CHROMIDES AND PHARYNGOGNATHI
=SUBORDER Chromides.=—The suborder _Chromides_ contains spiny-rayed
fishes similar to the perch-like forms in most regards, but strikingly
distinguished by the complete union of the lower pharyngeal bones, as in
the _Holconoti_ and _Pharyngognathi_, and still more remarkably by the
presence of but one nasal opening on each side. In all the perch-like
fishes and in nearly all others there are two nasal openings or nostrils
on each side, these two entering into the same nasal sac. In all the
_Chromides_ the lateral line is incomplete or interrupted, and the
scales are usually large and ctenoid.
=The Cichlidæ.=—The suborder _Chromides_ includes two families,
_Cichlidæ_, and _Pomacentridæ_. The _Cichlidæ_ are fresh-water fishes of
the tropics, characterized by the presence of three to ten spines in the
anal fin. In size, color, appearance, habits, and food value they bear a
striking resemblance to the fresh-water sunfishes, or _Centrarchidæ_, of
the eastern United States. This resemblance is one of analogy only, for
in structure the _Cichlidæ_ have no more in common with the
_Centrarchidæ_ than with other families of perch or bass. The numerous
species of _Cichlidæ_ are confined to tropical America and to
corresponding districts in Africa and western Asia. _Tilapia nilotica_
abounds in the Nile. _Tilapia galilæa_ is found in the river Jordan and
the Lake of Galilee. This species is supposed to form part of the great
draught of fishes recorded in the Gospels, and a black spot on the side
is held to commemorate the touch of Simon Peter. Numerous other species
of _Cichlidæ_, large and small, abound in central Africa, even in the
salt ditches of the Sahara.
The species of _Cichla_, especially _Cichla ocellaris_, of the rivers of
South America, elongate and large-mouthed, bear a strong analogy to the
black bass of farther north. A vast number of species belonging to
_Heros_, _Acara_, _Cichlasoma_, _Geophagus_, _Chætobranchus_, and
related genera swarm in the Amazon region. Each of the large rivers of
Mexico has one or more species; one of these, _Heros cyanoguttatus_,
occurs in the Rio Grande and the rivers of southern Texas, its range
corresponding with that of _Tetragonopterus argentatus_, just as the
range of the whole family of _Cichlidæ_ corresponds with that of the
_Characinidæ_. No other species of either family enters the United
States. A similar species, _Heros tetracanthus_, abounds in the rivers
of Cuba, and another, _Heros beani_, called the mojarra verde, in the
streams of Sinaloa. In the lakes and swamps of Central America
_Cichlidæ_ and _Characinidæ_ are very abundant. One fossil genus is
known, called _Priscacara_ by Cope. _Priscacara clivosa_ and other
species occur in the Eocene of Green River and the Great Basin of Utah.
In this genus vomerine teeth are said to be present, and there are three
anal spines. None of the living _Cichlidæ_ have vomerine teeth.
[Illustration:
FIG. 313.—Garibaldi (scarlet in color), _Hypsypops rubicunda_
(Girard). La Jolla, San Diego, Cal.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 314.—_Pomacentrus leucostictus_ (Müller & Troschel), Damsel-fish.
Family _Pomacentridæ_.
]
=The Damsel-fishes: Pomacentridæ.=—The _Pomacentridæ_, called
rock-pilots or damsel-fishes, are exclusively marine and have in all
cases but two anal spines. The species are often very brilliantly
colored, lustrous metallic blue and orange or scarlet being the
prevailing shades among the bright-colored species. Their habits in the
reef pools correspond very closely with those of the _Chætodontidæ_.
