5! ee a ee eo oe oe eS ae @ i ; : 5 drocn\t D its QUSOW\e LY) Wie OF mae ZES For cvpigex Giongirostr \S <& S Hovaculichthys > Kallosomus a Avude{auy unrocel\\atus gl did aa Ps Ss c AYUS Jordan, Pie nt \ e “Sea Se: Z Porroscretes t = otrodorsals ps \ otivritala Oceano fae SS American ature Devries Group I. Classification of Nature FISHES, BY DAVID STARR JORDAN or? President of Leland Stanford Junior University With 18 Colored. Plates and 673 illustrations “Tt is good luck to any man to be on the good side of the man that knows Fish.’—J/zaak Walton. SM AN JUL 23 1984 NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 1907 BNASG o4 CopyriGHT, 1997) BY _ HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY _ 110.0 CHIR es g TA TENS * a Nilag fi Vv } 7) SEU STEAL, | : ty» ey t ~ ale’ . | ‘TA hee So as 'ep« PREFATORY NOTE Tuts work contains virtually all the non-technical material contained in the author’s “Guide to the Study of Fishes.” It lacks the considerable portion relating to the structure and classification of fishes, which is intended rather for the technical student of ichthyology. The present volume contains substantially all which the author would have written had his original purpose been to cover the subject of fishes in a general natural history of animals. The fishes used as food and those sought by anglers in America are treated fully, and proportionate attention is paid to all the existing as well as all extinct families of fishes. Notwithstanding the relative absence of technical material in the present volume, the writer hopes that it may still be valuable to students of ichthyology, though his chief aim has been to make it interesting to nature-lovers and anglers, and instructive to all who open its pages. Davip STARR JORDAN. June 15, 1907- CONTENTS CHAPTER TI. THE LIFE OF THE FISH (Lepomis megalotis). PAGE What is a Fish ?—The Long-eared Sunfish.—Form of the Fish.—Face of the Fish.—How the Fish Breathes.—Teeth of the Fish.—How the Fish Sees. —Color of the Fish.—The Lateral Line.—The Fins of the Fish.—The Skeleton of the Fish—The Fish in Action—The Air-bladder.—The iBraimeonthesbish«——ihe dishys ANest/. 2.2 crfeutsjovelanels siatslierersione sie craters ais 3 CHAPTER II. THE EXTERIOR OF THE FISH. Form of Body.—Measurement of the Fish—The Scales or Exoskeleton.— Ctenoid and Cycloid Scales ——Placoid Scales —Bony and Prickly Scales. —Lateral Line.—Function of the Lateral Line.—The Fins of Fishes.— IMIS Seer te esp term ienoneene Sissies a Sea's, 82/9) Saas re diene, She ieiSla aeeromces ances 16 CHAPTER III. THE DISSECTION OF THE FISH. The Blue-green Sunfish.—The Viscera.—Organs of Nutrition.—The Alimen- tary Canal.—The Spiral Valve,—Length of the Intestine.—The Eggs of } Bishes:— Protection ol thesVouny.. 6 cic ass ssicis cece se eceeuene cs 26 CHAPTER IV. INSTINCTS, HABITS, AND ADAPTATIONS. The Habits of Fishes.—Irritability of Animals.—Nerve-cells and Fibers.— The Brain or Sensorium.—Reflex Action.—Instinct.—Classification of Instincts.—Variability of Instincts —Adaptations to Environment.— Flight of Fishes —Quiescent Fishes.——Migratory Fishes.—Anadromous RASHES UOT ACIDS Ole RIGS Pat ys cyayers, ciccoys #16 G00: 8 evan sha shee Renee ere 39 CHAPTER V. | ADAPTATIONS OF FISHES. Spines of the Catfishes—Venomous Spines.—The Lancet of the Surgeon- fish.—Spines of the Sting-ray.—Protection through Poisonous Flesh of Vv 14) 7 ~- vi Contents Fishes.—Electric Fishes——Photophores or Luminous Organs.—Photo- phores in the Iniomous Fishes——Photophores of Porichthys.—Globe- fishes —Remoras.—Sucking-disks of Clingfishes—Lampreys and Hog- fishes. — The Swordfishes.— The Paddle-fishes.— The Sawfishes. — > Peculiarities of Jaws and Teeth—The Angler-fishes—The Unsymmet- rical’ Eyes of Plounders. -- &. .:.)4)0 .<' « 4 a) vole ee CHAPTER VIII. BARRIERS TO DISPERSION OF RIVER FISHES. The Process of Natural Selection—Local Barriers—Favorable Waters Have Most Species-——Watersheds.—How Fishes Cross Watersheds.— The Suletind—The Cassiquiare —Two-Ocean Pass.—Mountain Chains, —Upland Fishes.—Lowland Fishes—Cuban Fishes—Swampy Water- sheds.—The Great Basin of Utah.—Arctic Species in Lakes.—Causes of Dispersion stall\in Opera tncperare pie cttitsie teins at see el aicrerstatalerteriern setae ot CHAPTER IX. FISHES AS FOOD FOR MAN, The Flesh of Fishes —Relative Rank of Food-fishes—Abundance of Food- fishes — Variety of Tropical Fishes —Economic Fisheries.—Angling. ... PAGE 5r 79 “90 106 129 Contents CHAPTER X. THE MYTHOLOGY OF FISHES. Vil PAGE The Mermaid.—The Monkfish_—The Bishop-fish.—The Sea-serpent...... CHAPTER XI. THE COLLECTION OF FISHES. How to Secure Fishes.—How to Preserve Fishes.—Value of Formalin.— Records of Fishes.—Eternal Vigilance. ............ 00. cece seen eees CHAPTER XII. THE LEPTOCARDII, OR LANCELETS. The Lancelet.—Habits of Lancelets——Species of Lancelets.—Origin of ILEMREN AI Sc coco oh Cp LORE R OM ORO Is bAGen OpRODRDAC OD oGhGoUoUe CHAPTER XIII. THE CYCLOSTOMES, OR LAMPREYS. The Lampreys.—Structure of the Lamprey.—Supposed Extinct Cyclo- stomes.—Orders of Cyclostomes.—The Hyperotreta, or Hagfishes.—The Hyperoartia, or Lampreys.—Food of Lampreys.—Metamorphosis of Lampreys.—Mischief Done by Lampreys.—Migration or ‘‘Running”’ of Lampreys:. «. 1% O06 OU oC DOC POD OG CEE re OD coiwias Cody AO OAD OOO ae CHAPTER XIV. THE CLASS ELASMOBRANCHII, OR SHARK-LIKE FISHES.— TRUE SHARKS. The Sharks.—Characters of Elasmobranchs.—Classification of Elasmo- branchs.—Subclasses of Elasmobranchs.— The Selachii.—Order Notidani. —Family Hexanchide.—Family Chlamydoselachide.—Order Astero- spondyli—Suborder Cestraciontes.—Family Heterodontide.—Suborder Galei—Family Scyliorhinide—The Lamnoid, or Mackerel-sharks.— Family Mitsukurinide, the Goblin-sharks—Family Alopiide, or Thresher-sharks.—Family Pseudotriakide.—Family Lamnidze.—Man- eating Sharks.—Family Cetorhinide, or Basking Sharks.—Family Rhineodontide.—The Carcharioid Sharks, or Requins.—Family Sphyrnide, or Hammer-head Sharks.—The Order of Tectospondyli— Suborder Cyclospondyli.Family Squalide.—Family Dalatiide — Family Echinorhinide.—Suborder Rhine.—Family Pristiophoride, or Saw-sharks.—Suborder Batoidei, or Rays.—Pristidide, or Sawfishes.— Rhinobatide, or Guitar-fishes.—Rajide, or Skates.—Narcobatide, or Torpedoes.—Petalodontide.—Dasyatide, or Sting-rays.—Myliobatide. —Family Psammodontide.—Family Mobulidz 197 163 167 Viil Contents CHAPTER XV. THE HOLOCEPHALI, OR CHIMARAS. PAGE The Chimeras.—Relationship of Chimazras.—Family Chimeride#.—Rhino- chimiridze:—Ostracophorinn ou. e.< «> os s10/e.winielaiel ele bettie eet iainis Site iets 218 CHAPTER XVI. THE CROSSOPTERYGII. Class Teleostomi—Subclass Crossopterygii—Order of Amphibians.—The Fins of Crossopterygians.—Orders of Crossopterygians.—Haplistia.— Rhipidistia —Megalichthyide.—Order Actinistia.—Order Cladistia.— Whe Polypteri dees... isis /ox.1- sco. 60 at ieee ete tate eee eee 224 CHAPTER XVII. SUBCLASS DIPNEUSTI, OR LUNGFISHES. The Lungfishes.—Classification of Dipnoans.—Order Ctenodipterini.— Order Sirenoidei—Family Ceratodontide.—Lepidosirenide.—Kerr on the Habits of Lepidosiren.—Arthrodires.—Cycli@................++- 235 CHAPTER XVIII. THE GANOIDS. Subclass Actinopteri.—The Series Ganoidei.—Classification of Ganoids.— Order Lysopteri.—The Paleoniscide.—The Platysomida.—The Doryp- teride. —The Dictyopygide.—Order Chondrostei.—Order Selachostomi: the Paddle-fishes—Order Pycnodonti.—Order Lepidostei—Family Lepidosteide.—The Bowfins: Amiide................eceeeescaeees 246 CHAPTER XIX. ISOSPONDYLI. The Subclass Teleostei, or Bony Fishes.—Order Isospondyli—The Classifi- cation of the Bony Fishes.—Relationships of Jsospondyli—The Clu- peoides.— The Leptolepide.— The Elopide.—The Albulide.— The Chanide.—The Hiodontide.—The Pterothrissida.—The Ctenothrissi- de.—The Notopteride.—The Clupeide.—The Dorosomatidae.—The Engraulidide.— Gonorhynchidea.— The Osteoglosside.— The Panto- Gontide, ... «:s.9\g enslave ameerabereetsteeantnta mee Sletnna areata oleae ebere tatety amas. chur» 264 CHAPTER XX. SALMONID. The Salmon Family.—Coregonus, the Whitefish.—Argyrosomus, the Lake Herring.—Brachymystax and Stenodus, the Inconnus.—Oncorhynchus, Contents ix , PAGE the Quinnat Salmon.—The Parent-stream Theory.—The Jadgeska Hatchery.—Salmon-packing.—Salmo, the Trout and Atlantic Salmon. —The Atlantic Salmon.—The Ouananiche.—The Black-spotted Trout. —The Trout of Western America.—Cut-throat or Red-throated Trout. —Hucho, the Huchen.—Salvelinus, the Charr.—Cristivomer, the Great Lake Trout.—The Ayu, or Sweetfish—Cormorant-fishing.—Fossil RSEVEETI ONG Chee Octo ote orci n shayeh aberrant er ae tceu aaa eae eRe a uere tl ciafensuae ciate 285 CHAPTER XXI. THE GRAYLING AND THE SMELT. The Grayling, or Thymallide.—The Argentinide.—The Microstomide.— The Salangide, or Icefishes—The Haplochitonide.—Stomiatide.— Suborder Iniomi, the Lantern-fishes.—Aulopide.—The Lizard-fishes. — Ipnopide.— Rondeletiida.—Myctophide.—Chirothricide.—Maurolici- dz.—The Lancet-fishes.—The Sternoptychide.—Order Lyopomi...... 343 CHAPTER XXII. THE APODES, OR EEL-LIKE FISHES. The Eels.—Order Symbranchia.—Order Apodes, or True Eels.—Suborder Archencheli—Suborder Enchelycephali—Family Anguillide—Food of the Eel—Larva of the Eel —Species of Eels —Pug-nosed Eels — Conger-eels—The Snake-eels.—Suborder Colocephali, or Morays.— Family Moringuide.—Order Carencheli, the Long-necked Eels.—Order Lyomeri,or\Giipers:—Order Heteromi.. . 2... 2s.cescs decease ocrees 362 CHAPTER XXIII. SERIES OSTARIOPHYSI. Ostariophysi.—The Heterognathi—The Eventognathi.—The Cyprinide. — Species of Dace and Shiner.—Chubs of the Pacific Slope-—The Carp and Goldfish.—The Catostomida.—Fossil Cyprinida.—The Loaches...... 378 CHAPTER XXIV. THE NEMATOGNATHI, OR CATFISHES. The Nematognathi.—Families of Nematognathi—The Silurida.—The Sea Catfish.—The Channel Cats.—Horned Pout.—The Mad-toms.—The Old World Catfishes—The Sisoride—The Plotoside—The Chlariidae.— The Hypophthalmide or Pygidiidae. —The Loricariide7.—The Callichthy- idee.—Fossil Catfishes—Order Gymnonoti.............000----e0000- 396 x Contents CHAPTER XXV. THE SCYPHOPHORI, HAPLOMI, AND XENOMI. PAGE Order Scyphophori—The Mormyride2.—The Haplomi.—The Pikes.—The Mud Minnows.—The Killifishes—Amblyopsidea.—Kneriide, ete.-—The Galaxiide.— Order Xenomiin.. <.. oi. 5. « siois'e wiejnisiotelelate ete iaints telat eeeinienaes 407 CHAPTER XXVI. ACANTHOPTERYGII; SYNENTOGNATHI. Order Acanthopterygii, the Spiny-rayed Fishes.—Suborder Synentognathi. —The Garfishes: Belonidee.—The Flying-fishes: Exoccetide.......... 424 CHAPTER XXVII. PERCESOCES AND RHEGNOPTERI. Suborder Percesoces.—The Silversides: Atherinide.—The Mullets: Mugi- lide.—The Barracudas: Sphyraenida.—Stephanoberycide.—Crosso- gnathide.—Cobitopside.—Suborder Rhegnopteri................... 432 CHAPTER XXVIII. PHTHINOBRANCHII: HEMIBRANCHIJ, LOPHOBRANCHII, AND HY POSTOMIDES. Suborder Hemibranchii—The Sticklebacks: Gasterosteide.—The Aulo- rhynchide.—Cornet-fishes: Fistulariidae.—The Trumpet-fishes: Aulo- stomidae.—The Snipefishes: Macrorhamphosida.—The Shrimp-fishes: Centriscida.—The Lophobranchs.—The Solenostomide.—The Pipe- fishes: Syngnathide.—The Sea-horses: Hippocampus.—Suborder Hy- postomides, the Sea-moths: Pepgaside....- 25. >. sj<0-+ oss meyers 442 CHAPTER XXIX. SALMOPERC4 AND OTHER TRANSITIONAL GROUPS. Suborder Salmoperce, the Trout-perches: Percopsid#.—Erismatopteride. —Suborder Selenichthyes, the Opahs: Lampridida.—Suborder Zeoidea. ~—Amphistiide.—The John Dories: Zeida.—Grammicolepide........ 456 CHAPTER XXX. BERYCOIDEI. The Berycoid Fishes.—The Alfonsinos: Berycide.—The Soldier-fishes: Holocentride.—The Polymixiide.—The Pine-cone Fishes: Monocen- Contents CHAPTER XXXI, PERCOMORPHI. Suborder Percomorphi, the Mackerels and Perches ——The Mackerel Tribe: Scombroidea.—The True Mackerels: Scombridz.—The Escolars: Gem- pylidae.—Scabbard and Cutlass-fishes: Lepidopide and Trichiuride.— The Paleorhynchidze.—The Sailfishes: Istiophorida.—The Swordfishes: CHAPTER XXXII. | CAVALLAS AND PAMPANOS. The Pampanos: Carangide.—The Papagallos: Nematistiida—The Blue- fishes: Cheilodipteridea—The Sergeant-fishes: Rachycentride.—The Butter-fishes : Stromateide.—The Ragfishes: Icosteida —The Pomfrets: Bramide.—The Dolphins: Coryphenide.—The Menide.—The Pem- pheridze.—Luvaride.—The Square-tails: Tetragonurida.—The Crested PAGE 2HSINTGES. 3, 65: Cone eae dicho nid oG often Os od OM eS Sr oe 473 IByavovekatsl aes 1L(0} 0) nek Ee nee ade Anat cidocd macho maciocecu 487 CHAPTER XXXIII. PERCOIDEA, OR PERCH-LIKE FISHES. Percoid Fishes.—The Pirate-perches: Aphredoderide.—The Pigmy Sun- fishes: Elassomidae.—The Sunfishes: Centrarchidee.—Crappies and Rock Bass.—The Black Bass.—The Saleles: Kuhliida.—The True Perches: Percide.—Relations of Darters to Perches.—The Perches.—The Dar- POLS ME UMCOSUO MALT CS esp oyrefer ee 1,6) /< wie wine ts PAGE 579 59t 608 622 Contents Xili CHAPTER XLI. GOBIOIDEI, DISCOCEPHALI, AND TNIOSOMI. PAGE Suborder Gobioidei, the Gobies: Gobiida—Suborder Discocephali, the Shark-suckers: Echeneididea.—Suborder Txniosomi, the Ribbon-fishes. —The Oarfishes: Regalecidae—The Dealfishes: Trachypteridz....... 670 CHAPTER XLII. SUBORDER HETEROSOMATA. The Flatfishes.—Optic Nerves of Flounders.—Ancestry of Flounders.—The Flounders: Pleuronectide.—The Turbot Tribe: Bothine.—The Halibut Tribe: Hippoglossine.—The Plaice Tribe: Pleuronectine.—The Soles: Soleida.—The Broad Soles: Achirinz.—The European Soles (Soleinz). ——Dheplonpue-nshes-| Cynoglossinae. «so sieieis = /isieielsiieis eieis) or area 6or CHAPTER XLIII. SUBORDER JUGULARES. The Jugular-fishes.—The Weevers: Trachinide.—The Nototheniide.—The Leptoscopide.—The Star-gazers: Uranoscopide.—The Dragonets: Cal- horiymide:—Mhe Dactyloscopides.. i)... Gece ie wes cieliein sale ee wince os 709 CHAPTER XLIV. THE BLENNIES: BLENNIID2. The Northern Blennies: Xiphidiine, Sticheinie, etc——The Quillfishes: Ptilichthyidea.—The Blochiidea.—The Patezcide, etc-—The Gadopside, etc.—The Wolf-fishes: Anarhichadide.—The Eel-pouts: Zoarcide.— The Cusk-eels: Ophidiidae—Sand-lances: Ammodytide.—The Pearl- fishes: Fierasferidae —The Brotulide.—Ateleopodide.—Suborder Hap- lodoci;—Suborder Xenoptery gil. 5... cso ees vole weieiw onesie ase 717 CHAPTER XLV. OPISTHOMI AND ANACANTHINI. Order Opisthomi.—Order Anacanthini—The Codfishes: Gadida.—The Hakes: Merluciide.—The Grenadiers: Macrouride................-. 739 CHAPTER XLVI. ORDER PEDICULATI: THE ANGLERS. The Angler-fishes.—The Fishing-frogs: Lophiide.—The Sea-devils: Cera- tiida.—The Frogfishes: Antennariidw.—The Batfishes: Ogeocephalide. 748 COLORED PLATES FISHES FROM A POOL IN THE CORAL REEF AT APIA, SAMOA.. ....--..... Frontispiece PAGE FISHES OF THE CORAI. REEFS, SAMOA, FAMILY LABRIDZE. .............-.-+0-5- 80 DAMSEL-FISHES (POMACENTRIDZ) FROM CORAL REEFS, SAMOA, SHOWING OTRECOGNERTON WVUAR KS 2 ov 5. 2152.3, «she eVepeiesebare teen ensrepebelaimuero cle lapeinraeale ora" aiatay chats 84 STORGEONM(AGIPENSER! (SUURIO)) oe oe os eisieteie rector eel sieselereleteineietate teh steterataalalasoetatotane 256 KERN River’ CE ROUL, SALMOLGILBERTD (JORDAN) luc) yi steertaiicietertateterel aye) leva) veletete 322 GoLpEN Trout OF VOLCANO CREEK, SALMO ROOSEVELTI EVERMANN ..........- 324 GOLDEN Trout OF SODA CREEK, SALMO WHITEI EVERMANN... ..----.+..+5--- 326 PERCH-LIKE FISHES OF THE CORAL REEFS, SAMOA.....------s2cceecteeeeesees 544 SOQUETEAGUE* \WEAKEISH (CYNOSCION IREGATIS) |< <<. <<.5.5)2 010 siete oleic e}ecleiatera emis eisucins 566 OGEANOES WATOVIETATA (IUACEPEDE)) woe oe 1s sini sisi © «iors 2 vie siete tire neler sistas 574 TABRID AS OF) THE) CORAL REERS: SAMOA. 02 <0 cae csisae og oe ei elsloisieicieiieielaiei J4 aye) 600 AB RID LOR UTE CORAL ICRERS: | SAMOAS. s s)'c.cicrafercusls sia s/= ene = uc ls nib an abo ebebepe ere teneeiars 602 PSEUDOSCARUS OR CALLYODON LATAxX JORDAN & SEALE. TYPE. .............. 606 HISHES TO RMUME EC ORATOR RS SAMOS (cf cisteyeiniaysieiclslelmiene rics \s << +e ela sel e/epeneretataenene 614 WARTATIONS SING MEE COLOR (OR CMISHES ai lel eics! sic) 4isig! lol r= ininja vlnis\« «7~ 41s ets aie ieCoeees 644 USES VOMCORAT: EOOLS) GAMOM she «<1 5 alse sie visie ateysin-s o = 6 arars/o: se) nis tepals el eee 646 Fiyinc GURNARD; BAT-FISH. (CEPHALACANTHUS VOLITANS, (LINNEUS).......... 668 BISHES OF THE CORAL, REEES, SAMOA. coc cece cece neice ces wie neemens ols slalaieias 714 CHAPTER I THE LIFE (OF THE, FISH A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE OF THE LONG-EARED SUNFISH, LEPOMIS MEGALOTIS HAT is a Fish ?—A fish is a back-boned animal which lives in the water and cannot ever live very long anywhere else. Its ancestors have always dwelt in water, and most likely its descendents will forever follow their example. So, as the water is a region very different from the fields or the woods, a fish in form and structure must be quite unlike all the beasts and birds that walk or creep or fly above ground, breathing air and being fitted to live in it. There are a great many kinds of animals called fishes, but in this all of them agree: all have some sort of a back-bone, all of them breathe their life long by means of gills, and none have fingers or toes with which to creep about on land. The Long-eared Sunfish.—If we would understand a fish, we must first go and catch one. This is not very hard to do, for there are plenty of them in the little rushing brook or among the lilies of the pond. Let us take a small hook, put on it an angle- worm or a grasshopper,—no need to seek an elaborate artificial fly,—and we will go out to the old “‘swimming-hole”’ or the deep eddy at the root of the old stump where the stream has gnawed away the bank in changing its course. Here we will find fishes, and one of them will take the bait very soon. In one part of the country the first fish that bites will be different from the first one taken in some other. But as we are fishing in the United States, we will locate our brook in the centre of popu- lation of our country. This will be to the northwest of Cincin- I ‘(anbsouyeyy) syojpbau suuodaT ‘ysyung poive-3u0T—'T “OI gag —CIPEIMUS “A “HAA Att WOLD) The Life of the Fish 3 nati, among the low wooded hills from which clear brooks flow over gravelly bottoms toward the Ohio River. Here we will catch sunfishes of certain species, or maybe rock bass or catfish: any of these will do for our purpose. But one of our sunfishes is especially beautiful—mottled blue and golden and scarlet, with a long, black, ear-like appendage backward from his gill-covers— and this one we will keep and hold for our first lesson in fishes, It is a small fish, not longer than your hand most likely, but it can take the bait as savagely as the best, swimming away with it with such force that you might think from the vigor of its pull that you have a pickerel or a bass. But when it comes out of the water you see a little, flapping, unhappy, living plate of Fic. 2.—Long-eared Sunfish, Lepomis megalotis (Rafinesque). (From Clear Creek, Bloomington, Indiana.) Family Centrarchide. brown and blue and orange, with fins wide-spread and eyes red with rage. Form of the Fish.—And now we have put the fish into a bucket of water, where it lies close to the bottom. Then we take it home and place it in an aquarium, and for the first time we have a chance to see what it is like. We see that its body is almost elliptical in outline, but with flat sides and shaped on the lower parts very much like a boat. This form we see is such as to enable it to part the water as it swims. We notice that its progress comes through the sculling motion of its broad, flat tail. 4 The Life of the Fish Face of a Fish.—When we look at the sunfish from the front we see that it has a sort of face, not unlike that of higher animals. The big eyes, one on each side, stand out without eyelids, but the fish can move them at will, so that once in a while he seems to wink. There isn’t much of a nose between the eyes, but the mouth is very evident, and the fish opens and shuts it as it breathes. We soon see that it breathes water, taking it in through the mouth and letting it flow over the gills, and then out through the opening behind the gill-covers. How the Fish Breathes.—If we take another fish—for we shall not kill this one—we shall see that in its throat, behind the mouth- cavity, there are four rib-like bones on each side, above the beginning of the gullet. These are the gill-arches, and on each one of them there is a pair of rows of red fringes called the gills. Into each of these fringes runs a blood-vessel. As the water passes over it the oxygen it contains is absorbed through the skin of the gill-fringe into the blood, which thus becomes puri- fied. In the same manner the impurities of the blood pass out into the water, and go out’ through the gill-openings behind. The fish needs to breathe just as we do, though the apparatus of breathing is not the same. Just as the air becomes loaded with impurities when many people breathe it, so does the water in our jar or aquarium become foul if it is breathed over and over again by fishes. When a fish finds the water bad he comes to the sur- face to gulp air, but his gills are not well fitted to use undissolved air as a substitute for that contained in water. The rush of a stream through the air purifies the water, and so again does the growth of water plants, for these in the sunshine absorb and break up carbonic acid gas, and throw out oxygen into the water. Teeth of the Fish.—On the inner side of the gill-arch we find some little projections which serve as strainers to the water. These are called gill-rakers. In our sunfish they are short and thick, seeming not to amount to much but in a herring they are very long and numerous. Behind the gills, at the opening of the gullet, are some round- ish bones armed with short, thick teeth. These are called pharyn- geals. They form a sort of jaws in the throat, and they are useful in helping the little fish to crack shells. If we look at the mouth of our live fish, we shall find that when it breathes or bites it moves The Life of the Fish is the lower jaw very much as a dog does. But it can move the upper jaw, too, a little, and that by pushing it out in a queer fashion, as though it were thrust out of a sheath and then drawn in. If we look at our dead fish, we shall see that the upper jaw divides in the middle and has two bones on each side. On one bone are rows of little teeth, while the other bone that lies behind it has no teeth at all. The lower jaw has little teeth like those of the upper jaw, and there is a patch of teeth on the roof of the mouth also. In some sunfishes there are three little patches, the vomer in the middle and the palatines on either side. The tongue of the fish is flat and gristly. It cannot move it, scarce even taste its food with it, nor can it use it for making a noise. The unruly member of a fish is not its tongue, but its tail. How the Fish Sees.—To come back to the fish’s eye again. We say that it has no eyelids, and so, if it ever goes to sleep, it must keep its eyes wide open. Theirisis brown orred. The pupil is round, and if we could cut open the eye we should see that the crystalline lens is almost a perfect sphere, much more convex than the lens in land animals. We shall learn that this is necessary for the fish to see under water. It takes a very convex lens or even one perfectly round to form images from rays of light passing through the water, because the lens is but little more dense than the water itself. This makes the fish near-sighted. He cannot see clearly anything out of water or at a distance. Thus he has learned that when, in water or out, he sees anything moving quickly it is probably something dangerous, and the thing for him to do is to swim away and hide as swiftly as possible. In front of the eye are the nostrils, on each side a pair of openings. But they lead not into tubes, but into a little cup lined with delicate pink tissues and the branching nerves of smell. The organ of smell in nearly all fishes is a closed sac, and the fish does not use the nostrils at all in breathing. But they can indicate the presence of anything in the water which is good to eat, and eating is about the only thing a fish cares for. Color of the Fish.— Behind the eye there are several bones on the side of the head which are more or less distinct from the skull itself. These are called membrane bones because they are formed of membrane which has become bony by the deposition 6 The Life of the Fish in it of salts of lime. One of these is called the opercle, or gill-cover, and before it, forming a right angle, is the pre- opercle, or false gill-cover. On our sunfish we see that the opercle ends behind in a long and narrow flap, which looks like an ear. This is black in color, with an edging of scarlet as though a drop of blood had spread along its margin. When the fish is in the water its back is dark greenish-looking, like the weeds and the sticks in the bottom, so that we cannot see it very plainly. This is the way the fish looks to the fish- hawks or herons in the air above it who may come to the stream to look for fish. Those fishes which from above look most like the bottom can most readily hide and save themselves. The under side of the sunfish is paler, and most fishes have the belly white. Fishes with white bellies swim high in the water, and the fishes who would catch them lie below. To the fish in the water Fie. 3.—Common Sunfish, Lupomotis gibbosus (Linneus). Natural size. (From life by R. W. Shufeldt.) all outside the water looks white, and so the white-bellied fishes are hard for other fishes to see, just as it is hard for us to see a white rabbit bounding over the snow. The Life of the Fish 7 But to be known of his own kind is good for the sunfish, and we may imagine that the black ear-flap with its scarlet edge helps his mate and friends to find him out, where they swim on his own level near the bottom. Such marks are called recognition- marks, and a great many fishes have them, but we have no certain knowledge as to their actual purpose. We are sure that the ear-flap is not an ear, however. No fishes have any external ear, all their hearing apparatus being buried in the skull. They cannot hear very much: possibly a great jar or splash in the water may reach them, but whenever they hear any noise they swim off to a hiding-place, for any dis- turbance whatever in the water must arouse a fish’s anxiety. The color of the live sunfish is very brilliant. Its body is cov- ered with scales, hard and firm, making a close coat of mail, overlapping one another like shingles on a roof. Over these is a thin skin in which are set little globules of bright-colored matter, green, brown, and black, with dashes of scarlet, blue, and white as well. These give the fish its varied colors. Some coloring matter is under the scales also, and this especially makes the back darker than the lower parts. The bright colors of the sun- fish change with its surroundings or with its feelings. When it lies in wait under a dark log its colors are very dark. When it rests above the white sands it is very pale. When it is guarding its nest from some meddling perch its red shades flash out as it stands with fins spread, as though a water knight with lance at rest, looking its fiercest at the intruder. When the sunfish is taken out of the water its colors seem to fade. - In the aquarium it is generally paler, but it will sometimes brighten up when another of its own species is placed beside it. A cause of this may lie in the nervous control of the muscles at the base of the scales. When the scales lie very flat the color has one appearance. When they rise a little the shade of color seems to change. If you let fall some ink-drops between two panes of glass, then spread them apart or press them together, you will see changes in the color and size of the spots. Of this nature is the apparent change in the colors of fishes under different con- ditions. Where the fish feels at its best the colors are the richest. There are some fishes, too, in which the male grows very brilliant in the breeding season through the deposition of red, white, biack, -_ 8 The Life of the Fish or blue pigments, or coloring matter, on its scales or on its head or fins, this pigment being absorbed when the mating season is over. This is not true of the sunfish, who remains just about the same at all seasons. The male and female are colored alike and are not to be distinguished without dissection. If we examine the scales, we shall find that these are marked with fine lines and concentric stric, and part of the apparent color is due to the effect of the fine ines on the light. This gives the bluish lustre or sheen which we can see in certain lights, although we shall find no real blue pigment under it. The inner edge of each scale is usually scalloped or crinkled, and the outer margin of most of them has little prickly points which make the fish seem rough when we pass our hand along his sides. The Lateral Line.—Along the side of the fish is a line of peculiar scales which runs from the head to the tail. This is Fic. 4.—Ozorthe dictyogramma (Herzenstein). A Japanese blenny, from Hakodate: showing increased number of lateral lines, a trait characteristic of many fishes of the north Pacific. called the lateral line. If we examine it carefully, we shall see that each scale has a tube from which exudes a watery or mucous fluid. Behind these tubes are nerves, and although not much is known of the function of the tubes, we can be sure that in some degree the lateral line is a sense-organ, perhaps aiding the fish to feel sound-waves or other disturbances in the water. The Fins of the Fish.—The fish moves itself and directs its course in the water by means of its fins. These are made up of stiff or flexible rods growing out from the body and joined to- gether by membrane. There are two kinds of these rays or rods in the fins. One sort is without joints or branches, tapering to a sharp point. The rays thus fashioned are called spines, and they are in the sunfish stiff and sharp-pointed. The others, — The Life of the Fish 9 known as soft rays, are made up of many little joints, and most of them branch and spread out brush-like at their tips. In the fin on the back the first ten of the rays are spines, the rest are soft rays. In the fin under the tail there are three spines, and in each fin at the breast there is one spine with five soft rays. In the other fins all the rays are soft. The fin on the back is called the dorsal fin, the fin at the end of the tail is the caudal fin, the fin just in front of this on the lower side is the anal fin. The fins, one on each side, just behind the gill-openings are called the pectoral fins. These correspond to the arms of man, the wings of birds, or the fore legs of a turtle or lizard. Below these, corresponding to the hind legs, is the pair of fins known as the ventral fins. If we examine the bones behind the gill-openings to which the pectoral fins are attached, we shall find that they correspond after a fashion to the shoulder- girdle of higher animals. But the shoulder-bone in the sunfish is joined to the back part of the skull, so that the fish has not any neck at all. In animals with necks the bones at the shoulder are placed at some distance behind the skull. If we examine the legs of a fish, the ventral fins, we shall find that, as in man, these are fastened to a bone inside called the pelvis. But the pelvis in the sunfish is small and it is placed far forward, so that it is joined to the tip of the ‘“‘collar-bone”’ of the shoulder-girdle and pelvis attached together. The caudal fin gives most of the motion of a fish. The other fins are mostly used in maintaining equilibrium and direction. The pectoral fins are almost constantly in motion, and they may sometimes help in breathing by starting currents outside which draw water over the gills. The Skeleton of the Fish.—The skeleton of the fish, like that of man, is made up of the skull, the back-bone, the limbs, and their appendages. But in the fish the bones are relatively smaller, more numerous, and not so firm. The front end of the vertebral column is modified as a skull to contain the little brain which serves for all a fish’s activities. To the skull are attached the jaws, the membrane bones, and the shoulder- girdle. The back-bone itself in the sunfish is made of about twenty-four pieces, or vertebrae. Each of these has a rounded central part, concave in front and behind. Above this is a ste) The Life of the Fish channel through which the great spinal cord passes, and above and below are a certain number of processes or projecting points. To some of these, through the medium of another set of sharp bones, the fins of the back are attached. Along the sides of the body are the slender ribs. The Fish in Action.—-The fish is, like any other animal, a machine to convert food into power. It devours other animals or plants, assimilates their substance, takes it over into itself, and through its movements uses up this substance again. The food of the sunfish is made up of worms, insects, and little fishes. To seize these it uses its mouth and teeth. To digest them it needs its alimentary canal, made of the stomach with its glands and intestines. If we cut the fish open, we shall find the stomach with its pyloric ceca, near it the large liver with its gall- bladder, and on the other side the smaller spleen. After the food is dissolved in the stomach and intestines the nutritious part is taken up by the walls of the alimentary canal, whence it passes into the blood. The blood is made pure in the gills, as we have already seen. To send it to the gills the fish has need of a little pumping-engine, and this we shall find at work in the fish as in all higher animals. This engine of stout muscle surrounding a cavity is called the heart. In most fishes it is close behind the gills. It contains one auricle and one ventricle only, not two of each as in man. The auricle receives the impure blood from all parts of the body. It passes it on to the ventricle, which, being thick-walled, is dark red in color. This passes the blood by convulsive action, or heart-beating, on to the gills. From these the blood is col- lected in arteries, and without again returning to the heart it flows all through the body. The blood in the fish flows slug- gishly. The combustion of waste material goes on slowly, and so the blood is not made hot as it is in the higher beasts and birds. Fishes have relatively little blood; what there is is rather pale and cold and has no swift current. If we look about in the inside of a fish, we shall find close along the lower side of the back-bone, covering the great artery, the dark red kidneys. These strain out from the blood a cer- tain class of impurities, poisons made from nerve or muscle waste which cannot be burned away by the oxygen of respiration. The Life of the Fish iii The Air-bladder.—In the front part of the sunfish, just above the stomach, is a closed sac, filled with air. This is called the air-bladder, or swim-bladder. It helps the fish to maintain its place in the water. In bottom fishes it is almost always small, while fishes that rise and fall in the current generally have a large swim-bladder. The gas inside it is secreted from the blood, for the sunfish has no way of getting any air into it from the outside. But the primal purpose of the air-bladder was not to serve as a float. In very old-fashioned fishes it has a tube connecting it with the throat, and instead of being an empty sac it is a true lung made up of many lobes and parts and lined with little blood- vessels. Such fishes as the garpike and the bowfin have lung- like air-bladders and gulp air from the surface of the water. In the very little sunfish, when he is just hatched, the air- bladder has an air-duct, which, however, is soon lost, leaving only a closed sac. From all this we know that the air-bladder is the remains of what was once a lung, or additional arrange- ment for breathing. As the gills furnish oxygen enough, the lung of the common fish has fallen into disuse and thrifty Nature has used the parts and the space for another and a very different purpose. This will serve to help us to understand the swim- bladder and the way the fish came to acquire it as a substitute for a lung. The Brain of the Fish.—The movements of the fish, like those of every other complex animal, are directed by a central ner- vous system, of which the principal part is in the head and is known as the brain. From the eye of the fish a large nerve goes to the brain to report what is in sight. Other nerves go from the nostrils, the ears, the skin, and every part which has any sort of capacity for feeling. These nerves carry their mes- sages inward, and when they reach the brain they may be trans- formed into movement. The brain sends back messages to the muscles, directing them to contract. Their contraction moves the fins, and the fish is shoved along through the water. To scare the fish or to attract it to its food or to its mate is about the whole range of the effect that sight or touch has on the animal. These sensations changed into movement constitute what is called reflex action, performance without thinking of aE wd C3ppmnys “AL “YW Aq ast, wos) ‘OZIS [BINjUN *(snauury) snsoqqub syowodny ‘ysyung uourml0j—’e “OLY The Life of the Fish 19 what is being done. With a boy, many familiar actions may be equally reflex. The boy can also do many other things “of his own accord,” that is, by conscious effort. He can choose among a great many possible actions. But a fish cannot. If he is scared, he must swim away, and he has no way to stop himself. If he is hungry, and most fishes are so all the time, he will spring at the bait. If he is thirsty, he will gasp, and there is nothing else for him to do. In other words, the activities of a fish are nearly all reflex, most of them being suggested and immediately directed by the influence of external things. Because its actions are all reflex the brain is very small, very primitive, and very simple, nothing more being needed for automatic move- ment. Small as the fish’s skull-cavity is, the brain does not half fill it. The vacant space about the little brain is filled with a fatty fluid mass looking like white of egg, intended for its protection. Taking the dead sunfish (for the live one we shall look after carefully, giving him every day fresh water and a fresh worm or snail or bit of beef), if we cut off the upper part of the skull we shall see the separate parts of the brain, most of them lying in pairs, side by side, in the bottom of the brain-cavity. The largest pair is near the middle of the length of the brain, two nerve-masses (or ganglia), each one round and hollow. If we turn these over, we shall see that the nerves of the eye run into them. We know then that these nerve-masses receive the impressions of sight, and so they are called optic lobes. In front of the optic lobes are two smaller and more oblong nerve- masses. These constitute the cerebrum. This is the thinking part of the brain, and in man and in the higher animals it makes up the greater part of it, overlapping and hiding the other ganglia. But the fish has not much need for thinking and its fore-brain or cerebrum is very small. In front of these are two small, slim projections, one going to each nostril. These are the olfac- tory lobes which receive the sensation of smell. Behind the optic lobes is a single small lobe, not divided into two. This is the cerebellum and it has charge of certain powers of motion. Under the cerebellum is the medulla, below which the spinal cord begins. The rest of the spinal cord is threaded through the different vertebrae back to the tail, and at each joint it sends 14 The Life of the Fish out nerves of motion and receives nerves of sense. Everything that is done by the fish, inside or outside, receives the attention of the little branches of the great nerve-cord. The Fish’s Nest.—The sunfish in the spawning time will build some sort of a nest of stones on the bottom of the eddy, and then, when the eggs are laid, the male with flashing eye and fins all spread will defend the place with a good deal of spirit. All this we call instinct. He fights as well the first time as the last. The pressure of the eggs suggests nest-building to the female. The presence of the eggs tells the male to defend them. But the facts of the nest-building and nest protection are not very well understood, and any boy who can watch them and describe them truly will be able to add something to science. CHAPTER It THE EXTERIOR OF THE FISH ORM of Body.—With a glance at the fish as a living organism and some knowledge of those structures which are to be readily seen without dissection, we are prepared to examine its anatomy in detail, and to note some of the variations which may be seen in different parts of the great group. In general fishes are boat-shaped, adapted for swift progress through the water. They are longer than broad or deep and the greatest width is in front of the middle, leaving the com- pressed paddle-like tail as the chief organ of locomotion. But to all these statements there are numerous exceptions. Some fishes depend for protection, not on swiftness, but on the thorny skin or a bony coat of mail. Some of these are almost globular in form, and their outline bears no resemblance to that Fic. 6.—Pine-cone Fish, Monocentris japonicus (Houttuyn). Waka, Japan. of a boat. The trunkfish (Ostracion) in a hard bony box has no need of rapid progress. 15 16 The Exterior of the Fish Fic. 7.—Porcupine-fish, Diodon hystrix (Linneus). Tortugas Islands. Ve Fic. 8. Fic. 8.—Thread-eel, Nemichthys avocetta Jordan and Gilbert. Vancouver Island. Fic. 9.—Sea-horse, Hippocampus hudsonius Dekay, Virginia. The Exterior of the Fish I oa / ) Fig. 11.—Anko or’ Fishing-frog, Lophius litulon (Jordan). Matsushima Bay, Japan. (The short line in all cases shows the degree of reduction; it represents an inch of the fish’s length.) 18 The Exterior of the Fish The pine-cone fish (Monocentris japonicus) adds strong fin- spines to its bony box, and the porcupine fish (Diodon hystrix) is covered with long prickles which keep away all enemies. Among swift fishes, there are some in which the body is much deeper than long, as in Antigonta. Certain sluggish fishes seem to be all head and tail, looking as though the body by some accident had been omitted. These, like the headfish (Mola mola) are protected by a leathery skin. Other fishes, as the eels, are extremely long and slender, and some carry this elongation to great extremes. Usually the head is in a line with the axis of the body, but in some cases, as the sea-horse (Hippocampus), the head is placed at right angles to the axis, and the body itself is curved and cannot be straightened with- out injury. The type of the swiftest fish is seen among the mackerels and tunnies, where every outline is such that a racing yacht might copy it. The body or head of the fish is said to be compressed when it is flattened sidewise, depressed when it is flattened vertically. Thus the Peprilus (Fig. 10) is said to be compressed, while the fishing-frog (Lophius) (Fig. 11) has a depressed body and head. Other terms as truncate (cut off short), attenuate (long-drawn out), robust, cuboid, filiform, and the like may be needed in descriptions. Measurement of the Fish.—As most fishes grow as long as they live, the actual length of a specimen has not much value for purposes of description. The essential point is not actual length, but relative length. The usual standard of measure- ment is the length from the tip of the snout to the base of the caudal fin. With this length the greatest depth of the body, the greatest length of the head, and the length of individual parts may be compared. Thus in the Rock Hind (Epinephelus adscensionis), fig. 12, the head is contained 2$ times in the length, while the greatest depth is contained three times. Thus, again, the length of the muzzle, the diameter of the eye, and other dimensions may be compared with the length of the head. In the Rock Hind, fig. 12, the eye is 5 in head, the snout is 43 in head, and the maxillary 2%. Young fishes have the eye larger, the body slenderer, and the head larger in proportion than old fishes of the same kind. The mouth grows larger The Exterior of the Fish 1g with age, and is sometimes larger also in the male sex. The development of the fins often varies a good deal in some fishes with age, old fishes and male fishes having higher fins when Fic. 12.—Rock Hind or Cabra Mora of the West Indies, Epinephelus adscensions (Osbeck), Family Serranide. such differences exist. These variations are soon understood by the student of fishes and cause little doubt or confusion in the study of fishes. The Scales, or Exoskeleton.—The surface of the fish may be naked as in the catfish, or it may be covered with scales, prickles, shagreen, or bony plates. The hard covering of the skin, when present, is known as the exoskeleton, or outer skeleton. In the fish, the exoskeleton, whatever form it may assume, may be held to consist of modified scales, and this is usually obviously the case. The skin of the fish may be thick or thin, bony, horny, leathery, or papery, or it may have almost any inter- mediate character. When protected by scales the skin is usually thin and tender; when unprotected it may be ossified, as in the sea-horse; horny, as in the headfish; leathery, as in the catfish; or it may, as in the sea-snails, form a loose scarf readily de- tachable from the muscles below. The scales themselves may be broadly classified as ctenoid, cycloid, placoid, ganoid, or prickly. Ctenoid and Cycloid Scales—Normally formed scales are rounded in outline, marked by fine concentric rings, and crossed on the inner side by a few strong radiating ridges and folds. 20 The Exterior of the Fish They usually cover the body more or less evenly and are imbri- cated like shingles on a roof, the free edge being turned back- ward. Such normal scales are of two types, ctenoid or cycloid, Ctenoid scales have a comb-edge of fine prickles or cilia; cycloid scales have the edges smooth. These two types are not very different, and the one readily passes into the other, both being sometimes seen on different parts of the same fish. In general, however, the more primitive representatives of the typical fishes, those with abdominal ventrals and without. spines in the fins, have cycloid or smooth scales. Examples are the salmon, herring, minnow, and carp. Some of the more specialized spiny-rayed fishes, as the parrot-fishes, have, however, scales equally smooth, although somewhat different in structure. Sometimes, as in the eel, the cycloid scales may be reduced to mere rudiments buried in the skin. Ctenoid scales are beset on the free edge by little prickles or points, sometimes rising to the rank of spines, at other times soft and scarcely noticeable, when they are known as ciliate or eyelash-like. Such scales are possessed in general by the more specialized types of bony fishes, as the perch and bass, those with thoracic ventrals and spines in the fins. Placoid Scales.—Placoid scales are ossified papilla, minute, enamelled, and close-set, forming a fine shagreen. These are characteristic of the sharks, and in the most primitive sharks the teeth are evidently modifications of these primitive structures. Some other fishes have scales which appear shagreen-like to sight and feeling, but only the sharks have the peculiar structure to which Agassiz gave the name of placoid. The rough prickles of the filefishes and Fig. 13.—Scales of some sculpins are not placoid, but are re- Acanthoessus bronni duced or modified ctenoid scales, scales nar- (Agassiz). (After rowed and reduced to prickles. ain Bony and Prickly Scales—Bony and prickly scales are found in great variety, and scarcely admit of description or classification. In general, prickly points on the skin are modifi- cations of ctenoid scales. Ganoid scales are thickened and cov- ered with bony enamel, much like that seen in teeth, otherwise The Exterior of the Fish 21 essentially like cycloid scales. These are found in the garpike and in many genera of extinct Ganoid and Crossopterygian fishes. In the line of descent the placoid scale preceded the ganoid, which in turn was followed by the cycloid and lastly by the ctenoid scale. Bony scales in other types of fishes may have noth- ing structurally in common with ganoid scales ‘or plates, however great may be the superficial resemblance. The distribution of scales on the body may vary exceedingly. In some fishes the scales Fie. 14.—Cycloid are arranged in very regular series; in others Bale they are variously scattered over the body. Some are scaly everywhere on head, body, and fins. Others may have only a few lines or patches. The scales may be everywhere alike, or they may in one part or another be greatly modified. Sometimes they are transformed into feelers or tactile’ organs. The number of scales is always one of the most valu- able of the characters by which to distinguish species. Lateral Line.—The lateral line in most fishes consists of a series of modified scales, each one provided with a mucous tube extending along the side of the body from the head to the caudal fin. The canal which pierces each scale is simple at its base, but its free edge is often branched or ramified. In most spiny-rayed fishes it runs parallel with the outline of the back. In most soft-rayed fishes it follows rather the outline of the belly. It is subject to many variations. In. some large groups (Gobide, Pecilude) its surface structures are entirely wanting. In scale- less fishes the mucous tube lies in the skin itself. In some groups the lateral line has a peculiar position, as in the flying- fishes, where it forms a raised ridge bounding the belly. In many cases the lateral line has branches of one sort or another. It is often double or triple, and in some cases the whole back and sides of the fish are covered with lateral lines and their ramifications. Sometimes peculiar sense-organs and occasionally eye-like luminous spots are developed in connection with the lateral line, enabling the fish to see in the black depths of the sea. These will be noticed in another chapter. The Lateral Line as a Mucous Channel.—The more primitive 22 The Exterior of the Fish condition of the lateral line is seen in the sharks and chimeras, in which fishes it appears as a series of channels in or under the skin. These channels are filled with mucus, which exudes through occasional open pores. In many fishes the bones of the skull are cavernous, that is, provided with cavities filled Fig. 15.—Singing Fish (with many lateral lines), Porichthys porosissimus (Cuv. and Val.). Gulf of Mexico. with mucus. Analogous to these cavities are the mucous chan- nels which in primitive fishes constitute the lateral line. Function of the Lateral Line.—The general function of the lateral line with its tubes and pores is still little understood. As the structures of the lateral line are well provided with nerves, it has been thought to be an organ of sense of some sort not yet understood. Its close relation to the ear is beyond question, the ear-sac being an outgrowth from it. “The original significance of the lateral line,”’ according to Dr. Dean,* ‘‘as yet remains undetermined. It appears inti- mately if not genetically related to the sense-organs of the head and gill region of the ancestral fish. In response to special aquatic needs, it may thence have extended farther and farther backward along the median line of the trunk, and in its later differentiation acquired its metameral characters.” In view of its peculiar nerve-supply, ‘‘the precise function of this entire system of organs becomes especially difficult to determine. Feeling, in its broadest sense, has safely been admitted as its possible use. Its close genetic relationship to the hearing organ suggests the kindred function of determining waves of vibration. These are transmitted in so favorable a way in the aquatic medium that from the side of theory a system of * Fishes Recent and Fossil, p. 52. — — The Exterior of the Fish 23 hypersensitive end-organs may well have been established. The sensory tracts along the sides of the body are certainly well situated to determine the direction of the approach of friend, enemy, or prey.” The Fins of Fishes.—The organs of locomotion in the fishes are known as fins. These are composed of bony or cartilaginous rods or rays connected by membranes. The fins are divided into two groups, paired fins and vertical fins. The pectoral fins, one on either side, correspond to the anterior limbs of the higher vertebrates. The ventral fins below or behind them represent the hinder limbs. Either or both pairs may be absent, but the ventrals are much more frequently abortive than the pec- torals. The insertion of the ventral fins may be abdominal, as in the sharks and the more generalized of the bony fishes, thoracic under the breast (the pelvis attached to the shoulder-girdle) or jugular, under the throat. When the ventral fins are ab- dominal, the pectoral fins are usually placed very low. The paired fins are not in general used for progression in the water, but serve rather to enable the fish to keep its equilibrium. With the rays, however, the wing-like pectoral fins form the chief organ of locomotion. The fin on the median line of the back is called the dorsal, that on the tail the caudal, and that on the lower median line the anal fin. The dorsal is often divided into two fins or even three. The anal is sometimes divided, and either dorsal or anal fin may have behind it detached single rays called finlets. The rays composing the fin may be either simple or branched The branched rays are always articulated, that is, crossed by numerous fine joints which render them flexible. Simple rays are also sometimes articulate. Rays thus jointed are known as soft rays, while those rays which are neither jointed nor branched are called spines. A spine is usually stiff and sharp- pointed, but it may be neither, and some spines are very slen- der and flexible, the lack of branches or joints being the feature which distinguishes spine from soft ray. The anterior rays of the dorsal and anal fins are spinous in most fishes with thoracic ventrals. The dorsal fin has usu- ally about ten spines, the anal three, but as to this there is much variation in different groups. When the dorsal is di- 24 The Exterior of the Fish vided all the rays of the first dorsal and usually the first ray of the second are spines. The caudal fin has never true spines, though at the base of its lobes are often rudimentary rays which resemble spines. Most spineless fishes have such rudi- ments in front of their vertical fins. The pectoral, as a rule, is without spines, although in the catfishes and some others a single large spine may be developed. The ventrals when ab- nominal are usually without spines. When thoracic: each usually, but not always, consists of one spine and five soft rays. When jugular the number of soft rays may be reduced, this being a phase of degeneration of the fin. In writing de- scriptions of fishes the number of spines may be indicated by Roman numerals, those of the soft rays by Arabic. Thus D. XII-I, 17 means that the dorsal is divided, that the an- terior portion consists of twelve spines, the posterior of one spine and seventeen soft rays. In some fishes, as the catfish or the salmon, there is a small fin on the back behind the dorsal fin. This is known as the adipose fin, being formed of fatty substance covered by skin. In a few catfishes, this adipose fin develops a spine or soft rays. Muscles.—The movements of the fins are accomplished by the muscles. These organs lie along the sides of the body, forming the flesh of the fish. They are little specialized, and not clearly differentiated as in the higher vertebrates. With the higher fishes there are several distinct systems of muscles controlling the jaws, the gills, the eye, the different fins, and the body itself. The largest of all is the great lateral muscle, composed of flake-like segments (myocommas) which correspond in general with the number of the vertebrae. In general the muscles of the fish are white in color. In some groups, especially of the mackerel family, they are deep red, charged with animal oils. In the salmon they are orange-red, a color also due to the presence of certain oils. In a few fishes muscular structures are modified into electric organs. These will be discussed in a later chapter. CHAPTER III THE DISSECTION OF THE FISH E Blue-green Sunfish.—The organs found in the abdominal cavity of the fish may be readily traced in a rapid dissection. Any of the bony fishes may be chosen, but for our purposes the sunfish will serve as well as any. The names and location of the principal organs are shown in the accompanying figure, from Kellogg’s Zoology. It represents the blue-green sunfish, A pomotis cya- nellus, from the Kansas River, but in these regards all the species of sunfishes are alike. We may first glance at the dif- ferent organs as shown in the sequence of dissection, leaving a detailed account of each to the subsequent pages. The Viscera.—Opening the body cavity of the fish, as shown in the plate, we see below the back-bone a membranous sac closed and filled with air. This is the air-bladder, a rudiment of that structure which in higher vertebrates is developed as a lung. The alimentary canal passes through the abdominal cavity extending from the mouth through the pharynx and ending at the anus or vent. The stomach has the form of a blind sac, and at its termination are a number of tubular sacs, the pyloric czeca, which secrete a digestive fluid. Beyond the pylorus ex- tends the intestine with one or two loops to the anus. Con- nected with the intestine anteriorly is the large red mass of the liver, with its gall-bladder, which serves as a reservoir for bile, the fluid the liver secretes. Farther back is another red glandu- lar mass, the spleen. In front of the liver and separated from it by a membrane is the heart. This is of four parts. The posterior part is a thin-walled reservoir, the sinus venosus, into which blood enters through the jugular vein from the head and through the cardinal vein from the kidney. From the sinus venosus it passes forward into a large thin-walled chamber, the auricle, 25 mbsouyryy snpjouvha syomod 7 ‘YsyuNg woMs-onig od Jo uondassiq —"9T lL SNSOLLILD SNLUOI ha ‘96 —CSSOTIAM AOIV) Ayana fipoq sanpsnu Lipo : ‘ apatajuaa } 4 a sistent \ SN uf jp4quaa et ysaqur WN “4A ajran A : Apavo porpanosad ' ' ' shaupry wouf finuado , 4appn)q fisvurin ‘OPIS ROU OY} Wosy ‘uONRIg [RoIFopoIgT BSI ST, “Tes Jo sjood-opryz— ‘Fe ‘oly stranded the fishes *hotograph by O. E. Meddaugh.)—Page 50. yawn, the high water, after a rain, falling, leaves Running up a stream to s d Kelsey Creek, Clear Lake, California, April 29, 1899. fish. Ptychocheilus grandis Agassiz. Squaw 34a, hig eS CHAPTER V ADAPTATIONS OF FISHES PINES of the Catfishes.—The catfishes or horned pouts (Siluride) have a strong spine in the pectoral fin, one or both edges of this being jagged or serrated. This spine fits into a peculiar joint and by means of a slight downward or forward twist can be set immovably. It can then be broken more easily than it can be depressed. A slight turn in the opposite direction releases the joint, a fact known to the fish and readily learned by the boy. The sharp spine inflicts a jagged wound. Fig. 35 —Mad-tom, Schilbeodes furiosus Jordan and Meek. Showing the poisoned pectoral spine. Family Siluride. Neuse River. Pelicans which have swallowed the catfish have been known to die of the wounds inflicted by the fish’s spine. When the catfish was first introduced into the Sacramento, according to Mr. Will S. Green, it caused the death of many of the native ‘‘Sacra- mento perch” (Archoplites interruptus). This perch (or rather bass) fed on the young catfish, and the latter erecting their pectoral spines in turn caused the death of the perch by tear- ing the walls of its stomach. In like manner the sharp dorsal and ventral spines of the sticklebacks have been known to cause the death of fishes who swallow them, and even of ducks. In Puget Sound the stickleback is often known as salmon-killer. 51 52 Adaptations of Fishes Certain small catfishes known as stone-cats and mad-toms (Noturus, Schilbeodes), found in the rivers of the Southern and Middle Western States, are provided with special organs of offense. At the base of the pectoral spine, which is sometimes very jagged, is a structure supposed by Professor Cope to be a poison gland the nature of which has not yet been fully ascer- tained. The wounds made by these spines are exceedingly painful like those made by the sting of a wasp. They are, however, apparently not dangerous. Venomous Spines.—Many species of scorpion-fishes (Scor- pena, Synanceia, Pelor, Pterois, etc.), found in warm seas, as well as the European weavers. (Trachinus), secrete poison Fig. 86—Black Nohu, or Poison-fish, Emmydrichthys vulcanus Jordan. A species with stinging spines, showing resemblance to lumps of lava among which it lives. Family Scorpenide. From Tahiti. from under the skin of each dorsal spine. The wounds made by these spines are very exasperating, but are not often danger- ous. In some cases the glands producing these poisons form an oblong bag excreting a milky juice, and placed on the base of the spine. In Thalassophryne, a genus of toad-fishes of tropical America, is found the most perfect system of poison organs known among fishes. The spinous armature of the opercle and the two spines of the first dorsal fin constitute the weapons. The details are known from the dissections of Dr. Gunther. According to his* observations, the opercle in Thalassophryne ‘is very narrow, * Gunther, Introd. to the Study of Fishes, p. 192. Adaptations of Fishes 5 vertically styliform and very mobile. It is armed behind with a spine eight lines long and of the same form as the hollow venom-fang of a snake, being perforated at its base and at its extremity. A sac covering the base of the spine discharges its contents through the apertures and the canal in the interior of the spine. The structure of the dorsal spines is similar. There are no secretory glands imbedded in the membranes of the sacs and the fluid must be secreted by their mucous membrane. The sacs are without an external muscular layer and situated im- mediately below the thick, loose skin which envelops the spines at their extremity. The ejection of the poison into a living animal, therefore, can only be effected as in Synanceia, by the pressure to which the sac is subjected the moment the spine enters another body.” The Lancet of the Surgeon-fish.—Some fishes defend themselves by lashing their enemies with their tails. In the tangs, or surgeon- fishes (Teuthis), the tail is provided with a tormidable weapon, Fig 37.—Brown Tang, Teuthis bahianus (Ranzani). Tortugas, Florida. a knife-like spine, with the sharp edge directed forward. This spine when not in use slips forward into a sheath. The fish, when alive, cannot be handled without danger of a severe cut. In the related genera, this lancet is very much more blunt and immovable, degenerating at last into the rough spines of Balistapus or the hair-like prickles of Monacanthus. 54 Adaptations of Fishes Spines of the Sting-ray.—JIn all the large group of sting- rays the tail is provided with one or more large, stiff, barbeG spines, which are used with great force by the animal, and are capable of piercing the leathery skin of the sting-ray itself. There is no evidence that these spines bear any specific poison, but the ragged wounds they make are always dangerous and often end in gangrene. It is possible that the mucus on the surface of the spine acts as a poison on the lacerated tissues, rendering the wound something very different from a simple cut. Protection Through Poisonous Flesh of Fishes. —JIn certain groups of fishes a strange form of self-protection is acquired by Fic. 38.—Common Filefish, Stephanolepis hispidus (Linnwus). Virginia. the presence in the body of poisonous alkaloids, by means of which the enemies of the species are destroyed in the death of the individual devoured. Such alkaloids are present in the globefishes (Tetraodontide), the filefishes (Wonacanthus), and in some related forms, while members of other groups (Batrachoidide) are under suspicion in this regard. The alkaloids produce a disease known as cigua- tera, characterized by paralysis and gastric derangements. Severe cases of ciguatera with men, as well as with lower animals, may end fatally in a short time. The flesh of the filefishes (Stephanolepis tomentosus), which ye Adaptations of Fishes 55 the writer has tested, is very meager and bitter, having a de- cidedly offensive taste. It is suspected, probably justly, of be- ing poisonous. In the globefishes the flesh is always more or less poisonous, that of Tetraodon hispidus, called muki-muki, or death-fish, in Hawaii, is reputed as excessively so. The poi- sonous fishes have been lately studied in detail by Dr. Jacques Pellegrin, of the Museum d’Histoire Naturelle at Paris. He shows that any species of fish may be poisonous under certain circumstances, that under certain conditions certain species are poisonous, and that certain kinds are poisonous more or less at Tetraodon meleagris (Lacépéde). Riu Kiu Islands. Fig. 39. all times. The following account is condensed from Dr. Pelle- grin’s observations. The flesh of fishes soon undergoes decomposition in hot climates. The consumption of decayed fish may produce serious disorders, usually with symptoms of diarrhcea or erup- tion of the skin. There is in this case no specific poison, but the formation of leucomaines through the influence of bacteria. This may take place with other kinds of flesh, and is known as botolism, or allantiasis. For this disease, as produced by the flesh of fishes, Dr. Pellegrin suggests the name of ichthyosism. It is especially severe in certain very oily fishes, as the tunny, the anchovy, or the salmon. The flesh of these and other fishes occasionally produces similar disorders through mere indiges- tion. In this case the flesh undergoes decay in the stomach. 