moderate size. Cleft of the mouth nearly horizontal, with the
jaws equal in length anteriorly. Canine teeth in both jaws;
palate toothless. One dorsal fin. Formula of the vertical fins:
D. 10·13/10·12 A. 3/8·9. Caudal fin forked. Præoperculum without
serrature; præorbital unarmed and broad, there being a wide
space between the eye and the cleft of the mouth. Cheek covered
by more than three series of scales. Branchiostegals, six.
Marine Fishes, rather locally distributed in the Mediterranean, on the
south coast of Africa, in the Red Sea, East Indian Archipelago, and
on the coasts of China and Japan. About fourteen species are known,
some of which attain a weight of 30 lbs. and more. They form a not
unimportant article of food where they are found in any number, as on
the Cape of Good Hope. The species found in the Mediterranean (_D.
vulgaris_) wanders sometimes to the south coast of England, and is
one of the larger species. The coloration of these fishes is rather
uniform, silvery, or pink, or greenish. _Symphorus_ is an allied genus
from the Indo-Pacific.
SYNAGRIS.--Body rather elongate, covered with ciliated
scales of moderate size. Cleft of the mouth horizontal, with
the jaws equal in length anteriorly. One continuous dorsal,
with feeble spines; dorsal 10/9, anal 3/7. Caudal deeply
forked. Teeth villiform, with canines at least in the upper
jaw. Infraorbital not armed; præoperculum without, or with a
very indistinct serrature. Cheek with three series of scales.
Branchiostegals six.
Marine fishes of small size; about twenty species are known from the
tropical parts of the Indo-Pacific. _Pentapus_, _Chætopterus_, and
_Aphareus_ are allied genera from the same area.
MAENA.--Body oblong, compressed, covered with ciliated scales
of moderate size. Mouth very protractile, the intermaxillary
pedicles extending backwards to the occiput. Teeth villiform;
minute teeth on the vomer. One dorsal, scaleless, with feeble
spines. D. 11/11, A. 3/9. Caudal fin forked. Præoperculum
without serrature. Branchiostegals six.
Small fishes from the Mediterranean, known to the ancients; valueless
as food. Three species.
SMARIS.--Body oblong or cylindrical, covered with rather small
ciliated scales. Mouth very protractile, the intermaxillary
pedicles extending backwards to the occiput. Teeth villiform.
Palate toothless. One dorsal, scaleless, with eleven or more
very feeble spines; anal with three. Caudal fin forked.
Præoperculum without serrature. Branchiostegals six.
Small fishes from the Mediterranean. Six species.
CÆSIO.--Body oblong, covered with ciliated scales of moderate
size. Cleft of the mouth more or less oblique, with the
jaws equal in length anteriorly, or with the lower somewhat
projecting. Teeth villiform; palate generally toothless. One
dorsal, with from nine to thirteen very feeble spines, with the
anterior part highest, and the posterior covered with minute
scales. Caudal fin deeply forked. Præoperculum without, or with
minute, serrature.
Small fishes from the Indo-Pacific. Twelve species.
ERYTHRICHTHYS.--Body elongate, covered with small ciliated
scales. Mouth very protractile, the pedicles of the
intermaxillary extending to the occiput. Dentition quite
rudimentary or entirely absent Two dorsal fins connected by
a series of very feeble spines; also the anterior spines are
feeble. Præoperculum not serrated.
[Illustration: Fig. 161.--Erythrichthys nitidus.]
[Illustration: Fig. 162.--Enlarged scale.]
[Illustration: Fig. 163.--Protractile mouth.]
Small fishes from various tropical and temperate seas. Four species:
the species figured occurs, but is not common, on the coasts of
Western Austria, Tasmania, and New Zealand.
OLIGORUS.--Body oblong, covered with small scales. Cleft of the
mouth rather oblique, the lower jaw being the longer. Teeth
villiform, without canines; teeth on the vomer and palatine
bones. One dorsal, with eleven spines; anal with three; caudal
fin rounded. Præoperculum with a single smooth or obtusely
denticulated margin.
To this genus belong two fishes well known on account of the excellent
flavour of their flesh. The first (_O. macquariensis_) is called
by the colonists “Murray-Cod,” being plentiful in the Murray River
and other rivers of South Australia. It attains to a length of more
than three feet, and to a weight of nearly 100 lbs. The second (_O.
gigas_) is found in the sea, on the coast of New Zealand, and called
by the Maoris and colonists “Hapuku.” Its average weight is about 45
lbs., but occasionally large specimens of more than a hundredweight
are caught. At certain localities it is so plentiful that it may form
an important article of trade. Dr. Hector, who has had opportunity of
examining it in a fresh state, has pointed out anatomical differences
from the Murray-Cod, from which it appears that it would be better
placed in a distinct genus.
[Illustration: Fig. 164.--The Murray-Cod, _Oligorus
macquariensis_.]
GRYSTES.--Body oblong, covered with scales of moderate size. All
the teeth villiform, without canines; teeth on the vomer and
palatine bones. One dorsal fin with ten spines; anal with three;
caudal fin rounded. Præoperculum with a single smooth margin.
One species, from the fresh waters of the United States (_G.
salmonoides_), attains to a length of more than two feet. It is
known by the name of “Growler,” and eaten.
ARRIPIS.--Body oblong, covered with scales of moderate size. All
the teeth villiform, without canines; teeth on the vomer and
palatine bones. One dorsal fin, with nine slender spines; anal
with three. Præoperculum denticulated.
[Illustration: Fig. 165.--_Arripis salar_, South Australia.]
Three species are known, from the coasts of Southern Australia and New
Zealand. They are named by the colonists Salmon or Trout, from their
elegant form and lively habits, and from the sport they afford to the
angler. Their usual size is from 1 to 3 lbs., but specimens of double
that weight are taken. The smaller specimens are the more delicate and
better flavoured. When not fresh, they are liable to assume poisonous
properties; and cases of poisoning are not unfrequently caused by them.
HURO.--Body oblong, compressed, covered with scales of moderate
size. All the teeth villiform; bones of the head without
serrature. Mouth rather oblique, with the lower jaw projecting.
Two dorsal fins, the first with six spines.
The “Black Bass” of Lake Huron (_Huro nigricans_).
AMBASSIS.--Body short, strongly compressed, covered with large
thin deciduous scales. Mouth oblique, with the lower jaw
longest; teeth villiform, without conspicuously larger canines;
teeth on the vomer and palatine bones. Two dorsal fins, the
first with seven, the anal with three spines; a horizontal
spine pointing forwards in front of the dorsal fin. The lower
limb of the præoperculum with a double serrated margin.
This genus comprises the smallest of all Percoids, some of the species
not much exceeding one inch in length. They are most abundant on the
coasts of the tropical Indo-Pacific, and in the fresh waters belonging
to that area. The species are numerous (some thirty having been
described), and very difficult to distinguish. Their coloration is very
plain, a silvery hue prevailing over the whole fish.
APOGON.--Body rather short, covered with large deciduous scales.
Mouth oblique, with the lower jaw longest; teeth villiform,
without canines; teeth on the vomer and palatine bones. Two
dorsal fins, the first with six or seven, the anal with two
spines. Præoperculum with a double edge on the margin, one or
both edges being serrated. Seven branchiostegals.
[Illustration: Fig. 166.--Apogon frenatus.]
Although of similarly small size, the fishes of this genus represent a
more highly developed form of the Percoid type than _Ambassis_. Their
distribution coincides very much with that of _Ambassis_, but they
are chiefly marine, comparatively few of the species entering fresh
water. They belong to the kind of fishes which, from their habit,
are termed “Coral Fishes,” being found in greatest abundance on, or
in the neighbourhood of, coral reefs, in company with Chætodonts,
Pomacentridæ, and others. Their colours also are ornamental and highly
diversified, as is generally the case in coral fishes, the majority of
the species showing transverse or longitudinal bands or large spots,
and numerous other smaller markings which, in the dead fish, soon
disappear. Nearly one hundred species have been described, of which
a few only occur in the Atlantic, one extending northwards into the
Mediterranean.
_Chilodipterus_, _Acropoma_, and _Scombrops_ are allied genera, but
with canine teeth in one or both jaws.
POMATOMUS.--Body oblong, covered with scales of moderate size.
Eye very large. All the teeth villiform, without canines; teeth
on the vomer and palatine bones. Two dorsal fins, the first with
seven, the anal with two spines. No serration on any of the
bones of the head. Branchiostegals seven.
One species only is known, _P. telescopium_, which grows to a length
of nearly two feet. It is not uncommon in the Mediterranean and
neighbouring parts of the Atlantic, but only occasionally caught, as it
lives habitually at a greater depth than any other Percoid as far as is
known at present, probably at depths from 80 to 200 fathoms; a habit
sufficiently indicated by its exceedingly large eye.
PRIACANTHUS.--Body short, compressed, covered with small rough
scales, which extend also over the short snout. Lower jaw and chin
prominent. Eye large. All the teeth villiform, without canines; teeth
on the vomer and palatine bones. One dorsal fin with ten spines, anal
with three. Præoperculum serrated, with a more or less prominent, flat,
triangular spine at the angle.
A very natural genus, easily recognised, and without direct relation to
the other Percoid genera. The species, of which seventeen are known,
are spread over nearly all the tropical seas, and belong to the more
common fishes. They scarcely exceed a length of twelve inches, and are
very uniformly coloured, red, pink, and silvery prevailing.
* * * * *
The following three genera form a group by themselves, which, however,
is defined rather by its geographical limits and similarity of general
appearance than by distinctive anatomical characters. The species are
abundant in the fresh waters of the United States, and well known by
the name of “Sun Fishes.” They rarely exceed a length of six inches,
and are not used as food. The number of species is uncertain.
CENTRARCHUS.--Body short, compressed, with scales of moderate
size. All the teeth villiform, without canines; teeth on the
vomer, palatines, and on the tongue. One dorsal fin; anal
generally with more than three spines. Præoperculum without
serrature; operculum not lobed.
BRYTTUS.--Body short, compressed, with scales of moderate size.
All the teeth villiform, without canines; teeth on the vomer and
palatine bones. One dorsal fin with nine or ten, anal with three
spines. Præoperculum not serrated; operculum with a rounded
membranaceous coloured lobe behind.
POMOTIS.--Body short, compressed, with scales of moderate
length. All the teeth villiform, without canines; teeth on the
vomer, but none on the palatine bones. One dorsal, with from
nine to eleven spines, anal with three. Præoperculum entire
or minutely serrated; operculum with a rounded membranaceous
coloured lobe behind.
* * * * *
A NORTH AMERICAN Freshwater genus, _Aphredoderus_, occupies a perfectly
isolated position in the system, and is evidently the type of a
distinct family. It resembles the “Sun-fishes” of the same country with
regard to the structure of the vertical fins, but has the vent situated
in front of the ventrals, which are composed of more than five soft
rays. The body is oblong, compressed, covered with ctenoid scales. The
dorsal fin is single, and has three spines in front. Infraorbital and
præoperculum with spinous teeth. Villiform teeth in the jaws, on the
vomer and palatine bones. _A. sayanus_ from the southern streams and
fresh waters of the Atlantic States.
To complete the list of Percoid genera, we have to mention the
following:--_Siniperca_, _Etelis_, _Niphon_, _Aprion_, _Apsilus_,
_Pentaceros_, _Velifer_, _Datnioides_, _Percilia_, _Lanioperca_.
SECOND FAMILY--SQUAMIPINNES.
_Body compressed and elevated, covered with scales, either finely
ctenoid or smooth. Lateral line continuous, not continued over the
caudal fin. Mouth in front of the snout, generally small, with lateral
cleft. Eye lateral, of moderate size. Six or seven branchiostegals.
Teeth villiform or setiform, in bands, without canines or incisors.
Dorsal fin consisting of a spinous and soft portion of nearly equal
development; anal with three or four spines, similarly developed as
the soft dorsal, both being many-rayed. The vertical fins more or less
densely covered with small scales. The lower rays of the pectoral fin
branched, not enlarged; ventrals thoracic, with one spine and five soft
rays. Stomach coecal._
The typical forms of this family are readily recognised by the form
of their body, and by a peculiarity from which they derive their
name _Squamipinnes_; the soft, and frequently also the spinous part
of their dorsal and anal fins are so thickly covered with scales
that the boundary between fins and body is entirely obliterated. The
majority are inhabitants of the tropical seas, and abound chiefly
in the neighbourhood of coral-reefs. The beauty and singularity of
distribution of the colours of some of the genera, as _Chætodon_,
_Heniochus_, _Holacanthus_, is scarcely surpassed by any other group
of fishes. They remain within small dimensions, and comparatively few
are used as food. They are carnivorous, feeding on small invertebrates.
Only a few species enter brackish water.
Extinct representatives of this family are not scarce at Monte Bolca
and in other tertiary formations. All, at least those admitting of
definite determination, belong to existing genera, viz. _Holacanthus_,
_Pomacanthus_, _Ephippium_, _Scatophagus_. Very singular is the
occurrence of _Toxotes_ in the Monte Bolca strata.
The following genera have no teeth on the palate:--
CHÆTODON.--One dorsal fin, without any notch in its upper
margin, and with the soft and spinous portions similarly
developed; none of the spines elongate. Snout short or of
moderate length. Præoperculum without, or with a fine,
serration, and without spine at the angle. Scales generally
large or of moderate size.
[Illustration: Fig. 167.--Chætodon ephippium.]
Seventy species are known from the tropical parts of the Atlantic and
Indo-Pacific, nearly all being beautifully ornamented with bands or
spots. Of the ornamental markings a dark or bicoloured band, passing
through the eye and ascending towards the back, is very generally
found in these fishes; it frequently occurs again in other marine
Acanthopterygians, in which it is not rarely a sign of the immature
condition of the individual. The Chætodonts are most numerous in the
neighbourhood of the coral-reefs of the Indo-Pacific, the species
figured (_C. ephippium_) being as common in the East Indian
Archipelago as in Polynesia, like many others of its congeners.
CHELMO differs from _Chætodon_ only in having the snout produced
into a more or less long tube.
[Illustration: Fig. 168.--Chelmo marginalis, from the coast of
Australia.]
Only four species are known, locally distributed in the tropical seas.
_Ch. rostratus_, the oldest species known, is said to have the instinct
of throwing a drop of water from its bill so as to light upon any
insect resting on a leaf, and thus make it fall, that it may instantly
dart upon it. This statement is erroneous, and probably rests upon
the mistaken notion that the long bill is especially adapted for this
manœuvre, which, indeed, is practised by another fish of this family
(_Toxotes_). The long slender bill of Chelmo (which is a true saltwater
fish) rather enables it to draw from holes and crevices animals which
otherwise could not be reached by it.
HENIOCHUS.--One dorsal, with from eleven to thirteen spines, the
fourth of which is more or less elongate and filiform. Snout
rather short or of moderate length. Præoperculum without spine.
Scales of moderate size.
Four species are known from the tropical Indo-Pacific. _H.
macrolepidotus_ is one of the most common fishes of that area; the
species figured (_H. varius_) retains in a conspicuous manner
horn-like protuberances on bones of the head, with which the young of
all the species of this genus seem to be armed.
[Illustration: Fig. 169.--Heniochus varius.]
HOLACANTHUS.--Præoperculum with a strong spine at the angle. One
dorsal, with from twelve to fifteen spines. Scales of moderate
or small size.
Forty species are known, which, in their geographical distribution
accompany, and are quite analogous to, the Chætodonts. One of the most
common and most beautiful is called “Emperor of Japan” by the Dutch,
which name has been adopted by Bloch for its specific designation,
_Holacanthus imperator_. Its body is blue, longitudinally traversed
by about thirty yellow bands; the ocular band, and the side behind the
head, are black, edged with yellow; the caudal fin is yellow. It is a
large species of this genus, sometimes attaining a length of 15 inches,
and as an article of food is one of the most esteemed of all the Indian
species. With regard to beauty of colours it is surpassed by another
allied species, _H. diacanthus_, which likewise ranges from the east
coast of Africa to Polynesia.
POMACANTHUS differs from _Holacanthus_ in having from eight to
ten spines only in the dorsal fin.
The single species (_P. paru_) on which this genus is founded is
one of the most common fishes of the West Indies, and offers one of
the most remarkable instances of variation of colour within the limits
of the same species: some specimens being ornamented with more or less
distinct yellowish cross-bands, others with yellow crescent-shaped
spots; in others black spots predominate.
[Illustration: Fig. 170.--Scatophagus multifasciatus.]
SCATOPHAGUS.--Two dorsal fins, united at the base, the first
with ten or eleven spines; only the second is scaly. A recumbent
spine before the dorsal, pointing forwards. Anal with four
spines. Snout rather short. Præoperculum without spine. Scales
very small.
Four species are known, from the Indian Ocean, of which _S. argus_
is the most generally known, in fact, one of the most common Indian
shore-fishes. It freely enters large rivers, and is said not to be
particular in the selection of its food. The species figured (_S.
multifasciatus_) represents _S. argus_ on the coasts of Australia.
[Illustration: Fig. 171.--Bony enlargement of cranial bones of
Ephippus. _a_, Enlargement of the frontal, and _b_,
of the supraoccipital bones; _c_, interorbital septum;
_d_, basis cranii. ⅓ nat. size.]
