| OCR Text |
Show 1 9 0 4 . ] ON THE CRANIAL OSTEOLOGY OF ELOPID^E AND ALBULID.E. 3 5 R e f e r e n c e b., basal portion of gill-raker. b.a., branchial artery. b.f., branchial filaments. b.v., branchial vein. b.'i'.', blood-vessel supplying gill-raker. j c., central cavity traversing basal portion of gill-raker. cart., cartilage of branchial arch. c.c., central cavity of basal portion of gill-raker seen in section. c.h., channels containing capillary blood-vessels and loose connective tissue (pulp-reinains ?) <1., cut ends of elastic fibres which are inserted deeply into matrix of gill-raker. e., cut end of branchial arch taken through the epibranchial cartilage. L e t t e r s . e.f., elastic fibres. e.f.', elastic fibres surrounding lowermost extremity of gill-raker. h., cut end of branchial arch taken through the hypobranchial cartilage. i.b.s., cut edge of interbranchial septum. i.ff.r., posterior (or inner) gill-raker. m. mucous membrane, an.f., muscle-fibres. o.y.r., anterior (or outer) gill-raker. p., loose nucleated tissue lying in central cavity. y., gill-rakers. s., septum formed by cartilage of branchial arch. s.//., shaft portion of gill-raker. 4. On the Cranial Osteology of the Fishes of the Families Elopidce and Albulidce, with Remarks on the Morphology of the Skull in the Lower Teleostean Fishes generally. By W. G. R i d e w o o d , D.Sc., F.L.S., Lecturer on Biology at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School, London. [Received April 27, 1904.] (Text-figures 8-18.) An investigation on the structure of the skull of the lower Teleostean fishes was begun by me some years ago for the purpose of determining what might and what might not be regarded as primitive features in the Teleostean skull, and with the object also of ascertaining the degrees of relationship existing between the various genera investigated, so far at least as the cranial characters might bear upon the subject. The work, however, was repeatedly interrupted by pressure of other occupation, and the present paper deals only with a small proportion of the whole inquiry. Descriptions of the skulls of the Elopidse and Albulida; are here given, and I hope before long to publish similar descriptions of the skulls of Mormyridse, Notopterida?, Hyodontidae, Osteoglossiclae, and Clupeidse. In the second part of the paper 1 offer some remarks, more or less disjointed, upon the morphology of the Teleostean skull, based upon an examination of the species of fishes detailed in the list given at the commencement of that section. The discussion of the affinities of the genera under consideration is best deferred for the present. For the material investigated I am indebted very largely to Prof. G. B. Howes, of the Royal College of Science, and Mr. G. A. Boulenger, of the British Museum, and to them I hereby tender my sincere thanks. I wish also gratefully to acknowledge the help that I have from time to time received in the way of |
