_Steinegeria rubescens_ of the Gulf of Mexico is a little-known deep-sea fish allied to _Brama_, but placed by Jordan and Evermann in a distinct family, _Steinegeriidæ_.
Closely related to the _Bramidæ_ is the small family of _Pteraclidæ_, silvery fishes with large firm scales, living near the surface in the ocean currents. In these fishes the ventral fins are placed well forward, fairly to be called jugular, and the rays of the dorsal and anal, all inarticulate or spine-like, are excessively prolonged. The species, none of them well known, are referred to four genera— _Pteraclis_, _Bentenia_, _Centropholis_, and _Velifer_. They are occasionally taken in ocean currents, chiefly about Japan and Madeira.
Fossil forms more or less remotely allied to the _Bramidæ_ are recorded from the Eocene and Miocene. Among these are _Acanthonemus_, and perhaps _Pseudovomer_.
=The Dolphins: Coryphænidæ.=—The dolphins, or dorados (_Coryphænidæ_), are large, swift sea-fishes, with elongate, compressed bodies, elevated heads, sharp like the cut-water of a boat, and with the caudal fin very strong. The long dorsal fin, elevated like a crest on the head, is without spines. The high forehead characteristic of the dolphin is developed only in the adult male. The flesh of the dolphin is valued as food. Its colors, golden-blue with deep-blue spots, fade rapidly at death, though the extent of this change has been much exaggerated. Similar changes of color occur at death in most bright-colored fishes, especially in those with thin scales. The common dolphin, or dorado (_Coryphæna hippurus_), is found in all warm seas swimming near the surface, as usual in predatory fishes, and reaches a length of about six feet. The small dolphin, _Coryphæna equisetis_, rarely exceeds 2½ feet, and is much more rare than the preceding, from which the smaller number of dorsal rays (53 instead of 60) best distinguishes it. Young dolphins of both species are elongate in form, the crest of the head not elevated, the physiognomy thus appearing very different from that of the adult. _Goniognathus coryphænoides_ is an extinct dolphin of the Eocene.
FIG. 222.—Dolphin or Dorado, _Coryphæna hippurus_ Linnæus. New York. ]