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THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXXVII. 



As to this, it may be urged that it is not clear that any close 

 affinity exists between Lampris and the others (sticklebacks, pipe- 

 fishes, sea horses and sea dragons), referred to Catosteomi. The 

 retention of various archaic characters constitutes the sole bond of 

 union excepting the presence of interclavicles. Furthermore, accord- 

 ing to Mr. E. C. Starks, interclavicles are wanting in Centriscidae and 

 Macrorhamphosidai, both families of undoubted hemibranchs. He 

 regards the interclavicle as a mere backward or downward extension 

 of the hypercoracoid, not as a separate bone. There is no evidence 

 that the infraclavicle of Lampris is homologous with this structure : It 

 is very different in form and place from the interclavicle of the stickle- 

 back, and it may be the ordinary hypercoracoid simply enlarged. 



There is no doubt of the validity of the group Selenichthyes, what- 

 ever its relation to the other Catosteomi. The present writer had 

 defined it as a distinct suborder, under another name, in a paper now 



In the same paper Dr. Boulenger defines the families of Catosteomi, 

 adding a new one, Protoryngnathidae, based on fossil sticklebacks, 

 with tubiform snout, free ribs, and the first vertebra enlarged. 



D. S. J. 



Meek on Fishes of Mexico. —One of the very best of recent 

 faunal papers is Dr. Seth E. Meek's "Contribution to the Ichthy- 

 ology of Mexico.'' 1 It is based on the largest collection of Mexican 

 fishes yet made. This was obtained in the spring of 1901 by Dr. 

 Meek and Mr. Frank E. Lutz in the lakes and streams of the central 

 table-land of Mexico. Ninety-seven species were obtained. Many 

 of these had been secured in the previous expeditions of A. J. Wool- 

 man and of Jordan and Snyder to the same region, but an unex- 

 pectedly large number of new ones were also secured. New genera 

 are Zoogoneticus, based on n<ilypa:cilns ( /it itzcocnsis ; Chapalichthys, 

 on Characodon encaustus ; Skiffia, allied to Characodon, based on 

 Skiffi* lermce ; and Melaniris, based on Melaniris ba/sanus, allied to 

 Chirostoma; Xenendum proves to be inseparable from Goodea. 



sonorensis, from Chihuahua : . ll^nsci mbrscens, from Ocatlan, Lake 

 Chapala : Gila minaae, from Chihuahua ; Azteaila mexicana from 



from Chihuahua; Evarra tlahuacensis from Lake Chalco, Mexico; 

 Fundulus oaxaae, from Oaxaca ; Zoogoneticus diasi, from Lake Patz- 



