m 



REVIEW OF THE SCLENID^I. 349 



caudal ; caudal fin pointed, its pe- 

 duncle long and slender ; soft dorsal 

 and anal scaly ; scales small ; pseudo- 

 branchiae small, often obsolete on one 

 side. (Fluviatile species.) 



Plagioscion, 9. 

 hit. Preopercle with its bony margin armed with sharp teeth or serrse. 

 n. Head not very broad, the interorbital space convex, 

 scarcely spongy. 

 o. Preopercle with its margin simply serrate ; the lower 

 spine not enlarged ; anal fin inserted 

 well forward ; caudal peduncle slen- 

 der. (Species chiefly African.) 



PSEUDOTOLITHUS.* 



oo. Preopercle with its lowermost spine largest, directed 

 abruptly downward. (Soft dorsal and 

 aiial fin moderately scaly.) 



Bairdiella, 10. 

 nn. Head very broad above, the interorbital space flatfish, 

 excessively cavernous, the septa re- 

 duced to thin partitions ; soft dorsal 

 and anal fin usually densely scaly . 

 second spine of dorsal usually thickl 



ened Stellifeetjs, 11. 



gg. Gill-rakers comparatively short and thick, usually not longer than 



posterior nostril ;■ anal fin inserted 

 farther forward; snout above lower 

 jaw with large pores, and with two 

 more or less distinct slits on its edge ; 

 these sometimes obsolete ; preorbital 

 more or less broad; mouth more or 



less inferior SciiENA, 12. 



ff. Lower pharyngeals very broad, with coarse blunt molar teeth ; teeth 



in both jaws subequal, in broad 

 bands; preopercle with its bony 

 margin coarsely serrate; lower jaw 

 included; snout with pores and slits 

 as in Scicena ; gill-rakers rather short 



and slender Roncadok, 13. 



ee. Teeth very small, subequal, those in the lower jaw wanting or deciduous ; 



lower pharyngeals rather broad, with 

 paved teeth; mouth small, inferior; 

 snout as in Scioena ; preopercle en- 

 tire ; anal fin long, with about 12 

 soft rays ; gill-rakers shortish, rather 



slender Leiostomus, 14. 



M. Caudal fin very densely scaly, the scales so closely set and so numerous as 



to hide the rays and to give a thick- 

 ened appearance to the fin ; mouth 

 small, with very small, equal teeth in 

 villiform bands ; preorbital broad, 

 more or less turgid; preopercle 



* Pmidotolitlius Bleeker, Poissons de la cdte de Guine"e„1862, 59 ; type Pseudotolitlms 

 typus. The characters here given are taken from a species from Gambia. 



