salmonidæ

pl. [Latin salmo, gen it. sal mon(is); fem. pl. adj. suff.- idæ.] 1. Ichthy.: A family of Physostomi (q. v.). Body generally covered with scales; head naked, no barbels: margin of upper jaw formed by the in term axillaries mesially and by the maxillaries laterally; belly rounded; small adipose fin behind the dorsal; pyloric appendages generally numerous, rarely absent; air-bladder large, simple; pseudobranchise present. The ova fall into the cavity of the abdoand valuable as food-fishes. They are fresh water men before exclusion. The genera are numerous, and marine (deep-sea). The former are peculiar to the temperate and arctic regions of the northern hemisphere, one occurring in New Zealand, and many of them descend to the sea periodically or occasionally. 2. Palæont .: From the Cretaceous onward. [Os. MERUS.] săl-mō, s. [Lat.] Ichthy.: The typical genus of the family Salmon ide. Body covered with small scales; mouth-cleft wide, the maxillary bones extending to below or beyond the eye; conical teeth in jaw-bones, on vomer, palatines, and tongue. Anal short, with le than fourteen rays; pyloric appendages; ova large, Young with parr-marks. The genus is sub-divided into two groups, Salmones and Salvelini.