880 Bulletin 47, United States National Museum. 



elongate. Head large, compact, plain, with flat and even sides, clumsier 

 than in Promethichthys, the lower jaw being very strong. Top of head 

 broad and flat. Mouth very large, the gape extending beyond middle of 

 eye ; teeth strong, some of the anterior canine-like. First dorsal low, the 

 spines slender; second dorsal and anal high in front. Caudal large, 

 broadly forked. Pectorals small, ventrals smaller. Skin apparently 

 smooth and scurfy in appearance, harsh and stiff to the touch. Skin cov- 

 ered with small, irregular, cycloid scales and also rows of glassy forked 

 prickles in quincunx, the structure of these complicated and peculiar; 

 each one X- 8aa P e( i or X' s haped, with 2 points and 2 or 3 roots. Color 

 purplish brown, darker above and with blackish patches ; inside of mouth 

 dusky. Tropical parts of the Atlantic in deep water. Abundant in deep 

 water about Cuba and the Madeiras, frequently taken in the Mediterra- 

 nean, two specimens, 4 and 6 feet long, taken off the Grand Banks of New. 

 foundland. Found in 300 to 400 fathoms. It reaches a weight of 100 

 pounds and is valued as food. " The Cuban fishermen go 'a-scholaring' 

 ('a escolarear '), after the fishing for the spearfish has ceased and before 

 that for the red snapper begins." The flesh is white and flaky, but soft 

 and insipid in the Madeiras, according to Lowe, where its extreme oili- 

 ness makes it unwholesome, (pretiosus, precious.) (Eu.) 

 Ruvellus pretiosus, Cocco, Giornale di Scienze per la Sicilia, xiii, 21, 1829, Messina. 

 Tetragonurns simplex, LOWE, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 143, 1833, Madeira, 

 Rovelus ternminl-U, CANTRAINE, Giorn. Sci. et Litt. Pisa, 1833, Malta; fide POEY. 

 Thyrsiles acanthoderma, LOWE, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1839, 78, Madeira. 

 Thyrsites scholaris, POEY, Memorias, i, 372, 1851, pi. 32, fig. 1, Havana. 

 Thyrsites pretiosus, GUNTHER, Cat., 351, 1860. 

 Aplurus simplex, LOWE, Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond., II, 1841, 180. 



Rovettus temmirikii, VALENCIENNES, in WEBB & BERTHELOT, Poiss. Canar., 52, plates. 

 Acanthoderma timmin'ii, CANTRAINE, Journ. Ac. Sci. et Belles-Lettres, Bruxelles, 1835, x, pi. 1. 



398. EPINNULA, Poey 



Epinnula, POEY, Meinorias, I, 369, 1854, (magistrate) . 



Body fusiform, somewhat compressed, moderately elongate, covered 

 with minute thin scales. Lateral line present, double. Dorsal fins con- 

 tiguous, barely connected, the spines well differentiated. Ventrals I, 5. 

 No finlets. Tail not keeled. Deep waters of the Atlantic. (Name short- 

 ened from epinnulatus, without finlets.) 



1269. EPINNTJLA MAGISTBALIS, Poey. 



(DOMINE.) 



Head 3 ; depth 5. D. XV-I, 16 ; A. Ill, 13 ; V. I, 5 ; P. 15 ; C. 8 + 7 ; B. 

 7 ; coeca 10. Body moderately elongate, compressed. Maxillary reaching 

 middle of eye; eye large, about 2 in snout; opercular point soft; first 

 dorsal low, depressible in a groove ; anal beginning but little behind 

 second dorsal. Caudal forked, the lower lobe shorter; pectorals not fal- 

 cate ; ventrals half smaller, under lower angle of pectoral. Intestinal 

 canal straight. Head about as in Euvettus, the mouth large ; the maxil- 

 lary nearly half head ; lower jaw projecting ; premaxillaries bordered 



