358 REVIEW OF SPECIES OF BELONIDiE 



than twice as deep as broad ; caudal peduncle not compressed, without 

 keel, the lateral line not conspicuous and not black. 



Jaws long and very slender, upper jaw with a peculiar arch at base, 

 so that for a distance about equal to length of eye the two jaws do not 

 come in contact. In this region only small teeth are present in either 

 jaw. In front of this open space the teeth in both jaws are rather large, 

 but smaller than in most of the species. Anteriorly they become again 

 quite small, and toward the front of the jaw only minute teeth are 

 present. Above the open space in jaw the upper surface of the jaw is 

 very convex, both transversely and longitudinally; anteriorly the jaw 

 is much depressed, with a median groove; snout, 5| in length of body, 

 twice length of rest of head, maxillary entirely concealed by the j^re- 

 orbital. 



Top of head with a broad shallow median 'groove, covered with trans- 

 parent skin and anteriorly scaly. Superciliary bones not prominent, 

 the bones with longitudinal strite; vertex depressed, not scaly. 



Eye large, 1^ in interorbital space; in head, 9^; 2^ in postorbital 

 part of head, 7 in snout. 



Cheeks and preopercle rather closely scaled except below. Opercle 

 naked, covered with smooth silvery skin. A little fold of skin like a 

 mucous tube across lower anterior part of preopercle; this less con- 

 spicuous than in T. raphidonia. 



Scales very small, green. Teeth and bones more or less green. No 

 gill-rakers. 



Dorsal fin falcate, the anterior lobe 3^ in head ; the last rays also 

 more or less elevated, especially in the young, the longest of these rays 

 in adult 5f in head. Anal higher than dorsal, and beginning further 

 forward; the posterior rays not at all elevated. Pectorals long, lalcate, 

 3f in head. Veutrals 4?^ in head, their insertion midway between base 

 of middle rays of caudal and front of arch of upi)er jaw. Caudal 

 deeply forked, the lower lobe 2f in head : the upper, 3. 



Coloi- in spirits deep green above, sides bright silvery (young with a 

 series of round dark blotches). A dusky bar on front of opercle; tins 

 all dusky ; the tips of the rays black, esi)ecially the pectorals, ventrals, 

 and lobes of dorsal and anal. 



Our specimens of this species are from Cuba and from Beaufort, 

 North Carolina. No real doubt is connected with the synonymy of thih 

 species. The insertion of the ventrals is incorrectly given by Valen- 

 ciennes as "a little before the middle of the total length." This mistake 

 or ambiguity of expression is corrected by Poey, who however gives a 

 new name, maculata, to the Cuban species. We regard maculata as 

 without question identical with hians. 



Steindachner identilies with T. hians si^ecimens obtained by him at 

 Acapnlco. If this identification be correct, this is the only species of 

 the group common to the two coasts of America. 



The Belone hiavs is so remarkably different in the form of the body 

 from the other species of Tylosnrus, that it may be regared as forming 



