The osteology of Protobrama avus, of a new species of this genus, P. woodwardi, and of two new monospecific genera of protobramid fishes, Eusebichthys byblosi and Abisaadichthys libanicus, is studied. Protobramidae are small deep-bodied marine teleosts from the Lower Cenomanian of Lebanon. They are characterised by the gomphosis of the neural and haemal arches on the centra all along the axial skeleton, the loss of segmentation on the dorsal and anal fin rays, the small cycloid scales covering the basis of the unpaired fins, the ribs fused with the haemapophyses, the loss of epicentrals and epipleurals, the loss of epurals, the reduced number (4 or 5) of hypurals and the fusion of hypurals 3 and 4 into a dorsal hypural plate. The skull is medio-parietal. The temporal fossa is dorsally bordered by the parietal. The jaws are feebly toothed or toothless. The maxillary, which is bordering the mouth, is always toothless. The supramaxillaries are lost. The possible synonymy of the Protobramidae and Plethodidae (or Tselfatiidae) as well as the integration of the Protobramidae, the Araripichthyidae and the Ferrifronsidae into a suborder of the Protobramoidei are discussed and rejected. The analysis of the protobramid characters leads to range them as a valid family in the clupeocephalan order Tselfatiiformes near the Plethodidae
