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Rudder-fishes
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HERBIVOROUS fishes, with incisors only in the front of the jaws; body oblong or elevated, with moderate or small scales; mouth moderate, with incisor-like teeth in front; no molars; premaxillaries moderately protractile; pseudobranchiae well developed; opercles entire; gill-membranes separate, free from the isthmus; dorsal fin continuous or divided, with 10 to 15 rather strong spines; anal with 3 spines.
A family with a good many species; shore-fishes, feeding largely on green or olive algae; chiefly found in the Mediterranean and in the Pacific; most of them valued as food. About 6 genera and 10 species within our limits.
a. Soft parts of dorsal and anal fins naked or only partly scaled; teeth in broad bands, all freely movable, none on vomer.
aa. Soft parts of dorsal and anal fins closely scaled; teeth more or less fixed, usually present on vomer.
c. Top of head naked as far back as posterior margin of eyes. Hermosilla
cc. Top of head as well as its sides and jaws closely scaled.
d. Incisors strong, with horizontal backward projecting roots.
e. Incisor teeth well developed, each with a conspicuous horizontal process or root; caudal fin moderate, about as long as head. Kyphosus