69 



THE PHABYNGEAL TEETH OF FISHES. 

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



(Continued from vol. xix, p. 457.) 



Cymatogaster aggregatus. This fish came from Puget Sound, 

 Washington State, U.S.A. It has twenty moderately long horny 

 gill-rakers with soft bristles on them, and four rudimentary ones 

 on the cerato-hypo portion of the first branchial arch. The 

 longest one, at the angle, is about two-thirds of the depth of the 

 gill-laminae below it. There are six gill-rakers on the first 

 epibranchial. The filter formed by the gill-rakers on the other 

 arches is a very good one, and made in a similar manner to that 

 described for the three preceding fishes. The upper pharyngeals 

 show as one compact group of granular teeth going right across 

 the top of the gullet. The lower pharyngeal bones are united and 

 support a triangular group of similar teeth. 



Pleuronectil\e . 

 This family consists of the so-called " Flat-fishes." 

 Psetta maxima (the Turbot) has triangular-shaped, stout, 

 fairly long, horny gill-rakers which carry cardiform teeth. There 

 are eleven of them from the angle forward on the first branchial 

 arch, the first four being nearly of a size and about half the 

 depth of the gill-laminae underneath them. On the first epi- 

 branchial there are five slimmer gill-rakers decreasing in size, 

 the upper ones very small ; they carry teeth. The inner side of 

 the first arch has only rudimentary traces of tubercles. On the 

 outside of the second arch the gill-rakers are longish tubercles, 

 and on the other arches the gill-rakers are round-shaped tubercles. 

 All these tubercles are set with teeth. The upper pharyngeal 

 teeth are in three groups of cardiform teeth. The upper group 

 is elongate in form, on the head of the second epibranchial ; the 

 teeth are small but very closely set. The other groups are on 

 the heads of the third and fourth epibranchial. The lower 