With the rock-pilots, as with the butterfly-fishes, the exceeding
alertness and quickness of movement make up for lack of protective
colors. With both groups the choice of rocky basins, crevices in the
coral, and holes in coral reefs preserves them from attacks of enemies
large enough to destroy them. In Samoa the interstices in masses of
living coral are often filled with these gorgeous little fishes. The
_Pomacentridæ_ are chiefly confined to the coral reefs, few ranging to
the northward of the Tropic of Cancer. Sometimes the young are colored
differently from the adult, having sky-blue spots and often ocelli on
the fins, which disappear with age. But one species _Chromis chromis_,
is found in the Mediterranean. _Chromis punctipinnis_, the blacksmith,
is found in southern California, and _Chromis notatus_ is the common
dogoro of Japan. One of the largest species, reaching the length of a
foot, is the Garibaldi, _Hypsypops rubicundus_, of the rocky shores of
southern California. This fish, when full grown, is of a pure bright
scarlet. The young are greenish, marked with blue spots. Species of
_Pomacentrus_, locally known as pescado azul, abound in the West Indies
and on the west coast of Mexico. _Pomacentrus fuscus_ is the commonest
West Indian species, and _Pomacentrus rectifrenum_ the most abundant on
the west coast of Mexico, the young, of an exquisite sky-blue, crowding
the rock pools. _Pomacentrus_ of many species, blue, scarlet, black, and
golden, abound in Polynesia, and no rock pool in the East Indies is
without several forms of this type. The type reaches its greatest
development in the south seas. About forty different species of
_Pomacentrus_ and _Glyphisodon_ occur in the corals of the harbor of
Apia in Samoa.
[Illustration:
FIG. 315.—Cockeye Pilot, _Glyphisodon marginatus_ (Bloch). Cuba.
]
Almost equally abundant are the species of _Glyphisodon_. The "cockeye
pilot," or jaqueta, _Glyphisodon marginatus_, green with black bands,
swarms in the West Indies, occasionally ranging northward, and is
equally common on the west coast of Mexico. _Glyphisodon abdominalis_
replaces it in Hawaii, and the Asiatic _Glyphisodon saxatilis_ is
perhaps the parent of both. _Glyphisodon sordidus_ banded with pale and
with a black ocellus below the soft dorsal is very common from Hawaii to
the Red Sea, and is a food-fish of some importance. _Glyphisodon
cœlestinus_ blue, with black bands, abounds in the south seas.
The many species of _Amphiprion_ are always brilliant, red or orange,
usually marked by one or two cross-bands of creamy blue. _Amphiprion
melanopus_ abounds in the south seas. _Azurina hirundo_ is a slender
species of lower California of a brilliant metallic blue. All these
species are carnivorous, feeding on shrimps, worms, and the like.
[Illustration:
FIG. 316.—Indigo Damsel fish, _Microspathodon dorsalis_ (Gill).
Mazatlan, Mex.
]
_Microspathodon_ is herbivorous, the serrated incisors being loosely
implanted in the jaws. _Microspathodon dorsalis_, of the west coast of
Mexico, is of a deep indigo-blue color, with streamer-like fins.
_Microspathodon chrysurus_, of the West Indian coral reefs, black with
round blue spots and the tail yellow. This family is probably of recent
origin, as few fossils are referred to it. _Odonteus pygmæus_ of the
Eocene perhaps belongs to it.
=Suborder Pharyngognathi.=—The wrasses and parrot-fishes, constituting
the group called _Pharyngognathi_ (φαρύγξ, gullet; γνάθος, jaw), by
Johannes Müller, have the lower pharyngeal bones much enlarged and
solidly united, their teeth being either rounded or else flat and paved.
The nostrils, ventral fins, pectoral fins and shoulder-girdle are of the
ordinary perch-like type. The teeth are, however, highly specialized,
usually large and canine-like, developed in the jaws only, and the gills
are reduced in number, 3½ instead of 4, with no slit behind the last
half gill. The scales are always cycloid and are usually large. In the
tropical forms the vertebræ are always twenty-four in number (10 + 14),
but in northern forms the number is largely increased with a
proportionate increase in the number and strength of the dorsal spines.
All the species are strictly marine, and the coloration is often the
most highly specialized and brilliant known among fishes, the
predominant shade being blue.
[Illustration:
FIG. 317.—Tautog, _Tautoga onitis_ (L.). Wood's Hole, Mass.
]
All are carnivorous, feeding mainly on crustaceans and snails, which
they crush with their strong teeth, there being often a strong canine at
the posterior end of the premaxillary, which holds the snail while the
lower jaw acts upon it. The species are very numerous and form the most
conspicuous feature in the fish markets of every tropical port. They
abound especially in the pools and openings in the coral reefs. All are
good for food, though all are relatively flavorless, the flesh being
rather soft and not oily.
=The Wrasse Fishes: Labridæ.=—The principal family is that of the
_Labridæ_, characterized by the presence of separate teeth in the front
of the jaws. Numerous fossil species are known from the Eocene and
Miocene. Most of these are known only from the lower pharyngeal bones.