EPHIPPUS.--Snout short, with the upper profile parabolic. Dorsal
fin deeply emarginate between the spinous and soft portions,
the former with nine spines, the third of which is rather
elongate, and flexible; spinous portion not scaly; anal spines
three. Pectoral fin short. Præoperculum without spine. Scales of
moderate size, or rather small.
Two or three species are known from the warmer parts of the Atlantic
and Indian Oceans. The Atlantic species (_E. faber_) shows the
remarkable peculiarity that in old specimens (12 and more inches long)
the occipital crest, and sometimes some of the anterior neural and
hæmal spines are enormously enlarged into a globular bony mass. This
can hardly be regarded as a pathological change of the bone, as it has
been found in all old specimens, without exception.
_Drepane_ is allied to _Ephippus_, but has very long falciform pectoral
fins. The single species _D. punctata_ is common in the Indian Ocean
and on the coasts of Australia. _Hypsinotus_, from Japan, appears to
inhabit a greater depth than the other Squamipinnes.
_Scorpis_ and _Atypichthys_ are genera distinguished from the
preceding by the presence of vomerine teeth. They belong to the
coast-fauna of Australia, New Zealand, and Chili.
TOXOTES.--Body short, compressed, covered with scales of
moderate size. Snout pointed, with a wide lateral mouth and
projecting lower jaw. One dorsal, with five strong spines
situated on the posterior part of the back; the soft portion
and the anal fin scaly, the latter with three spines. Villiform
teeth in the jaws, on the vomer and palatine bones. Scales of
moderate size, cycloid.
[Illustration: Fig. 172.--Toxotes jaculator.]
Two species are known from the East Indies, one (_T. jaculator_),
which is the more common, ranging to the north coast of Australia. It
has received its name from its habit of throwing a drop of water at an
insect which it perceives close to the surface, in order to make it
fall into it. The Malays, who call it “Ikan sumpit,” keep it in a bowl,
in order to witness this singular habit, which it continues even in
captivity.
THIRD FAMILY--MULLIDÆ.
_Body rather low and slightly compressed, covered with large thin
scales, without or with an extremely fine serrature. Two long erectile
barbels are suspended from the hyoid, and are received between the rami
of the lower jaw and opercles. Lateral line continuous. Mouth in front
of the snout, with the cleft lateral and rather short; teeth very
feeble. Eye lateral, of moderate size. Two short dorsal fins remote
from each other, the first with feeble spines; anal similar to the
second dorsal. Ventrals with one spine and five rays. Pectorals short.
Branchiostegals four; stomach siphonal._
The “Red Mullets” form a very natural family, which, on account of
slight modifications of the dentition, has been divided into several
sub-genera--_Upeneoides_, _Upeneichthys_, _Mullus_, _Mulloides_, and
_Upeneus_. They are marine fishes, but many species enter brackish
water to feed on the animalcules abounding in the flora of brack-water.
About forty different species are known chiefly from tropical seas,
the European species (_M. barbatus_, see p. 43, Fig. 7), extending
far northwards into the temperate zone. None attain to a large size,
specimens of from two to three lbs. being not common, but all are
highly esteemed as food.
The most celebrated is the European species (of which there is one
only, _M. surmuletus_ being probably the female). The ancient Romans
called it _Mullus_, the Greeks τριγλη. The Romans priced it above any
other fish; they sought for large specimens far and wide, and paid
ruinous prices for them.
“Mullus tibi quatuor emptus
Librarum, cœnæ pompa caputque fuit,
Exclamare libet, non est hic improbe, non est
Piscis: homo est; hominem, Calliodore, voras.”
MARTIAL, x. 31.
Then, as nowadays, it was considered essential for the enjoyment of
this delicacy that the fish should exhibit the red colour of its
integuments. The Romans brought it, for that purpose, living into the
banqueting room, and allowed it to die in the hands of the guests, the
red colour appearing in all its brilliancy during the death struggle of
the fish. The fishermen of our times attain the same object by scaling
the fish immediately after its capture, thus causing a permanent
contraction of the chromatophors containing the red pigment (see p.
183).
FOURTH FAMILY--SPARIDÆ.
_Body compressed, oblong, covered with scales, the serrature of which
is very minute, and sometimes altogether absent. Mouth in front of the
snout, with the cleft lateral. Eye lateral, of moderate size. Either
cutting teeth in front of the jaws, or molar teeth on the side; palate
generally toothless. One dorsal fin, formed by a spinous and soft
portion of nearly equal development. Anal fin with three spines. The
lower rays of the pectoral fin are generally branched, but in one genus
simple. Ventrals thoracic, with one spine and five rays._
The “Sea-breams” are recognised chiefly by their dentition, which is
more specialised than in the preceding families, and by which the
groups, into which this family has been divided, are characterised.
They are inhabitants of the shores of all the tropical and temperate
seas. Their coloration is very plain. They do not attain to a large
size, but the majority are used as food.
The extinct forms found hitherto are rather numerous; the oldest come
from the cretaceous formation of Mount Lebanon; some belong to living
genera, as _Sargus_, _Pagellus_; of others from Eocene and Miocene
formations no living representative is known--_Sparnodus_, _Sargodon_,
_Capitodus_, _Soricidens_, _Asima_.
_First Group--Cantharina._--More or less broad cutting, sometimes
lobate, teeth in front of the jaws; no molars or vomerine teeth;
the lower pectoral rays are branched. Partly herbivorous, partly
carnivorous. The genera belonging to this group are:--_Cantharus_
from the European and South African coasts, of which one species (_C.
lineatus_), is common on the coasts of Great Britain, and locally known
by the names “Old Wife,” “Black Sea-bream;” _Box_, _Scatharus_, and
_Oblata_ from the Mediterranean and neighbouring parts of the Atlantic;
_Crenidens_ and _Tripterodon_ from the Indian Ocean; _Pachymetopon_,
_Dipterodon_, and _Gymnocrotaphus_ from the Cape of Good Hope;
_Girella_ and _Tephræops_ from Chinese, Japanese, and Australian Seas;
_Doydixodon_ from the Galapagos Islands and the coasts of Peru.
[Illustration: Fig. 173.--Tephræops richardsonii, from King
George’s Sound.]
_Second Group--Haplodactylina._--In both jaws flat and generally
tricuspid teeth; no molars; vomerine teeth. The lower pectoral rays
simple, not branched. Vegetable feeders. Only one genus is known,
_Haplodactylus_, from the temperate zone of the Southern Pacific.
_Third Group--Sargina._--Jaws with a single series of incisors
in front, and with several series of rounded molars on the side. One
genus is known, _Sargus_, which comprises twenty species; several
of them occur in the Mediterranean and the neighbouring parts of the
Atlantic, and are popularly called “Sargo,” “Sar,” “Saragu:” names
derived from the word Sargus, by which name these fishes were well
known to the ancient Greeks and Romans. One of the largest species is
the “Sheep’s-head” (_Sargus ovis_), from the coasts of the United
States, which attains to a weight of 15 lbs., and is highly esteemed on
account of the excellency of its flesh. Singularly enough, this genus
occurs also on the east coast of Africa, one of these East-African
species being identical with _S. noct_ from the Mediterranean.
These fishes evidently feed on hard-shelled animals, which they crush
with their molar teeth.
[Illustration: Fig. 174.--The Sheep’s-head, _Sargus ovis_,
of North America.]
[Illustration: Fig. 175.--Scale of Lethrinus.]
_Fourth Group--Pagrina._--Jaws with conical teeth in front and molar
teeth on the sides. Feeding, as the preceding, on hard-shelled animals,
like Mollusks and Crustaceans. This group is composed of several
genera:--
LETHRINUS.--Cheeks scaleless. Body oblong, covered with scales
of moderate size (L. lat. 45–50). Canine teeth in front; lateral
teeth in a single series, broadly conical or molar-like. Formula
of the fins: D. 10/9, A. 3/8.
More than twenty species are known, all of which, with one exception,
occur in the tropical Indo-Pacific. The species, forming this
exception, occurs, singularly enough, on the west coast of Africa,
where more than one Indian genus reappears in isolated representative
species. Some Lethrini attain to a length of three feet.
_Sphærodon_ is closely allied to _Lethrinus_, but has scales on the
cheek. One species from the Indo-Pacific.
PAGRUS.--Body oblong, compressed, with scales of moderate size.
Several pairs of strong canine-like teeth in both jaws; molars
arranged in two series. Cheeks scaly. The spines of the dorsal
fin, eleven or twelve in number, are sometimes elongate, and can
be received in a groove; anal spines three.
Thirteen species are known, chiefly distributed in the warmer parts
of the temperate zones, and more scantily represented between the
tropics. Several species (_P. vulgaris, P. auriga, P. bocagii_) occur
in the Mediterranean and the neighbouring parts of the Atlantic; one
(_P. argyrops_) is well known on the coasts of the United States
under the names of “Scup,” “Porgy,” or “Mishcup,” and one of the most
important food fishes, growing to a length of 18 inches and a weight
of 4 lbs.; another (_P. unicolor_) is one of the best-known sea-fishes
of Southern Australia and New Zealand, where it is called “Snapper;”
it is considered very good eating, like all the other species of this
genus, and attains, like some of them, a length of more than 3 feet and
a weight exceeding 20 lbs.
PAGELLUS.--Body oblong, compressed, with scales of moderate
size. Jaws without canines; molars on the sides arranged in
several series. Cheeks scaly. The spines of the dorsal fin, from
eleven to thirteen in number, can be received in a groove; anal
spines three.
Seven species are known, the majority of which are European, as
_P. erythrinus_, common in the Mediterranean, and not rare on the
south coast of England, where it is generally termed “Becker;”
_P. centrodontus_, the common “Sea-bream” of the English coasts,
distinguished by a black spot on the origin of the lateral line; in the
young, which are called “Chad” by Cornish and Devon fishermen, this
spot is absent; _P. owenii_, the “Axillary or Spanish Sea-Bream,”
likewise from the British coasts. _Pagellus lithognathus_, from the
coasts of the Cape of Good Hope, attains to a length of four feet, and
is one of the fishes which are dried for export and sale to whalers.
CHRYSOPHRYS.--Body oblong, compressed, with scales of moderate
size. Jaws with four or six canine teeth in front, and with
three or more series of rounded molars on each side. Cheeks
scaly. The spines of the dorsal fin, eleven or twelve in number,
can be received in a groove; anal spines three.
Some twenty species are known from tropical seas and the warmer parts
of the temperate zones. Generally known is _Ch. aurata_, from the
Mediterranean, occasionally found on the south coast of England,
where it is named “Gilthead.” The French call it “Daurade,” no doubt
from the Latin _Aurata_, a term applied to it by ancient authors. The
Greeks named it Chrysophrys (_i.e._ golden eyebrow), in allusion to
the brilliant spot of gold which it bears between its eyes. According
to Columella, the Aurata was among the number of the fishes brought
up by the Romans in their vivaria; and the inventor of those vivaria,
one Sergius Orata, is supposed to have derived his surname from
this fish. It is said to grow extremely fat in artificial ponds.
Duhamel states that it stirs up the sand with the tail, so as to
discover the shell-fish concealed in it. It is extremely fond of
mussels, and its near presence is sometimes ascertained by the noise
which it makes while breaking their shells with its teeth. Several
species found on the Cape of Good Hope attain to as large a size as
_Pagellus lithognathus_, and are preserved for sale like that species.
_Chrysophrys hasta_ is one of the most common species of the East
Indian and Chinese coasts, and enters large rivers.
_Fifth Group--Pimelepterina._--In both jaws a single anterior series
of cutting teeth, implanted by a horizontal posterior process, behind
which is a band of villiform teeth. Villiform teeth on the vomer,
palatines and the tongue. Vertical fins densely covered with minute
scales. Only one genus is known, _Pimelepterus_, with six species from
tropical seas. These fishes are sometimes found at a great distance
from the land.
FIFTH FAMILY--HOPLOGNATHIDÆ.
_Body compressed and elevated, covered with very small ctenoid scales.
Lateral line continuous. The bones of the jaws have a sharp dentigerous
edge, as in Scarus. The teeth, if at all conspicuous, being continuous
with the bone, forming a more or less indistinct serrature; no teeth
on the palate. The spinous portion of the dorsal fin is rather more
developed than the soft; the spines strong; anal with three spines,
similar to the soft dorsal. Ventrals thoracic, with one spine and five
soft rays._
One genus only is known, _Hoplognathus_, with four species from
Australian, Japanese, and Peruvian coasts.
[Illustration: Fig. 176.--Teeth of Hoplognathus.]
SIXTH FAMILY--CIRRHITIDÆ.
_Body oblong, compressed, covered with cycloid scales; lateral
line continuous. Mouth in front of the snout, with lateral cleft.
Eye lateral, of moderate size. Cheeks without a bony stay for the
præoperculum. Generally six, sometimes five or three branchiostegals.
Dentition more or less complete, composed of small pointed teeth,
sometimes with the addition of canines. One dorsal fin, formed by a
spinous and soft portion, of nearly equal development. Anal with three
spines, generally less developed than the soft dorsal. The lower rays
of the pectoral fins simple and generally enlarged; ventrals thoracic,
but remote from the root of the pectorals, with one spine and five
rays._
The fishes of this family may be readily recognised by their
thickened, undivided lower pectoral rays, which in some are evidently
auxiliary organs of locomotion, in others, probably, organs of
touch. They differ from the following family, the Scorpænidæ, in
lacking the bony connection between the infraorbital ring and the
præoperculum. Two groups may be distinguished in this family, which,
however, are connected by an intermediate genus (_Chironemus_). The
first, distinguished by the presence of vomerine teeth, consists of
_Cirrhites_ and _Chorinemus_, small prettily coloured fishes. The
former genus is peculiar to the Indo-Pacific, and consists of sixteen
species; the second, with three species, seems to be confined to
the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. The second group lacks the
vomerine teeth, and comprises the following genera:--
CHILODACTYLUS.--One dorsal fin, with from sixteen to nineteen
spines; anal fin of moderate length; caudal forked. One of the
simple pectoral rays more or less prolonged, and projecting
beyond the margin of the fin. Teeth in villiform bands; no
canines. Præoperculum not serrated. Scales of moderate size.
Air-bladder with many lobes.
[Illustration: Fig. 177.--_Chilodactylus macropterus_, from
Australia.]
Seventeen species are known, chiefly from the temperate parts of the
Southern Pacific, and also from the coasts of Japan and China. They
belong to the most valuable food-fishes, as they grow to a considerable
size (from five to twenty-five lbs.), and are easily caught in
numbers. At the Cape of Good Hope they are very abundant, and preserved
in large quantities for export.
_Mendosoma_ from the coast of Chili, and _Nemadactylus_ from Tasmania,
are allied genera.
LATRIS.--Dorsal fin deeply notched; the spinous portion with
seventeen spines; anal fin many-rayed. None of the simple
pectoral rays passes the margin of the fin. Teeth villiform; no
canines. Præoperculum minutely serrated. Scales small.
Two species only are known from Tasmania and New Zealand, which belong
to the most important food-fishes of the Southern Hemisphere. _Latris
hecateia_ or the “Trumpeter,” ranges from sixty to thirty lbs. in
weight, and is considered by the colonists the best flavoured of any of
the fishes of South Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, and consumed
smoked as well as fresh. The second species, _Latris ciliaris_, is
smaller, scarcely attaining a weight of twenty lbs., but more abundant;
it is confined to the coast of New Zealand.
[Illustration: Fig. 178.--Skull of _Scorpæna percoides_;
_so_, Suborbital ring; _pr_, Præoperculum; _st_,
Bony stay, connecting the sub-orbital with the præoperculum.]
SEVENTH FAMILY--SCORPÆNIDÆ.
_Body oblong, more or less compressed, covered with ordinary scales,
or naked. Cleft of the mouth lateral or subvertical. Dentition feeble,
consisting of villiform teeth; and generally without canines. Some
bones of the head armed, especially the angle of the præoperculum,
its armature receiving additional support by a bony stay, connecting
it with the infraorbital ring. The spinous portion of the dorsal fin
equally or more developed than the soft and than the anal. Ventrals
thoracic, generally with one spine and five soft rays, sometimes
rudimentary._
This family consists of carnivorous marine fishes only; some resemble
the Sea-Perches in form and habits, as _Sebastes_, _Scorpæna_, etc.,
whilst others live at the bottom of the sea, and possess in various
degrees of development those skinny appendages resembling the fronds of
seaweeds, by which they either attract other fishes, or by which they
are enabled more effectually to hide themselves. Species provided with
those appendages have generally a coloration resembling that of their
surroundings, and varying with the change of locality. The habit of
living on the bottom has also developed in many Scorpænoids separate
pectoral rays, by means of which they move or feel. Some of the genera
live at a considerable depth, but apparently not beyond 300 fathoms.
Nearly all are distinguished by a powerful armature either of the head,
or fin spines, or both; and in some the spines have been developed into
poison organs.
The only fossil representative known at present is a species of
_Scorpæna_ from the Eocene of Oran.
SEBASTES.--Head and body compressed; crown of the head scaly to,
or even beyond, the orbits; no transverse groove on the occiput.
Body covered with scales of moderate or small size, and without
skinny tentacles. Fin-rays not elongate; one dorsal, divided by
a notch into a spinous and soft portion, with twelve or thirteen
spines; the anal with three. No pectoral appendages. Villiform
teeth in the jaws, on the vomer, and generally on the palatine
bones. Vertebræ more than twenty-four.
