Botany nnd Zoology* c~7 



giit most important collections; and disposing the whole in .1 system, which, 

 if. while it niiih to retain all thai was most raluablc m th 

 of it should, tho whole light of modern (microscopical) science upon both 

 ■in- old and new. We have only room to add here thai " Uinta taeu 



i»a Will,!." is a name found only in Willdeuow's b irbariuro, and whs antici- 

 Jtl- pated in print by ('. eavemown\ published by the present writer, in tho 

 ")- appendii t-» Agassiz's tour to Lake Superior. Messrs. Westermann end 



1 lorapany <>f New York, will receive subscriptions to the synopsis, which 

 is put at a moderate price for so bands ok. e. t. 



• .. Reports of Exploration* and tyurvty* to ascertain the most practi- 

 cable ami economical route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to 



I teean, made under the direction of the Secretary of War, in 

 1858-6, Ac., vol. x. Washington, 1859.— PISHES; by Charles (Jikard, 

 M.I>. Washington, D.C., 1858. 



( H re »nl contributions to our knowledge of special Faunas, none have 

 been o( greater importance or interest than the report on the Fish< 



in North America. In this volume, Dr. Girard has incorporated 

 almost everything known to the date of publication concerning the Ich- 

 thyology of our Pacific possessions. 



In the introductory remarks, (which with some variations, are duplica- 

 ted) a general view is given of the Piscine Fauna of Western North 

 America. The families which are richest in genera and specie*, and 

 which are most characteristic of the Californian Fauna especially, are 

 those of the Cataphracti, the Blennoids, the Embiotocoida, and the l'leu- 

 Tonectoids. Of all these families, many new genera, previously indicated 

 in the " Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia," 

 are described and illustrated. 



The classification of the late Johannes Midler is adopted, and the 

 orders, suborders and families of which representatives are described, are 

 all characterized; the genus Amblodon, however, is retained in the family 

 iaenoids; this should in strict accordance with the principles of that 

 classification, be transferred to the order of Pharvngognathi. Au r a^iz has 

 demonstrated the union of the lower pharyngeal bones, the only character 

 on which the order depends. Dr. Girard does not appear to have noticed 

 this discovery as he has not adverted to it in the generic diagnosis of 

 Amblodon. 



Of the family of Percoids. representatives of only one genus are yet 

 known as inhabitants of the Pacific coast. This genus has been described 

 as new under the name of Paralabrax, and includes two species, both of 

 which had been first referred to Labrax in the Proceedings of the Acad" 

 emy. It is here placed in the vicinity of Sen-anus. 



Many fresh water Percoids are described, belonging to the genera 

 Dioplites Kaf., Pomoxis Raf., Ambloplites Raf., Caltinrui Raf., Bryttu$ 

 Val., Pomotis Kaf., Labrax Cuv., and StisooUdion Raf. The specie 

 scribed have been collected in many distant places west of the Mississippi 

 river, but one species (Ambloplites mterruptui) having been obtained in 

 California. 



The name of Dioplites has been substituted for Gnjstcs of Cuvier. It 

 would by many have been deemed more prop.-r t«» have applied I latin - 

 esque's generic name of Lepomis. Rafinnsque in his M Ichthyologia Ohi- 



