TEtTTHIDlD^. 313 



Fam. 29. TEUTHIDIDtE. 



Teuthyes, part., Cuv. Regne Ani7n. ; MiiU. Bed. Abhandl. 1844, p. 201. 



Body compressed and oblong, covered with very small scales. 

 Lateral line continuous ; tail not armed. Eye lateral, of moderate 

 size. A single series of trenchant incisors in the jaws ; palate smooth. 

 One dorsal fin, the spinous portion being the more developed ; anal 

 with seven spines. Ventral fins thoracic. Pseudobranchise well 

 developed. 



Hei'bivorous fishes, inhabiting the tropical seas of the East Indian 

 region and the Western parts of the Pacific. 



The fishes of this family have some affinity to the Sparidce and 

 Acronurklxe, from which they differ in the structure of the fins. 

 Only one genus. 



1. TEUTHIS*. 



Tenthis, gp., L. Syst. Nat. i. p. 507. 



Sigamis, Forsk. Descr. Anim. p. 25. 



Centrogaster, Houttuyn, Act. ISoc. Harlem, xx. p. 833. 



Amphacauthus, Bl. Schn. p. 200 ; Ciiv. 8f Val. x. p. 115. 



Teuthis, Cant. Catal. p. 207. 



Teeth small, denticulated, in a single series. The ventral fins with 

 an outer and an inner spine, and with three soft rays between ; 

 formula of the fins, D. 1^, A. "I^. Scales minute, cycloid. Branchioste- 

 gals five ; pseudobranchiai well developed ; air-bladder large, forked 

 anteriorly and posteriorly. Intestinal tract with several circumvolu- 

 tions ; .five or six pyloric appendages. 



Herbivorous fishes, from the Indian Seas and the Western Pacific. 



The peculiarities of the slceleton of the fishes of this genus have 

 been pointed out by Geoffroy St.-Hilaire and Cuvier. We have before 

 us that of T. virgata. The skull is short, compressed and elevated. 

 The crown of the head is convex, the surface of the bones sho\ving 

 deep striae and series of pores, and a very distinct longitudinal suture 

 between the two frontal bones. There is a short subtriangular occi- 

 pital crest on the top of the skull, the posterior part of the skull 

 being rather smooth. The frontals are not much narrower between 



* 1. Rvssell, pi. 103. — Amphacanthus russelii, Cuv. 4" Val. x. p. 123. — Vizaga- 

 patam. 



2. Amphacanthu8 firmamentum, Cuv. df Val. x. p. 142. — Samarang. 



3. abhortani, Cuv. Sf Val. x. p. 143. — lie de Frarfce. 



4. mertensii, Cxiv. J- Val. x. p. 150. — Hab. ? 



5. rostratus, Cuv. ^ Val. x. p. 168. — Red Sea. 



6. guamensis, Cuv. Sf Val. x. p. 163. — Guam. 



7. olivaceus, Guv. ^ Val. x. p. 163. — He de France. 



8. kopsii, Bleek. Riouw, p. 483. — East Indian Archipelago. 



9. chrysospilos, Bleek. Singapore, p. 66. — Singapore. 



10. melanospilos, Bleek. Java, ii. p. 431. — Batavia. 