About twenty species are known, principally from seas of the temperate
zones, as from the coasts of Northern Europe (_S. norvegicus_, _S.
viviparus_), of Japan, California, New Zealand, and Van Diemen’s Land.
All seem to prefer deep water to the surface, and _Sebastes macrochir_
has been obtained at a depth of 345 fathoms. In their general form
they resemble the Sea-Perches, attain to a weight of from one to four
lbs., and are generally esteemed as food.
SCORPÆNA.--Head large, slightly compressed, generally with a
transverse naked depression on the occiput; bones of the head
armed with spines, and generally with skinny tentacles. Scales
of moderate size. Mouth large, oblique. Villiform teeth in the
jaws, and at least on the vomer. One dorsal, 12–13/9, A. 3/5.
Pectoral fins without detached rays, large, rounded, with the
lower rays simple and thickened. Air-bladder none. Vertebræ
twenty-four.
[Illustration: Fig. 179.--Head of Scorpæna percoides, from New
Zealand.]
[Illustration: Fig. 180.--Scorpæna bynoensis, from the coasts of
Australia.]
About forty species are known from tropical and sub-tropical seas.
They lead a sedentary life, lying hidden in the sand, or between rocks
covered with seaweed, watching for their prey, which chiefly consists
of small fishes. Their strong undivided pectoral rays aid them in
burrowing in the sand, and in moving along the bottom. The type of
their coloration is very much the same in all the species, viz. an
irregular mottling of red, yellow, brown, and black colours, but the
distribution of these colours varies exceedingly, not only in the same
species but also in the same individuals. They do not attain to any
considerable size, probably never exceeding a length of 18 inches.
Their flesh is well flavoured. Wounds inflicted by their fin-spines are
exceedingly painful, but not followed by serious consequences.
_Glyptauchen_ and _Lioscorpius_ are genera closely allied to
_Scorpæna_, from Australian seas.
_Setarches_ is also allied to the preceding genera, and provided with
very large eyes, in accordance with the depth (215 fathoms) which the
two species known at present inhabit; one has been found near Madeira,
the other near the Fiji Islands.
PTEROIS.--Head and body compressed; scales of small or moderate
size. Bones of the head armed with numerous spinous projections,
between which often skinny tentacles are developed. The dorsal
spines and pectoral rays are more or less prolonged, passing
beyond the margin of the connecting membrane. Twelve or thirteen
dorsal spines. Villiform teeth in the jaws and on the vomer.
Nine species are known from the tropical Indo-Pacific. They belong
to the most singularly formed and most beautifully coloured fishes
of the Tropics, and formerly were believed to be able to fly, like
Dactylopterus. But the membrane connecting their pectoral rays is
much too short and feeble to enable them to raise themselves from the
surface of the water.
APISTUS.--Head and body compressed, covered with ctenoid scales
of rather small size. Some bones of the head, and especially
the præorbital, are armed with spines. One dorsal with fifteen
spines; the anal with three. The pectoral fin is elongate, and
one ray is completely detached from the fin. Villiform teeth in
the jaws, on the vomer, and palatine bones. Air-bladder present.
A cleft behind the fourth gill.
Two species from the Indian Ocean. These fishes are very small, but
of interest on account of the prolongation of their pectoral fins,
which indicates that they can take long flying leaps out of the water.
However, this requires confirmation by actual observation.
AGRIOPUS.--Head and body compressed, scaleless; head without
any, or with very feeble, armature. Cleft of the mouth small, at
the end of the produced snout. One dorsal fin, which commences
from the head, the spinous portion being formed by from
seventeen to twenty-one strong spines; anal short. Villiform
teeth in the jaws, generally none on the vomer.
Seven species. This singular genus is peculiar to the temperate parts
of the South Pacific, occurring at the Cape, on the coast of South
Australia, and Chili. The largest species (_A. torvus_) attains a
length of two and a half feet. Nothing is known of its mode of life.
SYNANCEIA.--General appearance of the fish, especially of the
head, monstrous. Scales none; skin with numerous soft warty
protuberances or filaments. Mouth directed upwards, wide. Eyes
small. From thirteen to sixteen dorsal spines; pectoral fins
very large. Villiform teeth in the jaws, and sometimes on the
vomer.
Four species are known from the Indo-Pacific, of which _S. horrida_ and
_S. verrucosa_ are the most generally distributed, and, unfortunately,
the most common. They are justly feared on account of the great danger
accompanying wounds which they inflict with their poisoned dorsal
spines, as has been already noticed above, p. 191. The greatest length
to which they attain does not seem to exceed eighteen inches. They are
very voracious fishes, and their stomach is of so great a capacity that
they are able to swallow fishes one-third of their own bulk.
MICROPUS.--Head and body strongly compressed, short, and deep;
no scales, but the skin is covered with minute tubercles. Snout
very short, with nearly vertical anterior profile. Præorbital,
præ- and inter-operculum with spines on the edge. Dorsal fin
with seven or eight, anal with two spines. Pectorals short,
ventrals rudimentary. Jaws with villiform teeth.
These fishes belong to the smallest of Acanthopterygians, scarcely
exceeding 1½ inches in length. Two species are known, which are rather
common on the coral reefs of the Pacific.
CHORISMODACTYLUS.--Head and body rather compressed,
scaleless, with skinny flaps. Bones of the head with prominent
ridges; the præorbital, præoperculum, and operculum armed; a
depression on the occiput. One dorsal fin, with thirteen spines;
the anal with two. Three free pectoral appendages. Ventral fins
with one spine and five rays. Villiform teeth in the jaws only.
Only one small species, _Ch. multibarbis_, is known, from the coasts of
India and China.
[Illustration: Fig. 181.--Chorismodactylus multibarbis.]
To complete the list of Scorpænoid genera, we have to mention
_Tænianotus_, _Centropogon_, _Pentaroge_, _Tetraroge_, _Prosopodasys_,
_Aploactis_, _Trichopleura_, _Hemitripterus_, _Minous_ and _Pelor_.
EIGHTH FAMILY--NANDIDÆ.
_Body oblong, compressed, covered with scales. Lateral line
interrupted. Dorsal fin formed by a spinous and soft portion, the
number of spines and rays being nearly equal; anal fin with three
spines, and with the soft portion similar to the soft dorsal. Ventral
fins thoracic, with one spine, and five or four rays. Dentition more or
less complete, but feeble._
This small family consists of two very distinct groups.
A. _Plesiopina._ Marine fishes of small size, with pseudobranchiæ
and only four ventral rays. _Plesiops_ from the coral-reefs of the
Indo-Pacific, and _Trachinops_ from the coast of New South Wales,
belong to this group.
B. _Nandina._ Freshwater fishes of small size from the East Indies,
without pseudobranchiæ, and five ventral rays. The genera are _Badis_,
_Nandus_, and _Catopra_.
NINTH FAMILY--POLYCENTRIDÆ.
_Body compressed, deep, scaly. Lateral line none. Dorsal and anal
fins long, both with numerous spines, the spinous portion being the
more developed. Ventrals thoracic, with one spine and five soft rays.
Teeth feeble. Pseudobranchiæ hidden._
Only two genera, each represented by one or two species in the Atlantic
rivers of Tropical America, _Polycentrus_ and _Monocirrhus_,
belong to this family. They are small insectivorous fishes.
TENTH FAMILY--TEUTHIDIDÆ.
_Body oblong, strongly compressed, covered with very small scales.
Lateral line continuous. Eye lateral, of moderate size. A single series
of cutting incisors in each jaw; palate toothless. One dorsal fin,
the spinous portion being the more deve__loped; anal with seven
spines. Ventral fins thoracic, with an outer and an inner spine, and
with three soft rays between._
This family consists of one very natural genus, _Teuthis_, readily
recognised by the singular structure of the fins. In all the species
the fin-formula is D. 13/10. A. 7/9. The incisors are small, narrow,
and provided with a serrated edge. The air-bladder is large, and
forked anteriorly as well as posteriorly. Their skeleton shows several
peculiarities: the number of vertebræ is twenty-three, ten of which
belong to the abdominal portion. The abdominal cavity is surrounded
by a complete ring of bones, the second piece of the coracoid being
exceedingly long, and extending along the whole length of the abdomen,
where it is joined to a spinous process of the first interhæmal. The
pubic bones are slender, long, firmly attached to each other, without
leaving a free space between them. They are fastened by a long process
which passes the symphysis of the radii, and extends on to that of the
humeri.
[Illustration: Fig. 182.--Teuthis nebulosa, Indian Ocean.]
Thirty species are known, all from the Indo-Pacific; but they do not
extend eastwards beyond 140° long., or to the Sandwich Islands. They
are herbivorous, and do not exceed a length of fifteen inches.
SECOND DIVISION--ACANTHOPTERYGII BERYCIFORMES.
_Body compressed, oblong, or elevated; head with large muciferous
cavities which are covered with a thin skin. Ventral fins thoracic,
with one spine and more than five soft rays_ (_in_ Monocentris _with
two only_).
One family only belongs to this division.
FAMILY--BERYCIDÆ.
_Body short, with ctenoid scales, which are rarely absent. Eyes
lateral, large_ (_except_ Melamphaës). _Cleft of the mouth lateral,
oblique; jaws with villiform teeth; palate generally toothed. Opercular
bones more or less armed. Eight (four) branchiostegals._
This family offers several points of biological interest. All
its members are strictly marine; but only two of the genera are
surface-forms (_Holocentrum_ and _Myripristis_). All the others
descend considerably below the surface, and even some of the species
of _Myripristis_ habitually inhabit depths of from 50 to 100 fathoms.
_Polymixia_ and _Beryx_ have been found in 345 fathoms. _Melamphaës_
must live at a still greater depth, as we may infer from the small
size of its eye; this fish is not likely to come nearer to the surface
than to about 200 fathoms. The other genera named have extremely large
eyes, and, therefore, may be assumed to ascend into such superficial
strata as are still lit up by a certain proportion of sun-rays. The
highly-developed apparatus for the secretion of superficial mucus, with
which these fishes are provided, is another sign of their living at a
greater depth than any of the preceding families of Acanthopterygians.
In accordance with this vertical distribution, Berycoid fishes have a
wide horizontal range, and several species occur at Madeira as well as
in Japan.
Fossil Berycoids show a still greater diversity of form than living;
they belong to the oldest Teleosteous fishes, the majority of the
Acanthopterygians found in the chalk being representatives of this
family. _Beryx_ has been found in several species, with other genera
now extinct: _Pseudoberyx_, with abdominal ventrals, from Mount
Lebanon; _Berycopsis_, with cycloid scales; _Homonotus_, _Stenostoma_,
_Sphenocephalus_, _Acanus_, _Hoplopteryx_, _Platycornus_, with
granular scales; _Podocys_, with a dorsal fin extending to the neck;
_Acrogaster_, _Macrolepis_, and _Rhacolepis_, from the chalk of Brazil.
Species of _Holocentrum_ and _Myripristis_ occur in the Monte Bolca
formation.
MONOCENTRIS.--Snout obtuse, convex, short; eye of moderate size.
Villiform teeth on the palatine bones, but none on the vomer.
Opercular bones without armature. Scales very large, bony,
forming a rigid carapace. Ventrals reduced to a single strong
spine and a few rudimentary rays.
[Illustration: Fig. 183.--Monocentris japonicus.]
One species only is known (_M. japonicus_) from the seas off Japan
and Mauritius. It does not attain to any size, and is not common.
HOPLOSTETHUS.--Snout very short and obtuse; eye large.
Villiform teeth on the palatine bones, but none on the vomer.
Operculum unarmed, a strong spine at the scapulary and the angle
of the præoperculum. Scales ctenoid, of moderate size; abdominal
edge serrated. One dorsal, with six spines; ventrals with six
soft rays; caudal deeply forked.
One species only is known (_H. mediterraneus_), which occurs in the
Mediterranean, the neighbouring parts of the Atlantic, and in the sea
off Japan.
TRACHICHTHYS.--Snout very short and obtuse, with prominent chin;
eye large. Villiform teeth on the palatine bones and on the
vomer. A strong spine at the scapulary and at the angle of the
præoperculum. Scales rather small; abdomen serrated. One dorsal,
with from three to six spines; ventral with six soft rays.
Caudal forked.
Four species are known from New Zealand and Madeira.
_Anoplogaster_ is an allied genus from tropical parts of the
Atlantic; it is scaleless.
BERYX.--Snout short, with oblique cleft of the mouth and
prominent chin; eye large. Villiform teeth on the palatine bones
and vomer. Opercular bones serrated; no spine at the angle of
the præoperculum. Scales ctenoid, of moderate or large size. One
dorsal, with several spines; ventrals with seven or more soft
rays. Anal with four spines; caudal forked.
[Illustration: Fig. 184.--Beryx decadactylus.]
Five species are known from Madeira, the tropical Atlantic, and
the seas of Japan and Australia. The species figured is _B.
decadactylus_, common at Madeira, and occurring near Japan at a
depth of 345 fathoms; it attains a length of 1½ feet.
MELAMPHAES.--Head large and thick, with very thin bones, nearly
all the superficial bones being transformed into wide muciferous
channels. Eye small. Palate toothless; no barbels; opercles not
armed. Scales large, cycloid. One dorsal, with six spines; anal
spines very feeble; caudal forked. Ventrals with seven rays.
Two species, deep-sea fishes of the Atlantic; they are very scarce, as
only three or four specimens have been found hitherto.
POLYMIXIA.--Snout short, with the cleft of the mouth nearly
horizontal; eye large. Two barbels at the throat. Opercles
without armature. Scales of moderate size. One dorsal. Anal with
three or four spines; caudal forked; ventrals with six or seven
soft rays.
Three species are known: _P. nobilis_ from Madeira and St. Helena, _P.
lowei_ from Cuba, and _P. japonica_ from Japan; the latter species from
a depth of 345 fathoms. Average size eighteen inches.
MYRIPRISTIS.--Snout short, with oblique cleft of the mouth and
prominent chin; eye large or very large. Villiform teeth on the
vomer and palatine bones. Opercular bones serrated; præoperculum
without spine. Scales large, ctenoid. Two dorsals, the first
with ten or eleven spines; anal with four spines; caudal
forked; ventrals with seven soft rays. Air-bladder divided by
a contraction in two parts, the anterior of which is connected
with the organ of hearing.
Eighteen species from the tropical seas of both hemispheres, the
majority living near the coast at the surface. The coloration is
(principally) red or pink on the back and silvery on the sides. They
attain a length of about 15 inches, and are esteemed as food.
HOLOCENTRUM.--Snout somewhat projecting, with the cleft of
the mouth nearly horizontal; eye large. Villiform teeth on
the vomer and palatine bones. Opercular bones and præorbital
serrated; operculum with two spines behind; a large spine at the
angle of the præoperculum. Scales ctenoid, of moderate size. Two
dorsals, the first with twelve spines; anal with four spines,
the third being very long and strong; caudal forked. Ventrals
with seven soft rays.
[Illustration: Fig. 185.--_Holocentrum unipunctatum_, from
the South Sea.]
About thirty species are known from the tropical seas of both
hemispheres; all are surface fishes, and very common. The young have
the upper part of the snout pointed and elongate, and were described as
a distinct genus (_Rhynchichthys_). The coloration of the adult is
uniform; red, pink, and silvery prevailing. They attain to a length of
about 15 inches, and are esteemed as food.
THIRD DIVISION--ACANTHOPTERYGII KURTIFORMES.
_One dorsal fin only, much shorter than the anal, which is long and
many-rayed. No superbranchial organ._
One family only belongs to this division.
FAMILY--KURTIDÆ.
_Body compressed, oblong, deep in front, attenuated behind. Snout
short. The spines of the short dorsal are few in number, if developed.
Scales small or of moderate size. Villiform teeth in the jaws, on the
vomer, and palatine bones._
This family consists of a small number of species only, which form
two distinct genera, _Pempheris_ and _Kurtus_. They are shore fishes
of tropical seas. In both the air-bladder shows some peculiarity: in
_Pempheris_ it is divided into an anterior and posterior portion; in
_Kurtus_ it is lodged within the ribs, which are dilated, convex,
forming rings. The number of vertebræ is respectively twenty-four and
twenty-three.
FOURTH DIVISION--ACANTHOPTERYGII POLYNEMIFORMES.
_Two rather short dorsal fins, somewhat remote from each other; free
filaments at the humeral arch, below the pectoral fins; muciferous
canals of the head well developed._
One family only belongs to this division.
FAMILY--POLYNEMIDÆ.
_Body oblong, rather compressed, covered with smooth or very feebly
ciliated scales. Lateral line continuous. Snout projecting beyond the
mouth, which is inferior, with lateral cleft. Eye lateral, large.
Villiform teeth in the jaws and on the palate. Ventrals thoracic, with
one spine and five rays._
The fishes of this natural family have been divided, on slight
differences, into three genera--_Polynemus_, _Pentanemus_, and
_Galeoides_. They are found in rather numerous species on the coasts
between the tropics, and the majority enter brackish or even fresh
water. Very characteristic are the free filaments which in this family
are organs of touch; they are inserted on the humeral arch at some
distance from the pectoral fin; but, nevertheless, can be regarded
only as a detached portion of that fin; they can be moved quite
independently of the fin; their number varies from three to fourteen,
according to the species; in some they are exceedingly elongate, twice
as long as the fish, in others they are not longer or even shorter than
the pectoral. It is evident from the whole organisation of these fishes
that they live on muddy bottom or in thick water, such as is found
near the mouths of great rivers. Their eyes are large, but generally
obscured by a filmy skin, so that those feelers must be of great use
to them in finding their way and their food. The Polynemoids are very
useful to man: their flesh is esteemed, and some of the species are
provided with an air-bladder which yields a good sort of isinglass,
and forms an article of trade in the East Indies. Some of these fishes
attain to a length of four feet.
