1886.] PKOCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 339 



A REVIEW OP THE AMERICAN SPECIES OP BELONIDiE. 

 By DATID S. JORDAN and ITIORTOIV W, FOBDICE. 



In the present paper we bave attempted to give the sviioiiymy of the 

 American species of jSTeedle-fishes or Bcloniflw, togetlier with iiualytical 

 keys by which the genera aud species may be distinguished. 



The American species have been, until lately, all referred to the genus 

 Belonc. The type of the latter genus, Esox belone L., has, however, 

 well-developed gill-rakers, while, in all the American species thus far 

 examined, these appendages are wholly absent. This character seems 

 to be of su£&cient importance to necessitate the separation of these 

 species from Belone, aud other less important diflferences make still 

 further subdivision convenient. 



The genera of Belonidcc recognized by us may be thus compared : 



ANALYSIS OF GENERA OF BELONLD^. 



a. Gill-rakers well develof»ed, slender, and moderately numerous ; vomer sometimes 

 with, teeth ; body subterete or moderately compressed. ; dorsal and anal 



falcate Belone, 1. 



aa. Gill-rakers obsolete ; vomer toothless. 

 i. Anterior dorsal rays prolonged, formiug a lobe which is more or let^s falcate; 

 caudal fin lunate or emarginate, the lower lobe more or less produced. 



Tylosurus, 2. 

 a. Anterior dorsal rays not ijrolonged, not forming a lobe; caudal convex; body 

 not comi>re8sed, nearly as broad as deep ; the caudal peduncle slender. 



POTAMORRHAPHIS, 3. 



Genus I. BELONE. 



Mastacembelus, Klein, Pise. Missus., iv, 17 (pre-Linnseau). 

 Esox sp. LiuufEus. aud of early writers. (Not type.) 



Esox Raiinesque,* Caratteri di Alcuni nuovi Geuera, 1810; 59 (restricted to Esox he- 

 lone). 

 Eamphistoma Rafiuesque (MSS.?) ; Swainson, Nat. Hist. Classi'u Anim., ii, 1839, 296 



(vulgaris^helonc). 

 Macrognatiius Gronow, Systema, Ed. Gray, 1854,147 (scolopax— belone). 

 Mastacembelus Bleeker, Nederl! Tijdskr, Dierk., ill (belone: after Klein). 



* Rafinesque observes : 



"U geuere JSsox di Linneo h stato diviso da Lac^pfede in quattro generi, Esox, 

 Sphyrcena, Synodus e Lepisostens; io propongo di dividere nuovameute in due il suo 

 genere Esox; lasciero questo nome alle specie marine che hanno il corpo tetragono 

 con due linee laterali da ogni lato como nel genere Exocoefus, le mascelle lunghe e 

 strette, le ale dorsale lunghe giungendo dall' ano fino alia coda e falciformi, &c.; 

 mentre formero un nuovo genere col nome di Lucius delta specie fluviatile che hanno 

 il corpo cilindrico, una sola linea laterale, le mascelle larghe, e le ale dorsali ed anali 

 corte e rotondato." 



