418 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



PHARYNGEAL TEETH OP FISHES. 



By Colonel C. E. Shepherd (Indian Army). 



(Plate II.) 



The teeth of fishes, whether those visible on a cursory 

 examination of the external characteristics of a fish, or those in 

 the anterior part of the buccal cavity on the vomer, the palatine 

 and pterygoid bones, and on the tongue, furnishing important 

 data for the identification of a fish, have in all works on fishes 

 received a good deal of notice, and are usually fully remarked 

 on. But there is another set in the mouths of most Teleostean 

 fishes that also deserves attention, but which, as a rule, has re- 

 ceived very little notice. This is the set of the pharyngeal teeth, 

 which, except in the case of the families comprising Wrasses and 

 Carps, have received but scant and more often no attention. 

 Anyone interested in this question can verify the importance of 

 these teeth for himself by a short visit to the British Museum of 

 Natural History at South Kensington. Here, by inspecting the 

 show-case devoted to the anatomy of fishes in the small alcove off 

 the Central Hall, the pharyngeal teeth of the Cod, Pike, Amia 

 calva, Ballan Wrasse, and the formidable pharyngeal teeth of the 

 Sunfish (Orthagoriscas mold) can be seen. In the large room set 

 apart for fishes, by looking up into the mouths of the skeleton 

 specimens of Scicena aquila, Bagarius yarrellii, and Lates nilo- 

 ticus the pharyngeal teeth may be seen, and those of the 

 Angler (Lophius piscatorius) can be studied. In a case, but 

 separated from the skull, the very curious pharyngeal teeth of 

 Pseudoscarus muricatus can be seen, and are well deserving of 

 attention. 



Pharyngeal teeth may be either villiform, which are very 

 fine teeth, feeling almost like a smooth file to the finger ; or 

 cardiform, which are much stouter with a backward curve to 

 them — this kind of tooth runs up to a comparatively large size, 