56 Adaptations of Fishes In certain groups (wrasse-fishes, parrot-fishes, etc.) in the tropics, individual fishes are sometimes rendered poisonous by feeding on poisonous mussels, holothurians, or possibly polyps, species which at certain times, and especially in their spawning season, develops alkaloids which themselves may cause cigua- tera. In this case it is usually the very old or large fishes which are liable to be infected. In some markets numerous species are excluded as suspicious for this reason. Such a list is in use in the fish-market of Havana, where the sale of certain species, elsewhere healthful, or at the most suspected, was rigidly Fie. 40 —The Trigger-fish, Balistes carolinensis Gmelin. New York. prohibited under the Spanish régime. A list of these suspicious fishes has been given by Prof. Poey. In many of the eels the serum of the blood is poisonous, but its venom is destroyed by the gastric juice, so that the flesh may be eaten with impunity, unless decay has set in. To eat too much of the tropical morays is to invite gastric troubles, but no true ciguatera. The true ciguatera is produced by a specific poisonous alkaloid. This is most developed in the globefishes or puffers (Tetraodon, Spheroides, Tropidichthys, etc.). It is present in the filefishes (Monacanthus, Alutera, etc.), prob- ably in some toadfishes (Batrachotdes, etc.), and similar com- pounds are found in the flesh of sharks and especially in sharks’ livers. - Adaptations of Fishes Sif These alkaloids are most developed in the ovaries and testes, and in the spawning season. Thev are also found in the liver and sometimes elsewhere in the body. In many species other- wise innocuous, purgative alkaloids are developed in or about the eggs. Serious illness has been caused by eating the roe of the pike and the barbel. The poison is less virulent in the species which ascend the rivers. It is also much less developed in cooler waters. For this reason ciguatera is almost confined to the tropics. In Havana, Manila, and other tropical ports it is of frequent occurrence, while northward it is practically un- known as a disease requiring a special name or treatment. On the coast of Alaska, about Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet, &. ne See Up avsncee Oa Cut Gee) Seaccaece wp eyseee eaareeoes Fic. 41.—Numbfish, Narcine brasiliensis Henle, showing electric cells. Pensacola, Florida. a fatal disease resembling ciguatera has been occasionally pro- duced by the eating of clams. ~ The purpose of the alkaloids producing ciguatera is con- sidered by Dr. Pellegrin as protective, saving the species by the poisoning of its enemies. The sickness caused by the specific poison must be separated from that produced by ptomaines and leucomaines in decaying flesh or in the oil diffused through it. Poisonous bacteria may be destroyed by cooking, but the alka- loids which cause ciguatera are unaltered by heat. It is claimed in tropical regions that the germs of the bu- bonic plague may be carried through the mediation of fishes which feed on sewage. It is suggested by Dr. Charles B. Ash- ae 58 Adaptations of Fishes mead that leprosy may be so carried. It is further suggested that the custom of eating the flesh of fishes raw almost uni- versal in Japan, Hawaii, and other regions may be responsible for the spread of certain contagious diseases, in which the fish acts as an intermediate host, much as certain mosquitoes spread the germs of malaria and yellow fever. Electric Fishes.—Several species of fishes possess the power to inflict electric shocks not unlike those of the Leyden jar. This is useful in stunning their prey and especially in confound- ing their enemies. In most cases these electric organs are evidently developed from muscular substance. Their action, which is largely voluntary, is in its nature like muscular action. The power is soon exhausted and must be restored by rest and food. The effects of artificial stimulation and of poisons are parallel with the effect of similar agents on muscles. In the electric rays or torpedos (Narcobatide) the electric organs are large honeycomb-like structures, ‘‘ vertical hexag- lic. 42.—Electrie Catfish, Torpedo electricus (Gmelin). Congo River. (After Boulenger.) onal prisms,’’ upwards of 400 of them, at the base of the pec- toral fins. Each prism is filled ‘‘ with a clear trembling jelly-like substance.’’ These fishes give a shock which is communicable through a metallic conductor, as an iron spear or the handle of a knife. It produces a peculiar and disagreeable sensation not at all dangerous. It is said that this living battery shows all the known qualities of magnetism, rendering the needle mag- netic, decomposing chemical compounds, etc. In the Nile is an electric catfish (Torpedo electricus) having similar powers. Its electric organ extends over the whole body, being thickest below. It consists of rhomboidal cells of a firm gelatinous substance. The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus), the most powerful EEE Adaptations of Fishes 59 of electric fishes, is not an eel, but allied rather to the sucker or carp. It is, however, eel-like in form and lives in rivers of Brazil and Guiana. The electric organs are in two pairs, one on the back of the tail, the other on the anal fin. These are made up of an enormous number of minute cells. In the electric eel, as in the other electric fishes, the nerves supplying these organs are much larger than those passing from the spinal cord for any other pur- pose. In all these cases closely related species show no trace of the electric powers. Dr. Gilbert has described the electric powers of species of star-gazer (Astroscopus y-grecum and A. zephyreus), the electric cells lying under the naked skin of the top of the head. Electric power is ascribed to a species of cusk (Urophycts regius), but this perhaps needs verification. Photophores or Luminous Oigans.—Many fishes, chiefly of the deep seas, develop organs for producing light. These are known as luminous organs, phosphorescent or- gans, or photophores. These are independently developed in four entirely unrelated groups of fishes. This differ- ence in origin is accompanied by corresponding difference fia a ‘pues oy} UL Surpyyos (s7yvqnb sndovsoysy) 10ze5-1vJQ— SF “OT CIPPIMYS “AM UW Aq oy] VOI) in structure. The best-known type is found in the Iniomi, including the lantern-fishes and their many relatives. / These may have luminous spots, differ- 60 Adaptations of Fishes entiated areas round or oblong which shine star-like in the dark. These are usually symmetrically placed on the sides of Fig. 44.—Headlight Fish, .#ihoprora lucida Goode and Bean. Gulf Stream. the body. They may have also luminous glands or diffuse areas which are luminous, but which do not show the specialized structure of the phosphorescent spots. These glands of similar nature to the spots are mostly on the head or tail. In one Fic. 45.—Corynolophus reinhardti (Liitken), showing luminous bulb (modified after Liitken). Family Ceratiide. Deep sea off Greenland. genus, thoprora, the luminous snout is compared to the head- light of an engine. Adaptations of Fishes 61 Entirely different are the photophores in the midshipman or singing-fish (Porrchthys), a genus of toad-fishes or Batra- choidide. This species lives near the shore and the luminous spots are outgrowths from pores of the lateral line. In one of the anglers (Corynolophus reinhardtt) the complex bait is said to be luminous, and luminous areas are said to occur on the belly of a very small shark of the deep seas of él od aé Fie, 46.—Etmopterus lucifer Jordan and Snyder. Misaki, Japan. Japan (Etmopterus lucifer). This phenomenon is now the sub- ject of study by one of the numerous pupils of Dr. Mitsukuri. The structures in Corynolophus are practically unknown. Photophores in Iniomous Fishes.—In the Iniom7 the luminous organs have been the subject of an elaborate paper by Dr. R. von Lendenfeld (Deep-sea Fishes of the Challenger. Ap- pendix B). These he divides into ocellar organs of regular form or luminous spots, and irregular glandular organs or luminous areas. The ocellar spots may be on the scales of the lateral line or on other definite areas. They may be raised above the surface or sunk below it. They may be simple, with or without black pigment, or they may have within them - a reflecting surface. They are best shown in the Myctophide and Stomiatide, but are found in numerous other families in nearly all soft-rayed fishes of the deep sea. The glandular areas may be placed on the lower jaw, on the barbels, under the gill cover, on the suborbital or preorbital, on the tail, or they may be irregularly scattered. Those about the eye have usually the reflecting membrane. In all these structures, according to Dr. von Lendenfeld, the whole or part of the organ is glandular. The glandular part is at the base and the other structures are added distally. . The primitive organ was a gland which produced luminous slime. 62 Adaptations of Fishes To this in the process of specialization greater complexity has been added. The luminous organs of some fishes resemble the supposed original structure of the primitive photophore, though of course these cannot actually represent it. The simplest type of photophore now found is in Astronesthes, in the form of irregular glandular luminous patches on the surface of the skin. opeirirere EN Pere prt SEE Epa 4 Fie. 47 —Aryyropelecus olfersi Cuvier. Gulf Stream. There 1s no homology between the luminous organs of any insect and those of any fish. ; Photophores of Porichthys.—Entirely distinct in their origin are the luminous spots in the midshipman (Porichthys notatus), a shore fish of California. These have been described in detail by Dr. Charles Wilson Greene (late of Stanford University, now of the University of Missouri) in the Journal of Morphology, XV., p. 667. These are found on various parts of the body in connection with the mucous pores of the lateral lines and about the mucous pores of the head. The skin in Porichthys is naked, and the photophores arise from a modification of its epidermis. Each is spherical, shining white, and consists of four parts—the Adaptations of Fishes 63 lens, the gland, the reflector, and the pigment. As to its func- tion Prof. Greene observes: “T have kept specimens of Porichthys in aquaria at the Hop- kins Seaside Laboratory, and have made numerous observations on them with an effort to secure ocular proof of the phospho- rescence of the living active fish. The fish was observed in the dark when quiet and when violently excited, but, with a single exception, only negative results were obtained. Once a phosphorescent glow of scarcely perceptible intensity was observed when the fish was pressed against the side of the aquarium. Then, this is a shore fish and quite common, and one might suppose that so striking a phenomenon as it would present if these organs were phosphorescent in a small degree would be observed by ichthyologists in the field, or by fisher- men, but diligent inquiry reveals no such evidence. “ Notwithstanding the fact that Porichtlhys has been observed to voluntarily exhibit only the trace of phosphorescence men- tioned above, still the organs which it possesses in such num- bers are beyond doubt true phosphorescent organs, as the fol- lowing observations will demonstrate. A live fish put into an aquarium of sea-water made alkaline with ammonia water ex- hibited a most brilliant glow along the location of the well- developed organs. Not only did the lines of organs shine forth, but the individual organs themselves were distinguish- able. The glow appeared after about five minutes, remained prominent for a few minutes, and then for twenty minutes gradually became weaker until it was scarcely perceptible. Rubbing the hand over the organs was followed always by a distinct increase in the phosphorescence. Pieces of the fish containing the organs taken five and six hours after the death of the animal became luminous upon treatment with ammonia water. “Electrical stimulation of the live fish was also tried with good success. The interrupted current from an induction coil was used, one electrode being fixed on the head over the brain or on the exposed spinal cord near the brain, and the other moved around on different parts of the body. No results fol- lowed relatively weak stimulation of the fish, although such currents produced violent contractions of the muscular system 64 Adaptations of Fishes of the body. But when a current strong enough to be quite painful to the hands while handling the electrodes was used then stimulation of the fish called forth a brilliant glow of light apparently from every well-developed photophore. All the lines on the ventral and lateral surfaces of the body glowed with a beautiful light, and continued to do so while the stimu- lation lasted. The single well-developed organ just back of and below the eye was especially prominent. No luminosity was observed in the region of the dorsal organs previously de- scribed as rudimentary in structure. I was also able to produce ate ee La o DS Fea ' CT a ale bl ett ot ia Birt bad ba hte te tana be tater, Se Fie. 48.—Luminous organs and lateral line of Midshipman, Porichthys notatus Girard. Family Batrachoidide. Monterey, California. (After Greene.) the same effect by galvanic stimulation, rapidly making and breaking the current by hand. “The light produced in Porichthys was, as near as could be determined by direct observation, a white light. When pro- duced by electric stimulation it did not suddenly reach its maximal intensity, but canie in quite gradually and disappeared in the same way when the stimulation ceased. The light was not a strong one, only strong enough to enable one to quite easily distinguish the apparatus used in the experiment. ‘An important fact brought out by the above experiment is that an electrical stimulation strong enough to most violently stimulate the nervous system, as shown by the violent con- tractions of the muscular system, may still be too weak to produce phosphorescence. This fact gives a physiological con- Adaptations of Fishes 65 firmation of the morphological result stated above that no specific nerves are distributed to the phosphorescent organs. “T can explain the action of the electrical current in these experiments only on the supposition that it produces its effect by direct action on the gland. “The experiments just related were all tried on specimens of the fish taken from under the rocks where they were guarding PSY] LS, [Dupe se SS} Nets ae Fic. 49.—Cross-section of a ventral phosphorescent organ of the Midshipman, Porichthys notatus Girard. 1, lens; gl, gland; r, reflector; bl, blood; p, pig- ment. (After Greene.) the young brood. Two specimens, however, taken by hooks from the deeper water of Monterey Bay, could not be made to show phosphorescence either by clectrical stimulation or by treatrnent with ammonia. These specimens did not have the high development of the system of mucous cells of the skin exhibited by the nesting fish. My observations were, how- 66 Adaptations of Fishes ever, not numerous enough to more than suggest the possibility of a seasonal high development of the phosphorescent organs. “Two of the most important parts of the organ have to do with the physical manipulation of light—the reflector and the lens, respectively. The property of the reflector needs no dis- cussion other than to call attention to its enormous develop- ment. The lens cells are composed of a highly refractive sub- stance, and the part as a whole gives every evidence of light refraction and condensation. The form of the lens gives a theoretical condensation of light at a very short focus. That such is in reality the case, I have proved conclusively by exami- nation of fresh material. If the fresh fish be exposed to direct Fic. 50—Section of the deeper portion of phosphorescent organ of Porichthys notatus, highly magnified. (After Greene.) sunlight, there is a reflected spot of intense light from each phosphorescent organ. This spot is constant in position with reference to the sun in whatever position the fish be turned and is lost if the lens be dissected away and only the reflector left. With needles and a simple microscope it is comparatively easy to free the lens from the surrounding tissue and to examine ‘it directly. When thus freed and examined in normal saline, I have found by rough estimates that it condenses sunlight to a bright point a distance back of the lens of from one-fourth to one-half its diameter. I regret that I have been unable to make precise physical developments. ‘The literature on the histological structure of known phos- phorescent organs of fishes is rather meager and unsatisfactory. Von Lendenfeld describes twelve classes of phosphorescent organs from deep-sea fishes collected by the Challenger expe- Adaptations of Fishes 67 dition. All of these, however, are greater or less modifications of one type. This type includes, according to von Lendenfeld’s views, three essential parts, z.e., a gland, phosphorescent cells, and a local ganglion. These parts may have added a reflector, a pigment layer, or both; and all these may be simple or com- pounded in various ways, giving rise to the twelve classes. Blood-vessels and nerves are distributed to the glandular por- tion. Of the twelve classes direct ocular proof is given for one, i.e., ocellar organs of Myctophum which were observed by Willemoes-Suhm at night to shine ‘like a star in the net.’ Von Lendenfeld says that the gland produces a secretion, and he supposes the light or phosphorescence to be produced either by the ‘burning or consuming’ of this secretion by the phos- phorescent cells, or else by some substance produced by the phosphorescent cells. Furthermore, he says that the phos- phorescent cells act at the ‘will of the fish’ and are excited to action by the local ganglion. ‘Some of these statements and conclusions seem insufficiently grounded, as, for example, the supposed action of the phos- phorescent cells, and especially the control of the ganglion over them. In the first place, the relation between the ganglion and the central nervous system in the forms described by von Lendenfeld is very obscure, and the structure described as a ganglion, to judge from the figures and the text descriptions, may be wrongly identified. At least it is scarcely safe to ascribe ganglionic function to a group of adult cells so poorly preserved that only nuclei are to be distinguished. In the second place, no structural character is shown to belong to the ‘phosphorescent cells’ by which they may take part in the process ascribed to them.* ‘The action of the organs described by him may be explained on other grounds, and entirely independent of the so-called ‘ganglion cells’ and of the ‘ phosphorescent cells.’ * The cells which von Lendenfeld designates ‘phosphorescent cells’ have as their peculiar characteristic a large, oval, highly refracting body imbedded in the protoplasm of the larger end of theclavate cells. These cells have nothing in common with the structure of the cells of the firefly known to be phos- phorescent in nature. In fact the true phosphorescent cells are more probably the ‘ gland-cells’ found in ten of the twelve classes of organs which he describes. a 68 Adaptations of Fishes ‘““Phosphorescence as applied to the production of light by a living animal is, according to our present ideas, a chemical action, an oxidation process. The necessary conditions for producing it are two—an oxidizable substance that is luminous on oxida- tion, i.e., a photogenic substance on the one hand, and the pres- ence of free oxygen on the other. Every phosphorescent organ must have a mechanism for producing these two conditions; all other factors are only secondary and accessory. If the gland of a firefly can produce a substance that is oxidizable and luminous on oxidation, as shown as far back as 1828 by Faraday and confirmed and extended recently by Watasé, it is conceivable, indeed probable, that phosphorescence in Myctophum and other deep-sea forms is produced in the same direct way, that is, by direct oxidation of the secretion of the gland found in each of at least ten of the twelve groups of organs described by von Lendenfeld. Free oxygen may be supplied directly from the blood in the capillaries distributed to the gland which he describes. The possibility of the regulation of the supply of blood carrying oxygen is analogous to what takes place in the firefly and is wholly adequate to account for any ‘flashes of light’ ‘at the will of the fish.’ ‘“In the phosphorescent organs of Porichthys the only part the function of which cannot be explained on physical grounds is the group of cells called the gland. If the large granular cells of this portion of the structure produce a secretion, as seems probable from the character of the cells and their behavior toward reagents, and this substance be oxidizable and luminous in the presence of free oxygen, i.e., photogenic, then we have the conditions necessary for a light-producing organ. The numerous capillaries distributed to the gland will supply free oxygen sufficient to meet the needs cf the case. Light pro- duced in the gland is ultimately all projected to the exterior, either directly from the luminous points in the gland or reflected outward by the reflector, the lens condensing all the rays into a definite pencil or slightly diverging cone. This explanation of the light-producing process rests on the assumption of a secretion product with certain specific characters. But com- paring the organ with structures known to produce such a sub- stance, i.e., the glands of the firefly or the photospheres of Eu- Adaptations of Fishes 69 phausia, it seems to me the assumption is not less certain than the assumption that twelve structures resembling each other in certain particulars have a common function to that proved for one only of the twelve. “Tam inclined to the belief that whatever regulation of the action of the phosphorescent organ occurs is controlled by the regulation of the supply of free oxygen by the blood-stream flowing through the organ; but, however this may be, the essen- tial fact remains that the organs in Porichthys are true phos- phorescent organs.”’ (GREENE.) Other species of Porichthys with similar photophores occur in Texas, Guiana, Panama, and Chile. The name midshipman alludes to these shining spots, compared to buttons. Globefishes.—The globefishes (Tetraodon, etc.) and the por- cupine-fishes have the surface defended by spines. These fishes have an additional safeguard through the instinct to swallow air. When one of these fishes is seriously disturbed it rises to Fie. 51.—Sucking-fish, or Pegador, Leptecheneis naucrates (Linnzus). Virginia. the surface, gulps air into a capacious sac, and then floats belly upward on the surface. It is thus protected from other fishes, although easily taken by man. The same habit appears in some of the frog-fishes (Antennarius) and in the Swell sharks (Cepha- loscyllium). The writer once hauled out a netful of globefishes (Tetrao- don hispidus) from a Hawaiian lagoon. As they lay on the bank a dog came up and sniffed at them. As his nose touched them they swelled themselves up with air, becoming visibly two or three times as large as before. It is not often that the lower animals show surprise at natural phenomena, but the attitude of the dog left no question as to his feeling. Remoras.—The different species of Remora, or shark-suckers, fasten themselves to the surface of sharks or other fishes and are carried about by them often to great distances. These 70 Adaptations of Fishes fishes attach themselves by a large sucking-disk on the top of the head, which is a modified spinous dorsal fin. They do not harm the shark, except possibly to retard its motion. , If the shark is caught and drawn out of the water, these fishes often instantly let go and plunge into the sea, swimming away with great celerity. Sucking-disks of Clingfishes.— Other fishes have sucking- disks differently made, by which they cling to rocks. In the gobies the united ventrals have some adhesive power. The blind goby (Typhlogobius californiensis) is said to adhere to rocks in dark holes by the ventral fins. In most gobies the adhesive power is slight. In the sea-snails (Liparidide) and lumpfishes (Cyclopteride) the united ventral fins are modified into an “a rn. Fie. 52.—Clingfish, Caularchus meandricus (Girard). Monterey, California. elaborate circular sucking-disk. In the clingfishes (Gobtesocide) the sucking-disk lies between the ventral fins and is made in part of modified folds of the naked skin. Some fishes creep over the bottom, exploring it with their sensitive barbels, as the gurnard, surmullet, and goatfish. The suckers (Catostomus) test the bottom with their thick, sensitive lips, either puckered or papillose, feeding by suction. Lampreys and Hagfishes.—The lampreys suck the blood of other fishes to which they fasten themselves by their disk-like mouth armed with rasping teeth. The hagfishes (A/yxine, Eptatretus) alone among fishes are truly parasitic. These fishes, worm-like in form, have round mouths, armed with strong hooked teeth. They fasten them- selves at the throats of large fishes, work their way into the muscle without tearing the skin, and finally once inside devour all the muscles of the fish, leaving the skin unbroken and the viscera undisturbed. These fishes become living hulks before eee ee oa Adaptations of Fishes 71 they die. If lifted out of the water, the slimy hagfish at once slips out and swims quickly away. In gill-nets in Monterey Bay great mischief is done by hagfish (Polistotrema stoutt). It is a curious fact that large numbers of hagfish eggs are taken from the stomachs of the male hagfish, which seems to be Fie. 58. —Hagfish, Polistotrema stouti (Lockington). almost the only enemy of his own species, keeping the numbers in check. The Swordfishes.—In the swordfish and its relatives, the sail- fish and the spearfish, the bones of the anterior part of the head are grown together, making an efficient organ of attack. The sword of the swordfish, the most powerful of these fishes, has been known to pierce the long planks of boats, and it is supposed that the animal sometimes attacks the whale. But . stories of this sort lack verification. The Paddle-fishes.—In the paddle-fishes (Polyodon spatula and Psephurus gladius) the snout is spread out forming a broad paddle or spatula. This the animal uses to stir up the mud on the bottoms of rivers, the small organisms contained in mud constituting food. Similar paddle-like projections are developed in certain deep-water Chimeras (Harriottia, Rhino- chimera), and in the deep-sea shark, MWitsukurina. The Sawfishes.—A certain genus of rays (Pristis, the saw- fish) and a genus of sharks (Pristiophorus, the saw-shark), pos- sess a similar spatula-shaped snout. But in these fishes the snout is provided on either side with enamelled teeth set in sockets and standing at right angles with the snout. The animal swims through schools of sardines and anchovies, strikes (44 (Avq Joyyy) ‘ueysnpulyT jo syynour soaANy ‘weyyeT uoushz sysig ‘YSyaeg uviIpuy—fe “91 Adaptations of Fishes a3 right and left with this saw, destroying the small fishes, who thus become an easy prey. These fishes live in estuaries and river mouths, Pristis in tropical America and Guinea, Pristi- ophorus in Japan and Australia. Inthe mythology of science, the Fig. 55.—Saw-shark, Pristiophorus japonicus Ginther. Specimen from Nagasaki. sawfish attacks the whale, but in fact the two animals never come within miles of each other, and the sawfish is an object of danger only to the tender fishes, the small fry of the sea. Peculiarties of Jaws and Teeth.—The jaws of fishes are sub- ject to a great variety of modifications. In some the bones are joined by distensible ligaments and the fish can swallow other fishes larger than itself. In other cases the jaws are excessively small and toothless, at the end of a long tube, so ineffective in appearance that it is a marvel that the fish can swallow any- thing at all. In the thread-eels (Nemichthys) the jaws are so recurved that they cannot possibly meet, and in their great length seem worse than useless. In some species the knife-like canines of the lower jaw pierce through the substance of the upper. In four different and wholly unrelated groups of fishes the teeth are grown fast together, forming a horny beak like that of the parrot. These are the Chimeras, the globefishes (Tetroadon), and their relatives, the parrot-fishes (Scarus, etc.), and the stone-wall perch (Oplegnathus). The structure of the beak varies considerably in these four cases, in accord with the dif- ference in the origin of its structures. In the globefishes the 74. Adaptations of Fishes jaw-bones are fused together, and in the Chimzras they are solidly joined to the cranium itself. The Angler-fishes.—In the large group of angler-fishes the first spine of the dorsal fin is modified into a sort of bait to attract smaller fishes into the capacious mouth below. This structure is typical in the fishing-frog (Lophius), where the fleshy tip of this spine hangs over the great mouth, the huge fish lying on the bottom apparently inanimate as a stone. In other related fishes this spine has different forms, being often reduced to a vestige, of little value as a lure, but retained in accordance with the law of heredity. In a deep-sea angler the bait is enlarged, provided with fleshy streamers and a luminous body which serves to attract small fishes in the depths. The forms and uses of this spine in this group constitute a very suggestive chapter in the study of specialization and ulti- mate degradation, when the special function is not needed or becomes ineffective. Similar phases of excessive development and final degrada- tion may be found in almost every group in which abnormal stress has been laid on a particular organ. Thus the ventral fins, made into a large sucking-disk in Liparis, are lost alto- gether in Paraliparis. The very large poisoned spines of Pterois become very short in A ploactis, the high dorsal spines of Citula are lost in Alectis, and sometimes a very large organ dwindles to a very small one within the limits of the same genus. An example of this is seen in the poisoned pectoral spines of Schilbeodes. The Unsymmetrical Eyes of Flounders.—In the two great families of flounders and soles the head is unsymmetrically formed, the cranium being twisted and both eyes placed on the same side. The body is strongly compressed, and the side pos- sessing the eyes is uppermost in all the actions of the fish. This upper side, whether right or left, is colored, while the eye- less side is white or very nearly so. It is well known that in the very young flounder the body rests upright in the water. After a little there is a tendency to turn to one side and the lower eye begins its migration to the other side, the interorbital bones or part of them moving before oa Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations 75 it. In most flounders the eye seems to move over the surface of the head, before the dorsal fin, or across the axil of its first ray. In the tropical genus Platophrys the movement of the eye is most easily followed, as the species reach a larger size than do most flounders before the change takes place. The larva, while symmetrical, is in all cases transparent. In a recent study of the migration of the eye in the winter Fic. 57. Fies. 56, 57.—Larval stages of Platophrys podas, a flounder of the Mediterranean, showing the migration of the eye. (After Emery.) flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) Mr. Stephen R. Wil- liams reaches the following conclusions: 1. The young of Limanda ferruginea (the rusty dab) are probably in the larval stage at the same time as those of Pseu- dopleuronectes americanus (the winter flounder). 2. The recently hatched fish are symmetrical, except for the relative positions of the two optic nerves. 3. The first observed occurrence in preparation for meta- morphosis in P. americanus is the rapid resorption of the part of the supraorbital cartilage bar which lies in the path of the eye. 4. Correlated with this is an increase in distance between 76 Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations the eyes and the brain, caused by the growth of the facial carti- lages. 5. The migrating eye moves through an arc of about 120 degrees. Fig. 58.—Platophrys lunatus (Linneus), the Wide-eyed Flounder. Family Pleuronectide. Cuba. (From nature by Mrs. H. C. Nash.) 6. The greater part of this rotation (three-fourths of it in P. americanus) is a rapid process, taking not more than three days. 7. The anterior ethmoidal region is not so strongly influ- enced by the twisting as the ocular region. => = 8. The location of the olfac- SS. tory nerves (in the adult) shows Fie. 59.— Young Flounder, just that the morphological midline — batched, with symmetrical eyes. = “ After 5S. R. Williams. follows the interorbital septum. Vie rare g. The cartilage mass lying in the front part of the orbit of the adult eye is a separate anterior structure in the larva. 10. With unimportant differences, the process of meta- morphosis in the sinistral fish is parallel to that in the dextral fish. 11. The original location of the eye is indicated in the adult by the direction first taken, as they leave the brain, by those cranial nerves having to do with the transposed eye. Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations Ty, 12. The only well-marked asymmetry in the adult brain is due to the much larger size of the olfactory nerve and lobe of the ocular side. 13. There is a perfect chiasma. 14. The optic nerve of the migrating eye is always anterior to that of the other eye. “The why of the peculiar metamorphosis of the Pleuro- nectide is an unsolved problem. The presence or absence of a swim-bladder can have nothing to do with the change of habit of the young flatfish, for P. americanus must lose its air- bladder before metamorphosis begins, since sections showed no Fie. 61.—Larval Flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus. (After S.R. Williams.) evidence of it, whereas in Lophopsetta maculata, ‘the window- pane flounder,’ the air-sac can often be seen by the naked eye up to the time when the fish assumes the adult coloration, and long after it has assumed the adult form. “Cunningham has suggested that the weight of the fish acting upon the lower eye after the turning would press it toward the upper side out of the way. But in all probability the planktonic larva rests on the sea-bottom little if at all before metamorphosing. Those taken by Mr. Williams into the labora- tory showed in resting no preference for either side until the eye was near the midline. 78 Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations Fig. 62.—Japanese Sea-horse, Hippocampus mohniket Bleeker. Misaki, Japan. CHAPTER VI THE COLORS OF FISHES ¥ IIGMENTATION.—The colors of fishes are in general pro- duced by oil sacs or pigment cells beneath the epidermis ec’ i=) or in some cases beneath the scales. Certain metallic ades, silvery blue or iridescent, are produced, not by actual pigment, but, as among insects, by the deflection of light from the polished skin or the striated surfaces of the scales. Certain fine striations give an iridescent appearance through the inter- ference of light. The pigmentary colors may be divided into two general classes, ground coloration and ornamentation or markings. Of these the ground color is most subject to individual or local variation, although usually within narrow limits, while the markings are more subject to change with age or sex. On the other hand, they are more distinctive of the species itself. Protective Coloration.— The ground coloration most usual among fishes is protective in its nature. In a majority of fishes the back is olivaceous or gray, either plain or mottled, and the belly white. To birds looking down into the water, the back is colored like the water itself or like the bottom below it. To fishes in search of prey from below, the belly is colored like the surface of the water or the atmosphere above it. In any case the darker colored upper surface casts its shadow over the paler lower parts. In shallow waters or in rivers the bottom is not uniformly colored. The fish, especially if it be one which swims close to the bottom, is better protected if the olivaceous surface is marked by darker cross streaks and blotches. These give the fish a color resemblance to the weeds about it or to the sand and stones on which it lies. As a rule, no fish which lies on the bottom is ever quite uniformly colored. In the open seas, where the water seems very blue, blue 79 _ 2h 80 The Colors of Fishes colors, and especially metallic shades, take the place of oliva- ceous gray or green. As we descend into deep water, especially in the warm seas, red pigment takes the place of olive. Ata moderate depth a large percentage of the fishes are of vari- ous shades of red. Several of the large groupers of the West Indies are represented by two color forms, a shore form in which the prevailing shade is olive-green, and a deeper-water form which is crimson. In several cases an inter- / eX SS éX ) %, YS mh eos MI Fic, 63.—Garibaldi (scarlet in color), Hypsypops rubicunda (Girard). La Jolla, San Diego, California. mediate-color form also exists which is lemon-yellow. On the coast of California is a band-shaped blenny (A podichthys flavidus) which appears in three colors, according to its sur- roundings, blood-red, grass-green, and olive-yellow. The red coloration is also essentially protective, for the region inhab- ited by such forms is the zone of the rose-red alge. In the arctic waters, and in lakes where rose-red algeze are not found, the red-ground coloration is almost unknown, although red may appear in markings or in nuptial colors. It is possible that the red, both of fishes and alge, in deeper water is related to the effect of water on the waves of light, but whether this should make fishes red or violet has never been clearly under- 1 HALICHGERES TRIMACULATUS (QUOY & GAIMARD) 2 HALICHG@RES DAYDALMA (JORDAN & SEALE) 3 HALICHGZRES OPERCULARIS (GUNTHER) FISHES OF THE CORAL REEFS, SAMOA.» FAMILY LABRIDA® The Colors of Fishes 81 stood. It is true also that where the red in fishes ceases violet- black begins. In the greater depths, from 500 to 4000 fathoms, the ground color in most fishes becomes deep black or violet-black, sometimes with silvery luster reflected from the scales, but more usually dull and lusterless. This shade may be also protective. In these depths the sun’s rays scarcely penetrate, and the fish and the water are of the same apparent shade, for black coloration is here the mere absence of light. In general, the markings of various sorts grow less distinct with the increase of depth. Bright-red fishes of the depths are usually uniform red. The violet-black fishes of the oceanic abysses show no markings whatever (luminous glands excepted), and in deep waters there are no nuptial or sexual differences in color. Ground colors other than olive-green, gray, brown, or silvery tarely appear among fresh-water fishes. Marine fishes in the tropics sometimes show as ground color bright blue, grass- green, crimson, orange-yellow, or black; but these showy colors are almost confined to fishes of the coral reefs, where they are often associated with elaborate systems of markings. Protective Markings——The markings of fishes are of almost every conceivable character. They may be roughly grouped as protective coloration, sexual coloration, nuptial coloration, recognition colors, and ornamentation, if we may use the latter term for brilliant hues which serve no obvious purpose to the fish itself. Examples of protective markings may be seen everywhere. The flounder which lies on the sand has its upper surface cov- ered with sand-like blotches, and these again will vary according to the kind of sand it imitates. It may be true sand or crushed coral or the detritus of lava, in any case perfectly imitated. Equally closely will the markings on a fish correspond with rock surroundings. With granite rocks we find an elaborate series of granitic markings, with coral rocks another series of shades, and if red corals be present, red shades of like appear- ance are found on the fish. Still another kind of mark indi- cates rock pools lined with the red calcareous alge called coral- lina. Black species are found in lava masses, grass-green ones 2g “SOATT JL WIA JO S}Jo]O OY} Ul ‘SasSeUE [v10D OF 9OUE|QUTOSOT ‘apwuadsosg Aur,“ (Snaruuy) Psoan.t1ae paoupulig ‘ysty UOslog 10 ‘njon—'"F9 “OTT Suimoys ‘vourng ‘vidy wos uouttoadg The Colors of Fishes 83 among the fronds of ulva, and olive-green among Sargassum or fucus, the markings and often the form corresponding to the nature of the alge in which the species makes its home. Sexual Coloration.—In many groups of fishes the sexes are differently colored. In some cases bright-red, blue, or black markings characterize the male, the female having similar marks, but less distinct, and the bright colors replaced by olive, Fie. 65.—Lizard-skipper, Alticus saliens (Forster). A blenny which lies out of water on lava-rocks, leaping from one to another with great agility. From nature; specimen from Point Distress, Tutuila Island, Samoa. (About one- half size.) brown, or gray. In a few cases, however, the female has marks of a totally different nature, and scarcely less bright than those of the male. Nuptial Coloration. — Nuptial colors are those which appear on the male in the breeding season only, the pigment after- wards vanishing, leaving the sexes essentially alike. Such colors are found on most of the minnows and dace (Cyprinide) of the rivers and to a less degree in some other fresh-water fishes, as the darters (Etheostomine) and the trout. In the 84 The Colors of Fishes minnows of many species the male in spring has the skin charged with bright pigment, red, black, or bright silvery, for the most part, the black most often on the head, the red on the head and body, and the silvery on the tips of the fins. At the same time other markings are intensified, and in many species the head and sometimes the body and fins are covered with warty excrescences. These shades are most distinct on the most vigor- Fie. 66.—Blue-breasted Darter, Etheostoma camurum (Cope), the most brilliantly colored of American river-fishes. Cumberland Gap, ‘Tennessee. ous males, and disappear with the warty excrescences after the fertilization of the eggs. Nuptial colors do not often appear among marine fishes, and in but few families are the sexes distinguishable by differences in coloration. Recognition-marks.— Under the head of “recognition-marks”’ may be grouped a great variety of special markings, which may be conceived to aid the representatives of a given species to recognize each other. That they actually serve this purpose is a matter of theory, but the theory is plausible, and these mark- ings have much in common with the white tail feathers, scarlet crests, colored wing patches, and other markings regarded as recognition-marks among birds. Among these are ocelli, black- or blue-ringed with white or yellow, on various parts of the body; black spots on the dorsal fin; black spots below or behind the eye; black, red, blue, or yellow spots variously placed; cross-bars of red or black or green, with or without pale edges; a blood-red fin or a fin of shining blue among pale ones; a white edge to the tail; a yellow, blue, cr red streamer to the dorsal fin, a black tip to the pectoral 1 ABUDEFDUF LEUCOPOMUS (CUVIER & VALENCIENNES) 2 ABUDEFDUF UNIOCELLATUS (QUOY & GAIMARD) 3 ABUDEFDUF TAUPU JORDAN & SEALE. TYPE DAMSEL FISHES (POMACENTRIDA) FROM THE CORAL REEFS, SAMOA, SHOWING ‘‘RECOGNITION MARKS” The Colors of Fishes 85 or ventral; a hidden spot of emerald in the mouth or in the axil; an almost endless variety of sharply defined markings, not directly protective, which serve as recognition-marks, if not to the fish itself, certainly to the naturalist who studies it. These marks shade off into an equally great variety for which we can devise no better name than “ornamentation.’”’ Some fishes are simply covered with brilliant spots or bars or reticu- lations, their nature and variety baffling description, while no useful purpose seems to be served by them, unless we stretch still more widely the convenient theory of recognition-marks. In many cases the markings change with age, certain bands, stripes, or ocelli being characteristic of the young and gradu- ally disappearing. In such cases the same marks will be found permanent in some related species of less differentiated colora- tion. In such cases it is safe to regard them as ancestral. In case of markings on the fins and of elaborate ornamenta- tion in general, it is best defined in the oldest and most vigorous individuals, becoming intensified by degrees. The most bril- liantly colored fishes are found about the coral reefs. Here may be found species of which the ground color is the most intense blue, others are crimson, grass-green, lemon-yellow, jet-black, and each with a great variety of contrasted mark- ings. The frontispiece of this volume shows a series of such fishes drawn from nature from specimens taken in pools of the great coral reef of Apia in Samoa. These colors are not pro- tective. The coral masses are mostly plain gray, and the fishes which lie on the bottom are plain gray also. Nothing could be more brilliant or varied than the hues of the free-swimming fishes. What their cause or purpose may be, it is impossible to say. It is certain that their intense activity and the ease with which they can seek shelter in the coral masses enable them to defy their enemies. Nature seems to riot in bright colors where her creatures are not destroyed by their presence. Intensity of Coloration.—In general, coloration is most in- tense and varied in certain families of the tropical shores, and especially about coral reefs. But in brilliancy of individual markings some fresh-water fishes are scarcely less notable, especially the darters (Etheostomine) and sunfishes (Centrar- chide) of the streams of eastern North America. The bright 86 The Colors of Fishes hues of these fresh-water fishes are, however, more or less con- cealed in the water by the olivaceous markings and dark blotches of the upper parts. Coral-reef Fishes.—The brilliantly colored fishes of the trop- ical reefs seem, as already stated, to have no need of pro- tective coloration. They save themselves from their enemies in most cases by excessive alertness and activity (Chetodon, Pomacentrus), or else by burying themselves in coral sand (/ulis gaimard), a habit more frequent than has been suspected. Every large mass of branching coral is full of lurking fishes, some of them often most brilliantly colored. Fading of Pigments in Spirits.—In the preservation of speci- mens most red and blue pigments fade to whitish, and it requires considerable care to interpret the traces which may be left of red bands or blue markings. Yet some blue pigments are abso- lutely permanent, and occasionally blood-red pigments persist through all conditions. Black pigment seldom changes in spirits, and olivaceous markings simply fade a little without material alteration. It is an important part of the work of the systematic ichthyologist to learn to interpret the traces of the faded pigment left on specimens he may have occasion to ex- amine. In such cases it is more important to trace the mark- ings than to restore the ground color, as the ground color is at once more variable with individuals and more constant in large groups. y Variation in Pattern.—Occasionally, however, a species is found in which, other characters being constant, both ground color and markings are subject to a remarkable range of varia- tion. In such cases the actual unity of the species is open to serious question. The most remarkable case of such variation known is found in a West Indian fish, the vaca, which bears the incongruous name of Hypoplectrus unicolor. In the typical vaca the body is orange with black marks and blue lines, the fins checkered with orange and blue. In a second form the body is violet, barred with black, the head with blue spots and bands. In another form the blue on the head is wanting. In still another the body is yellow and black, with blue on the head only. In others the fins are plain orange, without checks, and the body yellow, with or without blue stripes and spots, and The Colors of Fishes = —. Fie. 67.—Snake-eels, Liuwranus semicinctus (Lay and Bennett), and Chlevastes colubrinus (Boddaert), from Riu Kiu Islands, Japan. ishes 4 The Colors of I 88 ‘eidy 38 jJooxy [P10Q—"S9 “Pl F The Colors of Fishes 89 sometimes with spots of black or violet. In still others the body may be pink or brown, or violet-black, the fins all yellow, part black or all black. Finally, there are forms deep indigo-blue in color everywhere, with cross bands of indigo-black, and these again may have bars of deeper blue on the head or may lack these altogether. 1 find no difference among these fishes ex- cept in color, and no way of accounting for the differences in this regard. Certain species of puffer (Tetraodon setosus, of Panama, and Tetraodon nigropunctatus, of Polynesia) show similar remark- able variations, being dark gray with white spots, but varying to indigo-blue, lemon-yellow, or sometimes having coarse blotches of either. Lemon-yellow varieties of several species are known, and these may be due to a failure of pigment, a sort of semi- albinism. True albinos, individuals wholly without pigment, are rare among fishes. In some cases the markings, commonly black, will be replaced by a deep crimson which does not fade in alcohol. This change happens most frequently among the Scorpemde. An example of this is shown on colored plate facing page 644. The Japanese okose or poison-fish (Inimicus) is black and gray about lava-rocks. In deeper water among red alge it is bright crimson, the color not fading in spirits, the markings remaining the same. In still deeper water it is lemon- yellow. CHAPTER VII THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF FISHES 1 omy £7, |OOGEOGRAPHY.—Under the head of distribution we c. (4 =) consider the facts of the actual location of species asmees] of organisms on the surface of the earth and the laws by which their location is governed. This constitutes the subject-matter of the science of zoogeography. In physical geography we may prepare maps of the earth or of any part of it, these bringing to prominence the physical features of its surface. Such maps show here a sea, there a plateau, here a mountain chain, there a desert, a prairie, a peninsula, or an island. In political geography the maps show their physical features of the earth as related to the people who inhabit them and the states or powers which receive or claim their allegiance. In zoogeography the realms of the earth are con- sidered in relation to the species or tribes of animals which inhabit them. Thus series of maps could be drawn representing those parts of North America in which catfishes or trout or sunfishes are found in the streams: In like manner the distri- bution of any particular fish as the muskallonge or the yellow perch could be shown on the map. The details of such a map are very instructive, and their consideration at once raises a series of questions as to the cause behind each fact. In science it must be supposed that no fact is arbitrary or meaningless. In the case of fishes the details of the method of diffusion of species afford matters of deep interest. These are considered in a subsequent chapter. The dispersion of animals may be described as a matter of space and time, the movement being continuous but modified by barriers and other codnitions of environment. The ten- dency of recent studies in zoogeography has been to consider 90 The Geographical Distribution of Fishes gI the facts of present distribution as the result of conditions in the past, thus correlating our present knowledge with the past relations of land and water as shown through paleontology. Dr. A. E. Ortmann well observes that ‘‘Any division of the earth’s surface into zoogeographical regions which starts exclusively from the present distribution of animals without considering its origin must always be unsatisfactory.” We must therefore consider the coast-lines and barriers of Tertiary and earlier times as well as those of to-day to understand the present distribution of fishes. General Laws of Distribution —The general laws governing the distribution of all animals are reducible to three very simple propositions. Each species of animal is found in every part of the earth having conditions suitable for its maintenance, unless (a) Its individuals have been unable to reach this region through barriers of some sort; or, (b) Having reached it, the species is unable to maintain itself, through lack of capacity for adaptation, through severity of competition with other forms, or through destructive condi- tions of environment; or else, (c) Having entered and maintained itself, it has become so altered in the process of adaptation as to become a species dis- tinct from the original type. Species Absent through Barriers.—The absence from the Jap- anese fauna of most European or American species comes under the first head. The pike has never reached the Japanese lakes, though the shade of the-lotus leaf in the many clear ponds would suit its habits exactly. The grunt* and porgiest+ of our West Indian waters have failed to cross the ocean and there- fore have no descendants in Europe or Asia. Species Absent through Failure to Maintain Foothold. — Of species under (b), those who have crossed the seas and not found lodgement, we have, in the nature of things, no record. Of the existence of multitudes of estrays we have abundant evidence. In the Gulf Stream off Cape Cod are every year taken many young fishes belonging to species at home in the Bahamas and which find no permanent place in the New England fauna. In * Hemulon, + Calamus. 1 The Geographical Distribution of Fishes g2 Fic. 69 —Map of the Continents, 10) > ocene time. (After Ortmann.) The Geographical Distribution of Fishes 93 like fashion, young fishes from the tropics drift northward in the Kuro Shiwo to the coasts of Japan, but never finding a per- manent breeding-place and never joining the ranks of the Japa- nese fishes. But to this there have been, and will be, occasional exceptions. Now and then one among thousands finds per- manent lodgement, and by such means a species from another region will be added to the fauna. The rest disappear and leave no trace. A knowledge of these currents and their in- fluence is eventual to any detailed study of the dispersion of fishes. The occurrence of the young of many shore fishes of the Hawaiian Islands as drifting plankton at a considerable distance from the shores has been lately discovered by Dr. Gilbert. Each island is, in a sense, a “sphere of influence,” affecting the fauna of neighboring regions. Species Changed through Natural Selection.—In the third class, that of species changed in the process of adaptation, most insular forms belong. As a matter of fact, at some time or another almost every species must be in this category, for isola- tion is a source of the most potent elements in the initiation and intensification of the minor differences which separate re- lated species. It is not the preservation of the most useful features, but of those which actually existed in the ancestral individuals, which distinguish such species. Natural selection must include not only the process of the survival of the fittest, but also the results of the survival of the existing. This means the preservation through heredity of the traits not of the species alone, but those of the actual individuals set apart to be the first in the line of descent in a new environment. In hosts of cases the persistence of characters rests not on any special use- fulness or fitness, but on the fact that individuals possessing these characters have, at one time or another, invaded a cer- tain area and populated it. The principle of utility explains survivals among competing structures. It rarely accounts for qualities associated with geographical distribution. Extinction of Species. — The extinction of species may be noted here in connection with their extension of range. Prof. Herbert Osborn has recognized five different types of elimina- tion. 94 The Geographical Distribution of Fishes 1. That extinction which comes from modification or pro- gressive evolution, a relegation to the past as the result of a transmutation into more advanced forms. 2. Extinction from changes of physical environment which outrun the powers of adaptation. 3. The extinction which results from competition. 4. The extinction from extreme specialization and limitation to special conditions the loss of which means extinction. 5. Extinction as a result of exhaustion. As an illustration of No. 1, we may take almost any species which has a cognate species on the further side of some barrier or in the tertiary seas. Thus the trout of the Twin Lakes in Colorado has acquired its present characters in the place of those brought into the lake by its actual ancestors. No. 2 is illustrated by the disappearance of East Indian types (Zanclus, Platax, Toxotes, etc.) in Italy at the end of the Eocene, perhaps for climatic reasons. Extinction through competition is shown in the gradual disappearance of the Sacra- mento perch (Archoplitis interruptus) after the invasion of the river by catfish and carp. From extreme specializaion certain forms have doubtless disappeared, but no certain case of this kind has been pointed out among fishes, unless this be the cause of the disappearance of the Devonian mailed Ostracophores and Arthrodires. It is not likely that any group of fishes has perished through exhaustion of the stock of vigor. Barriers Checking Movement of Marine Fishes.—The limits of the distribution of individual species or genera must be found in some sort of barrier, past or present. The chief bar- riers which limit marine fishes are the presence of land, the presence of great oceans, the differences of temperature arising from differences in latitude, the nature of the sea bottom, and the direction of oceanic currents. That which is a barrier to one species may be an agent in distribution to another. The common shore fishes would perish in deep waters almost as surely as on land, while the open Pacific is a broad highway to the albacore or the swordfish. Again, that which is a barrier to rapid distribution may be- come an agent in the slow extension of the range of a species. The great continent of Asia is undoubtedly one of the greatest of barriers to the wide movement of species of fish, yet its long shore-line enables species to creep, as it were, from bay to bay, The Geographical Distribution of Fishes 95 or from rock to rock, till, in many cases, the same species is found in the Red Sea and in the tide-pools or sand-reaches of Japan. In the North Pacific, the presence of a range of half- submerged volcanoes, known as the Aleutian and the Kurile Islands, has greatly aided the slow movement of the fishes of the tide-pools and the kelp. To a school of mackerel or of flying-fishes these rough islands with their narrow channels might form an insuperable barrier. Temperature the Central Fact in Distribution.—It has long been recognized that the matter of temperature is the central fact in all problems of geographical distribution. Few species in any group freely cross the frost-line, and except as borne by Yaw. Fie. 70.—Japanese file-fish, Rudarius ercodes Jordan and Snyder. Wakanoura, Japan, Family Monacanthide. oceanic currents, not many extend their range far into waters colder than those in which the species is distinctively at home. Knowing the average temperature of the water in a given region we know in general the types of fishes which must inhabit it. It is the similarity in temperature and physical conditions which chiefly explains the resemblance of the Japanese fauna to that of the Mediterranean or the Antilles. This fact alone 96 The Geographical Distribution of Fishes must explain the resemblance of the Arctic and Antarctic faunz, there being in no case a barrier in the sea that may not some time be crossed. Like forms lodge in like places. Agency of Ocean Currents.—We may consider again for a moment the movements of the great currents in the Pacific as agencies in the distribution of species. A great current sets to the eastward, crossing the ocean just south of the equator. It extends past Samoa and passes on nearly to the coast of Mexico, touching the Galapagos Islands, Clipperton Island, and especially the Revillagigedos. This may account for the number of Polynesian species found on these islands, about which they are freely mixed with immi- grants from the mainland of Mexico. From the Revillagigedos* the current moves northward and westward, passing the Hawaiian Islands and thence onward to the Ladrones. The absence in Hawaii of most of the charac- teristic fishes of Polynesia and Micronesia may be in part due to the long detour made by these currents, as the conditions of life in these groups of islands are not very different. North- east of Hawaii is a great spiral current, moving with the hands -of the watch, forming what is called Fleurieu’s Whirlpool. This does not reach the coast of California. This fact may help to account for the almost complete distinction in the shore fishes of Hawaii and California. No other group of islands in the tropics has a fish fauna so isolated as that of Hawaii. The genera are largely the ordinary tropical types. The species are largely peculiar to these islands. The westward current from Hawaii reaches Luzon and For- mosa. It is deflected to the northward and, joining a north- ward current from Celebes, it forms the Kuro Shiwo or Black Stream of Japan, which strews its tropical species in the rock pools along the Japanese promontories as far as Tokio, Then, turning into the open sea, it passes northward to the Aleutian Islands, across to Sitka. Thence it moves southward as a cold * Clarion Island and Socorro Island. + A few Mexican shore fishes, Chetodon humeralis, Galeichthys dasycephalus, Hypsoblennius parvipinnis, have been wrongly accredited to Hawaii by some misplacement of labels. The Geographical Distribution of Fishes 97 current, bearing Ochotsk-Alaskan types southward as far as the Santa Barbara Islands, to which region it is accompanied by species of Aleutian origin. A cold return current seems to extend southward in Japan, along the east shore perhaps as far as Matsushima. A similar current in the sea to the west of Japan extends still further to the southward, to Noto, or beyond. It is, of course, not necessary that the movements of a species in an oceanic current should coincide with the direction of the current. Young fishes, or fresh-water fishes, would be borne along with the water. Those that dwell within floating bodies of seaweed would go whither the waters carry the drift- ing mass. But free-swimming fishes, as the mackerel or flying- fishes, might as readily choose the reverse direction. Toa free- swimming fish the temperature of the water would be the only consideration. It is thus evident that a current which to certain forms would prove a barrier to distribution, to others would be a mere convenience in movement. In comparing the Japanese fauna with that of Australia, we find some trace of both these conditions. Certain forms are perhaps excluded by cross-currents, while certain others seem to have been influenced only by the warmth of the water. 108 Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes water communication, has no appreciable importance, is shown by the almost absolute identity of the fish faunze of Lake Winne- bago and Lake Champlain. While many large fishes range freely up and down the Mississippi, a majority of the species do not do so, and the fauna of the upper Mississippi has more in common with that of the tributaries of Lake Michigan than it has with that of the Red River or the Arkansas. The in- fluence of climate is again shown in the paucity of the fauna of the cold waters of Lake Superior, as compared with that of Lake Michigan. The majority of our species cannot endure the cold. In general, therefore, cold or Northern waters con- tain fewer species than Southern waters do, though the num- ber of individuals of any one kind may be greater. This is shown in all waters, fresh or salt. The fisheries of the Northern seas are more extensive than those of the tropics. There are more fishes there, but they are far less varied in kind. The writer once caught seventy-five species of fishes in a single = ienete Temata aes Vic. 75.—Peristedion miniatum Goode and Bean, a deep-red colored fish of the depths of the Gulf Stream. haul of the seine at Key West, while on Cape Cod he obtained with the same net but forty-five species in the course of a week's work. Thus it comes that the angler, contented with many fishes of few kinds, goes to Northern streams to fish, while the naturalist goes to the South. But in most streams the difference in latitude is insignificant, and the chief differences in temperature come from differences in elevation, or from the distance of the waters from the colder source. Often the lowland waters are so different in character as to produce a marked change in the quality of their fauna. These lowland waters may form a barrier to the free movements . Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes 109 of upland fishes; but that this barrier is not impassable is shown by the identity of the fishes in the streams * of the uplands of middle Tennessee with those of the Holston and French Broad. Again, streams of the Ozark Mountains, similar in character to the rivers of East Tennessee, have an essentially similar fish fauna, although between the Ozarks and the Cum- berland range lies an area of lowland bayous, into which such fishes are never known to penetrate. We can, however, imag- ine that these upland fishes may be sometimes swept down from one side or the other into the Mississippi, from which they might ascend on the other side. But such transfers cer- tainly do not often happen. This is apparent from the fact that the two faunas } are not quite identical, and in some cases the same species are represented by perceptibly different varie- ties on one side and the other. The time of the commingling of these faunz is perhaps now past, and it may have occurred only when the climate of the intervening regions was colder than at present. The effect of waterfalls and cascades as a barrier to the dif- fusion of most, species is self-evident; but the importance of such obstacles is less, in the course of time, than might be ex- pected. In one way or another very many species have passed these barriers. The falls of the Cumberland limit the range of most of the larger fishes of the river, but the streams above it have their quota of darters and minnows. It is evident that the past history of the stream must enter as a factor into this discussion, but this past history it is not always possible to trace. Dams or artificial waterfalls now check the free move- ment of many species, especially those of migratory habits; while conversely, numerous other species have extended their range through the agency of canals. * For example, Elk River, Duck River, etc. + There are three species of darters (Cottogaster copelandi Jordan, Hadrop- terus evides Jordan and Copeland, Hadropterus scierus Swain) which are now known only from the Ozark region or beyond and from the uplands of Indiana, not yet having been found at any point between Indiana and Missouri. These constitute perhaps isolated colonies, now separated from the parent stock in Arkansas by the prairie districts of Illinois, a region at present uninhabitable for these fishes. But the non-occurrence of these species over the intervening areas needs confirmation, as do most similar cases of anomalous distribution. t Thus, Dorosoma cepedianum Le Sueur and Pomolobus chrysochloris Rafi- nesque have found their way into Lake Michigan through canals. 110 Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes Every year fishes are swept down the rivers by the winter’s floods; and in the spring, as the spawning season approaches, almost every species is found working its way up the stream. In some cases, notably the Quinnat salmon * and the blueback salmon,f the length of these migrations is surprisingly great. To some species rapids and shallows have proved a sufficient barrier, and other kinds have been kept back by unfavorable conditions of various sorts. Streams whose waters are always charged with silt or sediment, as the Missouri, Arkansas, or Brazos, do not invite fishes; and even the occasional floods of red mud such as disfigure otherwise clear streams, like the Red River or the Colorado (of Texas), are unfavorable. Extremely unfavorable also is the condition which obtains in many rivers of the Southwest, as, for example, the Red River, the Sabine, and the Trinity, which are full from bank to bank in winter and spring, and which dwindle to mere rivulets in the autumn droughts. Favorable Waters have Most Species.—In general, those streams which have conditions most favorable to fish life will be found to contain the greatest number of species. Such streams invite immigration; and in them the struggle for existence is indi- vidual against individual, species against species, and not a mere struggle with hard conditions of life. Some of the condi- tions most favorable to the existence in any stream of a large number of species of fishes are the following, the most important of which is the one mentioned first: Connection with a large hydrographic basin; a warm climate; clear water; a moderate current; a bottom of gravel (preferably covered by a growth of weeds); little fluctuation during the year in the volume of the stream or in the character of the water. Limestone streams usually yield more species than streams flowing over sandstone, and either more than the streams of regions having metamorphic rocks. Sandy bottoms usually are not favorable to fishes. In general, glacial drift makes a suit- able river bottom, but the higher temperature usual in regions beyond the limits of the drift gives to certain Southern streams conditions still more favorable. These conditions are all well * Oncorhynchus tschawytscha Walbaum. + Oncorhynchus nerka Walbaum. Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes ite realized in the Washita River in Arkansas, and in various trib- utaries of the Tennessee, Cumberland, and Ohio; and in these, among American streams, the greatest number of species has been. recorded. The isolation and the low temperature of the rivers of New England have given to them a very scanty fish fauna as com- pared with the rivers of the South and West. This fact has been noticed by Professor Agassiz, who has called New England a “zoological island.” * In spite of the fact that barriers of every sort are some- times crossed by fresh-water fishes, we must still regard the matter of freedom of water communication as the essential one in determining the range of most species. The larger the river basin, the greater the variety of conditions likely to be offered in it, and the greater the number of its species. In case of the divergence of new forms by the processes called “natural selec- tion,” the greater the number of such forms which may have spread through its waters; the more extended any river basin, the greater are the chances that any given species may some- times find its way into it; hence the greater the number of species that actually occur in it, and, freedom of movement being assumed, the greater the number of species to be found in any one of its affluents. Of the six hundred species of fishes found in the rivers of the United States, about two hundred have been recorded from the basin of the Mississippi. From fifty to one hundred of these species can be found in any one of the tributary streams of the size, say, of the Housatonic River or the Charles. In the Connecticut River there are but about eighteen species per- manently resident; and the number found in the streams of Texas is not much larger, the best known of these, the Rio Colorado, having yielded but twenty-four species. The waters of the Great Basin are not rich in fishes, the * “In this isolated region of North America, in this zoological island of New England, as we may call it, we find neither Lepidosteus, nor Amia, nor Polyodon, nor Amblodon (A plodinotus), nor Grystes (Micropterus) , nor Centrar= chus, nor Pomoxis, nor Ambloplites, nor Calliurus (Chenobryitus}, nor Carpiodes, nor Hyodon, nor indeed any of the characteristic forms of North American fishes so common everywhere else, with the exception of two Pomotis (Lepomis), one Boleosoma, and a few Catostomus.’’—Acassiz, Amer. Journ. Sct. Arts, 1854. 112 Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes species now found being evidently an overflow from the Snake River when in late glacial times it drained Lake Bonneville. This postglacial lake once filled the present basin of the Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake, its outlet flowing northwest from Ogden into Snake River. The same fishes are now found in the upper Snake River and the basins of Utah Lake and of Sevier Lake. In the same fashion Lake Lahontan once occu- pied the basin of Nevada, the Humboldt and Carson sinks, with Pyramid Lake. Its drainage fell also into the Snake River, and its former limits are shown in the present range of species. These have almost nothing in common with the group of species inhabiting the former drainage of Lake Bonneville. Another postglacial body of water, Lake Idaho, once united the lakes of Southeastern Oregon. The fauna of Lake Idaho, and of the lakes Malheur, Warner, Goose, etc., which have replaced it, is also isolated and distinctive. The number of species now known from this region of these ancient lobes is about 125. This list is composed almost entirely of a few genera of suckers,* minnows, fT and trout.t None of the catfishes, perch, darters, or sunfishes, _ moon-eyes, pike, kullifishes, and none of the ordinary Eastern types of minnows § have passed the barrier of the Rocky Moun- tains. West of the Sierra Nevada the fauna is still more scanty, only about seventy species being enumerated. This fauna, ex- cept for certain immigrants || from the sea, is of the same general character as that of the Great Basin, though most of the species are different. This latter fact would indicate a considerable change, or “evolution,” since the contents of the two faunz were last mingled. There is a considerable difference between the fauna of the Columbia and that of the Sacramento. The species which these two basins have in common are chiefly those which at times pass out into the sea. The rivers of Alaska contain but few species, barely a dozen in all, most of these being found also in Siberia and Kamchatka. In the scanti- * Catostomus, Pantosteus, Chasmistes. t Gila, Ptychocheilus, etc. t Salmo clarkit and its varieties. § Genera Notropis, Chrosomus, etc. || As the fresh-water surf-fish (Hysterocarpus traski) and the species of salmon. i| €1I Cy PIV = Weal jorg Aq yd RID 101 ld) ‘oye — 2py ur ‘ oy 1 oxeT Ss eS g year » ‘9 oye [[Aouuog oy oye'y jo qo 9NO ) quart louy 9} L STA _ 114 Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes ness of its faunal list, the Yukon agrees with the Mackenzie River, and with Arctic rivers generally. There can be no doubt that the general tendency is for each species to extend its range more and more widely until all localities suitable for its growth are included. The various agencies of dispersal which have existed in the past are still in operation. There is apparently no limit to their action. It is probable that new “colonies” of one species or another may be planted each year in waters not heretofore inhabited by such species. But such colonies become permanent only where the conditions are so favorable that the species can hold its own in the struggle for food and subsistence. That the various modifications in the habitat of certain species have been caused by human agencies is of course too well known to need discussion here. Watersheds. We may next consider the question of water- sheds, or barriers which separate one river basin from an- other. Of such barriers in the United States, the most important and most effective is unquestionably that of the main chain of the Rocky Mountains. This is due in part to its great height, still more to its great breadth, and most of all, perhaps, to the fact that it is nowhere broken by the passage of a river. But two species—the red-throated or Rocky Mountain trout * and the Rocky Mountain whitefisht—are found on both sides of it, at least within the limits of the United States; while many genera, and even several families, find in it either an eastern or a western limit to their range. In a few instances representative species, probably modifications or separated branches of the same stock, occur on opposite sides of the range, but there are not many cases of correspondence even thus close. The two faunas are practically distinct. Even the widely distributed red-spotted or “dolly varden”’ trout { of the Columbia River and its affluents does not cross to the east side of the moun- tains, nor does the Montana grayling § ever make its way to the West. In Northern Mexico, however, numerous Eastern river fishes have crossed the main chain of the Sierra Madre. * Salmo clarki Richardson. t Salvelinus malma (Walbaum), + Coregonus williamsont Girard. § Thymallus tricolor Cope. . a Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes 115 How Fishes Cross Watersheds. —It is easy to account for this separation of the faune; but how shall we explain the almost universal diffusion of the whitefish and the trout in suitable waters on both sides of the dividing ridge? We may notice that these two are the species which ascend highest in the mountains, the whitefish inhabiting the mountain pools and lakes, the trout ascending all brooks and rapids in search of their fountainheads. In many cases the ultimate dividing ridge is not very broad, and we may imagine that at some time spawn or even young fishes may have been carried across by birds or other animals, or by man, or more likely by the dash of some summer whirlwind. Once carried across in favorable circum- stances, the species might survive and spread. The following is an example of how such transfer of spe- cies may be accomplished, which shows that we need not be left to draw on the imagination to invent possible means of transit. The Suletind.— There are few watersheds in the world better defined than the mountain range which forms the ‘‘ back- bone” of Norway. I lately climbed a peak in this range, the Suletind. From its summit I could look down into the valleys of the Lara and the Bagna, flowing in opposite directions to op- posite sides of the peninsula. To the north of the Suletind is a large double lake called the Sletningenvand. The maps show this lake to be one of the chief sources of the westward-flowing river Lara. This lake is in August swollen by the melting of the snows, and at the time of my visit it was visibly the source of both these rivers. From its southeastern side flowed a large brook into the valley of the Bagna, and from its south- western corner, equally distinctly, came the waters which fed the Lara. This lake, like similar mountain ponds in all north- ern countries, abounds in trout; and these trout certainly have for part of the year an uninterrupted line of water communica- tion from the Sognefjord on the west of Norway to the Chris- tianiafjord on the southeast,—from the North Sea to the Baltic. Part of the year the lake has probably but a single outlet through the Lara. A higher temperature would entirely cut off the flow into the Bagna, and a still higher one might dry up the lake altogether. This Sletningenvand, with its two 116 Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes outlets on the summit of a sharp watershed, may serve to show us how other lakes, permanent or temporary, may else- where have acted as agencies for the transfer of fishes. We can also see how it might be that certain mountain fishes should be so transferred while the fishes of the upland waters may be left behind. In some such way as this we may imagine that various species of fishes have attained their present wide range in the Rocky Mountain region; and in similar manner perhaps the Eastern brook trout * and some other mountain species ¢ may have been carried across the Alleghanies. The Cassiquiare.—Professor John C. Branner calls my atten- tion to a marshy upland which separates the valley of the La Plata from that of the Amazon, and which permits the free movement of fishes from the Paraguay River to the Tapajos. It is well known that through the Cassiquiare River the Rio Negro, another branch of the Amazon, is joined to the Orinoco River. It is thus evident that almost all the waters of eastern South America form a single basin, so far as the fishes are con- cerned. As to the method of transfer of the trout from the Columbia to the Missouri, we are not now left in doubt. Two-Ocean Pass.—To this day, as the present writer and later Evermann and Jenkins t have shown, the Yellowstone and Snake Rivers are connected by two streams crossing the main divide of the Rocky Mountains from the Yellowstone to the Snake across Two-Ocean Pass. Prof. Evermann has described the locality as follows: ““Two-Ocean Pass is a high mountain meadow, about 8,200 feet above the sea and situated just south of the Yellowstone National Park, in longitude 110° 10’ W., latitude 44° 3’ N. It is surrounded on all sides by rather high mountains except where the narrow valleys of Atlantic and Pacific creeks open * Salvelinus fontinalis Mitchill. + Notropis rubricroceus Cope, Rhinichthys atronasus Mitchill, etc. t Evermann, A Reconnoissance of the Streams and Lakes of Western Montana and Northwestern Wyoming, in Bull. U.S. Fish. Comm., XI, 1891, 24-28, pls. 1 and 1; Jordan, The Story of a Strange Land, in Pop. Sci. Monthly, Feb., 1892, 447-458; Evermann, Two-Ocean Pass, in Proc. Ind. Ac. Sci., 1892, 29-34, pl. 1; Evermann, Two-Ocean Pass, in Pop. Sci. Monthly, June, 1895, with plate. Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes i out from it. Running back among the mountains to the north- ward are two small canyons down which come two small streams. On the opposite is another canyon down which comes another small stream. The extreme length of the meadow from east to west is about a mile, while the width from north to south is not much less. The larger of the streams coming in from the north is Pacific Creek, which, after winding along the western side of the meadow, turns abruptly westward, leaving the meadow through a narrow gorge. Receiving numerous small affluents, Pacific Creek soon becomes a good-sized stream, which finally unites with Buffalo Creek a few miles above where the latter stream flows into Snake River. “Atlantic Creek was found to have two forks entering the pass. At the north end of the meadow is a small wooded canyon down which flows the North Folk. This stream hugs the bor- der of the flat very closely. The South Fork comes down the canyon on the south side, skirting the brow of the hill a little less closely than does the North Fork. The two, coming to- gether near the middle of the eastern border of the meadow, form Atlantic Creek, which after a course of a few miles flows into the Upper Yellowstone. But the remarkable phenomena exhibited here remain to be described. “Each fork of Atlantic Creek, just after entering the meadow, divides as if to flow around an island, but the stream toward the meadow, instead of returning to the portion from which it had parted, continues its westerly course across the meadow. Just before reaching the western border the two streams unite and then pour their combined waters into Pacific Creek; thus are Atlantic and Pacific creeks united and a con- tinuous waterway from the Columbia via Two-Ocean Pass to the Gulf of Mexico is established. “Pacific Creek is a stream of good size long before it enters the pass, and its course through the meadow is in a definite channel, but not so with Atlantic Creek. The west bank of each fork is low and the stream is liable to break through any- where and thus send part of its water across to Pacific Creek. It is probably true that one or two branches always connect the two creeks under ordinary conditions, and that following heavy rains or when the snows are melting, a much greater ti 118 Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes portion of the water of Atlantic Creek crosses the meadow to the other side. “Besides the channels already mentioned, there are several more or less distinct ones that were dry at the time of our visit. As already stated, the pass is a nearly level meadow covered with a heavy growth of grass and many small willows one to three feet high. While it is somewhat marshy in places it has nothing of the nature of a lake about it. Of course, during Ht Fic. 77.—Silver Surf-fish (viviparous), Hypocritichthys analis (Agassiz). Monterey. wet weather the small springs at the borders of the meadow would be stronger, but the important facts are that there is no lake or even marsh there and that neither Atlantic nor Pacific Creek has its rise in the meadow. Atlantic Creek, in fact, comes into the pass as two good-sized streams from op- posite directions and leaves it by at least four channels, thus making an island of a considerable portion of the meadow. And it is certain that there is, under ordinary circumstances, a continuous waterway through Two-Ocean Pass of such a character as to permit fishes to pass easily and readily from Snake River over to the Yellowstone, or in the opposite direc- tion. Indeed, it is quite possible, barring certain falls in the Snake River, for a fish so inclined, to start at the mouth of the Columbia, travel up that great river to its principal tributary, the Snake, thence on through the long, tortuous course of that stream, and, under the shadows of the Grand Teton, enter the cold waters of Pacific Creek, by which it could journey on up to . Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes 119 the very crest of the great continental divide,—to Two-Ocean Pass; through this pass it may have a choice of two routes to Atlantic Creek, in which the downstream journey is begun. Soon it reaches the Yellowstone, down which it continues to Yel- lowstone Lake, then through the lower Yellowstone out into the turbid waters of the Missouri; for many hundred miles it may continue down this mighty river before reaching the Father of Waters, which will finally carry it to the Gulf of Mexico—a wonderful journey of nearly 6,000 miles, by far the longest possible fresh-water journey in the world. “We found trout in Pacific Creek at every point where we examined it. In Two-Ocean Pass we found trout in each of the streams and in such positions as would have permitted them to pass easily from one side of the divide to the other. We also found trout in Atlantic Creek below the pass, and in the upper Yellowstone they were abundant. Thus it is cer- tain that there is no obstruction, even in dry weather, to pre- vent the passage of trout from the Snake River to Yellowstone Lake; it is quite evident that trout do pass over in this way; and itis almost certain that Yellowstone Lake was stocked with trout from the west via Two-Ocean Pass.’-—-EVERMANN. Mountain Chains.— The Sierra Nevada constitutes also a very important barrier to the diffusion of species. This is, however, broken by the passage of the Columbia River, and many species thus find their way across it. That the waters to the west of it are not unfavorable for the growth of Eastern fishes is shown by the fact of the rapid spread of the com- mon Eastern catfish,* or horned pout, when transported from the Schuylkill to the Sacramento. The catfish is now one of the important food fishes of the San Francisco markets, and with the Chinaman its patron, it has gone from California to Hawaii. The Chinese catfish, described by Bleeker as Ameturus can- tonensis, was doubtless carried home by some Chinaman return- ing from San Francisco. In like fashion the small-mouthed black bass is now frequent in California streams, as is also the blue-green sunfish, Apomotis cyanellus, introduced as food for the bass. * Ameiurus nebulosus Le Sueur: Ameiurus catus Linnzus. 120 Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes The mountain mass of Mount Shasta is, as already stated, a considerable barrier to the range of fishes, though a number of species find their way around it through the sea. The lower and irregular ridges of the Coast Range are of small importance in this regard, as the streams of their east slope reach the sea on the west through San Francisco Bay. Yet the San Joaquin contains a few species not yet recorded from the smaller rivers of southwestern California. The main chain of the Alleghanies forms a barrier of im- portance separating the rich fish fauna of the Tennessee and Ohio basins from the scantier faunz of the Atlantic streams. Yet this barrier is crossed by many more species than is the case with either the Rocky Mountains or the Sierra Nevada. It is lower, narrower, and much more broken,—as in New York, in Pennsylvania, and in Georgia there are several streams which pass through it or around it. The much greater age of the Alleghany chain, as compared with the Rocky Mountains, seems not to be an element of any importance in this connection. Of the fish which cross this chain, the most prominent is the brook trout,* which is found in all suitable waters from Hudson’s Bay to the head of the Chattahoochee. Upland Fishes.—A few other species are locally found in the head waters of certain streams on opposite sides of the range. An example of this is the little red “fallfish,”+ found only in the mountain tributaries of the Savannah and the Tennessee. We may suppose the same agencies to have assisted these species that we have imagined in the case of the Rocky Mountain trout, and such agencies were doubtless more operative in the times immediately following the glacial epoch than they are now. Prof. Cope calls attention also to the numerous caverns existing in these mountains as a sufficient medium for the transfer of many species. I doubt whether the main chains of the Blue Ridge or the Great Smoky can be crossed in that way, though such channels are not rare in the subcarboniferous limestones of the Cumberland range. In the brooks at the head waters of the Roanoke River about Alleghany Springs in Virginia, fishes of the Tennessee Basin are found, instead of those characteristic * Salvelinus fontinalis. + Notropis rubricroceus Cope. Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes I21 of the lower Roanoke. In this case it is likely that we have to consider the results of local erosion. Probably the divide has been so shifted that some small stream with its fishes has been cut off from the Holston and transferred to the Roanoke. The passage of species from stream to stream along the Atlantic slope deserves a moment’s notice. It is under present conditions impossible for any mountain or upland fish, as the trout or the miller’s thumb,* to cross from the Potomac River to the James, or from the Neuse to the Santee, by descending to the lower courses of the rivers, and thence passing along either through the swamps or by way of the sea. The lower courses of these streams, warm and muddy, are uninhabitable by such fishes. Such transfers are, however, possible farther north. From the rivers of Canada and from many rivers of New England the trout does descend to the sea and into the sea, and farther north the whitefish does this also. Thus these fishes readily pass from one river basin to another. As this is the case now everywhere in the North, it may have been the case farther south in the time of the glacial cold. We may, I think, imagine a condition of things in which the snow-fields of the Alleghany chain might have played some part in aiding the diffusion of cold-loving fishes. A permanent snow-field on the Blue Ridge in western North Carolina might render almost any stream in the Carolinas suitable for trout, from its source to its mouth. An increased volume of colder water might carry the trout of the head streams of the Catawba and the Savannah as far down as the sea. We can even imagine that the trout reached these streams in the first place through such agencies, though of this there is no positive evidence. For the presence of trout in the upper Chattahoochee we must account in some other way. It is noteworthy that the upland fishes are nearly the same in all these streams until we reach the southern limit of possible glacial influence. South of western North Carolina the faunze of the different river basins appear to be more distinct from one another. Certain ripple-loving types are represented by closely related but unquestionably different species in each * Cottus ictalops Rafinesque. 122 Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes river basin, and it would appear that a thorough mingling of the upland species in these rivers has never taken place. The best examples of this are the following: In the Santee basin are found Notropis pyrrhomelas, Notropis niveus, and No- tropis chloristius; in the Altamaha, Notropis xenurus and Notro- pis callisemus; in the Chattahoochee, Notropis hypselopterus and Notropis eurystomus; in the Alabama, Notropis ceruleus, Notro- pis trichroistius, and Notropis callistius. In the Alabama, Es- cambia, Pearl, and numerous other rivers is found Notropts cer- costigma, This species descends to the sea in the cool streams of © the pine woods. Its range is wider than that of the others, and in the rivers of Texas it reappears in the form of a scarcely dis- tinct variety, Notropis venustus. In the Tennessee and Cumber- land, and in the rivers of the Ozark range, is Notropts galacturus; and in the upper Arkansas Notropis camurus,—all distinct species of the same general type. Northward, in all the streams from the Potomac to the Oswego, and westward to the Des Moines and the Arkansas, occurs a single species of this type, Notropis whipplei, varying eastward into Notropis analostanus. But this species is not known from any of the streams inhabited by any of the other species mentioned, although very likely it is the parent stoék of them all. Lowland Fishes.—With the lowland species of the Southern rivers it is different. Few of these are confined within narrow limits. The streams of the whole South Atlantic and Gulf Coast flow into shallow bays, mostly bounded by sand-spits or sand-bars which the rivers themselves have brought down. In these bays the waters are often neither fresh nor salt; or, rather, they are alternately fresh and salt, the former condition being that of the winter and spring. Many species descend into these bays, thus finding every facility for transfer from river to river. There is a continuous inland passage in fresh or brackish waters, traversable by such fishes, from Chesapeake Bay nearly to Cape Fear; and similar conditions exist on the coasts of Louisi- ana, Texas, and much of Florida. In Perdido Bay I have found fresh-water minnows* and silversidesf living together with marine gobiest and salt-water eels.§ Fresh-water alligator * Notropis cercostigma, Notropis xe@nocephalus. } Gobiosoma molestum. + Labidesthes sicculus. § Myrophis punctatus. Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes 123 gars * and marine sharks compete for the garbage thrown over from the Pensacola wharves. In Lake Pontchartrain the fauna is a remarkable mixture of fresh-water fishes from the Missis- sippi and marine fishes from the Gulf. Channel-cats, sharks, sea-crabs, sunfishes, and mullets can all be found there to- gether. It is therefore to be expected that the lowland fauna of all the rivers of the Gulf States would closely resemble that of the lower Mississippi; and this, in fact, is the case. The streams of southern Florida and those of southwestern Texas offer some peculiarities connected with their warmer climate. The Florida streams contain a few peculiar fishes; ft while the rivers of Texas, with the same general fauna as those farther north, have also a few distinctly tropical types,t immi- grants from the lowlands of Mexico. Cuban Fishes.—The fresh waters of Cuba are inhabited by fishes unlike those found in the United States. Some of these are evidently indigenous, derived in the waters they now in- habit directly from marine forms. Two of these are eyeless species,§ inhabiting streams in the caverns. They have no relatives in the fresh waters of any other region, the blind fishes || of our caves being of a wholly different type. Some of the Cuban fishes are common to the fresh waters of the other West Indies. Of Northern types, only one, the alligator gar,4 is found in Cuba, and this is evidently a filibuster immigrant from the coasts of Florida. Swampy Watersheds. — The low and irregular watershed which separates the tributaries of Lake Michigan and Lake Erie from those of the Ohio is of little importance in determining the range of species. Many of the distinctively Northern fishes are found in the headwaters of the Wabash and the Scioto, The considerable difference in the general fauna of the Ohio Valley as compared with that of the streams of Michigan is due to the higher temperature of the former region, rather than * Lepisosteus tristechus. + Jordanella, Rivulus,:Heterandria, etc. } Heros, Tetragonopterus. § Lucifuga and Stygicola, fishes allied to the cusk, and belonging to the family of Brotulide. || Amblyopsis, Typhlichthys. { Lepisosteus tristechus. i 124 Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes to any existing barriers between the river and the Great Lakes. In northern Indiana the watershed is often swampy, and in many places large ponds exist in the early spring. At times of heavy rains many species will move through con- siderable distances by means of temporary ponds and brooks. Fishes that have thus emigrated often reach places ordinarily inaccessible, and people finding them in such localities often imagine that they have ‘‘rained down.”’ Once, near Indian- apolis, after a heavy shower, I found in a furrow in a corn-field a small pike,* some half a mile from the creek in which he should belong. The fish was swimming along in a temporary brook, apparently wholly unconscious that he was not in his native stream. Migratory fishes, which ascend smallstreams to spawn, are especially likely to be transferred in this way. By some such means any of the watersheds in Ohio, Indiana, or Illinois may be passed. Fie. 78.—Creekfish or Chub-sucker, Hrimyzon sucetta (Lacépéde). Nipisink Lake, Illinois. Family Catostomide. It is certain that the limits of Lake Erie and Lake Michigan were once more extended than now. It is reasonably prob- able that some of the territory now drained by the Wabash and the Illinois was once covered by the waters of Lake Michi- gan. The ciscot of Lake Tippecanoe, Lake Geneva, and the lakes of the Oconomowoc chain is evidently a modified de- scendant of the so-called lake herring.{ Its origin most likely * Esox vermiculatus Le Sueur. t+ Argyrosomus sisco Jordan. t Argyrosomus artedi Le Sueur. Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes 125 dates from the time when these small deep lakes of Indiana and Wisconsin were connected with Lake Michigan. The changes in habits which the cisco has undergone are consider- able. The changes in external characters are but trifling. The presence of the cisco in these lakes and its periodical disappear- ance—that is, retreat into deep water when not in the breeding season—have given rise to much nonsensical discussion as to whether any or all of these lakes are still joined to Lake Michigan by subterranean channels. Several of the larger fishes, properly characteristic of the Great Lake region,* are occasionally taken in the Ohio River, where they are usually recognized as rare stragglers. The difference in physical conditions is probably the sole cause of their scarcity in the Ohio basin. The Great Basin of Utah.—The similarity of the fishes in the different streams and lakes of the Great Basin is doubtless to be attributed to the general mingling of their waters which took place during and after the Glacial Epoch. Since that period the climate in that region has grown hotter and drier, until the over- flow of the various lakes into the Columbia basin through the Snake River has long since ceased. These lakes have become isolated from each other, and many of them have become salt or alkaline and therefore uninhabitable. In some of these lakes certain species may now have become extinct which still remain in others. In some cases, perhaps, the differences in surround- ings may have caused divergence into distinct species of what was once one parent stock. The suckers in Lake Tahoe 7 and those in Utah Lake are certainly now different from each other and from those in the Columbia. The trout t in the same waters can be regarded as more or less tangible species, while the white- fishes§ show no differences at all. The differences in the present faunas of Lake Tahoe and Utah Lake must be chiefly due to influences which have acted since the Glacial Epoch, when the whole Utah Basin was part of the drainage of the Columbia. Arctic Species in Lakes.—Connected perhaps with changes * As Lota maculosa; Percopsis guttata; Esox masquinongy. } Catostomus tahoensis, in Lake Tahoe; Catostomus macrocheilus and dis- cobolus, in the Columbia; Catostomus fecundus, Catostomus ardens; Chasmistes liorus and Pantosteus generosus, in Utah Lake. } Salmo henshawi and virginalis. § Coregonus williamsoni. 126 Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes due to glacial influences is the presence in the deep waters of the Great Lakes of certain marine types,* as shown by the explora- tions of Professor Sidney I. Smith and others. One of these is a genus of fishes, of which the nearest allies now inhabit the Arctic Seas. In his review of the fish fauna of Finland,} Professor A. J. Malmgren finds a number of Arctic species in the waters of Fin- land which are not found either in the North Sea or in the southern portions of the Baltic. These fishes are said to “agree with their ‘forefathers’ in the Glacial Ocean in every point, but remain comparatively smaller, leaner, almost starved.”” Professor Lovén§ also has shown that numerous small animals of marine origin are found in the deep lakes of Sweden and Finland as well as in the Gulf of Bothnia. These anomalies of distribution are explained by Lovén and Malmgren on the supposition of the former con- tinuity of the Baltic through the Gulf of Bothnia with the Glacial Ocean. During the second half of the Glacial Period, according to Lovén, “the greater part of Finland and of the middle of Sweden was submerged, and the Baltic was a great gulf of the Glacial Ocean, and not connected with the German Ocean. By the gradual elevation of the Scandinavian Continent, the Baltic became disconnected from the Glacial Ocean and the Great Lakes separated from the Baltic. In consequence of the gradual change of the salt water into fresh, the marine fauna became gradually extinct, with the exception of the glacial forms men- tioned above.”’ It is possible that the presence of marine types in our Great Lakes is to be regarded as dtte to some depression of the land which would connect their waters with those of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. On this point, however, our data are still incomplete. To certain species of upland or mountain fishes the depression of the Mississippi basin itself forms a barrier which cannot be passed. The black-spotted trout,|| very closely related species * Species of Mysis and other genera of Crustaceans, similar to species described by Sars and others, in lakes of Sweden and Finland. } Triglopsis thompsoni Girard, a near ally of the marine species Oncocottus quadricornis L. t Kritisk Ofversigt af Finlands Fisk-Fauna, Helsingfors, 1863. § See Giinther, Zoological Record for 1864, p. 137. || Salmo fario L., in Europe; Salmo labrax Pallas, etc., in Asia; Salmo gairdneri Richardson, in streams of the Pacific Coast; Salmo perryi, in Japan; Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes W277 of which abound in all waters of northern Asia, Europe, and western North America, has nowhere crossed the basin of the Mississippi, although one of its species finds no difficulty in passing Bering Strait. The trout and whitefish of the Rocky Moun- tain region are all species different from those of the Great Lakes or the streams of the Alleghany system. To the grayling, the trout, the whitefish, the pike, and to arctic and subarctic species generally, Bering Strait has evidently proved no serious obstacle to diffusion; and it is not unlikely that much of the close resemblance of the fresh-water faunze of northern Europe, Asia, and North America is due to this fact. To attempt to decide from which side the first migration came in regard to each group of fishes might be interesting; but without a wider range of facts than is now in our possession, most such attempts, based on guess- work, would have little value. The interlocking of the fish faunas of Asia and North America presents, however, a number of inter- esting problems, for migrations in both directions have doubtless taken place. Causes of Dispersion Still in Operation.—One might go on indefinitely with the discussion of special cases, each more or less interesting or suggestive in itself, but the general conclusion is in allcases the same. The present distribution of fishes is the result of the long-continued action of forces still in operation. The _ species have entered our waters in many invasions from the Old World or from the sea. Each species has been subjected to the various influences implied in the term “natural selection,”’ and under varying conditions its representatives have undergone many different modifications. Each of the six hundred fresh- water species we now know in the United States may be con- ceived as making every year inroads on territory occupied by other species. If these colonies are able to hold their own in the struggle for possession, they will multiply in the new condi- tions, and the range of the species becomes widened. If the surroundings are different, new species or varieties may be formed with time; and these new forms may again invade the territory of the parent species. Again, colony after colony of species Salmo clarki Richardson, throughout the Rocky Mountain range to the Mexican boundary and the headwaters of the Kansas, Platte, and Missouri. 128 Barriers to Dispersion of River Fishes after species may be destroyed by other species or by uncongenial surroundings. The ultimate result of centuries on centuries of the restlessness of individuals is seen in the facts of geographical distribution. Only in the most general way can the history of any species be traced; but could we know it all, it would be as long and as event- ful a story as the history of the colonizaticn and settlement of North America by immigrants from Europe. But by the fishes each river in America has been a hundred times discovered, its colonization a hundred times attempted. In these efforts there is no co-operation. Every individual is for himself, every struggle a struggle of life and death; for each fish is a cannibal, and to each species each member of every other species is an alien and a savage. i ccomeenecttetinenttitemmmmmenentiadinedtitenn cna titania eee CHAPTER IX FISHES AS FOOD FOR MAN HE Flesh of Fishes.—Among all races of men, fishes i yy] are freely eaten as food, either raw, as preferred by the Japanese and Hawaiians, or else as cooked, salted, dried, or otherwise preserved. The flesh of most fishes is white, flaky, readily digestible, and with an agreeable flavor. Some, as the salmon, are charged with oil, which aids to give an orange hue known as salmon color. Others have colorless oil which may be of various con- sistencies. Some have dark-red flesh, which usually contains a heavy oil which becomes acrid when stale. Some fishes, as the sharks, have tough, coarse flesh. Some have flesh which is watery and coarse. Some are watery and tasteless, some dry and tasteless. Some, otherwise excellent, have the muscular area, which constitutes the chief edible part of the fish, filled with small bones. Relative Rank of Food-fishes——The writer has tested most of the noted food-fishes of the Northern Hemisphere. When Fia, 79.—Eulachon, or Ulchen. Thaleichthys pretiosus Girard. Columbia River. Family Argentinida. properly cooked (for he is no judge of raw fish) he would place first in the ranks as a food-fish the eulachon, or candle-fish (Thaleichthys pacificus). 129 | OO eee SL ee me 130 Fishes as Food for Man This little smelt, about a foot long, ascends the Columbia River, Frazer River, and streams of southern Alaska in the spring in great numbers for the purpose of spawning. Its flesh is white, very delicate, charged with a white and very agree- Fig. 80.—Ayu, or Japanese Samlet, Plecoglossus altivelis Schlegél. Tanagawa, Tokyo, Japan. able oil, readily digested, and with a sort of fragrance peculiar to the species. 2 Next to this he is inclined to place the ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis), a sort of dwarf salmon which runs in similar fashion in the rivers of Japan and Formosa. The ayu is about as large Fig, 81.—Whitefish, Coregonus clupeiformis Mitchill. Ecorse, Mich. as the eulachon and has similar flesh, but with little oil and no fragrance. Very near the first among sea-fishes must come the pampano Fishes as Food for Man 131 (Trachinotus carolinus) of the Gulf of Mexico, with firm, white, finely flavored flesh. The red surmullet of Europe (Mullus barbatus) has been long famed for its delicate flesh, and may perhaps be placed next. Two related species in Polynesia, the munu and the RERONS Ase aes, SS Wi Nae SY WAY) Waanvrans ORDER Wiens Se Y ) WN Fic. 82.—Golden Surmullet, Mullus auratus Jordan & Gilbert. Woods Hole, Mass. kumu (Pseudupeneus bifasciatus and Pseudupeneus porphyreus), are scarcely inferior to it. Side by side with these belongs the whitefish of the Great Lakes (Coregonus clupetformis). Its. flesh, delicate, slightly Fie. 83.—Spanish Mackerel, Scomberomorus maculatus Mitchill. Family Scombride. Key West. gelatinous, moderately oily, is extremely agreeable. Sir John Richardson records the fact that one can eat the flesh of this fish longer than any other without the feeling of cloying. The salmon cannot be placed in the front rank, because, however excellent, the stomach soon becomes tired of it. The Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus), with flesh at once rich and delicate, the great opah (Lampris luna), still richer and still GEL aseg—(Cipusog “Ty “sp Aq ydeasojoyg) ‘sq, FLITE Burysiom goyseur npnpouoy, ut uoumoodg -(uljoury) vunp sudo ‘ysyuoow; 10 ‘yedQ— Fg “pI Fishes as Food for Man 138 more delicate, the bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) similar but a little coarser, the ulua (Carangus sem), the finest large food-fish of the South Seas, the dainty California poppy-fish, miscalled ‘‘Pampano”’ (Palometa simillima), and the kingfish firm and Fig. 85.—Bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix (L.). New York. well-flavored (Scomberomorus cavalla), represent the best of the fishes allied to the mackerel. The shad (Alosa sapidissima), with its sweet, tender, finely oily flesh, stands also near the front among food-fishes, but it sins above all others in the matter of small bones. The weak- fish (Cynoscion nobilis) and numerous relatives rank first among Fie. 86 —Robalo, Centropomus undecimalis (Bloch). Florida. those with tender, white, savorous flesh. Among the bass and perch-like fishes, common consent places near the first the striped bass (Rocus lineatus), the bass of Europe (Dicentrarchus labrax), the susuki of Japan (Lateolabrax japonicus), the red tai of Japan (Pagrus major and P. cardinalis), the sheep’s-head (Archosargus probatocephalus), the mutton-fish or Pargo Criollo of Cuba (Lutianus analis), the European porgy (Pagrus pagrus), 1344 Fishes as Food for Man the robalo (Centropomus undecimalis), the uku (Aprion vires- cens) of Hawaii, the spadefish (Chetodipterus faber), and the black bass (Micropterus dolomieu). Fic. 87.—Spadefish, Chetodipterus faber (L.). Virginia. a DY. ) NY a i yy - ‘S PANY “ Fic. 88.—Small-mouthed Black Bass, Micropterus dolomieu (Lacépéde). Potomac River. The various kinds of trout have been made famous the world over. All are attractive in form and color; all are gamy; all —~-< Fishes as Food for Man 35 have the most charming of scenic surroundings, and, finally, all are excellent as food, not in the first rank perhaps, but well above the second. Notable among these are the European Fig. 89.—Speckled Trout (male), Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill). New York. Fic. 90.—Rainbow Trout, Salmo irideus Gibbons. Sacramento River, California. Fic. 91.—Rangeley Trout, Salvelinus oquassa (Girard). Lake Oquassa, Maine. charr (Salvelinus alpinus), the American speckled trout or charr (Salvelinus fontinalis), the Dolly Varden or malma (Salvelinus malma), and the oquassa trout (Salvelinus oquassa). Scarcely 136 Fishes as Food for Man. less attractive are the true trout, the brown trout, or forelle (Salmo fario), in Europe, the rainbow-trout (Salmo irideus), Fic. 92 —Steelhead Trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson. Columbia River. the steelhead (Salmo gairdneri), the cut-throat trout (Salmo clarkiz), and the Tahoe trout (Salmo henshawt), in America, lie 93—Tahoe Trout, Salmo henshawi Gill & Jordan. Lake Tahoe, California. and the yamabe (Salmo perryi) of Japan. Not least of all these is the flower of fishes, the grayling (Thymallus), of differ- ent species in different parts of the world. Fie 94—The Dolly Varden Trout, Salvelinus malma (Walbaum). Lake Pend d’Oreille, Idaho. (After Evermann.) Other most excellent food-fishes are the eel (Anguilla species), the pike (Esox lucius), the muskallonge (Esox masquinongy), the sole of Europe (Solea solea), the sardine (Sardinella pilchar- Fishes as Food for Man HOY dus), the atka-fish (Pleurogrammus monopterygius) of Bering Sea, the pescado blanco of Lake Chapala (Chirostoma estor and other species), the Hawaiian mullet (Mugil cephalus), the channel Fie, 95.—Alaska Grayling, Thymallus signifer Richardson. Nulato, Alaska. Fig. 97—Atka-fish, Pleurogrammus monopterygius (Pallas). Atka Island. catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), the turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), the barracuda (Sphyrena), and the young of various sardines and herring, known as whitebait. Of large fishes, probably the —— 138 Fishes as Food for Man swordfish (Xiphias gladius), the halibut (Hippoglossus hippo- glossus), and the king-salmon, or quinnat (Oncorhynchus tschawy- tscha), may be placed first. Those people who feed on raw fish Fie. 98.—Pescado blanco, Chirostoma humboldtianum (Val.). Lake Chalco, City of Mexico. prefer in general the large parrot-fishes (as Pseudoscarus jordani in Hawaii), or else the young of mullet and similar species. Abundance of Food-fishes.—In general, the economical value of any species depends not on its toothsomeness, but on its abundance and the ease with which it may be caught and pre- Fic. 99.—Red Goatfish, or Salmonete, Pseudupeneus maculatus Bloch. Family Mullide (Surmullets). served. It is said that more individuals of the herring (Clupea harengus in the Atlantic, Clupea pallast in the Pacific) exist than of any other species. The herring is a good food-fish and when- ever it runs it is freely sought. According to Bjorns6n, wherever the school of herring touches the coast of Norway, there a village springs up, and this is true in Scotland, Newfoundland, and Fishes as Food for Man 139 from Killisnoo in Alaska to Otaru in Japan, and to Strielok in Siberia. Goode estimates the herring product of the North Atlantic at 1,500,000,000 pounds annually. In 1881 Professor Huxley used these words: Fic. 100.—Great Pariah, or Guacamaia, Pseudoscarus guacamaia Bloch & Schneider. Florida. “It is said that 2,500,000,000 or thereabout of herrings are every year taken out of the North Sea and the Atlantic. Suppose we assume the number to be 2,000,000,000 so as to be quite safe. It is a large number undoubtedly, but what does eee oo 23% Anaya aioe eK an) 9%, Z 2 PSS Aa aA a Ny Fie. 101.—Striped Mullet, Mugil cephalus (L.). Wood’s Hole, Mass. it come to? Not more than that of the herrings which may be contained in one shoal, if it covers half a dozen square miles, and shoals of much larger size are on record. It is safe to say that scattered through the North Sea and the Atlantic, at one and the same time, there must be scores of shoals, any one of SS —————————— a 140 Fishes as Food for Man which would go a long way toward supplying the whole of man’s consumption of herrings.” The codfish (Gadus callarias in the Atlantic; Gadus macro- Fic. 102.—Mutton-snapper, or Pargo criollo, Lutianus analis (Cuy. & Val.). Key West. Fic. 103.—Herring, Clupea harengus lL. New York. Fic. 104.—Codfish, Gadus callarias L. Eastport, Maine. cephalus in the Pacific) likewise swarms in all the northern seas, takes the hook readily, and is better food when salted and dried than it is when fresh. Fishes as Food for Man 141 Next in economic importance probably stands the mackerel of the Atlantic (Scomber scombrus), a rich, oily fish which bears salting better than most. Fic. 105.—Mackerel, Scomber scombrus L. New York. Not less important is the great king-salmon, or quinnat (On- corhyachus tschawytscha), and the still more valuable blue-back salmon, or red-fish (Oncorhynchus nerka). Fic. 106.—-Halibut, Hippoglossus hippoglossus (Linneus). St. Paul Island, Bering Sea. (Photograph by U. 8. Fur Seal Commission.) The salmon of the Atlantic (Salmo salar), the various species of sturgeon (Acipenser), the sardines (Sardinella), the halibut (Hippoglossus), are also food-fishes of great importance. 142 Fishes as Food for Man Variety of Tropical Fishes.—In the tropics no one species is represented by enormous numbers of individuals as is the case in colder regions. On the other hand, the number of species regarded as food-fishes is much greater in any given port. In Havana, about 350 different species are sold as food in the mar- kets, and an equal number are found in Honolulu. Upward of 600 different species appear in the markets of Japan. In Eng- land, on the contrary, about 50 species make up the list of fishes commonly used as food. Yet the number of individual fishes is probably not greater about Japan or Hawaii than in a similar stretch of British coast. Economic Fisheries—Volumes have been written on the eco- nomic value of the different species of fishes, and it is not the purpose of the present work to summarize their contents. Fic. 107 —Fishing for Ayu with Cormorants in the Tanagawa, near Tokyo. (After photograph by J. O. Snyder by Sekko Shimada.) Equally voluminous is the literature on the subject of catch- ing fishes. It ranges in quality from the quaint wisdom of the ‘‘Compleat Angler’’ and the delicate wit of ‘ Little Rivers’’ to elaborate discussions of the most economic and effective forms and methods, of the beam-trawl, the purse-seine, and the cod- Fishes as Food for Man 143 fish hook. In general, fishes are caught in four ways—by baited hooks, by spears, by traps, and by nets. Special local methods, such as the use of the tamed cormorant * in the catching of the ayu, by the Japanese fishermen at Gifu, may be set aside for the moment, and all general methods of fishing come under one of these four classes. Of these methods, the hook, the spear, the seine, the beam-trawl, the gill-net, the purse-net, the sweep-net,, the trap and the weir are the most important. The use of the hook is again extremely varied. In the deep sea long, sunken lines are sometimes used for codfish, each bait- ed with many hooks. For pelagic fish, a baited hook is drawn swiftly over the surface, with a ‘“‘spoon’’ attached which looks like a living fish. In the rivers a line is attached to a pole, and when fish are caught for pleasure or for the joy of being in the woods, recreation rises to the dignity of angling. Angling may be accomplished with a hook baited with an earth- worm, a grasshopper, a living fish, or the larva of some insect. The angler of to-day, however, prefers the artificial fly, as being more workmanlike and also more effective than bait-fishing. The man who fishes, not for the good company of the woods and brooks, but to get as many fish as possible to eat or sell, is not an angler but a pot-fisher. The man who kills all the trout he can, to boast of his skill or fortune, is technically known as a trout-hog. Ethically, it is better to lie about your great catches of fine fishes than to make them. For most anglers, also, it is more easy. Fisheries—With the multiplicity of apparatus for fishing, there is the greatest variety in the boats which may be used. The fishing-fleet of any port of the world is a most interesting * The cormorant is tamed for this purpose. A harness is placed about its wings and a ring about the lower part of its neck. Two or three birds may be driven by a boy ina shallow stream, a small net behind him to drive the fish down the river. In a large river like that of Gifu, where the cor- morants are most used, the fishermen hold the birds from the boats and fish after dark by torchlight. The bird takes a great interest in the work, darts at the fishes with great eagerness, and fills its throat and gular pouch as far down as the ring. Then the boy takes him out of the water, holds him by the leg and shakes the fishes out into a basket. When the fishing is over the ayu are preserved, the ring is taken off from the bird’s neck, and the zako or minnows are thrown to him for his share. These he devours greedily. 144 Fishes as Food for Man object, as are also the fishermen with their quaint garb, plain speech, and their strange songs and calls with the hauling in of the net. For much information on the fishing apparatus in use in Fig. 108.—Fishing for Ayu in the Tanagawa, Japan. Emptying the pouch of the cormorant. (Photograph by J. O. Snyder.) America the reader is referred to the Reports of the Fisheries in the Tenth Census, in 1880, under the editorship of Dr. George Brown Goode. In these reports Goode, Stearns, Earle, Gilbert, Bean, and the present writer have treated very fully of all eco- nomic relations of the American fishes. In an admirable work entitled ‘‘American Fishes,’’ Dr. Goode, with the fine literary Fishes as Food for Man 145 touch of which he was master, has fully discoursed of the game- and food-fishes of America with especial reference to the habits and methods of capture of each. To these sources, to Jordan and Evermann’s ‘‘ Food and Game Fishes of North America,” and tomany other works of similar purport in other lands, the reader is referred for an account of the economic and the human side of fish and fisheries. Angling.—It is no part of the purpose of this work to de- scribe the methods or materials of angling, still less to sing its praises as a means of physical or moral regeneration. We may perhaps find room for a first and a last word on the subject; the one the classic from the pen of the angler of the brooks of Staf- fordshire, and the other the fresh expression of a Stanford stu- dent setting out for streams such as Walton never knew, the Purissima, the Stanislaus, or perchance his home streams, the Provo or the Bear. *« And let me tell you, this kind of fishing with a dead rod, and laying night-hooks, are like putting money to use; for they both work for the owners when they do nothing but sleep, or eat, or rejoice, as you know we have done this last hour, and sat as quietly and as free from cares under this sycamore as Virgil’s Tityrus and his Melibceus did under their broad beech- tree. No life, my honest scholar,—no life so happy and so pleasant as the life of a well-governed angler; for when the lawyer is swallowed up with business and the statesman is pre- venting or contriving plots, then we sit on the cowslip-banks, hear the birds sing, and possess ourselves in as much quietness as these silent silver streams which we now see glide so quietly by us. Indeed, my good scholar, we may say of angling, as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries, ‘Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did’; and so, if I might be judge, ‘God never made a more calm, quiet, innocent recrea- tion than angling.’ “T’ll tell you, scholar, when I sat last on this primrose-bank, and looked down these meadows, I thought of them as Charles the Emperor did of Florence, ‘That they were too pleasant to be looked on but only on holidays.’ “Gentle Izaak! He has been dead these many years, but his disciples are still faithful. When the cares of business lie — é i 146 Fishes as Food for Man heavy and the sound of wheels jarring on cobbled streets grows painful, one’s fingers itch for the rod; one would away to the quiet brook among the pines, where one has fished so often. Every man who has ever got the love of the stream in his blood feels often this longing. ‘‘Tt comes to me each year with the first breath of spring. There is something in the sweetness of the air, the growing things, the ‘robin in the greening grass’ that voices it. Duties that have before held in their performance something of pleas- ure become irksome, and practical thoughts of the day’s work are replaced by dreamy pictures of a tent by the side of a moun- tain stream—close enough to hear the water’s singing in the night. Two light bamboo rods rest against the tent-pole, and a little column of smoke rising straight up through the branches marks the supper fire. Jack is preparing the evening meal, and, as I dream, there comes to me the odor of crisply browned trout and sputtering bacon—was ever odor more delicious? I dare say that had the good Charles Lamb smelled it as I have, his ‘ Dissertation on Roast Pig’ would never have been written. But then Charles Lamb never went a-fishing as we do here in the west—we who have the mountains and the fresh air so boundlessly. ‘And neither did Izaak Walton for that matter. He who is sponsor for all that is gentle in angling missed much that is best in the sport by living too early. He did not experience the exquisite pleasure of wading down mountain streams in supposedly water-proof boots and feeling the water trickling in coolingly; nor did he know the joy of casting a gaudy fly far ahead with a four-ounce rod, letting it drift, insect-like, over that black hole by the tree stump, and then feeling the sea- weed line slip through his fingers to the whirr of the reel. And, at the end of the day, supper over, he did not squat around a big camp-fire and light his pipe, the silent darkness of the moun- tains gathering round, and a basketful of willow-packed trout hung in the clump of pines by the tent. Izaak’s idea of fishing did not ccmprehend such joy. With a can of worms and a crude hook, he passed the day by quiet streams, threading the worms on his hook and thinking kindly of all things. The day’s meditations over, he went back to the village, and, may- Fishes as Food for Man 147 hap, joined a few kindred souls over a tankard of ale at the sign of the Red Lobster. But he missed the mountains, the water rushing past his tent, the bacon and trout, the camp- Fic. 109 —Fishing for Tai, Tokyo Bay. (Photograph by J. O. Snyder.) fire—the physical exaltation of it all. His kind of fishing was angling purely, while modern Waltons, as a rule, eschew the worm. 148 Fishes as Food for Man ‘‘To my mind, there is no real sport in any kind of fishing except fly-fishing. This sitting on the bank of a muddy stream with your bait sunk, waiting for a bite, may be conducive to gentleness and patience of spirit, but it has not the joy of action in which a healthy man revels. How much more sport is it to clamber over fallen logs that stretch far out a-stream, to wade slipping over boulders and let your fly drop caressingly on ripples and swirling eddies and still holes! It is worth all the work to see the gleam of a silver side as a half-pounder rises, and, with a flop, takes the fly excitedly to the bottom. And then the nervous thrill as, with a deft turn of the wrist, you hook him securely—whoever has felt that thrill cannot forget it. It will come back to him in his law office when he should be thinking of other things; and with it will come a longing for that dear remembered stream and the old days. That is the hold trout-fishing takes on a man. “Tt is spring now and I feel the old longing myself, as I always do when life comes into the air and the smell of new growth is sweet. I got my rod out to-day, put it together, and have been looking over my flies. If I cannot use them, I can at least muse over days of the past and dream of those to come.” (WALDEMAR YOUNG.) ; CHAPTER X THE MYTHOLOGY OF FISHES which have no existence in fact and yet appear in popular literature or in superstition. The mermaid, half woman and half fish, has been one of the most tenacious among these, and the manufacture of their dried bodies from the head, shoulders, and ribs of a monkey sealed to the body of a fish has long been a profitable industry in the Orient. The sea-lion, the dugong, and other marine mammals have been mistaken for mermaids, for their faces seen at a distance and their movements at rest are not inhuman, and their limbs and movements in the water are fishlike. In China, small mermaids are very often made and sold to the curious. The head and torso of a monkey are fastened ingeniously to the body and tail of a fish. It is said that Lin- nzus was once forced to leave a town in Holland for question- ing the genuineness of one of these mermaids, the property of some high official. These monsters are still manufactured for the ‘‘ curio-trade.”’ The Monk-fishMany strange fishes were described in the Middle Ages, the interest usually centering in some supposed relation of their appearance with the affairs of men. Some of these find their way into Rondelet’s excellent book, “ Histoire Entiére des Poissons,” in 1558. Two of these with the accom- panying plate of one we here reproduce. Other myths less interesting grew out of careless, misprinted, or confused ac- counts on the part of naturalists and travelers. “Tn our times in Norway a sea-monster has been taken after a great storm, to which all that saw it at once gave the name of 149 150 The Mythology of Fishes monk; for it had a man’s face, rude and ungracious, the head shorn and smooth. On the shoulders, like the cloak of a monk, were two long fins instead of arms, and the end of the body was finished by a long tail. The picture I present was given me by the very illustrious lady, Margaret de Valois, Queen of Navarre, Fie. 110.