FAMILr, I—GAT)1T>M 417 



Oedee, II— ANAOANTHIOT. 



All the rays of the vertical and ventral fins articulated, the latter, when present, being iuffular or 

 thoracic. Air-vessel, if existing, not having a pneumatic duct. 



The order of spineless fishes, or the AnaccmthimAmi, has been divided iato sub-orders. 



A. AnacantMni gadoidei, the two sides of the head symmetrical. 



B. AnacmtUm plewoneoioidei, the two sides of the head apparently unsymmetrical. 



SYNOPSIS OF FAMILIES. 

 A. Anacanthini gadoidei. 



I. GadidcB. Gill-openings wide, the membranes not attached to the isthmus. Ventral with several 

 rays, or if only one, the first dorsal fin in two portions. Caudal free, or if united to vertical fins, the first 

 dorsal in two portions. Eays of second dorsal well developed. 



II. OpUdiidm. Gill opfenings wide, gill membranes not attached to the isthmus. Ventral when present 

 rudimentary and jugular. No separate portion of first dorsal fin : caudal usually united to vertical fin. 



A. Anacanthini gadoidei. 



Family, I— GADID^ * Cm. 



Gadoidei, pt. Cuv. 



Pseudobranchiae, when present, glandular and rudimentary. JBody more or less elongated. Gill- 

 openings wide : gill membranes, as a rule, not being attached to the isthmus. From one to three dorsal fins, 

 occupying nearly the entire length of the back, the rays of the last being well developed : one or two anal 

 fins : caudal usually free, but sometimes united to the dorsal and anal. The dorsal with a separate anterior 

 portion. Ventrals jugular, consisting of several rays, or should they be reduced to a filament, the dorsal fin 

 is divided into two. Scales cycloid, of moderate or small size. Air-vessel and pyloric appendages usually 

 present. 



OeograpMcal distribution. — The fishes of this family are mostly confined to the sea, and as a rule, of the 

 Arctic and temperate regions. The aberrant form Bregmaoeros appears to be their sole representative in India. 

 Eecently (Nov. 1871) Dr. Giinther has described a fish from Manado (Proo. Zool. Soc. 1871, p. 669) as 

 Psmdophycis peregrimus, observing that it lives at great depths, and " the discovery of this fish is of the 

 greatest interest, inasmuch as it is the first instance of a true Gadoid being found in the East Indian 

 Archipelago, Bregmaceros being a much less typical form of this family." 



SYNOPSIS OF SINGLE GENUS. 

 1. Bregmaceros. Body fusiform. Two dorsals, the first consisting of an occipital ray : the second and 

 the anal having each a dwarfed central portion. Seas of India to the Philippines. 



Genus, 1 — Beegmacieos, Thompson. 



Calloptilum, Richardson ; Asthenurus, Tickell. 



Branch'ostegals seven ; pseudohranchice ahsent.f Body fusiform, posteriorly compressed. Gill-openings very 

 wide, the membranes being separated nearly to the chin, amd not attached to the isthmus. Byes lateral. Mouth 

 fmterior amd oblique. Teeth im, jaws minute and moveable, also on vomer, none on palate. Two dorsal fms, the 



* Sars olMerved (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 1868, ii, p. 389) that Codfish deposit their ora on the surface of the water, where, 

 naving floated for sixteen days, the embryo leaves the OYum. 

 t Present in genus BatTvymaster. Cope. 



3 H 



