378 CHARACTERISTICS OF HEMITRIPTERID^ — GILL. 



Synonyms as suhfamily names. 



Hemitripierince Gill, Canad. Nat., N. S., vol. 2, p. 251 (defined). 1865. 

 Hemitripterina; Jordan and Gilbert, Syn. Fishes N. Am., p. 683, 1882. 



DIAGNOSIS. 



Cottoidea, with a dorsal consisting of a very elongate acanthopterous 

 and short arthropterous portion, incomplete subjugular or thoracic 

 ventrals (1, 3), inflated head with depressed crown and prominent orbits, 

 branchial apertures confluent, but with the branchiostegal membrane 

 broad and continuous below, with the trunk antrorsiform, the vertebrae 

 numerous {e. g , 16+23), and the myodome contracted behind and other- 

 wise peculiarly developed. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Body elongate and antrorsiform or slightly dosadiform, and with the 

 anus in the anterior half of the length. 



Scales replaced by spiniform or prickly dermal appendages. 



Lateral line decurved from the scapular region and submedian behind. 



Head moderate or small, with turgid cheeks. 



Eyes mostly or entirely iu the anterior half of the head. 



Nostrils double, separated by a narrow bridge, nearly midway between 

 the snout and eyes. 



Mouth terminal, with the cleft little oblique or almost horizontal. 



Jaws normally developed ; intermaxillines with short ascending proc- 

 esses; supramaxillines with wide inferior margins and with the termi- 

 nal portions deflected. 



Teeth acute, in broad bands on the jaws and palate. 



Lips thin, obsolete in front. 



Tongue well developed and free all around. 



Suborbitals well developed ; anterior extending forwards ; third cross- 

 ing the cheek nearly horizontally and articulating with most of the 

 upper half of the preoperculum. 



Opercular avparatus peculiar; operculum moderate, inclined upwards; 

 suboperculum reduced, under the operculum and produced behind it iu 

 a linguiform lobe ; inferopercMiitm contracted under the preoperculum, 

 leaving a part of the branchiostegal membrane exposed. 



Br anchiotr ernes continuous below. 



Branchiostegals six ; two arising from the inner side of the ceratohyal 

 and four from the outer edge of the ceratohyal and epihyal. 



Dorsalis developed into two parts, a long anterior composed of slen- 

 der spines and a short posterior of articulated rays ; the spinous dorsal 

 typically has a sigmoid emargiuation, the first spine being longest, the 

 two succeeding gradually decreasing, and the fourth to sixth shorter 

 than the preceding or succeeding. 



Analis elongate and without spines. 



