FISHES-HETEROLEPIDAE-CHIRUS-CHIROPSIS. 
41 
Species of this family were first made known by Pallas, in 1810,* under the names of Labrax 
lagocephalus, L. decagrammus, L. superciliosus, L. monopterygius, L. octogrammus, and L. hexa- 
grammus. The latter is figured in the illustrated edition of Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom, plate 
lxxxiii, fig. 2, under the head of Ghirus , a generical name attributed to Steller. 
We regret to say that we have had no access to the Memoirs of the Academy of St. Peters¬ 
burg, above alluded to, and therefore we remain very imperfectly acquainted with the specific 
descriptions of Pallas, and ignore totally the origin of the genus Ghirus, as well as its generical 
characters as formulated by its author. 
On a former occasion,! when we described the three following species under the name of 
Ghirus, we attempted to circonscribe that genus. Subsequently we thought the range ascribed 
to it too wide, and availed ourselves of the opportunity to subdivide it, preserving the n&me of 
^ ^.CHIRUS, Steller. 
for those species which are characterized by an elongated body, a small head, and a mouth but 
little cleft. The jaws being provided with small, conical, and unequal teqth. The opercular 
apparatus smooth and without spiny processes. A single and continuous dorsal fin occupying 
most of the dorsal region, and composed of undivided rays. The insertion of the ventral fins 
being situated immediately posterior to the base of the pectorals. Lateral lines multiple. 
This character of the presence of several lateral lines, which Ghirus has in common with 
Ghiropsis, is one of the most curious in the class of fishes, and known to occur in but few 
instances out of the present family; such the genus Ghela, a cyprinoid inhabiting the fresh 
waters of East India. We would mention Po/richthys, of the toad.fish family, as another 
instance, and, perhaps, Peprilus of the Scomberoid family. 
The fishes of the present family are of a tolerable size, being brought to the San Francisco 
market, and sell pretty well, especially the species of Ghiropsis, which are not uncommon. We 
are inclined to think the flesh of Ophiodon and Oplopoma more delicate and more highly flavored 
than in the one just alluded to. They are all inhabitants of the sea. 
CHIROPSIS, Girard. 
Gen. Char. —Body sub-fusiform ; head well developed ; mouth of medium size. Slender canine teeth on both jaws ; velvet¬ 
like teeth on the front of the vomer and on the palatines. Opercle and preopercle without either spines or serratures. Cheeks, 
opercular apparatus, and upper surface of head covered with small scales. A supraocular, abrorescent, membranous flap. 
Gill openings continuous under the throat. Branchiostegal rays six in number. Two dorsal fins, a spinous and an articulated 
one, occupying most of the dorsal region. Insertion of ventrals situated behind that of the pectorals. Caudal posteriorly rounded 
or sub-truncated. Scales finely serrated posteriorly. Several lateral lines. 
Syn. — Chiropsis, Grd. in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. November, 1587, 201. 
This genus may be distinguished from that of Ghirus of Steller by a more compact body, a 
larger head, and larger mouth, two dorsal fins, the anterior alone composed of undivided rays, 
and perhaps also by the presence above the orbits of a membranous arborescent flap. All the 
species of Ghiropsis known to us up to the present day have the latter character more or less 
conspicuously developed. The lips are rather thickish and well developed, the mouth more or 
less protractile, and the pectorals broad, with their inferior rays thick and not dichotomised, 
and the interradial membrane emarginatet^ The scales might almost be termed polymorphic 
in their outline, so great are the variations observed among them. 
*Mem. de l’Academie de St. Petersbourg, vol. XI. 
t Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philada, VII, 1854, 132. 
