PAREIOPLITÆ, OR MAILED-CHEEK FISHES
=THE Mailed-cheek Fishes.=—The vast group of _Pareioplitæ_ (_Loricati_)
or mailed-cheek fishes is characterized by the presence of a "bony stay"
or backward-directed process from the third suborbital. This extends
backward across the cheek toward the preopercle. In the most generalized
forms this bony stay is small and hidden under the skin. In more
specialized forms it grows larger, articulates with the preopercle, and
becomes rough or spinous at its surface. Finally, it joins the other
bones to form a coat of mail which covers the whole head. In degenerate
forms it is again reduced in size, finally becoming insignificant.
The more primitive _Pareioplitæ_ (παρεία, cheek; ὁπλιτής, armed) closely
resemble the _Percomorphi_, having the same fins, the same type of
shoulder-girdle, and the same insertion of the ventral fins. In the more
specialized forms the ventral fins remain thoracic, but almost all other
parts of the anatomy are greatly distorted. In all cases, so far as
known to the writer, the hypercoracoid is perforate as in the
_Percomorphi_. There are numerous points of resemblance between the
_Cirrhitidæ_ and the _Scorpænidæ_, and it is probable that the
_Scorpænidæ_ with all the other _Pareioplitæ_ sprang from some perciform
stock allied to _Cirrhitidæ_ and _Latrididæ_.
Fossil mailed-cheek fishes are extremely few and throw little light on
the origin of the group. Those belong chiefly to the _Cottidæ_.
_Lepidocottus_, recorded from the Miocene and Oligocene, seems to be the
earliest genus.
[Illustration:
FIG. 365.—Rosefish, _Sebastes marinus_ Linnæus. Cape Cod.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 366.—Skull of _Scorpænichthys marmoratus_ Girard, showing the
suborbital stay (_a_).
]
=The Scorpion-fishes: Scorpænidæ.=—The vast family of _Scorpænidæ_, or
scorpion-fishes, comprises such a variety of forms as almost to defy
diagnosis. The more primitive types are percoid in almost all respects,
save in the presence of the subocular stay. Their scales are ctenoid and
well developed. The dorsal spines are numerous and strong. The ventral
fins are complete and normally attached; the anal has three strong
spines. The cranium shows only a trace of spiny ridges, and the five
spines on the preoperculum are not very different from those seen in
some species of bass. The gill-arches are, however, different, there
being but 3½ gills and no slit behind the last. Otherwise the mouth and
pharanx show no unusual characters. In the extremes of the group,
however, great changes take place, the head becomes greatly distorted
with ridges and grooves, the anal spines are lost, and the dorsal spines
variously modified. The scales may be lost or replaced by warts or
prickles and the ventral fins may be greatly reduced. Still the changes
are very gradual, and it is not easy to divide the group into smaller
families.
The most primitive existing genus is doubtless _Sebastes_. The familiar
rosefish, _Sebastes marinus_, is found on both shores of the north
Atlantic. It is bright red in color and is valued as food. As befits a
northern fish, it has an increased number of vertebræ (31) and the
dorsal spines number 15. From its large haddock-like eye it has been
called the Norway haddock. It is an important food-fish in New England
as well as in northern Europe.
[Illustration:
FIG. 367.—_Sebastolobus altivelis_ Gilbert. Alaska.
]
In the north Pacific _Sebastes_ gives place to _Sebastolobus_, with
three species (_macrochir_, _altivelis_, and _alascanus_), all
bright-red fishes of soft substance and living in rather deep water.
_Sebastolobus_ is characterized by its two-lobed pectoral fin, the lower
rays being enlarged.
The genus _Sebastodes_, with its rougher-headed ally _Sebastichthys_,
with 13 dorsal spines and the vertebræ 27, ranges farther south than
_Sebastes_ and forms one of the most characteristic features of the
fauna of California and Japan, 50 species occurring about California and
25 being already known from Japan. One species (_Sebastichthys
capensis_) is recorded from the Cape of Good Hope, and two,
_Sebastichthys oculatus_ and _S. darwini_, from the coast of Chile.
Within the limits of _Sebastodes_ and _Sebastichthys_ is a very large
range of form and color, far more than should exist within the range of
a natural genus. On the other hand, all attempts at generic subdivision
have failed because the species form a number of almost perfectly
continuous series. At one extreme are species with large mouths, small
scales, relatively smooth cranium, and long gill-rakers. At the other
extreme are robust species, with the head very rough, the mouth
moderate, the scales larger, and the gill-rakers short and thick. Still
other species have slender cranial spines and spots of bright pink in
certain specialized localities. These approach the genus _Helicolenus_
as other species approach _Scorpæna_.
[Illustration:
FIG. 368.—Priest-fish, _Sebastodes mystinus_ Jordan & Gilbert.
Monterey, Cal.
