[7] REVIEW OF THE SCIMNIDZ. 349 
caudal; caudal fin pointed, its pe- 
duncle long and slender; soft dorsal 
and anal scaly; scales small ; pseudo- 
branchiz small, often obsolete on one 
side. (Fluviatile species. ) 
PLAGIOSCION, 9. 
hh. Preopercle with its bony margin armed with sharp teeth or serre. 
mn. Head not very broad, the interorbital space convex, 
scarcely spongy. 
o. Preopercle with its margin simply serrate ; the lower 
spine not enlarged; anal fin inserted 
well forward ; caudal peduncle sien- 
der. (Species chiefly African. ) 
PSEUDOTOLITHUS.* 
oo. Preopercle with its lowermost spine largest, directed 
abruptly downward. (Soft dorsal and 
anal fin modérately scaly.) 
BAIRDIELLA, 10. 
nn. Head very broad above, theinterorbital space flattish, 
excessively cavernous, the septa re- 
duced to thin partitions; soft dorsal 
and anal fin usually densely scaly , 
second spine of dorsal usually thick’ 
WMONOO! saa Sao ae ae ..-STELLIFERUS, 11. 
gg- Gill-rakers comparatively short and thick, usually not longer than 
posterior nostril; anal fin inserted 
farther forward; snout above lower 
jaw with large pores, and with two 
more or less distinct slits on its edge; 
these sometimes obsolete ; preorbital 
more or less broad; mouth more or 
leSSUMLeriOL ss 5see oS eee Scrmna, 12. 
Jf. Lower pharyngeals very broad, with coarse blunt molar teeth; teeth 
in both jaws subequal, in broad 
bands; preopercle with its bony 
margin coarsely serrate; lower jaw 
included; snout with pores and slits 
asin Sciena; gill-rakers rather short 
and slender _..-....2- RoONcapDoR, 13. 
ee. Teeth very small, subequal, those in the lower jaw wanting or deciduous; 
lower pharyngeals rather broad, with 
paved teeth; mouth small, inferior; 
snout as in Sciena; preopercle en- 
tire; anal fin long, with about 12 
soft rays; gill-rakers shortish, rather 
elender<.2oaee- santas LEIOSTOMUS, 14. 
dd. Caudal fin very densely scaly, the scales so closely set and so numerous as 
to hide the rays and to give a thick- 
ened appearance to the fin; mouth 
small, with very small, equal teeth in 
villiform bands; preorbital broad, 
more or less turgid; preopercle 


*Pseudotolithus Bleeker, Poissons de la c6te de Guinée, 1862, 59; type Pseudotolithus 
typus. The characters here given are taken from a species from Gambia. 
