

 the remainder of the fin. The upper ray becomes bifid in its proximate 

 third, and is accompanied by an extremely short rudimentary second ray; 

 it scarcely reaches the caudal fin and is shorter than the lowermost ray, 

 which may reach to the end of the caudal, and is split only at its very 

 extremity. Structure of ventral fins as in Bathypterois longipes, but the 

 strong ouster rays are somewhat curved and do not reach the end of the 

 anal. Scales cycloid, as in other species, but those behind the basal 

 portion of pectoral fin are deeply pectinated, provided with from 5 to 10 

 long and narrow teeth, of which the middle ones are the longest. (Giiu- 

 ther.) Color blackish or black ; pectoral filaments whitish. 



The types of this species were obtained by the Challeiii/cr otY the coast 

 of Brazil ; two specimens, one from Station 126, at a depth of 770 fathoms, 

 V. N. A. 36 