]
The various species are known in California as rockfish, or rock-cod, in
Japan as Soi and Mebaru. In both regions they form a large part of the
bulk of food-fishes, the flesh being rather coarse and of moderate
flavor. All the species so far as known are ovoviviparous, the young
being brought forth in summer in very great number, born at the length
of about ¼ of an inch. The species living close to shore are brown,
black, or green. Those living in deeper waters are bright red, and in
still deeper waters often creamy or gray, with the lining of the mouth
and the peritoneum black. The largest species reach a length of two or
three feet, the smallest eight or ten inches. None are found between
Lower California and Peru and none south of Nagasaki in Japan. Of the
California species the following are of most note: _Sebastodes
paucispinis_, the Bocaccio of the fishermen, from its large mouth, is an
elongate fish, dull red in color, and reaching a very large size. In
deeper waters are _Sebastodes jordani_ and _Sebastodes goodei_, the
former elongate and red, the latter more robust and of a very bright
crimson color. _Sebastodes ovalis_, the viuva, and _Sebastodes
entomelas_ are grayish in hue, and the related _Sebastodes proriger_ is
red. The green rockfish _Sebastodes flavidus_ is common along the shore,
as also the black rockfish, known as pêche prêtre or priestfish,
_Sebastodes mystinus_. Less common is _Sebastodes melanops_. Similar to
this but more orange in color is the large _Sebastodes miniatus_.
Somewhat rougher-headed is the small grass rockfish, _Sebastodes
atrovirens_. On the large red rockfish, _Sebastichthys ruberrimus_, the
spinous ridges are all large and rough serrate. On the equally large
_Sebastichthys levis_ these ridges are smooth. Both these species are
bright red in color. _Sebastichthys rubrovinctus_, called the
Spanish-flag, is covered with broad alternating bands of deep crimson
and creamy pink. It is the most handsomely colored of our marine fishes
and is often taken in southern California. _Sebastichthys elongatus_ is
a red species with very large mouth. Several other species small in size
are red, with three or four spots of bright pink. The commonest of these
is the corsair, _Sebastichthys rosaceus_, plain red and golden. Another
species is the green and red flyfish, _Sebastichthys rhodochloris_.
_Sebastichthys constellatus_ is spotted with pink and _Sebastichthys
chlorostictus_ with green. To this group with pink spots the South
American and African species belong, but none of the Japanese.
_Sebastodes aleutianus_ is a large red species common in Alaska and
_Sebastodes ciliatus_ a green one. About the wharves in California and
northward the brown species called _Sebastichthys auriculatus_ is
abundant. In the remaining species the spinous ridges are progressively
higher, though not so sharp as in some of those already named.
_Sebastichthys maliger_ has very high dorsal spines and a golden blotch
on the back. In _Sebastichthys caurinus_ and especially _Sebastichthys
vexillaris_ the spines are very high, but the coloration is different,
being reddish brown. _Sebastichthys nebulosus_ is blue-black with golden
spots. _Sebastichthys chrysomelas_ is mottled black and yellow.
_Sebastichthys carnatus_ is flesh-color and green. _Sebastichthys
rastrelliger_ is a small, blackish-green species looking like
_Sebastodes atrovirens_, but with short gill-rakers. _Sebastichthys
hopkinsi_ and _Sebastichthys gilberti_ are small species allied to it.
The treefish, _Sebastichthys serriceps_, has very high spines on the
head, and the olive body is crowned by broad black bands. Still more
striking is the black-banded rockfish, _Sebastichthys nigrofasciatus_,
with very rough head and bright red body with broad cross-bands of
black.
[Illustration:
FIG. 369.—_Sebastichthys serriceps_ Jordan & Gilbert. Monterey, Cal.
]
Of the Japanese species the commonest, _Sebastodes inermis_, the Mebaru,
much resembles _Sebastodes flavidus_. _Sebastodes fuscescens_ looks like
_Sebastodes melanops_, as does also _Sebastodes taczanowskii_.
_Sebastodes matsubaræ_ and _S. flammeus_ and _S. iracundus_, bright-red
off-shore species, run close to _Sebastodes aleutianus_. _Sebastichthys
pachycephalus_ suggests _Sebastichthys chrysomelas_. _Sebastodes
steindachneri_ and _S. itinus_ are brighter-colored allies of
_Sebastodes ovalis_ and _Sebastodes scythropus_ and _Sebastodes joyneri_
represent _Sebastodes proriger_. _Sebastichthys trivittatus_, green,
striped with bright golden, bears some resemblance to _Sebastichthys
maliger_. _Sebastichthys elegans_, _Sebastichthys oblongus_, and
_Sebastichthys mitsukurii_, dwarf species, profusely spotted, have no
analogues among the American forms. _Sebastodes glaucus_ of the Kurile
Islands has 14 dorsal spines and is not closely related to any other.
Fourteen dorsal spines are occasionally present in _Sebastichthys
elegans_. All the other species show constantly 13.
[Illustration:
FIG. 370.—Banded Rockfish, _Sebastichthys nigrocinctus_ (Ayres).
Straits of Fuca.
]
The genus _Sebastiscus_ has the general appearance of _Sebastodes_, and
like the latter possesses a large air-bladder. It however agrees with
_Scorpæna_ in the possession of but 12 dorsal spines and 24 vertebræ.
The two known species are common in Japan. _Sebastiscus marmoratus_,
mottled brown, is everywhere abundant along the coast, and the pretty
_Sebastiscus albofasciatus_, pink, violet, and golden, represents it in
equal abundance in deeper water.