—“ Le monstre marin en habit de Moine.” (After Rondelet.) who received it from a gentleman who gave a similar one to the emperor, Charles V., then in Spain. This gentleman said that he had seen the monster as the portrait shows it in Nor- way, thrown by the waves and tempests on the beach at a place called Dieze, near the town called Denelopoch. I have seen a similar picture at Rome not differing in mien. Among the sea- beasts, Pliny mentions a sea-mare and a Triton as among the creatures not imaginary. Pausanias also mentions a Triton.” Rondelet further says: The Mythology of Fishes 151 The Bishop-fish— ‘I have seen a portrait of another sea- monster at Rome, whither it had been sent with letters that affirmed for certain that in 1531 one had seen this monster in a bishop’s garb, as here portrayed, in Poland. Carried to the king of that country, it made certain signs that it had a great desire to return to the sea. Being taken thither it threw itself instantly into the water.” The Sea-serpent.—A myth of especial persistency is that of the sea-serpent. Most of the stories of this creature are sea- man’s yarns, sometimes based on a fragment of wreck, a long strip of kelp, the power of sug- gestion or the incitement of alcohol. But certain of these tales relate to real fishes. The sea-serpent with an uprearing red mane like that of a horse is the oarfish (Regalecus), a long, slender, fragile fish com- pressed like a ribbon and reaching a length of 25 feet. We here present a photograph of an oarfish (Regalecus rus- Fic. 111,—“ Le monstre marin en habit 2 Oe d’ Evéque.” (After Rondelet.) selli) stranded on the Cali- fornia coast at Newport in Orange County, California. A figure of a European species (Regalecus glesne) is also given showing the fish in its uninjured condition. Another reputed sea-serpent is the frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus angineus), which has been occasionally noticed by seamen. The struggles of the great killer (Orca orca) with the whales it attacks and destroys has also given rise to stories of the whale struggling in the embrace of some huge sea-monster. This description is correct, but the mammal is a monster itself, a relative of the whale and not a reptile. COTE: ecceen PRT 3 Suoqsmayy “gq “OQ Aq ydvasojoyq) "BD “OD esuBig ‘qaodMoN ye Yyoueq oy} UO ‘yjassnt snoapbay ‘YsyavO—eIL “YLT The Mythology of Fishes 153 It is often hard to account for some of the stories of the sea- serpent. A gentleman of unquestioned intelligence and sincer- ity lately dercribed to the writer a sea-serpent he had seen at short range, too feet long, swimming at the surface, and with a head as large as a barrel. I do not know what he saw, but I do know that memory sometimes plays strange freaks. Little venomous snakes with flattened tails (Platyurus, Pelamis) are found in the salt bays in many tropical regions of the Pacifi¢ (Gulf of California, Panama, East Indies, Japan), but these are not the conventional sea-serpents. Certain slender fishes, as the thread-eel (Nemichthys) and the wolf-eel (Anarrhichthys), have been brought to naturalists as young sea-serpents, but these of course are genuine fishes. Whatever the nature of the sea-serpent may be, this much is certain, that while many may be seen, none will ever be caught. The great swimming reptiles of the sea vanished at the end of Mesozoic time, and as living creatures will never be known of man. As a record of the Mythology of Science, we may add the following remarks of Rafinesque on the imaginary garpike (Litholepis adamantinus), of which a specimen was painted for him by the wonderful brush of Audubon: “This fish may be reckoned the wonder of the Ohio. It is only found as far up as the falls, and probably lives also in the Mississippi. I have seen it, but only at a distance, and have been shown, some of its singular scales. Wonderful stories are related concerning this fish, but I have principally relied upon the description and picture given me by Mr. Audubon. Its length is from 4 to 10 feet. One was caught which weighed 400 pounds. It lies sometimes asleep or motionless on the surface of the water, and may be mistaken for a log or snag. It is impossible to take it in any other way than with the seine or a very strong hook; the prongs of the gig cannot pierce the scales, which are as hard as flint, and even proof against lead balls! Its flesh is not good to eat. It is a voracious fish. Its vulgar names are diamond-fish (owing to its scales being cut like diamonds), devil-fish, jackfish, garjack, etc. The snout is large, convex above, very obtuse, the eyes small and black; nostrils small, round before the eyes; mouth beneath the eyes, 154 The Mythology of Fishes transversal with large angular teeth. Pectoral and abdominai fins trapezoidal. Dorsal and anal fins equal, longitudinal, with many rays. Th» whole body covered with large stone scales, lying in oblique rows; they are conical, pentagonal pentedral, with equal sides, from half an inch to one inch in diameter, brown at first but becoming the color of turtle-shell when dry. They strike fire with steel and are ball-proof!”’ > ij (CAvq 109; V) “‘purlsun ‘ayysvomoN ‘sniueosy ausayb snoapbay “Ysyreg Sseusepyj—sTT “SLT Te Ualasoarabdparyy yay gSt *punog yosng “qaoq{iy) ay uRpsor 7729000 shyjyouman ‘[ee-pwayT— PIL “OWT iy PES = CHAPTER XI CLASSIFICATION OF FISHES well ice * is a natural emaaae a “the mind which Ww}) always strives to make orderly disposition of its knowledge and so to discover the reciprocal relations and interdependencies of the things it knows. Classification pre- supposes that there do exist such relations, according to which we may arrange objects in the manner which facilitates their comprehension, by bringing together what is like and separating what is unlike, and that such relations are the result of fixed inevitable law. It is therefore taxonomy (raézs, away; vopos, law) or the rational, lawful disposition of observed facts.” A perfect taxonomy is one which would perfectly express all the facts in the evolution and development of the various forms. It would recognize all the evidence from the three ances- tral documents, paleontology, morphology, and ontogeny. It would consider structure and form independently of adaptive or physiological or environmental modifications. It would regard as most important those characters which had existed longest unchanged in the history of the species or type. It would regard as of first rank those characters which appear first in the history of the embryo. It would regard as of minor importance those which had arisen recently in response to natural selection or the forced alteration through pressure of environment, while fundamental alterations as they appear one after another in geologic time would make the basal characters of corresponding groups in taxonomy. In a perfect taxonomy or natural system of classification animals would not be divided into groups nor ranged in linear series. We should imagine * Key to North American Birds. ° 157 158 The Collection of Fishes The collect6r can, if he thinks best, use all kinds of fishing tackle for himself. In Japan he can use the “dabonawa’”’ long lines, and secure the fishes which were otherwise dredged by the Challenger and Albatross. If dredges or trawls are at his hand he can hire them and use them for scientific purposes. He should neglect no kind of bottom, no conditions of fish life which he can reach. Especially important is the fauna of the tide-pools, neg- lected by almost all collectors. As the tide goes down, espe- cially on rocky capes which project into the sea, myriads of little fishes will remain in the rock-pools, the alge, and the clefts of rock. In regions like California, where the rocks are buried with kelp, blennies will lie in the kelp as quiescent as the branches of the alge themselves until the flow of water returns. A sharp three-tined fork will help in spearing them. The water in pools can be poisoned on the coast of Mexico with the milky juice of the ‘‘hava’’ tree, a tree which yields strychnine.” In default of this, pools can be poisoned by chloride of lime, sulphate of copper, or, if small enough, by formalin. Of all poisons the commercial chloride of lime seems to be most effective. By such means the contents of the pool can be secured and the next tide carries away the poison. The water in pools can be bailed out, or, better, emptied by a siphon made of small garden-hose or rubber tubing. On rocky shores, dynamite can be used to advantage if the col- lector or his assistant dare risk it and if the laws of the country do no prevent. Most effective in rock- pol work is the help of the small boy. In all lands the collector will do well to take him into his pay and confidence. Of the hundred or more new species of rock-pool fishes lately secured by the writer in Japan, fully two-thirds were obtained by the Japanese boys. Equally effective is the ‘‘muchacho”’ on the coasts of Mexico. Masses of coral, sponges, tunicates, and other porous or hollow organisms often contain small fishes and should be care- fully examined. On the coral reefs the breaking up of large masses is often most remunerative. The importance of securing the young of pelagic fishes by tow-nets and otherwise cannot be too strongly emphasized. ij =_— The Collection of Fishes 159 How to Preserve Fishes.—Fishes must be permanently pre- served in alcohol. Dried skins are far from satisfactory, except as a choice of difficulties in the case of large species. Dr. Gunther thus describes the process of skinning fishes: “Scaly fishes are skinned thus: With a strong pair of scissors an incision is made along the median line of the abdomen from the foremost part of the throat, passing on one side of the base of the ventral and anal fins to the root of the caudal fin, the cut being continued upward to the back of the tail close to the base of the caudal. The skin of one side of the fish is then severed with the scalpel from the underlying muscles to the median line of the back; the bones which support the dorsal and caudal are cut through, so that these fins remain attached to the skin. The removal of the skin of the opposite side is easy. More difficult is the preparation of the head and scapu- lary region. The two halves of the scapular arch which have been severed from each other by the first incision are pressed toward the right and left, and the spine is severed behind the head, so that now only the head and shoulder bones remain attached to the skin. These parts have to be cleaned from the inside, all soft parts, the branchial and hyoid apparatus, and all smaller bones being cut away with the scissors or scraped off with the scalpel. In many fishes which are provided with a characteristic dental apparatus in the pharynx (Labroids, Cyprinoids), the pharyngeal bones ought to be preserved and tied with a thread to their specimen. The skin being now prepared so far, its entire inner surface as well as the inner side of the head are rubbed with arsenical soap; cotton-wool or some other soft material is inserted into any cavities or hol- lows, and finally a thin layer of the same material is placed between the two flaps of the skin. The specimen is then dried under a slight weight to keep it from shrinking. “The scales of some fishes, as for instance of many kinds of herrings, are so delicate and deciduous that the mere handling causes them to rub off easily. Such fishes may be covered with thin-paper (tissue paper is the best) which is allowed to dry on them before skinning. There is no need for removing the paper before the specimen has reached its destination. “Scaleless fishes, as siluroids and sturgeons, are skinned in 160 The Collection of Fishes the same manner, but the skin can be rolled up over the head; such skins can also be preserved in spirits, in which case the traveler may save to himself the trouble of cleaning the head. “Some sharks are known to attain to a length of thirty feet, and some rays to a width of twenty feet. The preservation of such gigantic specimens is much to be recommended, and although the difficulties of preserving fishes increase with their size, the operation is facilitated, because the skins of all sharks and rays can easily be preserved in salt and strong brine. Sharks are skinned much in the same way as ordinary fishes. In rays an incision is made not only from the snout to the end of the fleshy part of the tail, but also a second across the widest part of the body. When the skin is removed from the fish, it is placed into a cask with strong brine mixed with alum, the head occupying the upper part of the cask; this is necessary, because this part is most likely to show signs of decomposition, and therefore most requires supervision. When the preserving fluid has become decidedly weaker from the extracted blood and water, it is thrown away and replaced by fresh brine. After a week’s or fortnight’s soaking the skin is taken out of the cask to allow the fluid to drain off; its inner side is covered with a thin layer of salt, and after being rolled up (the head being inside) it is packed in a cask the bottom of which is covered with salt; all the interstices and the top are likewise filled with salt. The cask must be perfectly water-tight.” Value of Formalin.—In the field it is much better to use formalin (formaldehyde) in preference to alcohol. This is an antiseptic fluid dissolved in water, and it at once arrests decay, leaving the specimen as though preserved in water. If left too long in formalin fishes swell, the bones are softened, and the specimens become brittle or even worthless. But for ordi- nary purposes (except use as skeleton) no harm arises from two or three months’ saturation in formalin. The commercial formalin can be mixed with about twenty parts of water. On the whole it is better to have the solution too weak rather than too strong. Too much formalin makes the specimens stiff, swollen, and intractable, besides too soon destroying the color. Formalin has the advantage, in collecting, of cheapness and of ease in transportation, as a single small bottle will make ij | The Collection of Fishes 161 a large amount of the fluid. The specimens also require much less attention. An incision should be made in the (right) side of the abdomen to let in the fluid. The specimen can then be placed in formalin. When saturated, in the course of the day, it can be wrapped in a cloth, packed in an empty petroleum can, and at once shipped. The wide use of petroleum in all parts of the world is a great boon to the naturalist. Before preservation, the fishes should be washed, to remove slime and dirt. They should have an incision to let the fluid into the body cavity and an injection with a syringe is a useful help to saturation, especially with large fishes. Even decay- ing fishes can be saved with formalin. Records of Fishes—The collector should mark localities most carefully with tin tags and note-book records if possible. He should, so far as possible, keep records of life colors, and water-color sketches are of great assistance in this matter. In spirits or formalin the life colors soon fade, although the pat- tern of marking is usually preserved or at least indicated. A mixture of formalin and alcohol is favorable to the preserva- tion of markings. In the museum all specimens should be removed at once from formalin to alcohol. No substitute for alcohol as a per- manent preservative has been found. The spirits derived from wine, grain, or sugar is much preferable to the poisonous methyl or wood alcohol. In placing specimens directly into alcohol, care should be taken not to. crowd them too much. The fish yields water which dilutes the spirit. For the same reason, spirits too dilute are ineffective. On the other hand, delicate fishes put into very strong alcohol are likely to shrivel, a condition which may prevent an accurate study of their fins or other structures. It is usually necessary to change a fish from the first alcohol used as a bath into stronger alcohol in the course of a few days, the time depending on the closeness with which fishes are packed. In the tropics, fishes in alcohol often require attention within a few hours. In formalin there is much less difficulty with tropical fishes. Fishes intended for skeletons should never be placed in formalin. A softening of the bones which prevents future 162 The Collection of Fishes exact studies of the bones is sure to take place. Generally alcohol or other spirits (arrack, brandy, cognac, rum, sake “vino”’) can be tested with a match. If sufficiently concen- trated to be ignited, they can be safely used for preservation of fishes. The best test is that of the hydrometer. Spirits for permanent use should show on the hydrometer 40 to 60 above proof. Decaying specimens show it by color and smell and the collector should be alive to their condition. One rot- ting fish may endanger many others. With alcohol it is neces- sary to take especial pains to ensure immediate saturation. Deep cuts should be made into the muscles of large fishes as well as into the body cavity. Sometimes a small distilling apparatus is useful to redistil impure or dilute alcohol. The use of formalin avoids this necessity. Small fishes should not be packed with large ones; small bottles are very desirable for their preservation. All spinous or scaly fishes should be so wrapped in cotton muslin as to prevent all friction. Eternal Vigilance——The methods of treating individual groups of fishes and of handling them under different climatic and other conditions are matters to be learned by experience. Eternal vigilance is the price of a good collection, as it is said to be of some other good things. Mechanical collecting—pick- ing up the thing got without effort and putting it in alcohol without further thought—rarely serves any useful end in science. The best collectors are usually the best naturalists. The col- lections made by the men who are to study them and who are competent to do so are the ones which most help the progress of ichthyology. The student of a group of fishes misses half the collection teaches if he has made no part of it himself. ii CHAPTER XII THE LEPTOCARDII, OR LANCELETS E Lancelet.—The lancelet is a vertebrate reduced to its very lowest terms. The essential organs of ver- tebrate life are there, but each one in its simplest form unspecialized and with structure and function feebly differen- tiated. The skeleton consists of a cartilaginous notochord in- closed in a membranous sheath. There is no skull. No limbs, no conspicuous processes, and no vertebree are present. The heart is simply a long contractile tube, hence the name Leptocardii (from Aeztos, slender; xapdia, heart). The blood is colorless. There is a hepatic portal circulation. There is no brain, the spinal cord tapering in front as behind. The water for respira- tion passes through very many gill-slits from the pharynx into the atrium, from which it is excluded through the atripore in front of the vent. A large chamber, calléd the atrium, extends almost the length of the body along the ventral and lateral regions. It communicates with the pharynx through the gill- slits and with the exterior through a small opening in front of the vent, the atripore. The atrium is not found in forms above the lancelets. The reproductive organs consist of a series of pairs of seg- mentally arranged gonads. The excretory organs consist of a series of tubules in the region of the pharynx, connecting the body-cavity with the atrium. The mouth is a lengthwise slit without jaws, and on either side is a row of fringes. From this feature comes the name Czrrostomi, from cirrus, a fringe of hair, and croua, mouth. The body is lanceolate in form, sharp at either end. From this fact arises a third name, Amphioxus, from audi, both; ogvs, sharp. Dorsal and anal fins are de- veloped as folds of the skin supported by very slender rays. 163 164 The Leptocardii, or Lancelets There are no other fins. The alimentary canal is straight, and is differentiated into pharynx and intestine; the liver is a blind sac arising from the anterior end of the intestine. A pigment spot in the wall of the spinal cord has been interpreted as an eye. Above the snout is a supposed olfactory pit which some have thought to be connected with the pineal structure. The muscular impressions along the sides are very distinct and it is chiefly by means of the variation in numbers of these that the species can be distinguished. Thus in the common lance- let of Europe, Branchiostoma lanceolatum, the muscular bands are 35+14+12=61. In the common species of the Eastern coasts of America, Branchiostoma caribeum, these are 35 +14 9=58, while in the California lancelet, Branchiostoma cali- forniense, these are 44+16+9=69. Habits of Lancelets.—Lancelets are slender translucent worm- like creatures, varying from half an inch (Asymmetron lucaya- num) to four inches (Branchiostoma californiense) in length. They live buried in sand in shallow waters along the coasts of warm seas. One species, Amphioxides pelagicus, has been taken at the depth of tooo fathoms, but whether at the bottom or floating near the surface is not known. The species are very tenacious of life and will endure considerable mutilation. Some of them are found on almost every coast in semi-tropical and tropical regions. . Species of Lancelets.—The Mediterranean species ranges north- ward to the south of England. Others are found as far north as Chesapeake Bay, San Diego, and Misaki in Japan, where is found a species called Branchiostoma belchert. The sands at the mouth of San Diego Bay are noted as producing the largest of the species of lancelets, Branchiostoma californiense. From the Bahamas comes the smallest, the type of a distinct genus, Asymmetron lucayanum, distinguished among other things by a projecting tail. Other supposed genera are Amphioxides (pelagicus), dredged in the deep sea off Hawaii and supposed to be pelagic, the mouth without cirri; Epigonichthys (cultellus), from the East Indies, and Heteropleuron (bassanum), from Bass Straits, Australia. These little animals are of great interest to anatomists as giving the clue to the primitive structure of vertebrates. While possibly these have diverged widely from The Leptocardii, or Lancelets 165 their actual common ancestry with the fishes, they must ap- proach near to these in many ways. Their simplicity is largely primitive, not, as in the Tunicates, the result of subsequent degradation. The lancelets, less than a dozen species in all, constitute a single family, Branchiostomide. The principal genus, Branchi- ostoma, is usually called Amphioxus by anatomists. But while Fig. 115.—California Lancelet, Branchiostoma californiense Gill. (From San Diego.) the name Ampluioxus, like lancelet, is convenient in vernacular use, it has no standing in systematic nomenclature. The name Branchiostoma was given to lancelets from Naples in 1834, by Costa, while that of Amphioxus, given to specimens from Corn- wall, dates from Yarrell’s work on the British fishes in 1836. The name Amphioxus may be pleasanter or shorter or more familiar or more correctly descriptive than Branchiostoma, but if so the fact cannot be considered in science as affecting the duty of priority. The name Acraniata (without skull) is often used for the lower Chordates taken collectively, and it is sometimes applied to the lancelets alone. It refers to those chordate forms which have no skull nor brain, as distinguished from the Cramzota, or forms with a distinct brain having a bony or cartilaginous capsule for its protection. Origin of Lancelets.—It is doubtless true, as Dr. Willey sug- gests, that the Vertebrates became separated from their worm- like ancestry through ‘“‘the concentration of the central nervous system along the dorsal side of the body and its conversion 166 The Leptocardii, or Lancelets into a hollow tube.” Besides this trait two others are common to all of them, the presence of the gill-slits and that of the noto- chord. The gill-slits may have served primarily to relieve the stomach of water, as in the lowest forms they enter directly into the body-cavity. The primitive function of the notochord is still far from clear, but its ultimate use of its structures in affording protection and in furnishing a fulcrum for the muscles and limbs is of the greatest importance in the processes of life. eS CON Yin VA Fic. 116.—Gill-basket of Lamprey. CHAPTER XIII THE CYCLOSTOMES, OR LAMPREYS A) HE Lampreys.—Passing upward from the lancelets and setting aside the descending series of Tunicates, we Ew} have a long step indeed to the next class of fish-like vertebrates. During the period this great gap represents. in time we have the development of brain, skull, heart, and other differentiated organs replacing the simple structures found in the lancelet. The presence of brain without limbs and without coat-of- mail distinguishes the class of Cyclostomes, or lampreys (xuKAos, round; oroya, mouth). This group is also known as Marsipo- branchi (uapoiniov, pouch; fpayyos, gill); Dermopteri (dépua, skin; zrepor, fin); and Myzontes (uvfaw@, to suck). It includes the forms known as lampreys, slime-eels, and hagfishes. Structure of the Lamprey.—Comparing a Cyclostome with a lancelet we may see many evidences of specialization in struc- ture. The Cyclostome has a distinct head with a cranium formed of a continuous body of cartilage modified to contain a fish-like brain, a cartilaginous skeleton of which the cranium is evidently a differentiated part. The vertebrae are undeveloped, the notochord being surrounded by its membranes, without bony or cartilaginous segments. The gills have the form of fixed sacs, six to fourteen in number, on each side, arranged in a cartilaginous structure known as “branchial basket” (fig. 116), the elements cf which are not clearly homologous with the gill-arches of the true fishes. Fish-like eyes are developed on the sides of the head. There is a median nostril associated with a pituitary pouch, which pierces the skull floor. An ear-capsule is developed. The brain ‘s composed of paired ganglia in general appearance resembling the brain of the true fish, but 167, 168 The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys the detailed homology of its different parts offers considerable uncertainty. The heart is modified to form two pulsating cavities, auricle and ventricle. The folds of the dorsal and anal fins are distinct, supported by slender rays. The mouth is a roundish disk, wth rasping teeth over its surface and with sharper and stronger teeth on the tongue. The intestine is straight and simple. The kidney is represented by a highly primitive pronephros and no trace exists of an air-bladder or lung. The skin is smooth and naked, some- times secreting an excessive quantity of slime. From the true fishes the Cyclostomes differ in the total absence cf limbs and of shoulder and pelvic girdles, as well as of jaws. It has been thought by some writers that the limbs were ancestrally present and lost through degeneration, as in the eels. Dr. Ayers, following Huxley, finds evidence of the ancestral existence of a lower jaw. The majority of observers, however, regard the absence of limbs and jaws in Cyclo- stomes as a primitive character, although numerous other features of the modern hagfish and lamprey may have resulted from degeneration. There is no clear evidence thatthe class of Cyclostomes, as now known to us, has any great antiquity, and its members may be all degenerate offshoots from types of greater complexity of structure. Supposed Extinct Cyclostomes.— No fossil Cyclostomes are known. The strange forms called Conodontes, thought for a time to be teeth of lampreys, are probably teeth of worms, or perhaps appendages of Trilobites. The singular fossil, Paleo- spondylus, once supposed to be a lamprey, it is certain belongs to some higher order. Orders of Cyclostomes.—The known Cyclostomes are natu- rally divided into two orders, the Hyperotreta, or hagfishes, and the Hyperoartia, or lampreys. These two orders are very dis- tinct from each other. While the two groups agree in the general form of the body, they differ in almost every detail, and there is much pertinence in Lankester’s suggestions that each should stand as a separate class. The ancestral forms of each, as well as the intervening types if such ever existed, are left unrecorded in the rocks. The Hyperotreta, or Hagfishes.—The Hyperotreta (umfpoa, pal- The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys 169 ate; rperos, perforate), or hagfishes, have the nostril highly developed, a tube-like cylinder with cartilaginous rings pene- trating the palate. In these the eyes are little developed and the species are parasitic on other fishes. In Polistotrema stouti, the hagfish of the coast of California, is parasitic on large fishes, rockfishes, or flounders. It usually fastens itself at the throat or isthmus of its host and sometimes at the eyes. Thence it works very rapidly to the inside of the body. It there devours all the muscular part of the fish without breaking the skin or the peritoneum, leaving the fish a living hulk of head, skin, and bones. It is especially destructive to fishes taken in gill-nets. The voracity of the Chilean species Polistotrema dombeyi is equally remarkable. Dr. Federico T. Delfin finds that in seven hours a hagfish of this species will devour eighteen times its own weight of fish-flesh. The intestinal canal is a simple tube, through which most of the food passes undigested. The eggs are large, each in a yellowish horny case, at one end of which are barbed threads by which they cling together and to kelp or other objects. In the California hagfish, Polistotrema stouti, great numbers of these eggs have been found in the stomachs of the males. Similar Habits are possessed by all the species in the two families, Myxinide and Eptatretide. In the Myxinide the Fie. 117.—California Hagfish, Polistotrema stouti Lockington. gill-openings are apparently single on each side, the six gills being internal and leading by six separate ducts to each of the six branchial sacs. The skin is excessively slimy, the ex- tensible tongue is armed with two cone-like series of strong ’ teeth. About the mouth are eight barbels. 170 The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys Of Myxine, numerous species are known—Myxine glutinosa, in the north of Europe; Myxine limosa, of the West Atlantic; Myxine australis, and several others about Cape Horn, and Myxine garmani in Japan. All live in deep waters and none have been fully studied. It has been claimed that the hagfish is male when young, many individuals gradually changing to female, but this conclusion lacks verification and is doubtless without foundation. In the Eptatretide the gill-openings, six to fourteen in number, are externally separate, each with its own branchial sac as in the lampreys. The species of the genus Eptatretus (Bdellostoma, Heptatrema, and Homea, all later names for the same group) are found only in the Pacific, in California, Chile, Patagonia, South Africa, and Japan. In general appearance and habits these agree with the species of Myxine. The species with ten to fourteen gill-openings (dombey1: stouti) are sometimes set off as a distinct genus (Polis- totrema), but in other regards the species differ little, and fre- quent individual variations occur. Eptatretus burgeri is found in Japan and Eptatretus forsteri in Australia. The Hyperoartia, or Lampreys.—In the order Hyperoartia, or lampreys, the single nostril is a blind sac which does not pene- trate the palate. The seven gill-openings lead each to a sepa- tate sac, the skin is not especially covered with mucus, the eyes are well developed in the adult, and the mouth is a round disk armed with rasp-like teeth, the comb-like teeth on the tongue being less developed than in the hagfishes. The intestine in the lampreys has a spiral valve. The eggs are small and are usually laid in brooks away from the sea, and in most cases the adult lamprey dies after spawning. According to Thoreau, “it is thought by fishermen that they never return, but waste away and die, clinging to rocks and stumps of trees for an in- definite period, a tragic feature in the scenery of the river-bottoms worthy to be remembered with Shakespeare’s description of the sea-floor.” This account is not far from the truth, as re- cent studies have shown. The lampreys of the northern regions constitute the family of Petromyzonide. The larger species (Petromyzon, Entosphenus) live in the sea, ascending rivers to spawn, and often becoming i| The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys 171 land-locked and reduced in size by living in rivers only. Such land-locked marine lampreys (Petromyzon marinus unico'or) breed in Cayuga Lake and other lakes in New York. The marine forms reach a length of three feet. Smalle- lampreys of other genera six inches to eighteen inches in length remain all their lives in the rivers, ascending the little brooks in the spring, clinging to stones and clods of earth till their eggs are deposited. These are found throughout northern Europe, northern Asia, and the colder parts of North America, belonging to the genera Lampeira and Ichthyomyzon. Other and more aberrant genera from Chile and Australia are Geotria and Mordacia, the latter forming a distinct family, Mordaciide. In Geotria, a large and peculiar gular pouch is developed at the throat. In Macroph- thalmia chilensis from Chile the eyes are large and conspicuous. Food of Lampreys.—The lampreys feed on the blood and flesh of fishes. They attach themselves to the sides of the various species, rasp off the flesh with their teeth, sucking the blood till the fish weakens and dies. Preparations made by students of Professor Jacob Reighard in the University of Michigan show clearly that the lamprey stomach contains muscular tissue as well as the blood of fishes. The river species do a great deal of mis- an Bg Fig. 118.—Lamprey, Petromyzon marinus L. Wood’s Hole, Mass. chief, a fact which has been the subject of a valuable investiga- tion by Professor H. A. Surface, who has also considered the methods available for their destruction. The flesh of the lam- prey is wholesome, and the larger species, especially the great sea lamprey of the Atlantic, Petromyzon marinus, are valued as food. The small species, according to Prof. Gage, never feed on fishes. Metamorphosis of Lampreys.—All lampreys, so far as known, pass through a distinct metamorphosis. The young, known as the Ammocetes form, are slender, eyeless, and with the mouth 172 The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys narrow and toothless. From Professor Surface’s paper on ‘“‘ The Removal of Lampreys from the Interior Waters of New York” we have the following extracts (slightly condensed) : “In the latter part of the fall the young lampreys, Petro- myzon marinus unicolor, the variety land-locked in the lakes of Central New York, metamorphose and assume the form of the adult. They are now about six or eight inches long. The externally segmented condition of the body disappears. The SAENY, fis ee in Ava islets Fia. 119. Fic. 120. ~ Fig, 121. Fic. 119.—Petromyzon marinus unicolor (De Kay). Mouth of Lake Lamprey, Cayuga Lake. (After Gage.) Fic. 120.—Lampetra wilderi Jordan & Evermann, Larval brook lamprey in its burrow in a glass filled with sand. (After Gage.) Fic. 121.—Lampetra wilderi Jordan & Evermann. Mouth of Brook Lamprey. Cayuga Lake. (After Gage.) eyes appear to grow out through the skin and become plainly visible and functional. The mouth is no longer filled with verti- cal membranous sheets to act as a sieve, but it contains nearly one hundred and fifty sharp and chitinous teeth, arranged in rows that are more or less concentric and at the same time presenting the appearance of circular radiation. These teeth are very strong, with sharp points, and in structure each has the appearance of a hollow cone of chitin placed over another cone or papilla. A little below the center of the mouth is the oral opening, which is circular and contains a flattened tongue which bears finer teeth of chitin set closely together and arranged in two interrupted (appearing as four) curved rows extending The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys 13 up and down from the ventral toward the dorsal side of the mouth. Around the mouth is a circle of soft membrane final’y surrounded by a margin of fimbriz or small fringe. This com- pletes the apparatus with which the lamprey attaches itself to its victims, takes its food, carries stones, builds and tears down its nest, seizes its mate, holds itself in position in a strong current, and climbs over falls. Mischief Done by Lampreys.—‘‘ The most common economic feature in the entire life history of these animals is their feeding habits in this (spawning) stage, their food now consisting wholly of the blood (and fle=h) of fishes. A lamprey is able to strike its suctorial mouth against a fish, and in an instant becomes so firmly attached that it is very rarely indeed that the efforts of the fish will avail to rid itself of its persecutor. When a lam- prey attaches itself to a person’s hand in the aquarium, it can only be freed by lifting it from the water. Asa rule it will drop the instant it is exposed to the open air, although often it will remain attached for some time even in the open air, or may attach itself to an object while out, of water. “Nearly all lampreys that are attached to fish when they are caught in nets will escape through the meshes of the nets, but some are occasionally brought ashore and may hang on to their victim with bulldog pertinacity. “The fishes that are mostly attacked are of the soft-rayed species, having cycloid scales, the spiny-rayed species with ctenoid scales being most nearly immune from their attacks. We think there may be three reasons for this: rst, the fishes of the latter group are generally more alert and more active than those of the former, and may be able more readily to dart away from such enemies; 2d, their scales are thicker and stronger and appear to be more firmly imbedded in the skin, consequently it is more difficult for the lampreys to hold on and cut through the heavier coat-of-mail to obtain the blood of the victim; 3d, since the fishes of the second group are wholly carnivorous and in fact almost exclusively fish-eating when adult, in every body of water they are more rare than those of the first group, which are more nearly omnivorous. According to the laws and requirements of nature the fishes of the first group must be more abundant, as they become the food for those of the 174 The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys second, and it is on account of their greater abundance that the lampreys’ attacks on them are more observed. ‘‘ There is no doubt that the bullhead, or horned pout (Ametu- rus nebulosus), is by far the greatest sufferer from lamprey attacks in Cayuga Lake. This may be due in part to the slug- gish habits of the fish, which render it an easy victim, but it is more likely due to the fact that this fish has no scales and the lamprey has nothing to do but to pierce the thick skin and find its feast of blood ready for it. There is no doubt of the excellency of the bullhead as a food-fish and of its increasing favor with mankind. It is at present the most important food- and market-fish of the State (New York), being caught by bushels in the early part of June when preparing to spawn. As we have observed at times more than ninety per cent. of the catch attacked by lampreys, it can readily be seen how very serious are the attacks of this terrible parasite which is surely devastating our lakes and streams. Migration or “ Running” of Lampreys.—‘‘ After thus feeding to an unusual extent, their reproductive elements (gonads) be- come mature and their alimentary canals commence to atrophy. This duct finally becomes so occluded that from formerly being large enough to admit a lead-pencil of average size when forced through it, later not even liquids can pass through, and it becomes nearly a thread closely surrounded by the crowding reproductive organs. When these changes commence to ensue, the lampreys turn their heads against the current and set out on their long journeys to the sites that are favorable for spawn- ing, which here may be from two to eight miles from the lake. In this migration they are true to their instincts and habits of laziness in being carried about, as they make use of any avail- able object, such as a fi_h, boat, etc., that is going in their direc- tion, fastening to it with their suctorial mouths and being borne along at their ease. During this season it is not infre- quent that as the Cornell crews come in from practice and lift their shells from the water, they find lampreys clinging to the bottoms of the boats, sometimes as many as fifty at one time. © They are likely to crowd up all streams flowing into the lake, inspecting the bed of the stream as they go. They do not stop until they reach favorable spawning sites, and if they SLI MOBO ‘ANT eyourey]y[IA, (oovjang “vy “iq, Aq ydevasojoyd v WIOI} Peytpow) yoorq 8 Surpusose H ‘Jorg Aq poysyqng "WMIg “Ww ‘snypjuapiy snuaydsoyusy ‘soudure'y wosaIG~ GOT “OL gLlt Coorjang “vy “EH ‘Jorg Aq ydeaFoj0yd woay poytpoy) “(Any acy sopoovun snurwmu wozhmoia) sXeaduey Lq poXoagsop ‘anong oT snsoynqau snimouy ‘soysyywy— Esl “OM The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys 177 find unsurmountable obstac‘es in their way, such as vertical falls or dams, they turn around and go down-stream until they find another, up which they go. This is proved every spring by the number of adu!t lampreys which are seen temporarily in Fall Creek and Cascadilla Creek. In each of these streams, about a mile from its mouth, there is a vertical fall over thirty feet in height which the lampreys cannot surmount, and in fact they have never been seen attempting to do so. After clinging with their mouths to the stones at the foot of the falls for a few days, they work their way down-stream, care- Fie 124—Kamchatka Lamprey, Lampetra camtschatica (Tilesius). Kamchatka. fully inspecting all the bottom for suitable spawning sites. They do not spawn in these streams because there are too many rocks and no sand, but finally enter the only stream (the Cayuga Lake inlet) in which they find suitable and accessible spawn- ing sites. “The three-toothed lampreys (Entosphenus tridentatus) of the West Coast climb low falls or rapids by a series of leaps, holding with their mouths to rest, then jumping and striking again and holding, thus leap by leap gaining the entire distance. “The lampreys here have never been known to show any tendency or ability to climb, probably because there are no rapids or mere low falls in the streams up which they would tun. In fact, as the inlet is the only stream entering Cayuga Lake in this region which presents suitable spawning condi- tions and no obstructions, it can be seen at once that all the lampreys must spawn in this stream and its tributaries. “In ‘running’ they move almost entirely at night, and if they do not reach a suitable spawning site by daylight, they will cling to roots or stones during the day and complete their journey the next night. This has been proven by the positive 178 The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys observation of individuals. Of the specimens that run up early in the season, about four-fifths are males. Thus the males do not exactly precede the females, because we have found the latter sex represented in the stream as early in the season as the former, but in the earlier part of the season the number of the males certainly greatly predominates. This pro- portion of males gradually decreases, until in the middle of the spawning season the sexes are about equally represented, and toward the latter part of the season the females continue to come until they in turn show the greater numbers. Thus it appears very evident in general that the reproductive in- stinct impels the most of the males to seek the spawning ground before the most of the females do. However, it should be said that neither the males nor the females show all of the entirely sexually mature features when they first run up-stream in the beginning of the season, but later they are perfectly mature and ‘ripe’ in every regard when they first appear in the stream. When they migrate, they stop at the site that seems to suit their fancy, many stopping near the lake, others pushing on four or five miles farther up-stream. We have noted, however, that later in the season the lower courses become more crowded, showing that the late comers do not attempt to push up-stream as far as those that came earlier. Also it thus follows, from what was just said about late-running females, that in the latter part of the season the lower spawning beds are especially crowded with females. In fact, during the early part of the month of June we have found, not more than half a mile above the lowest spawning bed, as many as five females on a spawning nest with but one male; and in that immediate vicinity many nests indeed were found at that time with two or three females and but one male. ‘‘ Having arrived at a shoal which seems to present suitable conditions for a spawning nest, the individual or pair commences at once to move stones with its mouth from the centre to the margin of an area one or two feet in diameter. When many stones are thus placed, especially at the upper edge, and they are cleaned quite free of sediment and alge, both by being moved and by being fanned with the tail, and when the proper condition of sand is found in the bottom of the basin thus formed, |. The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys 179 tf it is ready to be used as a spawning bed or nest. pale 3 Fic. 206.—Istiews grandis Agassiz. Family Pterothrisside. (After Zittel.) in deep or cold waters along the coasts of Japan, where they are known as gisu. The single species is Pterothrissus gissu. The fossil genus Istzeus, from the Upper Cretaceous, probably be- longs near the Pterothrisside. Istieus grandis is the best-known Fic. 207.—Chirothriz libanicus Pictet & Humbert. Cretaceous of Mt. Lebanon. (After Woodward.) species. Another ancient family, now represented by a single species, is that of the Chirocentride, of which the living type is Chirocentrus dorab, a long, slender, much compressed herring- like fish, with a saw-edge on the belly, found in the East Indies, 274 Isospondyli in which region Chirocentrus polyodon occurs as a fossil. Numer- ous fossil genera related to Chirocentrus are enumerated by Woodward, most of them to be referred to the related family of Ichthyodectide (Saurodontide). Of these, Portheus, Ichthyodec- tes, Saurocephalus (Saurodon), and Gillicus are represented by numerous species, some of them fishes of immense size and great voracity. Portheus molossus, found in the Cretaceous of Nebraska, is remarkable for its very. strong teeth. Species of other genera are represented by numerous species in the Cretaceous of both the Rocky Mountain region and of Europe. The Ctenothrisside.—A related family, Ctenothrisside, is represented solely by extinct Cretaceous species. In this group Fic. 208.—Ctenothrissa vexillifera Pictet, restored. Mt. Lebanon Cretaceous. ter Woodward.) the body is robust with large scales, ctenoid in Ctenothrissa, cycloid in Aulolepis. The fins are large, the belly not serrated, and the teeth feeble. Ctenothrissa vexillifera is from Mount Lebanon. Other species occur in the European chalk. In the small family of Phractolemide the interopercle, according to Boulenger, is enormously developed. The Notopteride.—The Notopteride is another small family in the rivers of Africa and the East Indies. The body ends in a long and tapering fin, and, as usual in fishes which swim by Isospondyli 275 body undulations, the ventral fins are lost. The belly is doubly serrate. The air-bladder is highly complex in structure, being divided into several compartments and terminating in two horns anteriorly and posteriorly, the anterior horns being in direct communication with the auditory organ. A fossil Notop- terus, N. prime@vus, is found in the same region. The Clupeide.—The great herring family, or Clupeide, com- prises fishes with oblong or herring-shaped body, cycloid scales, and feeble dentition. From related families it is separated by the absence of lateral line and the division of the maxillary into three pieces. In most of the genera the belly ends in a serrated edge, though in the true herring this is not very evident, Fie. 209 —Herring, Clupea harengus L. New York. and in some the belly has a blunt edge. Some of the species live in rivers, some ascend from the sea for the purpose of spawn- ing. The majority are confined to the ocean. Among all the genera, the one most abundant_in individuals is that of Clupea, the herring. Throughout the North Atlantic are im- mense schools of Clupea harengus. In the North Pacific on both shores another herring, Clupea pallasi, is equally abundant, and with the same market it would be equally valuable. As salted, dried, or smoked fish the herring is found throughout the civilized world, and its spawning and feeding-grounds have determined the location of cities. The genus Clupea, of northern distribution, has the vertebrae in increased number (56), and there are weak teeth on the vomer. Several other genera are very closely related, but ranging farther south they have, with other characters, fewer (46 to 50) vertebree. The alewife, or branch-herring (Pomolobus pseudoharengus), ascends the rivers to spawn and has become land-locked in 13 276 Isospondyli the lakes of New York. The skipjack of the Gulf of Mexico, Pomolobus chrysochloris, becomes very fat in the sea. The species becomes land-locked in the Ohio River, where it thrives as to numbers, but remains lean and almost useless as food. The glut-herring, Pomolobus estivalis, and the sprat, Pomolobus sprattus, of Europe are related forms. Very near also to the herring is the shad (Alosa sapidissima) of the eastern coasts of America, and its inferior relatives, the Fic. 210 —Alewife, Pomolobus pseudoharengus (Wilson). Potomac River. shad of the Gulf of Mexico (Alosa alabame); the Ohio River shad (Alosa ohiensis), very lately discovered, the Allice shad (Alosa alosa) of Europe, and the Thwaite shad (Alosa finta). In the genus Alosa the cheek region is v2ry deep, giving the head a form different from that seen in the herring. The American shad is the best food-fish in the family, pecu- liarly delicate in flavor when broiled, but, to a greater degree than occurs in any other good food-fish, its flesh is crowded with small bones. The shad has been successfully introduced into the waters of California, where it abounds from Puget Sound to Point Concepcion, ascending the rivers to spawn in May as in its native region, the Atlantic coast. The genus Sardinella includes species of rich flesh and feeble skeleton, excellent when broiled, when they may be eaten bones and all. This condition favors their preservation in oil as “sardines.”’ All the species are alike excellent for this pur- pose. The sardine of Europe is the Sardinella pilchardus, known in England as the pilchard. The ‘“Sardina de Espaiia”’ of Isospondyli 29, Cuba is Sardinella pseudohispanica, the sardine of California, Sardinella cerulea. Sardinella sagax abounds in Chile, and Sar- dinella melanosticta is the valued sardine of Japan. In the tropical Pacific occur other valued species, largely belonging to the genus Kowala. The genus Harengula contains small species with very large, firm scales which do not fall when touched, as is generally the case with the sardines. Most common of these is Harengula sardina of the West Indies. Similar species occur in southern Europe and in Japan. In Opisthonema, the thread-herring, the last dorsal ray is much produced, as in the gizzard-shad and the tarpon. The two species known are abundant, but of little commercial im- portance. Of greater value are the menhaden, or the moss- bunker, Brevodrtia tyrannus, inhabiting the sandy coasts from New England southward. It is a coarse and bony fish, rarely Fig. 211 —Menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus (Latrobe). Wood’s Hole, Mass, eaten when adult, although the young in oil makes acceptable sardines. It is used chiefly for oil, the annual yield exceeding in value that of wWhale-oil. The refuse is used as manure, a purpose for which the fishes are often taken without prepara- tion, being carried directly to the cornfields. From its abun- dance this species of inferior flesh exceeds in commercial value almost all other American fishes excepting the cod, the herring, and the quinnat salmon. One of the most complete of fish biographies is that of Dr. G. . Brown Goode on the “Natural and Economic History of Men- haden.”’ Numerous other herring-like forms, usually with compressed bodies, dry and bony flesh, and serrated bellies, abound in the 278 Isospondyli tropics and are largely salted and dried by the Chinese. Among these are Jlisha elongata of the Chinese coast. Related forms occur in Mexico and Brazil. The round herrings, small herrings which have no serrations on the belly, are referred by Dr. Gill to the family of Dussu- miertide. These are mostly small tropical fishes used as food or bait. One of these, the Kobini-Iwashi of Japan (Stolephorus japonicus), with a very bright silver band on the side, has con- siderable commercial importance. Very small herrings of this type in the West Indies constitute the genus Jenkinsia, named for Dr. Oliver P. Jenkins, the first to study seriously the fishes of Hawaii. Other species constitute the widely distributed genera Etrumeus and Dussumieria, Etrumeus sardina is the round herring of the Virginia coast. Etrumeus micropus is the Etrumei-Iwashi of Japan and Hawaii. Fossil herring are plentiful and exist in considerable variety, even among the Clupeide as at present restricted. Histiothrissa Fig, 212.—A fossil Herring; Diplomystus humilis Leidy. (From a specimen obtained at Green River, Wyo.) The scutes along the back lost in the specimen. Family Cluperde, of the Cretaceous seems to be allied to Dussumieria and Stolephorus. Another genus, from the Cretaceous of Palestine, Pseudoberyx (syriacus, etc.), having pectinated scales, should perhaps constitute a distinct subfamily, but the general struc- ture is like that of the herring. More evidently herring-like is Scombroclupea (macrophthalma). The genus Diplomystus, with enlarged scales along the back, is abundantly represented in the Eocene shales of Green River, Wyoming. Species of similar appearance, usually but wrongly referred to the same genus, occur on the coasts of Peru, Chile, and New South Wales. A specimen of Diplomystus humilis from Green River is here ;. 3 : . Isospondyli 279 figured. Numerous herring, referred to Clupea, but belonging rather to Pomolobus, or other non-Arctic genera, have been described from the Eocene and later rocks. Several American fossil herring-like fishes, of the genus Leptosomus, as Leptosomus percrassus, are found in the Cretaceous of South Dakota Fossil species doubtfully referred to Dorosoma, but perhaps allied rather to the thread-herring (Opisthonema), being herrings with a prolonged dorsal ray, are recorded from the early Ter- tiary of Europe. Among these is Opisthonema doljeanum from Austria. The Dorosomatide.—The gizzard-shad, Dorosomatide, are closely related to the Clupeide, differing in the small contracted toothless mouth and reduced maxillary. The species are deep- bodied, shad-like fishes of the rivers and estuaries of eastern America and eastern Asia. They feed on mud, and the stomach is thickened and muscular like that of a fowl. As the stomach has the size and form of a hickory-nut, the common American se Fic. 213.—Hickory-shad, Dorosoma cepedianum (Le Sueur). Potomac River. species is often called hickory-shad. The gizzard-shad are all very poor food-fish, bony and little valued, the flesh full of small bones. The belly is always serrated. In three of the four genera of Dorosomatide the last dorsal ray is much produced and whip-like. The long and slender gill-rakers serve as strainers for the mud in which these fishes find their vegetable and ani- mal food. Dorosoma cepedianum, the common hickory-shad or 280 Isospondyli gizzard-shad, is found in brackish river-mouths and ponds from Long Island to Texas, and throughout the Mississippi Valley in all the large rivers. Through the canals it has entered Lake Michigan. The Konoshiro, Clupanodon thrissa, 1s equally com- mon in China and Japan. The Engraulidide.—The anchovies (Engraulidide) are dwarf herrings with the snout projecting beyond the very wide mouth. They are small in size and weak in muscle, found in all warm seas, and making a large part of the food of the larger fish. The genus Engraulis includes the anchovy of Europe, Engraulis encrasicholus, with similar species in California, Chile, Japan, and Australia. In this genus the vertebrae are numerous, the bones feeble, and the flesh tender and oily. The species of Engraulis are preserved in oil, often with spices, or are made into fish-paste, which is valued as a relish. The genus Anchovia replaces Engraulis in the tropics. The vertebrae are fewer, the Fia, 214.—A Silver Anchovy, Anchovia perthecata (Goode & Bean), Tampa. bones firm and stiff, and the flesh generally dry. Except as food for larger fish, these have little value, although existing in immense schools. Most of the species have a bright silvery band along the side. The most familiar of the very numerous species is the silver anchovy, Anchovia browni, which abounds in sandy bays from Cape Cod to Brazil. Several other genera occur farther southward, as well as in Asia, but Engraulis only is found in Europe. Fossil anchovies called Engraulis are recorded from the Tertiary of Europe. Gonorhynchide.—To the Isospondyli belongs the small primi- tive family of Gonorhynchide, elongate fishes with small mouth, feeble teeth, no air-bladder, small scales of peculiar structure covering the head, weak dentition, the dorsal fin small, and uey ‘aue AY Weer ‘adop snjnaso snauobojoN—“eTZ “OIA 282 Isospondyli posterior without spines. The mesocoracoid is present as in ordinary Jsospondyli. Gonorhynchus abbreviatus occurs in Japan, and Gonorhynchus gonorhynchus is found in Australia and about the Cape of Good Hope. Numerous fossil species occur. Charitosomus lineolatus and other species are found in the Cre- taceous of Mount Lebanon and elsewhere. Species without teeth from the Oligocene of Europe and America are referred to the genus Notogoneus. Notogoneus osculus occurs in the Eocene fresh-water deposits at Green River, Wyoming. It bears a very strong resemblance in form to an ordinary sucker (Catostomus), for which reason it was once described by the name of Protocatostomus. The living Gonorhynchide are all strictly marine. In the small family of Cromeriid@ the head and body are naked. The Osteoglossida.—Still less closely related to the herring is the family of Osteoglosside, huge pike-like fishes of the tropical rivers, armed with hard bony scales formed of pieces like mosaic. The largest of all fresh-water fishes is Arapaima gigas of the Amazon region, which reaches a length of fifteen feet and a weight of 4oo pounds. It has naturally considerable commer- cial importance, as have species of Osteoglossum, coarse river- fishes which occur in Brazil, Egypt, and the East Indies. Heterotis nilotica is a large fish of the Nile. In some or all of these the air-bladder is cellular or lung-like, like that of a Ganoid. Allied to the Osteoglosside is Phareodus (Dapedoglossus), a group of large shad-like fossil fishes, with large scales of peculiar mosaic texture and with a bony casque on the head, found in fresh-water deposits of the Green River Eocene. In the perfect specimens of Phareodus (or Dapedoglossus) testis the first ray of the pectoral is much enlarged and serrated on its inner edge, a character which may separate these fishes as a family from the true Osteoglosside. It does not, however, appear in Cope’s figures, none of his specimens having the pectorals perfect. In these fishes the teeth are very strong and sharp, the scales are very large and thin, looking like the scales of a parrot-fish, the long dorsal is opposite to the anal and similar to it, and the caudal is truncate. The end of the vertebral column is turned upward. Isospondyli 283 Other species are Phareodus acutus, known from the jaws; P. cncaustus is known from a mass of thick scales with retic- ulate or mosaic-like surface, much as in Osteoglossum, and P. @quipennis from a small example, perhaps immature. Fic. 216—Phareodus testis (Cope). From a specimen 20 inches long collected at Fossil, Wyo., in the Museum of the Univ. of Wyoming. (Photograph by Prof. Wilbur C Knight.) Phareodus testis is frequently found well preserved in the shales at Fossil Station, to the northwestward of Green River. Whether all these species possess the peculiar structure of the scales, and whether all belong to one genus, is uncertain. In Eocene shales of England occurs Brychetus muelleri, a species closely related to Phareodus, but the scales smaller and without the characteristic reticulate or mosaic structure seen in Phareodus encaustus. The Pantodontide.—The bony casque of Osteoglossum is found again in the Pantodontide, consisting of one species, Pantodon buchholzi, a small fish of the brooks of West Africa. 284 Isospondyli As in the Osteoglosside and in the Siluride, the subopercle is wanting in Pantodon. The Alepocephalide are deep-sea herring-like fishes very soft in texture and black in color, taken in the oceanic abysses. Some species may be found in almost all seas below the depth Fig. 217.—Alepocephalus agassizii Goode & Bean, Gulf Stream. of half a mile. Alepocephalus rostratus of the Mediterranean has been long known, but most of the other genera, Talis- mania, Mitchillina, Conocara, etc., are of very recent discovery, having been brought to the surface by the deep-sea dredging of the Challenger, the Albatross, the Blake, the Travailleur, the Talisman, the Investigator, the Hirondelle, and the Vio- lante. CHAPTER XX SALMONIDZA or allies of the salmon and trout, are characterized as a Ws) whole by the presence of the adipose fin, a struc- eure also retained in Characins and catfishes, which have no evident affinity with the trout, and in the lantern-fishes, lizard- fishes, and trout-perches, in which the affinity is very remote. Probably these groups all have a common descent from some primitive fish having an adipose fin, or at least a fleshy fold on the back. Of all the families of fishes, the one most interesting from almost every point of view is that of the Salmonide@, the salmon family. As now restricted, it is not one of the largest families, as it comprises less than a hundred species; but in beauty, activity, gaminess, quality as food, and even in size of indi- viduals, different members of the group stand easily with the first among fishes. The following are the chief external charac- teristics which are common to the members of the family: Body oblong or moderately elongate, covered with cycloid, in scales of varying size. Head naked. Mouth terminal or some- what inferior, varying considerably among the different species, those having the mouth largest usually having also the strongest teeth. Maxillary provided with a supplemental. bone, and forming the lateral margin of the upper jaw. Pseudobranchize present. Gill-rakers varying with the species. Opercula com- plete. No barbels. Dorsal fin of moderate length, placed near the middle of the length of the body. Adipose fin well developed. Caudal fin forked. Anal fin moderate or rather long. Ventral fins nearly median in position. Pectoral fins inserted low. Lateral line present. Outline of belly rounded. Vertebrz in large number, usually about sixty. 