THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 89 



Semionotus Uneatus (Newberry). 

 (Plates X., XL) 



1888. Ischypterus Uneatus, J. S. Newberry, Trans. N. Y. Acad. Sci., vol. vi., 



p. 127 (name only). 

 1S88. Ischypterus alatus, J. S. Newberry, ibid., p. 127 (name only). 

 1888. Ischypterus alatus, J. S. Newberry, Monogr. U. S. Geol. Surv., vol. xiv., 



p. 37, pi. viii., Figs. 1, 2. 

 1888. Ischypterus Uneatus, J. S. Newberry, ibid., p. 40, pi. xi., Figs. 1, 2. 



The original description of this species is as follows : 

 "Fishes six to eight inches in length ; outline, when perfectly 

 preserved, uniformly arched above and below; head relatively 

 large, contained about four times in the entire length, broadly con- 

 ical in outline ; fins all large ; fulcra arched ; scales of dorsal line 

 spinous and strong, but less developed than in I. tenuiceps; ribs 

 and interspinous bones frequently preserved ; scales on sides thick 

 and strong, arranged in continuous rows from the head backward, 

 so as to give a lined appearance, which has suggested the specific 

 name." 



It will be observed that the above diagnosis applies to robust 

 and comparatively large-sized fishes, with thick scales and strong 

 fins and ribs. Distinctive characters, by which the species can be 

 readily separated from others accompanying it in the same forma- 

 tion, are not embraced in this general definition. For instance, 

 nothing is stated in regard to the fulcra, except that they are 

 "arched" ; their number, and likewise that of the fin-rays, is not 

 given in the text, nor is it apparent from the figures, and it is evi- 

 dent that one of the latter has been more or less restored. In a 

 word, the species has not yet been adequately defined, and on 

 inquiring in what light Newberry viewed its relations to other 

 species, we find that he was considerably perplexed over their 

 distinction. In one place, for instance, it is stated by him 1 that 

 "the fishes of this group [referring to S. Uneatus] are not easily 

 separated from some of their associates, some individuals re- 

 sembling those of /. lenticularis ; but in these latter the outline is 

 more symmetrical, the fins smaller, the scales more delicate, par- 



1 Monogr. U. S. Geol. Surv., vol. xiv. (1889), p. 40. 



