284 SHUFELDT. [Vot. II. 
To return to the cranium for the purpose of taking a general 
glance at it: we are to note especially the almost entire absence 
of those parial and lateral crests, developed on the part of the 
parietals and squamosals, so manifest in some fishes, as for in- 
stance the genus Cavazx ; we are to note, also, the very peculiar 
texture of the bone that composes this cranium, being more like 
the material that is found in ordinary fish scales rather than 
bone ; particularly are we to observe the relation between the 
anterior portion of the supraoccipital crest, and the upturned 
portions of the frontals. 
There are but few striking features within the cranial case of 
this strange form of fish. For the most part, surfaces, convex- 
ities, and concavities on the outside give rise to similar surfaces 
on the inside, the last two being, of course, reversed. The fos- 
see for the ofoliths are ample and well defined, but the elements 
themselves have been lost. 
I have already expressed my regrets at not having at hand 
more extensive material wherewith I might compare this extra- 
ordinary fish; they only increased as my investigations pro- 
ceeded, while the remaining consolation left me, is, that I feel I 
have added at least my mite to the labors of Professor Poey ; so 
should another specimen of Grammucoleprs fall into the hands of 
naturalists, we can, at least, meet it with drawings of its cranium 
and other skeletal parts, as well as with similar drawings of 
some of the forms to which it is supposed to be related. 
Through the courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution, and the 
kindness of Dr. Gill for selection, I find before me the cranium 
of a specimen of Cavanx hippos, with the spinal column of the 
same fish (No. 13,561 S.I. Coll.). There is also the cranium 
(No. 11,385) of another and still larger Cavanx, the species 
being unknown. This last specimen presents some points of 
peculiar interest not so well shown in the first. I have also the 
cranium of a specimen of Zeuthis ceruleus, which will be intro- 
duced to show certain points; and finally, the cranium of Poma- 
canthus paru (No. 12,770 S. I. Coll.) brought forward to illus- 
trate still other points. 
Professor Poey’s investigations evidently led him to believe 
that Grammicolepis was more nearly related to the Carangide@ 
than any other family of fishes known to him. And in this 
opinion, so far as I can see or am able to judge, I must concur. 
