628 TELEOSTEI CHAP. 
Snout tubiform ; ventral fins with 1 spine and 4 soft rays; ribs flattened, 
fused with the lateral bony shields ; anterior vertebrae not enlarged 
3. Aulorhynchidae. 
Snout tubiform ; ribs slender, free ; first vertebra enlarged 
4. Protosyngnathidae. 
2. Pelvic bones not connected with scapular arch; ventrals 
without spine, with 5 or 6 rays; snout tubiform ; first 
vertebra very elongate, formed by the fusion of several. 
Isolated dorsal spines ; body scaly ‘ ; . 5. Aulostomatidae. 
No dorsal spines; body naked. : : . 6. Fistularcidae. 
B. Mouth toothless ; snout tubiform ; two short dorsal fins, the first 
with a few spines; ventral fins with 3 to 5 rays; anterior 
vertebrae elongate. 
Body covered with bony shields and small rough scales 
7. Centriscidae, 
Body completely cuirassed by bony shields which are fused with the endo- 
skeleton : : : : : . 8 Amphisilidae. 
1H Peapaperculaan absent ; symplectic much elongate; branchial 
apparatus more or less reduced; gill-lamellae reduced in number and 
enlarged, forming rounded lobes ; post-temporal simple, immovably attached 
to the skull; mouth toothless, at the end of a tubiform snout ; body covered 
with bony plates (LOPHOBRANCHII). 
Two dorsal fins; ventral fins present, with 
7 rays; gill-openings wide ; 
exoskeleton of large star-like plates . 3 9. Solenostomidae. 
A single dorsal fin; no ventral fins; gill-openings very small; exoskeleton 
in ihe form of rings d 5 . 10. Syngnathidae. 
IV. Pracoperculum and sy mpleetic absent ; gills pectinated ; mouth in- 
ferior, toothless ; body entirely covered with tone plates; ventral fin with 
2 or 3 rays (HYPOSTOMIDES) ; : ; . 11. Pegasidae. 
Fam. 1. Lamprididae.—Body short and deep, with minute 
scales. Snout short; mouth toothless, bordered by the prae- 
maxillaries and, to a small extent, by the maxillaries; opercular 
bones well developed. Gills four, pectinated ; branchial apparatus 
fully developed. Post-temporal bone forked. Vertebrae very 
numerous (21+ 25), without transverse processes; ribs strong, 
long. Fins without spines; dorsal and anal elongate. Pectoral 
fs with very short pterygials folding donee against the 
body. Pelvic bones connected with ihe coracoids, ies are 
very large, and do not form a suture at their ventral extremity. 
Ventral fins with 15 to 17 rays. 
The Opah or King-Fish (Lampris luna), the sole representative 
of this family, is remarkable for its large size (growing to a length 
of four feet) and its vivid colours. Its flesh is rich, and inter- 
mediate between that of the Salmon and that of the Tunny. It 
is a pelagic fish of wide distribution, known from the North 