_Labrodon_ is the most widely diffused genus, probably allied to
_Labrus_, but with a pile of successional teeth beneath each functional
tooth. The species are mostly from the Miocene.
[Illustration:
FIG. 318.—Tautog, _Tautoga onitis_ (L.). (From life by Dr. R. W.
Shufeldt.)
]
The northern forms of _Labridæ_ are known as wrasse on the coasts of
England. Among these are _Labrus bergylta_, the ballan wrasse; _Labrus
viridis_, the green wrasse; _Labrus ossiphagus_, the red wrasse; and
_Labrus merula_, the black wrasse. _Acantholabrus palloni_ and
_Centrolabrus exoletus_ have more than three anal spines. The latter
species, known as rock cook, is abundant in western Norway, as far north
as Throndhjem, its range extending to the northward beyond that of any
other Labroid. Allied to these, on the American coast, is the tautog or
blackfish, _Tautoga onitis_, a common food-fish, dusky in color with
excellent white flesh, especially abundant on the coast of New England.
With this, and still more abundant, is the cunner or chogset,
_Tautogolabrus adspersus_, greenish-blue in color, the flesh being also
more or less blue. This fish is too small to have much value as food,
but it readily takes the hook set for better fishes.
[Illustration:
FIG. 319.—Capitaine or Hogfish, _Lachnolaimus falcatus_. Florida.
]
In the Mediterranean are found many species of _Crenilabrus_, gaily
colored, each species having its own peculiar pattern and its own
arrangement of inky spots. Among these are _Crenilabrus mediterraneus_,
_Crenilabrus pavo_, and _Crenilabrus griseus_. With these are the small
species called _Ctenolabrus rupestris_, the goldsinny, much like the
American cunner, and the long-nosed _Symphodus scina_.
Of the many West Indian species we may notice the Capitaine or hogfish,
_Lachnolaimus maximus_, a great fish, crimson in color, with its fin
spines ending in long streamers; _Bodianus rufus_, the Spanish ladyfish
or pudiano, half crimson, half golden. _Halichæres radiatus_, the
pudding-wife (a mysterious word derived from "oldwife" and the
Portuguese name, pudiano), a blue fish handsomely mottled and streaked.
Of the smaller species, _Clepticus parræ_, the janissary, with very
small teeth, _Halichœres bivittatus_, the slippery-dick, ranging
northward to Cape Hatteras, and _Doratonotus megalepis_, of an intense
grass-green color, are among the most notable. The razor-fish,
_Xyrichthys psittacus_, red, with the forehead compressed to a sharp
edge, is found in the Mediterranean as well as throughout the West
Indies, where several other species of razor-fish also occur.
[Illustration:
FIG. 320.—Razor-fish, _Xyrichthys psittacus_ (Linnæus). Tortugas, Fla.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 321.—Redfish (male), _Pimelometopon pulcher_ (Ayres). San Diego.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 322.—_Lepidaplois perditio_ (Quoy & Gaimard). Wakanoura, Japan.
]
Scarcely less numerous are the species of the Pacific Coast of America.
_Pimelometopon pulcher_, the redfish or fathead of southern California,
reaches a length of two feet or more. It abounds in the broad band of
giant kelp which lines the California coast and is a food-fish of much
importance. The female is dull crimson. In the male the head and tail
are black and on the top of the head is developed with age a great
adipose hump. A similar hump is found on the adult of several other
large labroids. Similar species on the coast of South America, differing
in color and size of scales, are _Pimelometopon darwini_, _Trochocopus
opercularis_, and _Bodianus diplotænia_. The señorita, _Oxyjulis
californica_, is a dainty cream-colored little fish of the California
coast, _Halichœres semicinctus_, the kelpfish, light olive, the male
with a blue shoulder bar, is found in southern California. On the west
coast of Mexico are numerous species of _Thalassoma_, _Halichœres_,
_Pseudojulis_, _Xyrichthys_ and _Iniistius_, all different from the
corresponding species in the West Indies, and equally different from the
much greater variety found in Hawaii and in Samoa. About the Polynesian
and West Indian islands abound a marvelous wealth of forms of every
shade and pattern of bright colors—blue, green, golden, scarlet,
crimson, purple—as if painted on with lavish hand and often in the most
gaudy pattern, although at times laid on with the greatest delicacy. The
most brilliant species belong to _Thalassoma_ and _Julis_, the most
delicately colored to _Stethojulis_ and _Cirrhilabrus_. In _Gomphosus_
the snout is prolonged on a long slender tube. In _Cheilio_ the whole
body is elongate. In _Iniistius_ the first two dorsal spines form a
separate fin, the forehead being sharp as in _Xyrichthys_. Other widely
distributed genera are _Anampses_, _Lepidaplois_, _Semicossyphus_,
_Duymæria_, _Platyglossus_, _Pseudolabrus_, _Hologymnosus_,
_Macropharyngodon_, _Coris_, _Julis_, _Hemipteronotus_,
_Novaculichthys_, _Cheilinus_, _Hemigymnus_, and _Cymolutes_.