285 '" 286 Salmonide The stomach in all the Salmonide@ is siphonal, and at the pylorus are many (15 to 200) comparatively large pyloric coeca. The air-bladder is large. The eggs are usually much larger than in fishes generally, and the ovaries are without special duct, the ova falling into the cavity of the abdomen before _ exclusion. The large size of the eggs, their lack of adhesive- ness, and the readiness with which they may be impregnated, render the Salmonide peculiarly adapted for artificial culture. The Salmonide are peculiar to the north temperate and Arctic regions, and within this range they are almost equally abundant wherever suitable waters occur. Some of the species, especially the larger ones, are marine and anadromous, living and growing in the sea, and ascending fresh waters to spawn. Still others live in running brooks, entering lakes or the sea when occasion serves, but not habitually doing so. Still others are lake fishes, approaching the shore or entering brooks in the spawning season, at other times retiring to waters of con- siderable depth. Some of them are active, voracious, and gamy, while others are comparatively defenseless and will not take the hook. They are divisible into ten easily recognized genera: Coregonus, Argyrosomus, Brachymystax, Stenodus, On- corhynchus, Salmo, Hucho, Cristivomer, Salvelinus, and Pleco- glossus. Fragments of fossil trout, very imperfectly known, are re- corded chiefly from Pleistocene deposits of Idaho, under the name of Rhabdofario lacustris. We have also received from Dr. John C. Merriam, from ferruginous sands of the same region, several fragments of jaws of salmon, in the hook-nosed condition, with enlarged teeth, showing that the present salmon-runs have been in operation for many thousands of years. Most other fragments hitherto referred to Salmonide belong to some other kind of fish. Coregonus, the Whitefish—The genus Coregonus, which in- cludes the various species known in America as lake whitefish, is distinguishable in general by the small size of its mouth, the weakness of its teeth, and the large size of its scales. The teeth, especially, are either reduced to slight asperities, or else are altogether wanting. The species reach a length of one to three feet. With scarcely an exception they inhabit clear lakes, _——- Salmonide 287 and rarely enter streams except to spawn. In far northern regions they often descend to the sea; but in the latitude of the United States this is never possible for them, as they are unable to endure warm or impure water. They seldom take the hook, and rarely feed on other fishes. Numerous local varieties char- acterize the lakes of Scandinavia, Scotland, and Arctic Asia and America. Largest and most desirable of all these as a food-fish is the common whitefish of the Great Lakes (Coregonus clupetformis), with its allies or variants in the Mackenzie and Yukon. The species of Coregonus differ from each other in the form and size of the mouth, in the form of the body, and in the de- velopment of the gill-rakers. Coregonus oxyrhynchus—the Schnabel of Holland, Germany, and Scandinavia—has the mouth very small, the sharp snout projecting far beyond it. No species similar to this is found in America. The Rocky Mountain whitefish (Coregonus williamsoni) has also a small mouth and projecting snout, but the latter is blunter Fie 218 —Rocky Mountain Whitefish, Coregonus williamsoni Girard. and much shorter than in C. oxyrhynchus. This is a small species abounding everywhere in the clear lakes and streams of the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, from Colorado to Vancouver Island. It is a handsome fish and excellent as food. Closely allied to Coregonus williamsoni is the pilot-fish, shad-waiter, roundfish, or Menomonee whitefish (Coregonus quadrilateralis). This species is found in the Great Lakes, the Adirondack region, the lakes of New Hampshire, and thence 288 Salmonidz northwestward to the Yukon, abounding in cold deep waters, its range apparently nowhere coinciding with that of Coregonus williamsont. The common whitefish (Coregonus clupeiformis) is the largest in size of the species of Coregonus, and is unquestionably the finest as an article of food. It varies considerably in appear- ance with age and condition, but in general it is proportionately much deeper than any of the other small-mouthed Coregont. The adult fishes develop a considerable fleshy hump at the Fic. 219 —Whitefish, Coregonus clupeiformis Mitchill. Ecorse, Mich. shoulders, which causes the head, which is very small, to appear disproportionately so. The whitefish spawns in November and December, on rocky shoals in the Great Lakes. Its food was ascertained by Dr. P. R. Hoy to consist chiefly of. deep- water crustaceans, with a few’ mollusks, and larve of water insects. ‘The whitefish,” writes Mr. James W. Milner, ‘“‘has been known since the time of the earliest explorers as pre- eminently a fine-flavored fish. In fact there are few table- fishes its equal. To be appreciated in its fullest excellence it should be taken fresh from the lake and broiled. Father Mar- quette, Charlevoix, Sir John Richardson—explorers who for months at a time had to depend upon the whitefish for their staple article of food—bore testimony to the fact that they never lost their relish for it, and deemed it a special excellence that the appetite never became cloyed with it.” The range of the whitefish extends from the lakes of New York and New England northward to the Arctic Circle. The ‘‘Otsego bass’”’ of Otsego Salmonide 289 Lake in New York, celebrated by De Witt Clinton, is a local form of the ordinary whitefish. Allied to the American whitefish, but smaller in size, is the Lavaret, Weissfisch, Adelfisch, or Weissfelchen (Coregonus lavaretus), of the mountain lakes of Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden. Coregonus kennicotti, the muksun, and Coregonus nelsoni, the humpback whitefish, are found in northern Alaska and in the Yukon. Several other related species occur in northern Europe and Siberia. Another American species is the Sault whitefish, Lake Whiting or Musquaw River whitefish (Coregonus labradoricus). Its teeth are stronger, especially on the tongue, than in any of our other species, and its body is slenderer than that of the whitefish. It is found in the upper Great Lakes, in the Adirondack region, in Lake Winnipeseogee, and in the lakes of Maine and New Brunswick. It is said to rise to the fly in the Canadian lakes. This species runs up the St. Mary’s River, from Lake Huron to Lake Superior, in July and August. Great numbers are snared or speared by the Indians at this season at the Sault Ste. Marie. In the breeding season the scales are sometimes thickened or covered with small warts, as in the male Cyprinide. Argyrosomus, the Lake Herring.—In the genus Argyrosomuts the mouth is larger, the premaxillary not set vertical, but ex- tending forward on its lower edge, and the body is more elongate and more evenly elliptical. The species are more active and predaceous than those of Coregonus and are, on the whole, in- ferior as food. The smallest and handsomest of the American whitefish is the cisco of Lake Michigan (Argyrosomus hoyi). It is a slender fish, rarely exceeding ten inches in length, and its scales have the brilliant silvery luster of the mooneye and the lady- fish. The lake herring, or.cisco (Argyrosomus artedi), is, next to the whitefish, the most important of the American species. It is more elongate than the others, and has a comparatively large mouth, with projecting under-jaw. It is correspondingly more voracious, and often takes the hook. During the spawning season of the whitefish the lake herring feeds on the ova of the latter, thereby doing a great amount of mischief. As food 290 Salmonide this species is fair, but much inferior to the whitefish. Its geographical distribution is essentially the same, but to a greater degree it frequents shoal waters. In the small lakes around Lake Michigan, in Indiana and Wisconsin (Tippecanoe, Geneva, Oconomowoc, etc.), the cisco has long been established; and in these waters its habits have undergone some change, as has also its external appearance. It has been recorded as a distinct species, Argyrosomus sisco, and its excellence as a game-fish has been long appreciated by the angler. These lake ciscoes remain for most of the year in the depths of the lake, coming to the surface only in search of certain insects, and to shallow water only in the spawning season. This periodical disappearance of the cisco has led to much foolish discussion as to the proba- bility of their returning by an underground passage to Lake — = SSIS sos: 5t spent after spawning is excellent. The steelhead does not die after spawning, as all the Pacific salmon do. It is thought by some anglers that the young fish hatched in the brooks from eggs of the steelhead remain in mountain streams from six to thirty-six months, going down to the sea with the high waters of spring, after which they return to spawn as typical steelhead trout. I now regard this view as un- founded. In my experience the rainbow and the steelhead are always distinguishable: the steelhead abounds where the rain- Fic. 232.,—Steelhead Trout, Salmo rivularis Ayres. Columbia River. bow trout is unknown; the scales in the steelhead are always smaller (about 155) than in typical rainbow trout; finally, the small size of the head in the steelhead is always distinctive. The Kamloops trout, described by the writer from the upper Columbia, seems to be a typical steelhead as found well up the rivers away from the sea. Derived from the steelhead, but apparently quite distinct from it, are three very noble trout, all confined so far as yet known to Lake Crescent in northwestern Washington. These are the crescent trout, Salmo crescentis, the Beardslee trout, Salmo beardsleet, and the long-headed trout, Salmo bathecetor. The first two, discovered by Admiral L. A. Beardslee, are trout of peculiar attractiveness and excellence. The third is a deep-water form, never rising to the surface, and caught only on set lines. Its origin is still uncertain, and it may be derived from some type other than the steelhead. (ONOT SHHONI {IT NHWIOAdS V 'HdAL AHL WOUd NOSGOH ‘A SHTUVHO AM AAI WOU NMVUa) NNVWUYHAA ILIHARSOON OW’IVS WHHUD ONVOIOA JO LAOUL NAa@I09 WW tp, Wim ‘ o es B« ~~? r= == «2®? == — ~~ \ ‘ & A\\) S . .\\ ANS, . ) ~. . : Salmonidze 225 Cutthroat or Red-throated Trout.— This species has much smaller scales than the rainbow trout or steelhead, the usual number in a longitudinal series being 160 to 170. Its head is longer (about four times in length to base of caudal). Its mouth is proportionately larger, and there is always a narrow band of small teeth on the hyoid bone at the base of the tongue. These teeth are always wanting in Salmo irideus and rivularis in which species the rim of the tongue only has teeth. The color in Salmo clarkit is, as in other species, exceedingly variable. In life there is always a deep-red blotch on the throat, between the branches of the lower jaw and the membrane connecting them. This is not found in other species, or is reduced to a narrow strip or pinkish shade. It seems to be constant in all varieties of Salmo clarkit, at all ages, thus furnishing a good distinctive character. It is the sign manual of the Sioux Indians, and the anglers have already accepted from this mark the name of cutthroat-trout. The cutthroat-trout of some species is found in every suitable river and lake in the great basin of Utah, in the streams of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, on both sides of the Rocky Mountains. It is also found throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia, the coastwise islands of southeastern Alaska (Baranof, etc.), to Kadiak and Bristol Bay, probably no stream or lake suitable for trout-life being without it. In California the species seems to be com- paratively rare, and its range rarely extending south of Cape Mendocino. Large sea-run individuals analogous to the steelheads are sometimes found in the mouth of the Sacramento. In Wash- ington and Alaska this species regularly enters the sea. In Puget Sound it is a common fish. These sea-run individuals are more silvery and less spotted than those found in the mountain streams and lakes. The size of Salmo clarkit is subject to much variation. Ordinarily four to six pounds is a large size; but in certain favored waters, as Lake Tahoe, and the fjords of southeastern Alaska, specimens from twenty to thirty pounds are occasionally taken. Those species or individuals dwelling in lakes of considerable size, where the water is of such temperature and depth as in- sures an ample food-supply, will reach a large size, while those in a restricted environment, where both the water and food are 326 Salmonide limited, will be small directly in proportion to these environing restrictions. The trout of the Klamath Lakes, for example, reach a weight of at least 17 pounds, while in Fish Lake in Idaho mature trout do not exceed 8 to 9} inches in total length or one-fourth pound in weight. In small creeks in the Sawtooth Mountains and elsewhere they reach maturity at a length of 5 or 6 inches, and are often spoken of as brook-trout and with the impression that they are a species different from the larger ones found in the lakes and larger streams. But as all sorts and gradations between these extreme forms may be found in the intervening and connecting waters, the differences are not even of sub- specific significance. Dr. Evermann observes: ‘‘The various forms of cutthroat- trout vary greatly in game qualities; even the same subspecies in different waters, in different parts of its habitat, or at different Fia. 233 Fie 234 Fig. 233.—Head of adult Trout-worm, Dib thrium c rdicens Leidy, a parasite of Salmo clarkii. From intestine of white pelican, Yellowstone Lake. (After PF sa. SL Medion segments of Dib thrium c rdiceps. seasons, will vary greatly in this regard. In general, however, it is perhaps a fair statement to say that the cutthroat-trout are regarded by anglers as being inferior in gaminess to the Eastern brook-trout. But while this is true, it must not by any means be inferred that it is without game qualities, for it is really a fish which possesses those qualities in a very high degree. Its vigor and voraciousness are determined largely, of course, by the character of the stream or lake in which it lives. The individuals which dwell in cold streams about cascades and seething rapids will show marvelous strength and will make a fight which is rarely equaled by its Eastern cousin; while in warmer and larger streams and lakes they may be very sluggish and show but little fight. Yet this is by no means always true. In the Klamath Lakes, where the trout grow very large and (ONOT SHHONI )é, NANIOMdS-V 'HAAL AHL WO NOSGOH ‘d SATHVHD Ad BAIT WouA NMVUud) NNVWUYAAX IBLIHM OW IVS HHHUD VGOS JO LAOUL NAa’IOD p os Salmonidz 327 where they are often very logy, one is occasionally hooked which tries to the utmost the skill of the angler to prevent his tackle from being smashed and at the same time save the fish.” Of the various forms derived from Salmo clarkit some mere varieties, some distinct species, the following are among the most marked: Salmo henshawi, the trout of Lake Tahoe and its tributaries and outlet, Truckee River, found in fact also in the Humboldt Fig. 235.—Tahoe Trout, Salmo henshawi Gill & Jordan. Lake Tahoe, California. and the Carson and throughout the basin of the former glacial lake called Lake Lahontan. This is a distinct species from Salmo clarkiz and must be regarded as the finest of all the cut- throat-trout. It is readily known by its spotted belly, the black spots being evenly scattered over the whole surface of the body, above and below. This is an excellent game-fish, and from Lake Tahoe and Pyramid Lake it is brought in large num- bers to the markets of San Francisco. In the depths of Lake Tahoe, which is the finest mountain lake of the Sierra Nevada, occurs a very large variety which spawns in the lake, Salmo henshawt tahoensis. This reaches a weight of twenty-eight pounds. In the Great Basin of Utah is found a fine trout, very close to the ordinary cutthroat of the Columbia, from which it is derived. This is known as Salmo clarkii virginalis. In Utah Lake it reaches a large size. In Waha Lake in Washington, a lake without outlet, is found a small trout with peculiar markings called Salmo clarkit bou- viert. In the head-waters of the Platte and Arkansas rivers is the small green-back trout, green or brown, with red throat-patch 328 Salmonide and large black spots. This is Salmo clarkit stomias, and it is especially fine in St. Vrain’s River and the streams of Estes Park. Fic. 236 —Green-back Trout, Salmo stomiasCope. Arkansas River, Leadville, Colo. In Twin Lakes, a pair of glacial lakes tributary of the Arkansas near Leadville, is found Salmo clarkii macdonaldi, the yellow- finned trout, a large and very handsome species living in deep water, and with the fins golden yellow. This approaches the Colorado trout, Salmo clarkii pleuriticus, and it may be derived Fig. 237 —Yellow-fin Trout of Twin Lakes, Salmo macdonaldi Jordan & Evermann. Twin Lakes, Colo. from the latter, although it occurs in the same waters as the very different green-back trout, or Salmo clarkii stomias. Two fine trout derived from Salmo clarkii have been lately discovered by Dr. Daniel G. Elliot in Lake Southerland, a moun- tain lake near Lake Crescent, but not connected with it, the two separated from the sea by high waterfalls. These have been described by Dr. Seth E. Meek as Salmo jordan, the ‘spotted trout’? of Lake Southerland, and Salmo declivifrons, the ‘“‘salmon-trout.’”” These seem to be distinct forms or sub- species produced through isolation. j Salmonidze 329 The Rio Grande trout (Salmo clarkii spilurus) is a large and profusely spotted trout, found in the head-waters of the Rio Fig. 238.—Rio Grande Trout, Salmo clarkiit spilurus Cope. Del Norte, Colo. Grande, the mountain streams of the Great Basin of Utah, and as far south as the northern part of Chihuahua. Its scales are still smaller than those of the ordinary cutthroat-trout, and the black spots are chiefly confined to the tail. Closely related to Fie. 289.—Colorado River Trout, Salmo clarkii pleuriticus Cope. Trapper’s Lake, Colo. it is the trout of the Colorado Basin, Salmo clarkii pleuriticus, a large and handsome trout with very small scales, much sought by anglers in western Colorado, and abounding in all suitable streams throughout the Colorado Basin. Hucho, the Huchen.— The genus Hucho has been framed for the Huchen or Rothfisch (Hucho hucho) of the Danube, a very large trout, differing from the genus Salmo in having no teeth on the shaft of the vomer, and from the Salvelini at least in form and coloration. The huchen is a long and slender, somewhat pike-like fish, with depressed snout and strong teeth. , 330 Salmonidz The color is silvery, sprinkled with small black dots. It reaches a size little inferior to that of the salmon, and it is said to be an excellent food-fish. In northern Japan is a similar species, Fie. 240 —Ito, Hucho blackistoni (Hilgendorf). Hokkaido, Japan Hucho blackistoni, locally known as Ito, a large and handsome trout with very slender body, reaching a length of 2} feet. It is well worthy of introduction into American and European waters. Salvelinus, the Charr.—The genus Salvelinus comprises the finest of the Salmonide, from the point of view of the angler or the artist. In England the species are known as charr or char, in contradistinction to the black-spotted species of Salmo, which are called trout. The former name has unfortunately been lost in America, where the name “trout’’ is given indiscrimi- nately to both groups, and, still worse, to numerous other fishes (Muicropterus, Hexagrammos, Cynoscion, Agonostomus) wholly unlike the Salmonide in all respects. It is sometimes said that ‘‘the American brook-trout is no trout, nothing but a charr,” almost as though “charr”’ were a word of reproach. Nothing higher, however, can be said of a salmonoid than that it is a “charr.”’ The technical character of the genus Salve- linus lies in the form of its vomer. This is deeper than in Salmo; and when the flesh is removed the bone is found to be somewhat boat-shaped above, and with the shaft depressed and out of the line of the head of the vomer. Only the head or chevron is armed with teeth, and the shaft is covered by skin. In color all the charrs differ from the salmon and trout. The body in all is covered with round spots which are paler than the ground color, and crimson or gray.. The lower fins are Salmonidz 331 usually edged with bright colors. The sexual differences are not great. The scales, in general, are smaller than in other Salmomde, and they are imbedded in the skin to such a degree as to escape the notice of casual observers and even of most anglers. “One trout scale in the scales I'd lay (If trout had scales), and ’twill outweigh The wrong side of the balances.’-—LoweE Lt. The charrs inhabit, in general, only the clearest and coldest of mountain streams and lakes, or bays of similar temperature. They are not migratory, or only to a limited extent. In northern regions they descend to the sea, where they grow much more rapidly and assume a nearly uniform silvery-gray color. The different species are found in all suitable waters throughout the northern parts of both continents, except in the Rocky Moun- tains and Great Basin, where only the black-spotted trout occur. The number of species of charr is very uncertain, as, both in America and Europe, trivial variations and individual peculiarities have been raised to the rank of species. More types, however, seem to be represented in America than in Europe. The only really well-authenticated species of charr in Euro- pean waters is the red charr, salbling, or ombre chevalier (Salve- Fic. 241.—Rangeley Trout, Salvelinus oquassa (Girard). Lake Oquassa, Maine. linus alpinus). This species is found in cold, clear streams in Switzerland, Germany, and throughout Scandinavia and the British Islands. Compared with the American charr or brook- trout, it is a slenderer fish, with smaller mouth, longer fins, and smaller red spots, which are confined to the sides of the 392 Salmonide body. It is a “gregarious and deep-swimming fish, shy of taking the bait and feeding largely at night-time. It appears to require very pure and mostly deep water for its residence.” It is less tenacious of life than the trout. It reaches a weight of from one to five pounds, probably rarely exceeding the latter in size. The various charr described from Siberia are far too little known to be enumerated here. Of the American charr the one most resembling the European species is the Rangeley Lake trout (Salvelinus oquassa). The exquisite little fish is known in the United States only from the Rangeley chain of lakes in western Maine. This is very close to the Greenland charr, Salvelinus stagnalis, a beautiful species of the far north. The Rangeley trout is much slenderer than the common brook-trout, with much smaller head and smaller mouth. In life it is dark blue above, and the deep-red spots are confined to the sides of the body. The species rarely exceeds the length of a foot in the Rangeley Lakes, but in some other waters it reaches a much larger size. So far as is known it keeps itself in the depths of the lake until its spawning season approaches, in October, when it ascends the stream to spawn. Still other species of this type are the Sunapee trout, Salvelinus aureolus, a beautiful charr almost identical with the Fic. 242.—Sunapee Trout, Salvelinus awreolus Bean. Sunapee Lake, N. H. European species, found in numerous ponds and lakes of eastern New Hampshire and neighboring parts of Maine. Mr. Garman regards this trout as the offspring of an importation of the ombre chevalier and not as a native species, and in this view he may be correct. Salvelinus alipes of the far north may be the same species. Another remarkable form is the Lac de Marbre trout of Canada, Salvelinus marstoni of Garman. Salmonidz 232 In Arctic regions another species, called Salvelinus narest, is very close to Salvelinus oquassa and may be the same. Another beautiful little charr, allied to Salvelinus stagnalis, is the Floeberg charr (Salvelinus arcturus). This species has been brought from Victoria Lake and Floeberg Beach, in the Fig. 248.—Speckled Trout (male), Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill). New York. extreme northern part of Arctic America, the northernmost point whence any salmonoid has been obtained. The American charr, or, as it is usually called, the brook- trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), although one of the most beautiful of fishes, is perhaps the least graceful of all the genuine charrs. It is technically distinguished by the somewhat heavy head and large mouth, the maxillary bone reaching more or less beyond the eye. There are no teeth on the hyoid bone, traces at least of such teeth being found in nearly all other species. Its color is somewhat different from that of the others, the red spots being large and the black more or less mottled and barred with darker olive. The dorsal and caudal fins are likewise barred or mottled, while in the other species they are generally uniform in color. The brook-trout is found only in streams east of the Mississippi and Saskatchewan. It occurs in all suitable streams of the Alleghany region and the Great Lake system, from the Chattahoochee River in northern Georgia northward at least to Labrador and Hudson Bay, the northern limits of its range being as yet not well ascertained. It varies greatly in size, according to its surroundings, those found in lakes being larger than those resident in small brooks. Those found Capemys MA Ww ud Aq ayy wos) = ‘ezis Pwanyeu ‘(VY ORTTY) sypuyuol snuyayog “nor, YOO bre Ol ra Salmonidze 335 farthest south, in the head-waters of the Chattahoochee, Savannah, Catawba, and French Broad, rarely pass the dimen- sions of fingerlings. The largest specimens are recorded from the sea along the Canadian coast. These frequently reach a weight of ten pounds; and from their marine and migratory habits, they have been regarded as forming a distinct variety (Salvelinus fontinalis tmmaculatus), but this form is merely a sea-run brook-trout. The largest fresh-water specimens rarely exceed seven pounds in weight. Some unusually large brook- trout have been taken in the Rangeley Lakes, the largest known to me having a reputed weight of eleven pounds. The brook- trout is the favorite game-fish of American waters, preéminent in wariness, in beauty, and in delicacy of flesh. It inhabits all clear and cold waters within its range, the large lakes and the smallest ponds, the tiniest brooks and the largest rivers; and when it can do so without soiling its aristocratic gills on the way, it descends to the sea and grows large and fat on the animals of the ocean. Although a bold biter it is a wary fish, and it often requires much skill to capture it. It can be caught, too, with artificial or natural flies, minnows, crickets, worms, grasshoppers, grubs, the spawn of other fish, or even the eves or cut pieces of other trout. It spawns in the fall, from September to late in November. It begins to reproduce at the age of two years, then having a length of about six inches. In spring-time the trout delight in rapids and swiftly running water; and in the hot months of midsummer they resort to deep, cool, and shaded pools. Later, at the approach of the spawning season, they gather around the mouths of cool, gravelly brooks, whither they resort to make their beds.* The trout are rapidly disappearing from our streams through the agency of the manufacturer and the summer boarder. In the words of an excellent angler, the late Myron W. Reed of Denver: “This is the last generation of trout-fishers. The children will not be able to find any. Already there are well- trodden paths by every stream in Maine, in New York, and in Michigan. I know of but one river in North America by the side of which you will find no paper collar or other evidence of civilization. It is the Nameless River. Not that trout will * Hallock. 336 Salmonidz cease to be. They will be hatched by machinery and raised in ponds, and fattened on chopped liver, and grow flabby and lose their spots. The trout of the restaurant will not cease to be. He is no more like the trout of the wild river than the fat and songless reedbird is like the bobolink. Gross feeding and easy pond-life enervate and deprave him. The trout that the children will know only by legend is the gold-sprinkled, living arrow of the white water; able to zigzag up the cataract; able to loiter in the rapids; whose dainty meat is the glancing butterfly.” The brook-trout adapts itself readily to cultivation in arti- ficial ponds. It has been successfully transported to Europe, and it is already abundant in certain streams in England, in Cali- fornia, and elsewhere. In Dublin Pond, New Hampshire, is a gray variety without red spots, called Salvelinus agassizt. The “Dolly Varden” trout, or malma (Salvelinus malma), is very similar to the brook-trout, closely resembling it in size, form, color, and habits. It is found always to the westward of the Rocky Mountains, in the streams of northern California, Oregon, Fic. 245 —Malma Trout, or ‘ Dolly Varden,”’ Salvelinus malma (Walbaum). Cook Inlet, Alaska. Washington, and British Columbia, Alaska, and Kamtchatka, as far as the Kurile Islands. It abounds in the sea in the north- ward, and specimens of ten to twelve pounds weight are not uncommon in Puget Sound and especially in Alaska. The Dolly Varden trout is, in general, slenderer and less compressed than the Eastern brook-trout. The red spots are found on the back of the fish as well as on the sides, and the back and upper fins are without the blackish marblings and blotches seen in ar Salmonidz 337 Salvelinus fontinalis. In value as food, in beauty, and in gami- ness Salvelinus malma is very similar to its Eastern cousin. In Alaska the Dolly Varden, locally known as salmon-trout, is very destructive to the eggs of the salmon, and countless numbers are taken in the salmon-nets of Alaska and thrown away as useless by the canners. In every coastwise stream of Alaska Fig. 246.—The Dolly Varden Trout, Salvelinus malma (Walbaum). Lake Pend d’Oreille, Idaho. (After Evermann.) the water fairly ‘“‘boils’”’ with these trout. They are, however, not found in the Yukon. In northern Japan occurs Salvelinus pluvius, the iwana, a species very similar to the Dolly Varden, but not so large or so brightly colored. In the Kurile region and Kamtchatka is another large charr, Salvelinus kundscha, with the spots large and cream-color instead of crimson. Cristivomer, the Great Lake Trout.—Allied to the true charts, but now placed by us in a different genus, Cristivomer, is the Fig. 247. —Great Lake Trout, Cristivomer namaycush (Walbaum). Lake Michigan. Great Lake trout, otherwise known as Mackinaw trout, longe, or togue (Cristivomer namaycush). Technically this fish differs from the true charrs in havingon its vomer a raised crest behind 338 Salmonide the chevron and free from the shaft. This crest is armed with strong teeth. There are also large hooked teeth on the hyoid bone, and the teeth generally are proportionately stronger than in most of the other species. The Great Lake trout is grayish in color, light or dark according to its surroundings; and the body is covered with round paler spots, which are gray instead of red. The dorsal and caudal fins are marked with darker reticula- tions, somewhat as in the brook-trout. This noble species is found in all the larger lakes from New England and New York to Wisconsin, Montana, the Mackenzie River, and in all the lakes tributary to the Yukon in Alaska. We have taken examples from Lake Bennett, Lake Tagish, Summit Lake (White Pass), and have seen specimens from Lake La Hache in British Columbia. It reaches a much larger size than any Salvelinus, specimens of from fifteen to twenty pounds weight being not uncommon, while it occasionally attains a weight of fifty to eighty pounds. As a food-fish it ranks high, although it may be regarded as somewhat inferior to the brook-trout or the whitefish. Compared with other salmonoids, the Great Lake trout is a slug- gish, heavy, and ravenous fish. It has been known to eat raw po- tato, liver, and corn-cobs,—refuse thrown from passing steamers. According to Herbert, “‘a coarse, heavy, stiff rod, and a powerful oiled hempen or flaxen line, on a winch, with a heavy sinker; a cod-hook, baited with any kind of flesh, fish, or fowl,—is the most successful, if not the most orthodox or scientific, mode of cap- turing him. His great size and immense strength alone give him value as a fish of game; but when hooked he pulls strongly and fights hard, though he is a boring, deep fighter, and seldom if ever leaps out of the water, like the true salmon or brook-trout.” In the depths of Lake Superior is a variety of the Great Lake trout known as the Siscowet (Cristivomer namaycush siskawitz), remarkable for its extraordinary fatness of flesh. The cause of this difference lies probably in some peculiarity of food as yet unascertained. The Ayu, or Sweetfish.— The ayu, or sweetfish, of Japan, Plecoglossus altivelis, resembles a small trout in form, habits, and scaling. Its teeth are, however, totally different, being arranged on serrated plates on the sides of the jaws, and the tongue marked with similar folds. The ayu abounds in all Salmonide 339 clear streams of Japan and Formosa. It runs up from the sea like a salmon. It reaches the length of about a foot. The Fig 248 —Ayu. or Japanese Samlet, Plecoglossus altivelis Schlegel. Tamagawa, Tokyo, Japan. flesh is very fine and delicate, scarcely surpassed by that of any other fish whatsoever. It should be introduced into clear short streams throughout the temperate zones. In the river at Gifu in Japan and in some other streams the ayu is fished for on a large scale by means of tamed cor- morants. This is usually done from boats in the night by the light of torches. Cormorant-fishing.—The following account of cormorant- fishing is taken, by the kind permission of Mr. Caspar W. Whit- ney, from an article contributed by the writer to Outing, April, 1902: Tamagawa means Jewel River, and no water could be clearer. It rises somewhere up in the delectable mountains to the eastward of Musashi, among the mysterious pines and green-brown fir-trees, and it flows across the plains bordered by rice-fields and mul- berry orchards to the misty bay of Tokyo. It is, therefore, a river of Japan, and along its shores are quaint old temples, each guarding its section of primitive forest, picturesque bridges, huddling villages, and torii, or gates through which the gods may pass. : The stream itself is none too large—a boy may wade it—but it runs on a wide bed, which it will need in flood-time, when the snow melts in the mountains. And this broad flood-bed is 340 Salmonide filled with gravel, with straggling willows, showy day-lilies, orange amaryllis, and the little sky-blue spider-flower, which the Japanese call chocho, or butterfly-weed. In the Tamagawa are many fishes: shining minnows in the white ripples, dark catfishes in the pools and eddies, and little sculpins and gobies lurking under the stones. Trout dart through its upper waters, and at times salmon run up from the sea. But the one fish of all its fishes is the ayu. This is a sort of dwarf salmon, running in the spring and spawning in the rivers just as asalmon does. Butit is smaller than any salmon, not larger than a smelt, and its flesh is white and tender, and so very delicate in its taste and odor that one who tastes it crisply fried or broiled feels that he has never tasted real fish before. In all its anatomy the ayu is a salmon, a dwarf of its kind, one which our ancestors in England would have called a ‘“‘samlet.’’ Its scientific name is Plecoglossus altivelis. Ple- coglossus means plaited tongue, and altivelis, having a high sail; for the skin of the tongue is plaited or folded in a curious way, and the dorsal fin is higher than that of the salmon, and one poeti- cally inclined might, if he likes, call it a sail. The teeth of the ayu are very peculiar, for they constitute a series of saw-edged folds or plaits along the sides of the jaws, quite different from those of any other fish whatsoever. In size the ayu is not more than a foot to fifteen inches long. It is like a trout in build, and its scales are just as small. It is light yellowish or olive in color, growing silvery below. Behind its gills is a bar of bright shining yellow, and its adipose fin is edged with scarlet. The fins are yellow, and the dorsal fin shaded with black, while the anal fin is dashed with pale red. So much for the river and the ayu. It is time for us to go afishing. It is easy enough to find the place, for it is not more than ten miles out of Tokyo, on a fine old farm just by the ancient Temple of Tachikawa, with its famous inscribed stone, given by the emperor of China. At the farmhouse, commodious and hospitable, likewise clean and charming after the fashion of Japan, we send for the boy who brings our fishing-tackle. es aa eee aaa a & Salmonide 341 They come waddling into the yard, the three birds with which we are to do our fishing. Black cormorants they are, each with a white spot behind its eye, and a hoarse voice, come of standing in the water, with which it says y-eugh whenever a stranger makes a friendly overture. The cormorants answer to the name of Ou, which in Japanese is something like the only word the cormorants can say. The boy puts them in a box together and we set off across the drifted gravel to the Tamagawa. Ar- rived at the stream, the boy takes the three cormorants out of the box and adjusts their fishing-harness. This consists of a tight ring about the bottom of the neck, of a loop under each wing, and a directing line. Two other boys take a low net. They drag it down the stream, driving the little fishes—ayu, zakko, haé, and all the rest—before it. The boy with the cormorants goes in advance. The three birds are eager as pointer dogs, and apparently full of perfect enjoyment. To the right and left they plunge with lightning strokes, each dip bringing up a shining fish. When the bird’s neck is full of fishes down to the level of the shoulders, the boy draws him in, grabs him by the leg, and shakes him unceremoniously over a basket until all the fishes have flopped out. The cormorants watch the sorting of the fish with eager eyes and much repeating of y-eugh, the only word they know. The ayu are not for them, and some of the kajikas and hazés were prizes of science. But zakko (the dace) and haé (the minnow) were made for the cormorant. The boy picks out the chubs and minnows and throws them to one bird and then another. Each catches his share on the fly, swallows it at one gulp, for the ring is off his neck by this time, and then says y-eugh, which means that he likes the fun, and when we are ready will be glad to try again. And no doubt they have tried it many times since, for there are plenty of fishes in the Jewel River, zakko and hae as well as ayu. Fossil Salmonide.—Fossil salmonide are rare and known chiefly from detached scales, the bones in this family being very brittle and easily destroyed. Nothing is added to our knowledge of the origin of these fishes from such fossils. A large fossil trout or salmon, called Rhabdofario lacustris, i, b 342 Salmonide has been brought from the Pliocene at Catherine’s Creek, Idaho. It is known from the skull only. Thaumaturus luxatus, from the Miocene of Bohemia, shows the print of the adipose fin. As already stated, some fragments of the hooked jaws of salmon, from pleistocene deposits in Idaho, are in the museum of the University of California. Berane CHAPTER XXI THE GRAYLING AND THE SMELT HE Grayling, or Thymallide.—The small family of Thymallide, or grayling, is composed of finely organized fishes allied to the trout, but differing in having the frontal bones meeting on the middle line of the skull, thus excluding the frontals from contact with the supraoccipital. The anterior half of the very high dorsal is made up of un- branched simple rays. There is but one genus, 7hymallus, comprising very noble game-fishes characteristic of sub-arctic streams. The grayling, Thymallus, of Europe, is termed by Saint Ambrose “the flower of fishes.”” The teeth on the tongue, Fie. 249 —Alaska Grayling, Thymallus signifer Richardson. Nulato, Alaska. found in all the trout and salmon, are obsolete in the grayling. The chief distinctive peculiarity of the genus Thymallus is the great development of the dorsal fin, which has more rays (20 to 24) than are found in any of the Salmonide, and the fin is also higher. All the species are gaily colored, the dorsal fin especially being marked with purplish or greenish bands 343 344 The Grayling and the Smelt and bright rose-colored spots; while the body is mostly purplish gray, often with spots of black. Most of the species rarely exceed a foot in length, but northward they grow larger. Gray- ling weighing five pounds have been taken in England; and according to Dr. Day they are said in Lapland to reach a weight of eight or nine pounds. The grayling in all countries frequent clear, cold brooks, and rarely, if ever, enter the sea, or even the larger lakes. They congregate in small shoals in the streams, and prefer those which have a succession of pools and shal- lows, with a sandy or gravelly rather than rocky bottom. The grayling spawns on the shallows in April or May (in England). It is non-migratory in its habits, depositing its ova in the neighborhood of its usual haunts. The ova are far more delicate and easily killed than those of the trout or charr. The grayling and the trout often inhabit the same waters, but not alto- gether in harmony. It is said that the grayling devours the eggs of the trout. It is certain that the trout feed on the young grayling. As a food-fish, the grayling of course ranks high; and it is beloved by the sportsman. They are considered gamy fishes, although less strong than the brook-trout, and perhaps less wary. The five or six known species of grayling are very closely related, and are doubtless comparatively recent ofishoots from a common stock, which has now spread itself widely through the northern regions. The common grayling of Europe (Zhymallus thymallus) is found throughout northern Europe, and as far south as the mountains of Hungary and northern Italy. The name Thymallus was given by the ancients, because the fish, when fresh, was said to have the odor of water-thyme. Grayling belonging to this or other species are found in the waters of Russia and Siberia. The American grayling (Thymallus signifer) is widely dis- tributed in British America and Alaska. In the Yukon it is very abundant, rising readily to the fly. In several streams in northern Michigan, Au Sable River, and Jordan River in the southern peninsula, and Otter Creek near Keweenaw in the northern peninsula, occurs a dwarfish variety or species with shorter and lower dorsal fins, known to anglers as the Michigan grayling (Thymallus tricolor). This form has a longer head, rather smaller scales, and the dorsal fin rather lower than in The Grayling and the Smelt 345 the northern form (signifer); but the constancy of these charac- ters in specimens from intermediate localities is yet to be proved. Another very similar form, called Thymallus montanus, occurs in the Gallatin, Madison, and other rivers of Western Montana tributary to the Missouri. It is locally still abundant and one of the finest of game-fishes. It is probable that the grayling once hada wider range to the southward than now, and that so far as the waters of the United States are concerned it is tending toward extinction. This tendency is, of course, being X: Fic. 250 — Michigan Grayling, Thymailus tricolor Cope. Au Sable River, Mich. accelerated in Michigan by lumbermen and anglers. The colonies of grayling in Michigan and Montana are probably remains of a post-glacial fauna. The Argentinide.—The family of Argentinide, or smelt, is very closely related to the Salmonide, representing a dwarf series of similar type. The chief essential difference lies in the form of the stomach, which is a blind sac, the two openings near together, and about the second or pyloric opening there are few if any pyloric ceca. In all the Salmonide the stomach has the form of a siphon, and about the pylorus there are very many pyloric ceca. The smelt have the adipose fin and the gen- eral structure of the salmon. All the species are small in size, and most of them are strictly marine, though some of them ascend the rivers to spawn, just as salmon do, but not going very far. A few kinds become land-locked in ponds. Most of the species are confined to the north temperate zone, and a few sink into the deep seas. All that are sufficiently abundant furnish excellent food, the flesh being extremely delicate and often charged with a fragrant oil easy of digestion. 346 The Grayling and the Smelt The best-known genus, Osmerus, includes the smelt, or spirling (éperlan), of Europe, and its relatives, all excellent food- fishes, although quickly spoiling in warm weather. Osmerus eperlanus is the European species; Osmerus mordax of our eastern coast is very much like it, as is also the rainbow-smelt, Osmerus dentex of Japan and Alaska. A larger smelt, Osmerus alba- trossis, occurs on the coast of Alaska, and a small and feeble one, Osmerus thaleichthys, mixed with other small or delicate fishes, is the whitebait of the San Francisco restaurants. The whitebait of the London epicure is made up of the young of herrings and sprats of different species. The still more delicate whitebait of the Hong Kong hotels is the icefish, Salanx chinensis. Fig. 251.—Smelt, Osmerus mordax (Mitchill). Wood’s Hole, Mass. Retropinna retropinna, so called from the backward insertion of its dorsal, is the excellent smelt of the rivers of New Zealand. All the other species belong to northern waters. Mesopus, the surf-smelt, has a smaller mouth than Osmerus and inhabits the North Pacific. The California species, Mesopus pretiosus, of Neah Bay has, according to James G. Swan, “the belly covered with a coating of yellow fat which imparts an oily appearance to the water where the fish has been cleansed or washed and makes them the very perfection of pan-fish.”” This species spawns in late summer along the surf-line. According to Mr. Swan the water seems to be filled with them. ‘‘ They come in with the flood-tide, and when a wave breaks upon the beach they crowd up into the very foam, and as the surf re- cedes many will be seen flapping on the sand and shingle, but invariably returning with the undertow to deeper water.” The Quilliute Indians of Washington believe that “the first The Grayling and the Smelt . 347 surf-smelts that appear must not be sold or given away to be taken to another place, nor must they be cut transversely, but split open with a mussel-shell.”’ The surf-smelt is marine, as is also a similar species, Mesopus japonicus, in Japan. Mesopus olidus, the pond-smelt of Alaska, Kamchatka, and Northern Japan, spawns in fresh-water ponds. Still more excellent as a food-fish than even these exquisite species is the famous eulachon, or candle-fish (Thaleichthys pacificus). The Chinook name, usually written eulachon, is perhaps more accurately represented as ulchen. This little fish has the form of a smelt and reaches the length of nearly a foot. In the spring it ascends in enormous numbers all the rivers north of the Columbia, as far as Skaguay, for a short distance for the purpose of spawning. These runs take place usually in advance of the salmon-runs. Various predatory fishes and sea-birds persecute the eulachon during its runs, and even the stomachs of the sturgeons are often found full of the little fishes, which they have taken in by their sucker- like mouths. At the time of the runs the eulachon are ex- tremely fat, so much so that it is said that when dried and a wick drawn through the body they may be used as candles. On Nass River, in British Columbia, a stream in which their run is greatest, there is a factory for the manufacture of eula- chon-oil from them. This delicate oil is proposed as a substitute for cod-liver oil in medicine. Whatever may be its merits in this regard, it has the disadvantage in respect to salability of being semi-solid or lard-like at ordinary temperatures, re- quiring melting to make it flow as oil. The eulachon is a favorite nt eee tats iy CAs ini ghhesy 4 Spe, sate gighigeee peor peg Aphid +f hie pate jeto Ae ote Epo 7 ERY Ls eS oer Keele ond Vries on Vie ferred or foes Lxesae ties ha Cag coco Bre ae einen Late Bdts~ Pires, Rebeca Fars PH is 2 pee. aA es Pewitias wie ferene® Diy [lan Dert— ae came eed Vic. 253 —Page of William Clark’s handwriting with sketcn of the Eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus), the first notice of the species Columbia River, 1805. (Expedition of Lewis & Clark.) (Reproduced from the original in the posses- sion of his granddaughter Mrs. Julia Clark Voorhis, through the courtesy of Messrs, Dodd, Mead & Company, publishers of the “ Original Journais of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.’’) a8 3 " The Grayling and the Smelt 349 pan-fish in British Columbia. The writer has had considerable experience with it, broiled and fried, in its native region, and has no hesitation in declaring it to be the best-flavored food- fish in American waters. It is fat, tender, juicy, and richly flavored, with comparatively few troublesome bones. It does not, however, bear transportation well. The Indians in Alaska bury the eulachon in the ground in great masses. After the fish are well decayed they are taken out and the oil pressed fromthem. The odor of the fish and the oil is then very offensive, less so, however, than that of some forms of cheese eaten by civilized people. The capelin (\Jallotus villosus) closely resembles the eula- chon, differing mainly in its broader pectorals and in the peculiar scales of the males. In the male fish a band of scales above Yass: => a Fie. 254 —Capelin, Mallotus villosus L. Crosswater Bay. the lateral line and along each side of the belly become elongate, closely imbricated, with the free points projecting, giving the body a villous appearance. It is very abundant on the coasts of Arctic America, both in the Atlantic and the Pacific, and is an important source of food for the natives of those regions. This species spawns in the surf, and the writer has seen them in August cast on the shores of the Alaskan islands (as at Metlakahtla in 1897), living and dead, in numbers which seem incredible. The males are then distorted, and it seems likely that all of them perish after spawning. The young are abundant in all the northern fiords. Even more inordinate numbers are reported from the shores of Greenland. The capelin seems to be inferior to the eulachon as a food- fish, but to the natives of arctic regions in both hemispheres it is a very important article of food. Fossil capelin are found 350 The Grayling and the Smelt in abundance in recent shales in Greenland enveloped in nodules of clay. In the open waters about the Aleutian Islands a small smelt, Therobromus callorhini, occurs in very great abundance and forms the chief part of the summer food of the fur-seal. Strangely enough, no complete specimen of this fish has yet been seen by man, although thousands of fragments have been taken from seals’ stomachs. From these fragments Mr. Frederick A. Lucas has reconstructed the fish, which must be an ally of the surf-smelt, probably spawning in the open ocean of the north. The silvery species called Argentina live in deeper water and have no commercial importance. Argentina silus, with prickly scales, occurs in the North Sea. Several fossils have been doubtfully referred to Osmerus. The Microstomide.—The small family of Microstomide con- sists of a few degraded smelt, slender in form, with feeble mouth and but three or four branchiostegals, rarely taken in the deep seas. Nansenia grenlandica was found by Reinhardt off the coast of Greenland, and six or eight other species of A/icrostoma and Bathylagus have been brought in by the deep-sea explora- tions. The Salangide, or Icefishes.—Still more feeble and insignifi- cant are the species of Salangide, icefishes, or Chinese whitebait, which may be described as Salmomde reduced to the lowest terms. The body is long and slender, perfectly translucent, almost naked, and with the skeleton scarcely ossified. The fins are like those of the salmon, the head is depressed, the jaws long and broad, somewhat like-the bill of a duck, and within there are a few disproportionately strong canine teeth, those of the lower jaw somewhat piercing the upper. The alimentary canal is straight for its whole length, without pyloric ceca. These little fishes, two to five inches long, live in the sea in enormous numbers and ascend the rivers of eastern Asia for the purpose of spawning. It is thought by some that they are annual fishes, all dying in the fall after reproduction, the species living through the winter only within its eggs. But this is only suspected, not proved, and the species will repay the care- ful study which some of the excellent naturalists of Japan are sure before long to give to it. The species of Salanx are known as whitebait, in Japan as Shiro-uwo, which means exactly the oe eee . Sind ae ee aii The Grayling and the Smelt 255 same thing. They are also sometimes called icefish (Hingio), which, being used for no other fish, may be adopted as a group name for Salanx. The species are Salanx chinensis from Canton, Salanx hyalo crantus from Korea and northern China, Salanx microdon from northern Japan, and Salanx ariakensis from the southern island of Kiusiu. The Japanese fishes are species still smaller and feebler than their relatives from the mainland. The Haplochitonide.— The Haplochitonide are trout -like fishes of the south temperate zone, differing from the Salmonide mainly in the extension of the premaxillary until, as in the perch-like fishes, it forms the outer border of the upper jaw. The adipose fin is present as in all the salmon and smelt. Hap- lochiton of Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands is naked, while in Prototroctes of Australia and New Zealand the body, as in all salmon, trout, and smelt, is covered with scales. Proto- troctes marena is the yarra herring of Australia. The closely related family of Galaxizde, also Australian, but lacking the adipose fin, is mentioned in a later chapter. Fia. 255 —Icefish, Salanx hyalocranius Abbott, Family Salangide, Tientsin, China. Stomiatide. — The Stomiatide, with elongate bodies, have the mouth enormous, with fang-like teeth, usually barbed. Of Fic. 256 —Stomias feror Reinhardt. Banquereau. the several species Stomias ferox is best known. According to Dr. Boulenger, these fishes are true Isospondyli. Astronesthide is another small group of small fishes naked and black, with long canines, found in the deep sea. The Malacosteide is a related group with extremely dis- | , 352 The Grayling and the Smelt tensible mouth, the species capable of swallowing fishes much larger than themselves. The viper-fishes (Chauliodontide) are very feeble and very voracious little fishes occasionally brought up from the depths. Chauliodus sloanei is notable for the length of the fangs. Much smaller and feebler are the species of the closely related family of Gonostonuide. Gonostoma and Cyclothone dwell in oceanic abysses. One species, Cyclothone elongata, occurs at the depth of from half a mile to nearly four miles Fig 257.—Chauliodus sloanet Schneider. Grand Banks. almost everywhere throughout the oceans. It is probably the most widely distributed, as well as one of the feeblest and most fragile, of all bassalian or deep-sea fishes. Suborder Iniomi, the Lantern-fishes.—The suborder Jniomi (iviov, nape; mos, shoulder) comprises soft-rayed fishes, in which the shoulder-girdle has more or less lost its com- pleteness of structure as part of the degradation consequent on life in the abysses of the sea. These features distinguish these forms from the true Jsospondyli, but only in a very few of the species have these characters been verified by actual examination of the skeleton. The mesocoracoid arch is wanting or atrophied in all of the species examined, and the orbito- sphenoid is lacking, so faras known. The group thus agrees in most technical characters with the Haplomz, in which group they are placed by Dr. Boulenger. On the other hand the relation- ships to the Isospondyli are very close, and the Iniomi have many traits suggesting degenerate Isospondyli. The post-temporal has lost its usual hold on the skull and may touch the occiput on the sides of the cranium. Nearly all the species are soft in body, black or silvery over black in color, and all that live ) \ ‘ A ) The Grayling and the Smelt 353 in the deep sea are provided with luminous spots or glands giving light in the abysmal depths. These spots are wanting in the few shore species, as also in those which approach most nearly to the Salmonide, these being presumably the most primitive of the group. In these also the post-temporal touches the back of the cranium near the side. In the majority of the [niomi the adipose fin of the Salmomide is retained. From the phos- phorescent spots is derived the general name of lantern-fishes applied of late years to many of the species. Most of these are of recent discovery, results of the remarkable work in deep- sea dredging begun by the Albatross and the Challenger. All of the species are carnivorous, and some, in spite of their feeble muscles, are exceedingly voracious, the mouth being armed with veritable daggers and spears. Aulopide.—Most primitive of the Iniomz is the family of Aulopide, having an adipose fin, a normal maxillary, and no luminous spots. The rough firm scales suggest those of the berycoid fishes. The few species of Aulopus and Chlorophthalmus are found in moderate depths. Aulopus purpurissatus is the “Sergeant Baker”’ of the Australian fishermen. The Lizard-fishes——The Synodontide, or lizard-fishes, have lizard-like heads with very large mouth. The head is scaly, a character rare among the soft-rayed fishes. The slender maxil- Fic 258 —Lizard-fish, Synodus fetens L. Charleston, S. C. lary is grown fast to the premaxillary, and the color is not black. Most of the species are shore-fishes and some are brightly colored. Synodus fetens is the common lizard-fish, or galliwasp, of our Atlantic coast. Synodus varius of the Pacific is brightly colored, olive-green and orange-red types of coloration exist- ing at different depths. Most of the species lie close to the bottom and are mottled gray like coral sand. A few occur in 354 The Grayling and the Smelt oceanic depths. The “Bombay duck” of the fishermen of India is a species of Harpodon, H. nehereus, with large mouth and arrow-shaped teeth. The dried fish is used as a relish. The Benthosauride are deep-sea fishes of similar type, but with distinct maxillaries. The Bathypteroide, of the deep seas, resemble Aulopus, but have the upper and lower pectoral rays filiform, developed as organs of touch in the depths in which the small eyes become practically useless. Ipnopide.—In the Ipnopide the head is depressed above and the two eyes are flattened and widened so as to occupy most of its upper surface. These structures were at first sup- posed to be luminous organs, but Professor Moseley has thought them to be eyes. ‘‘They show a flattened cornea extending along the median line of the snout, with a large retina com- posed of peculiar rods which form a complicated apparatus —_ be Sais Cae ten Fig. 259.—Ipnops murrayi Giinther. destined undoubtedly to produce an image and to receive especial luminous rays.’’ The single species, Jpuops murrayi, is black in color and found at the depth of 24 miles in various seas. ; The existence of well-developed eyes among fishes des- tined to live in the dark abysses of the ocean seems at first con- tradictory, but we must remember that these singular forms are descendants of immigrants from the shore and from the surface. ‘In some cases the eyes have not been specially modified, but in others there have been modifications of a lumi- nous mucous membrane leading on the one hand to phosphor- escent organs more or less specialized, or on the other to such remarkable structures as the eyes of Jpnops, intermediate between true eyes and phosphorescent plates. In fishes which cannot see, and which retain for their guidance only the general sensibility of the integuments and the lateral line, these parts soon acquire a very great delicacy. The same is the case with te plea ws < The Grayling and the Smelt 255 tactile organs (as in Bathypterois and Benthosaurus), and experi- ments show that barbels may become organs of touch adapted to aquatic life, sensitive to the faintest movements or the slightest displacement, with power to give the blinded fishes full cognizance of the medium in which they live.” Rondeletiide.—The Rondeletiide are naked black fishes with small eyes, without adipose fin and without luminous spots, ee eee Fic. 260 —Cetomimus gillii Goode & Bean. Gulf Stream. taken at great depths in the Atlantic. The relationship of these fishes is wholly uncertain. The Cetomimide are near allies of the Rondeletiide, having the mouth excessively large, with the peculiar form seen in the tight whales, which these little fishes curiously resemble. Myctophid#.— The large family of Myctophide, or lantern- fishes, is made up of small fishes allied to the Aulopide, but Fic. 261.—Headlight Fish, Diaphus lucidus Goode and Bean. Gulf Stream. with the body covered with luminous dots, highly specialized and symmetrically arranged. Most of them belong to the deep sea, but others come to the surface in the night or during storms when the sunlight is absent. Through this habit they are often thrown by the waves on the decks of small vessels. 7 356 The Grayling and the Smelt Largely from Danish merchant-vessels, Dr. Litken has obtained the unrivaled collection of these sea-waifs preserved in the Museum of the University of Copenhagen. The species are all small in size and feeble in structure, the prey of the larger Fic. 262.—Lantern-fish, Myctophum opalinum Goode & Bean. Gulf Stream. fishes of the depths, from which their lantern-like spots and large eyes help them to escape. The numerous species are now ranged in about fifteen genera, although earlier writers placed them all in a single genus Myctophum (Scopelus). In the genus Diaphus (d’thoprora) there is a large luminous gland on the end of the short snout, like the headlight of an Fie 268 —Lantern-fish, Ceratoscopelus madeirensis (Lowe). Gulf Stream. engine. In Dasyscopelus the scales are spinescent, but in most of the genera, as in Myctophum, the scales are cycloid and caducous, falling at the touch. In Diaphus the luminous spots are crossed by a septum giving them the form of the Greek letter @ (theta). One of the commonest species is Myctophum_, humboldti. Chirothricide.—The remarkable extinct family of Chiro- thricide may be related to the Synodontide, or Myctophide. In this group the teeth are feeble, the paired fins much The Grayling and the Smelt 357 enlarged, and the ventrals are well forward. The dorsal fin, inserted well forward, has stout basal bones. Chirothrix libani- cus of the Cretaceous of Mt. Lebanon is remarkable for its exces- sively large ventral fins. Telepholis is a related genus. Exo- cetoides with rounded caudal fin is probably the type of a distinct family, Exocetotdide, the caudal fin being strongly forked in Chirothrix. The small extinct group of Rhinellide is usually placed near the Myctophide. They are distinguished by the very long gar-like jaws; whether they possessed adipose fins or luminous spots cannot be determined. Rhinellus fur- catus and other species occur in the Cretaceous of Europe and Asia. Fossil forms more or less distinctly related to the Mycto- ay ’ Fie 264 —Rhinellus furcatus Agassiz. Upper Cretaceous of Mt. Lebanou. (After Woodward.) phide are numerous. Osmeroides monasterit (wrongly called Sardinioides), from the German Cretaceous, seems allied to Myctophum, although, of course, luminous spots leave:no trace among fossils. Acrognathus boops is remarkable for the large size of the eyes. Maurolicide.— The Maurolicide are similar in form and habit, but scaleless, and with luminous spots more highly specialized. Maurolicus pennanti, the “Sleppy Argentine,’’ is occasionally taken on either side of the Atlantic. Other genera are Zalarges, Vinciguerria, and Valenciennellus. The Lancet-fishes.—The Plagyodontide (Alepisauride) con- tains the lancet-fishes, large, swift, scaleless fishes of the ocean depths with very high dorsal fin, and the mouth filled with knife-like teeth. These large fish are occasionally cast up by storms or are driven to the shores by the torments of a parasite, Tetrarhynchus, found imbedded in the flesh. It is probable that they are sometimes killed by being forced above their level by fishes which they have swallowed. In such cases they are destroyed through the reduction of pressure. Every part of the body is so fragile that perfect specimens are rare. The dorsal fin is readily torn, the bones are very 358 The Grayling and the Smelt feebly ossified, and the ligaments connecting the vertebre are very loose and extensible, so that the body can be considerably stretched. ‘This loose connection of the parts of the body is found in numerous deep-sea fishes, and is merely the conse- quence of their withdrawal from the pressure of the water to which they are exposed in the depths inhabited by them. When within the limits of their natural haunts, the osseous, muscular, , and fibrous parts of the body will have that solidity which is required for the rapid and powerful movements of a predatory fish. That the fishes of this genus (Plagyodus) belong to the most ferocious of the class is proved by their dentition and the contents of their stomach.’’ (Gtnther.) Dr. Gtnther else- a si “eeniiact atiommestors ~ YY eS Fic, 265. —Lancet-fish, Plagyodus ferox (Lowe). New York. where observes: ‘‘From the stomach of one example have been taken several octopods, crustaceans, ascidians, a young Brama, twelve young boarfishes (Capros), a horse-mackerel, and one young of its own species.” The lancet-fish, Plagyodus ferox, is occasionally taken on either side of the Atlantic and in Japan. The handsaw-fish, called Plagyodus e@sculapius, has been taken at Unalaska, off San Luis Obispo, and in Humboldt Bay. It does not seem to differ at all from Plagyodus ferox. The original type from Una- laska had in its stomach twenty-one lumpfishes (umicrotremus spinosus). This is the species described from Steller’s manu- scripts by Pallas under the name of Plagyodus. Another species, Plagyodus borcalis, is occasionally taken in the North Pacific. The Evermannellide is a small family of small deep-sea fishes The Grayling and the Smelt 359 with large teeth, distensible muscles, and an extraordinary power of swallowing other fishes, scarcely surpassed by Chias- modon or Saccopharynx. Evermannella (Odontostomus, the latter name preoccupied) and Omosudis are the principal genera. The Paralepide are reduced allies of Plagyodus, slender, silvery, with small fins and fang-like jaws. As in Plagyodus, the adipose fin is developed and there are small luminous dots. The species are few and mostly northern; one of them, Sudis ringens, is known only from a single specimen taken by the present writer from the stomach of a hake (Merluccius produc- tus), the hake in turn swallowed whole by an albacore in the Santa Barbara Channel. The Sudis had been devoured by the hake, the hake by the albacore, and the albacore taken on the hook before the feeble Sudzs had been digested. Perhaps allied to the Plagyodontide is also the large family of Enchodontide, widely represented in the Cretaceous rocks of Fic. 266 —LHurypholis sulcidens Pictet, restored. Family Enchodontide. Upper Cretaceous of Mt. Lebanon. (After Woodward, as HL. boissierz.) Syria, Europe, and Kansas. The body in this group is elongate, the teeth very strong, and the dorsal fin short. LEnchodus lewesiensis is found in Mount Lebanon, Halec sternbergi in the German Cretaceous, and many species of Enchodus in Kansas; Cimolichthys dirus in North Dakota. Remotely allied to these groups is the extinct family of Dercetide from the Cretaceous of Germany and Syria. These are elongate fishes, the scales small or wanting, but with two or more series of bony scutes along the flanks. In Dercetis scutatus the scutes are large and the dorsal fin is very long. Other genera are Leptotrachelus and Pelargorhynchus. Dr. Boulenger places the Dercetid@ in the order Heteromt. This is an expression of the fact that their relations are still unknown. Probably 360 The Grayling and the Smelt related to the Dercetide is the American family of Stratodontide with its two genera, Stradodus and Empo from the Cretaceous Se Wh é) x pee | ar Sie ee: ey Oy Fic. 324.