234 CLASSIFICATIOX OF FISHES^ ETC. 



Family 3. MUGILLID^. Mullets. 



Body oblongs narrow, sub-cylindrical ; snout short, ob- 

 tuse, generally projecting beyond the mouth, which is 

 very smaU, transversely cleft, and pointed in front; 

 dorsal fins two, remote, the first of strong spinal rays ; 

 teeth very small ; eyes large, close to the snout ; caudal 

 fin forked or lunate d. 



MuGiL Linn. Head cylindrical _; the upper part with 



hard and bony plates, the sides covered with compact 



scales, which conceal the divisions of the gill-covers; 



pectoral fin simple pointed. 



M. gymnocephalus Sw. squamipinnis Sw. See Appendix. 

 Russ. pL 1 80. 



PoLYNEMUs Linn. Head slightly compressed ; body 



and fins closely resembling ^Mugil, but the preoper- 



cule is serrated, and the muzzle is rather more 



advanced ; head and three hinder fins more or less 



covered with scales ; pectoral fins as in ]\Iugil, but 



having at its base several unconnected articulated rays, 



resembling filaments, which are often very long. 



P. tetradactylus. Russ. 183. enneadactylus. Griff. Cuv. 

 Indicus. Russ, pi. 184. pi. 11. fig. 1. 



Family 4. MULLIDiE. Surmullets. 



Shape obovate ; the anterior part thicker than the 

 posterior ; head large, high ; profile abrupt, sub- ver- 

 tical ; eyes placed laterally, but close to the crown ; 

 mouth and teeth very small ; the ventral profile of the 

 fish nearly straight ; opercula and body covered with 

 large deciduous scales ; the former without any denti- 

 culations ; dorsal fins two, remote ; lower jaw with 

 two fleshy cirri placed beneath ; caudal forked. 



MuLLUs Linn. Head large and truncate ; the profile 

 very abrupt ; teeth in the jaws almost obsolete ; 

 operculum smooth. 



M. barbatus. Bl. pi. 384. fig. 2. Cuv. pi. 70. 