The genus _Sebastopsis_ differs from _Sebastodes_ only in having no
teeth on the palatines. The species, all of small size and red or varied
coloration, are confined to the Pacific. _Sebastopsis xyris_ occurs in
lower California and _Sebastopsis guamensis_ and _S. scaber_ in
Polynesia. Species of this genus are often found dried in Chinese insect
boxes.
_Helicolenus_ differs from _Sebastiscus_ only in the total absence of
air-bladder. The species are all bright crimson in color, very handsome,
and live in deep water. _Helicolenus dactylopterus_ is rather common in
the Mediterranean, and is sometimes taken in the Gulf Stream, and also
in Japan, where two or three other species occur.
_Neosebastes_ is much like _Sebastodes_, but the suborbital stay bears
strong spines and the dorsal is very high. _Neosebastes panda_ is found
in Australia, and _N. entaxis_ in Japan. _Setarches_ is distinguished by
the cavernous bones of its head. Species are found in both the Atlantic
and Pacific in deep water. Several other peculiar or transitional genera
are found in different parts of the Pacific.
[Illustration:
FIG. 371.—Florida Lion fish, _Scorpæna grandicornis_ Cuv. & Val. Key
West.
]
In _Scorpæna_ the head is more uneven in outline than in _Sebastodes_
and _Sebastichthys_, skinny flaps are often present on head and body,
the air-bladder is wanting, there are 12 dorsal spines and 24 vertebræ,
and on each dorsal spine is a small venom-secreting gland. The species
are very numerous, highly varied in color, and found in all warm seas,
being known as scorpion-fishes or _Rascacios_. Two species, _Scorpæna
scrofa_ and _Scorpæna porcus_, are common in the Mediterranean, being
regarded as good food-fishes, though disliked by the fishermen.
Of the numerous West Indian species, _Scorpæna plumieri_, _Scorpæna
grandicornis_, and _Scorpæna brasiliensis_ are best known. _Scorpæna
guttata_ is common in southern California and is an excellent food-fish.
_Scorpæna mystes_ is found on the west coast of Mexico. _Scorpæna
onaria_ and _S. izensis_ are found in Japan. Fossil remains referred to
_Scorpæna_ are recorded from the Tertiary rocks.
In the islands of the Pacific are numerous dwarf species less than three
inches long, which have been set apart as a separate genus,
_Sebastapistes_. The longest known of these is _Sebastapistes
strongensis_, named from Strong Island, abundant in crevices in the
corals throughout Polynesia, and much disliked by fishermen.
[Illustration:
_Fig. 372._—Sea-scorpion, _Scorpæna mystes_ Jordan. Mazatlan.
]
The genus _Scorpænopsis_ differs from _Scorpæna_ in the absence of
palatine teeth. It is still more fantastic in form and color.
_Scorpænopsis cirrhosa_, _Scorpænopsis fimbriata_, and other species are
widely distributed through the East Indies and Polynesia.
The lion-fishes (_Pterois_) of the tropical Pacific are remarkable for
their long pectoral fins, elongate dorsal spines, and zebra-like
coloration. The numerous species are fantastic and handsomely colored,
but their poisoned, needle-like spines are dreaded by fishermen. They
lurk in crevices in the coral reefs, some of them reaching a foot in
length.
_Inimicus japonicus_, common in Japan, has a depressed and monstrous
head and a generally bizarre appearance. It is usually black in color
but is largely bright red when found among red algæ. A related species,
_Inimicus aurantiacus_, is blackish when near shore, but lemon-yellow in
deep water. (See frontispiece.) A related species in the East Indies is
_Pelor filamentosum_, called _Nohu_ or _Gofu_ in Polynesia.
[Illustration:
FIG. 373.—Lion-fish or Sausolele (the dorsal spines envenomed),
_Pterois volitans_ (Linnæus). Family _Scorpænidæ_. (From a specimen
from Samoa.)
]
Still more monstrous are the species of _Synanceia_, short, thick-set,
irregularly formed fishes, in which the poisoned spines reach a high
degree of venom. The flesh in all these species is wholesome, and when
the dorsal spines are cut off the fishes sell readily in the markets.
These fishes lie hidden in cavities of the reefs, being scarcely
distinguishable from the rock itself. (See Fig. 168, Vol. I.)
The black _Emmydrichthys vulcanus_ of Tahiti lies in crevices of lava,
and could scarcely be distinguished from an irregular lump of lava-rock.
[Illustration:
FIG. 374.—Black Nohu, or Poison-fish, _Emmydrichthys vulcanus_ Jordan.
A species with stinging spines, showing resemblance to lumps of lava
among which it lives. Family _Scorpænidæ_. From Tahiti.
]
A related form, _Erosa erosa_, the daruma-okose of Japan, is monstrous
in form but often beautifully colored with crimson and gray.
In _Congiopus_ the very strong dorsal spines begin in the head, and the
mouth is very small. Dr. Gill makes this genus the type of a distinct
family, _Congiopodidæ_.
Besides these, very many genera and species of small poison-fishes,
called okose in Japan, abound in the sandy bays from Tokio to Hindostan
and the Red Sea. Some of these are handsomely colored, others are
fantastically formed. _Paracentropogon rubripinnis_ and _Minous adamsi_
are the commonest species in Japan. _Trachicephalus uranoscopus_ abounds
in the bays of hina. _Snyderina yamanokami_ occurs in Southern Japan.