—Everglade Minnow, Jordanella floride Goode & Bean, Everglades - of Florida. 2 or 3 feet ata skip. They rise entirely out of the water, and at a considerable angle, the head pointing upward. In descending the tail strikes the water first and apparently by a sculling motion new impetus is acquired for another leap. This skipping may continue until the school is widely scattered. When a school has become scattered, and after the cause of their fright has disappeared, the individuals soon rejoin each other. First two will join each other and one by one the others will join them ‘until the whole school is together again. Rarely do they at- tempt to dive or get beneath the surface; when they do they have great difficulty in keeping under and soon come to the surface again.” The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi 417 Of the many genera of Peciliide, top-minnows, and killi- fishes we may mention the following: Cyprinodon is made Fic. 325.—Mayfish, Fundulus majalis (L.) (male). Woods Hole. up of chubby little fishes of eastern America with tricuspid, incisor teeth, oviparous and omnivorous. Very similar to oa ig Fie. 326 —Mayfish, Fundulus majalis (female). Woods Hole. these but smaller are the species of Lebias in southern Europe. Jordanella floride of the Florida everglades is similar, but with Fic. 327.—Top-minnow, Zygonectes notatus (Rafinesque). Eureka Springs, Ark. the dorsal fin long and its first ray enlarged and spine-like. It strongly resembles a young sunfish. Most of the larger forms 418 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi belong to Fundulus, a genus widely distributed from Maine to Guatemala and north to Kansas and southern California. Fundulus majalis, the Mayfish of the Atlantic Coast, is the . largest of the genus. Fundulus heterochitus, the killifish, the most abundant. Fundulus diaphanis inhabits sea and lake 9 Ny 4 Vic. 828.—Death Valley Fish, Empetrichthys merriami Gilbert. Amargosa Desert, Cal. Family Peciliide. (After Gilbert.) indiscriminately. Fundulus stellifer of the Alabama is beauti- fully colored, as is Fundulus zebrinus of the Rio Grande. The } genus Zygonectes includes dwarf species similar to Fundulus, ’ and Adinia includes those with short, deep body. Goodea ‘* atripinnis with tricuspid teeth lives in warm springs in Mexico, The anal fin Fig. 329. —Sword-tail Minnow, male, Xiphophorus helleri Heckel. modified as an intromittent organ. Vera Cruz. and several species of Goodea, Gambusia, Pecilia, and other genera inhabit hot springs of Mexico, Central America, and Africa. The genus Gambusia, the top-minnows, includes nu- merous species with dwarf males having the anal modified. Gambusia ajffinis abounds in all kinds of sluggish water in The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi = 419 the southern lowlands, gutters and even sewers included. It brings forth its brood in early spring. Viviparous and her- bivorous with modified anal are the species of Pecilia, abundant throughout Mexico and southward to Brazil; Mollienesia very similar, with a banner-like dorsal fin, showily marked, occurs from Louisiana southward, and Xzphophorus, with a sword- shaped lobe on the caudal, abounds in Mexico; Characodon and Goodea in Mexico have notched teeth, and finally, Heterandria contains some of the least of fishes, the handsomely colored males barely half an inch long. In Lake Titicaca in the high Andes is a peculiar genus (Ores- tias) without ventral fins. Still more peculiar is Empetrichthys merriamt of the desert springs of the hot and rainless Death Valley in California, similar to Orestias, but with enormously enlarged pharyngeals and pharyngeal teeth, an adaptation to some unknown purpose. Fossil Cyprinodonts are not rare from the Miocene in southern Europe. The numerous species are allied to Lebias and Cyprinodon, and are referred to Prolebias and Pachylebias. None are American, although two American extinct genera, Gephyrura and Proballostomus, are probably allied to this group. Amblyopside.—The cave-fishes, Amblyopside, are the most remarkable of the haplomous fishes. In this family the vent is Fig. 330.—Dismal Swamp Fish, Chologaster cornutus Agassiz. Supposed ancestor of Typhlichthys. Virginia. placed at the throat. The form is that of the Peciliide, but the mouth is larger and not protractile. The species are vivip- arous, the young being born at about the length of a quarter of an inch. In the primitive genus Chologaster, the fish of the Dismal Swamp, the eyes are small but normally developed. Cholo- gaster cornutus abounds in the black waters of the Dismal Swamp 420 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi of Virginia, thence southward through swamps and rice-fields to Okefinokee Swamp in northern Florida. It is a small fish, less than two inches long, striped with black, and with the habit of a top-minnow. Other species of Chologaster, possessing eyes and color, but provided also with tactile papilla, are found in cave springs in Tennessee and southern Illinois. From Chologaster is directly descended the small blindfish Typhlichthys subterraneus of the caves of the Subcarboniferous limestone rocks of southern Indiana and southward to northern Alabama. As in Chologaster, the ventral fins are wanting. The eyes, present in the young, become defective and useless in the adult, when they are almost hidden by other tissues. The different parts of the eye are all more or less incomplete, being without function. The structure of the eye has been described in much detail in several papers by Dr. Carl H. Eigen- us by PAPE BLESS Spor 3: ee ee cca Hig fee te seu rae ee Fig. 381.—Blind Cave-fish, Typhlichthys subterraneus Girard. Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. mann. As to the cause of the loss of eyesight two chief theories exist—the Lamarckian theory of the inheritance in the species of the results of disuse in the individual and the Weissmannian doctrine that the loss of sight is a result of panmixia or cessation of selection. This may be extended to cover reversal of selection, as in the depths of the great caves the fish without eyes would be at some slight advantage. Dr. Eigenmann inclines to the Lamarckian doctrine, but the evidence brought forward fails to convince the present writer that results of individual use or disuse ever become hered- itary or that they are ever incorporated in the characters of a species. In the caves of southern Missouri is an inde- pendent case of similar degradation. Troglichthys rose, the blindfish of this region, has the eye in a different phase of degeneration. It is thought to be separately descended from is The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi = 421 some other species of Chologaster. Of this species Mr. Garman and Mr. Eigenmann have given detailed accounts from some- what different points of view. Concerning the habits of the blindfish (Troglichthys rose), Mr. Garman quotes the following from notes of Miss Ruth Hoppin, of Jasper County, Missouri: ‘‘For about two weeks I have been watching a fish taken from a well. I gave him considerable water, changed once a day, and kept him in an uninhabitated place subject to as few changes of temperature as possible. He seems perfectly healthy and as lively as when first taken from the well. If not capable of long fasts, he must live on small organisms my eye cannot discern. He is hardly ever still, but moves about the sides of the vessel constantly, down and up, as if needing the air. He never swims through Wy Vf Y Mf Wy Fic. 382.—Blindfish of the Mammoth Cave, Amblyopsis speleus (De Kay). Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. the body of the water away from the sides unless disturbed. Passing the finger over the sides of the vessel under water I find it slippery. I am careful not to disturb this slimy coating when the water is changed. ... Numerous tests convince me that it is through the sense of touch, and not through hear- ing, that the fish is disturbed; I may scream or strike metal bodies together over him as near as possible, yet he seems to take no notice whatever. If I strike the vessel so that the water is set in motion, he darts away from that side through the mass of water, instead of around in his usual way. If I stir the water or touch the fish, no matter how lightly, his actions are the same.”’ The more famous blindfish of the Mammoth Cave, Ambly- opsis speleus, reaches a length of five inches. It possesses ventral fins. From this fact we may infer its descent from 422 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi some extinct genus which, unlike Chologaster, retains these fins. The translucent body, as in the other blindfishes, is covered with very delicate tactile papilla, which form a very delicate organ of touch. The anomalous position of the vent in Amblyopside occurs again in an equally singular fish, Aphredoderus sayanus, which is found in the same waters throughout the same region in which Chologaster occurs. It would seem as if these lowland fishes of the southern swamps were remains of a once much more extensive fauna. No fossil allies of Chologaster are known. Kneriide, etc.—The members of the order of Haplomz, recorded above, differ widely among themselves in various details of osteology. There are other families, probably belonging here, which are still more aberrant. Among these are the Kneriide, and perhaps the entire series of forms called Iniomt, most of which possess the osteological traits of the Haplomt. The family of Kunertide includes a few very small fishes of the rivers of Africa. The Galaxiide—The Galaxiide are trout-like fishes of the southern rivers, where they take the place of the trout of the northern zones. The species lack the adipose fins and have the dorsal inserted well backward. According to Boulenger these fishes, having no mesocoraoid, should be placed among the Haplomi. Yet their relation to the Haplochitonide is very close and both families may really belong to the Isospondyli. Galaxias truttaceus is the kokopu, or “trout,” of New Zealand. Galaxias ocellatus is the yarra trout of Australia. Several other species are found in southern Australia, Tasmania, Patagonia, and the Falkland Islands, and even in South Africa. This very wide distribution in the rivers remote from each other has given rise to the suggestion of a former land connection between Australia and Patagonia. Other similar facts have led some geologists to believe in the existence of a former great con- tinent called Antarctica, now submerged except that part which constitutes the present unknown land of the Antarctic. Order Xenomi.— We must place near the Haplomi the singular group of Xenomi (Sevos, strange; @pos, shoulder), regarded by Dr. Gill as a distinct order. Externally these fish > The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi 423 much resemble the mud-minnows, differing mainly in the very broad pectorals. But the skeleton is thin and papery, the two coracoids forming a single cartilaginous plate imperfectly divided. The pectorals are attached directly to this without the inter- vention of actinosts, but in the distal third, according to Dr. Charles H. Gilbert, the coracoid plate begins to break up Tic. 333.—Alaska Blackfish, Dallia pectoralis (Bean). St. Michaels, Alaska. into a fringe of narrow cartilaginous strips. “In the deep-sea eels of the order Heteromi there is a some- what similar condition of the coracoid elements inasmuch as the hypercoracoid and hypocoracoid though present are merely membranous elements surrounded by cartilage and the acti- nosts are greatly reduced. It seems probable that we are dealing in the two cases with independent degeneration of the shoulder-girdle and that the two groups (Xenomi and Heteromt) are not really related.”’ (Gilbert.) Of the single family Dalliide, one species is known, the Alaska blackfish, Dallia pectoralis. This animal, formed like a mud-minnow, reaches a length of eight inches and swarms in the bogs and sphagnum swamps of northwestern Alaska and westward through Siberia. It is found in countless numbers according to its discoverer, Mr. L. M. Turner, ‘““wherever there is water enough to wet the skin of a fish,’ and wherever it occurs it forms the chief food of the natives. Its vitality is most extraordinary. Blackfishes will remain frozen in baskets for weeks and when thawed out are as lively asever. Turner gives an account of a frozen individual swallowed by a dog which escaped in safety after being thawed out by the heat of the dog’s stomach. CHAPTER XXVI ACANTHOPTERYGII; SYNENTOGNATHI & 1) |RDER Avantasia ae the Spiny-rayed Fishes. — The j Im} most of the remaining bony fishes constitute a natural i group for which the name Acanthopterygit (axavia, spine; zrépv&, zrepov, fin or wing) may be used. This name is often written Actinoptert, a form equally correct and more euphonious and convenient. These fishes are characterized, with numerous exceptions, by the presence of fin spines, by the connection of the ventral fins with the shoulder-girdle, by the presence in general of more than one spine in the an- terior part of dorsal and anal fins, and as a rule of one spine and five rays in the ventral fins, and by the absence in the adult of a duct to the air-bladder. Minor characters are these: the pectoral fins are inserted high on the shoulder-girdle, the scales are often ctenoid, and the edge of the upper jaw is formed by the premaxillary alone, the maxillary being always toothless. But it is impossible to define or limit the group by any single character or group of characters. It is connected with the Malacopterygit through the Haplomit on the one hand by transitional groups of genera which may lack any one of these characters. On the other hand, in the extreme forms, each of these distinctive characters may be lost through degenera- tion. Thus fin spines, ctenoid scales, and the homocercal tail are lost in the codfishes, the connection of ventrals with shoulder- girdle fails in the Percesoces, etc., and the development of the air-duct is subject to all sorts of variations. In one family even the adipose fin remains through all the changes and modifications the species have undergone. The various transitional forms between the Haplomi and the perch-like fishes have been from time to time regarded as 424 Acanthopterygii; Synentognathi 425 separate orders. Some of them are more related to the perch, others rather to ancestors of salmon or pike, while still others are degenerate offshoots, far enough from either. On the whole, all these forms, medium, extreme and tran- sitional, may well be placed in one order, which would include the primitive flying-fishes and mullets, the degraded globefishes, and the specialized flounders. As for the most part these are spiny-rayed fishes, Cuvier’s name Acanthopterygit, or Acanthopteri, will serve us as well as any. The Physoclysti of Miller, the Thoracices of older authors, and the Ctenordet of Agassiz in- clude substantially the same series of forms. The order Teleo- cephali of Gill (redeos, perfect; «xepadn, head) has been lately so restricted as to cover nearly the same ground. In Gill’s most recent catalogue of families, the order Teleocephali in- cludes the Haplomz and rejects the Hemibranchti, Lophobranchii, Plectognatht, and Pediculati, all of these being groups charac- terized by sharply defined but comparatively recent characters not of the highest importance. As originally arranged, the order Teleocephali included the soft-rayed fishes as well. From it the Ostariophyst were first detached, and still later the [sospondyli were regarded by Dr. Gill as a separate order. We may first take up serially as suborders the principal groups which serve to effect the transition from soft-rayed to spiny-rayed fishes. Suborder Synentognathi.— Among the transitional forms be- tween the soft-rayed and the spiny-rayed fishes, one of the most important groups is that known as Synentognatht (curv, to- gether; év, within; yvados, jaw). These have, in brief, the fins and shoulder-girdle of Haplomz, the ventral fins abdominal, the dorsal and anal without spines. At the same time, as in the spiny-rayed fishes, the air-bladder is without duct and the pectoral fins are inserted high on the side of the body. With these traits are two others which characterize the group as a suborder. The lower pharyngeal bones are solidly united into one bone and the lateral line forms a raised ridge along the lower side of the body. These forms are structurally allied to the pikes (Haplomz), on the one hand, and to the mullets (Percesoces), on the other, and this relationship accords with their general appearance. In this group as in all the remain- 420 Acanthopterygii; Synentognathi ing families of fishes, there is no mesocoracoid, and in very nearly all of these families the duct to the air-bladder disappears at an early stage of development. The Garfishes: Belonide.— There are two principal groups or families among the Synentognathi, the Belonide, with strong jaws and teeth, and the Exocetide, in which these structures are feeble. Much more important characters appear in the anatomy. In the Belonide the third upper pharyngeal is small, with few teeth, and the maxillary is firmly soldered to the premaxillary. The vertebre are provided with zygapophyses. The species of Belonide are known as garfishes, or needle- fishes. They resemble the garpike in form, but have nothing else in common. The body is long and slender, covered with small scales: Sharp, unequal teeth fill the long jaws and the Fig. 334.—Needle-fish, Tylosurus acus (Lacépéde). New York. dorsal is opposite the anal, on the hinder part of the body. These fishes are green in color, even the bones being often bright green, while the scales on the sides have a silvery luster. The species are excellent as food, the green color being associated with nothing deleterious. All are very voracious and some of the larger species, 5 or 6 feet long, may be dangerous even to man. Fishermen have been wounded or killed by the thrust of the sharp snout of a fish springing into the air. The garfishes swim near the surface of the water and often move with great swiftness, frequently leaping from the water. The genus Belone is characterized by the presence of gill-rakers. Belone belone is a small garfish common in southern Europe. Belone platura occurs in Polynesia. The American species (Tylosurus) lack gill-rakers. Tylosurus marinus, the common garfish of Acanthopterygii; Synentognathi 427 the eastern United States, often ascends the rivers. Tylosurus raphidoma, Tylosurus fodiator, Tylosurus acus, and other species are very robust, with short strong jaws. Athlennes hians is a very large fish with the body strongly compressed, almost ribbon-like. It is found in the West Indies and across the Isthmus as far as Hawaii. Many other species, mostly belong- ing to Tylosurus, abound in the warm seas of all regions. Tylosurus ferox is the long tom of the Australian markets. Potamorrhaphis with the dorsal fin low is found in Brazilian rivers. A few fossil species are referred to Belone, Belone flava from the lower Eocene being the earliest. The Flying-fishes: Exoceetide.—The family of Exocetide in- cludes the flying-fishes and several related forms more or less intermediate between these and the garfishes. In these fishes the teeth are small and nearly equal and the maxillary is sepa- trate from the premaxillary. The third upper pharyngeal is much enlarged and there are no zygapophyses to the vertebre. The skippers (Scombresox) have slender bodies, pointed jaws, and, like the mackerel, a number of detached finlets behind dorsal and anal, although in other respects they show no affinity to the mackerel. The common skipper, or saury (Scombresox saurus), is found on both shores of the North Atlantic swimming in large schools at the surface of the water, frequently leaping for a little distance like the flying-fish. They are pursued by the mackerel-like fishes, as the tunny or bonito, and sometimes by porpoises. According to Mr. Couch, the skippers, when pursued, “mount to the surface in multitudes and crowd on each other as they press forward. When still more closely pursued, they spring to the height of several feet, leap over each other in singular confusion, and again sink beneath. Still further urged, they mount again and rush along the surface, by repeated starts, for more than one hundred feet, without once dipping beneath or scarcely seeming to touch the water. At last the pursuer springs after them, usually across their course, and again they all disappear together. Amidst such multi- tudes—for more than twenty thousand have been judged to be out of the water together—some must fall a prey to the enemy; but so many hunting in company, it must be long before the pursuers abandon. From inspection we could scarcely judge 428 Acanthopterygii; Synentognathi the fish to be capable of such flights, for the fins, though numerous, are small, and the pectoral far from large, though the angle of their articulation is well adapted to raise the fish by the direction of their motions to the surface.”’ A similar species, Cololabis saira, with the snout very much shorter than in the Atlantic skipper, is the Samma of the fisher- men of Japan. The hard-head (Chriodorus athertnoides) has no beak at all and its tricuspid incisor teeth are fitted to feed on plants. In this genus, as in the flying-fishes, there are no finlets. The hard- head is an excellent food-fish abundant about the Florida Keys but not yet seen elsewhere. Another group between the gars and the flying-fishes is that of the halfbeaks, or balaos, Hemirhamphus, etc. These are also Fig. 335.—Saury, Scombresox saurus (L.). Woods Hole. vegetable feeders, but with much smaller teeth, and the lower jaw with a spear-like prolongation to which a bright-red mem- brane is usually attached. Of the halfbeaks there are several genera, all of the species swimming near the surface in schools and sometimes very swiftly. Some of them leap into the air and sail for a short distance like flying-fishes, with which group the halfbeaks are connected by easy gradations. The com- Me, SA AA 7 = aes reais re avs ae re ay ee ZO Sia ae Bh) ~ nn Beene EEC Maen es a tie ee ea < eae I Fic. 386 —Halfbeak, Hyporhamphus unifasciatus (Ranzani). Chesapeake Bay. Wet monest species along our Atlantic coast is Hyporhamphus uni- fasciatus; a larger species, Hemtrhamphus brasiliensis, abounds about the Florida Keys. Euleptorhamphus longtrostris, a ribbon- shaped elongate fish, with long jaw and long pectorals, is taken in the open sea, both in the Altantic and Pacific, being common in Hawaii. The Asiatic genus Zenarchopterus is viviparous, 6zt (Sx0[[ay 19yyV) “peyow Suravy ‘Bag UBUISBT, WOT} Us ) 498 adg O18 sapoeu *(souuel AT oue[B A 1q omistaed YOY 07 ‘suBooTsn1o URaUIET o1IserEd ) uojonun sajnnuory ‘Yysy-sUIA,,y UelBaysny— LES “Ly "£320 Acanthopterygii; Synentognathi having the anal fin much modified in the male, forming an intromittent organ, as in the Pwcilitde. One species occurs in the river mouths in Samoa. The flying-fishes have both jaws short, and at least the Fic. 888 —Sharp-nosed Flying-fish, Fodiator acutus (Val.). Panama. pectoral fins much enlarged, so that the fish may sail in the air for a longer or shorter distance. The smaller species have usually shorter fins and approach more nearly to the halfbeaks. Fodiator acutus, with sharp jaws, and Hemuiexocetus, with a short beak on the lower jaw, are especially intermediate. The flight of the flying-fishes is described in detail on p. 44. The Catalina flying-fish, Cypselurus californicus, of the shore of southern California is perhaps the largest of the known species, reaching a length of 18 inches. To this genus, Cypselurus, having a long dorsal and short anal, and with ventrals en- larged as well as pectorals, belong all the species strongest in flight, Cypselurus heterurus and furcatus of the Atlantic, Cypse- lurus simus of Hawaii and Cypselurus agoo in Japan. The very young of most of these species have a long barbel at the chin which is lost with age. In the genus Exonautes the base of anal fin is long, as long as that of the dorsal. The species of this group, also strong in flight, are widely distributed. Most of the European flying- fishes, as Exonautes rondeleti, Exonautes rubescens, and Exo- nautes vinciguerre, belong to this group, while those of Cypse- lurus mostly inhabit the Pacific. The large Australian species Exonautes unicolor belongs to this group. In the restricted genus Exocetus the ventral fins are short and not used in flight. Exocetus volitans (evolans) is a small flying-fish, with short | Se Acanthopterygii ; Synentognathi 431 ventral fins not used for flight. It is perhaps the most widely distributed of all, ranging through almost all warm seas. Parexocetus brachypterus, still smaller, and with shorter, grass- hopper-like wings, is also very widely distributed. An ex- cellent account of the flying-fishes of the world has been given by Dr. C. F. Litken (1876), the University of Copenhagen, Fic. 339.—Catalina Flying-fish, Cypselurus calijornicus (Cooper). Santa Barbara. which institution has recetved a remarkably fine series from trading-ships returning to that port. Later accounts have been given by Jordan and Meek, and by Jordan and Ever- mann. Very few fossil Exocetide are found. Species of Scombresox and Hemirhamphus are found in the Tertiary, the earliest being Henurhamphus edwardsi from the Eocene of Monte Boleca. No fossil flying-fishes are known, and the genera, Exocetus, Exo- nautes, and Cypselurus are doubtless all of very recent origin. CHAPTER XXVII PERCESOCES AND RHEGNOPTERI UBORDER Percesoces.—In the line of direct ascending transition from the Haplomi and Synentognathi, the | pike and flying-fish, towards the typical perch-like forms, we find a number of families, perch-like in essential regards but having the ventral fins abdominal. These types, represented by the mullet, the silverside, and the barracuda, have been segregated by Cope as an order called Percesoces (Perca, perch; Esox, pike), a name which correctly describes their real affinities. In these typical forms, mullet, silverside, and barracuda, the affinities are plain, but in other transitional forms, as the threadfin and the stickleback, the relationships are less clear. Cope adds to the series of Percesoces the Ophiocephalide, which Gill leaves with the Anabantide among the spiny-rayed forms. Boulenger adds also the sand- lances (Ammodytide) and the threadfins (Polynemide), while Woodward places here the Crossognathide. In the .present work we define the Percesoces so as to include all spiny-rayed fishes in which the ventral fins are naturally abdominal, except- ing those having a reduced number of gill-bones, or of actinosts, or other peculiarities of the shoulder-girdle. The Ammodytide have no real affinities with the Percesoces. The Crossognathide and other families with abdominal ventrals and the dorsal spines \ rolly obsolete may belong with the Haplomi. Boulenger places the Chiasmodontide, the Stromatetde, and the Tetragonuride among the Percesoces, an arrangement of very doubtful validity. In most of the Percesoces the scales are cycloid, the spinous dorsal forms a short separate fin, and in all the air-duct is wanting. The Silversides: Atherinide.—The most primitive of living Percesoces constitute the large family of silversides (Atherinide), 432 Percesoces and Rhegnopteri 433 known as “fishes of the King,’’ Pescados del Rey, Pesce Rey, or Peixe Re, wherever the Spanish or Portuguese languages are spoken. The species are, in general, small and slender fishes of dry and delicate flesh, feeding on small animals. The mouth is small, with feeble teeth. There is no lateral line, the color is translucent green, with usually a broad lateral band of silver. Sometimes this is wanting, and sometimes it is replaced by burnished black. Some of the species live in lakes or rivers, others in bays or arms of the sea, but never at a distance from the shore or in water of more than a few feet in depth. The larger species are much valued as food, the smaller ones, equally delicate, are fried in numbers as “‘ whitebait,” but the bones are firmer and more troublesome than in the smelts and young herring. The species of the genus Atherina, known as “‘friars,”’ or “brit,” are chiefly European, although some occur in almost all warm or temperate seas. These are small fishes, with the mouth relatively large and oblique and the scales rather large and firm. Atherina hepsetus and A. presbyter are common in Europe, Atherina stipes in the West Indies, Atherina bleekeri in Japan, and Atherina insularum and A. lacunosa in Polynesia. The genus Chirostoma contains larger species, with project- ing lower jaw, abounding in the lakes of Mexico. Chiro- stoma humboldtianum is very abundant about Mexico City. Like all the other species of this genus it is remarkably excellent as food, the different species constituting the famous “ Pescados Blancos” of the great.lakes of Chapala and Patzcuaro of the western slope of Mexico. A very unusual circumstance is this: that numerous very closely related species occupy the same waters and are taken in the same nets. In zoology, generally, it is an almost universal rule that very closely related species occupy different geographical areas, their separation being due to barriers which prevent interbreeding. But in the lake of Chapala, near Guadalajara, Prof. John O. Snyder and the present writer, and subsequently Dr. S. E. Meek, found ten distinct species of Chirostoma, all living together, taken in the same nets and scarcely distinguishable except on careful examination. Most of these species are very abundant through- out the lake, and all reach a length of twelve to fifteen inches. These species are Chirostoma estor, Ch. lucius, Ch. sphyrena, 434 Percesoces and Rhegnopteri Ch. ocotlane; Ch. lerme, Ch. chapale, Ch. grandocule, Ch. labarce, Ch. promelas, and Ch. bartoni. SoS Fic. 404.—Blue-Gill, Lepomis pallidus (Mitchill), Potomac River. species of this type is the warmouth (Chenobryttus gulosus) of the ponds of the South, and still more familiar rock-bass Fic. 405.—Long-eared Sunfish, Lepomis megalotis (Rafinesque). From Clear Creek, Bloomington, Indiana. Family Centrarchide. or redeye (Ambloplites rupestris) of the more northern lakes and rivers valued as a game- and food-fish. A very pretty 516 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes aquarium fish is the black-banded sunfish, Mesogonistius cheto- don, of the Delaware, as also the nine-spined sunfish, Enneacan- thus gloriosus, of the coast streams southward. Apomotis cyanel- lus, the blue-green sunfish or little redeye, is very widely dis- tributed from Ohio westward, living in every brook. The dis- section of this species is given on page 26. To Lepomis belong numerous species having the opercle prolonged in a long flap which is always black in color, often with a border of scarlet or blue. The yellowbelly of the South (Lepomis auritus), ear-like the showily colored long-eared sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) of the Fic. 406.—Common Sunfish, Eupomotis gibbosus (Linnzus). Root River, Wis. southwest, figured on page 2, the bluegill (Lepomis pallidus), abundant everywhere south and west of New York, are mem- bers of this genus. The genus Hupomotis differs in its larger pharyngeals, which are armed with blunt teeth. The common sunfish, or pumpkinseed, Ewpomotis gibbosus, is the most familiar representative of the family, abounding everywhere from Min- nesota to New England, then south to Carolina on the east slope of the Alleghanies, breeding everywhere in ponds and in the eddies of the clear brooks. The Black Bass.—The black bass (Micropterus) belong to the same family as the sunfish, differing in the larger size, more elongate form, and more voracious habit. The two species are Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes 517 among the most important of American game-fishes, abounding in all clear waters east of the Alleghanies and resisting the evils of civilization far better than the trout. The small-mouthed black bass, Micropterus dolomieu, is the most valuable of the species. Its mouth, although large, is relatively small, the cleft not extending beyond the eye. The green coloration is broken in the young by bronze cross-bands. The species frequents only running streams, preferring clear and cold waters, and it extends its range from Canada as far to the southward as such streams can be found. Dr. James A. Henshall, an accomplished angler, author of the ‘‘ Book of the Black Bass,” says: “The black bass is eminently an American fish; he has the faculty of asserting himself and of making himself completely at home wherever placed. He is plucky, game, brave, unyielding to the last when hooked. He has the arrowy rush and vigor of a trout, the untiring strength and bold leap of a salmon, while he has a system of fighting tactics peculiarly his own. I consider him inch for inch and pound for pound the gamest fish that swims.”’ In the same vein Charles Hallock writes: “No doubt the bass is the appointed successor of the trout; not through heri- tage, nor selection, nor by interloping, but by foreordination. Truly, it is sad to contemplate, in the not distant future, the extinction of a beautiful race of creatures, whose attributes have been sung by all the poets; but we regard the inevitable with the same calm philosophy with which the astronomer watches the burning out of a world, knowing that it will be succeeded by a new creation. As we mark the soft varitinted flush of the trout disappear in the eventide, behold the sparkle of the coming bass, as he leaps in the morning of his glory! We hardly know which to admire the most—the velvet livery and the charming graces of the departing courtier, or the flash of the armor-plates of the advancing warrior. The bass will unques- tionably prove himself a worthy substitute for his predecessor and a candidate for a full legacy of honors. “No doubt, when every one of the older states shall become as densely settled as Great Britain itself, and all the rural aspects of the crowded domain resemble the suburban surroundings of our Boston; when every feature of the pastoral landscape 518 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes shall wear the finished appearance of European lands, and every verdant field be closely cropped by lawn-mowers and guarded by hedges, and every purling stream which meanders through it has its water-bailiff, we shall still have speckled trout from which the radiant spots have faded, and tasteless fish, to catch at a dollar a pound (as we already have on Long Island), and all the appurtenances and appointments of a genuine English trouting privilege and a genuine English ‘outing.’ “Tn those future days, not long hence to come, some ven- erable piscator, in whose memory still lingers the joy of fishing, the brawling stream which tumbled over the rocks in the tangled wildwood, and moistened the arbutus and the bunchberries Fie. 407.—Small Mouth Black Bass Micropterus dolomieu Lacépéde. which garnished its banks, will totter forth to the velvet edge of some peacefully flowing stream, and having seated himself on a convenient point in a revolving easy-chair, placed there by his careful attendant, cast right and left for the semblance of sport long dead. “Hosts of liver-fed fish rush to the signal for their early morning meal, and from the center of the boil which follows the fall of the handfuls thrown in my piscator of the ancient days will hook a two-pound trout, and play him hither and yon, from surface to bottom, without disturbing the pampered gour- mands which are gorging themselves upon the disgusting viands; and when he has leisurely brought him to land at last, and the gillie has scooped him with his landing-net, he will feel in his capacious pocket for his last trade dollar, and giving his friend the tip, shuffle back to his house, and lay aside his rod forever.” Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes 519 The black bass is now introduced into the streams of Europe and California. There is little danger that it will work injury to the trout, for the black bass prefers limestone streams, ‘and the trout rarely does well in waters which do not flow over granite rock or else glacial gravel. The large-mouth black bass (Muicropterus salmoides) is very much like the other in appearance. The mouth is larger, in the adult cleft beyond the eye; the scales are larger, and in the young there is always a broad black stripe along the sides and no cross-bands. The two are found in the same region, but almost never in the same waters, for the large-mouth bass is a fish of the lakes, ponds, and bayous, always avoiding the swift currents. The young like to hide among weeds or beneath lily-pads. From its preference for sluggish waters, its range extends farther to the southward, as far as the Mexican State of Tamaulipas. Phoplarchus is a genus of fossil sunfishes from the Eocene of South Dakota and Oregon. Plioplarchus sexspinosus, sep- temspinosus, and whitet are imperfectly known species. The Saleles: Kuhliide.—Much like the sunfishes in anatomy, though more like the white perch in appearance and habit, are the members of the little family of Kuhlitde. These are active silvery perches of the tropical seas, ponds, and river- mouths, especially abundant in Polynesia. Kuhlia malo is the aholehole of the Hawaiians, a silvery fish living in great numbers in brackish waters. Auslia rupestris, the salele of the Samoan rivers, is a large swift fish of the rock pools, in form, color, and habits remarkably like the black bass. It is silvery bronze in hue, everywhere mottled with olive-green. The sesele, Ausilia marginata, lives with it in the rivers, but is less abundant. The saboti, Kuhlia teniura, a large silvery fish with cross-bands on the caudal fin, lives about lava-rocks in Polynesia from the Galapagos to Samoa and the East Indies, never entering rivers. Still other species are found in the rock pools and streams of Japan and southward. The skeleton in Kuhlia is essentially like that of the black bass, and Dr. Boulenger places the genus with the Centrarchide. The True Perches: Percide.—The great family of Percide includes fresh-water fishes of the northern hemisphere, elon- ozs CPPS “MUL AC Aq ast] wor) -(owy) saprowpos snsajdownrpy ‘ssege yous, poyynour-osieJ—goF “DIT ws4s 2 MS, = = 5 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes Salt gate in body, with the vertebre in increased number and with only two spines in the anal fin. About ninety species are recorded, the vast majority being American. The dwarf perches, called darters (Etheostomine), are especially characteristic of the clear streams to the eastward of the plains of the Missouri. These constitute one of the greatest attractions of our American river fauna. They differ from the perch and its European allies in their small size, bright colors, and. large fins, and more technic- ally in the tudimentary condition of the pseudobranchiz and the air-bladder, both of which organs are almost inappreciable, The preopercle is unarmed, and the number of the branchioste- gals is six. The anal papilla is likewise developed, as in the Gobtide, to which group the darters bear a considerable super- ficial resemblance, which, hewever, indicates no real affinity. Relations of Darters to Perches.— The colors of the Ethe- ostomine, or darters, are usually very brilliant, species of Etheostoma especially being among the most brilliantly colored fishes known; the sexual differences are often great, the females being, as a rule, dull in color and more speckled or barred than the males. Most of them prefer clear running water, where they lie on the bottom concealed under stones, darting, when frightened or hungry, with great velocity for a short distance, by a powerful movement of the fan-shaped pectorals, then stopping as suddenly. They rarely use the caudal fin in swim- ming, and they are seldom seen floating or moving freely in the water like most fishes. When at rest they support them- selves on their expanded ventrals and anal fin. All of them can turn the head from side to side, and they frequently lie with the head in a curved position or partly on one side of the body. The species of Ammocrypta, and perhaps some of the others, prefer a sandy bottom, where, by a sudden plunge, the fish buries itself in the sand, and remains quiescent for hours at a time with only its eyes and snout visible. The others lurk in stony places, under rocks and weeds. Although more than usually tenacious of vitality, the darters, from their bottom life, are the first to be disturbed by impurities in the water. All the darters are carnivorous, feeding chiefly on the larve of Diptera, and in their Way voracious. All are of small size; the largest (Percina rex) reaches a length of six inches, 522 Percoidea, or Perce-like Fishes while the smallest (Microperca punctulata) is one of the small- est spiny-rayed fishes known, barely attaining the length of an inch and a half. In Europe no Etheostomine are found, their place being filled by the genera Zingel and Aspro, which bear a strong resemblance to the American forms, a resemblance which may be a clew to the origin of the latter. The Perches.— The European perch, Perca fluviatilis, is placed by Cuvier at the head of the fish series, as representing in a high degree the traits of a fish without sign of incomplete development on the one hand or of degradation on the other. Doubtless the increased number of the vertebre is the chief character which would lead us to call in question this time- honored arrangement. Because, however, the perch has a relatively degenerate vertebral column, we have used an allied form, the striped bass, as a fairer type of the perfected spiny- rayed fish. Certainly the bass represents this type better than the perch. But though we may regard the perch as nearest the typically perfect fish, it is far from being one of the most highly specialized, for, as we have seen in several cases, a high degree of speciali- zation of a-particular structure is a first step toward its degra- dation. The perch of Europe is a common game-fish of the rivers. The yellow perch of America (Perca flavescens) is very much like it, a little brighter in color, olive and golden with dusky cross-bands. It frequents quiet streams and ponds from Min- nesota eastward, then southward east of the Alleghanies. “As a still-pond fish,” says Dr. Charles Conrad Abbott, “if there is a fair supply of spring-water, they thrive excellently; but the largest specimens come either from the river or from the inflow- ing creeks. Deep water of the temperature of ordinary spring- water, with some current and the bed of the stream at least partly covered with vegetation, best suits this fish.” The perch is a food-fish of moderate quality. In spite of its beauty and gaminess, it is little sought for by our anglers, and is much less valued with us than is the European perch in England. But Dr. Goode ventures to prophesy that “before many years the perch will have as many followers as the black bass among those who fish for pleasure” in the region it inhabits. “A Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes 523 fish for the people it is, we will grant, and it is the anglers from among the people who have neither time nor patience for long trips nor complicated tackle who will prove its steadfast friends.”’ The boy values it, according to Thoreau. When he returns from the mill-pond, he numbers his perch as ‘‘real fishes.” “So many unquestionable fish he counts, and so many chubs, which he counts, then throws away.” In the perch, the oral valves, characteristic of all bony fishes, are well developed. These structures recently investigated by Fie. 409 —Yellow Perch, Perca flavescens Mitchill. Potomac River. Evelyn G. Mitchill, form a fold of connective tissue just behind the premaxillary and before the vomer. They are used in respi- ration, preventing the forward flow of water as the mouth closes. Several perch-like fishes are recorded as fossils from the Miocene. . Allied to the perch, but long, slender, big-mouthed, and voracious, is the group of pike perches, found in eastern America and Europe. The wall-eye, or glass-eye (Stizostedion vitreum), is the largest of this tribe, reaching a weight of ten to twenty pounds. It is found throughout the region east of the Mis- souri in the large streams and ponds, an excellent food-fish, with white, flaky flesh and in the north a game fish of high tank. The common names refer to the large glassy eye, con- cerning which Dr. Goode quotes from some “ardent admirer ”’ these words: “Look at this beautiful fish, as symmetrical in form as the salmon. Not a fault in his make-up, not a scale | 524 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes disturbed, every fin perfect, tail clean-cut, and his great, big wall-eyes stand out with that life-like glare so characteristic of the fish.” Similar to the wall-eye, but much smaller and more trans- lucent in color, is the sauger, or sand-pike, of the Great Lakes and Fic. 410.—Sauger, Stizostedion canadense (Smith). Ecorse, Mich Northern rivers, Stizostedion canadense. This fish rarely exceeds fifteen inches in length, and as a food-fish it is of correspond- ingly less importance. The pike-perch, or zander, of central Europe, Centropomus (or Sandrus) lucioperca, is an excellent game-fish, similar to Se Fic. 411.—The Aspron, Aspro asper (Linnwus). Rhone River. Family Percide. (After Seelye.) the sauger, but larger, characterized technically by having the ventral fins closer together. Another species, Centropomus vol- gensis, in Russia, looks more like a perch than the other species do. Sandroserrus, a fossil pike-perch, occurs in the Pliocene. Another European fish related to the perch is the river ruff, or pope, Acerina cernua, which is a small fish with the form of a perch and with conspicuous mucous cavities in the skull. It is common throughout the north of Europe Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes §25 and especially abundant at the confluence of rivers. Gymno- cephalus schretzer of the Danube has the head still more cav- ernous. Percarina demidoffi of southern Russia is another dainty little fish of the general type of the perch. A fossil genus of this type called Smerdis is numerously represented in the Miocene and later rocks. The aspron, Aspro asper, is a species like a darter found lying on the bottoms of swift rivers, especially the Rhone. The body is elongate, with the paired fins highly developed. Zingel zingel is found in the Danube, as is also a third species called Aspro streber. In form and coloration these species greatly resemble the American darters, and the genus Zingel is, perhaps, the ancestor of the entire group. Ztngel differs from Perctna mainly in having seven instead of six branchiostegals and the pseudobranchie better Fic. 412.,—The Zingel, Zingel zingel (Linneus). Danube River. (After Seelye.) developed. The differences in these and other regards which distinguish the darters are features of degradation, and they are also no doubt of relatively recent acquisition. To this fact we may ascribe the difficulty in finding good generic char- acters within the group. Sharply defined genera occur where the intervening types are lost. The darter is one of the very latest products in the evolution of fishes. The Darters: Etheostomine.— Of the darters, or etheosto- mine perches, over fifty species are known, all confined to the streams of the region bounded by Quebec, Assiniboia, Colo- rado, and Nuevo Leon. All are small fishes and some of them minute, and some are the most brilliantly colored of all fresh- water fishes of any region, the most ornate belonging to the large genus called Etheostoma. The largest species, the most primitive because most like the perch, belong to the genus Perctna, 526 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes First among the darters because largest in size, most perch- like in structure, and least degenerate, we place the king darter, Percina rex of the Roanoke River in Virginia. This species reaches a length of six inches, is handsomely colored, and looks like a young wall-eye. The log-perch, Percina caprodes, is near to this, but a little smaller, with the body surrounded by black rings alternately Fig. 413,—Log-perch, Percina caprodes (Rafinesque). icking Co., Ohio. large and small. In this widely distributed species, large enough to take the hook, the air-bladder is present although small. In the smaller species it vanishes by degrees, and in proportion as in their habits they cling to the bottom of the stream. The genus Hadropterus includes many handsome species, most of them with a black lateral band widened at intervals. Fic. 414.—Black-sided Darter, Hadropterus aspro (Cope & Jordan). Chickamauga River. The black-sided darter, Hadropterus aspro, is the best-known species and one of the most elegant of all fishes, abounding in the clear gravelly streams of the Ohio basin and northwestward. Hadropterus evides of the Ohio region is still more brilliant, Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes 527 with alternate bands of dark blue-green and orange-red, most exquisite in their arrangement. In the South, Hadropterus nigrofasctatus, the crawl-a-bottom of the Georgia rivers, is a heavily built darter, which Vaillant has considered the ances- tral species of the group. Still more swift in movement and bright in color are the species of Hypohomus, which flash their showy hues in the sparkling brooks of the Ozark and the Great Smoky Mountains. Hypohomus aurantiacus is the best-known species. Diplesion blennioides, the green-sided darter, is the type of numerous species with short heads, large fins, and coloration Fig. 415 —Green-sided Darter Diplesion blennioides Rafinesque Clinch River. Family Percide. : of speckled green and golden. It abounds in the streams of the Ohio Valley. The tessellated darters, Boleosoma, are the most plainly colored of the group and among the smallest; yet in the es oe La Fic. 416.—Tessellated Darter, Boleosoma olmstedi (Storer). Potomac River. delicacy, wariness, and quaintness of motion they are among the most interesting, especially in the aquarium. Boleosoma 528 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes nigrum, the Johnny darter in the West, and Boleosoma olmstedi in the East are among the commonest species, found half hid- den in the weeds of small brooks, and showing no bright colors, although the male in the spring has the head, and often the whole body, jet black. Crystallaria asprella, a large species almost transparent, is occasionally taken in swift currents along the limestone Fic. 417.—Crystal Darter, Crystallaria asprella (Jordan). Wabash River. banks of the Mississippi. Still more transparent is the small sand-darter, Ammocrypta pellucida, which lives in the clearest of waters, concealing itself by plunging into the sand. Its scales are scantily developed, as befits a fish that chooses this Fie, 418. —Sand-darter, Ammocrypta clara (Jordan & Meek). Des Moines River. method of protection, and in the related Ammocrypta beant of the streams of the Louisiana pine-woods, the body is almost naked, as also in Joa vitrea, the glassy darter of the pine-woods of North Carolina. In the other darters the body is more compressed, the move- ments less active, the coloration even more brilliant in the males, which are far more showy than their dull olivaceous mates. To Etheostoma nearly half of the species belong, and they Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes 529 form indeed a royal series of little fishes. Only a few can be noticed here, but all of them are described in detail and many Fic. 419.—Etheostoma jordani Gilbert. Chestnut Creek, Verbena, Ala. are figured by Jordan and Evermann (‘Fishes of North and Middle America,”’ Vol. I). Most beautiful of all fresh-water fishes is the blue-breasted darter, Etheostoma camurum, red-blue and olive, with red spots, fh RSS ; RSLS HA eee Fic. 420.—Blue-breasted Darter, Etheostoma camurum (Cope),the most brilliantly colored of American river fishes. Cumberland Gap, Tenn. like a trout. This species lives in clear streams of the Ohio valley, a region perhaps to be regarded as the center of abun- dance of these fishes. Very similar is the trout-spotted darter, Etheostoma macu- latum, dusky and red, with round crimson spots. Etheostoma rufilineatum of the French Broad is one of the most gaudy of fishes. Etheostoma australe of Chihuahua ranges farthest south of all the darters, and Etheostoma boreale of Quebec perhaps farthest north, though Etheostoma iowe, found from Iowa to the Saskatchewan, may dispute this honor. Etheostoma ceruleum, 530 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes the rainbow darter or soldier-fish, with alternate oblique bands of blue and scarlet, is doubtless the most familiar of the bril- liantly colored species, as it is the most abundant throughout the Ohio valley. Etheostoma flabellare, the fan-tailed darter, discovered by Rafinesque in Kentucky in 1817, was the first species of the series made known to science. It has no bright colors, but its move- ments in water are more active than any of the others, and it is the most hardy in the aquarium. Psychromaster tuscumbia abounds in the great limestone springs of northern Alabama, while Copelandellus quiescens swarms in the black-water brooks which flow into the Dismal Swamp and thence southward to the Suwanee. It is a little fish not very active, its range going farther into the southern lowlands than any other. Finally, Microperca punctulata, the least darter, is the smallest of all, with fewest spines and dullest coiurs, must specialized in the sense of being least primitive, but at the same time the most degraded of all the darters. No fossil forms nearly allied to the darters are on record. The nearest is perhaps Mioplosus labracoides from the Eocene at Green River, Wyoming. This elongate fish, a foot long, has the dorsal rays IX-1, 13, and the anal rays II, 13, its scales finely serrated, and the preopercle coarsely serrated on the lower limb only. This species, with its numerous congeners from the Rocky Mountain Eocene, is nearer the true perch than the darters. Several species related to Perca are also recorded from the Eocene of England and Germany. A species called Luctoperca skorpili, allied to Centropomus, is described from the Oligocene of Bulgaria, besides several other forms imper- fectly preserved, of still more doubtful affinities. CHAPTER XXXIV THE BASS AND THEIR RELATIVES Cardinal-fishes. Apogonide.—The A pogontde or car- dinal-fishes are perch-like fishes, mostly of small size, a with two distinct short dorsal fins. They are found in the warm seas, and many of them enter rivers, some even in- habiting hot springs. Many of the shore species are bright red in color, usually with black stripes, bands, or spots. Still others, however, are olive or silvery, and a few in deeper water are violet-black. The species of Apogon are especially numerous, and in regions where they are abundant, as in Japan, they are much Fie. 421.—Cardinal-fish, Apogon retrosella Gill. Mazatlan. valued as food. Apogon imberbis, the ‘king of the mullet,’ is a common red species of southern Europe. Apogon maculatus is found in the West Indies. Apogon retrosella is the pretty “cardenal” of the west coast of Mexico. Apogon lineatus, 531 532 The Bass and their Relatives semilineatus and other species abound in Japan, and many species occur about the islands of Polynesia. Epzgonus tele- scopium is a deep-sea fish of the Mediterranean and Telescoptas and Synagrops are genera of the depths of the Pacific. Pa- ramta with strong canines is allied to Apogon, and similar in color and habit. Allied to Apogon are several small groups often taken as distinct families. ~ The species of Ambassis (Ambasside) are little fishes of the rivers and bays of India and Polynesia, resembling small silvery perch or bass. All these have three anal spines instead of two as in Apogon. Some of these enter rivers and several are recorded from hot springs. Scombrops boops, the mutsu of Japan, is a valued food-fish found in rather deep water. It is remarkable for its very strong teeth, although its flesh is feeble and easily torn. A still larger species in Cuba, Scombrops oculata, known as Escolar chino, resembles a barra- cuda. These fishes with fragile bodies and very strong teeth are placed by Gill in a separate family (Scombropide). Acro- poma japonicum is a neat little fish of the Japanese coast, with the vent placed farther forward than in Apogon. It is the type of the Acropomide, a small family of the Pacific. Eno- plosus armatus is an Australian fish with high back and fins, with a rather stately appearance, type of the Enoploside. In his last catalogue of families of fishes Dr. Gill recognizes Scom- bropide and Acropomide as distinct families, but their relation- ships with Apogon are certainly very close. Many genera allied to Apogon and Ambassis occur in Australian rivers. Several fossils referred to Apogon (Apogon spinosus, etc.) occur in the Eocene of Italy and Germany. The Anomalopide.—The family of Anomalopide is a small group of deep-sea fishes of uncertain relationship, but per- haps remotely related to Apogon. Anomalops palpebrata is found in Polynesia and has beneath the eye a large luminous organ unlike anything seen elsewhere among fishes. The Asineopide.— Another family of doubtful relationship is that of Astneopide, elsewhere noticed. It is composed of extinct fresh-water fishes found in the Green River shales. In Asineops squamifrons the opercles are unarmed, the teeth villiform, and the dorsal fin undivided, composed of eight or — sa The Bass and their Relatives 533 nine spines and twelve to fourteen soft rays. The anal spines, as in Apogon, are two only, and the scales are cycloid. Fic. 422.—A pogon semilineatus Schlegel. Misaki, Japan. The Robalos:* Oxylabracide.— The family of Robalos (Oxy- labracide or Centropomide) is closely related to the Serranide, differing among other things in having the conspicuous lateral line extended on the caudal fin. These are silvery fishes with Fic. 423.—Robalo, Oxylabrax undecimalis (Bloch). Florida. elongate bodies, large scales, a pike-like appearance, the first dorsal composed of strong spines and the second spine of the * The European zander is the type of Lacépéde’s genus Centropomus. The name Centropomus has been wrongly transferred to the robalo by most authors. 534 The Bass and their Relatives anal especially large. They are found in tropical America only, where they are highly valued as food, the flesh being like that of the striped bass, white, flaky, and of fine flavor. The common robalo, or snook, Oxylabrax (or Centropomus) un- decimalis, reaches a weight of fifteen to twenty pounds. It ranges north as far as Texas. In this species the lateral line is black. The smaller species, of which several are described, are known as Robalito or Constantino. The Sea-bass: Serranide.—The central family of the percoid fishes is that of the Serranide, or sea-bass. Of “these about 400 species are recorded, carnivorous fishes found imall warm seas, a few ascending the fresh waters. In general, the species are characterized by the presence of twenty-four vertebrae and three anal spines, never more than three. The f#ésh-water species are all more or less archaic and show traits suggesting the Oxylabracide, Percide, or Centrarchide, all of which are doubtless derived from ancestors of Serranide. Among the connecting forms are the perch-like genera Percichthys and Percilia of the rivers of Chile. These species look much like perch, but have three anal spines, the number of vertebrae being thirty-five. Percichthys trucha is the common, trucha, or trout, of Chilean waters. Lateolabrax japonicus, the susuki, or bass, of Japan, is one of the most valued food-fishes of the Orient, similar in quality to the robalo, which it much resembles. This genus and the East Indian Centrogenys waigiensis approach Oxylabrax in appearance and structure. Niphon spinosus, the ara of Japan, is a very large sea-bass, also of this type. Close to these bass, marine and fresh water, are the Chinese genus Siniperca and the Korean genus Coreoperca, several species of which abound in Oriental rivers. In southern Japan is the rare Bryttosus kawamebart, a bass in structure, but very closely resembling the American sunfish, even to the presence of the bright-edged black ear-spot. There is reason to believe that from some such form the Centrarchide were derived. Other bass-like fishes occur in Egypt (Lates), Australia (Percalates, etc.), and southern Africa. Oligorus macquariensis is the great cod of the Australian rivers and Ctenolates ambiguus is the yellow belly, while Percalates colonorum is everywhere The Bass and their Relatives 535 the “perch” in Australian rivers. The most important mem- ber of these transitional types between perch and sea-bass is the striped bass, or rockfish (Roccus lineatus), of the Atlantic coast of the United States. This large fish, reaching in extreme cases a weight of 112 pounds, lives in shallow waters in the sea and ascends the rivers in spring to spawn. It is olivaceous in color, the sides golden silvery, with narrow black stripes. About 1880 it was introduced by the United States Fish Commission into the Sacramento, where it is now very abundant and a fish of large commercial importance. To the angler the striped bass is always “a gallant fish and a bold biter,” and Genio Scott places it first among the game-fishes of America. The white bass (Roccus chrysops) is very similar to it, but shorter and more compressed, reaching a smaller size. This fish is abundant in the Great Lakes and the upper Mississippi as far south as Arkansas. The yellow bass (Morone interrupta), a coarser and more brassy fish, replaces it farther south. It is seldom seen above Cincinnati and St. Louis. The white perch (Morone amert- cana) is a little fish of the Atlantic seaboard, entering the sea, but running up all the rivers, remaining contentedly land- locked in ponds. It is one of the most characteristic fishes of the coast from Nova Scotia to Virginia. It is a good pan fish, takes the hook vigorously, and in a modest way deserves the good-will of the angler who cannot stray far into the moun- tains. Very close to these American bass is the bass, bars, or robalo, of southern Europe, Dicentrarchus labrax, a large olive- colored fish, excellent as food, living in the sea about the mouths of rivers. The Jewfishes.—In the warm seas are certain bass of immense size, reaching a length of six feet or more, and being robust in form, a weight of 500 or 600 pounds. These are dusky green in color, thick-headed, rough-scaled, with low fins, vora- cious disposition, and sluggish movements. In almost all parts of the world these great bass are called jewfish, but no reason for this name has ever been suggested. In habit and value the species are much alike, and the jewfish of California, Stereolepis gigas, the prize of the Santa Catalina anglers, may be taken as the type of them all. Closely related g£$ (Cazis yeinqyen jjey ouo "MU Ad Aq Oy] WOd]) “I 1) DUDIWIUD 9U0L0 [YT ‘Vad AYM— PHF OL The Bass and their Relatives 37 to this is the Japanese ishinagi, Megaperca ischinagi, the jew- fish, or stone-bass, of Japan. Another Japanese jewfish is the Abura bodzu, or “fat priest,’’ Ebisus sagamius. In the West Indies, as also on the west coast of Mexico, the jewfish, or guasa, is Promicrops ttatara. The black grouper, Garrupa nigrita, is the jewfish of Florida. The European jewfish, more often called wreckfish, or stone-bass, is Polyprion americanus, and the equally large Polyprion oxygenetos is found in Australia, as is also another jewfish, Glaucosoma hebraicum, the last belonging to the Lutianide. Largest of all these jewfishes is Promicrops lanceolata of the South Pacific. This huge bass, Wn Fic. 425.—Florida Jewfish, Promicrops itaiara (Lichtenstein). St. John’s River, Fla. according to Dr. Boulenger, sometimes reaches a length of twelve feet. Related to the jewfishes are numerous smaller fishes. One of these, the Spanish-flag of Cuba, Gomoplectrus hispanius, is rose-colored, with golden bands like the flag of Spain itself. Other species referred to Acanthistius and Plectropoma have, like this, hooked spines on the lower border of the preopercle. The Groupers.—In all warm seas abound species of Epine plielus and related genera, known as sea-bass, groupers, or merous. They are mostly large voracious fishes with small scales, pale flesh of fair quality, and from their abundance they are of large commercial importance. To English-speaking people these fishes are usually known as grouper, a corruption of the Portuguese mame garrupa. In the West Indies and about Panama there are very many species, and still others abound in the Mediter- 538 The Bass and their Relatives ranean, in southern Japan, and throughout Polynesia and the West Indies. They have very much in common, but differ in size and color, some being bright red, some gaudily spotted with red or blue, but most of them are merely mottled green or brown. In many cases individuals living near shore are olivaceous, and those of the same species in the depths are bright crimson or scarlet. We name below a few of the most prominent species. Even a bare list of all of them would take Fic. 426.