Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 543 



snout and adipose dorsal, its height greater than length of ventral, which 

 is equal to greatest height of body ; the adipose dorsal over middle of 

 base of anal, its length * diameter of orbit. Distance of anal from snout 

 about f length of body, length of its base about f that of snout, its height 

 equal to diameter of orbit ; caudal furcate ; pectoral long and strong, 

 its length equal to distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of orbit, 

 and about twice that of mandible; ventral inserted under the middle of 

 base of dorsal, the distance from posterior margin of orbit equal to dis- 

 tance of the latter from snout. Color brownish. One specimen about 8 

 inches in length, obtained by the steamer Blake, at Station LII, off Barba- 

 does, in 158 fathoms. (Goode & Bean.) (truculentus, truculent.) 

 CMonylitliahitns irncnhiilns, GOODE & BEAN, Oceanic Ichthyology, 61, fig. 72, 1895, off Barbadoes 

 in 158 fathoms. 



Family LXX. BENTHOS AURID.E. 



This small family of deep-sea fishes is allied to the Synodontidce but with 

 well-developed supramaxillaries widening backward and applied to the 

 dentigerous intermaxillaries ; pectorals inserted near the shoulders, and 

 very long ventrals. (Gill.) It includes a single genus, Benthosaurus. 



252. BENTHOSAURUS, Goode & Bean. 



Bentliosaurus, GOODE & BEAN, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., xn, No. 5, 168, 1886, (grallator). 



Body long, somewhat compressed, tapering into a slender, elongate, 

 caudal peduncle. Scales cycloid, of moderate size. Head slightly 

 depressed; cleft of mouth wide, horizontal, the lower jaw projecting at 

 its extremity and anteriorly at the sides ; maxillary long, slender, dilated 

 posteriorly ; premaxillary very long, styliform, tapering, immovable. 

 The intermaxillary and mandible with bands of small teeth, of uniform 

 size, interrupted at the symphysis ; a short oblong band of similar teeth 

 on each side of the vomer, separated by a rather wide interspace ; palate 

 and tongue smooth. Eye very small, inconspicuous. Gill opening 

 extremely wide, the branchiostegal membrane free from the isthmus. 

 Gill rakers long and slender, numerous, about twice as many below the 

 angle as above. Pseudobranchise absent. Branchiostegals eleven. All 

 the fins well developed ; no adipose dorsal ; dorsal fin median, anal post- 

 median ; caudal forked, with lower lobe produced; ventral seven-rayed, 

 inserted opposite the interspace between pectoral and dorsal, the outer 

 ray produced, (fievftos , deep ; aavpos, lizard. ) 



821. BENTHOSAURUS GBALLATOB, Goode & Bean. 



D. 11; A. 12; P. 9; V. 7; B. 11; scales 9-55-8 or 9. Body elongate, 

 somewhat compressed, depressed slightly forward, tapering behind into 

 a long slender tail, its greatest height 1\ in its standard length, and 

 equaling t length of head, its greatest width \ length of head ; its height 

 at the origin of the anal of its greatest height. Least height of tail half 

 the height of body at ventrals ; length of caudal peduncle 6 times its 

 least height. Scales very thin, cycloid, leathery, deciduous, oval in form, 

 except at base of dorsal and anal fins, where they become more elongate ; 

 the horizontal diameter of a scale in the lateral line equals twice diameter 