[Illustration: Fig. 186.--_Pentanemus quinquarius_, from the
West Coast of Africa and the West Indies.]
FIFTH DIVISION--ACANTHOPTERYGII SCIÆNIFORMES.
_The soft dorsal is more, generally much more, developed than the
spinous, and than the anal. No pectoral filaments; head with the
muciferous canals well developed._
Also this division is composed of one family only.
FAMILY--SCIÆNIDÆ.
_Body rather elongate, compressed, covered with ctenoid scales.
Lateral line continuous, and frequently extending over the caudal fin.
Mouth in front of the snout. Eye lateral, of moderate size. Teeth in
villiform bands, sometimes with the addition of canines; no molars or
incisor-like teeth in the jaws; palate toothless. Præoperculum unarmed,
and without bony stay. Ventrals thoracic, with one spine and five soft
rays. Bones of the head with wide muciferous channels. Stomach coecal.
Air-bladder frequently with numerous appendages_ (see pp. 144 and
_seq._)
The fishes of the “_Meagre_” family are chiefly coast-fishes of the
tropical and sub-tropical Atlantic and Indian Oceans, preferring the
neighbourhood of the mouths of large rivers, into which they freely
enter, some of the species having become so completely naturalised in
fresh water that they are never found nowadays in the sea. Some of the
larger species wander far from their original home, and are not rarely
found at distant localities as occasional visitors. In the Pacific
and on the coast of Australia, where but a few large rivers enter the
ocean, they are extremely rare and, in the Red Sea, they are absent.
Many attain a large size, and almost all are eaten.
No fossil species have been as yet discovered.
POGONIAS.--Snout convex, with the upper jaw overlapping the
lower. Mandible with numerous small barbels. No canines. The
first dorsal with ten stout spines. Two anal spines, the second
very strong. Scales of moderate size.
To this fish (_P. chromis_) more especially is given the name of
“Drum,” from the extraordinary sounds which are produced by it and
other allied Sciænoids. These sounds are better expressed by the word
drumming than by any other, and are frequently noticed by persons in
vessels lying at anchor on the coasts of the United States, where those
fishes abound. It is still a matter of uncertainty by what means the
“Drum” produces the sounds. Some naturalists believe that it is caused
by the clapping together of the pharyngeal teeth, which are very large
molar teeth. However, if it be true that the sounds are accompanied
by a tremulous motion of the vessel, it seems more probable that they
are produced by the fishes beating their tails against the bottom of
the vessel in order to get rid of the parasites with which that part
of their body is infested. The “Drum” attains to a length of more than
four feet, and to a weight exceeding a hundred lbs. Its air-bladder has
been figured on p. 146.
_Micropogon_ is closely allied to _Pogonias_, but has conical
pharyngeal teeth. Two species from the western parts of the Atlantic.
[Illustration: Fig. 187.--Pharyngeal bones and teeth of
_Pogonias chromis_. A, Upper; B, Lower pharyngeals.]
UMBRINA.--Snout convex, with the upper jaw overlapping the
lower; a short barbel under the symphysis of the mandible. The
first dorsal with nine or ten flexible spines, the anal with one
or two. Scales of moderate size.
[Illustration: Fig. 188.--_Umbrina nasus_, from Panama.]
Twenty species are known from the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Indian
Ocean. One well known to the ancients, under the name of _Umbra_, is
the _Umbrina cirrhosa_ of the Mediterranean, the “Umbrine” or “Ombre”
of the French, and the “Corvo” of the Italians. It ranges to the Cape
of Good Hope, and attains a length of three feet. Also on the coasts
of the United States several species occur, as _U. alburna_, _U.
nebulosa_, etc.
[Illustration: Fig. 189.--_Umbrina nasus_, from Panama.]
SCIÆNA (including _Corvina_).--The upper jaw overlapping
the lower, or both jaws equal in front. Interorbital space
moderately broad and slightly convex. Cleft of the mouth
horizontal or slightly oblique. The outer series of teeth is
generally composed of teeth larger than the rest, but there are
no canines. Eye of moderate size, barbel none.
[Illustration: Fig. 190.--Sciæna richardsonii.]
Some fifty species are known, but their distinctive characters have
been but imperfectly pointed out. They are found in all the seas
and rivers in which Sciænoids generally occur, and many are entirely
confined to fresh water, for instance the species figured, _Sciæna
richardsonii_, from Lake Huron; _Sc. amazonica_; _Sc. obliqua_,
_ocellata_, _oscula_, etc., from fresh waters of the United States.
_Sciæna diacanthus_ and _Sc. coitor_ belong to the most common fishes
of the coasts of the East Indies, ascending the great rivers for a long
distance from the sea. One of the European species, _Sciæna aquila_,
has an extremely wide range; it not rarely reaches the British coasts,
where it is known as “Meagre,” and has been found at the Cape of Good
Hope and on the coast of southern Australia. Like some of the other
species it attains to a length of six feet, but the majority of the
species of this genus remain within smaller dimensions. A part of the
species have the second anal ray very strong, and have been placed into
a distinct genus, _Corvina_,--thus, among others, _Sc. nigra_ from the
Mediterranean, and _Sc. richardsonii_.
_Pachyurus_ is closely allied to _Sciæna_, but has the vertical fins
densely covered with small scales.
OTOLITHUS.--Snout obtuse or somewhat pointed, with the lower jaw
longer. The first dorsal with nine or ten feeble spines. Canine
teeth more or less distinct. Præoperculum denticulated. Scales
of moderate or small size.
About twenty species are known from the tropical and sub-tropical parts
of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The air-bladder is figured on p. 144.
ANCYLODON differs from _Otolithus_ in having very long
arrow-shaped or lanceolate canine teeth. Coasts of tropical
America.
COLLICHTHYS.--Body elongate; head very broad, with the upper
surface very convex; cleft of the mouth wide and oblique;
no large canines. Eye small. No barbel. Scales small, or of
moderate size. The second dorsal very long, caudal pointed.
Three species from the East Indian and Chinese coasts. The great
development of the muciferous system on the head and the small eye
leads one to suppose that these fishes live in muddy water near the
mouths of large rivers. The air-bladder has been described on p. 144.
Other genera belonging to this family are _Larimus_, _Eques_, _Nebris_,
and _Lonchurus_.
[Illustration: Fig. 191.--Histiophorus pulchellus.]
SIXTH DIVISION--ACANTHOPTERYGII XIPHIIFORMES.
_The upper jaw is produced into a long cuneiform weapon._
These fishes form one small family only, _Xiphiidæ_.
The “Sword-fishes” are pelagic fishes, occurring in all tropical and
sub-tropical seas. Generally found in the open ocean, always vigilant,
and endowed with extraordinary strength and velocity, they are but
rarely captured, and still more rarely preserved. The species found
in the Indian and Pacific Oceans belong to the genus _Histiophorus_,
distinguished from the common Mediterranean Sword-fish, or _Xiphias_,
by the presence of ventral fins, which, however, are reduced to two
long styliform appendages. The distinction of the species is beset with
great difficulties, owing to the circumstance that but few examples
exist in museums, and further, because the form of the dorsal fin,
the length of the ventrals, the shape and length of the sword, appear
to change according to the age of the individuals. Some specimens or
species have only the anterior dorsal rays elevated, the remainder of
the fin being very low, whilst in others all the rays are exceedingly
elongate, so that the fin, when erected, projects beyond the surface of
the water. It is stated that Sword-fishes, when quietly floating with
the dorsal fin erect, can sail before the wind, like a boat.
Sword-fishes are the largest of Acanthopterygians, and not exceeded in
size by any other Teleostean; they attain to a length of from 12 to 15
feet, and swords have been obtained more than three feet long, and with
a diameter of at least three inches at the base. The sword is formed by
the prolongation and coalescence of the maxillary and intermaxillary
bones; it is rough at its lower surface, owing to the development
of rudimentary villiform teeth, very hard and strong, and forms a
most formidable weapon. Sword-fishes never hesitate to attack whales
and other large Cetaceans, and by repeatedly stabbing these animals
generally retire from the combat victorious. The cause which excites
them to those attacks is unknown; but they follow this instinct so
blindly that they not rarely attack boats or large vessels in a similar
manner, evidently mistaking them for Cetaceans. Sometimes they actually
succeed in piercing the bottom of a ship, endangering its safety; but
as they are unable to execute powerful backward movements they cannot
always retract their sword, which is broken off by the exertions of the
fish to free itself. A piece of a two-inch plank of a whale-boat, thus
pierced by a sword-fish, in which the broken sword still remains, is
preserved in the British Museum.
The Rev. Wyatt Gill, who has worked as a missionary for many years in
the South Sea Islands, communicates that young Sword-fishes are easily
caught in strong nets, but no net is strong enough to hold a fish of
six feet in length. Specimens of that size are now and then captured
by hook and line, a small fish being used as bait. Individuals with
the sword broken off are not rarely observed. Larger specimens cannot
be captured by the natives, who are in great fear of them. They easily
pierce their canoes, and only too often dangerously wound persons
sitting in them.
The Mediterranean Sword-fish is constantly caught in the nets of the
Tunny-fishers off the coast of Sicily, and brought to market, where its
flesh sells as well as that of the Tunny.
The remarkable changes which Sword-fishes undergo at an early stage of
their growth have been noticed above, p. 173 and _seq._
Sword-fishes are as old a type as the Berycoids. Their remains have
been found in the chalk of Lewes, and more frequently in the London
clay of Sheppy, where an extinct genus, _Coelorhynchus_, has been
recognised.
SEVENTH DIVISION--ACANTHOPTERYGII TRICHIURIFORMES.
_Body elongate, compressed or band-like; cleft of the mouth wide,
with several strong teeth in the jaws or on the palate. The spinous
and soft portions of the dorsal fin and the anal are of nearly equal
extent, long, many-rayed, sometimes terminating in finlets; caudal fin
forked, if present._
FAMILY--TRICHIURIDÆ.
Marine fishes inhabiting the tropical and sub-tropical seas; some of
them are surface-fishes, living in the vicinity of the coast, whilst
others descend to moderate depths, as the Berycoids. All are powerful
rapacious fishes, as is indicated by their dentition.
The oldest of the extinct genera are _Enchodus_ and _Anenchelum_; they
were formerly referred to the Scombroids, but belong to this family.
The former has been found in the chalk of Lewes and Mæstricht; the
latter is abundant in the Eocene schists of Glaris. _Anenchelum_ is
much elongate, and exhibits in the slender structure of its bones the
characteristics of a deep-sea fish; it resembles much _Lepidopus_,
but has some long rays in the ventrals. Other Eocene genera are
_Nemopteryx_ and _Xiphopterus_. In the Miocene of Licata in Sicily
_Trichiuridæ_ are well represented, viz. by a species of _Lepidopus_,
and by two genera, _Hemithyrsites_ and _Trichiurichthys_, which are
allied to _Thyrsites_ and _Trichiurus_, but covered with scales.
The following is a complete list of the genera referred to this
family:--
NEALOTUS.--Body incompletely clothed with delicate scales. Small
teeth in the jaws and on the palatine bones; none on the vomer.
Two dorsal fins, the first continuous and extending to the
second; finlets behind the second and anal fins. Each ventral
fin represented by a single small spine. A dagger-shaped spine
behind the vent. Caudal fin well developed.
One specimen only of this fish (_N. tripes_), 10 inches long, has
been obtained off Madeira; it evidently lives at a considerable depth,
and comes to the surface only by accident.
NESIARCHUS.--Body covered with small scales. Several strong
fangs in the jaws; no teeth on the palate. First dorsal not
extending to the second. No detached finlets. Ventrals small,
but perfectly developed, thoracic. Caudal fin present. A
dagger-shaped spine behind the vent.
A rather large fish (_N. nasutus_), very rarely found in the sea
off Madeira. The two or three specimens found hitherto measure from
three to four feet in length. Probably living at the same depth as the
preceding genus.
APHANOPUS.--Scales none. Two very long dorsal fins; caudal well
developed; ventrals none. A strong dagger-shaped spine behind
the vent. Strong teeth in the jaws; none on the palate.
One species only is known, named _A. carbo_ from its coal-black
colour; it is evidently a deep-sea fish, very rarely obtained in the
sea off Madeira. Upwards of four feet long.
EUOXYMETOPON.--Body naked, very long and thin. Profile of the
head regularly decurved from the nape to the snout, the occiput
and forehead being elevated and trenchant. Jaws with fangs;
palatine teeth present. One dorsal only, continued from the head
to the caudal fin, which is distinct. A dagger-shaped spine
behind the vent. Pectoral fins inserted almost horizontally,
with the lowest rays longest, and with the posterior border
emarginate. Ventral fins rudimentary, scale-like.
This is another deep-sea form of this family, but, at present, no
observations have been made as regards the exact depth at which it
occurs. A specimen has been known since the year 1812; it was found on
the coast of Scotland, and described as _Trichiurus lepturus_. The
same species has been re-discovered in the West Indies, where, however,
it is also extremely scarce.
LEPIDOPUS.--Body band-like; one single dorsal extends along
the whole length of the back; caudal well developed. Ventrals
reduced to a pair of scales. Scales none. Several fangs in the
jaws; teeth on the palatine bones.
[Illustration: Fig. 192.--Lepidopus caudatus.]
The Scabbard-fish (_L. caudatus_) is rather common in the Mediterranean
and warmer parts of the Atlantic, extending northwards to the south
coast of England, where it is an occasional visitor, and southwards
to the Cape of Good Hope. More recently it has been observed on the
coasts of Tasmania and New Zealand. We may, therefore, justly consider
it to be a deep-sea fish, which probably descends to the same depth as
the preceding allied forms. It grows to a length of five or six feet,
but its body is so much compressed that it does not weigh more than
as many pounds. It is well known in New Zealand, where it is called
“Frost-fish,” and esteemed as the most delicious fish of the colony.
A still more attenuated species (_L. tenuis_) occurs in the sea off
Japan, at a depth of some 340 fathoms.
TRICHIURUS.--Body band-like, tapering into a fine point, without
caudal fin. One single dorsal extending the whole length of the
back. Ventrals reduced to a pair of scales, or entirely absent.
Anal fin rudimentary, with numerous extremely short spines,
scarcely projecting beyond the skin. Long fangs in the jaws;
teeth on the palatine bones, none on the vomer.
The “Hairtails” belong to the tropical marine fauna, and although
generally found in the vicinity of land, they wander frequently out to
sea, perhaps merely because they follow some ocean-currents. Therefore
they are not rarely found in the temperate zone, the common West Indian
species (_T. lepturus_), for instance, on the coast of England. They
attain to a length of about four feet. The number of their vertebræ is
very large, as many as 160, and more. Six species are known.
EPINNULA.--Body rather elongate, covered with minute scales,[*.
see below] The first dorsal fin continuous, with spines of
moderate strength, and extending on to the second; finlets none;
ventrals well developed. Lateral lines two. Teeth of the jaws
strong; palatine teeth, none.
The “Domine” of the Havannah, _E. magistralis_.
THYRSITES.--Body rather elongate, for the greater part naked.
The first dorsal continuous, with the spines of moderate
strength, and extending on to the second. From two to six
finlets behind the dorsal and anal. Several strong teeth in the
jaws; teeth on the palatine bones.
The species of this genus attain to a considerable size (from four to
five feet), and are valuable food fishes; _Th. atun_ from the Cape
of Good Hope, South Australia, New Zealand, and Chili, is preserved,
pickled or smoked. In New Zealand it is called “Barracuda” or “Snoek,”
and exported from the colony into Mauritius and Batavia as a regular
article of commerce, being worth over £17 a ton; _Th. pretiosus_, the
“Escholar” of the Havannah, from the Mediterranean, the neighbouring
parts of the Atlantic, and the West Indies; _Th. prometheus_ from
Madeira, Bermuda, St. Helena, and Polynesia; _Th. solandri_ from
Amboyna and Tasmania is probably the same as _Th. prometheus_.
Young specimens of this (or, perhaps, the following) genus have been
described as _Dicrotus_. In them the finlets are not yet detached
from the rest of the fin; and the ventral fins, which are entirely
obsolete in the adult fish, are represented by a long crenulated spine.
GEMPYLUS.--Body very elongate, scaleless. The first dorsal fin
continuous, with thirty and more spines, and extending on to the
second. Six finlets behind the dorsal and anal. Several strong
teeth in the jaws, none on the palate.
One species (_G. serpens_), inhabiting considerable depths of the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
FAMILY--PALÆORHYNCHIDÆ.
This family has been formed for two extinct genera:
_Palæorhynchus_ from the schists of Glaris, and
_Hemirhynchus_ from tertiary formations near Paris. These genera
resemble much the _Trichiuridæ_ in their long, compressed body,
and long vertical fins, but their jaws, which are produced into a long
beak, are toothless, or provided with very small teeth. The dorsal fin
extends the whole length of the back, and the anal reaches from the
vent nearly to the caudal, which is forked. The ventrals are composed
of several rays and thoracic. The vertebræ long, slender, and numerous,
and, like all the bones of the skeleton, thin, indicating that these
fishes were inhabitants of considerable depths of the ocean. Both
the jaws of _Palæorhynchus_ are prolonged into a beak, whilst in
_Hemirhynchus_ the upper exceeds the lower in length.