[Illustration:
FIG. 375.—_Snyderina yamanokami_ Jordan & Starks. Family _Scorpænidæ_.
Satsuma, Japan.
]
But few fossil _Scorpænidæ_ are recorded. _Scorpænopterus siluridens_, a
mailed fish from the Vienna Miocene, with a warty head, seems to belong
to this group, and _Ampheristus toliapicus_, with a broad, depressed
head, is found in the London Eocene, and various Miocene species have
been referred to _Scorpæna_. _Sebastodes rosæ_ is based on a fragment,
probably Pleistocene, from Port Harford, California.
[Illustration:
FIG. 376.—_Trachicephalus uranoscopus_. Family _Scorpænidæ_. From
Swatow, China.
]
The small family of the _Caracanthidæ_ consists of little fishes of the
coral reefs of the Pacific. These are compressed in form, and the skin
is rough with small prickles, the head being feebly armed. The species
are rare and little known, brown in color with pale spots.
[Illustration:
FIG. 377.—Skilfish, _Anoplopoma fimbria_ (Pallas). California.
]
=The Skilfishes: Anoplopomidæ.=—The small family of skilfishes or
_Anoplopomidæ_ consists of two species found on the coast of California
and northward. These resemble the _Scorpænidæ_, having the usual form of
nostrils, and the suborbital stay well developed. The skull is, however,
free from spines, the scales are small and close-set, and the sleek,
dark-colored body has suggested resemblance to the mackerel or hake.
_Anoplopoma fimbria_, known as skilfish, beshow, or coalfish, is rather
common from Unalaska to Monterey, reaching a length of two feet or more.
In the north it becomes very fat and is much valued as food. About San
Francisco it is dry and tasteless.
=The Greenlings: Hexagrammidæ.=—The curious family of greenlings,
_Hexagrammidæ_, is confined to the two shores of the North Pacific. The
species vary much in form, but agree in the unarmed cranium and in the
presence of but a single nostril on each side, the posterior opening
being reduced to a minute pore. The vertebræ are numerous, the scales
small, and the coloration often brilliant. The species are carnivorous
and usually valued as food. They live in the kelp and about rocks in
California and Japan and along the shores of Siberia and Alaska. The
atka-fish (_Pleurogrammus monopterygius_) is one of the finest of
food-fishes. This species reaches a length of eighteen inches. It is
yellow in color, banded with black, and the flesh is white and tender,
somewhat like that of the Lake whitefish (_Coregonus clupeiformis_), and
is especially fine when salted. This fish is found about the Aleutian
Islands, especially the island of Atka, from which it takes its name. It
is commercially known as Atka mackerel.
[Illustration:
FIG. 378.—Atka-fish, _Pleurogrammus monopterygius_ (Pallas). Atka
Island.
]
In this genus there are numerous lateral lines, and the dorsal fin is
continuous. In _Hexagrammos_, the principal genus of the family, the
dorsal is divided into two fins, and there are about five lateral lines
on each side.
_Hexagrammos decagrammus_ is common on the coast of California, where it
is known by the incorrect name of rock-trout. It is a well-known
food-fish, reaching a length of eighteen inches. The sexes are quite
unlike in color, the males anteriorly with blue spots, the females
speckled with red or brown.
[Illustration:
FIG. 379.—Greenling, _Hexagrammos decagrammus_ (Pallas). Sitka.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 380.—Cultus Cod, _Ophiodon elongatus_ (Girard). Sitka, Alaska.
]
_Hexagrammos octogrammus_, the common greenfish of Alaska, and the
greenling _Hexagrammos stelleri_, are also well-known species. Close to
the latter species is the _Abura ainame_, or fat cod, _Hexagrammos
otakii_, common throughout Japan. The red rock-trout, _Hexagrammos
superciliosus_, is beautifully variegated with red, the color being
extremely variable. Other species are found in Japan and Kamchatka.
_Agrammus agrammus_ of Japan differs in the possession of but one
lateral line. _Ophiodon elongatus_, the blue cod, cultus cod, or Buffalo
cod of California, is a large fish of moderate value as food, much
resembling a codfish, but with larger mouth and longer teeth. The flesh
and bones are deeply tinged with bluish green. _Cultus_ is the Chinook
name for worthless. _Zaniolepis latipinnis_ is a singular-looking fish,
very rough, dry, and bony, occasionally taken on the California coast.
_Oxylebius pictus_ is a small, handsome, and very active little fish,
whitish with black bands, common among rocks and algæ on the California
coast. It is, however, rarely brought into the markets, as it shows
great skill in escaping the nets.
No fossil _Hexagrammidæ_ are known.
=The Flatheads or Kochi: Platycephalidæ.=—The family of _Platycephalidæ_
consists of spindle-shaped fishes, with flattened, rough heads and the
body covered with small, rough scales. About fifty species occur in the
East Indian region, where the larger ones are much valued as food. The
most abundant species and usually the largest in size is _Platycephalus
insidiator_, the kochi of the Japanese. The genus _Insidiator_ contains
smaller species with larger scales. In all these the head is very much
depressed, a feature which separates them from all the _Scorpænidæ_.
