960 Bulletin 47, United States National Museum. 



not salient, its longest rays 3f in body. Gill rakers moderate, x + 13. 

 Color sooty gray, with some soiled silvery; snout, vertical tins, and 

 ro'don above anal black ; edges of dorsal and anal darker ; axil jet black 

 within. Bones firm. Length 2 to 4 feet. Open seas, widely distributed, 

 descending to considerable depths; occasional on the coasts of Europe 

 as far north as the Faroe Islands, rarely taken on our Atlantic Coast. 

 Bermuda (Goode); Grand Bank (Bean). It has lately been fre([uently 

 obtained on our Pacific Coast in different localities from Santa Catalina 

 to Puget Sound. Here described from a specimen found in the Los 

 Angeles market. In our specimen the pectoral is a little longer and the 

 scales a little larger than in Day's figure of the European form, but 

 doubtless the same species. Manj^ of the known specimens have been 

 beached by storms. An excellent food-fish. (Named for Rev. John Ray, 

 a learned naturalist, one of the ablest of the predecessors of Linnteus.) 

 (Eu.) 



Brama marina canda forcipal.a, Ray, Synopsis Methodica Pisciuni, 115, ITKi, Middelburg. 



SpavKsraii, Bloch, Ichthyol., pi. 273, 1791; .after Kay, etc. 



Spams castaneola, Shaw, Gen. Zocil., iv., 404, 1803; after Lacepkde, wIkj copied from Bloch. 



Spani^ niijer, TuiiTON, British Fauna, 98, 1807, Swansea. 



Lepodm sarayus, Rafinesque, Caratteri, etc., 53, 1810, Palermo. 



Brama dussumieri, Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., \ n, 294, 1831, Indian Sea, Lon- 

 gitude 85° E. 



f Brama orcini, CuviER & Valenciennes, I. c, vii, 295, 1831, Indian Sea, Longitude 85° E.; 

 from stomacli of Gerino alalunga. 



f Brama chilensix, Gay, mst.ChiU, Peces. 218, 1843, Chile. 



Brama rail, Valenciennes in Cuvieu, Kegne Anim., lllustr. Poiss., pi. 26, fig. 1, 1839, Chile; 

 after Cay's type. 



Bramaraji, Bloch & ScHNEiiiER, Syst. Icbtli., 99, LSOl; Jordan k Gilbert, Synopsis, 91,5, 1.S83. 



Bramaraii, GiJNTHEE, Cat., 11, 408, 1860, Lutken, Spolia Atlantica. 



Family CXXXIII. STEINEGERIIDzE. 



Dorsal fin low, divided by a deep notch into an anterior part of about 

 11 slender spines and a posterior part of about 18 soft rays; scales moder- 

 ate, each with a median keel ; ventrals I, 5, inserted before pectorals, 

 otherwise essentially as in the Bramida', so far as external characters 

 show. The true relation of the group remains to be shown from a study 

 of the skeleton. One species known, from rather deep water. 



438. STEINEGERIA, Jordan & Evermann. 



Sleineijeria, Jordan & Evermann, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 188G, 467, {rnhcscem). 



Body ovate, considerably compressed, thickly covered with rather 

 large membranous scales, which are closely imbricated, and each with a 

 distinct median keel. Cleft of mouth very oblique, the lower jaw 

 strongly projecting. Jaws with bands of small cardiform teeth, those in 

 front largest, especially in the lower jaw ; teeth in villiform bands on 

 the palatines, but absent from the vomer. Premaxillaries protractile; 

 preopercle without angle, with ascending limb finely serrulate, and with 

 a few coarser teeth about the angle. No distinct lateral line. Dorsal 



