B. Smith — JS'ote on the Miocene Drum Fish. 275 



Art. XXIX. — Note on the Miocene Drum Fish — Pogonias 

 multidentatus Cope ; by Burnett Smith. 



Introduction. 



This rare species of the Virginia Miocene was originally 

 described by Cope in 1869* and in 1908 the type was figured 

 the first time by Hussakoff in the catalogue of fossil fishes 

 published by the American Museum of Natural History. As 

 far as the writer can learn, the type specimen has remained, 

 for nearly forty years, the only known example of the species 

 and it has always been regarded as a " left superior 

 pharyngeal." 



Another specimen of a pharyngeal plate obviously referable 

 to Pogonias was recently collected by the writer from the 

 Miocene of Maryland. It is apparently identical with Cope's 

 species though the pattern of the bean-like crushing teeth 

 differs slightly from that of the type. The chief points of 

 interest attaching to this second specimen are the following : 

 (1) it gives us slight but much needed information as to the 

 range and distribution of the fossil Drums, and (2) it furnishes 

 additional data for working out one or two points in the 

 structure of the pharyngeals which up to now have remained 

 obscure. Taking up the second of these considerations, we 

 find that, strangely enough, the type has always been 

 interpreted as a " left superior pharyngeal." It is indeed a 

 part of the upper pharyngeal crushing pavement, but instead 

 of being situated on the left side it was on the right side and 

 furthermore represents only one of the three well-defined 

 pharyngo-branchial plates which occur on either side in the 

 pharynx of Pogonias. 



Comparison of the Pharyngeal Teeth of Pogonias, Gynoscion, 

 and Micropogon. 



In order to understand the osteological value of the known 

 parts of the fossil Pogonias multidentatus it is necessary to 

 review briefly the conditions met with in the branchial arches 

 of some of the recent Sciaenidae. In this family we find that 

 the different genera manifest a great variety in the form and 

 structure of the pharyngeal teeth. In some the pharyngeal 

 plates are set with simple sharp denticles : others have in place 

 of denticles blunt bean-like crushing elements, while between 

 these two extremes we find forms whose pharyngeals are 



*Cope, E. D. ? Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., xii, p. 310. 

 \ Hnssakof , L., Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. xxv. 