EIGHTH DIVISION--ACANTHOPTERYGII COTTO-SCOMBRIFORMES.
_Spines developed, in one of the fins at least. Dorsal fins either
continuous or close together; the spinous dorsal, if present, always
short; sometimes modified into tentacles, or into a suctorial disk;
soft dorsal always long, if the spinous is absent; anal similarly
developed as the soft dorsal, and both generally much longer than
the spinous, sometimes terminating in finlets. Ventrals, thoracic or
jugular, if present, never modified into an adhesive apparatus. No
prominent anal papilla._
Marine fishes, with few exceptions.
FIRST FAMILY--ACRONURIDÆ.
_Body compressed, oblong or elevated, covered with minute scales.
Tail generally armed with one or more bony plates or spines, which
are developed with age, but absent in very young individuals. Eye
lateral, of moderate size. Mouth small; a single series of more or
less compressed, sometimes denticulated, sometimes pointed incisors in
each jaw; palate toothless. One dorsal fin, the spinous portion being
less developed than the soft; anal with two or three spines; ventral
fins thoracic. Air-bladder forked posteriorly. Intestines with more
or less numerous circumvolutions. Nine abdominal, and thirteen caudal
vertebræ._
Inhabitants of the tropical seas, and most abundant on coral-reefs.
They feed either on vegetable substances or on the superficial animal
matter of corals.
Extinct species of _Acanthurus_ and _Naseus_ have been discovered in
the Monte Bolca formation.
ACANTHURUS.--Jaws with a single series of lobate incisors, which
are sometimes movable. An erectile spine hidden in a groove on
each side of the tail. Ventral fins with one spine and generally
five rays. Scales ctenoid, sometimes with minute spines.
Branchiostegals five.
The fishes of this genus, which sometimes are termed “Surgeons,”
are readily recognised by the sharp lancet-shaped spine with which
each side of the tail is armed. When at rest the spine is hidden
in a sheath; but it can be erected and used by the fish as a very
dangerous weapon, by striking with the tail towards the right and
left. “Surgeons” occur in all tropical seas, with the exception of the
eastern part of the Pacific, where they disappear with the corals. They
do not attain to any size, the largest species scarcely exceeding a
length of eighteen inches. Many are agreeably or showily coloured, the
ornamental colours being distributed in very extraordinary patterns.
The larger species are eatable, and some even esteemed as food. It
is stated that the fry of some species periodically approaches, in
immense numbers, the coasts of some of the South Sea Islands (Caroline
Archipelago), and serves as an important article of food to the
natives. Nearly fifty species are known.
[Illustration: Fig. 193.--Acanthurus leucosternum, Indian Ocean.]
At an early period of their growth these fishes present so different an
aspect that they were considered a distinct genus, _Acronurus_.
The form of the body is more circular and exceedingly compressed. No
scales are developed, but the skin forms numerous oblique parallel
folds. The gill-cover and the breast are shining silvery.
NASEUS.--Tail with two (rarely one or three) bony keeled plates
on each side (in the adult). Head sometimes with a bony horn or
crest-like prominence directed forwards. Ventral fins composed
of one spine and three rays. From four to six spines in the
dorsal; two anal spines. Scales minute, rough, forming a sort of
fine shagreen. Air-bladder forked behind. Intestinal tract with
many circumvolutions.
Twelve species are known from the tropical Indo-Pacific, but none
of them extend eastwards beyond the Sandwich Islands. In their mode
of life these fishes resemble the _Acanthuri_. Likewise, the young
have a very different appearance, and are unarmed, and were described
as a distinct genus, _Keris_. One of the most common species is _N.
unicornis_, which, when adult (22 inches long), has a horn about 2
inches long, whilst it is merely a projection in front of the eye in
individuals of 7 inches in length.
_Prionurus_ is an allied genus with a series of several keeled bony
laminæ on each side of the tail.
[Illustration: Fig. 194.--Naseus unicornis.]
SECOND FAMILY--CARANGIDÆ.
_Body more or less compressed, oblong or elevated, covered with small
scales or naked; eye, lateral. Teeth, if present, conical. No bony
stay for the præoperculum. The spinous dorsal is less developed than
the soft or than the anal, either continuous with, or separated from,
the soft portion; sometimes rudimentary. Ventrals thoracic, sometimes
rudimentary or entirely absent. No prominent papilla near the vent.
Gill-opening wide. Ten abdominal and fourteen caudal vertebræ._
[Illustration: Fig. 195.--Semiophoris velitans.]
Inhabitants of tropical and temperate seas. Carnivorous. They appear
first in cretaceous formations, where they are represented by
_Platax_ and some Caranx-like genera (_Vomer_ and _Aipichthys_ from
the chalk of Comen in Istria). They are more numerous in various
Tertiary formations, especially in the strata of Monte Bolca, where
some still existing genera occur, as _Zanclus_, _Platax_, _Caranx_
(_Carangopsis_), _Argyriosus_ (_Vomer_), _Lichia_, _Trachynotus_. Of
the extinct genera the following belong to this family:--_Pseudovomer_
(_Licata_), _Amphistium_, _Archæus_, _Ductor_, _Plionemus_ (?), and
_Semiophorus_. _Equula_ has been recently discovered in the Miocene
marls of Licata in Sicily.
CARANX (including _Trachurus_).--Body more or less compressed,
sometimes sub-cylindrical. Cleft of the mouth of moderate width.
The first dorsal fin continuous, with about eight feeble spines,
sometimes rudimentary; the soft dorsal and anal are succeeded
by finlets in a few species. Two anal spines, somewhat remote
from the fin. Scales very small. Lateral line with an anterior
curved, and a posterior straight, portion, either entirely or
posteriorly only covered by large plate-like scales, several
of which are generally keeled, the keel ending in a spine.
Dentition feeble. Air-bladder forked posteriorly.
[Illustration: Fig. 196.--Plates of the lateral line of Caranx
hippos.]
The “Horse-mackerels” are found in abundance in almost all temperate
and, especially, tropical seas. Many species wander to other parts
of the coast, or to some distance from land, and have thus gradually
extended their range over two or more oceanic areas; some are found
in all tropical seas. The species described are very numerous, about
ninety having been properly characterised and distinguished. Some
attain to a length of three feet and more, and all are eatable. They
feed on other fish and various marine animals.
Of the most noteworthy species the following may be mentioned:--_C.
trachurus_, the common British Horse-mackerel, distinguished by having
the lateral line in its whole length armed with large vertical plates;
it is almost cosmopolitan within the temperate and tropical zones
of the northern and southern hemispheres. _C. crumenophthalmus_,
_C. carangus_, and _C. hippos_, three of the most common sea-fishes,
equally abundant in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans; _C. ferdau_,
from the Indo-Pacific, upwards of three feet in length. _C. armatus_,
_ciliaris_, _gallus_, etc., which have an exceedingly short and
compressed body, with rudimentary spinous dorsal fin, and with some of
the rays of the dorsal and anal prolonged into filaments.
[Illustration: Fig. 197.--Caranx ferdau.]
ARGYRIOSUS is closely allied to _Caranx_, especially to the
last-named species, but the lateral line has no plates whatever;
and the body is scaleless, chiefly of a bright silvery colour.
Two species from the tropical Atlantic.
MICROPTERYX.--Body much compressed, with prominent trenchant
abdomen, covered with small scales; lateral line not shielded;
præopercular margin entire. Cleft of the mouth rather small;
præorbital of moderate width. The first dorsal continuous, with
seven feeble spines. No detached finlets. Small teeth on the
vomer and palatine bones.
_Micropteryx chrysurus_ is a semi-pelagic fish, and very common in
the tropical Atlantic, less so in the Indian Ocean.
SERIOLA.--Body oblong, slightly compressed, with rounded
abdomen, covered with very small scales; lateral line not
shielded; præopercular margin entire. Cleft of the mouth of
moderate width, or rather wide. The first dorsal continuous,
with feeble spines. No detached finlets. Villiform teeth in the
jaws, on the vomer and palatine bones.
These fishes are often called “Yellow-tails,” and occur in nearly
all the temperate and tropical seas, sometimes at a great distance
from land. Twelve species are known, and the majority have a wide
geographical range. The larger grow to a length of from four to five
feet, and are esteemed as food, especially at St. Helena, the Cape of
Good Hope, in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
_Seriolella_ and _Seriolichthys_, the latter from the Indo-Pacific, and
distinguished by a finlet behind the dorsal and anal, are allied genera.
NAUCRATES.--Body oblong, sub-cylindrical, covered with
small scales; a keel on each side of the tail. The spinous
dorsal consists of a few short free spines; finlets none.
Villiform teeth in the jaws, on the vomer and palatine bones.
The “Pilot-fish” (_N. ductor_) is a truly pelagic fish, known in
all tropical and temperate seas. Its name is derived from its habit of
keeping company with ships and large fish, especially Sharks. It is the
_Pompilus_ of the ancients, who describe it as pointing out the
way to dubious or embarrassed sailors, and as announcing the vicinity
of land by its sudden disappearance. It was therefore regarded as a
sacred fish. The connection between the Shark and the Pilot-fish has
received various interpretations, some observers having perhaps added
more sentiment than is warranted by the actual facts. It was stated
that the Shark never seized the Pilot-fish, that the latter was of
great use to its big companion in conducting it and showing it the way
to its food. Dr. Meyen in his “Reise um die Erde” states: “The pilot
swims constantly in front of the Shark; we ourselves have seen three
instances in which the Shark was led by the Pilot. When the Shark
neared the ship the Pilot swam close to the snout, or near one of the
pectoral fins of the animal. Sometimes he darted rapidly forwards or
sidewards as if looking for something, and constantly went back again
to the Shark. When we threw overboard a piece of bacon fastened on a
great hook, the Shark was about twenty paces from the ship. With the
quickness of lightning the Pilot came up, smelt at the dainty, and
instantly swam back again to the Shark, swimming many times round his
snout and splashing, as if to give him exact information as to the
bacon. The Shark now began to put himself in motion, the Pilot showing
him the way, and in a moment he was fast upon the hook.[42] Upon a
later occasion we observed two Pilots in sedulous attendance on a Blue
Shark, which we caught in the Chinese Sea. It seems probable that the
Pilot feeds on the Sharks’ excrements, keeps his company for that
purpose, and directs his operations solely from this selfish view.” We
believe that Dr. Meyen’s opinion, as expressed in his last words, is
perfectly correct. The Pilot obtains a great part of his food directly
from the Shark, in feeding on the parasitic crustaceans with which
Sharks and other large fish are infested, and on the smaller pieces of
flesh which are left unnoticed by the Shark when it tears its prey.
The Pilot also, being a small fish, obtains greater security when in
company of a Shark, which would keep at a distance all other fishes of
prey that would be likely to prove dangerous to the Pilot. Therefore,
in accompanying the Shark, the Pilot is led by the same instinct which
makes it follow a ship. With regard to the statement that the Pilot
itself is never attacked by the Shark all observers agree as to its
truth; but this may be accounted for in the same way as the impunity
of the swallow from the hawk, the Pilot-fish being too nimble for the
unwieldy Shark.
The Pilot-fish does not always leave the vessels on their approach
to land. In summer, when the temperature of the sea-water is several
degrees above the average, Pilots will follow ships to the south
coast of England into the harbour, where they are generally speedily
caught. Pilot-fish attain a length of 12 inches only. When very young
their appearance differs so much from the mature fish that they have
been described as a distinct genus, _Nauclerus_. This fry is
exceedingly common in the open ocean, and constantly obtained in the
tow-net; therefore the Pilot-fish retains its pelagic habits also
during the spawning season, and some of the spawn found by voyagers
floating on the surface is, without doubt, derived from this species.
CHORINEMUS.--Body compressed, oblong; covered with small scales,
singularly shaped, lanceolate, and hidden in the skin. The first dorsal
is formed by free spines in small numbers; the posterior rays of the
second dorsal and anal are detached finlets. Small teeth in the jaws,
on the vomer and palatine bones.
Twelve species are known from the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific; some enter
brackish water, whilst others are more numerous at some distance from
the shore. They attain to a length of from 2 to 4 feet. In the young,
which have been described as _Porthmeus_, the spines and finlets are
connected by membrane with the rest of the fin.
_Lichia_ is an allied genus from the Mediterranean, tropical Atlantic,
and the coast of Chili; five species.
TEMNODON.--Body oblong, compressed, covered with cycloid scales
of moderate size. Cleft of the mouth rather wide. Jaws with
a series of strong teeth; smaller ones on the vomer and the
palatine bones. The first dorsal with eight feeble spines
connected by membrane; finlets none. Lateral line not shielded.
The second dorsal and anal covered with very small scales.
_Temnodon saltator_, sometimes called “Skip-jack,” is spread over
nearly all the tropical and sub-tropical seas; it frequents principally
the coasts, but is also met with in the open sea. On the coasts of the
United States it is well known by the name of “Blue-fish,” being highly
esteemed as food, and furnishing excellent sport. It is one of the most
rapacious fishes, destroying an immense number of other shore-fishes,
and killing many more than they can devour. It grows to a length of 5
feet, but the majority of those brought to market are not half that
length.
TRACHYNOTUS.--Body more or less elevated, compressed, covered
with very small scales. Cleft of the mouth rather small, with
short convex snout. Opercles entire. The first dorsal composed
of free spines in small number. No finlets. Teeth always small,
and generally lost with age.
Ten species are known from the tropical Atlantic and Indo-Pacific; they
rarely exceed a length of 20 inches. Some of the most common marine
fishes belong to this genus, for instance _T. ovatus_, which ranges
over the entire tropical zone.
PAMMELAS (_perciformis_) is allied to the preceding genus; from the
coast of New York.
[Illustration: Fig. 198.--Magnified scale of Psettus argenteus.]
PSETTUS.--Body much compressed and elevated; snout rather short.
One dorsal, entirely covered with scales, with seven or eight
spines; anal fin with three. Ventrals very small, rudimentary.
Teeth villiform; no teeth on the palate. Scales small, ctenoid.
Only three species are known; one, _P. sebæ_, from the west coast of
Africa, the two others from the Indo-Pacific. _P. argenteus_ is a very
common fish, attaining to a length of about 10 inches.
[Illustration: Fig. 199.--Psettus argenteus.]
PLATAX.--Body much compressed and elevated; snout very short.
One dorsal, with the spinous portion nearly entirely hidden, and
formed by from three to seven spines; anal with three. Ventrals
well developed, with one spine and five rays. Teeth setiform,
with an outer series of rather larger teeth, notched at the top;
palate toothless. Scales of moderate size or rather small.
These fishes are called “Sea-bats,” from the extraordinary length of
some portion of their dorsal and anal fins and of their ventrals. These
long lobes are generally of a deep black colour. In mature and old
individuals the fin-rays are much shorter than in the young, which have
been described as distinct species. There are probably not more than
seven species of “Sea-bats,” if so many, and they all belong to the
Indian Ocean and Western Pacific, where they are very common.
ZANCLUS.--Body much compressed and elevated. One dorsal, with
seven spines, the third of which is very elongate. No teeth on
the palate. Scales minute, velvety.
One species (_Z. cornutus_), which is extremely common in the
Indo-Pacific. It is easily recognised by its snout, which is produced
like that of _Chelmon_, and by the broad black bands crossing the
yellow ground-colour. It attains to a length of eight inches, and
undergoes during growth similar changes as _Acanthurus_.
ANOMALOPS.--Body oblong, covered with small, rough scales. Snout
very short, convex, with wide cleft of the mouth. Eyes very
large; below the eye, in a cavity of the infraorbital ring,
there is a glandular phosphorescent organ. Villiform teeth in
the jaws and on the palatine bones, none on the vomer. First
dorsal fin short, with a few feeble spines connected by membrane.
This genus, of which one species only is known (_A. palpebratus_),
represents the family of Horse-Mackerels in the depths of the sea; but
we do not know, at present, at what depth it lives. Only six specimens
have been obtained hitherto from the vicinity of Amboyna, the Fidji,
and Paumotu Islands; the largest was twelve inches long.
CAPROS.--Body compressed and elevated. Mouth very protractile.
Scales rather small, spiny. First dorsal with nine spines, anal
with three. Ventral fins well developed. Minute teeth in the
jaws and on the vomer; none on the palatine bones.
The “Boar-fish” (_C. aper_) is common in the Mediterranean, and not
rarely found on the south coast of England.
Allied are _Antigonia_ and _Diretmus_, known from a few individuals
obtained at Madeira and Barbadoes; they are probably fishes which but
rarely come to the surface.
EQUULA.--Body more or less compressed, elevated or oblong,
covered with small, deciduous, cycloid scales. Mouth very
protractile. Minute teeth in the jaws; none on the palate. One
dorsal. Formula of the fins: D. 8/1516, A. 3/14, V. 1/5. The
lower præopercular margin serrated.
[Illustration: Fig. 200.--Equula edentula.]
Small species, abundant in the Indo-Pacific, disappearing on the coasts
of Japan and Australia. Some eighteen species have been described.
_Gazza_ is very similar to _Equula_, but armed with canine teeth in the
jaws.
