ous one — the palatine, and 2) the suspensorial consisting of the hyo- 
mandibular and quadrate bones; without maxillary bones or distinct 
posterior bony elements to the mandible or opercular elements; with 
‚an imperfect scapular arch remote from the skull; and with separately 
ossified but imperfect vertebrae. 
Family Eurypharyngidae. 
Lyomeri with the head flat above and with a transverse rostral 
margin, at the outer angles of which the eyes are exposed, with the 
jaws excessively elongated backwards and the upper parallel and clos- 
able against each other as far as the articulation of the two suspen- 
sorial bones, with minute teeth on both jaws, with a short abdomen 
and long attenuated tail, branchial apertures narrow and very far be- 
hind, dorsal and anal fins continued nearly to the end of the tail, and 
minute pectoral fins. 
The mandibular rami are exceedingly narrow and slender, but the 
jaws are extremely expansible and the skin is correspondingly dilatable ; 
consequently an enormous pouch may be developed. Inasmuch as the 
slenderness and fragility of the jaws and the absence of raptorial teeth 
(at least in Gastrostomus) preclude the idea of the species being true 
fish of prey, it is probable that they may derive their food from the 
water which is received into the pouch, by a process of selection of 
the minute organisms therein contained. 
The peculiar closure of the anterior half of the upper jaws upon 
each other, and the co-ordinate joint between the hyomandibular and 
quadrate elements of the suspensorium are doubtless correlated with 
the mode of ingestion or selection of food. The skin constituting the 
pouch, it may be added, has a peculiar velvety appearance, and also 
reminds one of the patagium or wing membrane of a bat. 
Eurypharyna Vaillant. 
Eurypharyna Vaillant. Comptes rendus Acad. Sc. Paris, Tom. 95, p.1232, Dec. 11, 
1882 (tr. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., (5.) v. 11, p. 67). 
Eurypharyngids with the cranium prolonged backwards, the denti- 
gerous bones little more than three times as long as the cranium ; »faint 
dentary granulations« on both jaws, and at the extremity of the man- 
dible »two hooked teeth«; and the tail terminating in a point. 
Eurypharyna pelecanoides. 
Gastrostomus Gill and Ryder. 
Eurypharyngids with the cranium abbreviated and little or no 
longer than broad, the dentigerous bones almost seven times as long 
as the cranium; minute acute conic teeth depressed inwards in a very 
