2o8 REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE MUSEUM. 



Gill-rakers long. Third upper pharyngeal on each side much 

 enlarged, solidly united with its fellow tO' form an oval plate with 

 slightly convex surface and covered with blunt tricuspid teeth. 

 This about as large as united lower pharyngeals and fits into 

 concavity of latter. Fourth upper pharyngeal wanting or grown 

 fast to third. Lower pharyngeal large, thick, triangular and with 

 concave surface. Air-vessel large, sometimes cellular. Vertebra 

 about 50. No' finlets. Anal fin modified in viviparous species, 

 unmodified in others, and usually similar to dorsal. Caudal fin 

 rounded or forked, if forked lower lobe longer. 



Herbivorous fishes of warm seas, mostly along shore, though a 

 few pelagic. Their food is mostly green algae, and like related 

 forms swim at the surface, occasionally leaping" mto the air. Size 

 rather small, usually about a foot in length. 



Key to the genera. 



a. Body moderately compressed ; pectorals moderate ; shore fishes. 



HYPORHAMPHUS 



aa. Body very slender and compressed, more or less band-like ; pectorals very 

 long; pelagic fishes. Euleptorhamphus 



Genus Hyporhamphus Gill. 

 The Half Beaks. 



Hyporhamphus unifasciatus (Ranzani). 



Half Beak. Hyporhamphus unifasciatus (Ranzani). 



Head 2%; depth 8; D. 11, 13; A. iii, 13; scales 53 in lateral 

 series to base of caudal and 3 more on latter; 8 scales between 

 origins of dorsal and anal; snout 234 in head measured from tip 

 of upper jaw ; eye 4 ; gape of mouth 4^2 ; interorbital space 4 ; pec- 

 toral I ys ; base of dorsal i^ ; base of anal i % ; ventral 2% ; least 

 depth of caudal peduncle 4. Body elongate, moderately com- 