_Halichœres_ is as abundant in the East Indies as in the West, one of
its species _Halichœres pæcilopterus_ being common as far north as
Hakodate in Japan. In this species as in a few others the sexes are very
different in color, although in most species no external sexual
differences of any sort appear. In the East Indian genus,
_Pseudocheilinus_, the eye is very greatly modified. The cornea is
thickened, forming two additional lens-like structures.
The small family of _Odacidæ_ differs from the Labridæ in having in each
jaw a sharp cutting edge without distinct teeth anteriorly, the
pharyngeal teeth being pavement-like. The scales are small, very much
smaller than in the _Scaridæ_, the body more elongate, and the structure
of the teeth different. The species are mostly Australian, _Odax
balteatus_ being the most abundant. It is locally known as kelpfish.
In the _Siphonognathidæ_ the teeth are much as in the _Odacidæ_, but the
body is very elongate, the snout produced as in the cornet-fishes
(_Fistularia_), and the upper jaw ends in a long skinny appendage.
_Siphonognathus argyrophanes_, from Australia, reaches a length of
sixteen inches.
=The Parrot-fishes: Scaridæ.=—The parrot-fishes, or _Scaridæ_, are very
similar to the _Labridæ_ in form, color, and scales, but differ in the
more or less complete fusion of the teeth, a character which varies in
the different genera.
Of these the most primitive is _Calotomus_, confined to the East Indies
and Polynesia. In this genus the teeth are united at base, their tips
free and imbricated over the surface of the jaw.
The species are dull in color, reddish or greenish. _Calotomus
japonicus_ is the Budai or Igami of Japan. _Calotomus sandwichensis_ and
_Calotomus irradians_ are found in Hawaii, and _Calotomus xenodon_ on
the off-shore islands of Mexico. In _Calotomus_ the dorsal spines are
slender. In _Scaridea_ (_balia_) of the Hawaiian Islands the first
dorsal is formed of pungent spines as in _Sparisoma_.
[Illustration:
FIG. 323.—Pharyngeals of Italian Parrot-fish, _Sparisoma cretense_
(L.). _a_, upper; _b_, lower.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 324.—Jaws of a Parrot-fish, _Calotomus xenodon_ Gilbert.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 325.—_Cryptotomus beryllinus_ Jordan & Swain. Key West, Florida.
]
_Cryptotomus_ of the Atlantic is also a transitional group having the
general characters of _Sparisoma_, but the anterior teeth more separate.
The several species are all small and characteristic of the West Indian
fauna, one species, _Cryptotomus beryllinus_, ranging northward to Long
Island.
[Illustration:
FIG. 326.—_Sparisoma hoplomystax_ (Cope). Key West.
]
In the large genus _Sparisoma_ the teeth are more completely joined. In
this group, which is found only in the tropical Atlantic, the lower
pharyngeals are broader than long and hexagonal. The teeth of the jaws
are not completely united, the dorsal spines are pungent, the lateral
line not interrupted, and the gill membranes broadly united to the
isthmus.
[Illustration:
FIG. 327.—_Sparisoma abildgaardi_ (Bloch), Red Parrot-fish. Loro,
Colorado. Family _Scaridæ_.
]
Of the numerous species the dull-colored _Sparisoma flavescens_ is most
abundant in the West Indies and ranges farther north than any other.
