206 On the Fishes of the Family Stromateidse. 



Stromateoides cinereus. 



Stromateus cinereus, Blorli, xii. p. 90, t. 420 a793). 



Stroma/eus arffenteus, Bloch, t. c. p. 92, t. 421. 



Stromateus griseus, Cnv. & Val, ix. p. 395 (1833). 



Stromateus candidus, Cut. & Val. t. c. p. 391. 



SU-omateits seciirifer, Cuv. & Val. t. c. p. 394. 



Stro7nateus pmictatissimus, Schleg. Faun. Japon., Poiss. p. 121, pi. Ixv. 



(1850). 

 Stromateoides cinereus, Bleeker, Verb. Bat. Gen. xxiv. 1852, p. 75. 



Depth of body 1^ to If times in the total length, length 

 of head 4 to 5 times. Snout as long as the eye, the diameter 

 of which is 4 to 5 times in the length of head, interorbital 

 width 2\ times. Maxillary almost extending to below- 

 middle of eye. Caudal peduncle as long as deep. D. VIII- 

 X 36-47, the spines projecting in the young, concealed in 

 the adult, their free ends expanded, with an anterior and 

 posterior point, the soft rays increasing in length to about the 

 tenth, thence becoming abruptly shorter, the last fifteen to 

 twenty rays short, subequal. A. V-VII 35-46, similar to 

 the soft dorsal, but with the anterior rays more produced, 

 extending to below the middle of the caudal in the young, 

 much shorter in the adult. Pectorals twice as long as the 

 head in the adult. Caudal forked, with long slender lobes, 

 the lower the longer, especially in the young. Scales small, 

 thin, pierced by numerous minute pores. Purplish grey above, 

 silvery below. Fins silver-grey, dotted with black. 



Total length 230 millim. 



Seas of India, Malaysia, and China. 



Appendix. 



Mr. Boulenger, who has kindly looked over the above 

 paper and examined specimens of the various genera dealt 

 with, was much struck with the fact that the pelvis is in all 

 cases very loosely attached to the pectoral arch, a feature 

 which I had not considered of much importance ; and he 

 suggested that I should examine Tetrogonurus, which has 

 been placed with or near the Atherinida. I find that this 

 genus closely resembles Cubiceps or Nomeus^ not only in 

 general appearance, but also in the dentition and the structure 

 of the mouth, and that the oesophagus is very similar to that 

 of Stromateus, having on each side a muscular sac studded 

 internally with rather soft papillae. The last upper pharyn- 

 geals extend back as a pair of elongate toothed rods in the 

 roof of the oesophagus. The Tetragonurida; must certainly 

 be regarded as allied to the Stromateidaj, differing only in 



