THE OSTEOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FAMILY MUR^- 



NIDiE. 



BY 



Theodore Gill, M. D„ Ph. D. 



In a former communication (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mas., 1890, pp. 157) I 

 have given " the osteological characteristics of the family AnguillidwP 

 I now give those of one of the families most remote from that type and 

 the very great differences between the two will be readily apparent 

 from the comparison of the descriptions and illustrations of the two 

 forms. So great indeed are the differences that Professor Cope has 

 taken the two as types of different orders of fishes. No one who bases 

 his views on morphologj^ rather than on superficial resemblance in form 

 will deny that they are at least very distinct families. 



MUR^NID^. 



Synonyms as families. 



<Opbichthyctes, DumMl, Zool. Anal., p. 152, 153, 1806. 



<Anginllide, BaJ., Iiulice (P Ittiol. Sic, p. 37, 1810. 



<^Peropteria, Eaf., Analyse de la Nature, fam., 1815. 



<An|ruilloides, Latreille, Fam. Nat. du R^gne An., p. 142, 1825. 



<Les Mur^nides, Risso, Hist. Nat. Europe m^rid., t. 3, p. 189, 1826. 



<Anguilliformes, Ciivier, Regne Animal, t. 2, p. 229, 1817; 2^ 6d., t. 2, p. 348, 1829. 



<Muia}uiilaB, Bonaparte, Gioru. Accad. d. Scienze, v. 52(Saggio Diatrib. Metod. Ani- 



mali Veitebr. a Sangue Freddo, p. 34), 1833. 

 <MurfBnidiB, Bonaparte, Nuovi Auuali dellc Sci. Nat., t. 2, p. 133, 1838 ; t. 4, p. 276, 1840. 

 <^Mur6nides, Agassiz, Recbercbea sur les Poissous Fossiles, v. 4, p. [xiii, 2, 12,] 41," 



1843. 

 <Mura6uitl*, Swainson, Nat. Hist, and Class. Fisbes, etc., v. 2, pp. 195, 3.33, 1839. 

 ^Muraeuoidei, Miiller, Abbandl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1846, p. 193. 

 <Muraiuidi«, Bonaparte, Cat. Metod. Pesci Europei, p. 6*, 38*, 1846. 

 <Mura3nidiB, Adams, Man. Nat. Hist., p. 110, 1854. 

 <^Miir;Buidte, Kaup, Arcbiv f. Naturgescb., 22 Jg., B. 1, p. 32, 1856. 

 <Mura?nid8e, Kaup, Cat. Apod. Fisb. B. M., p. 55, 1856. 

 <^Mur;euid8B, Bichardson, Encycl. Brit., v. 12, p. 23, 1856. 

 <[Muraenoidei, Bleeker, Enum. Sp. Piscium Arcb. Ind., p. xxiii, 1859. 

 =Gymuotboracoidei, Bleeker, Atlas Icb. Indo-Neerland., v. 4, p. 72, 1864, 

 <Mura}nidse, GUnther, Cat. Fisbes in Brit. Mus., v. 8, p. 19, 1870. 

 <MuriB!ndiB, Cope, Traus. Am. Pbil. Sue, n. s., v. 14, p. 456 (Oct. 7, 1870), 1871. 

 =Gymnotboracide, Cope, Trans. Am. Pbil. Soc, n. s., v. 14, p. 456. 

 =MurjBaidie, Gill, Arrangement Fam. Fisbes, p. 20, 1872. 

 =Muraeu8e, Fitzinger, Sitzungsber. k. Akad. der Wissenscb. (Wien), B. 67, 1. Abth., 



p. 45, 1873. 



Proceedings National Museum, Vol. XIII — No. 805. 



165 



