414 FOSSIL FISH. 



tremely imperfect. His aS". Plumieri, which is well preserved, 

 has more analogy with the genus Scisena. The head is very 

 small ; the teeth appear strong ; the gape of the mouth is not 

 large ; the jaws are equal ; the body is moderately elongated ; 

 and the vertebrae are from twenty-four to twenty-five in number, 

 twelve only of which are thoracic. The back, which is a little 

 convex, has two dorsal fins nearly equal, the first of which has 

 seven stings or spines, and the last nearly as many ramified 

 rays. The anal fin, which is smaller, has a single spinous ray. 

 The pectorals appear large, and the caudal is scarcely semi- 

 lunar. M. de Blainville, however, does not regard the specific 

 identity as proved. 



LuTJANUs. L. Lutjan, Icht. Ver. M. de Blainville is in- 

 clined to regard this as the same as Scomber cordyla, above 

 cited, for the following reasons : — ^The impression represents a 

 form attenuated at both extremities. The vertebral column is 

 composed of twenty-four or twenty- five large vertebrae, and 

 terminated by a large and deeply bifurcated caudal fin. There 

 is no sting to the fins. The fish, however, appears to have 

 been covered with pretty large scales, and to have had the teeth 

 tolerably strong. 



L. ephippium, Icht. Ver. This ichthyolite is yet better 

 preserved than the preceding. It represents a fish much 

 shorter, more raised, almost convex, and whose mouth is armed 

 with very strong teeth, the anterior two of which are the longest. 

 The head is very long ; the vertebral column consists of twenty- 

 four or twenty-five vertebrae, six of which, at most, are abdo- 

 minal.* The dorsal fin, very long, is scarcely excavated at the 

 place which separates the spinous part from that which is not 

 so. The anal is large, with two or three spinous rays ; the 

 caudal is large and rounded. The analogy between this fossil 

 and the species to which it is above referred seems pretty pro- 

 bable. 



HoLOCENTRUS. H. calcaHfer, Icht. Ver. This is a species 

 which has great affinity with the preceding, and in which all 



