28^ KANSAS UNIVERSITY SCIENCE BULLETIN. 



and Engraulis, all of which have been regarded by different 

 authors as types of distinct families. Boulenger (1J^) regards 

 Thrissopater as a member of the subfamily Thrissopatrinse, 

 which is one of his four subfamilies of the Clupeidse. Dr. 

 Jordan (15) located the form in the family Spaniodontidse, 

 which is closely related to the Elopidse, between which and the 

 Clupeidse Boulenger regards Thrissopater as being interme- 

 diate (I.e., p. 564). Professor Starks writes me that Doctor 

 Jordan now regards the family Spaniodontidse as untenable. 

 Dr. A. Smith Woodward (16). regards Thrissopater as a mem- 

 ber of the Elopidse, which differ from the Clupeidse in the pos- 

 session of a single supramaxillary, the degree of union of the 

 parietals and the gape of the mouth and the presence of a 

 gular plate. The present form presents the characters of the 

 Elopidse in so far as they are preserved. In recent forms, the 

 presence of a gular plate in the Elopidse serves as a convenient 

 landmark for the distinction of the families of the Elopidse and 

 Clupeidse. As a matter of fact, the families are so closely allied 

 that the characters used for their separation must in time be 

 broken down by the discovery of new material. 



Herrings and herring-like fishes are not at all rare in the 

 Cretaceous deposits of the world. Davis (17) has described 

 many forms of clupeoid fishes from Mount Lebanon. Before 

 him Agassiz advanced the knowledge of these forms, and lat- 

 terly Woodward has described several interesting clupeoids. 

 Cope described several clupeoids from the Eocene of Green 

 River, Wyoming (18), and Jordan has cited the interesting 

 relations of these forms to forms now living in the rivers of 

 Australia and Chili. At the present time herrings form an 

 important item in the economic history of the world. Huxley 

 has dwelt (19) especially on the anatomy and relations of the 

 herring in this connection. The present form adds yet another 

 mite to our knowledge of these interesting fishes. It is believed 

 to be as early as or perhaps somewhat older than many of the 

 described clupeoids. The specimen comes from the Austin shales 

 or limestone, which is a probable equivalent of the Niobrara 

 Cretaceous. It is from near Baylor, Tex., and is No. 300 of 

 the University of Kansas Museum. 



The remains preserved consist of the nearly complete fish, 

 as may be determined from an examination of the plate. The 

 caudal portion is, unfortunately, lacking. The outer surface 

 of the skull was badly broken and Mr. Martin very kindly ex- 



