974 Bulletin ^7, United States National Museum. 



the anal long ; anal fin preceded by two short, stout, separate spines. 

 Vertebra' numerous, 10 + 36=^46 in number. One genus, with a single 

 species, found in deep waters in the West Indies. {Grammicolepididw, 

 Poey, Aual. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat., 11, 1873.) 



446. GRAMMICOLEPIS, Poey. 



GrammicolepU, PoET, Anal. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat., ii, 1H73, (liracluu.scitlus). 



Body deep, compressed ; eye large ; mouth small ; head and opercles 

 partly rugose ; teeth minute, none on the vomer or palatines. Pectoral 

 short and rounded. Rays of dorsal, anal, and pectoral branched. A 

 single species known. (ypa^/ii/c6f, linear ; /l£7r/c, scale.) 



1373. GRAMMICOLEPIS BRACHIUSCULUS, Poey. 



Head 5; depth nearly 2 ; D. VI, 34; A. II, 33; V.I, 6; P. 15; C. 1, 13-1. 

 Eye very large, 2^ in head. Body much compressed and quite deep. 

 Branchial apertures deeply cleft, apparently only 4 branchiostegals. 

 Snout short. Prefrontal turbinal and anterior suborbital extremely hard 

 and covered with spiny rugosities. Preopercle and interopercle with 

 rugose borders; remaining opercular bones entirely rugose. Mouth small, 

 subvertically cleft ; premaxillary process large and lodged in a fossa of 

 the cranium ; maxillary complicated; teeth simply a narrow row of minute 

 prickles, none on vomer or palatines. First spine of dorsal rugose, as 

 are the first ventrals, the two postanals, and the external ones of tail; 

 rays of pectoral, second dorsal, and aual compressed, not branched at 

 tip; pectorals very short and rounded; vertical fins all well developed; 

 tail injured in the type; caudal peduncle large ; ventrals thoracic, with 

 a rugose spine and 6 llexible ones that are branched. Aside from the 

 frontal bones and the suborbitals where the skin abruptly terminates 

 and the nasal portion of snout, all the trunk and head is covered with 

 scales, including the inferior mandible; scales very different from those 

 found among related fishes, their length greatly exceeding their width ; 

 they have the appearance of parchment, transparent, brittle when dry, 

 overlaping each other, and strengthened longitudinally by a raised lineal 

 ridge; their contact with each other is so extremely intimate that it lends 

 to the skin of either side a very smooth appearance although rough to the 

 touch ; the scales are so long that 4, 5, or 6 of them are sufficient to span 

 the height of the trunk, one of such a series being crossed by the lateral 

 line, where its presence is denoted by a raised ridge ; leading scales on 

 the body, above as well as below shorter, and where carried on to the 

 head much more firm than those found on the fin rays ; scales of the head, 

 although shorter, of the same form as those of the trunk ; no scales upon 

 the fins. Caudal peduncle without cartilaginous or osseous plate at its 

 sides ; posterior to the anus, the ventral keel is rough. Cranium rather 

 cartilaginous than osseous in structure, except the frontals, which are 

 rugose in line in the supraorbital region, and bristly in front, as are the 

 turbinals and suborbitals ; these latter are 4 in number, the last 3 being 

 very slender ; 2 supra temporals ; lower jaw with several rows of minute 



