116 



A ctinopterygii Per com orplii. 



Remains of true u Angler-fishes " (Lophius) have been dis- 

 covered at Monte Bolca ; and the Trachinida? (" Stare-gazers," 

 etc.) may possibly be represented by Callipteryx from the same 

 locality. To the latter also certainly belong Trachinopsis from 

 the Upper Tertiary of Lorca, Spain, and Pseudoeleginus from the 

 Upper Miocene of Licata, Sicily. 



The Scombrida3 or Mackerel family occur fossil in various 

 Tertiary deposits. They may often be readily distinguished by 

 the curious series of finlets, in most cases present behind the 

 second dorsal and anal fins. 



The " Tunny" (Thynnus) and an extinct genus, Orcynu8,&r& 

 met with at Monte Bolca : remains of Cybiuin are not un- 

 common in the London Clay : and three other extinct genera, 

 Archcens, Isurus, and Palimphyes, occur in the black Eocene 

 Slates of Canton Grlaris. 



To the Coryphrenidge pelagic fishes with a single long dorsal 

 fin and laterally-compressed body Dr. Giinther refers the 

 (rasteronemus of Monte Bolca, which is perhaps not distinct 

 from the living genus Mene. It is remarkable for the length of 

 the spinous rays representing the pelvic fins, and several fine 

 specimens are exhibited in the Wall-case. Goniognathus, from 

 Sheppey, may also be placed here. 



The Carangidaa, or " Horse-mackerels," constitute an exten- 

 sive family of laterally-compressed deep-bodied fishes, abun- 

 dantly represented at present and throughout the Tertiary 

 period, comprising a few forms also in the Cretaceous. Vomer r 

 Aipichthys, and Platax, have been described from the Chalk 

 of Comen in Istria (Trieste), and Platax alone from that 

 of Mount Lebanon : the last-named genus survives in existing 

 seas (as the " Sea-bats ") having also left traces of its presence 

 in the Eocene of Monte Bolca, and the Crags of our Eastern 

 counties. The Crag fossils are mere fragments of vertebral 

 centra, neural spines, and interspinous bones ; the spines are 

 tumid in the middle, giving the broken pieces a curious appear- 

 ance. Semiophorus (Fig. 162) is a remarkable extinct genus 

 found at Monte Bolca, and characterized by the enormous 

 development of the dorsal fin ; the pelvic fins are long and 

 slender, thoracic in position, and situated in advance of the 

 pectorals, which are very small. Lichia, Carangopsis, and Ductor, 

 are other Monte Bolca genera shown in the Wall-case ; the first 

 still exists, the second is scarcely distinguishable from the 

 living Caranx, and the third appears to be extinct. Amphistium, 

 from the same deposit and the Paris Eocenes, is another form 

 referable to this family. 



Of the Acronurida3, or" Surgeons," species pertaining to the 

 living Acatithurus and Naseus are exhibited from the Eocene of 

 Monte Bolca. 



An extinct family, apparently most closely related to the 



