286 Cavallas and Pampanos 
quarter feet long, was thrown by a storm on the coast of Wash- 
ington, near the Quinnault agency. 
The family of Zaproride contains also a single large species, 
Zaprora silenus, without ventrals, but scaly and firm in sub- 
stance. One specimen 23 feet long was taken at Nanaimo on 
Vancouver Island and a smaller one at Victoria. 
The Pomfrets: Bramidea.— The Bramide are broad-bodied 
fishes of the open seas, covered with firm adherent scales. The 
flesh is firm and the skeleton heavy, the hypercoracoid espe- 
cially much dilated. Of the various species the pomfret, or 
black bream (Brama raiz), is the best known and most widely 
diffused. Itreachesa length of two to four feet and is sooty black 
in color. It is not rare in Europe and has been occasionally 
taken at Grand Bank off Newfoundland, at the Bermudas, off 
the coast of Washington, on Santa Catalina Island, and in Japan. 
It is an excellent food-fish, but is seldom seen unless driven 
ashore by storms. 
Steinegeria rubescens of the Gulf of Mexico is a little-known 
deep-sea fish allied to Brama, but placed by Jordan and Ever- 
mann in a distinct family, Sternegeriide. 
Closely related to the Branude is the small family of Ptera- 
clide, silvery fishes with large firm scales, living near the sur- 
face in the ocean currents. In these fishes the ventral fins 
are placed well forward, fairly to be called jugular, and the 
rays of the dorsal and anal, all inarticulate or spine-like, are 
excessively prolonged. The species, none of them well known, 
are referred to four genera—Pteraclis, Bentenia, Centropholis, 
and Velifer. They are occasionally taken in ocean currents, 
chiefly about Japan and Madeira. 
Fossil forms more or less remotely allied to the Bramide are 
recorded from the Eocene and Miocene. Among these are Acan- 
thonemus, and perhaps Pseudovomer. 
The Dolphins: Coryphenide.—The dolphins, or dorados 
(Coryphenide), are large, swift sea-fishes, with elongate, com- 
pressed bodies, elevated heads, sharp like the cut-water of a 
boat, and with the caudal fin very strong. The long dorsal 
fin, elevated like a crest on the head, is without spines. The 
high forehead characteristic of the dolphin is developed only in 
the adult male. The flesh of the dolphin is valued as food. 
