282 FISHES. 



apparatus of opercular pieces, which adheres to the posterior border 

 of the palatine and pterygoido-tympanal system, protects the branchiae, 



SIXTH VERTEBRS6. 



Superior Ring. 

 The two interparietals 



The two rocks or pe 

 trous portions. 



Body, 



The otosphenal or an- 

 terior portion of the 

 basilar. 



Inferior Ring. 



The inferior parts of 



the circle of the tym 



panum. 



The two mallei. 



The inteparie- 

 tal. 



The mastoide- 

 ans. 



The preoper- 

 cula 



The interoper 

 cula. 



SEVENTH VERTEBRAE 



Superior Ring. 



The two supra-occipi- 



tals. 



The two ex-occipitals. 



The basiphenal or pos- 

 terior portion of the 

 basilar. 



Body. 

 The two stapes. 



Inferior Ring. 

 The two incudes. («) 



The external 

 occipitals. 

 The lateral oc 

 cipitals. 

 The basilar. 



The opercula. 



The sub-oper- 

 cula. 



Remarks. 



I have never seen the The superior ring is 

 interparietal double in also disjointed for the 



the fishes. 



I have never been able 

 to detect a transverse 

 division of tbe basilar. 



The interopercula are 

 attached to the lower 

 jaw, and take a part 

 in sustaining the os- 

 hyoides ; they have no 

 muscle proper to them 

 selves. Now, how is 

 it possible to reconcile 

 this with the charac 

 ters of the malleus ? 



interparietal and the 

 mastoideans are not in 

 contact. 



I think I have amply- 

 refuted the supposi 

 tioft that the opercular 

 pieces are bones of the 

 ear, for I have pur- 

 sued my enquiry into 

 the gradually reduced 

 and simple state of the 

 apparatus constituted 

 by these bones from 

 man to the salaman- 

 der amongst the rep- 

 tiles. (See my Re- 

 searches (b) on Fossil 

 bones. 



All the world knows 

 that the basilar, the 

 two latteral occipitals, 

 and the superior occi- 

 pital, represent, be- 

 tween them, a sort of 

 vertebrae, and this ana- 

 logy dwelt upon by M. 

 Dumeril is perhaps all 

 tyah is true in the ma- 

 nifold superstructures 

 which various authors 

 have built upon it. 



0^=* (a) This is the plural of incus, the anvil of the ear. — Eng. Ed. 



(b) We are happy to be able to inform the reader, that we shall speedily give 

 him the opportunity of making this reference to a translation now about to be pub- 

 lished by the proprietor of the present work.— Eng. Ed 