_Hoplichthys langsdorfi_, the nezupo or rat-tail of Japan, is the type
of a separate family, _Hoplichthyidæ_, characterized by a bony armature
of rough plates. _Bembras japonicas_, another little Japanese fish, with
the ventrals advanced in position and the skin with rough plates, is the
type of the family of _Bembradidæ_.
=The Sculpins: Cottidæ.=—The great family of _Cottidæ_ or sculpins is
one especially characteristic of the northern seas, where a great
variety of species is found. These differ in general from the
_Scorpænidæ_, from which they are perhaps derived, in the greater number
of vertebræ and in the relative feebleness or degeneration of the
spinous dorsal, the ventrals, and the scales. In all these regards great
variation exists. In the most primitive genus, _Jordania_, the body is
well scaled, the spinous dorsal well developed, and the ventral rays I,
5. In _Hemitripterus_ a large number of dorsal spines remains, but the
structure in other regards is highly modified. In the most degraded
types, _Cottunculus_, _Psychrolutes_, _Gilbertidia_, which are also
among the most specialized, there is little trace of spinous dorsal, the
scales are wholly lost, and the ventral fin is incomplete. Most of the
species of _Cottidæ_ live on the bottom in shallow seas. Some are found
in deep water and a few swarm in the rivers. All are arctic or
subarctic, none being found to the south of Italy, Virginia, California,
and Japan. None are valued as food, being coarse and tough. Scarcely any
are found fossil.
Of the multitude of genera of _Cottidæ_ we notice a few of the most
prominent. _Jordania zonope_, a pretty little fish of Puget Sound, is
the most primitive in its characters, being closely allied to the
_Hexagrammidæ_.
[Illustration:
FIG. 381.—_Jordania zonope_ Starks. Puget Sound.
]
_Scorpænichthys marmoratus_, the great sculpin, or cabezon, of
California reaches a length of 2½ feet. It has the ventral rays I, 5,
although almost in all the other sculpins the rays are reduced to I, 3
or I, 4. The flesh has the livid blue color seen in the cultus cod
_Ophiodon elongatus_.
[Illustration:
FIG. 382.—_Astrolytes notospilotus_ (Girard). Puget Sound.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 383.—Irish Lord, _Hemilepidotus jordani_ Bean. Unalaska.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 384.—_Triglops pingeli_ Kröyer. Chebucto, Canada.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 335.—Buffalo Sculpin, _Enophrys bison_ (Girard). Puget Sound.
]
To _Icelinus_, _Artedius_, _Hemilepidotus_, _Astrolytes_, and related
genera belong many species with the body partly scaled. These are
characteristic of the North Pacific, in which they drop to a
considerable depth. _Icelus_, _Triglops_, and _Artediellus_ are found
also in the North Atlantic, the Arctic fauna of which is derived almost
entirely from Pacific sources. The genus _Hemilepidotus_ contains coarse
species, with bands of scales. The "Irish lord," _Hemilepidotus
jordani_, a familiar and fantastic inhabitant of Bering Sea, is much
valued by the Aleuts as a food-fish, although the flesh is rather tough
and without much flavor. Almost equally common in Bering Sea is the red
sculpin, _Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus_, and the still rougher
_Ceratocottus diceraus_. The stone-sculpin, or buffalo-sculpin,
_Enophrys bison_, with bony plates on the side and rough horns on the
preopercle, is found about Puget Sound and southward. In all these large
rough species from the North Pacific the preopercle is armed with long
spines which are erected when the fish is disturbed. This makes it
almost impossible for any larger fish to swallow them.
[Illustration:
FIG. 386.—_Ceratocottus diceraus_ (Cuv. & Val.). Tolstoi Bay, Alaska.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 387.—_Elanura forficata_ Gilbert. Bering Sea.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 388.—Yellowstone Miller's Thumb, _Cottus punctulatus_ (Gill).
Yellowstone River.
]
The genera _Cottus_ and _Uranidea_ include the miller's thumbs, also
called in America, blob and muffle-jaws, of the Northern rivers. These
little fishes are found in Europe, Asia, and America wherever trout are
found. They lurk under weeds and stones, moving with the greatest
swiftness when disturbed. They are found in every cold stream of the
region north of Virginia, and they vie with the sticklebacks in their
destruction of the eggs and fry of salmon and trout. _Cottus gobio_ is
the commonest species of Europe. _Cottus ictalops_ is the most abundant
of the several species of the eastern United States, and _Cottus asper_
in streams of the Pacific Coast, though very many other species exist in
each of these regions. The genus _Uranidea_ is found in America. It is
composed of smaller species with fewer teeth and fin-rays, the ventrals
I, 3. _Uranidea gracilis_ is the commonest of these, the miller's thumb
of New England. _Rheopresbe fujiyamæ_ is a large river sculpin in Japan.
[Illustration:
FIG. 389.—Miller's Thumb, _Uranidea tenuis_ Evermann & Meek. Klamath
Falls.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 390.—_Cottus evermanni_ Gilbert. Lost River, Oregon.
