470 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Dr. Giinther,^ in his Catalogue of Fishes in the British Museum, 

 places it among the Scombroid fishes, between Scombritbe and Caran- 

 gida', while the family Oha'todontidu' is separated from it by many 

 large families, such as the Cottidu', Sciauiidie, and others. 



In Dr. Giinther's^ Introduction to the Study of Fishes, Zeida) (Cyt- 

 tida') is happily placed in the same division with Acronurida^ (=Teu- 

 thida') (Eighth Division Acauthopterygii Cotto-scombriformes), though 

 Caraugida^ is interposed between them, while Cha'todontida' is in a 

 division with Percidtie (First Division Acauthopterygii Perciformes) 

 and separated from it by many large families. 



Dr. Gill,^ in his Arrangement of Families of Fishes, has given it a 

 place in the midst of his group Scombroidea which follows Chcetodon- 

 tioidea. 



In Dr. Gill's^ Families and Subfamilies of Fishes, Zeidae is placed in 

 the same group as in his previous arrangement, but the group Cha'to- 

 dontioidea is separated from it by the great group Percoidea and other 

 related groups. 



Dr. Gill,'^ in his account of fishes in the Standard Natural History, 

 has placed Zeida' alter the Scombroid fishes and before the Oha'todon- 

 toids. 



Jordan and Gilbert," in their synopsis of Fishes of North America, 

 and Dr. Jordan," in his Catalogue of Fishes of North America, place 

 Zeida' (Zeuidit!) between Bramidjc and Berycidte (=Holocentrid;e), with 

 several large families between it and Cha'todontida'. 



Jordan and Evermann," in their Check-list of Fishes, have placed it 

 just before the Cha;todontida'. 



The skeletons from which my observations were made I prepared 

 from an alcoholic specimen of Zeus faher (No. 48r)31) loaned me for 

 that purpose^ by the U. S. National Museum, and from specimens of 

 several Cha'todoutoid fishes from the collections of Leland Stanford 

 Junior CIniversity, for which I am indebted to Dr. David Starr Jordan. 



The plates illustrating this article are from drawings made by Chloe 

 Lesley Starks. 



DIAGNOSIS. 



Prefrontals not pierced by an olfactory foramen; basis cranii well 

 developed; basisphenoid absent; myodome not opening to the exterior 



1 Cyttina Giinther, Cat. Fishes Brit. Mus., II, p. 393. 



^Cyttidw Giiiither, Introd action to tbe .Study of Fishes, 1880, ji. 450. 



^Zenklw Gill, Air. Fam. Fishes, 1872, p. 8 (Fain. No. 84). 



■I Zeida; Gill, Families aud Subfamilies of Fishes, Nat. Acad. Sci., Sixth Memoir, 

 1893, VI, p. 134. 



■' Zenidiv GiW, Standard Nat. Hist., Boston, 1885, p. 208. 



'^Zenidce Jordan and Gilbert, Synopsis of Fishes, North America, Hull. XVI, U.S. 

 Nat. Mus., 1882, p. 458. 



'' Zenidw Jordan, Cat. Fishes North America., U. S. Fish Comm. Kept., 1884, p. 74. 



** Zeidw Jordan and Evermann, Check-list of Fishes, North and Middle America, 

 Kept. U. S. Fish Comm., 1895, p. 418. 



