272 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES [Proc. 4th Sek. 



(These statements as to the mouth may be fallacious as the 

 bones may be distorted.) Eyes very large, separated by the 

 sphenoid bone which lies at the base of the skull. Opercular 

 bones entire; preopercle narrow, opercle broad. Head appar- 

 ently scaleless, but there are marks on the snout as of small 

 scales, (These are probably fallacious.) 



Vertebrae small, the anterior not modified, all about as deep 

 as long, hour-glass shaped anteriorly, less so behind, neural 

 spines straight, rather weak, directed backward; dorsal inter- 

 • spinals rather strong, the anterior ones especially ; ribs moder- 

 ate, curved, not directed strongly backward. 



Dorsal short and rather high with one appressed spine or 

 simple ray, about half the height of the first soft ray, the rays 

 rapidly shortened backward, the last ray not one-third the 

 height of the first ; pectoral inserted low. the lower rays shorter 

 and much weaker than the upper; ventrals about under third 

 ray of dorsal, the rays rather strong; 14 rays are present which 

 number may include both fins, but in appearance there is one 

 fin only. 



Scales small, thin, rounded, cycloid, looking like herring 

 scales. These are evident along the line of the back and else- 

 where. No dorsal scutes, the scales being all of the usual type ; 

 no trace of ventral scutes, but the ventral outline is not well 

 shown. 



This specimen is apparently the first fossil fish yet recorded 

 from Japan. It is embedded in firm grayish chalky rock, re- 

 sembling the Miocene deposits about Los Angeles, much firmer 

 and heavier than the Celite of Lompoc. The horizon of the 

 deposits on the island of Iki are probably of Tertiary age if I 

 may judge from this specimen alone. The genus Iquius is 

 characterized by the short dorsal with a simple appressed ray 

 in front as in most Cyprinidse, by the small mouth with included 

 lower jaw, and by the evident teeth, one of them apparently 

 enlarged. The dorsal fin is more like that of Cyprinoid fish, 

 but the general structure suggests that of a herring and the 

 vertebrae are isospondylous and I place the genus provisionally 

 among the Clupeidae. In its mouth parts it bears some re- 

 semblance to the living genus Clupeichthys. 