]
_Trachidermus ansatus_ is another river species, the "mountain-witch"
(yamanokami) of Japan, remarkable for a scarlet brand on its cheek,
conspicuous in life.
The chief genus of Atlantic sculpins is _Myoxocephalus_, containing
large marine species, in structure much like the species of _Cottus_.
_Myoxocephalus bubalis_ is the European fatherlasher, or proach; the
European sculpin is _Myoxocephalus scorpius_. The very similar daddy
sculpin of New England is _Myoxocephalus grœnlandicus_. This species
swarms everywhere from Cape Cod northward.
[Illustration:
FIG. 391.—California Miller's Thumb, _Cottus gulosus_ Girard. McCloud
River, Cal. (Photograph by Cloudsley Rutter.)
]
According to Fabricius, _Myoxocephalus grœnlandicus_ is "abundant in all
the bays and inlets of Greenland, but prefers a stony coast clothed with
seaweed. It approaches the shore in spring and departs in winter. It is
very voracious, preying on everything that comes in its way and pursuing
incessantly the smaller fish, not sparing the young of its own species,
and devouring crustacea and worms. It is very active and bold, but does
not come to the surface unless it be led thither in pursuit of other
fish. It spawns in December and January and deposits its red-colored roe
on the seaweed. It is easily taken with a bait, and constitutes the
daily food of the Greenlanders, who are very fond of it. They eat the
roe raw."
[Illustration:
FIG. 392.—Pribilof Sculpin, _Myoxocephalus niger_ (Bean). St. Paul
Island, Bering Sea.
]
The little sculpin, or grubby, of the New England coast is
_Myoxocephalus æneus_, and the larger eighteen-spined sculpin is
_Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus_. Still more numerous and varied are
the sculpins of the North Pacific, _Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus_
being the best known and most widely diffused. _Oncocottus quadricornis_
is the long-horned sculpin of the Arctic Europe, entering the lakes of
Russia and British America. _Triglopsis thompsoni_ of the depths in our
own Great Lakes seems to be a dwarfed and degenerate descendant of
_Oncocottus_.
[Illustration:
FIG. 393.—18-spined Sculpin, _Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus_
(Mitchill). Beasley Point, N. J.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 394.—_Oncocottus quadricornis_ (L.). St. Michael, Alaska.
]
The genus _Zesticelus_ contains small soft-bodied sculpins from the
depths of the North Pacific. _Zesticelus profundorum_ was taken in 664
fathoms off Bogoslof Island and _Zesticelus bathybius_ off Japan. In
this genus the body is very soft and the skeleton feeble, the result of
deep-sea life. Another deep-water genus less degraded is _Cottunculus_,
from which by gradual loss of fins the still more degraded
_Psychrolutes_ (_paradoxus_) and _Gilbertidia_ (_sigolutes_) are perhaps
descended. In sculpins of this type the liparids, or sea-snails, may
have had their origin. Among the remaining genera _Gymnocanthus_
(_tricuspis_, etc.) has no vomerine teeth. _Leptocottus_ (_armatus_) and
_Clinocottus_ (_analis_) abound on the coast of California, and
_Pseudoblennius_ (_percoides_) is found everywhere along the shores of
Japan. _Vellitor centropomus_ of Japan is remarkable among sculpins for
its compressed body and long snout. _Dialarchus snyderi_ of the
California rock-pools is perhaps the smallest species of sculpin,
_Blepsias_ (_cirrhosus_), _Nautichthys_ (_oculofasciatus_), and
_Hemitripterus_ (_americanus_), the sea-raven, among the most fantastic.
In the last-named genus the spinous dorsal is many-rayed, as in
_Scorpænidæ_, a fact which has led to its separation by Dr. Gill as a
distinct family. But the dorsal spines are equally numerous in
_Jordania_, which stands at the opposite extreme of the cottoid series.
[Illustration:
FIG. 395.—_Blepsias cirrhosus_ Pallas. Straits of Fuca.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 396.—Sea raven, _Hemitripterus americanus_ (Gmelin). Halifax,
Nova Scotia.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 397.—_Oligocottus maculosus_ Girard. Sitka.
]
In _Ascelichthys_ (_rhodorus_), a pretty sculpin of the rock-pools of
the Oregon region, the ventral fins are wholly lost. _Ereunias
grallator_, a deep-water sculpin from Japan, without ventrals and with
free rays below its pectorals, should perhaps represent a distinct
family, _Ereuniidæ_.
The degeneration of the spinous dorsal in _Psychrolutes_ and
_Gilbertidia_ of the North Pacific has been already noticed. These
genera seem to lead directly from _Cottunculus_ to _Liparis_.
Fossil _Cottidæ_ are few. _Eocottus veronensis_, from the Eocene of
Monte Bolca, is completely scaled, with the ventral rays I, 5. It is
apparently related to _Jordania_, but is still more primitive.
_Lepidocottus_ (_aries_ and numerous other species, mostly from the
Miocene) is covered with scales, but apparently has less than five soft
rays in the ventrals. Remains of _Oncocottus_, _Icelus_, and _Cottus_
are found in Arctic Pleistocene rocks. The family as a whole is
evidently of recent date.
