NO. 1875. THE JAPANESE SPARID^— JORDAN AND THOMPSON. 527 



2. Family PRIACANTHID^. 



The CATALTTFAS. 



Body oblong or ovate, compressed, covered with small, firm, raugh 

 scales; all parts of the body and head, even the snout and maxiUaries, 

 being densely scaly, each scale with a more or less developed plate on 

 its posterior border, most developed in the young. Head deep. 

 Mouth large, very obhque, the lower jaw prominent. Villiform teeth 

 on jaws, vomer, and palatines, none on the tongue. Premaxillaries 

 protractile. Maxillary broad, without supplemental bone, not slip- 

 ping under the very narrow preorbital, which is usually serrate; no 

 suborbital stay. Eye very large, forming about one-half the length 

 of the side of the head. Posterior nostril long, slit-like, close to the 

 eye. Preopercle more or less serrated, one or more strong spines at 

 its angle; operculum very short, ending in two or three points behind; 

 no barbels. Gill membranes separate, free from the isthmus. Pseu- 

 dobrancliiae very large, extending along whole length of opercle. 

 Postorbital part of head very short, the opercle small. Giils 4, a slit 

 beliind the fourth. Gill-rakers long. Branchiostegals 6. Lateral line 

 continuous, not extending on the caudal. Dorsalfin continuous, its rays 

 X, 9 to 15, the spines depressible in a groove; anal rays III, 9 to 15, 

 the soft part long, similar to the soft dorsal, the spines strong; ven- 

 trals very large, thoracic, I, 5, close together, in advance of base of 

 pectoral, joined to belly by a membrane wliich incloses a groove; no 

 axillary process; spine strong; pectorals small, pointed, not sym- 

 metrical, of 19 or 20 rays, the upper longest; caudal fiji truncate or 

 lunate. Spines of fhis generally rough with small serrse. Air blad- 

 der large. Pyloric coeca few. Vertebrge in reduced number, 9 or 104- 

 13 = 22 or 23, the first vertebra being very small or absent; transverse 

 processes beginning on the seventh (sixth) vertebra, the last 2 pre- 

 caudals bridged across; ribs attached to the transverse processes; 

 epipleurals absent on the last three precaudal vertebrae. Supraocci- 

 pital crest very low, continued forward to over front of orbit, where 

 it is joined by the parietal crests; processes of premaxillaries moder- 

 ate. Carnivorous fishes of the tropical seas, chiefl}^ in deep waters; 

 mostly rose-colored in hfe. The family is a sharply defined group, 

 not close to any other, but the affinities on the whole seem to be near- 

 est to the Serranidse and their tropical allies. Genera 2, species 

 about 10. 



Key to genera. 



aK Scales very email, 80 to 100 in lateral line; body oblong, its depth not half its 

 length; preopercle with a flat spine; dorsal and anal each with 12 to 15 soft 

 rays Priacanthus, 3. 



a 2. Scales large and very rough, 35 to 50 in lateral line; body ovate, its depth more than 

 half its length; preopercle without spines; dorsal and anal each with 9 to 11 

 Bof t rays Pseudopriacanthus, 4 . 



