OBSERVATIONS ON FISH SCALES. 
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framework are arranged concentric rings of oval elements, which are hyaline with narrow dense margins 
These oval bodies are actually capable of being detached, or more strictly speaking their surface layers 
are detachable, retaining their original form and appearance. 
Fig. 5. — Anguilla rosirata (Anguillidse). Details of sculpture. Bureau of Fisheries. 
Fig. 6 . — Synaphobranchus pinnatus (Syuaphobranchidie). Bureau of Fisheries. 
Fig. 7. — Ichihyophis gluiinosus (C$ciliidae). Amphibian scale. British Museum. 
SYNAPHOBRANCHID^. 
In Synaphobranchus pinnatus (Gronovius), a deep-sea eel, the scales are shaped much as an Anguilla^ 
but not so elongate, and very much smaller, the lengtli about two-thirds of a millimeter. The general 
appearance and detailed structure are shown in the figure . In this scale we get a clue to the evolution 
