PISCES. 97 



various, Unguals none. Pseudobrancliige none. Swimming-bladder 

 bipartite transversely, conjoined witli the labyrinth of ear by inter- 

 position of small bones (as in the Cyprini and Siluroidei). 



Like the preceding genera these also are almost all found in 

 S. America. 



This family was separated from that of the salmons by Joh. 

 Mueller (Mueller's Archiv, 1842, p. 307; Joh. Mueller und 

 F. H. Troschel, Horce Ichthyologies, Beschreibung und Ahhildung 

 neuer Fische, Erstes und zweites Heft. Berlin, 1845, 4to). Besides 

 the characters already stated it differs from the salmons in having 

 oviducts, which in the latter, where the eggs fall into the cavity of 

 the abdomen, are wanting (see above, p. 38). Not only in the 

 swiiuming-bladder, but also in external appearance, many sj)ecies 

 resemble the genus Cyprinus. They have, however many blind 

 appendages at the pylorus, which ai-e absent in Cyprimis. 



A. Dorsal Jin single, supported hy rays. 



Erythrinus Geonov. Body oblong, round, covered with large 

 scales. A row of conical, unequal teeth in both jaws. Teeth in 

 palate thin and crowded. Branchiostegous membrane with five 

 rays. Dorsal fin placed over the ventrals. Caudal fin rounded. 



Sp. Erythrinus Gronovii Val., Synodus erythrinus Bloch, Gronov. Mus. 

 Ichth. Tab. VII. fig. 6 ; from Surinam. Also the rest of the species of 

 this genus are from South America, and the name of Esox malabaricus, 

 given by Bloch to a species of Erythrinus {Ichth. Tab. 392), is founded in 

 error. This species and some others belong to the genus Macrodon Mdel., 

 in which the lower jaw has some very large conical teeth, whilst a row of 

 larger teeth, parallel with the teeth of the upper jaw, is found at the fore 

 part of the palate. In those which are named Erythrini by Mueller in a 

 proper sense {Erythrinus Gronov. &c.) the small teeth in the palate stand 

 in two lateral masses, and the teeth of the lower jaw are more similar 

 to each other in size. In these the posterior division of the swimming- 

 bladder is cellular. See H. S. R. Jacobi De vesica aerea Pisciuon. Diss, 

 inaug. Berolini, 1840, 4to, pp. 23 — 25 ; MuELLEE Archiv f. Physiol. 1842, 

 PP- 307—309- 

 Note. — Genera Lehiasina, Pyrrhulina Yal. is this their place? 

 The swimming-bladder is bipartite ; but the absence of oviducts in 

 Lehiasina noticed by the author would suggest the negative. The 

 fishes ai-e unknown to me. Compare Cuvier et Valenciennes, 

 Hist. Nat. des Polss. xix. pp. 531 — 537. 



B. Dorsal Jins two, the posterior adipose {Char ax Gronov.) 

 t Gape of mouth small or moderate. 



VOL. II. * 7 