—Epinephelus striatus (Bloch), Nassau Grouper: Cherna criolla. Family Serranide. many pages. Cephalopholis cruentatus, the red hind of the Florida Keys, is one of the smallest and brightest of all of them. Cephalopholis fulvus, the blue-spotted guativere of the Cubans, is called negro-fish, butter-fish, yellow-fish, or redfish, accord- ing to its color, which varies with the depth. It is red, yellow, or olive, with many round blue spots. Epinephelus adscen- scionis, the rock-hind, is spotted everywhere with orange. Epinephelus guaza is the merou, or giant-bass, of Europe, a large food-fish of value, rather dullin color. Epinephelus striatus is the Nassau grouper, or Cherna criolla, common in the West Indies. Epinephelus maculosus is the cabrilla of Cuba. Epi- nephelus drummond-hayi, the speckled hind, umber brown, spotted with lavender, is one of the handsomest of all the groupers. Epinephelus morio, the red grouper, is the commonest of all these fishes in the American markets. In Asia the species are equally numerous, Epinephelus quernus of Hawaii and the red [Epinephelus fasciatus of Japan and southward being food- The Bass and their Relatives 539 fishes. of importance. Epinephelus merra, Epinephelus gilberti, and Epinephelus tauvina are among the more common spe- cies of Polynesia. Epinephelus corallicola, a species profusely Fie. 427.—John Paw or Speckled Hind, Epinephelus drummond-hayi Goode Pensacola. spotted, abounds in the crevices of corai reefs, while Cepl- olopholis argus and C. leopardus are showy fishes of the deeper channels. Mycteroperca venenosa, the yellow-finned grouper, is a large and handsome fish of the coast of Cuba, the flesh sometimes poisonous; when red in deep water it is known as Fic. 428—Epinephelus morio (Cuvier & Valenciennes), Red Grouper, or Mero. Family Serranide the bonaci cardenal. Mycteroperca bonaci; the bonaci arara sells in our markets as black grouper. Mvycteroperca microlepis _ ots (Cuuruoagy 1ai}y) ‘Ody OMoN *(JaVqSQ) sruorsuUaIspd SN} nydaud 7 ‘puryy Pey— ber “OUT The Bass and their Relatives 541 is commonest along our South Atlantic coast, not reaching the West Indies, and Mycteroperca rubra, which is never red, enters the Mediterranean. Mycteroperca falcata is known in the markets as scamp, and Mycteroperca venadorum is a giant species from the Venados Islands, near Mazatlan. Diploprion bifasciatus is a handsome grouper-like fish with two black cross-bands, found in Japan and India. Variola louti, red, with crimson spots and a forked caudal fin, is one of the most showy fishes of the equatorial Pacific. Fie. 480.—Yellow-fin Grouper, Mycteroperca venenosa (Linneus). Havana. The small fishes called Vaca in Cuba belong to the genus _Hypoplectrus. Their extraordinary and unexplained variations in color have been noticed on page 88. The common species— blue, orange, green, plain, striated, checkered, or striped— bears the name of Hypoplectrus unicolor (Fig. 431). The Serranos.—In all the species known as jewfish and grouper, as also in the Oxylabracide and most Centrarchide, the maxillary bone is divided by a lengthwise suture which sets off a distinct supplemental maxillary. This bone is want- ing in the remaining species of Serranide, as it is also in those forms already noticed which are familiarly known as bass. The species without the supplemental maxillary are in general smaller in size, the canines are on the sides of the jaws instead of in front, and there is none of the hinged depressible teeth which are conspicuous in the groupers. The species are abundant in the Atlantic, but scarcely any are found in Polynesia, and few in Japan or India. 542 The Bass and their Relatives Serranus cabrilla is the Cabrilla of the Mediterranean, a well-known and excellent food-fish, the original type of the family of Serranide. Serranellus scriba is the serran, a very pretty shore-fish of southern Europe, longer known than any other of the tribe. On the coast of southern California are also species called Cabrillas, fine, large, food-fish, bass-like in form, Paralabrax clathratus, and other less common species. The Cabrillas and their relatives are almost all American, a few straying across to Europe. One of the most important in the number is the black sea-bass, or black will, of our Atlantic Fic. 481 —Hypoplectrus unicolor nigricans (Poey). Tortugas, Fla. coast, Centropristes striatus. This is a common food- and game-fish, dusky in color, gamy, and of fine flesh. The squirrel- fishes (Diplectrum) and the many serranos (Prionodes) of the tropics, small bright-colored fishes of the rocks and reefs, must be passed with a word, as also the small Paracentropristis of the Mediterranean and the fine red creole-fish of the West Indies, Paranthias furcifer. In one species, Anyperodon leuco- grammicus of Polynesia, there are no teeth on the palatines. The barber-fish (Anthias anthias) of southern Europe, bright red and with the lateral line running very high, is the type of a numerous group found at the lowest fishing level in all warm seas. All the species of this group are bright red, very hand- eS Oe ee le ak ee ta ee 2 & Val.). Natural size: young. niveatus (Cuv. lus raph by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt.) Epi (Photo Snowy Grouper, 3 54 544 The Bass and their Relatives some, and excellent as food. Hemzianthias vivanus, known only from the spewings of the red snapper (Lutianus aya) at Pensacola, is one of the most brilliant species, red, with golden streaks. The genus Plesiops consists of small fishes almost black in color, with blue spots and other markings, abounding about the coral reefs. In this genus the lateral line is inter- rupted and there is some indication of affinity with the Opzs- thognathide. In the soapfishes (Rypticus) the supplemental maxillary appears again, but in these forms the dorsal fin is reduced to two or three spines and there is none in the anal. Rypticus saponaceus, so called from the smooth or soapy scales, is the Fia. 433.—Soapiish, Ryplicus bistrispinus (Mitchill). Virginia. best known of the numerous species, which all belong to trop- ical America. Grammtstes, with eight dorsal spines, is a related form in Polynesia, bright yellow, with numerous black stripes. Numerous species referred to the Serrantde occur in the Eocene and Miocene rocks. Some are related to Epinephelus, others to Roccus and Lates. In the Tertiary lignite of Brazil is a species of Percichthys, Percichthys antaquus, with Properca beaumont, which seem to be a primitive form of the bass, allied to Dicentrarchus. Prolates heberti of the Cretaceous, one of the earliest of the series, has the caudal rounded and is apparently allied to Lates, as is also the heavily armed Acanus regley- stanus of the Oligocene. Smerdis minutus, a small fish from the Oligocene, is also related to Lates, which genus with Koccus and Dicentrarchus must represent the most primitive of existing members of this family. Of both Smerdis and Dutcentrarchus (Labrax) numerous species are recorded, mostly from the Mio- cene of Europe. 1 ARCHAMIA LINEOLATA (EHRENBERG) 2 GRAMMISTES SEXLINEATUS (THUNBERG 3 PHAROPTERYX MELAS (BLEEKER) PERCH-LIKE FISHES OF THE CORAI, REEFS. SAMOA —— The Bass and their Relatives 545 The Flashers: Lobotide.—The small family of Lobotide, flash- ers, or triple-tails, closely resembles the Serranide, but there Fic. 434—Flasher, Lobotes surinamensis (Bloch). Virginia. are no teeth on vomer or palatines. The three species are robust fishes, of a large size, of a dark-green color, the front part of the head very short. They reach a length of about Fic. 485 —Catalufa, Priacanthus arenatus Cuv. & Val. Woods Hole, Mass. three feet and are good food-fishes. Lobotes surtnamensts comes northward from the West Indies as far as Cape Cod. Shufeldt.) WwW. (From life by Dr. R. pecimen. Young s Bigeye, Pseudopriacanthus altus Gill. 436 Vic. The Bass and their Relatives 547 Lobotes pacificus is found about Panama. Lobotes erate, com- mon in India, was taken by the writer at Misaki, Japan. The Bigeyes: Priacanthide.—The Catalufas or bigeyes (Pria- canthide) are handsome fishes of the tropics, with short, flattened bodies, rough scales, large eyes, and bright-red color- ation. The mouth is very oblique, and the anal fin about as large as the dorsal. The commonest species is Priacanthus cruentatus, widely diffused through the Pacific and also in the West Indies. This is the noted Aweoweo of the Hawaiians, which used to come into the bays in myriads at the period of death of royalty. It is still abundant, even after Hawaiian royalty has passed away. Pseudopriacanthus altus is a short, very deep-bodied, and very rough fish, scarlet in color, occasionally taken along our coast, driven northward by the Gulf Stream. The young fishes are quite unlike the adult in appearance. Numerous other species of Priacanthus occur in the Indies and Polynesia. The H'stiopteride.—Another family with strong spines and rough scales is the group of Histiopteride. Histiopterus typus, the Matodai, is found in Japan, and is remarkable for its very deep body and very high spines. Equally remarkable is the Tengudai, Histiopterus acutirostris, also Japanese, remarkable for the long snout and high fins. Both are rare in Japanese markets. All these are eccentric variations from the perch- like type. The Snappers: Lutianide.—Scarcely less numerous and varied than the sea-bass is the great family of Lutsantde@, known in America as snappers or pargos. In these fishes the maxillary slips along its edge into a sheath formed by the broad preor- bital. In the Serranide there is no such sheath. In the Lutt- amide there is no supplemental maxillary, teeth are present on the vomer and palatines, and in the jaws there are distinct canines. These fishes of the warm seas are all carnivorous, voracious, gamy, excellent as food though seldom of fine grain, the flesh being white and not flaky. About 250 species are known, and in all warm seas they are abundant. To the great genus Lutianus most of the species belong. These are the snappers of our markets and the pargos of the Spanish- speaking fishermen. The shore species are green in color, mostly a oo gbs ( 3 0 | J ) . . U yl ae i UUBULIOA 19yyV oon of | 7 at Ig v Ar) “SD. The Bass and their Relatives 549 banded, spotted, or streaked. In deeper water bright-red_spe- cies are found. One of these, Lutianus aya, the red snapper or pargo guachinango of the Gulf of Mexico, is, economically speaking, the most important of all these fishes in the United States. It is a large, rather coarse fish, bright red in color, and it is taken on long lines on rocky reefs chiefly about Pen- sacola and Tampa in Florida, although similar fisheries exist on the shores of Yucatan and Brazil. A related species is the Lutianus analis, the mutton snapper or pargo criollo of the West Indies. This is one of the staple Fic. 488.—Lutianus apodus (Walbaum), Schoolmaster or Cajf. Family Lutianide. fishes of the Havana market, always in demand for banquets and festivals, because its flesh is never unwholesome. The mangrove snapper, or gray-snapper, Lutianus griseus, called in Cuba, Caballerote, is the commonest species on our coasts. The common name arises from the fact that the young hide in the mangrove bushes of Florida and Cuba, whence they sally out in pursuit of sardines and other small fishes. It is a very wary fish, to be sought with care, hence the name “lawyer,” sometimes heard in Florida. The cubero (Lutianus cyanop- terus) is a very large snapper, often rejected as unwholesome, being said to cause the disease known as ciguatera. Certain snappers in Polynesia have a similar reputation. The large red mumea, Lutianus bohar, is regarded as always poisonous in Samoa—the most dangerous fish of the islands. L. letoglossus is 550 The Bass and their Relatives also held under suspicion on Tutuila, though other fishes of this type are regarded as always safe. Other common snappers \ > , Fic. 439.—Hoplopagrus guntheri Gill. Mazatlan. of Florida and Cuba are the dog snapper or joct (Lutianus joci), the schoolmaster or caji (Lutianus apodus), the black-fin snapper or sese de lo alto (Lutianus buccanella), the silk snapper or Fie. 440.—Lane Snapper or Biajaiba, Lutianus synagris (Linneus). Key West. pargo de lo alto (Lutianus vivanus), the abundant lane snapper or biajaiba (Lutianus synagris), and the mahogany snapper The Bass and their Relatives Gat or ojanco (Lutianus mahogant). Numerous other species occur on both coasts of tropical America, and a vastly larger assem- blage is found in the East Indies, some of them ranging north- ward to Japan. Hoplopagrus gzinthert is a large snapper of the west coast of Mexico, having very large molar teeth in its jaws besides slit- Fie. 441.—Yellow-tail Snapper, Ocyurus chrysurus (Linneus). Key West. like nostrils and other notable peculiarities. From the stand- point of structure this species, with its eccentric characters— is especially interesting. The yellow-tail snapper or rabirubia (Ocyurus chrysurus) is a handsome and common fish of the Fic. 442.—Cachucho, Ffelis oculatus (Linnzus). Havana. West Indies, with long, deeply forked tail, which makes it a swifter fish than the others. Another red species is the dia- mond snapper or cagon de lo alto, Rhomboplites aurorubens. All. these true snappers have the soft fins more or less scaly. 552 The Bass and their Relatives In certain species that swim more freely in deep waters, these fins are naked. Among them is the Arnillo, Apsilus dentatus, a pretty brown fish of the West Indies, and its analogue in Hawaii, Apsilus brighamz, red, with golden cross-bands. Aprion virescens, the Uku of Hawaii, is a large fish of a greenish color and elongate body, widely diffused throughout Polynesia and one of the best of food-fishes. A related species is the red voraz (Aprion macrophthalmus) of the West Indies. Most beautiful of all the group are the species of Etelis, with the dorsal fin deeply divided and the head flattened above. These live in rather deep water about rocky reefs and are fiery red in color. Best known is the Cuban species, Etelis oculatus, the cachucho of the markets. Equally abundant and equally Fig. 443 —Nenocys jessie Jordan & Bollman. Family Lutianide. Galapagos Islands. beautiful are Etelis carbunculus of Polynesia, Etelis evurus of Hawaii, and other species of the Pacific islands. Verilus sordidus, the black escolar of Cuba, has the form of Etelis, but the flesh is very soft and the color violet-black, indicating its life in very deep water. Numerous small silvery snappers living near the shore along the coast of western Mexico belong to the genera called Xenichthys, Xenistius, and Xenocys. Xenistius californiensis is the commonest of these species, Xenocys jessie, the largest in size, with black lines like a striped bass. To the genus Dentex belongs a large snapper-like fish of rani \) Yy iN Nh} a, \) i \) Xi X Os \ \ » \ », , i ) Ny Y \) i X) Wy NN NH) NS ») sy) 4 \) ‘ \X) 940.9) se \) x \) ‘ » 9, yo Y) NY i 9) MON " Nh yy Ny , * ni N i | ce res SLs] Se SSeSSeS SSG OS —— Seg SEES Zs SESSSSOS SES (i ses Sees] OSes SOS 4 ose] eSeA OSA co 2] LIDS ES\ So83 ama, rats oo 2\ eee Zo oS eh SN SSN aa Fia. 444—Aphareus furcatus (Lacépéde). Odawara, Japan. Family Lut 553 554 The Bass and their Relatives the Mediterranean, Dentex dentex. Very many related species occur in the old world, the prettily colored Nemipterus virgatus, the Jtoyort of Japan being one of the best known. Another interesting fish is Aphareus furcatus, a handsome, swift fish of the open seas occasionally taken in Japan and the East Indies. Glaucosoma burgerit is a large snapper of Japan, and a related species, Glaucosoma hebraicum, is one of the “‘jewfishes”’ of Australia. Numerous fossil forms referred to Dentex occur in the Eocene of Monte Bolca, as also a fish called Ctenodentex lackeniensis from the Eocene of Belgium. The Grunts: Haemulide.— The large family of Hemulide, known in America as grunters or roncos, is represented with the PTA LL ae, 2 SAL EY ‘ Fie. 445.—Grunt, Hamulon plumieri (Bloch). Charleston, 8. C. snappers in all tropical seas. The common names (Spanish, roncar, to grunt or snore) refer to the noise made either with their large pharyngeal teeth or with the complex air-bladder. These fishes differ from the Lutianine mainly in the feebler detention, there being no canines and no teeth on the vomer. Most of the American species belong to the genus Hemulon or red-mouth grunts, so called from the dash of scarlet at the corner of the mouth. Hemulon plumieri, the common grunt, or ronco arard, is the most abundant species, known by the narrow blue stripes across the head. In the yellow grunt, ronco amarillo (H@mulon sciurus), these stripes cross the whole The Bass and their Relatives bist body. Inthe margate-fish, or Jallao (Hemulon album), the larg- est of the grunts, there are no stripes at all. Another common grunt is the black spotted sailor’s choice, Ronco prieto (Hemulon parra), very abundant from Florida southward. Numerous other grunts and “Tom Tates”’ are found on both shores of Mexico, all the species of Hemulon being confined to America. Aniso- tremus includes numerous deep-bodied species with smaller mouth, also all American. Anisotremus surinamensis, the pompon, abundant from Louisiana southward is the commonest species. Antsotremus virginicus, the porkfish or Catalineta, Ws SEEREENS Fia. 446.—Porkfish, Anisotremus virginicus (Linnzus). Key West. beautifully striped with black and golden, is very common in the West Indies. Plectorhynchus of Polynesia and the coasts of Asia contains numerous large species closely resembling Amsotremus, but lacking the groove at the chin character- istic of Antsotremus and Hemulon. Some of these are striped or spotted with black in very gaudy fashion. Pomadasis, a genus equally abundant in Asia and America, contains silvery species of the sandy shores, with the body more elongate and the spines generally stronger. Pomadasts crocro is the com- monest West Indian species, Pomadasis hasta the best known of the Asiatic forms. Gnathodentex aurolineatus with golden stripes is common in Polynesia. . 556 The Bass and their Relatives The pigfishes, Orthopristis, have the spines feebler and the anal fin more elongate. Of the many species, American and Mediterranean, Orthopristis chrysopterus is most familiar, ranging northward to Long Island, and excellent as a pan fish. Para- pristipoma trilineatum, the Isaki of Japan, is equally abundant and very similar to it. Many related species belong to the Asiatic genera, Terapon, Scolopsis, C@sio, etc., sometimes placed in a distinct family as Teraponide. Terapon servus enters the streams of Polynesia, and is a very common fish of the river mouths, taken in Samoa by the boys. Terapon theraps is found throughout the East Indies. Terapon richard- sont is the Australian silver perch. Ce@sio contains numerous small species, elongate and brightly colored, largely blue and golden. Scolopsis, having a spine on the preorbital, contains numerous species in the East Indies and Polynesia. These are often handsomely colored. Among them is the taiva, Scolopsis trilineatus of Samoa, gray with white streaks and markings of delicate pattern. A fossil species in the Italian Eocene related to Pomadasis is Pomadasis furcatus. Another, perhaps allied to Terapon, is called Pelates quindecimalis. Fic. 447—The Red Tai of Japan) Pagrus major Schlegel. Family Sparide. (After Kishinouye.) The Porgies: Sparide.— The great family of Sparide or porgies is also closely related to the Hemulide. The most tangible difference rests in the teeth, which are stronger, and i ee oe eee biti ee Sc a mee Saline: a The Bass and their Relatives 557 some of those along the side of the jaw are transformed into large blunt molars, fitted for grinding small crabs and shells. The name porgy, in Spanish pargo, comes from the Latin Pagrus and Greek zaypos, the name from time immemorial of the red porgy of the Mediterranean, Pagrus pagrus. In this Fic. 448.—Ebisu, the Fish-god of Japan, bearing a Red Tai (Sketch by Kako Morita.) species the front teeth are canine-like, the side teeth molar. It is a fine food-fish, very handsome, being crimson with blue spots, and in the Mediterranean it is much esteemed. It also breeds sparingly on our south Atlantic and Gulf coasts. ‘ 558 The Bass and their Relatives Very similar to the porgy is the famous red tai or akadai of Japan (Pagrus major), a fish so highly esteemed as to be, with the rising sun and the chrysanthemum, a sort of national emblem. In all prints and images the fish-god Ebisu (Fig. 448), beloved of the Japanese people, appears with a red tai under his arm. This species, everywhere abundant, is crimson in color, and the flesh is always tender and excellent. A similar species is Fic. 449.—Scup, Stenotomus chrysops (Linneus). Woods Hole, Mass. the well-known and abundant “schnapper”’ of Australia, Pagrus unicolor. Another but smaller tai or porgy, crimson, sprinkled with blue spots, Pagrus cardinalis, occurs in Japan in great abundance, as also two species similar in character but without red, known as Kuroda or black tai. These are Sparus latus and Sparus berda. The gilt-head of the Mediterranean, Sparus aurata, is very similar to these Japanese species. Sparus sarba in Australia is the tarwhine, and Sparus australis the black bream. The numerous species of Pagellus abound in the Medi- terranean. These are smaller in size than the species of Pagrus, red in color and with feebler teeth. Monotaxis grandoculis, known as the “mu,” is a widely diffused and valuable food-fish of the Pacific islands, greenish in color, with pale cross-bands. Very closely related is also the American scup or fair maid (Stenotomus chrysops), one of our commonest pan fishes. In a eh — ts 7 = i . | | The Bass and their Relatives 559 this genus and in Calamus the second interhzmal spine is very greatly enlarged, its concave end formed like a quill-pen and Fie. 450.—Calamus bajonado (Bloch & Schneider), Jolt-head Porgy. Pez de Pluma. Family Sparide. including the posterior end of the large air-bladder. This arrangement presumably assists in hearing. Of the penfishes, Fie. 451.—Little-head Porgy, Calamus proridens Jordan & Gilbert. Key West. or pez de pluma, numerous species abound in tropical America, where they are valued as food. Of these the bajonado or jolt-head porgy (Calamus bajonado) is largest, most common 560 The Bass and their Relatives and dullest in color. Calamus calamus is the saucer-eye porgy, and Calamus proridens, the little-head porgy. Calamus leucosteus is called white-bone porgy, and the small Calamus arctifrons the grass-porgy. The Chopa spina, or pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides, is a little porgy with notched incisors, exceedingly common on our South Atlantic coast. In some of the porgies the front teeth instead of being canine- like are compressed and truncate, almost exactly like human incisors. These species are known as sheepshead, or sargos. Diplodus sargus and Diplodus annularis are common sargos of the Mediterranean, silvery, with a black blotch on the back of Fie. 452.—Diplodus holbrooki Bean. Pensacola. the tail. Diplodus argenteus of the West Indies and Dziplodus holbrooki of the Carolina coast are very close to these. — The sheepshead, Archosargus probatocephalus, is much the most valuable fish of this group. The broad body is crossed by about seven black cross-bands. It is common from Cape Cod to Texas in sandy bays, reaching rarely a weight of fifteen pounds. Its flesh is most excellent, rich and tender. The sheepshead is a quiet bottom-fish, but takes the hook readily and with some spirit. Close to the sheepshead is a smaller species known as Salema (Archosargus unimaculatus), with blue The Bass and their Relatives 561 and golden stripes and a black spot at the shoulder. It abounds in the West Indies. . On the coast of Japan and throughout Polynesia are nu- merous: species of Lethrinus and related genera, formed and Fie. 453—Archosargus unimaculatus (Bloch), Salema, Striped Sheepshead. Family Sparide. colored like snappers, but with molar teeth and the cheek with- out scales. A common species in Japan is Lethrinus richardsont. Fossil species of Diplodus, Sparus, Pagrus, and Pagellus occur in the Italian Eocene, as also certain extinct genera, Sparnodus and Trigonodon, of similar type. Sparnodus macro- phthalmus is abundant in the Eocene of Monte Bolca. The Picarels: Mznidz.—The /e@nide, or Picarels, are elongate, gracefully formed fishes, remarkable for the extreme protrac- tility of the upper jaw. Sptcara smarts and several other small species are found in the Mediterranean. Emumelichthys contains species of larger size occurring in the West Indies and various parts of the Pacific, chiefly red and very graceful in form and color. Emmelichthys vittatus, the boga, is occasionally taken in Cuba, Erythrichthys schlegeli is found in Japan and Hawaii. The Mojarras: Gerride.— The Gerride, or Mojarras, have the mouth equally protractile, but the form of the body is different, being broad, compressed, and covered with large 562 The Bass and their Relatives silvery scales. In some species the dorsal spines and the third anal spine are very strong, and in some the second interhemal is quill-shaped, including the end of the air-bladder, as in Calamus, Most of the species, including all the peculiar ones, are American. The smallest, Eucinostomus, have the quill-shaped interhemal Fic. 454.—Mojarra, Xystema cinereum (Walbaum). Key West. and the dorsal and anal spines are very weak. The commonest species is the silver jenny, or mojarra de Ley, Eucitnostomus gula, which ranges from Cape Cod to Rio Janeiro, in the surf along sandy shores. Equally common is Eucinostomus cali- forniensis of the Pacific Coast of Mexico, while Euctnostomus harengulus of the West Indies is also very abundant. Ulema lefroyt has but two anal spines and the interhemal very small. It is common through the West Indies. Xystema, with the interhemal spear-shaped and normally formed, is found in Asia and Polynesia more abundantly than in America, although one species, Xystema cinereum, the broad shad, or Mojarra blanca, is common on both shores of tropical America. Xystema gigas is found in Polynesia, X. oyena in Japan, and X. filamentosum in Formosa and India. Xystema massalongot is also fossil in the Miocene of Austria. The species of Gerres have very strong dorsal and anal spines and the back much elevated. Gerres plumiert, the striped mojarra, Gerres bra- siliensts, the patao, Gerres oltsthostomus, the Irish pampano, and Gerres rhombeus are some of the numerous species found The Bass and their Reeves 563 on the Florida coast and in the West Indies. The family of Leiognathide, already noticed (page 502), should stand next to the Gerride. Fic. 455 —Irish Pampano, Gerres olisthostomus Goode & Bean. Indian River, Fla. The Rudder-fishes: Kyphoside.—The Kyphoside, called rud- der-fishes, have no molars, the front of the jaws being oc- cupied by incisors, which are often serrated, loosely attached, SPPVORIWN nyeeaeaeee NS PpLI IF: 34 AAA ei rt Te Seg agvne ots Fic. 456—Chopa or Rudder-fish, Kyphosus sectatrix (Linneus). Woods Hole, Mass. and movable. The numerous species are found in the warm seas and are chiefly herbivorous. Boops boops and Boops salpa, known as boga and salpa, 564 The Bass and their Relatives are elongate fishes common in the Mediterranean. Other Med- iterranean forms are Spondyliosoma cantharus, Oblata melanura, etc. Girella nigricans is the greenfish of California, every- where abundant about rocks to the south of San Francisco, and of considerable value as food. Almost exactly like it is the Mejinadai (Girella punctata) of Japan. The best-known members of this group belong to the genus Kyphosus. Kyphosus sectatrix is the rudder-fish, or Chopa blanca, common in the West Indies and following ships to the northward even as far as Cape Cod, once even taken at Palermo. It is supposed that it is enticed by the waste thrown overboard. Kyphosus elegans is found on the west coast of Mexico, Kyphosus tahmel in the East Indies and Polynesia, and numerous other species occur in tropical America and along the coasts of southern Asia. Sectator ocyurus is a more elongate form of rudder-fish, striped with bright blue and yellow, found in the Pacific. Medialuna californiensis is the half-moon fish, or medialuna, of southern California, an excellent food-fish frequently taken on rocky shores. Numerous related species occur in the Indian seas. Fossil fragments in Europe have been referred to Boops, Spondyliosoma, and other genera. Fie. 457.—Blue-green Sunfish, Apomotis cyanellus (Rafinesque). Kansas River. (After Kellogg.) | ee PS eee CHAPTER XXXV THE SURMULLETS, THE CROAKERS AND THEIR RELATIVES E Surmullets, or Goatfishes: Mullide—The Mullide (Surmullets) are shore-fishes of the warm seas, of mod- a > erate size, with small mouth, large scales, and possess- ing the notable character of two long, unbranched barbels of firm substance at the chin. The dorsal fins are short, well separated, the first of six to eight firm spines. There are two anal spines and the ventral fins, thoracic, are formed of one spine and five rays. The flesh is white and tender, often of very superior flavor. The species are carnivorous, Fic. 458.—Red Goatfish, or Salmonete, Pseudupeneus maculatus Bloch. Family Mullide (Surmullets.) feeding chiefly on small animals. They are not voracious, and predaceous fishes feed freely on them. The coloration is generally bright, largely red or golden, in nearly all cases with an under layer, below the scales, of red, which appears when the fish is scaled or placed in alcohol. The barbels are often bright yellow, and when the fish swims along the bottom these are carried in advance, feeling the way. Testing the bottom 565 566 Surmullets, Croakers, etc. with their feelers, these fishes creep over the floor of shallow waters, seeking their food. The numerous species are all very much alike in form, and the current genera are separated by details of the arrangement of the teeth. But few are found outside the tropics. The surmullet or red mullet of Europe, Mullus barbatus, is the most famous species, placed by the Romans above all other fishes unless it be the scarus, Spartsoma cretense. From the satirical poets we learn that ‘“‘enormous prices were paid for a fine fish, and it was the fashion to bring the fish into the dining-room and exhibit it alive before the assembled guests, so that they might gloat over the brilliant and changing colors during the death-agonies.”’ It is red in life, and when the scales are removed, the color is much brighter. It is an excellent fish, tender and rich, but nowhere so extrav- agantly valued to-day as was formerly the case in Rome. Ne) A te PO) ORR ARDS RRR RR A ae ee ae ~ Fie. 459—Golden Surmullet, Mullus auratus Jordan & Gilbert. Wood’s Hole, Mass. Mullus surmuletus is a second European species, scarcely differ- ent from Mullus barbatus. Equally excellent as food and larger in size are two Polyne- sian species known as kumu and munu (Pseudupeneus porphyreus and Pseudupeneus bifasciatus). Mullus auratus is a small sur- mullet occasionally taken off our Atlantic coast, but in deeper water than that frequented by the European species. Psew- dupeneus maculatus is the red goatfish or salmonete, common from Florida to Brazil, as is also the yellow goatfish, Pseudu- (SYIVOHU NOISSONAO) HSIAMVHM ‘HOOVaLaOOS \ ih AISARA ay Surmullets, Croakers, etc. 567 peneus martinicus, equally valued. Many other species are found in tropical America, Polynesia, and the Indies and Japan. Perhaps the most notable are Upeneus vittatus, striped with yellow and with the caudal fin cross-barred and the belly sul- phur-yellow, and Upeneus arge, similar, the belly white. The common red and black-banded “moana” or goatfish of Hawaii is Pseudupeneus multifasciatus, No fossil Mullide are recorded, so far as known to us. The Croakers: Scienide.— The family of Scienide (croak- ers, roncadors) is another of the great groups of food-fishes. The species are found on every sandy shore in warm regions and all of them are large enough to have value as food, while many have flesh of superior quality. None is brightly colored, most of the species being nearly plain silvery. Special characters are the cavernous structure of the bones of the head, which are full of mucous tracts, the specialization Fie. 460.—Spotted Weakfish, Cynoscion nebulosus. Virginia. (and occasional absence) of the air-bladder, and the presence of never more than two anal spines, one of these being some- times very large. Most of the species are marine, all are car- nivorous; none inhabits rocky places and none descends to depths in the sea. At the least specialized extreme of the family, the mouth is large with strong canines and the species are slender, swift, and predaceous. The weakfish or squeteague (Cynoscion regalis) is a type of a multitude of species, large, swift, voracious, but with ten- der flesh, which is easily torn. The common weakfish, abun- dant on our Atlantic coast, suffers much at the hands of its 568 Surmullets, Croakers, etc. enemy and associate, the bluefish. It is one of the best of all our food-fishes. Farther south the spotted weakfish (Cyno- scion nebulosus), very incorrectly known as sea-trout, takes its place, and about New Orleans is especially and justly prized. The California “bluefish,” Cynoscion parvipinnis, is very similar to these Atlantic species, and there are many other species of Cynoscion on both coasts of tropical America, form- ing a large part of the best fish-supply of the various markets of the mainland. On the rocky islands, as Cuba, and about coral reefs, Scienide are practically unknown. In the Gulf of California, the totuava, Cynoscion macdonaldi, reaches a weight of 172 pounds, and the stateliest of all, the great “white sea-bass”’ of California, Cynoscion nobilis, reaches 100 pounds. In these large species the flesh is much more firm than in the weakfish and thus bears shipment better. Cynoscion has canines in the upper jaw only and its species are all Ameri- can. In the East Indies the genus Ofolithes has strong canines in both jaws. Its numerous species are very similar in form, habits, and value to those of Cynoscion. The queenfish, Seri- phus politus, of the California coast, is much like the others of this series, but smaller and with no canines at all. It is a very choice fish, as are also the species of Macrodon (Ancylodon) known as pescadillo del red, voracious fishes of both shores of South America. Plagioscion squamosissimus and numerous species of Pla- gioscion and other genera live in the rivers of South America. A single species, the river-drum, gaspergou, river sheepshead, or thunder-pumper (A plodinotus grunniens), is found in streams in North America. This is a large fish reaching a length of nearly three feet. It is very widely distributed, from the Great Lakes to Rio Usumacinta in Guatemala, whence it has been lately received by Dr. Evermann. This species abounds in lakes and sluggish rivers. The flesh 1s coarse, and in the Great Lakes it is rarely eaten, having a rank odor. In Louisiana and Texas it is, however, regarded as a good food-fish. In this species the lower pharyngeals are very large and firmly united, while, as in all other Scienide, except the genus Pogonzas, these bones are separated. In all members of the family the ear- bones or otoliths are largely developed, often finely sculptured. ij Surmullets, Croakers, etc. 569 The otoliths of the river-drum are known to Wisconsin boys as “lucky-stones,” each having a rude impress of the letter o The names roncador, drum, thunder-pumper, croaker, and the like refer to the grunting noise made by most Scienide in the water, a noise at least connected with the large and divided air-bladder. Numerous silvery species belong to Larimus, Corvula, Odon- toscion, and especially to Bazrdiella, a genus in which the second anal spine is unusually strong. The mademoiselle, Bairdiella Fic. 461.—Mademoiselle, Bairdiella chrysura (Linneus). Virginia. chrysura is a pretty fish of our Atlantic coast, excellent as a pan fish. In Bairdiella ensifera of Panama the second anal spine is enormously large, much as in a robalo (Oxylabrax). In Stellifer and Nebris, the head is soft and spongy. Stelli- jer lanceolatus is occasionally taken off South Carolina, and numerous other species of this and related genera are found farther South. Scienops ocellata is the red-drum or channel bass of our South Atlantic coast, a most important food-fish reaching a weight of seventy-five pounds. It is well marked by a black ocellus on the base of the tail. On the coast of Texas, this species, locally called redfish, exceeds in economic value all other species found in that State. Pseudosciena aquila, the maigre of southern Europe, is 570 Surmullets, Croakers, etc. another large fish, similar in value to the red drum. Pseudo- sctena antarctica is the kingfish of Australia. To Sciena belong many species, largely Asiatic, with the mouth inferior, without barbels, the teeth small, and the convex snout marked with mucous pores. Scienu umbra, the ombre, is the common European species, Sciena saturna, the black roncador of Cali- fornia, is much likeit. Sciena delictosa is one of the most valued Fic. 462.—Red Drum, Scienops ocellata Linneus. Texas. food-fishes of Peru, and Sciena argentata is valued in Japan. Species of Sct@na are especially numerous on the coasts of India. Roneador stearnsi, the California roncador, is a large fish with a black ocellus at the base of the pectoral. It has some importance in the Los Angeles market. The goody, spot, or lafayette (Leio- stomus xanthurus) is a small, finely flavored species abundant from Cape Cod to Texas. Similar to it but inferior is the little roncador (Genyonemus lineatus) of California. The common croaker, Micropogon undulatus, is very abundant on our Eastern coast, and other species known as verrugatos or white-mouthed drummers replace it farther South. In Umbrina the chin has a short thick barbel. The species abound in the tropics, Umbrina cirrosa in the Mediterranean; Umbrina coroides in California, and the handsome Umbrina roncador, the yellow-tailed roncador, in southern California. The kingfish, Menticirrhus, differs in lacking the air-bladder, and lying on the bottom in shallow water the lower fins are enlarged much as in the darters or gobies. All the species are American. All are dull-colored and all excellent as food. Men- ticirrhus saxatilis is the common kingfish or sea-mink, abundant Surmullets, Croakers, etc. ort from Cape Ann southward, Menticirrhus americanus is the equally common sand-whiting of Carolina, and Menticirrhus S Fig. 463.—Yeilow-fin Roneador, Umbrina sinaloew Scofield. Mazatlan. littoralis the surf-whiting. The California whiting or sand- sucker is Menticirrhus undulatus. Pogontas chromis, the sea-drum, has barbels on the chin and the lower pharyngeals are enlarged and united as in the river- A Fic. 464—Kingfish, Menticirrhus americanus (Linnzeus). Pensacola. drum, Aplodinotus. It is a coarse fish common on our Atlantic coasts, a large specimen taken at St. Augustine weighing 146 pounds. Other species of this family, belonging to the genus Eques, are marked with ribbon-like stripes of black. Eques lanceolatus, known in Cuba as serrana, is the most ornate of these species, looking like a butterfly-fish or Cheetodon. Several fossil fragments have been doubtfully referred to Sciena, Umbrina, Pogonias, and other genera. Otoliths or 572 Surmullets, Croakers, etc. ear-bones not clearly identifiable are found from the Miocene on. These structures are more highly specialized in this group than in any other. Fic. 465—Drum, Pogonias chromis (Linneus). Matanzas, Fla. The Sillaginide, etc.—Allied to the Scienid@ is the small family of Kisugos, Stllaginide, of the coasts of Asia. These are slender, cylindrical fishes, silvery in color, with a general resemblance to small Scienas. Sillago japonicus, the kisugo of Japan, is a very abundant species, valued as food. Sillago sthama ranges from Japan to Abyssinia. A number of small families, mostly Asiatic, may be appended to the percoid series, with which they agree in general characters, especially in the normal structure of the shoulder-girdle and in the insertion of the pectoral and ventral fins. The Lactaritde constitute a small family of the East Indies, allied to the Scienide, but with three anal spines. The mouth is armed with strong teeth. Lactarius lactarius is a food-fish of India. The Nandid@ are small spiny-rayed fishes of the East Indian streams, without pseudobranchie. The Polycentride are small fresh-water perch-like fishes of the streams of South America, without lateral line and with many anal spines. Surmullets, Croakers, etc. 573 The Jawfishes: Opisthognathide, etc.—The Pseudochromi- pide are marine-fishes of the tropics with the lateral line inter- rupted, and with a single dorsal. They bear some resemblance to Plestops and other aberrant Serranide. Fic. 466.—Gnathypops evermanni Jordan & Snyder. Misaki, Japan. Very close to these are the Optstognathide or jawfishes with a single lateral line and the mouth very large. In certain species of Opisthognathus, the maxillary, long and curved, extends far behind the head. The few species are found in warm Fic. 467.—Jawfish, Opisthognathus macrognathus Poey. Tortugas, Fla. seas, but always very sparingly. Some of them are handsomely colored. The Stone-wall Perch: Oplegnathide.—A singular group evi- dently allied to the Hemulide is the family of Oplegnathide. In these fishes the teeth are grown together to form a bony beak like the jaw of a turtle. Except for this character, the species are very similar to ordinary grunts. While the mouth resembles 574 Surmullets, Croakers, etc. that of the parrot-fish, it is structurally different and must have been independently developed. Oplegnathus punctatus, the ‘stonewall perch’”’ (ishigakidai), is common in Japan, as is also Fic. 468.—Opisthognathus nigromarginatus. India. (After Day.) the banded Oplegnathus fasciatus. Other species are found in Australia and Chile. The Swallowers: Chiasmodontide.—The family of swallowers Chiasmodontide, is made up of a few deep-sea fishes of soft flesh and feeble spines, the opercular apparatus much reduced. Fic. 469.—Black Swallower, Chiasmodon niger Johnson, containing a fish larger than itself. Le Have Bank. The ventrals are post-thoracic, the rays 1, 5, facts which point to some affinity with the Opzsthognatlide, although Boulenger places these fishes among the Percesoces. Chtasmodon niger, the black swallower of the mid-Atlantic, has exceedingly long teeth and the whole body so distensible that it can swallow fishes of many times its own size. According to Gill: “It espies a fish many times larger than itself, but which, nevertheless, may be managed; it darts upon it, seizes it by OCEANOPS LATOVITTATA (LACKPEDE) a ‘ ‘o h : ? © ; < ‘ é , 4 , » 2 * é . : . _ ae = 6 S Val ar : agi ete. ee as neal — a Surmullets, Croakers, etc. Sls the tail and gradually climbs over it with its jaws, first using one and then the other; as the captive is taken in the stomach and integuments stretch out, and at last the entire fish is passed through the mouth and into the stomach, and the distended belly appears as a great bag, projecting out far backwards and forwards, over which is the swallower with the ventrals dislo- cated and far away from their normal place. The walls of the stomach and belly have been so stretched that they are trans- parent, and the species of the fish can be discerned within. But such rapacity is more than the captor itself can stand. At length decomposition sets in, the swallower is forced belly up. wards, and the imprisoned gas, as in a balloon, takes it upwards from the depths to the surface of the ocean, and there, perchance, it may be found and picked up, to be taken home for a wonder, as it is really. Thus have at least three specimens found their way into museums—one being in the United States National Museum—and in each the fish in the stomach has been about twice as long, and stouter in proportion, than the swallower— six to twelve times bulkier! Its true habitat seems to be at a depth of about 1,500 fathoms.” Allied to this family is the little group of Champsodontide of Japan and the East Indies. Champsodon vorax looks like a young Uranoscopus. The body is covered with numerous lateral lines and cross-lines. The Malacanthide.— The Malacanthide are elongate fishes, rather handsomely colored, with a strong canine on the premaxil- lary behind. Malacanthus plumitert, the matajuelo blanco, a slender fish of a creamy-brown color, is common in the West Indies. Other species are found in Polynesia, the most notable being Malacanthus (or Oceanops) lativittatus, a large fish of a brilliant sky-blue, with a jet-black lateral band. In Samoa this species is called gatasami, the “eye of the sea.”’ The Blanquillos: Latilide.—The Latilide, or blanquillos, have also an enlarged posterior canine, but the body is deeper and the flesh more firm. The species reach a considerable size and are valued as food. Lopholotilus chameleonticeps is the famous tilefish dredged in the depths under the Gulf Stream. It is a fish of remarkable beauty, red and golden. This species, Pro- fessor Gill writes, ‘“‘was unknown until 1879, when specimens 576 Surmullets, Croakers, etc. were brought by fishermen to Boston from a previously unex- plored bank about eighty miles southeast of No Man's Land, Mass. In the fall of 1880 it was found to be extremely abun- dant everywhere off the coast of southern New England at a depth of from seventy-five to two hundred and fifty fathoms. The form of the species is more compressed, and higher, than in most of the family, and what especially distinguishes it is the development of a compressed, ‘fleshy, fin-like appendage over the back part of the head and nape, reminding one of the adipose fin of the salmonids and catfishes.’ It is especially notable, too, for the brilliancy of its colors, as well as for its size, being by far larger than any other member of its family. A weight of fifty pounds or more is, or rather, one might say, was frequently attained by it, although such was very far above the average, that being little over ten pounds. In the reach of water referred to, it could once be found abundantly at any time, and caught by hook and line. After a severe gale in March, 1882, millions of tilefish could be seen, or calculated for, on the surface of the water for a distance of about three hundred miles from north to south, and fifty. miles from east to west. It has been calculated by Capt. Collins that as many as one thou- sand four hundred and thirty-eight millions were scattered over the surface. This would have allowed about two hundred and twenty-eight pounds to every man, woman and child of the fifty million inhabitants of the United States! On trying at their former habitat the next fall, as well as all successive years to the present time, not a single specimen could be found where formerly it was so numerous. We have thus a case of a catastrophe which, as far as has been observed, caused com- plete annihilation of an abundant animal in a very limited period. Whether the grounds it formerly held will be reoccupied subsequently by the progeny of a protected colony remains to be seen, but it is scarcely probable that the entire species has been exterminated.” It is now certain that the species is not extinct. Caulolatilus princeps is the blanquillo or “whitefish” of southern California, a large handsome fish formed like a dol- phin, of purplish, olivaceous color and excellent flesh. Other species of Caulolatilus are found in the West Indies. Latilus Surmullets, Croakers, etc. SOT, japonicus is the amadai or sweet perch of Japan, an excellent food-fish of a bright crimson color. The Pinguipedide of Chile resemble the Latilide, having also the enlarged premaxillary tooth. The ventrals are, how- ever, thickened and placed farther forward. The Bandfishes: Cepolidze.—The small family of Cepolide, or bandfishes, resemble the Latilide somewhat and are probably related to them. The head is normally formed, the ventral fins are thoracic, with a spine and five rays, but the body is drawn out into a long eel-like form, the many-rayed dorsal and anal fins meeting around thetail. The few species are crimson in color with small scales. They are used as food, but the flesh is dry and the bones are stiff and numerous. Cepola tenia is common in the Mediterranean, and Acanthocepola krusensterni abounds in the bays of southern Japan. The Cirrhitidee.—The species of the family C7rrhitide strongly resemble the smaller Serranid@ and even Serranus itself, but the lower rays of the pectoral fins are enlarged and are undi- vided, as in the sea-scorpions and some sculpins. In these fishes, however, the bony stay, which characterizes Scorpenide and Cottide, is wholly absent. It is, however, considered possible that this interesting family represents the point of separation at which the mail-cheeked fishes become differentiated from the typical perch-like forms. Gomitistius zonatus, the takanohadai, is a valuable food-fish of Japan, marked by black cross-bands. Paracirrlutes forstert and other species of Cirrhitus and Paracir- rhites are very pretty fishes of the coral reefs, abundant in the markets of Honolulu, the spotted Czrrhitus marmoratus being the most widely diffused of these. Only one species of this family, Cirrhitus rivulatus, a large fish, green, with blue mark- ings, is found in American waters. It frequents the rocky shores of the west coast of Mexico. Allied to the Cirrhitide is the small family of Latridide, with a long dorsal fin deeply divided, and the lower rays of the pectoral similarly modified. Latris hecateia is called the “trumpeter ’’ in Australian waters. It is one of the best food- fishes of Australia, reaching a weight of sixty to eighty pounds. Another small family showing the same peculiar structure of the pectoral fin is that of the Aplodactylide. The species 578 Surmullets, Croakers, etc. of Aplodactylus live on the coasts of Chile and Australia. They are herbivorous fishes, with flat, tricuspid teeth, and except for their pectoral fins are very similar to the Kyphoside. Fic. 470—Cirrhitus rivulatus Valenciennes. Mazatlan. The San¢dfishes: Trichodontide.—In the neighborhood of the Latridide, Dr. Boulenger places the Trichodontide or sandfishes, small, scaleless, silvery fishes of the northern Pacific. These Fic. 471.—Sandfish, Trichodon trichodon (Tilesius). Shumagin Islands, Alaska. are much compressed in body, with very oblique mouths, with fringed lips and, as befits their northern habitat, with a much increased number of vertebre. They bury themselves in sand under the surf, and the two species, Trichodon trichodon and Arctoscopus japonicus, range very widely in the regions washed by the Japan current. These species bear a strong resemblance to the star-gazers (Uranoscopus), but this likeness seems to be superficial only. CHAPTER XXXVI LABYRINTHICI AND HOLCONOTI. is the group of Labyrinthici, composed of perch-like ‘ fishes which have a very peculiar structure to the pharyngeal bones and respiratory apparatus. This feature is thus described by Dr. Gill: “The upper elements of one of the pairs of gill-bearing arches are peculiarly modified. The elements in question (called branchihyal) of each side, instead of being straight and solid, as in most fishes, are excessively developed and pro- vided with several thin plates or folds, erect from the surface of the bones and the roof of the skull, to which the bones are attached. These plates, by their intersection, form chambers, and are lined with a vascular membrane, which is supplied with large blood-vessels. It was formerly supposed that the chambers referred to had the office of receiving and retaining supplies of water which should trickle down and keep the gills moist; such was supposed to be an adaptation for the sus- tentation of life out of the water. The experiments of Surgeon Day, however, throw doubt upon this alleged function, and tend to show: (1) that these fishes died when deprived of access to atmospheric air, not from any deleterious properties either in the water or in the apparatus used, but from being unable to subsist on air obtained solely from the water, aerial respira- tion being indispensable; (2) that they can live in moisture out of the water for lengthened periods, and for a short, but variable period in water only; and (3) that the cavity or recep- tacle does not contain water, but has a moist secreting surface, in which air is retained for the purpose of respiration. It seems probable that the air, after having been supplied for aerial respiration, is ejected by the mouth, and not swallowed to be 579 580 Labyrinthici and Holconti discharged per anum. In fine, the two respiratory factors of the branchial apparatus have independent functions: (1) the labyrinthiform, or branchihyal portion, being a special modi- fication for the respiration of atmospheric air, and (2) the gill filaments discharging their normal function. If, however, the fish is kept in water and prevented from coming to the surface to swallow the atmospheric air, the labyrinthiform apparatus becomes filled with water which cannot be dis- charged, owing to its almost non-contractile powers. There is thus no means of emptying it, and the water probably becomes carbonized and unfit for oxygenizing the blood, so that the whole of the respiration is thus thrown on the branchie. This will account for the fact that when the fish is in a state of quiescence, it lives much longer than when excited, whilst the sluggishness sometimes evinced may be due to poisoned or carbonized blood.” Four families of labyrinth-gilled fishes are recognized by Professor Gill; and to these we may append a fifth, which, how- ever, lacks the elaborate structures mentioned above and which shows other evidences of degeneration. The Climbing-perches: Anabantide.—The family of Anaban- tide, according to Gill, ‘“‘includes those species which have the Fic. 472 —The Climbing Perch, Anabas scandens Linneus. Opercle cut away to show the gill-labyrinth. mouth of moderate size and teeth on the palate (either on the vomer alone, or on both the vomer and palatine bones). To the family belongs the celebrated climbing-fish. “The climbing-fish (Anabas scandens) is especially note- worthy for the movability of the sub-operculum. The oper- ij is Labyrinthici and Holconoti 581 culum is serrated. The color is reddish olive, with a blackish spot at the base of the caudal fin; the head, below the level of the eye, grayish, but relieved by an olive band running from the angle of the mouth to the angle of the pre-operculum, and with a black spot on the membrane behind the hindermost spines of the operculum. “The climbing-fish was first made known in a memoir, printed in 1797, by Daldorf, a lieutenant in the service of the Danish East India Company at Tranquebar. Daldorf called it Perca scandens, and affirmed that he himself had taken one of these fishes, clinging by the spine of its operculum in a slit in the bark of a palm (Borassus flabelliformis) which grew near a pond. He also described its mode of progression; and his observations were substantially repeated by the Rev. Mr. John, a missionary resident in the same country. His positive evi- dence was, however, called into question by those who doubted on account of hypothetical considerations. Even in popular works not generally prone to even a judicious skepticism, the accounts were stigmatized as unworthy of belief. We have, however, in answer to such doubts, too specific informa- tion to longer distrust the reliability of the previous reports. “Mr. Rungasawmy Moodeliar, a native assistant of Capt. Jesse Mitchell of the Madras Government Central Museum, communicated to his superior the statement that ‘this fish inhabits tanks or pools of water, and is called Panaz fert, i.e, the fish that climbs palmyra-trees. When there are palmyra- trees growing by the side of a tank or pool, when heavy rain falls and the water runs profusely down their trunks, this fish, by means of its opercula, which move unlike those of other fishes, crawls up the tree sideways (i.e., inclining to the sides considerably from the vertical) to a height of from five to seven feet, and then drops down. Should this fish be thrown upon the ground, it runs or proceeds rapidly along in the same manner (sideways) as long as the mucus on it remains.’ “These movements are effected by the opercula, which, it will be remembered, are unusually mobile in this species; they ean, according to Captain Mitchell (and I have verified the statement), be raised or turned outwards to nearly a right angle with the body, and when in that position, the suboper- 582 Labyrinthici and Holconoti culum distends a little, and it appears that it is chiefly by the spines of this latter piece that the fish takes a purchase on the tree or ground. ‘I have,’ says Captain Mitchell, ‘ascer- tained by experiment that the mere closing of the operculum, when the spines are in contact with any surface, even common glass, pulls an ordinary-sized fish forwards about half an inch,’ but it is probable that additional force is supplied by the cau- dal and anal fins, both of which, it is said, are put in use when climbing or advancing on the ground; the motion, in fact, is described as a wriggling one. “The climbing-fish seems to manifest an inclination to ascend streams against the current, and we can now understand how, during rain, the water will flow down the trunk of a tree, and the climbing-fish, taking advantage of this, will ascend against the down-flow by means of the mechanism already described, and by which it is enabled to reach a considerable distance up the trunk.’’ (Gill.) The Gouramis: Osphromenide.—‘‘ The Osphromenide are fishes with a mouth of small size, and destitute of teeth on the palate. To this family belongs the gourami, whose praises have been so often sung, and which has been the subject of many efforts for acclimatization in France and elsewhere by the French. “The gourami (Osphromenus goramy) has an oblong, oval form, and, when mature, the color is nearly uniform, but in the young there are black bands across the body, and also a blackish spot at the base of the pectoral fin. The gourami, if we can credit reports, occasionally reaches a gigantic size, for it is claimed that it sometimes attains a length of 6 feet, and weighs 150 pounds, but if this is true, the size is at least exceptional, and one of 20 pounds is a very large fish; indeed, they are considered very large if they weigh as much as 12 or 14 pounds, in which case they measure about 2 feet in length. “The countries in which the gourami is most at home lie in the intertropical belt. The fish is assiduous in the care of its young, and prepares a nest for the reception of eggs. The bottom selected is muddy, the depth variable within a narrow area, that is, in one place about a yard, and near by several yards deep. “They prefer to use, for the nests, tufts of a peculiar grass ct a EG ae ag ee Labyrinthici and Holconoti 583 (Panicum jumentorum) which grows on the surface of the water, and whose floating roots, rising and falling with the movements of the water, form natural galleries, under which the fish can conceal themselves. In one of the corners of the pond, among the plants which grow there, the gouramis attach their nest, which is of a nearly spherical form, and composed of plants and mud, and considerably resembles in form those of some birds. “The gourami is omnivorous, taking at times flesh, fish, frogs, insects, worms, and many kinds of vegetables; and on account of its omnivorous habit, it has been called by the French colo- nists of Mauritius porc des riviéres, or ‘river-pig.’ It is, how- ever, essentially a vegetarian, and its adaptation for this diet is indicated by the extremely elongated intestinal canal, which is many times folded upon itself. It is said to be especially fond of the leaves of several araceous plants. Its flesh is, according to several authors, of a light-yellow straw-color, firm and easy of digestion. They vary in quality with the nature of the waters inhabited, those taken from a rocky river being much superior to those from muddy ponds; but those dwelling at the mouth of rivers, where the water is to some extent brack- ish, are the best of all. Again, they vary with age; and the large, overgrown fishes are much less esteemed than the small ones. They are in their prime when three years old. Dr. Vin- son says the flavor is somewhat like that of carp; and, if this is sO, we may entertain some skepticism as to its superiority; but the unanimous testimony in favor of its excellence natu- rally leads to the belief that the comparison is unfair to the gourami. “Numerous attempts have been made by the French to introduce the gourami into their country, as well as into several of their provinces; and for a number of years consignments of the eggs, or the young, or adult fish, were made. Although at least partially successful, the fish has never been domiciliated in the Republic, and, indeed, it could not be reasonably expected that it would be, knowing, as we do, its sensitiveness to cold and the climates under which it thrives. “The fish of paradise (Macropodus viridi-auratus) is a species remarkable for its beauty and the extension of its fins, and 584 Labyrinthici and Holconoti especially of the ventrals, which has obtained for it the generic name Macropodus. To some extent this species has also been made the subject of fish-culture, but with reference to its beauty and exhibition in aquaria and ponds, like the goldfish, rather than for its food qualities. “The only other fish of the family that needs mention is the fighting-fish (Betta pugnax). It is cultivated by the natives of Siam, and a special race seems to have been the result of such cultivation. The fishes are kept in glasses of water and fed, among other things, with the larve of mosquitoes or other aquatic insects. ‘The Siamese are as infatuated with the com- bats of these fishes as the Malays are with their cock-fights, and stake on the issue considerable sums, and sometimes their own persons and families. The license to exhibit fish-fights is farmed, and brings a considerable annual revenue to the king of Siam. The species abounds in the rivulets at the foot of the hills of Penang. The inhabitants name it ‘pla-kat,’ or the ‘fighting- Ssh The Helostomide are herbivorous, with movable teeth on the lips and with long intestines. Helostoma temminckt lives in the rivers of Java, Borneo, and Sumatra. The Luctocephalide of East Indian rivers have the supra- branchial organ small, formed of two gill-arches dilated by a membrane. In these species there are no spines in the dorsal and anal, while in the Anabantide and Osphromenitde numerous spines are developed both in the dorsal and anal. Luctocephalus pulcher indicates a transition toward the Ophicephalide. The Snake-head Mullets: Ophicephalide.—The family of Op/i- cephalide, snake-head mullets, or China-fishes, placed among the Percesoces by Cope and Boulenger, seems to us nearer the Labyrinthine fishes, of which it is perhaps a degenerate descendant. The body is long, cylindrical, covered with firm scales which on the head are often larger and shield-like. The mouth is large, the head pike-like, and the habit carnivorous and voracious. There are no spines in any of the fins, but the tho- racic position of the ventrals indicates affinity with perch-like forms and the absence of ventral spines seems rather a feature of degradation, the more so as in one genus (Channa) the ventrals are wanting altogether. The numerous species are found in Labyrinthici and Holconoti 585 the rivers of southern China and India, crossing to Formosa and to Africa. They are extremely tenacious of life, and are carried alive by the Chinese to San Francisco and to Hawaii, where they are now naturalized, being known as “ China-fishes.”’ Fic. 473 —Channa formosana Jordan & Evermann. Streams of Formosa. These fishes have no ‘special organ for holding water on the gills, but the gill space may be partly closed by a membrane. According to Dr. Gunther, these fishes are ‘able to survive drought living in semi-fluid mud or lying in a torpid state below the hard-baked crusts of the bottom of a tank from which every drop of water has disappeared. Respiration is ZY, Fig. 474.—Snake-headed China-fish, Ophicephalus barca. India. (After Day.) probably entirely suspended during the state of torpidity, but whilst the mud is still soft enough to allow them to come to the surface, they rise at intervals to take in a quantity of air, by means of which their blood is oxygenized. This habit has been observed in some species to continue also to the period of the year in which the fish lives in normal water, and individuals which are kept in a basin and prevented from coming to the surface and renewing the air for respiratory purposes are suffo- cated. The particular manner in which the accessory branchial cavity participates in respiratory functions is not known. It is a simple cavity, without an accessory branchial organ, the 586 Labyrinthici and Holconoti opening of which is partly closed by a fold of the mucous mem- brane. Ophicephalus striatus is the most widely diffused species in China, India, and the Philippines, living in grassy swamps and biting at any bait from a live frog to an artificial salmon-fly. It has been introduced into Hawaii. Ophicephalus marulius is another very common species, as is also Channa ortentalts, known by the absence of ventral fins. Suborder Holconoti, the Surf-fishes.