Other genera referred to this family are _Lactarius_ (_L. delicatulus_,
common, and eaten on the East Indian coasts), _Seriolella_, _Paropsis_,
and _Platystethus_.
THIRD FAMILY--CYTTIDÆ.
_Body elevated, compressed, covered with small scales, or with
bucklers, or naked; eye lateral. Teeth conical, small. No bony stay
for the præoperculum. Dorsal fin composed of two distinct portions.
Ventrals thoracic. No prominent papilla near the vent. Gill-opening
wide. More than ten abdominal and more than fourteen caudal
vertebræ._
The fishes of the “Dory” family are truly marine, and inhabit the
temperate zone of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Some fossils
from tertiary formations (one from Licata) belong to the genus Zeus.
ZEUS.--A series of bony plates runs along the base of the dorsal
and anal fins; another series on the abdomen. Three or four anal
spines.
“John Dorys” are found in the Mediterranean, on the eastern temperate
shores of the Atlantic, on the coasts of Japan and Australia. Six
species are known, all of which are highly esteemed for the table. The
English name given to one of the European species (_Zeus faber_) seems
to be partly a corruption of the Gascon “Jau,” which signifies cock,
“Dory” being derived from the French Dorée, so that the entire name
means Gilt-Cock. Indeed, in some other localities of Southern Europe it
bears the name of _Gallo_. The same species occurs also on the coasts
of South Australia and New Zealand. The fishermen of Roman Catholic
countries hold this fish in special respect, as they recognise in a
black round spot on its side the mark left by the thumb of St. Peter
when he took the piece of money from its mouth.
[Illustration: Fig. 201.--Cyttus australis.]
CYTTUS.--Body covered with very small scales; no osseous
bucklers on any part of the body. Two anal spines; ventral fins
composed of one spine and six or eight rays.
Three species are known from Madeira, South Australia, and New Zealand.
FOURTH FAMILY--STROMATEIDÆ.
_Body more or less oblong and compressed, covered with very small
scales; eye lateral. Dentition very feeble; œsophagus armed with
numerous horny, barbed processes. No bony stay for the præoperculum.
Dorsal fin single, long, without distinct spinous division. More than
ten abdominal and more than fourteen caudal vertebræ._
This small family consists of strictly marine and partly pelagic
species referred to two genera, _Stromateus_ and _Centrolophus_.
The former lacks ventral fins, at least in the adult stage, and is
represented by about ten species in almost all the tropical and warmer
seas. _Centrolophus_, hitherto known from two or three European species
only (of which one occasionally reaches the south coast of England,
where it is named “Black-fish”), has recently been discovered on the
coast of Peru, and has probably a much wider range.
FIFTH FAMILY--CORYPHÆNIDÆ.
_Body compressed; eye lateral. Teeth small, conical, if present;
œsophagus smooth. No bony stay for the præoperculum. Dorsal fin single,
long, without distinct spinous division. More than ten abdominal and
more than fourteen caudal vertebræ._
All the members of this family have pelagic habits. Representatives of
it have been recognized in some fossil remains: thus _Goniognathus_
from the Isle of Sheppey, and the living genus _Mene_ (_Gastrocnemus_)
at Monte Bolca.
CORYPHÆNA.--Body compressed, rather elongate; adult specimens
with a high crest on the top of the head; cleft of the mouth
wide. A single dorsal extending from the occiput almost to the
caudal, which is deeply forked; no distinct dorsal and anal
spines. The ventrals are well developed, and can be received
in a groove on the abdomen. Scales very small. Rasp-like teeth
in the jaws, on the vomer and the palatine bones. Air-bladder
absent.
[Illustration: Fig. 202.--Dolphin from the Atlantic.]
Generally, though by misapplication of the name, called “Dolphins.”
About six species are known, each of which is probably distributed
over all the tropical and sub-tropical seas. Strictly pelagic in their
habits, they are most powerful swimmers; they congregate in shoals,
and pursue unceasingly the Flying-Fish, which try to escape their
enemies by long flying leaps. They attain to a length of six feet,
and are eagerly caught by sailors on account of their well-flavoured
flesh. The beauty of their, unfortunately fugitive, colours has ever
been a subject of admiration. As far as the colours are capable of
description, those of the common species (_C. hippurus_), which is
often seen in the Mediterranean, are silvery blue above, with markings
of a deeper azure, and reflections of pure gold, the lower parts being
lemon-yellow, marked with pale blue. The pectoral fins are partly lead
colour, partly yellow; the anal is yellow, the iris of the eye golden.
These iridescent colours change rapidly whilst the fish is dying, as in
the Mackerel. The form of the body, and especially of the head, changes
considerably with age. Very young specimens, from one to six inches
in length, are abundant in the open sea, and frequently obtained in
the tow-net. Their body is cylindrical, their head as broad as high,
and the eye relatively very large, much longer than the snout. As the
fish grows the body is more compressed, and finally a high crest is
developed on the head, and the anterior part of the dorsal fin attains
a height equal to that of the body.
BRAMA.--Body compressed, and more or less elevated, covered with
rather small scales; cleft of the mouth very oblique, with the
lower jaw longest. Dorsal and anal fins many-rayed, the former
with three or four, the latter with two or three, spines; caudal
deeply forked. Ventrals thoracic, with one spine and five rays.
The jaws with an outer series of stronger teeth.
Pelagic fishes which, like the allied genus _Taractes_, range over
almost all the tropical and temperate seas.
LAMPRIS.--Body compressed and elevated, covered with very small
deciduous scales; cleft of the mouth narrow. A single dorsal,
without a spinous portion. Ventrals composed of numerous rays.
Teeth none.
[Illustration: Fig. 203.--Lampris luna.]
The “Sun-fish” (_L. luna_) is one of the most beautiful fishes of
the Atlantic. It attains to the large size of four feet in length, is
bluish on the back, with round silvery spots, which colour prevails
on the lower parts; the fins are of a deep scarlet. It is said to be
excellent eating. It is a pelagic fish, not rare about Madeira, but
extending far northwards in the Atlantic; it seems to be rarer in the
Mediterranean. All the specimens hitherto obtained were full-grown
or nearly so. The skeleton exhibits several peculiarities, viz. an
extraordinary development and dilatation of the humeral arch, and great
strength of the numerous and closely-set ribs.
Other Coryphænoid genera are _Pteraclis_, _Schedophilus_, _Diana_,
_Ausonia_, and _Mene_; all pelagic forms.
SIXTH FAMILY--NOMEIDÆ.
_Body oblong, more or less compressed, covered with cycloid scales of
moderate size; eye lateral. No bony stay for the præoperculum. Dorsal
fin with a distinct spinous portion separated from the soft; sometimes
finlets; caudal forked. More than ten abdominal, and more than fourteen
caudal vertebræ._
Marine fishes; pelagic, at least when young.
[Illustration: Fig. 204.--Gastrochisma melampus.]
GASTROCHISMA.--Cleft of the mouth wide. Finlets behind the
dorsal and anal fins. The ventral fins are exceedingly broad
and long, and can be completely concealed in a fold of the
abdomen.
_G. melampus_, from the coast of New Zealand; scarce.
NOMEUS.--Cleft of the mouth narrow. No finlets. The ventral fin
is long and broad, attached to the abdomen by a membrane, and
can be received in a fissure of the abdomen.
_N. gronovii_ is a common pelagic fish in the Atlantic and Indian
Oceans; of small size.
Other genera belonging to this family are _Psenes_ and _Cubiceps_.
SEVENTH FAMILY--SCOMBRIDÆ.
_Body oblong, scarcely compressed, naked or covered with small
scales; eye lateral. Dentition well developed. No bony stay for the
præoperculum. Two dorsal fins; generally finlets. Ventrals thoracic,
with one spine and five rays. More than ten abdominal, and more than
fourteen caudal vertebræ._
The fishes of the “Mackerel” family are pelagic forms, abundant in all
the seas of the tropical and temperate zones. They are one of the four
families of fishes which are the most useful to man, the others being
the Gadoids, Clupeoids, and Salmonoids. They are fishes of prey, and
unceasingly active, their power of endurance in swimming being equal
to the rapidity of their motions. Their muscles receive a greater
supply of blood-vessels and nerves than in other fishes, and are of a
red colour, and more like those of birds or mammals. This energy of
muscular action causes the temperature of their blood to be several
degrees higher than in other fishes. They wander about in shoals, spawn
in the open sea, but periodically approach the shore, probably in the
pursuit of other fishes on which they feed.[43]
_Scombridæ_ are well represented in tertiary formations: in the Eocene
schists of Glaris two extinct genera, _Palimphyes_ and _Isurus_, have
been discovered. In Eocene and Miocene formations _Scomber_, _Thynnus_,
and _Cybium_ are not uncommon.
SCOMBER.--The first dorsal continuous, with feeble spines; five
or six finlets behind the dorsal and anal. Scales very small,
and equally covering the whole body. Teeth small. Two short
ridges on each side of the caudal fin.
Mackerels proper are found in almost all temperate and tropical seas,
with the exception of the Atlantic shores of temperate South America,
where they have not been found hitherto. In Europe, and probably
also on the coast of England, three species occur: _S. scomber_, the
common Mackerel, which lacks an air-bladder; _S. pneumatophorus_, a
more southern species, with an air-bladder; and _S. colias_, like the
former, but with a somewhat different coloration, and often called
“Spanish” Mackerel. On the Cape of Good Hope, in Japan, on the coast
of California, in South Australia, and New Zealand, Mackerels are
abundant, which are either identical with, or very closely allied
to, the European species. On the coasts of the United States the
same species occur which tenant the western parts of the Atlantic.
Altogether seven species are known.
[Illustration: Fig. 205.--Thynnus thynnus.]
THYNNUS.--The first dorsal continuous, with the spines rather
feeble; from six to nine finlets behind the dorsal and anal.
Scales of the pectoral region crowded, forming a corslet. Teeth
rather small. A longitudinal keel on each side of the tail.
The best-known species of this genus is the “Tunny” (_Thynnus
thynnus_), abundant in the Mediterranean, and ranging to the south
coast of England and to Tasmania. It is one of the largest fishes of
the ocean, attaining to a length of 10 feet, and to a weight of more
than 1000 lbs. The fishery of the Tunny is systematically carried on in
the Mediterranean, and dates from the most remote antiquity. Its salted
preparation was esteemed by the Romans under the name of _Saltamentum
sardicum_. Its flesh is extensively eaten now, fresh as well as
preserved.
_Thynnus pelamys_, or the “Bonito,” is equally well known, and ranges
over all the tropical and temperate seas; it eagerly pursues the
Flying-fish, and affords welcome sport and food to the sailor. In its
form it resembles the Tunny, but is more slender and rarely above three
feet long.
Some of the other species are provided with very long pectoral fins,
and generally called by sailors “Albacore.” They are said to grow to a
length of six feet; Bennett in his “Whaling Voyage,” vol. ii. p. 278,
makes the following observations on _Th. germo_, from the Pacific:
“Ships when cruising slowly in the Pacific Ocean, are usually attended
by myriads of this fish for many successive months. A few days’ rapid
sailing is, nevertheless, sufficient to get rid of them, however
numerous they may be, for they seldom pay more than very transient
visits to vessels making a quick passage. When the ship is sailing with
a fresh breeze they swim pertinaciously by her side and take the hook
greedily, but should she be lying motionless or becalmed they go off
to some distance in search of prey, and cannot be prevailed upon to
take the most tempting bait the sailor can devise. It is probably as a
protection from their chief enemy, the Sword-fish, that they seek the
society of a ship. I am not aware that the Shark is also their enemy;
but they seemed to have an instinctive dread of this large fish, and
when it approached the ship, would follow it in shoals, and annoy it in
the same manner as the smaller birds may be seen to annoy those of a
larger and predaceous kind, as the hawk or owl. They are very voracious
and miscellaneous feeders. Flying-fish, Calmars, and small shoal-fish
are their most natural food; though they do not refuse the animal
offal from a ship. Amongst the other food contained in their maw, we
have found small Ostracions, File-fish, Sucking-fish, Janthina shells,
and pelagic crabs; in one instance a small Bonita, and in a second a
Dolphin eight inches long, and a Paper-nautilus shell containing its
sepia-tenant. It was often amusing to watch an Albacore pursuing a
Flying-fish, and to mark the precision with which it swam beneath the
feeble æronaut, keeping him steadily in view, and preparing to seize
him at the moment of his descent. But this the Flying-fish would often
elude by instantaneously renewing his leap, and not unfrequently escape
by extreme agility.”
PELAMYS.--The first dorsal continuous, with the spines rather
feeble; from seven to nine finlets behind the dorsal and
anal. Scales of the pectoral region forming a corslet. Teeth
moderately strong. A longitudinal keel on each side of the tail.
Five species are known, of which _P. sarda_ is common in the Atlantic
and Mediterranean.
AUXIS.--Differing from the preceding two genera in having very
small teeth in the jaws only, none on the palate.
_Auxis rochei_ common in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indian
Ocean.
CYBIUM.--The first dorsal continuous, with the spines rather
feeble; generally more than seven finlets behind the dorsal and
anal. Scales rudimentary or absent. Teeth strong; a longitudinal
keel on each side of the tail.
Twelve species from the tropical Atlantic and Indian Ocean;
frequenting more the coast-region than the open sea; attaining to a
length of four or five feet.
ELACATE.--Body covered with very small scales; head depressed;
cleft of the mouth moderately wide; no keel on the tail. The
spinous dorsal is formed by eight small free spines; finlets
none. Villiform teeth in the jaws, on the vomer and the palatine
bones.
_Elacate nigra_, a coast fish common in the warmer parts of the
Atlantic and the Indian Ocean.
ECHENEIS.--The spinous dorsal fin is modified into an adhesive
disk, occupying the upper side of the head and neck.
This genus is closely allied to the preceding, from which it differs
only by the transformation of the spinous dorsal fin into a sucking
organ. The spines being composed of two halves, each half is bent down
towards the right and the left, forming a support to a double series of
transverse lamellæ, rough on their edges, the whole disk being of an
oval shape and surrounded by a membranous fringe. Each pair of lamellæ
is formed out of one spine, which, as usual, is supported at the base
by an interneural spine. By means of this disk the “Sucking-fishes”
or “Suckers” are enabled to attach themselves to any flat surface,
a series of vacuums being created by the erection of the usually
recumbent lamellæ. The adhesion is so strong that the fish can only be
dislodged with difficulty, unless it is pushed forward by a sliding
motion. The Suckers attach themselves to sharks, turtles, ships, or any
other object which serves their purpose. They cannot be regarded as
parasites, inasmuch as they obtain their food independently of their
host. Being bad swimmers they allow themselves to be carried about by
other animals or vessels endowed with a greater power of locomotion.
They were as well known to the ancients as they are to the modern
navigators. Aristotle and Aelian mention the Sucker under the name of
φθεὶρ, or the _Louse_; “In the sea between Cyrene and Egypt there is a
fish about the Dolphin (_Delphinus_), which they call the Louse; this
becomes the fattest of all fishes, because it partakes of the plentiful
supply of food captured by the Dolphin.” Later writers, then, repeat
a story, the source of which is unknown, viz. that the “Remora” is
able to arrest vessels in their course, a story which has been handed
down to our own time. It need not be stated that this is an invention,
though it cannot be denied that the attachment of one of the larger
species may retard the progress of a sailing vessel, especially when,
as is sometimes the case, several individuals accompany the same ship.
An account of a somewhat ingenious way of catching sleeping turtles by
means of a Sucking-fish held by a ring fastened round its tail, appears
to have originated rather from an experiment than from regular practice.
Ten different species are known, of which _Echeneis remora_ and
_Echeneis naucrates_ are the most common. The former is short and grows
to a length of eight inches only, the latter is a slender fish, not
rarely found three feet long. The bulkiest is _Echeneis scutata_, which
attains to a length of two feet; individuals of that size weighing
about eight lbs.
The number of pairs of lamellæ varies in the various species, from 12
to 27. The caudal fin of some of the species undergoes great changes
with age. In young specimens the middle portion of the fin is produced
into a long filiform lobe. This lobe becomes gradually shorter, and the
fin shows a rounded margin in individuals of middle age. When the fish
approaches the mature state, the upper and lower lobes are produced,
and the fin becomes subcrescentic or forked.
[See Günther, “On the History of Echeneis.” Ann. and Mag. Nat.
Hist., 1860.]
EIGHTH FAMILY.--TRACHINIDÆ.
_Body elongate, low, naked or covered with scales. Teeth small,
conical. No bony stay for the præoperculum. One or two dorsal fins,
the spinous portion being always shorter and much less developed than
the soft; the anal similarly developed as the soft dorsal; no finlets.
Ventrals with one spine and five rays. Gill-opening more or less
wide. Ten or more than ten abdominal, and more than fourteen caudal
vertebræ._
Carnivorous coast-fishes of small size, found in every quarter of the
globe, but scarcely represented in the Arctic zone (_Trichodon_); on
the other hand, they are rather numerous towards the Antarctic circle.
All are bad swimmers, generally moving along the bottom in small
depths. Only one genus (_Bathydraco_) is known from the deep-sea.
A genus which shows the principal characters of this family
(_Callipteryx_), has been found in the tertiary deposits of Monte
Bolca; it is scaleless. A second genus, _Trachinopsis_, has been
recently described by Sauvage from the Upper Tertiary of Lorca in
Spain; and a third (_Pseudoeleginus_) from the Miocene of Licata.