The _Rhamphocottidæ_ consist of a single little sculpin with a large
bony and singularly formed head, found on the Pacific Coast from Sitka
to Monterey. The species is called _Rhamphocottus richardsoni_.
=The Sea-poachers: Agonidæ.=—The sea-poachers or alligator-fishes,
_Agonidæ_, are sculpins inclosed in a coat of mail made by a series of
overlying plates, much like those of the sea-horses or the catfishes of
the family _Loricariidæ_. So far as structure goes, these singular
fishes are essentially like the _Cottidæ_, but with a different and more
perfect armature. The many species belong chiefly to the North Pacific,
a few in the Atlantic and on the coast of Patagonia. Some are found in
considerable depth of water. All are too small to have value as food and
some have most fantastic forms. Only a few of the most prominent need be
noticed. The largest and most peculiar species is _Percis japonicus_ of
the Kurile Islands. Still more fantastic is the Japanese _Draciscus
sachi_ with sail-like dorsal and anal. _Agonus cataphractus_, the
sea-poacher, is the only European species. _Podothecus acipenserinus_,
the alligator-fish, is the commonest species of the North Pacific.
_Pallasina barbata_ is as slender as a pipefish, with a short beard at
the chin. _Aspidophoroides monopterygius_ of the Atlantic and other
similar species of the Pacific lack the spinous dorsal fin.
[Illustration:
FIG. 398.—_Ereunias grallator_ Jordan & Snyder. Misaki, Japan.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 399.—Sleek Sculpin, _Psychrolutes paradoxus_ (Günther). Puget
Sound.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 400.—_Gilbertidia sigolutes_ (Jordan). Puget Sound.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 401.—Richardson's Sculpin, _Rhamphocottus richardsoni_ (Günther).
Puget Sound.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 402.—_Stelgis vulsus_ (Jordan & Gilbert). Point Reyes, Cal.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 403.—_Draciscus sachi_ Jordan & Snyder. Family _Agonidæ_. Aomori,
Japan.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 404.—Agonoid-fish, _Pallasina barbata_ (Steindachner). Port
Mulgrave, Alaska.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 405.—_Aspidophoroides monopterygius_ (Bloch). Halifax.
]
No fossil _Agonidæ_ are known.
=The Lump-suckers: Cyclopteridæ.=—The lump-suckers, _Cyclopteridæ_, are
structurally very similar to the _Cottidæ_, but of very different habit,
the body being clumsy and the movements very slow. The ventral fins are
united to form a sucking disk by which these sluggish fishes hold fast
to rocks. The skeleton is feebly ossified, the spinous dorsal fin wholly
or partly lost, the skin smooth or covered with bony warts. The slender
suborbital stay indicates the relation of these fishes with the
_Cottidæ_. The species are chiefly Arctic, the common lumpfish or "cock
and hen paddle," _Cyclopterus lumpus_, abounding on both shores of the
North Atlantic. It reaches a length of twenty inches, spawning in
eel-grass where the male is left to watch the eggs. _Cyclopterichthys
ventricosus_ is a large species with smooth skin from the North Pacific.
[Illustration:
FIG. 406.—Lumpfish, _Cyclopterus lumpus_ (Linnæus). Eastport, Me.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 407.—Liparid, _Crystallias matsushimæ_, (Jordan and Snyder).
Family _Liparididæ_. Matsushima Bay, Japan.
]
=The Sea-snails: Liparididæ.=—The sea-snails, _Liparididæ_ are closely
related to the lumpfishes, but the body is more elongate, tadpole
shaped, covered with very lax skin, like the "wrinkled skin on scalded
milk." In structure the liparids are still more degenerate than the
lumpfishes. Even the characteristic ventral disk is lost in some species
(_Paraliparis_; _Amitra_) and in numerous others the tail is drawn out
into a point (leptocercal), a character almost always a result of
degradation. The dorsal spines are wanting or imbedded in the loose
skin, and all trace of spines on the head is lost, but the
characteristic suborbital stay is well developed. The numerous species
are all small, three to twelve inches in length. They live in Arctic
waters, often descending to great depths, in which case the body is very
soft. One genus, _Enantioliparis_, is found in the Antarctic. In the
principal genus, _Liparis_, the ventral disk is well developed, and the
spinous dorsal obsolete. _Liparis liparis_ is found on both shores of
the North Atlantic, and is subject to large variations in color.
_Liparis agassizi_ is abundant in Japan and northward, and _Liparis
pulchellus_ in California. In the most primitive genus, _Neoliparis_, a
notch in the fin indicates the separation of the spinous dorsal.
_Neoliparis montagui_ is common in Europe, replaced in New England by
_Neoliparis atlanticus_. _Careproctus_, with numerous elongate species,
inhabits depths of the North Pacific. In _Paraliparis_ (or
_Hilgendorfia_) _ulochir_, the ventral disk is gone and the lowest stage
of degradation of the Loricate or _Scorpæna-Cottus_ type of fishes is
reached. No fossil lump-suckers or liparids are recorded, although
remains of _Cyclopterus lumpus_ are found in nodules of glacial clay in
Canada.
[Illustration:
FIG. 408.—Snailfish, _Neoliparis mucosus_ (Ayres). San Francisco.
