FOSSIL FISHES. 55 
CaAToPTERUS GRACILIS J. H. R. 
Te eVally Migs sie 25 ta. 
Catopterus gracilis J. H. R. (Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 41, 1841, p. 27) Fish elon- 
gated, fusiform ; covered with rhomboidal scales of medium size. Head rather small, 
one-fifth of the whole length, and in well preserved individuals presents a finely 
granulated surface. Operculum lunate, arched; teeth small, obtuse, in numerous 
rows; back nearly straight, slightly arched, lateral line nearly parallel with back. 
All the fins, including the caudal, have a series of yery short and close raylets begin- 
ning at a point just anterior to the fin and extending from the first or anterior ray to 
its extremity, giving a serrated appearance to the anterior border of the fin. In the 
‘dorsal, anal, and caudal fins these raylets are preceded by inbricated, pointed scales, 
which seem gradually to pass into raylets; the pectoral fin is long and narrow, in- 
serted very near the operculum; the first, second, or third rays very strong and 
conspicuous, the remainder more slender; all the rays except perhaps the first are 
articulated or subdivided toward their extremities; number of primary rays ten to 
twelve, anterior raylets about twenty. Ventral fins small, inserted midway between 
the pectoral and-anal, rather near the pectoral. The rays are all slender, about eight 
in number, anal fin large, midway between ventral fin and tail, and occupies about 
one-fourth of the distance between them ; the rays are twenty-five to thirty in num- 
ber, very slender and filiform and much articulated ; dorsal fin small and triangular, 
situated opposite the posterior part of the anal; rays ten to twelve, decreasing in size 
from the first; tail forked, slightly heterocercal ; the scales of the body extending to 
about one-third of the upper lobe; lobes long and acute; caudal rays thirty to forty, 
finely articulated and subdivided. The scates of the anterior part of the body are 
much broader than those of the posterior, and in old individuals are undulate and 
subserrate on the posterior margins. The scales become more and more rhombic 
ani decrease in size as they approach the tail; the scales of the dorsal ridges are of 
an irregular polygonal shape, presenting a triangular form posteriorly, and are much 
more imbricated than those of the sides. One or two very large scales are found upon 
the ventral ridge posterior to the anal fin. There are usually fifty-two to fifty-five 
rows of scales in length and fifteen to twenty in breadth; length of fish ten inches. 
Found at Middletown, Durham, and Southbury, Conn., and Boonton, N. J. 
The above is a description of Catopterus gracilis contained in the manu- 
script copy of the Report on the Fossil Fishes of the United States, read to 
the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists at New Haven, 
Conn., in 1845, by J. H. Redfield, and kindly communicated to me by 
him. 
A briefer and earlier description of the genus and species, with a figure 
of C. gracilis, was published by J. IL. Redfield in volume 4, page 37, of the 
Annals of the New York Lyceum of Natural History. The type specimen 
was then in possession of the Yale Natural History Society, and is now in 