This family may be subdivided into five groups:--
1. In the URANOSCOPINA the eyes are on the upper surface of the
head, directed upwards; the lateral line is continuous.
URANOSCOPUS.--Head large, broad, thick, partly covered with bony
plates; cleft of the mouth vertical. Scales very small. Two
dorsal fins, the first with from three to five spines; ventrals
jugular; pectoral rays branched. Villiform teeth in the jaws,
on the vomer and palatine bones; no canines. Generally a long
filament below and before the tongue. Gill-cover armed.
The position of the eyes on the upper surface of the head, which these
fishes have in common with many others, is well expressed by the name
_Uranoscopus_ (Stare-gazer). Their eyes are very small, and can be
raised or depressed at the will of the fish. They are inactive fishes,
generally lying hidden at the bottom between stones, watching for their
prey. The delicate filament attached to the bottom of their mouth, and
playing in front of it in the current of water which passes through the
mouth, serves to lure small animals within reach of the fish. Eleven
species are known from the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic, and one (_U.
scaber_) from the Mediterranean; they attain rarely a length of twelve
inches.
LEPTOSCOPUS.--Form of the head as in _Uranoscopus_, but entirely
covered with a thin skin. Scales small, cycloid. One continuous
dorsal; ventrals jugular; pectoral rays branched. Villiform
teeth in both jaws, on the vomer and palatine bones; canines
none. No oral filament. Gill-cover unarmed.
[Illustration: Fig. 206.--Leptoscopus macropygus.]
_Leptoscopus macropygus_, not rare on the coast of New Zealand.
Other genera of Stare-gazers are _Agnus_ from the Atlantic coasts of
North America; _Anema_ from the Indian Ocean and New Zealand; and
_Kathetostoma_ from Australia and New Zealand.
2. In the TRACHININA the eyes are more or less lateral; the
lateral line is continuous; and the intermaxillary without a
larger tooth on its posterior portion.
TRACHINUS.--Cleft of the mouth very oblique; eye lateral, but
directed upwards. Scales very small, cycloid. Two dorsal fins,
the first short, with six or seven spines; ventrals jugular; the
lower pectoral rays simple. Villiform teeth in the jaws, on the
vomer and palatine bones. Præorbital and præoperculum armed.
The “Weevers” are common fishes on the European coasts, and but too
well known to all fishermen; singularly enough they do not extend
across the Atlantic to the American coast, but reappear on the coast of
Chili! Wounds by their dorsal and opercular spines are much dreaded,
being extremely painful, and sometimes causing violent inflammation
of the wounded part. No special poison-organ has been found in these
fishes, but there is no doubt that the mucous secretion in the vicinity
of the spines has poisonous properties. The dorsal spines as well as
the opercular spine have a deep double groove in which the poisonous
fluid is lodged, and by which it is inoculated in the punctured wound.
On the British coasts two species occur, _T. draco_, the Greater
Weever, attaining to a length of twelve inches, and _T. vipera_, the
Lesser Weever, which grows only to half that size.
CHAMPSODON.--Body covered with minute granular scales; lateral
lines two, with numerous vertical branches. Cleft of the mouth
wide, oblique. Eye lateral, but directed upwards. Two dorsal
fins; ventral fins jugular; pectoral rays branched. Teeth in the
jaws in a single series, thin, long, of unequal size. Teeth on
the vomer, none on the palate. Gill-openings exceedingly wide.
Præoperculum with a spine at the angle and a fine serrature on
the posterior margin.
_Champsodon vorax_ is not uncommon at small depths off the
Philippine Islands, Admiralty Islands, and in the Arafura Sea.
PERCIS.--Body cylindrical, with small ctenoid scales; cleft of
the mouth slightly oblique; eye lateral, but directed upwards.
Dorsal fins more or less continuous, the spinous with four or
five short stiff spines; ventrals a little before the pectorals.
Villiform teeth in the jaws, with the addition of canines; teeth
on the vomer, none on the palatines. Opercles feebly armed.
Fifteen species; small, but prettily coloured shore-fishes of the
Indo-Pacific.
SILLAGO.--Body covered with rather small, ctenoid scales.
Cleft of the mouth small, with the upper jaw rather longer;
eye lateral, large. Two dorsals, the first with from nine
to twelve spines; ventrals thoracic. Villiform teeth in the
jaws, and on the vomer, none on the palatine bones. Operculum
unarmed; præoperculum serrated. The bones of the head with wide
muciferous channels.
Eight species; small, plain-coloured shore-fishes, common in the Indian
Ocean to the coasts of Australia.
BOVICHTHYS.--Head broad and thick; cleft of the mouth
horizontal, with the upper jaw rather longer; eye lateral, more
or less directed upwards. Scales none. Two separate dorsal
fins, the first with eight spines; ventrals jugular; the lower
pectoral rays simple. Villiform teeth in the jaws, on the vomer
and the palatine bones; no canines. Operculum with a strong
spine; præorbital and præoperculum not armed.
Three species are known from the South Pacific.
[Illustration: Fig. 207.--Head of Bovichthys variegatus, from New
Zealand.]
BATHYDRACO.--Body elongate, sub-cylindrical; head depressed,
with the snout much elongate, spatulate; mouth wide, horizontal,
with the lower jaw prominent; eyes very large, lateral, close
together. Scales very small, imbedded in the skin. Lateral line
wide, continuous. One dorsal fin; ventrals jugular; the lower
pectoral rays branched. Teeth in the jaws in villiform bands;
none on the vomer or the palatine bones. Opercles unarmed; ten
branchiostegals; the gill-membranes free from the isthmus, and
but slightly united in front. Air-bladder none.
A deep-sea fish, found at a depth of 1260 fathoms in the Antarctic
Ocean (south of Heard Island).
CHÆNICHTHYS.--Head very large, with the snout spatulate, and
with the cleft of the mouth very wide. Eye lateral. Scales none;
lateral line sometimes with granulated scutes. Two dorsals, the
first with seven spines; ventrals jugular. Jaws with rasp-like
teeth; palate toothless.
_Chænichthys rhinoceratus_ from Kerguelen’s Land (see Fig. 108, p.
291); and _Ch. esox_ from the Straits of Magelhaen.
Other genera belonging to this group are _Aphritis_, _Acanthaphritis_,
_Eleginus_, _Chænichthys_, and _Chimarrhichthys_ from the South Pacific
and Antarctic zone; _Cottoperca_ from the west coast of Patagonia;
_Percophis_ from the coast of Southern Brazil; and _Trichodon_ from the
coast of Kamtschatka.
3. In the PINGUIPEDINA the body is covered with small scales;
the eye lateral; the lateral line continuous; and the
intermaxillary is armed with a larger tooth on its posterior
portion, as in many Labroids.
Two genera, _Pinguipes_ and _Latilus_, from various parts of tropical
and sub-tropical seas, belong to this group.
4. In the PSEUDOCHROMIDES, the lateral line is interrupted or
not continued to the caudal fin; they have one continuous dorsal
only.
These fishes are inhabitants of coral reefs or coasts:
_Opisthognathus_, _Pseudochromis_, _Cichlops_, and _Pseudoplesiops_.
5. In the NOTOTHENIINA the lateral line is interrupted;
and the dorsal fin consists of two separate portions.
They (with others) represent in the Antarctic zone the Cottoids of
the Northern Hemisphere: they have the same habits as their northern
analogues. In _Notothenia_, which on the southern extremity of South
America, in New Zealand, Kerguelen’s Land, etc., is represented by
about twenty species, the body is covered with ctenoid scales, and the
bones of the head are unarmed; whilst _Harpagifer_, a small species
with a similar range as _Notothenia_, has the body naked, and the
operculum and sub-operculum armed with long and strong spines.
NINTH FAMILY--MALACANTHIDÆ.
_Body elongate, with very small scales; mouth with thick lips; a
strong tooth posteriorly on the intermaxillary. Dorsal and anal fins
very long, the former with a few simple rays anteriorly; ventrals
thoracic, with one spine and five rays. Gill-opening wide, with the
gill-membranes united below the throat. Ten abdominal and fourteen
caudal vertebræ._
One genus only, _Malacanthus_, with three species from tropical
seas.
TENTH FAMILY--BATRACHIDÆ.
_Head broad and thick; body elongate, compressed behind; skin naked
or with small scales. No bony stay for the præoperculum. Teeth conical,
small or of moderate size. The spinous dorsal consists of two or three
spines only; the soft and the anal long. Ventrals jugular, with two
soft rays; pectorals not pediculated. Gill-opening a more or less
vertical slit before the pectoral, rather narrow._
Carnivorous fishes, of small size, living on the bottom of the sea near
the coast in the tropical zone, some species advancing into the warmer
parts of the temperate zones.
BATRACHUS.--The spinous dorsal is formed by three stout spines.
Gill-covers armed with spines. Circumference of the mouth and
other parts of the head frequently provided with small skinny
tentacles.
Some of the fishes of this genus possess a subcutaneous spacious
cavity behind the base of the pectoral fin, the inside of which is
coated with a reticulated mucous membrane. It opens by a foramen in
the upper part of the axil.--This apparatus is the same which is found
in many Siluroid fishes, and which has been noticed above, p. 192.
There cannot be any doubt that it is a secretory organ, but whether
the secretion has any poisonous properties, as in the Siluroids, or
as in _Thalassophryne_, has not been determined. No instance of
poisonous wounds having been inflicted by these fishes is on record.
Twelve species are known, the distribution of which coincides with that
of the family; one very fine species, _B. didactylus_, occurs in
the Mediterranean.
THALASSOPHRYNE.--The spinous dorsal is formed by two spines
only, each of which is hollow, like the opercular spine, and
conveys the contents of a poison-bag situated at its base.
Canine teeth none.
[Illustration: Fig. 208.--Thalassophryne reticulata.]
Two species are known from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Central
America. The poison-apparatus is more perfectly developed than any
other known at present in the class of fishes; it has been described
above, p. 192. The species figured, _Th. reticulata_, is not uncommon
at Panama, and attains to a length of fifteen inches.
PORICHTHYS.--Two small dorsal spines; a canine tooth on each
side of the vomer.
Two species, from the Atlantic and Pacific sides of Central and South
America.
ELEVENTH FAMILY--PSYCHROLUTIDÆ.
_Body rather elongate, naked; head broad. Spinous dorsal separate or
absent. Ventral fins close together, thoracic, composed of a few rays.
Teeth small. Three gills and a half; pseudobranchiæ well developed;
gill-openings of moderate width, the gill-membranes being attached to
the isthmus._
Of this family only two representatives are known, viz. _Psychrolutes
paradoxus_, from Vancouver’s Islands, without first dorsal fin; and
_Neophrynichthys latus_, from New Zealand, with two dorsal fins. Both
are very scarce marine fishes.
TWELFTH FAMILY--PEDICULATI.
_Head and anterior part of the body very large, without scales. No
bony stay for the præoperculum. Teeth villiform or rasp-like. The
spinous dorsal is advanced forwards, composed of a few more or less
isolated spines, often transformed into tentacles; or entirely absent.
Ventral fins jugular, with four or five soft rays, sometimes absent.
The carpal bones are prolonged, forming a sort of arm, terminating in
the pectoral. Gill-opening reduced to a small foramen, situated in or
near the axil. Gills two and a half, or three, or three and a half;
pseudobranchiæ generally absent._
This family contains a larger number of bizarre forms than any other;
and there is, perhaps, none in which the singular organisation of the
fish is more distinctly seen to be in consonance with its habits.
Pediculates are found in all seas. The habits of all are equally
sluggish and inactive; they are very bad swimmers; those found near the
coasts lie on the bottom of the sea, holding on with their arm-like
pectoral fins by seaweed or stones, between which they are hidden;
those of pelagic habits attach themselves to floating seaweed or
other objects, and are at the mercy of wind and current. A large
proportion of the genera, therefore, have gradually found their way to
the greatest depths of the ocean; retaining all the characteristics of
their surface-ancestors, but assuming the modifications by which they
are enabled to live in abyssal depths.
LOPHIUS.--Head exceedingly large, broad, depressed, with the
eyes on its upper surface; cleft of the mouth very wide. Jaws
and palate armed with rasp-like depressible teeth of unequal
size. Body naked; bones of the head armed with numerous spines.
The three anterior dorsal spines are isolated, situated on the
head, and modified into long tentacles; the three following
spines form a continuous fin; the soft dorsal and anal short.
Gills three. Young individuals have the tentacles beset with
lappets, and most of the fin-rays prolonged into filaments.
These fishes are well known under the names “Fishing-Frog,”
“Frog-fishes,” “Anglers,” or “Sea-devils.” They are coast-fishes,
living at very small depths. Four species are known: the British
species (_L. piscatorius_) found all round the coasts of Europe
and Western North America, and on the Cape of Good Hope; a second
(Mediterranean) species, _L. budegassa_; _L. setigerus_ from China and
Japan; and _L. naresii_ from the Admiralty Islands.
[Illustration: Fig. 209.--Lophius piscatorius.]
[Illustration: Fig. 210.--A young Fishing-Frog.]
The habits of all these species are identical. The wide mouth
extends all round the anterior circumference of the head, and both
jaws are armed with bands of long pointed teeth, which are inclined
inwards, and can be depressed so as to offer no impediment to an
object gliding towards the stomach, but prevent its escape from the
mouth. The pectoral and ventral fins are so articulated as to perform
the functions of teeth, the fish being enabled to move, or rather to
walk, on the bottom of the sea, where it generally hides itself in
the sand, or amongst seaweed. All round its head, and also along the
body, the skin bears fringed appendages, resembling short fronds of
seaweed; a structure which, combined with the extraordinary faculty of
assimilating the colours of the body to its surroundings, assists this
fish greatly in concealing itself in places which it selects on account
of the abundance of prey. To render the organisation of these creatures
perfect in relation to their wants, they are provided with three long
filaments inserted along the middle of the head, which are, in fact,
the detached and modified three first spines of the anterior dorsal
fin. The filaments most important in the economy of the fishing-frogs
is the first, which is the longest, terminates in a lappet, and is
movable in every direction. There is no doubt that the Fishing-frog,
like many other fish provided with similar appendages, plays with this
filament as with a bait, attracting fishes, which, when sufficiently
near, are ingulfed by the simple act of the Fishing-frog opening its
gape. Its stomach is distensible in an extraordinary degree, and not
rarely fishes have been taken out of it quite as large and heavy as
their destroyer. The British species grows to a length of more than
five feet; specimens of three feet are common. Baird records that the
spawn of the same species has been observed as a floating sheet of
mucus, of from some 60 to 100 square feet.
CERATIAS.--Head and body much compressed and elevated; cleft
of the mouth wide, subvertical. Eyes very small. Teeth in the
jaws rasp-like, depressible; palate toothless. Skin covered
with numerous prickles. The spinous dorsal is reduced to two
long isolated spines, the first on the middle of the head, the
second on the back. The soft dorsal and anal short; caudal very
long. Ventrals none; pectorals very short. Two and a half gills.
Skeleton soft and fibrous.
_Ceratias holbölli_, a deep-sea fish; only a few examples have been
found near the coast of Greenland, and from the mid-Atlantic; the
latter at a depth of 2400 fathoms. Deep black.
HIMANTOLOPHUS.--Head and body compressed and elevated; cleft
of the mouth wide, oblique. Eyes very small. Teeth of the jaws
rasp-like, depressible; palate toothless. Skin with scattered
conical tubercles. The spinous dorsal is reduced to a single
tentacle on the head. The soft dorsal, anal, caudal, and
pectoral short. Ventrals none. Three and a half gills. Skeleton
soft and fibrous.
This is another deep-sea form, hitherto found in very few examples in
the Arctic and Mid-Atlantic Oceans. The single tentacle is beset with
many long filaments at its extremity, thus answering the same purpose
which is attained by a greater number of tentacles. Deep black.
MELANOCETUS.--Head and body compressed; head very large; cleft
of the mouth exceedingly wide, vertical. Eyes very small. Teeth
of the jaws and vomer rasp-like, depressible. Skin smooth. The
spinous dorsal is reduced to a single filament placed on the
head. The soft dorsal and anal short. Ventrals none.
[Illustration: Fig. 211.--Melanocetus johnsonii.]
Two species are known from the Atlantic: _M. bispinossus_ and _M.
johnsonii_, obtained at depths of from 360 to 1800 fathoms. The
specimen figured was not quite four inches long, and contained in
its stomach, rolled up spirally into a ball, a Scopeline fish which
measured 7½ inches in length and one inch in depth.
ONEIRODES.--A deep-sea fish from the Arctic Ocean, differing
from the preceding in possessing a second isolated dorsal ray on
the back.
ANTENNARIUS.--Head very large, high, compressed; cleft of the
mouth vertical or subvertical, of moderate width. Jaws and
palate armed with rasp-like teeth. Eye small. Body naked or
covered with minute spines; generally with tentacles. The
spinous dorsal is reduced to three isolated spines, the anterior
of which is modified into a tentacle, situated above the snout.
The soft dorsal of moderate length; anal short. Ventrals present.
The fishes of this genus are pelagic, frequently met with in mid-ocean
between the tropics, especially in parts of the sea with floating
vegetation; not rarely individuals are found far from their native
latitudes, carried by currents to the coasts of Norway and New Zealand.