]
=The Baikal Cods: Comephoridæ.=—The family of _Comephoridæ_ includes
_Comephorus baikalensis_, a large fresh-water fish of Lake Baikal in
Siberia, having no near affinities with any other existing fish, but now
known to be a mail-cheek fish related to the _Cottidæ_. The body is
elongate, naked, with soft flesh and feeble skeleton. The mouth is
large, with small teeth, and the skull has a cavernous structure. There
are no ventral fins. The spinous dorsal is short and low, the second
dorsal and anal many-rayed, and the pectoral fins are excessively long,
almost wing-like; the vertebræ number 8 + 35 = 43, and unlike most
fresh-water fishes, the species has no air-bladder. Little is known of
the habits of this singular fish. Another genus is recently described
under the name of _Cottocomephorus_.
=Suborder Craniomi: the Gurnards, Triglidæ.=—A remarkable offshoot from
the _Pareioplitæ_ is the suborder of gurnards, known as _Craniomi_
(κράνιον, skull; ὤμος, shoulder). In these fishes the suborbital stay is
highly developed, much as in the _Agonidæ_, bony externally and covering
the cheeks. The shoulder-girdle is distorted, the post-temporal being
solidly united to the cranium, while the postero-temporal is crowded out
of place by the side of the proscapula. In other regards these fishes
resemble the other mail-cheek forms, their affinities being perhaps
closest with the _Agonidæ_ or certain aberrant _Cottidæ_ as _Ereunias_.
In the true gurnards or _Triglidæ_ the head is rough and bony, the body
covered with rough scales and below the pectoral fin are three free rays
used as feelers by the fish as it creeps along the bottom. These free
rays are used in turning over stones, exploring shells and otherwise
searching for food. The numerous species are found in the warm seas. In
Europe, the genus _Trigla_, without palatine teeth and with the lateral
line armed, is represented by numerous well-known species. _Trigla
cuculus_ is a common form of the Mediterranean. _Chelidonichthys_,
similar to _Trigla_ but larger and less fully armed, is found in Asia as
well as in Europe. Several species occur in the Mediterranean.
_Chelidonichthys kumu_ is a common species in Japan, a large fish with
pectorals of a very brilliant variegated blue, like the wings of certain
butterflies.
[Illustration:
FIG. 409.—Sea-robin, _Prionotus evolans_ (L.). Wood's Hole, Mass.
]
_Lepidotrigla_, with larger scales, has many species on the coasts of
Europe as well as in China and Japan. _Lepidotrigla alata_, a red fish
with a peculiar bony, forked snout, is common in Japan. The American
species of gurnards, having teeth on the palatine, belong to the genus
_Prionotus_. Northward these fishes, known as sea-robins, live along the
shores in shallow water. In the tropics they descend to deeper water,
assuming a red color. _Prionotus carolinus_ is the commonest species in
New England. _Prionotus strigatus_, the striped sea-robin, and
_Prionotus tribulus_, the rough-headed sea-robin, are common species
along the Carolina coast. None have much value as food, being dry and
bony. Numerous fossil species referred to Trigla are found in the
Miocene. _Podopteryx_, from the Italian Miocene, with small pectorals
and very large ventrals, perhaps belongs also to this family, but its
real affinities are unknown.
[Illustration:
FIG. 410.—Flying Gurnard, _Cephalacanthus volitans_ (L.). Virginia.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 411.—_Peristedion miniatum_ Goode & Bean. Depths of the Gulf
Stream.
]
=The Peristediidæ.=—The _Peristediidæ_ are deep-water sea-robins, much
depressed, with flat heads, a bony coat of mail, and two free feelers on
the pectoral fin instead of three. The species of _Peristedion_ are
occasionally taken with the dredge. _Peristedion cataphractum_ is rather
common in Europe. The extinct _Peristedion urcianense_ is described from
the Pliocene of Orciano, Tuscany.
=The Flying Gurnards: Cephalacanthidæ.=—The flying gurnards,
_Cephalacanthidæ_, differ in numerous respects and are among the most
fantastic inhabitants of the sea. The head is short and bony, the body
covered with firm scales, and the very long, wing-like pectoral fin is
divided into two parts, the posterior and larger almost as long as the
rest of the body. This fin is beautifully colored with blue and brownish
red. The first spine of the dorsal fin is free from the others and more
or less prolonged. The few species of flying gurnard are much alike,
ranging widely in the tropical seas, and having a slight power of
flight. The flying robin, or batfish, called in Spanish volador or
murcielago, _Cephalacanthus volitans_, is common on both coasts of the
Atlantic, reaching a length of eighteen inches. _Cephalacanthus
peterseni_ is found in Japan and _Cephalacanthus orientalis_ in the East
Indies, Japan, and Hawaii. The immature fishes have the pectoral fins
much shorter than in the adult, and differ in other regards.
_Cephalacanthus pliocenicus_ occurs in the Lower Pliocene of Orciano,
Tuscany.
_Petalopteryx syriacus_, an extinct flying gurnard found in the
Cretaceous of Mount Lebanon, is an ally of _Cephalacanthus_. The body is
covered with four-angled bony plates, and the first (free) spine of the
dorsal is enlarged.