PISCES. 171 



palate edentulous, or small teetli in vomer. Eays of branchi- 

 ostegous membrane mostly six. Opercles never spinose. Pectoral 

 fins large, often falcate, protracted as far as the middle of body or 

 further. Ventral fins thoracic. Caudal fin forked. Dorsal fin lonar. 

 Ijateral line parallel to back, continuous, mostly very distinct. 



This family contains marine fishes, of which many species occur 

 in the Mediten-anean ; only four or five of these species have been 

 also observed in the North Sea. They have much affinity with 

 the Percoids, but in these the palate-bones are mostly furnished 

 with teeth, which is not the case here, and in very few do teeth 

 occur on the vomer. Moreover in the SjKiroids the opercular bones 

 are without teeth or spines; at most the prseoperculum is finely 

 striated or incised at the margin. There are but few pyloric appen- 

 dages, commonly four or five (in some six, in others only three). 

 They have a very large swimming-bladder. Troschel has lately 

 drawn attention to the peculiarity which the scales present in this 

 family. The strife on the scales do not extend over their whole siu'- 

 face, as is usual, in a direction parallel to the margin, but at the 

 sides of each scale they run obliquely or almost at right angles to 

 the margin from the middle, and are the prolongations of the con- 

 centric stride of the posterior part. Troschel, however, observed 

 similar scales in some other genera of fishes, Mullus, Upeneus, Sillago, 

 Apogon and Psettus. Troschel, Ueher die Begrenzung der Familie 

 der Sparoiden, Archiv filr Naturgesch.^lSid, s. 382 — 386, Taf 8. 



To the character of the uninterrupted lateral line there is only one excep- 

 tion known in the new S. American genus Acharnes Muell., Trosch., in 

 which also there are only five branchial rays, however on the other hand it 

 belongs, from the protractile mouth, to the division of the Mcenids. See 

 R. ScHOMBURGK Relsen in Britisch-Guiana, in. Thl. 1848, s. 622. A figure 

 of this fish is in Mueller m. Troschell, Horce Ichlhyolog. in. Tab. v. 

 fig. 3- 



A. Mouth protractile. (Long pecHcles of the intermaxillary bones 

 received between the orbits.) Mcenoidei or Mcenides. Branchios- 

 tegous membrane with six rays. 



Smari's Cuv. (with addition of genera Mmna Cuv. and Ccesio 

 COMMERS., Cuv.). Teeth small, crowded in a narrow belt in jaws. 

 Dorsal fin single, long, in most nearly of the same height throughout 

 its whole extent. Three elongate scales at the ventral fins, two 

 acuminate, lateral, the third lanceolate, placed between the two fins. 