Their power of swimming is most imperfect. When near the coast they
conceal themselves between corals, stones, or fucus, holding on to the
ground by means of their arm-like pectoral fins. Their coloration is so
similar to their surroundings that it is hardly possible to distinguish
the fish from a stone or coral overgrown with vegetation. Their way of
attracting and seizing their prey is evidently the same as in the other
fishes of this family. The extraordinary range of some of the species
which inhabit the Atlantic as well as the Indo-Pacific Oceans, is the
consequence of their habit of attaching themselves to floating objects.
Almost all the species are highly coloured, but the pattern of the
various colours varies exceedingly. These fishes do not attain to any
considerable size, and probably never exceed a length of ten inches. A
great number of species have been distinguished by ichthyologists, but
probably not more than twenty are known at present. The species figured
on p. 295 (_A. caudomaculatus_) is common in the Red Sea, and
probably occurs in other parts of the Indian Ocean.
_Brachionichthys_ and _Saccarius_ are allied genera from South
Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.
CHAUNAX.--Head very large, depressed; cleft of the mouth wide,
subvertical; eye small; rasp-like teeth in the jaws and palate.
Skin covered with minute spines. The spinous dorsal is reduced
to a small tentacle above the snout; the soft dorsal of moderate
length; anal short; ventrals present.
A deep-sea fish (_Ch. pictus_), of uniform pink colour; hitherto
found near Madeira and the Fidji Islands, at a depth of 215 fathoms.
MALTHE.--Anterior portion of the body very broad and depressed.
The anterior part of the snout is produced into a more or less
prominent process, beneath which there is a tentacle retractile
into a cavity. Jaws and palate with villiform teeth. Skin with
numerous conical protuberances. Soft dorsal fin and anal very
short. Gill-opening superiorly in the axil; gills two and a half.
Although the rostral tentacle is situated at the lower side of the
projection of the snout, it must be regarded as the homologue of
a dorsal spine. In some of the preceding genera, _Oneirodes_ and
_Chaunax_, the first dorsal spine is so far advanced on the snout as
to come into connection with the intermaxillary processes; and the
position of the rostral tentacle in _Malthe_ is only a still more
advanced step towards the same special purpose for which the first
dorsal spine is used in this family, viz. for the purpose of obtaining
food. In _Malthe_ it is obviously an organ of touch. This genus belongs
to the American shores of the Atlantic; _M. vespertilio_ being a
tropical, _M. cubifrons_ a northern species.
HALIEUTÆA.--Head exceedingly large, depressed, nearly circular
in its circumference. Cleft of the mouth wide, horizontal.
Jaws with small rasp-like teeth; palate smooth. Forehead
with a transverse bony bridge, beneath which is a tentacle
(rostral spine) retractile into a cavity. Body and head covered
with small stellate spines. Soft dorsal and anal very short.
Gill-opening superiorly in the axil; gills two and a half.
A coast-fish (_H. stellata_) from China and Japan. Frequently found dry
in Chinese insect-boxes.
This genus appears to be represented in the Atlantic Ocean by
_Halieutichthys_ from Cuba, and by _Dibranchus_, dredged at a depth of
360 fathoms off the coast of West Africa; the latter genus possesses
two gills only. Another genus, covered with large scattered tubercles,
_Aegæonichthys_, has recently been described from New Zealand.
THIRTEENTH FAMILY--COTTIDÆ.
_Form of the body oblong, sub-cylindrical. Cleft of the mouth lateral.
Dentition feeble, generally in villiform bands. Some bones of the head
are armed; and a bony stay connects the præopercular spine with the
infraorbital ring. Two dorsal fins (rarely one), the spinous being less
developed than the soft and than the anal. Ventrals thoracic, with five
or less soft rays._
The fishes of this family are of small size, bad swimmers, and
generally living on the bottom, near the coasts, of almost all the
arctic, temperate, and tropical seas. Only a few live in fresh water.
They prefer shallow to deep water; and there is only one instance
known of a member of this family living at a great depth, viz. _Cottus
bathybius_ from the Japanese sea, which is stated to have been dredged
in a depth of 565 fathoms. Fossil representatives are few in number:
two or three species of _Trigla_; others, although having a general
resemblance to the genus _Cottus_, were covered with ctenoid scales,
and therefore are referred to a distinct genus, _Lepidocottus_; they
are from tertiary formations.
COTTUS.--Head broad, depressed, rounded in front; body
sub-cylindrical, compressed posteriorly. Scaleless; lateral line
present. Pectoral rounded, with some or all the rays simple.
Jaws and vomer with villiform teeth; palatine teeth none.
The “Bull-heads” or “Miller’s Thumbs” are small fishes from the
shores and fresh waters of the northern temperate zone. Some forty
species are known; the greater number live in the northern half of
the temperate zone. On the shore, as well as in rivers, they prefer
rocky or stony to muddy ground, lying concealed between the stones,
and watching for their prey, which consists of small crustaceans and
other aquatic animals. The common British Miller’s Thumb (_C. gobio_)
is found in almost all suitable fresh waters of Northern and Central
Europe, especially in small streams, and extends into Northern Asia.
Other freshwater species abound in North America and Northern Asia.
_Cottus scorpius_ and _C. bubalis_, the common European marine species,
range across the Atlantic to the American coasts. The male is said
to construct a nest, for the reception of the spawn, of seaweeds and
stones, and to anxiously watch and defend his offspring. The spine at
the angle of the præoperculum, which is simple in the majority of the
freshwater species, is frequently armed with accessory processes, and
antler-like, in marine.
CANTRIDERMICHTHYS differs from _Cottus_ in having teeth on the
palatine bones.
Eleven species are known, distributed like _Cottus_, but absent in
Europe and North-western Asia.
ICELUS.--Head large, armed at the gill-covers and on the neck;
body with a dorsal series of bony plates from the neck to
the base of the caudal; lateral line with osseous tubercles;
scattered scales on the sides and abdomen. Ventrals thoracic,
with less than five rays. No pectoral filaments. Villiform teeth
in the jaws, on the vomer and palatine bones.
Represents Cottus in the far north; _I. hamatus_ is common in
Spitzbergen and Greenland, and has been found in abundance in lat. 81°
44’.
PLATYCEPHALUS.--Head broad, much depressed, more or less armed
with spines; body depressed behind the head, sub-cylindrical
towards the tail, covered with ctenoid scales. Two dorsal fins;
the first spine isolated from the others. Ventrals thoracic,
but rather remote from the base of the pectorals. Villiform
teeth in the jaws, on the vomer and palatine bones.
[Illustration: Fig. 212.--Platycephalus cirrhonasus, from Port
Jackson.]
About forty species are known, of which some attain a length of two
feet. This genus represents in the tropical Indian Ocean the _Cotti_
of the Arctic, and the _Nototheniæ_ of the Antarctic zone. Like these,
they live on the bottom in shallow water, hidden in the sand, the
colours of which are assimilated by those of their body. Therefore,
they are very scarce near coral islands which are surrounded by great
depths; whilst the number of species is rather considerable on many
points of the shelving Australian coasts. Their long and strong ventral
fins are of great use to them in locomotion. _P. insidiator_ is one of
the most common Indian and Australian fishes, and readily recognised by
two oblique black bands on the upper and lower caudal lobes.
[Illustration: Fig. 213.--Scale from the lateral line of the same
fish.]
HOPLICHTHYS, similar to _Platycephalus_, but with the back and
sides of the body covered with bony spiny plates. No separate
dorsal spine.
One species, _H. langsdorffii_, is common on the coast of Japan,
and frequently placed dry by the Chinese into their insect-boxes.
TRIGLA.--Head parallelopiped, with the upper surface and the
sides entirely bony, the enlarged infraorbital covering the
cheek.
Two dorsal fins. Three free pectoral rays. Villiform teeth. Air-bladder
generally with lateral muscles, often divided into two lateral halves.
The species may be referred to three groups:--
1. Palatine teeth none; scales exceedingly small, except those
of the lateral line: _Trigla_.
2. Palatine teeth none; scales of moderate size: _Lepidotrigla_.
3. Palatine teeth present: _Prionotus_.
[Illustration: Fig. 214.--Trigla pleuracanthica.]
[Illustration: Fig. 215.--Scute of the lateral line of the same
fish.]
About forty species of “Gurnards” are known from tropical and temperate
zones. They are too well known to need detailed description; one of
their principal characteristics is the three free finger-like pectoral
appendages, which serve as organs of locomotion as well as touch, and
which are supplied with strong nerves, as noticed above (pp. 108 and
120). The fins are frequently beautifully ornamented, especially the
inner side of the long and broad pectorals, which is most exposed to
the light when the fish is floating on the surface of the water, with
pectorals spread out like wings. The grunting noise made by Gurnards
when taken out of the water is caused by the escape of gas from the
air-bladder through the open pneumatic duct. Gurnards are generally
used as food; seven species occur on the British coast: the Red Gurnard
(_T. pini_), the Streaked Gurnard (_T. lineata_), the Sapphirine
Gurnard (_T. hirundo_), the Grey Gurnard (_T. gurnardus_), Bloch’s
Gurnard (_T. cuculus_), the Piper (_T. lyra_), and the Long-finned
Gurnard (_T. obscura_ or _T. lucerna_). Singularly, the European
species cross the Atlantic but rarely, the American species belonging
chiefly to the division _Prionotus_.
Several other genera belong to this family; for completeness’ sake they
are mentioned here, viz. _Bunocottus_ from Cape Horn; _Rhamphocottus_,
_Triglops_ from Arctic North America; _Podabrus_, _Blepsias_,
_Nautichthys_, _Scorpænichthys_, _Hemilepidotus_, _Artedius_, from the
North Pacific; _Ptyonotus_, from Lake Ontario; _Polycaulus_ from Indian
Seas; Bembras from the Japanese Sea.
FOURTEENTH FAMILY--CATAPHRACTI.
_Form of the body elongate, sub-cylindrical. Dentition feeble. Body
completely cuirassed with osseous keeled scales or plates. A bony stay
connects the angle of the præoperculum with the infraorbital ring.
Ventrals thoracic._
Marine fishes, and partly pelagic. _Petalopteryx_, from the chalk of
Mount Lebanon, is supposed to have a resemblance to _Dactylopterus_.
AGONUS.--Head and body angular, covered with bony plates. Two
dorsal fins; no pectoral appendages. Small teeth in the jaws.
Small fishes, from the northern parts of the temperate zone and
extending into the Arctic Ocean; the genus reappears in the Southern
Hemisphere on the coast of Chile. Of the eleven species known, one
(_A. cataphractus_) is not uncommon on the coast of Great Britain.
ASPIDOPHOROIDES, from Greenland, has a very similar form of the
body, but possesses one short dorsal fin only.
SIPHAGONUS.--With the snout produced into a long tube like a
Syngnathus; chin prominent, with a barbel.
From Behring’s Strait and Japan.
PERISTETHUS.--Head parallelopiped, with the upper surface and
the sides entirely bony; each præorbital prolonged into a long
flat process, projecting beyond the snout. Body cuirassed with
large bony plates. One continuous dorsal, or two dorsals, of
which the second is the more developed. Two free pectoral
appendages. Teeth none; lower jaw with barbels.
Singularly shaped fishes, of rather small size, from the Mediterranean,
the warmer parts of the Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean; of the ten
species known one species only has been found in the Pacific, near the
Sandwich Islands. The European species is _P. cataphractum_. They are
not common, and probably inhabit greater depths than the Gurnards, with
which they have much in common as regards their habits.
[Illustration: Fig. 216.--Dactylopterus volitans.]
DACTYLOPTERUS.--Head parallelopiped, with the upper surface and
the sides entirely bony; scapula and angle of the præoperculum
produced into long spines. Body with strongly keeled scales of
moderate size; lateral line none. Two dorsal fins, the second
not much longer than the first; pectoral very long, an organ of
flying, with the upper portion detached and shorter. Granular
teeth in the jaws; none on the palate. Air-bladder divided into
two lateral halves, each with a larger muscle.
Of “Flying Gurnards” three species only are known, which are very
abundant in the Mediterranean, the tropical Atlantic, and Indo-Pacific.
They, and the Flying Herrings (Exocoetus), are the only fishes which
are enabled by their long pectoral fins to take flying leaps out of the
water, and deserve the name of “Flying-Fishes.” They are much heavier,
and attain to a larger size, than the Exocoeti, specimens of eighteen
inches in length not being scarce. When young, their pectorals are much
shorter, and, consequently, they are unable to raise themselves out of
the water (_Cephalacanthus_).
The vertebral column shows a singular coalescence of the anterior
vertebræ, which form a simple tube, as in _Fistularia_.
* * * * *
WE insert here as an appendix to this division the small family of
_Pegasidæ_, the natural affinities of which are not yet clearly
understood, but which resembles in some of its characters the
_Cataphracti_.
FIFTEENTH FAMILY--PEGASIDÆ.
_Body entirely covered with bony plates, anchylosed on the trunk
and movable on the tail. Barbels none. The margin of the upper jaw is
formed by the intermaxillaries and their cutaneous prolongation, which
extends downwards to the extremity of the maxillaries. Gill-cover
formed by a large plate, homologous to the operculum, præoperculum,
and sub-operculum; interoperculum a long fine bone, hidden below the
gill-plate. One rudimentary branchiostegal. The gill-plate is united
with the isthmus by a narrow membrane; gill-openings narrow, in front
of the base of the pectoral fin. Gills four, lamellated. Pseudobranchiæ
and air-bladder absent. One short dorsal and anal fin, opposite to each
other. Ventral fin present. Ovarian sacs closed._
One genus only is known, _Pegasus_. Its pectoral fins are broad,
horizontal, long, composed of simple rays, some of which are sometimes
spinous. Ventral fins one- or two-rayed. Upper part of the snout
produced into a shorter or longer process. Mouth inferior, toothless.
Suborbital ring well developed, forming a suture with the gill-cover.
Vertebræ in small number, thin; no ribs. Four species are known, two
of which are of a shorter, and the two others of a longer form. The
former are _P. draconis_, common in the Indian Ocean, and _P. volans_,
which is frequently stuck by the Chinese into the insect-boxes which
they manufacture for sale. The two elongate species, _P. natans_ and
_P. lancifer_, are from the Chinese and Australian coasts. They are all
very small fishes, probably living on sandy shoal places near the coast.
[Illustration: Fig. 217.--Pegasus natans.]
NINTH DIVISION--ACANTHOPTERYGII GOBIIFORMES.
_The spinous dorsal, or spinous portion of the dorsal is always
present, short, either composed of flexible spines, or much less
developed than the soft; the soft dorsal and anal of equal extent.
No bony stay for the angle of the præoperculum. Ventrals thoracic or
jugular, if present, composed of one spine and five, rarely four, soft
rays. A prominent anal papilla._
Shore-fishes, mostly exclusively marine, but some entering and living
in fresh waters.
FIRST FAMILY--DISCOBOLI.
_Body thick or oblong, naked or tubercular. Teeth small. Ventral
fins with one spine and five rays, all being rudimentary and forming
the osseous support of a round disk, which is surrounded by a cutaneous
fringe. Gill-openings narrow, the gill-membranes being attached to the
isthmus._
Carnivorous fishes, living at the bottom of the shores of northern
seas. By their ventral disk they are enabled to attach themselves very
firmly to rocks.
CYCLOPTERUS.--Body thick, short, covered with a viscous,
tubercular skin. Head large, snout short. Villiform teeth in the
jaws, none on the palate. Skeleton soft, with but little earthy
matter.
[Illustration: Fig. 218.--Cyclopterus lumpus. _a_, Ventral
disk.]
Three species of “Lump-suckers” are known from the northern temperate
and the arctic zones. The common North European and North American
species, _C. lumpus_, is known also by the names of “Cock- and
Hen-Paddle.” It attains to a length of twenty-four inches, but
generally is much smaller. It is difficult to remove it from any object
to which it once has attached itself by means of its sucking-disk. Its
skin is so thick as to more or less entirely conceal the first dorsal
fin; it is covered with rough tubercles, the larger ones being arranged
in four series along each side of the body. In young specimens these
tubercles are absent. The arctic species, _C. spinosus_, has large
conical plates on the head and body, each plate with a spine in the
centre. Also of this species the young are naked, the plates making
only gradually their appearance, in the form of groups of tubercles.
Their development is irregular, as young specimens of the same size may
be entirely naked or tubercular. This species ranges beyond the 81°
lat. N.
[Illustration: Fig. 219.--Young of Cyclopterus spinosus, from the
Arctic Ocean, natural size.]
LIPARIS.--Body sub-cylindrical, enveloped in a more or less
loose naked skin; head broad, obtuse. The infraorbital bone is
styliform posteriorly, extending backwards to the margin of
the præoperculum. One dorsal fin, with feeble flexible rays.
Villiform teeth in the jaws, none on the palate.
Small fishes from the northern coasts of the temperate zone, ranging
beyond the arctic circle. Eight species are known, of which two (_L.
lineatus_ and _L. montagui_) occur on the British coasts.
SECOND FAMILY--GOBIIDÆ.
_Body elongate, naked or scaly. Teeth generally small, sometimes
with canines. The spinous dorsal fin, or portion of the dorsal fin, is
the less developed, and composed of flexible spines; anal similarly
developed as the soft dorsal. Sometimes the ventrals are united into
a disk. Gill-opening more or less narrow, the gill-membranes being
attached to the isthmus._