_Sparisoma cretense_, the _Scarus_ of the ancients, is found in the
Mediterranean, being the only member of the family known in Europe and
the only _Sparisoma_ known from outside the West Indian fauna.
Other West Indian species are the red parrot-fish, _Sparisoma
abildgaardi_, _Sparisoma xystrodon_, _Sparisoma hoplomystax_, the last
two being small species about the Florida Keys, and the handsome
_Sparisoma viride_ from the West Indies.
[Illustration:
FIG. 328.—Jaws of Blue Parrot-fish, _Scarus cæruleus_ (Bloch).
]
_Scarus_ is the great central genus of parrot-fishes. Its members are
especially abundant in Polynesia and the East Indies, the center of
distribution of the group, although some extend their range to western
Mexico, Japan, the Red Sea, and Australia, and a large number are found
in the West Indies. Most of them are fishes of large size, but a few, as
the West Indian _Scarus croicensis_, reach the length of less than a
foot, and other still smaller species (_Scarus evermanni_, _Scarus
bollmani_) are found only in water of considerable depth (200 fathoms).
[Illustration:
FIG. 329.—Upper pharyngeals of an Indian Parrot-fish, _Scarus
strongylocephalus_.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 330.—Lower pharyngeals of a Parrot-fish, _Scarus
strongylocephalus_ (Bleeker).
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 331.—_Scarus emblematicus_ Jordan & Rutter. Jamaica.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 332.—_Scarus cœruleus_ (Bloch). Blue Parrot-fish. Loro, Azul.
Family _Scaridæ_.
]
The genus _Scarus_ is characterized by not only the almost complete
fusion of its teeth, but by numerous other characters. Its lower
pharyngeals are oblong and spoon-shaped, the teeth appearing as a mosaic
on the concave surface. The gill-membranes are scarcely united to the
narrow isthmus, the lateral line is interrupted, the dorsal spines are
flexible, and there are but few scales on the head. These, as well as
the scales of the body, are always large. The most highly specialized of
its species have the teeth deep blue in color, a character which marks
the genus or subgenus _Pseudoscarus_. Of the species of this type, the
loro, _Pseudoscarus cœlestinus_, and the more abundant guacamaia,
_Pseudoscarus guacamaia_ (fig. 215 vol. I) of the West Indies, are
characteristic forms. The perrico, _Pseudoscarus perrico_ of the west
coast of Mexico, and the great blue parrot-fish, or galo, of Hawaii and
Samoa, _Pseudoscarus jordani_, belong to this type. _Pseudoscarus
jordani_ was formerly tabu to the king in Hawaii, and its brilliant
colors and toothsome flesh (when eaten raw) made it the most highly
valued fish at the royal banquets of old Hawaii. It still sells readily
at a dollar or more per pound. To this type belong also the blue
parrot-fish, _Pseudoscarus ovifrons_, of Japan. In the restricted genus
_Scarus_ proper the teeth are pale. The great blue parrot-fish, of the
West Indies, _Scarus cœruleus_, belongs to this group. This species,
deep blue in color, reaches a large size, and the adult has a large
fleshy hump on the forehead. Lesser parrot-fish with pale teeth and with
showy coloration are the West Indian species _Scarus tæniopterus_,
_Scarus vetula_, _Scarus croicensis_, etc.
[Illustration:
FIG. 333.—_Scarus vetula_ Bloch & Schneider, Parrot-fish. Family
_Scaridæ_.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 334.—Slippery-dick or Doncella, _Halichœres bivittatus_ (Bloch),
a fish of the coral reefs. Key West. Family _Labridæ_.
]
Very many species of both _Scarus_ and _Pseudoscarus_, green, blue,
red-brown, or variegated, abound about the coral reefs of Polynesia.
About twenty-five species occur in Samoa. _Pseudoscarus latax_ and _P.
ultramarinus_ being large and showy species, chiefly blue. _Pseudoscarus
prasiognathus_ is deep red with the jaws bright blue.
Fossil species referred to _Scarus_ but belonging rather to _Sparisoma_
are found in the later Tertiary. The genera _Phyllodus_, _Egertonia_,
and _Paraphyllodus_ of the Eocene perhaps form a transition from
_Labridæ_ to _Scaridæ_. In _Paraphyllodus medius_ the three median teeth
of the lower pharyngeals are greatly widened, extending across the
surface of the bone.