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THE 



AQUARIUM 



63 



the Bramidoe, which latter family — or 

 the species of the genus Brama of that 

 family — differ, osteologically, so widely 

 from Pterycombus. 



I have already pointed out in my 

 Biological Society paper the fact that 

 Pterycombus and Grammicolcpis are re- 

 lated genera, and that the latter was 

 separated from the Bramidoe by Poey 

 and made a distinct family, — the 

 Gra m m icolepidce. 



My object in publishing the present 

 contribution to the subject is to estab- 

 lish the family Ptcrycombidtx. 



The literature — or the essential part 

 of it — I have already published in my 

 previous paper, obviating the necessity 

 of reproducing it here. So far as I am 

 aware, there is no family or subfamily 

 synonymy to be recorded. 



PTERYCOMBIDAE 



Diagnosis 



Scombroidea with the fronto-occipital 

 crest of the cranium low and short, and 

 formed almost entirely by the frontals; 

 its greatest height (opposite middle of 

 orbit) equals one-fourth the orbital dia- 

 meter; the portion between posterior 

 margin of supraoccipital and first in- 

 terspinal, superior to the occipital bone, 

 is membranous in structure and of a 

 triangular contour. Dorso-horizontal 

 surface of cranium, supporting the crest, 

 and formed by supraoccipital and front- 

 als, has a length ecjual to the diameter 

 of an orbit.* 



Twenty-three pairs of ribs, the fourth 

 to the twenty-third inclusive being 

 characteristic of the family, a typical 

 pair being seen in the eighteenth. (See 

 Fig. 1.) The description of this pair may 



■'In Brama this area is twice as long as tVie diameter of 

 one of its orbits. 



Fig. I. 



Views of the eighteenth pair of ribs of 



Ptcrvcornbus brama, natural size. 



' vShufeldt, after Collett. 



be stated as follows : The vertebral ex- 

 tremity, which is intimately articulated 

 at the external aspect of the parapophy- 

 sis, is almost cubical in form, and is ex- 

 cavated as far as its vertebral end. This 

 concavity is continued as a groove for a 

 little way down along the mesial border 

 of the rib, and thereafter terminates in 

 a long, extremely attenuated free end- 

 ing. 



DESCRIPTION 



{Pteryco m h u s bra ma ) 



Body broadly ovate, somewhat trans- 

 versely compressed, graduated from an- 

 terior third to the caudal and with 

 peduncle of latter somewhat slender and 

 continued into the tail. 



Color, superior to the lateral line, rich 

 steel-blue, exhibiting a purple and green 

 iridescence; all below the lateral line, 

 shiny silver color. Base of the pectoral 

 fin, mesiad, blue-black. Ventral fins, 

 superiorly, black, with mesial apex 

 whitish and transparent. Iris very pale 

 yellow; sclerotic, superiorly, bluish 

 black. 



Lateral line possesses 48 scales (21 to 

 apex of pectoral fin); scales in 11 rows, 

 spinous; rows 5-6, ventrally, and rows 

 3-4, dorsally, almost smooth. 