—Another offshoot from the perch-like forms is the small suborder of Holconoti (6A.«os, furrow; veros, back). It contains fishes percoid in appearance, with much in common with the Gerride and Sparide, but with certain ¥y . Fic. 475.—White Surf-fish, viviparous, with young, Cymatogaster aggregatus Gibbons. San Francisco. striking characteristics not possessed by any perch or bass. All the species are viviparous, bringing forth their young alive, these being in small number and born at an advanced stage of development. The lower pharyngeals are solidly united, as in the Labride, a group which these fishes resemble in scarcely any other respects. The soft dorsal and anal are formed of many fine rays, the anal being peculiarly modified in the male sex. The nostrils, ventral fins, and shoulder-girdle have the structure normal among perch-like fishes, and the dorsal furrow, which sug- gested to Agassiz the name of Holconoti, is also found among various perch-like forms. Labyrinthici and Holconoti 587 The Embiotocide.—The group contains a single family, the Embiotocide, or surf-fishes. All but two of the species are confined Fic. 476—Fresh-water Viviparous Perch, Hysterocarpus traski Gibbons. Sacramento River. to California, these two living in Japan. The species are rela- tively small fishes, from five inches to eighteen inches in length, with rather large, usually silvery scales, small mouths and small teeth. They feed mainly on crustaceans, two or three species being herbivorous. With two exceptions, they inhabit Fic. 477—Hypsurus caryi (Agassiz). Monterey. the shallow waters on sandy beaches, where they bring forth their young. They can be readily taken in nets in the surf. " 588 Labyrinthici and Holconoti As food-fishes they are rather inferior, the flesh being some- what watery and with little flavor. Many are dried by the Fig. 478.—White Surf-fish, Damalichthys argyrosomus (Girard). British Columbia Chinese. The two exceptions in distribution are Hysterocar- pus traskt, which lives exclusively in fresh waters, being con- fined to the lowlands of the Sacramento Basin, and Zalembius rosaceus, which descends to considerable depths in the sea. In Hysterocarpus the spinous dorsal is very greatly developed, Fig. 479.—Thick-lipped Surf-fish, Rhacochilus torotes Agassiz. Monterey, Cal. seventeen stout spines being present, the others having but | eight to eleven and these very slender. The details of structure vary greatly among the different | Labyrinthici and Holconoti 589 species, for which reason almost every species has been prop- erly made the type of a distinct genus. The two ‘species found in Japan are Ditrema temmincki and Neoditrema ran- sonnett. _In the latter species the female is always toothless. Close to Ditrema is the blue surf-fish of California, Embiotoca jacksont, the first discovered and perhaps the commonest species. T@ntotoca lateralis is remarkable for its bright colora- tion, greenish, with orange stripes. Hypsurus caryt, still brighter in color, orange, green and black, has the abdominal region very long. Phanerodon furcatus and P. atripes are dull silvery in color, as in Damalichthys argyrosomus, the white surf-fish, which ranges northward to Alaska, and is remarkable for the extraordinary size of its lower pharyngeals. Holconotus rhodo- terus is a large, rosy species, and Amphistichus argenteus a large bane ea A TS LOAN URARM MEH DEL tN) ipa ? ie yy f wl Wi sh) PUA YANR FRR UN Z fin 2 Zip NN )) hy Hy) i) hy yy) } ra ~ Y Fie. 480—Silver Surf-fish (viviparous), Hypocritichthus analis (Agassiz). Monterey. species with dull yellowish cross-bands. Rhachochtlus toxote s is the largest species in the family and the one most valued as food. It is notable for its thick, drooping, ragged lips. Hyperprosopon arcuatus, the wall-eye surf-fish, is brilliantly silvery, with very large eyes. H. agassizt closely resembles it, as does also the dwarf species, Hypocritichthys analis, to which the Japanese Neoditrema ransonnett is very nearly re- lated. The other species are all small. Abeona minima and A. aurora feed on seaweed. Brachyistius frenatus is the smallest of all, orange-red in color, while its relative, Zalembius rosaceus, 590 Labyrinthici and Holconoti is handsomest of all, rose-red with a black lateral spot. Cyma- togaster aggregatus, the surf-shiner, is a little fish, excessively common along the California coast, and from its abund2znce it has been selected by Dr. Eigenmann as the basis of his studies Fig. 481.—Viviparous Perch (male), Hysterocarpus traski Gibbons. Battle Creek, Sacramento River. (Photograph by Cloudsley Rutter.) of these fishes. In this species the male shows golden and black markings, which are wanting in the silvery female, and the anterior rays of the anal are thickened or otherwise modified. No fossil embiotocoids are recorded. CHAPTER XXXVII CHROMIDES AND PHARYNGOGNATHI UBORDER Chromides.—The suborder Chromtdes con- tains 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 Holconott and Pharyngognatht, 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 Chromudes the lateral line is incom- plete or interrupted, and the scales are usually large and ctenoid. The Cichlide.—The suborder Chromides includes two fami- lies, Cichlide, and Pomacentride. The Cichlide 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 Centrarchide, of the eastern United States. This resemblance is one of analogy only, for in structure the Cichide have no more in common with the Centrarchide than with other families of perch or bass. The numerous species of Cichlide are confined to tropical America and to correspond- ing districts in Africa and western Asia. Tilapia nilotica abounds in the Nile. Tzlapia galilea 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 Cichlide, 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 591 592 Chromides and Pharyngognathi analogy to the black bass of farther north. A vast number of species belonging to Heros, Acara, Cichlasoma, Geophagus, Chetobranchus, 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 Cichlide corresponds with that of the Characinide. No other species of either family enters the United States. A similar species, Heros tetracanthus, abounds in the rivers of Cuba, and another, Heros beant, called the mojarra verde, in the streams of Sinaloa. In the lakes and swamps of Central America Cich- lide and Charactnide 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 Cichlide has vomerine teeth. The Damsel-fishes: Pomacentride.—The Pomacentride, called rock-pilots or damsel-fishes, are exclusively marine and have in all cases but two anal spines. The species are often very bril- liantly 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 Chetodontide. 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 Pomacentride are chiefly confined to the coral reefs, few ranging to the north- ward 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 chromts, is found in the Mediterranean. Chromts puncttpinnis, the blacksmith, is found in southern California, and Chromts notatus is the common dogoro of Japan. One of the largest species, reaching the length of a foot, is the Gari- “ Chromides and Pharyngognathi 593 baldi, Hypsypops rubtcundus, of the rocky shores of southern California, This fish, when full grown, is of a pure bright Fic. 482.—Garibaldi (scarlet in color), Hypsypops rubicunda (Girard). La Jolla, San Diego, Cal. Fie, 483.—Pomacentrus leucostictus (Miller & Troschel), Damsel-fish, Family Pomacentride. scarlet. The young are greenish, marked with blue spots. Species of Pomacentrus, locally known as pescado azul, abound 594 Chromides and Pharyngognathi in the West Indies and on the west coast of Mexico. Pomacen- trus fuscus is the commonest West Indian species, and Pomacen- trus 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. Almost equally abundant are the species of Glyphisodon. The “cockeye pilot,’’ or jaqueta, Glyphisodon marginatus, green with we A ae i ee A RAEY | aS See, <> + wiesee Fie. 484.—Cockeye Pilot, Glyphisodon marginatus (Bloch). Cuba. 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 Gly phisodon saxatilis is perhaps the parent of both. Glyphtsodon 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 celestinus blue, with black bands, abounds in the south seas. Chromides and Pharyngognathi 595 The many species of Amphiprion are always brilliant, red or orange, usually marked by one or two cross-bands of creamy blue. Amphtprion 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, feed- ing on shrimps, worms, and the like. Microspathodon is herbivorous, the serrated incisors being loosely implanted in the jaws. Mucrospathodon 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 Fie. 485.—Indigo Damsel fish, Microspathodon dorsalis (Gill). Mazatlan, Mex. family is probably of recent origin, as few fossils are referred to it. Odonteus pygmaeus of the Eocene perhaps belongs to it. Suborder Pharyngognathi.—The wrasses and parrot-fishes, con- stituting the group called Pharyngognathi (papvy, gullet; yvados, jaw), by Johannes Miller, 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, 34 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 vertebre are always twenty-four in 590 Chromides and Pharyngognathi 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. 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 Fic. 486 —Tautog, Tautoga onitis (L.). Wood’s Hole, Mass. 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: Labride.—The principal family is that of the Labride, 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. The northern forms of Labride are known as wrasse on the CIPPINYS “MA “UW AC Aq opty wtoAT) *CT) sywo vbonny, ‘BoynvI— peF “PIT 598 Chromides and Pharyngognathi coasts of England. Among these are Labrus bergylta, the ballan wrasse; Labrus viridis, the green wrasse; Labrus osstphagus, the red wrasse; and Labrus merula, the black wrasse. Acan- tholabrus pallont 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 Fic. 488.—Capitaine or Hogfish, Lachnolaimus jalcatus. Florida. 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. In the Mediterranean are found many species of Crentlabrus, gaily colored, each species having its own peculiar pattern and its own arrangement of inky spots. Among these are Crenila- brus 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 Capi- aie age ’ . Chromides and Pharyngognathi 599 taine or hogfish, Lachnolaimus maximus, a great fish, crimson in color, with its fin spines ending in long streamers; Bodianus rufus, the Spanish lady-fish or pudiano, half crimson, half golden. Halicheres radiatus, the pudding-wife (a mysterious word derived from “oldwife’’ and the Portuguese name, pudi- ano), a blue fish handsomely mottled and streaked. Of the smaller species, Clepticus parre, the janissary, with very small teeth, Halicheres bivittatus, the slippery-dick, ranging north- ward 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 edgé, is found in the Mediterranean as well as through- out the West Indies, where several other species of razor-fish also occur. Scarcely less numerous are the species of the Pacific Coast of America. Pimelometopon pulcher, the redfish or fathead of Fig. 489.—Razor-fish, Xyrichthys psittacus (Linneus). Tortugas, Fla. southern California, reaches a length of two feet or more. It abounds in the broad band of giant kelp which lines the Cali- fornia 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 diplotenia. The seno- rita, Oxyjulis californica, is a dainty cream-colored little fish 600 Chromides and Pharyngognathi of the California coast, Hualichwres semicinctus, the kelpfish, light olive, the male with a blue shoulder bar, is found in south- ern California. On the west coast of Mexico are numerous species of Thalassoma, Halichewres, Pseudojulis, Xyrichthys and Iniistius, all different from the corresponding species in the West Indies, and equally different from the much greater Fic. 490 —Redfish (male), Pimelometopon pulcher (Ayres). San Diego. variety found in Hawaii and in Samoa. About the Polynesian and West Indian islands abound a marvelous wealth of forms of Fic. 491.—Lepidaplois perditio (Quoy & Gaimard). Wakanoura, Japan. 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 Stetho- . ee ee ee eo hind ae ae ee A, BM * 2, 4 Vat tate. Oe : pent 1 PLATYGLOSSUS MARGINATUS (RUPPELI 2 PLATYGLOSSUS FLOS-CORALLIS JORDAD 3 HALICHG@RES CENTIQUADRUS (LACEPEDE LABRIDAS OF THE CORAL REEFS, SAMOA Chromides and Pharyngognathi 601 julis and Cirrhilabrus. In Gomphosus the snout is prolonged on a long slender tube. In Chezlio the whole body is elongate. In Intistius the first two dorsal spines form a separate fin, the forehead being sharp as in Xyrichthys. Other widely distributed genera are Anampses, Lepidaplois, Semicossyphus, Duymeria, Platyglossus, Pseudolabrus, Hologymnosus, Macro- pharyngodon, Corts, Julis, Hemipteronotus, Novaculichthys, Cheilinus, Hemigymnus, and Cymolutes. Halicheres is as abund- ant in the East Indies as in the West, one of its species Halicheres pecilopterus being common as far north as Hako- date 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 Odacide differs from the Labride 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 Scaride, 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 Szphonognathide the teeth are much as in the Odacide, but the body is very elongate, the snout produced as in the cornet-fishes (Fistularza), and the upper jaw ends in a long skinny appendage. Szphonognathus argyrophanes, from Australia, reaches a length of sixteen inches. The Parrot-fishes: Scaride.—The parrot-fishes, or Scarid@, are very similar to the Labride in form, color, and scales, but differ in the more or less complete fusion of the teeth, a char- acter 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. Caloto- mus japonicus is the Budai or Igami of Japan. Calotomus sandwichensis and Calotomus trradians are found in Hawaii, and Calotomus xenodon on the offshore islands of Mexico. 602 Chromides and Pharyngognathi In Calotomus the dorsal spines are slender. In Scaridea (balia) of the Hawaiian Islands the first dorsal is formed of pungent spines as in Spartsoma. Fie. 492. Fig, 493. Fic. 492.—Pharyngeals of Italian Parrot-fish, Sparisoma cretense (L.). a, upper; 6, lower. Fic. 493.—Jaws of a Parrot-fish, Calotomus xenodon Gilbert. Cryptotomus ot the Atlantic is also a transitional group having the general characters of Sparisoma, but the anterior Fia. 494. —Cryptotomus beryllinus Jordan & Swain. Key West, Florida. teeth more separate. The several species are all small and characteristic of the West Indian fauna, one species, Crypto- tomus beryllinus, ranging northward to Long Island. s 1 STETHOJULIS CASTURI GUNTHER STETHOJULIS BANDANENSIS BLEEKER) 3 LEPLOJULIS PARDALIS KNER LABRIDA OF THE CORAL REEFS, SAMOA Chromides and Pharyngognathi 603 In the large genus Sparisoma the teeth are more com- pletely joined. In this group, which is found only in the trop- ical Atlantic, the lower pharyngeals are broader than long and Fic. 495. —Sparisoma hoplomystar (Cope). Key West. 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. Of the numerous species the dull-colored Sparisoma flaves- Fic. 496 —Sparisoma abildgaardi (Bloch), Red Parrot-fish, Loro Colorado. Family Scaride. cens is most abundant in the West Indies and ranges farther north than any other, Sparisoma cretense, the Scarus of the 604 Chromides and Pharyngognathi ancients, is found in the Mediterranean, being the only member of the family known in Europe and the only Spartsoma 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. Scarus is the great central genus of parrot-fishes. Its mem- bers 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 croicensts, reach the length of less than a foot, and other still smaller species (Scarus evermannt, Scarus boll- mant) are found only in water of consider- able depth (200 fathoms). 3 é Fic. 497 —Jaws of Blue The genus Scarus is characterized by Parrot-fish, Meats Pare not only the almost complete fusion of its us (Bloch). 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-mem- Vig. 498. bic, 499. Fic. 498.—Upper pharyngeals of an Indian Parrot-fish, Scarus strongylocephalus. Fic. 499.—Lower pharyngeals of a Parrot-fish, Scarus strongylocephalus (Bleeker). branes are. scarcely united to the narrow isthmus, the lateral line is interrupted, the dorsal spines are flexible, and there Chromides and Pharyngognathi 605 are but few scales on the head. These, as well as the scales of the body, are always large. The most highly specialized Fic. 500.—Scarus emblematicus Jordan & Rutter. Jamaica. 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 ce@lestinus, and the more abundant guacamaia, Pseudoscarus guacamaia (Fig. 100) of the West Indies, are characteristic forms. The perrico, Pseudo- Fic. 501.—Scarus ceruleus (Bloch). Blue Parrot-fish. Loro, Azul. Family Scaride. scarus perrico of the west coast of Mexico, and the great blue parrot-fish, or galo, of Hawaii and Samoa, Pseudoscarus jordant, belong to this type. Pseudoscarus jordani was formerly tabu to the king in Hawaii, and its brilliant colors and toothsome 909 ‘wprimog ATR], “Ysyoureg ‘1oprouryog xz yoorge vynjoa SNLDIS— FOG “DI HdAL ‘H’IVHS B® Nvauor XVLIVT NOGOATIVS NO SNhUVOSOGANSa , - FuaEbestSetvcrsedrei ui isi ose S i. |. of ee end ‘ a. ~~ aa Tita eee i) s fn" 2 . 7 ; tT ee eee very i so. gS ya Z : it Chromides and Pharyngognathi 607 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 ceruleus, 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 teniopterus, Scarus vetula, Scarus croicensis, etc. 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. Fic. 503.—Slippery-dick or Doneella, Halicheres bivittatus (Bloch), a fish of the coral reefs, Key West. Family Labride. 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 Spari- soma are found in the later Tertiary. The genera Phyllodus, Egertonia, and Paraphyllodus of the Eocene perhaps form a transition from Labride to Scaride. In Paraphyllodus medius the three median teeth of the lower pharyngeals are greatly widened, extending across the surface of the bone. CHAPTER XXXVIII THE SQUAMIPINNES Squamipinnes.— Very closely allied to the Per- comorphi is the great group called Squamipinnes (squama, scale; pinna, fin) by Cuvier and Epelasmia by tae With a general agreement with the Percomorphi, it is distinguished by the more or less complete soldering of the post-temporal with the cranium. In the more specialized forms we find also a soldering of the elements of the upper W) ia Pia Fic. 504—Monodactylus argenteus (Linneus). From Apia, Samoa. Family Scorpidide. jaw, and a progressive reduction in the size of the gill-opening. The ventral fin retains its thoracic insertion, and, as in the perch mackerel-like forms, it has one spine and five rays, never any more. The ventral fins are occasionally lost in the adult, 608 The Squamipinnes 609 as in the Stromateide, or they may lose part of their rays. The name Squamipinnes refers to the scaly fins, the typical species having the soft rays of dorsal, anal, and caudal, and sometimes of other fins densely covered with small scales. In various aberrant forms these scales are absent. The name Epelasmia (Et, above; éAacpos, plate) refers to the thin upper pharyn- geals characteristic of certain forms. The transition from this group to the Sclerodermi is very clear and very gradual. The Squamipinnes, Sclerodermi, Ostracodermi, and Gymnodontes form a continuous degenerating series. On the other hand the less specialized Squamtpinnes approach very closely to forms already considered. The Antigoniide are of uncertain affinities, possibly derived from such forms as Histiopteride, while Platax show considerable resemblance to scaly-finned fishes like the Kyphoside and Stromaterde. The Scorpidide seem intermediate between Stromateide and Platacide. In such offshoots from Scombroidet or Percoidet the group doubtless had its origin. We may begin the series with some forms which are of doubtful affinity and more or less intermediate between the Squamtpinnes and the more primitive Percomor phi. The Scorpidide.—This family has the general appearance of Platax and Ilarches, but the teeth are not brush-like, and the post-temporal is free from the skull as in perch-like fishes. The species inhabit the Pacific. Scorprs georgianus is a food-fish of Australia, with the body oblong. Monodactylus argenteus, the toto of Samoa, is almost orbicular in form, while Psettias sebe is twice as deep as long, the deepest-bodied of all fishes in propor- tion to its length. The Boarfishes: Antigoniidze.—The boarfishes (Antigontid@) are characterized by a very deep body covered with rough scales, the post-temporal, as in the Chetodontide and the Zeide, being adnate to the skull. These fishes bear some resemblance to Zeus, but there is no evidence of close affinity nor is it clear that they are related to the Chetodontide. Capros aper, the boarfish, is common in southern Europe, reaching a length of less than a foot, the protractile mouth suggesting that of a pig. The diamond- fishes, Antigonta, are deeper than long and strongly compressed, the body being covered with roughish scales.. The color is East Indies. Psettia sebe Cuv. & Val. 505. Fia. 610 The Squamipinnes 611 salmon-red and the species live just below the depths ordinarily explored by fishermen. Antigonia capros is found at Madeira and in the West Indies, Antigonia steindachneri about Hawaii and in Japan, while the smaller Antigonia rubescens is abundant in the Japanese bays at a depth reached by the dredge. An extinct genus, Proantigonia from the Miocene is said to connect Antigonta with Capros. The Arches: Toxotide.—The archers, Toxotide, have the body compressed, the snout produced, and the dorsal fin with but five spines. The skeleton differs widely from that of Chetcdon and the family should perhaps rather find its place among the per- coids. Toxotes jaculatrix is found in the East Indies. The name alludes to its supposed habit of catching insects by shoot- ing drops of water at them through its long mouth. The Ephippide.—With the typical Squamtpinnes, the teeth become very slender, crowded in brush-like bands. The least specialized family is that of Ephippide, characterized by the presence of four anal spines and a recumbent spine before the dorsal. The principal genus, Ephtppus (Scatophagus),; is repre- sented by Ephtppus argus, a small, bass-like fish, spotted with black, found in the Indian seas, and ranging northward to For- mosa. Species referred to Ephtppus (Scatophagus) are recorded from the Italian Eocene of Monte Bolca, where a species of Toxotes has been also found. The Spadefishes: Ilarchide.—In the Jlarchide the dorsal is divided into two fins, the spinous part being free from scales. In various regards the species are intermediate between ordinary perch-like forms and the chetodonts. In these fishes the body is very deep and, with the soft fins, closely covered with roughish scales. In Ilarches (Ephippus), represented by Ilarches orbis of the Indian seas, these scales are relatively large. This species is a common food-fish from India to Formosa. In the American genus, Chetodipterus, the scales are quite small. The spadefish (Chetodipterus faber), sometimes called also moonfish or angel-fish, is a large, deep-bodied fish, reaching a length of two feet. It is rather common from Cape Cod to Cuba, and is an excellent pan fish, with finely flavored white flesh. The young are marked by black cross-bands which disappear with age, and in the adult the supraoccipital crest is greatly 612 The Squamipinnes thickened and the skull otherwise modified. A very similar species, Chetodipterus zonatus, occurs on the west coast of Mexico. Species allied to Chatodipterus are fossil in the Italian Eocene. The Drepanide of the East Indies are close to the warchide. Drepane punctata is a large, deep-bodied fish resem- bling the spadefish but with larger scales. HAN ye = ee Fic. 506.—Spadefish, Chetodipterus faber (L.). Virginia. The Platacide.—Closely related to the Jlarchtde is also the East Indian family of Platacide, remarkable for the very great depth and compression of the body, which is much deeper than long, and the highly elevated dorsal and anal still further empha- size this peculiarity of form. In this group the few dorsal spines are closely attached to the soft rays and the general color is dusky. In the young the body is deeper than in the adult and the ventral fins much more produced. The best- known species is the tsuzume or batfish (Platax orbtcularts), which ranges from India through the warm current to northern Japan. Platax tetra, farther south, is very similar. Platax le A i a AL ai cata Nice: ti ai Pagani iaaes tenes items eit elena eth [es =e ey The Squamipinnes 613 altisstmus, with a very high dorsal, is fossil in the Eocene of Monte Bolca. The Butterfiy-fishes: Chetodontide.—The central family of Squamipinnes is that of the butterfly-fishes or Chetodontide. In this group the teeth are distinctly brush-like, the mouth small, the dorsal fin continuous and closely scaly, and the ven- tral fins with one spine and five rays. The species are mostly of small size and brilliant and varied coloration, yellow and black being the leading colors. They vary considerably with age, the young having the posterior free edges of the bones of Fic. 507.—Butterfly-fish, Chatodon capistratus Linneus. Jamaica. the head produced, forming a sort of collar. These forms have received the name of Tholichthys, but that supposed genus is merely the young of Chetodon. The species of Chetodontide abound in rock pools and about coral reefs in clear water. They are among the most characteristic forms of these waters and their excessive quickness of movement compensates for their conspicuous coloration. In these confined localities they have, however, few enemies. The broad bodies and spinous fins make them rather difficult for a large fish to swallow. They feed 614 The Squamipinnes on small crustaceans, worms, and the like. The analogy to the butterfly is a striking one, giving rise to the English name, butterfly-fish, the Spanish mariposa, and the Japanese chocho- uwo, all having the same meaning. Fossil chetodonts are rather few, Chetodon pseudorhombus of the Pliocene of France, Holocanthus mucrocephalus and Pomacanthus subarcuatus of the Eocene, being the only species recorded by Zittel. In the principal genus, Chetodon, the colors are especially Fie. 508.—Black Angel-fish, Pomacanthus arcuatus (Linneus). Barnegat, New Jersey. bright. There is almost always a black bar across the eye, and often black ocelli adorn the fins. This genus is wanting in Europe. Chetodon capistratus, striatus, and numerous other species are found in the West Indies; Chetodon humeralis and nigrirostris are common on the coast of Mexico. The center of their distribution is in Polynesia and the East Indian Archi- pelago. Chetodon reticulatus, lineolatus, ulietensis, ornatis- simus, ephippion, setifer, and auriga are among the most showy species. Numerous closely related genera are described. In some of these the snout is prolonged into a long tube, bearing 4 1 MEGAPROTODON TRIFASCIALIS (QUOY & GAIMARD) (FAMILY CHAETODONTID 2) 2 OXYMONACANTHUS LONGIROSTRIS (BLOCH & SCHNEIDER) (FAMILY MONACANTHIDA:) FISHES OF THE CORAL REEFS, SAMOA AR a A tn \ The Squamipinnes 615 the jaws at its end. Of this type are Chelmo in India, Forcipiger in Polynesia, and Prognathodes in the West Indies. Hentochus (macroleptdotus). has one dorsal spine greatly elongated. Mzcro- canthus strigatus, one of the most widely distributed species, is known by its small scales. Megaprotodon (trifascialis) has four anal spines instead of three as in the others. The species of Holacanthus, known as angel-fishes, are larger in size, and their colors are still more showy, being often scarlet or blue. In this genus the preopercle is armed with a strong RAMA SRO es Fie. 509.—Angel-fish or Isabelita, Holacanthus ciliaris (Linnzeus). Jamaica. Family Chetodontide. spine, and there are fourteen or more strong spines in the dorsal. This genus has also its center of distribution in the East Indies, whence two species (septentrionalis and ronin) with concentric stripes of blue range northward to Japan. Holacanthus tibicen, jet-black with one yellow cross-band, is found from the Riu Kiu Islands southward. The angel-fish or isabelita (Holacanthus ciliaris), orange-red, sky-blue, and golden, as though gaudily painted, is the best-known species. The vaqueta de dos colores or rock beauty (Holacanthus bicolor), half jet-black, half golden, is scarcely less remarkable. Both are excellent food-fishes of the West Indies. Holacanthus passer is a showy inhabitant of the west coast of Mexico. Holacanthus diacanthus, orange, barred 616 The Squamipinnes with blue, is one of the gaudiest inhabitants of the coral reefs of Polynesia. Holacanthus flavissimus, golden with some deep-blue markings, and Holacanthus nicobariensis, blackish with white circles, are found with other species in the same waters. The genus Pomacanthus (Pomacanthodes) includes American species only, still larger in size and differing from Holacanthus in having nine to eleven spines only in the dorsal fin. The young of Pomacanthus are blackish, crossed by many curved yellow cross-bands, which disappear entirely with age. Three species A ft ZZ ye Fic. 510—Rock Beauty, Holacanthus tricolor (L.). Puerto Rico. are known, Pomacanthus arcuatus, the black angel, chirivita or portugais, Pomacanthus paru, the Indian-fish or paru of the West Indies, and Pomacanthus zonipectus, “Mojarra de las Piedras,” of the west coast of Mexico. All are good food-fishes, but lacking the brilliant colors of Holacanthus and the fine pattern usual in Chetodon. The Pygeide.—Between the Chetodontide and the Acanthuride we would place the extinct family of Pygeide, of the Eocene. In Pygeus gigas and other species the dorsal spines are strong and numerous; there are 5 to 8 species in the anal fin, the scales are shagreen-like, and the teeth seem coarser than in the Cheto- dontide. ‘The tail is apparently unarmed, and the soft dorsal, as in Chetodon, is much shorter than the spinous. To this family The Squamipinnes 617 the Eocene genera, Aulorhamphus (bolceusis), with produced snout, and Apostasis (croaticus), with long spinous dorsal, prob- ably belong. The Moorish Idols: Zanclide.— The family of Zanclide in- cludes a single species, the Moorish idol or kihi kihi, Zanclus canescens. In this family the scales are reduced to a fine sha- \ ~ TNS 7 me Ss , Y Fie. 511—The Moorish Idol, Zanclus canescens (Linneus). From Hawaii. Family Zanclide. (Painting by Mrs. E. G. Norris.) green, and in the adult two bony horns grow out over the eye. The dorsal spines are prolonged in filaments and the color is yellow crossed by bars of black. Zanclus canescens is a very handsome fish with the general appearance and habit of a Chetodon, but the form is more exaggerated. It is found throughout Polynesia, from Japan to the off-shore islands of 618 The Squamipinnes Mexico, and is generally common, though rarely entering rock pools. Zanclus eocenus is recorded from the Italian Eocene. The Tangs: Acanthuride.—In the next family, Acanthuride, the surgeon-fishes or tangs, the scales remain small and shagreen- like, the body is more elongate, the gill-openings still more restricted, and the teeth are flattened and incisor-like. The pubic bone is more elongate, and in all the species some sort of arma- ture is developed on the side of the tail. The spinous dorsal Fie. 512.—Teuthis cewruleus (Bloch & Schneider), Blue Tang; Medico. Family Teuthidide. : in all is less developed than the soft dorsal. The species abound in the warm seas, especially about the tide pools, and are used as food. They undergo considerable changes with age, the caudal armature being developed by degrees. Nearly all are dull brown in color, but in some a vivid ornamentation is added. Fossil forms are found from the Eocene and later. Most of these are referable to Teuthis and Acanthurus. The principal genus is Teuihis, characterized by the presence on each side of the tail of a sharp, knife-like, movable spine with the point turned forwards and dropping into a sheath. This spine gives these fishes their name of surgeon-fish, doctor- The Squamipinnes 619 fish, lancet-fish, tang, barbero, etc., and it forms a very effective weapon against fish or man who would seize one of these creatures by the tail. The species have the center of distribution in the East Indies and have not reached Europe. Three species are found in the West Indies. The blue tang (Teuthis ceruleus) is chiefly bright blue. The common tang, Teuthis chirurgus, is brown with bluish streaks, while a third species, Teuthis bahit- anus, has a forked caudal fin. Very close to this species is Teuthts crestonis, of the west coast of Mexico, and both are closely related to Teuthis matoides, found from India to Hawaii, Teuthis triostegus, of Japan and Polynesia and the East Indies, is covered with cross-bands alternately black and pale. Fic. 513.—Brown Tang, Teuthis bahianus (Ranzani). Tortugas, Fla. In Hawaii this is replaced by the very similar Teuthis sand- wichensis. Many species are found about Hawaii and the other Polynesian Islands. Teuthis achilles has a large blotch of bril- liant scarlet on the tail, and Teuthis olivaceus a bright-colored mark on the shoulder. Teuthis lineatus, yellow with blue stripes, a showily colored fish of the coral reefs, is often poison- ous, its flesh producing ciguatera. Zebrasoma differs from Teuthis in having but 4 or 5 dorsal spines instead of roor11. In this genus the soft dorsal fin is very high. Zebrasoma flavescens, sometimes brown, sometimes bright 620 The Squamipinnes yellow, is common in Polynesia; Zebrasoma veliferum, cross- barred with black, is also common. Ctenochetus (strigosus), unlike the others, is herbivorous and has its teeth loosely implanted in the gums. This species, black with dull orange streaks, was once tabu to the king of Hawaii, who ate it raw, and common people who appropriated it were put to death. In Xesurus the caudal lancelet is replaced by three or four bony tubercles which have no sharp edge. Xesurus scalprum is common in Japan, and there are three species or more on the west coast of Mexico, Xesurus punctatus and Xesurus laticlavius being most abundant. In Prionurus (microlepidotus) of the tropical Pacific the armature is still more degraded, about six small plates being developed. In Acanthurus (Monoceros, Naseus), the unicorn-fish and its relatives, the ventral fins are reduced, having but three soft rays, the caudal spines are very large, blunt, immovable, one placed in front of the other. In most of the species of Acanthurus along, bony horn grows forward from the cranium above the eye. This is wanting in the young and has various degrees of development in the different species, in some of which it is wholly wanting. The species of Acanthurus reach a large size, and in some the caudal spines are bright scarlet, in others blue. Acanthurus unicornts, the unicorn-fish, is the commonest species and the one with the longest horn. It is abundant in Japan, in Hawaii, and in the East Indies. Axinurus thynnoides of the East Indies has a long, slim body, with slender tail like a mackerel. Suborder Amphacanthi, the Siganide.— The Amphacanthi (aut, everywhere; akavéa, spine) are spiny-rayed fishes cer- tainly related to the Teuthidide, but differing from all other fishes in having the last ray of the ventrals spinous as well as the first, the formula being I, 4, I. The anal fin has also six or seven spines; and the maxillary is soldered to the premax- illary The skeleton is essentially like that of the Acanthu- ride. The single family, Szganide, contains fishes of moderate size, valued as food, and abounding about rocks in shallow The Squamipinnes 621 water from the Red Sea to Tahiti. The coloration is rather plain olive or brown, sometimes with white spots, sometimes with bluish lines. The species are very much alike and all belong to the single genus Szganus. One species, Szganus fuscescens, dusky with small, pale dots, is a common food- fish of Japan. Others, as Siganus oramin and Siganus ver- muculatus, occur in India, and Szganus punctatus, known as lo, abounds about the coral reefs of Samoa. Siganus vulpinus differs from the others in the elongate snout. A fossil genus, Archoteuthis (glaronensts), is found in the Tertiary of Glarus. It differs from Szganus in the deeper body and in the presence of six instead of seven spines in the anal CHAPTER XXXIX SERIES PLECTOGNATHI degeneration, are the three suborders of Sclerodermi, Ostracodermi, and Gymnodontes, forming together the sertes or suborder of Plectognatht. As the members of this group differ from one another more widely than the highest or most generalized forms differ from the Acanthuride, we do not regard it as a distinct order. The forms included in it differ from the Acanthuride much as the swordfishes differ from ordinary mackerel. The Plectognathi (zAexros, woven together; yvadéos, jaw) agree in the union of the maxillary and premaxillary, in the union of the post-temporal with the skull, in the great reduction of the gill-opening, and in the elongation of the pel- vic bones. All these characters in less degree are shown in the Squamipinnes. We have also the reduction and final entire loss of ventral fins, the reduction and loss of the spinous dor- sal, the compression and final partial or total fusion of the teeth of the upper jaw, the specialization of the scales, which change from bony scutes into a solid coat of mail on the one hand, and on the other are reduced to thorns or prickles and are finally altogether lost. The number of vertebre is also progressively reduced until in the extreme forms the caudal fin seems attached to the head, the body being apparently wanting. Throughout the group poisonous alkaloids are developed in the flesh. These may produce the violent disease known as ciguatera, directly attacking the nervous system. The three suborders of plectognathous are easily recognized by external characters. In the Sclerodermi (oxAepos, hard; dépua, skin) the spinous dorsal is present and the body is 622 Series Plectognathi 623 more or less distinctly scaly. The teeth are separate and incisor-like and the form is compressed. In the Ostracodermi (6atpakos, a box; Séppa, skin) there is no spinous dorsal, the teeth are slender, and the body is inclosed in an immovable, bony box. In the Gymnodontes (yvyvos, naked; ddovs, tooth) the teeth are fused into a beak like that of a turtle, either con- tinuous or divided by a median suture in each jaw, the spinous dorsal is lost, and the body is covered with thorns or prickles or else is naked. The Scleroderms.—The Sclerodermi include three recent and one extinct families. Of the recent forms, Triacanthide is the most primitive, having the ventral fins each represented by a stout spine and the skin covered with small, rough scales. The dorsal has from four to six stiff spines. Triacanthodes anomalus is found in Japan, Hollardia hol- lardi in Cuba. Triacanthus brevirostris, with the first spine very large, is the common hornfish of the East Indies ranging north- ward to Japan. The Trigger-fishes: Balistide.—The Balistide, or trigger-fishes, have the body covered with large rough scales regularly arranged. Fic. 514—The Trigger-fish, Balistes carolinensis Gmelin. New York. The first dorsal fin is composed of a short stout rough spine, with a smaller one behind it and usually a third so placed that by touching it the first spine may be set or released. This 624 Series Plectognathi peculiarity gives the name of trigger-fish as well as the older name of Balistes, or cross-bow shooter. There are no ventral fins, the long pelvis ending in a single blunt spine. The numer- ous species of trigger-fishes are large coarse fishes of the trop- ical seas occasionally ranging northward. The center of dis- tribution is in the East Indies, where many of the species are most fantastically marked. JBalistes carolinensis, the leather- jacket, or cucuyo, is found in the Mediterranean as also on the American coast. Balistes vetula, the oldwife, oldwench, or cochino, marked with blue, is common in the West Indies, as are several other species, as Canthidermis sufjlamen, the sobaco, and the jet-black Melichthys piceus, the black oldwife, or galafata. Several species occur on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, the Pez Puerco, Balistes verres, being commonest. Still others are abundant about the Hawaiian Islands and Japan. The genus Balistapus, having spinous plates on the tail, contains the Jargest number of species, these being at the same time the smallest in size and the most oddly colored. Balistapus aculeatus and Balistapus undulatus are common through Polynesia to Japan. Most of the tropical species of Balistide are more or less poisonous, causing ciguatera, the offensive alkaloids becoming weaker in the northern species. Melichthys radula abounds in Polynesia. In this species great changes take place.at death, the colors changing from blue and mottled golden green to jet black. Other abundant Polynesian species are Nanthichthys lineopunctatus, Balistes vidua, Balistes bursa, and Balistes flavomarginatus. The File-fishes: Monacanthide.—Closely related to the Balis- tide are the Monacanthide, known as filefishes, or foolfishes. In these the body is very lfean and meager, the scales being reduced to shagreen-like prickles. The ventral fins are teplaced by a single movable or immovable spine, which is often absent, and the first dorsal fin is reduced to a single spine with sometimes a rudiment behind it. The species are in general smaller than the Balistide and usually but not always dull in color. They have no economic value and are rarely used as food, the dry flesh being bitter and offensive. The species are numerous in tropical and temperate seas, although none is found in Europe. On our Atlantic coast, Stephano- Series Plectognathi 625 lepis hispidus and Ceratacanthus schepfi are common species. In the West Indies are numerous others, Osbeckia levis and \ Fie. 515 —File-fish, Osbeckia levis (scripta). Woods Hole, Mass. Alutera giintheriana, largest in size, among the commonest. Both of these are large fishes without ventral spine. Monacanthus chinensis, with a great, drooping dewlap of skin behind the Fic. 516—The Needle-bearing File-fish, Amanses scopas of Samoa. ventral spine, is found on the coast of China. Of the numerous Japanese species, the most abundant and largest is Pseudomon- 626 Series Plectognathi acanthus modestus, with deep-blue fins and the ventral spine immovable. Another is Stephanolepts cirrhifer, known as Kawa- muki, or skin-peeler. Alutera monoceros, and Osbeckia scripta, the unicorn fish, abound in the East Indies, with numerous others of less size and note. In the male of the Polynesian Amanses scopas (Fig. 516) the tail is armed with a brush of extraordinarily long needle-like spines. In Stephanolepis spilosomus the caudal fin is of a brilliant scarlet color, contrasting with the usual dull colors of these fishes. In Oxymonacanthus longirostris the body is blue with orange checker-like spots and the snout is produced in a long tube. About the islands of Polynesia, filefishes are relatively few, but some of them are very curious in form or color. The Spinacanthide.—In the extinct family Spinacanthide the body is elongate, high in front and tapering behind. The Fic. 517 —Common File fish, Stephanolepis hispidus (Linneus). Virginia. first dorsal has six or seven spines, and there are rough spines in the pectoral. The teeth are bluntly conical. Spinacanthus blennioides and S. imperalis are found in the Eocene of Monte Bolea. These are probably the nearest to the original ances- tor among known scleroderms. The Trunkfishes: Ostraciide.—The group Ostracodermi con- tains the single family of Ostractide, the trunkfishes or cuck- Series Plectognathi 627 olds. In this group, the body is enveloped in a bony box, made of six-sided scutes connected by sutures, leaving only Fig. 518—Horned Trunkfish, Cowfish, or Cuckold, Lactophrys tricornis (Linnzus). Charleston, 8S. C. the jaws, fins and tail free. The spinous dorsal fin is wholly wanting. There are no ventral fins, and the outer fins are Fic. 519.—Horned Trunkfish, Ostracion cornutum (Linneus). East Indies. (After Bleeker.) short and small. The trunkfishes live in shallow water in the tropical seas. They are slow of motion, though often brightly colored. Fie. 520—Spotted Trunkfish, Lactophrys bicaudalis (Linnwus). Cozumel Island, Yucatan. Against most of their enemies they are protected by the bony case. The species range from four inches to a foot in 628 Series Plectognathi length, so far as known. They are not poisonous, and are often baked in the shell. Three genera are recognized: Lac- tophrys with the carapace, three-angled; Os- tracion with four angles, and Aracana, resem- bling Ostracion, but with the carapace not closed behind the anal fin. In each of these genera there is considerable minor variation due to the presence or absence of spines on the bony shell. In some species, called cuck- olds, or cowfishes, long horns are developed over the eye. Others have spines on some other part of the shield and some have no Fra. 521.—Spotted spines at all. No species are found in via eiee Europe, and none on the Pacific coast of btcaudalis (Lin- America. The three-angled species, called are Lactophrys, are native chiefly to. the West Indies, sometimes carried by currents to Guinea, and one is described from Australia. Lactophrys tricornis of the West Indies has long Fig. 522.—Spineless Trunkfish, Lactophrys triqueter (Linneus). Tortugas. horns over the eye; Lactophrys trigonus has spines on the lower parts only. Lactophrys triqueter is without spines, and the fourth American species, Lactophrys bicaudalis, is marked by large black spots. The species of Ostracion radiate from the East Indies. One of them, Ostracion gibbosum, has a turret- like spine on the middle of the back, causing the carapace to appear five-angled; Ostracion diaphanum has short horns over the eye, and Ostracion cornutum very long ones; Ostracion re Series Plectognathi 629 immaculatus, the common species of Japan, is without spines; Ostracion sebe of Hawaii and Samoa is deep, rich blue with spots of golden. Aracana is also of East Indian origin; Ara- cana aculeata, with numerous species, is common in Japan. Fic. 523——Hornless Trunkfish, Lactophrys trigonus (Linneus). Tortugas, Fla. A fossil species of Ostracion (O. micrurum) is known from the Eocene of Monte Bolca. The Gymnodontes.— The group of Gymnodontes, having the teeth united in a turtle-like beak, carry still further the degen- Ua wy Fic. 524.—Skeleton of the Cowfish, Lactophrys tricornis (Linnzus). eration of scales and fins. There is no trace of spinous dorsal, or ventral. The scales are reduced to thorns or prickles, or are lost altogether. All the species have the habit of inflating themselves with air when disturbed, thus floating, beily up- ward, on the surface of the water. Very few, and these only northern species, are used as food, the flesh of the tropical forms being generally poisonous, and that often in a higher degree than any other fishes whatever. The Triodontide.— The most generalized family is that of the Triodontide. These fishes approach the Balistide in several 630 Series Plectognathi regards, having the body compressed and covered with rough scales The teeth form a single plate in the lower jaw, but are divided on the median line above. The compressed, fan- like, ventral flap is greatly distensible. Triodon bursarius, of the East Indies and northward to Japan, is the sole species of the family. The Globefishes: Tetraodontide.—In the Tetraodontide (globe- fishes, or puffers), each jaw is divided by a median suture. The dorsal and anal are short, and the ventrals are reduced Fic. 525.—Silvery Puffer, Lagocephalus levigatus (Linneus). Virginia. in number, usually fifteen to twenty (7+13 to 7+9). The walls of the belly are capable of extraordinary distension, so that when inflated, the fish appears like a globe with a beak and a short tail attached. The principal genus Spherotdes contains a great variety of forms, forming a closely intergrad- ing series. In some of these the body is smooth, in others more or less covered with prickles, usually three-rooted. In some the form is elongate, the color.silvery, and the side of the belly with a conspicuous fold of skin. In these species, the caudal is lunate and the other fins faleate, and with numerous rays. But these forms (called Lagocephalus) pass by degrees into the short-bodied forms with small rounded fins, and no clear line has yet been drawn of the genera of this group. In these species each nostril has a double opening. Lagocephalus lago- cephalus, large and silvery, is found in Europe. Lagocephalus levigatus replaces it on the Atlantic Coast of North America. In Japan are numerous forms of this type, the venomous Lagocephalus sceleratus being one of the best known. Numerous other Japanese species, Spheroides xanthopterus, rubripes, pardalis, ocellatus, vermiculatus, chrysops, etc., mark the Series Plectognathi 631 transition to typical Spheroides. Spheroides maculatus is com- mon on our Atlantic coast, the puffer, or swell-toad of the Fie. 526.—Puffer, inflated, Spheroides spengleri (Bloch). Woods Hole, Mass. coastwise boys who tease it to cause it to swell. Spheroides spenglert and S. testudineus abound in the West Indies. Spheroides politus on the west coast of Mexico. Fic. 527.—Puffer, Spheroides maculatus (Schneider). Noank, Conn. In Tetraodon the nasal tentacle is without distinct opening, its tip being merely spongy. The species of this genus are even more inflatable and are often strikingly colored, the young sometimes having the belly marked by concentric stripes of black which disappear with age. Tetraodon hispidus abounds in estuaries and shallow bays from Hawaii to India. In Hawaii, it is regarded as the most poisonous of all fishes (muki-muki) and it is said that its gall was once used to 632 Series Plectognathi poison arrows. Tetraodon fahaka is a related species, the first known of the family. It is found in the Nile. Tetraodon lacrymatus, black with white spots, is common in Polynesia. Tetraodon aérostaticus, with black spots, is frequently taken in Japan, and Tetraodon setosus is frequent on the west coast of Mexico. This species is subject to peculiar changes of color. Normally dark brown, with paler spots, it is sometimes deep blue, sometimes lemon-yellow and sometimes of mixed shades. Fig. 528.—Tetraodon meleagris (Lacépéde). Riu Kiu Islands. Specimens showing these traits were obtained about Clarion Island of the Revillagigedos. No Tetraodon occurs in the West Indies. Colomesus psittacus, a river fish of the northern part of South America, resembles Spheroides, but shows consider- able difference in the skull. But few fossil Tetraodontide have been recognized. These are referred to Tetraodon. The earliest is Tetraodon pygmeus from Monte Bolca. The Chonerhinide of the East Indies are globefishes hav- ing the dorsal and anal fins very long, the vertebre more numerous (12+17), twenty-nine in number. Chonerhinus naritus inhabits the rivers of Sumatra and Java. The little family of Tropidichthyide is composed of small globefishes, with a sharply-keeled back, and the nostrils almost, or quite, wanting. The teeth are as in the Tetraodontide. The skeleton differs considerably from that of Spheroides, apparently justifying their separation as a family. The species Series Plectognathi 633 are all very small, three to six inches in length, and prettily colored. In the West Indies Tropidichthys rostratus is found. Tropidichthys solandri abounds in the South Seas, dull orange with blue spots. Tropidichthys rivulatus is common in Japan and several other species are found in Hawaii. = —__— Fie. 529 —Bristly Globefish, Tetraodon setosus Rosa Smith. Clarion Island, Mex. Other species occur on the west coast of Mexico, in Poly- nesia, and in the East Indies. The Porcupine-fishes: Diodontide.—In the remaining fami- lies of Gymnodontes, there is no suture in either jaw, the teeth Fig. 5380.—Porcupine-fish, Diodon hystrix (Linneus). Tortugas Islands. forming an undivided beak. The Diodontide, or porcupine-fishes, have the body spherical or squarish, and armed with sharp thorns, the bases of which are so broad as to form a continuous coat of mail. In some of them, part of the spines are movable, these being usually two-rooted; in others, all are immovable 634 Series Plectognathi and three-rooted. All are reputed poisonous, especially in the equatorial seas. In Diodon the spines are very long, the anterior ones, at least, movable. The common porcupine-fish, Diodon hystrix, is found in all seas, and often in abundance. It is a sluggish fish, olive and spotted with black. It reaches a length of two feet or more, and by its long spines it is thoroughly protected from all enemies. A second species, equally common, is the lesser porcupine-fish, Diodon holacanthus. In this species, the frontal spines are longer than those behind the pectoral, instead of the reverse, as in Diodon hystrix. Many species of Diodon are recorded from the Eocene, besides numerous species from later deposits. One of these, as Heptadiodon heptadiodon from the Eocene of Italy, with the teeth subdivided, possibly represents a distinct family. Dzodon erinaceus is found in the Eocene of Monte Bolea and Progymnodon hilgendorfi in the Eocene of Egypt. In the rabbit-fishes (Chilomycterus) the body is box-shaped, 4 Fig. 5381.—Rabbit-fish, Gistonians schepfi (Walbaum). Noank, Conn. covered with triangular spines, much shorter and broader at base than those of Diodon. Numerous species are known. Chilomycterus schepfi is the common rabbit-fish, or swell- toad of our Atlantic coast, light green, prettily varied with black lines. The larger Chilomycterus ajfinis, with the pectoral fin spotted with black, is widely diffused through the Pacific. It is rather common in Japan, where it is the torabuku, or tiger puffer. It is found also in Hawaii, and it is once recorded by Dr. Eigenmann from San Pedro, California, and once by Snod- grass and Heller, from the Galapagos. Series Plectognathi 635 The Head-fishes: Molide.—The head-fishes, or Molide, also called sunfishes, have the body abbreviated behind so that the dorsal, anal, and caudal seem to be attached to the posterior outline of the head. This feature, constituting the so-called gephyrocercal tail is a trait of specialized degradation. Mola mola, the common head-fish or sunfish, is found occa- sionally in all tropical and temperate seas. Its form is almost Fig. 532.—Headfish (adult), Mola mola (Linnzus). Virginia. circular, having been compared by Linnzus to a mill-wheel (mola), and its surface is covered with a rough, leathery skin. It swims very lazily at the surface of the water, its high dorsal often rising above the surface. It is rarely used as food, though not known to be poisonous. The largest example known to the writer was taken at Redondo Beach, California, by Mr. Thomas Shooter, of Los Angeles. This specimen was 8 feet 2 inches in 636 Series Plectognathi length, and weighed 1200 pounds. Another, almost as large, was taken at San Diego, in April, 1904. No difference has been noticed among specimens from California, Cape Cod, Japan, and the Mediterranean. The young, however, differ con- siderably from the adult, as might be expected in a fish of such great size and extraordinary form. Fragments named Chelonopsis, and doubtfully referred to Mola, are found in the Pliocene of Belgium. Certain jaws of cretaceous age, attrib- uted to Mola, probably belong, according to Woodward, to a turtle. Fic. 583.—The King of the Mackerel, Ranzania makua Jenkins, from Honolulu. (After Jenkins.) In the genus Ranzania, the body is more elongate, twice as long as deep, but as in Mola, the body appears as if bitten off and then pro- vided with a fringe of tail. The species are rarely taken. Ranzania truncata is found in the Mediterranean and once at Madeira. Ranzania makua, known as the king of the mackerels about Hawaii, is beautifully colored brown and silvery. This species has been taken once in Japan. In Hawaii it is believed that all the Scombroid fishes are sub- ject to the rule of the makua and that they will disappear it this fish be killed. By a similar superstition, Regalecus glesne is “king of the herrings’’ in Norway and about Cape Flattery, Trachypterus rex salmonorum is “ king of the salmon.”’ CHAPTER XL PAREIOPLITA, OR MAILED-CHEEK FISHES wwH|HE Mailed-cheek Fishes. — The vast group of Parei- “hd oplite (Loricati) or mailed- enees fishes is charac- -*| terized by the presence of a “bony stay’ or back- ae 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 Pareioplite (mxapeia, cheek; dzdit7:, 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 Percomorphit. There are numerous points of resemblance between the Czr- rhitide and the Scorpenide, and it is probable that the Scor- pemde with all the other Pareioplite sprang from some per- ciform stock allied to Cirrhitide and Latridide. Fossil mailed-cheek fishes are extremely few and throw little light on the origin of the group. Those belong chiefly to the Cottide. Lepidocottus, recorded from the Miocene and Oligo- cene, seems to be the earliest genus. The Scorpion-fishes: Scorpenide.—The vast family of Scor- penide, or scorpion-fishes, comprises such a variety of forms as almost to defy diagnosis. The more primitive types are 637 638 Series Plectognathi percoid in almost all respects, save in the presence of the sub- ocular 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 Fic. 534.—Rosefish, Sebastes marinus Linnwus. Cape Cod. 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 3} gills and no slit behind the last. ’ Fie. 585.—Skull of Scorpenichthys marmoratus Girard,showing the suborbital stay (a). 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 Series Plectognathi 639 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 vertebree (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 north- ern Europe. In the north Pacific Sebastes gives place to Sebastolobus, with three species (macrochir, altivelis, and aiascanus), all bright- Fie. 586.—Sebastolobus altivelis Gilbert. Alaska. ted 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 Sebas- tichthys, with 13 dorsal spines and the vertebre 27, ranges far- ther south than Sebastes and forms one of the most character- istic 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. darwint, from the coast of Chile. 640 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 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 Scorpena. 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 4 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 is 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 péche prétre or priestfish, Sebastodes mystinus. Less com- mon 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 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 641 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, Fic. 587 —Priest-fish, Sebastodes mystinus Jordan & Gilbert. Monterey, Cal. Sebastichthys rosaceus, plain red and golden. Another species is the green and red flyfish, Sebastichthys rhodochloris. Sebas- tichthys constellatus is spotted with pink and Sebastichthys chlo- rostictus with green. To this group with pink spots the South American and African species belong, but none of the Japa- nese. 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 Sebas- tichthys 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 642 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 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 Sebas- todes atrovirens, but with short gill-rakers. Sebastichthys hop- kinst 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 Fic. 538.—Sebastichthys serriceps Jordan & Gilbert. Monterey, Cal. nigrofasciatus, with very rough head and bright red body with broad cross-bands of black. Of the Japanese species the commonest, Sebastodes inermis, the Mebaru, much resembles Sebastodes flavidus. Sebastodes fuscescens looks like Sebastodes melanops, as does also Sebastodes taczanowskit, Sebastodes matsubare 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 resem- blance to Sebastichthys maliger. Sebastichthys elegans, Sebastich- thys oblongus, and Sebastichthys mitsukurti, dwarf species, pro- fusely spotted, have no analogues among the American forms. Sebastodes glaucus of the Kurile Islands has 14 dorsal spines i ela : Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 647 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. 64.) The black Emmydrichthys vulcanus of Tahiti lies in crevices of lava, and could scarcely be distinguished from an irregular lump of lava-rock. Fic. 543.—Black Nohu, or Poison-fish, Zmmydrichthys vulcanus Jordan. A species with stinging spines, showing resemblance to lumps of lava among which it lives. Family Scorpenide. 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, Congiopodide. 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 hand- somely colored, others are fantastically formed. Paracentro- pogon rubripinnis and Minous adamsi are the commonest species in Japan. Trachicephalus uranoscopus abounds in the bays of hina. Snyderina yamanokamt occurs in Southern Japan. But few fossil Scorpenidw are recorded. Scorpenopterus siluridens, a mailed fish from the Vienna Miocene, with a warty head, seems to belong to this group, and Ampheristus toliapicus, 648 Satsuma, Japan. Family Scorpenide. Fic. 544.—Snyderina yamanokami Jordan & Starks. Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 649 with a broad, depressed head, is found in the London Eocene, and various Miocene species have been referred to Scorpena. Sebastodes rose is based on a fragment, probably Pleistocene, from Port Harford, California. The small family of the Caracanthide consists of little fishes xs Fie. 545 —Trachicephalus uranoscopus. Family Scorpenide. From Swatow, China. 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. The Skilfishes: Anoplopomide.— The small family of skil- fishes or Anoplopomide consists of two species found on the Fie. 546—Skilfish, Anoplopoma fimbria (Pallas). California. coast of California and northward. These resemble the Scor- pemde, 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 coal- fish, is rather common from Unalaska to Monterey, reaching a length of two feet or more. In the north it becomes very 650 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes fat and is much valued as food. About San Francisco it is dry and tasteless. The Greenlings: Hexagrammide.— The curious family of greenlings, Hexagrammide, 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 vertebre 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 Fic. 547,—Atka-fish, Pleurogrammus monopterygius (Pallas). Atka Island. 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, espe- cially the island of Atka, from which it takes its name. It is commercially known as Atka mackerel. 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 Cali- fornia, where it is known by the incorrect name of rock-trout. It is a well-known food-fish, reaching a length of eighteen inches. a i Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 651 The sexes are quite unlike in color, the males anteriorly with blue spots, the females speckled with red or brown. 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 Fie. 548.—Greenling, Heragrammos decagrammus (Pallas). Sitka. fat cod, Hexagrammos otakii, common throughout Japan. The red rock-trout, Hexagrammos superciliosus, is beautifully varie- gated with red, the color being extremely variable. Other species are found in Japan and Kamchatka. Agrammus agram- S Fie. 549.—Cultus Cod, Ophiodon elongatus (Girard). Sitka, Alaska. mus 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 resem- bling 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. Zantolepis latipinnts is a singular-looking fish, very rough, dry, and bony, occasionally taken on the California coast. Oxylebius pictus is a small, hand- some, and very active little fish, whitish with black bands, com- 652 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes mon among rocks and alge on the California coast. It is, however, rarely brought into the markets, as it shows great skill in escaping the nets. No fossil Hexagrammide are known. The Flatheads or Kochi: Platycephalide.—The family of Pla- tycephalide 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 Jnsidiator contains smaller species with larger scales. In all these the head is very much depressed, a feature which separates them from all the Scor- penide. Hoplichthys langsdorfi, the nezupo or rat-tail of Japan, is the type of a separate family, Hoplichthyide, characterized by a bony armature of rough plates. Bembras japonicus, another little Japanese fish, with the ventrals advanced in position and the skin with rough plates, is the type of the family of Bembradide. The Sculpins: Cottide—The great family of Cottide or scul- pins is one especially characteristic of the northern seas, where a great variety of species is found. These differ in general from the Scorpenide, from which they are perhaps derived, in the greater number of vertebre and in the relative feeble- ness 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 1, 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 Cottide live on the bot- tom 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 is found fossil. . Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 653 Of the multitude of genera of Cottide 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 Hexagrammide. Scorpemchthys marmoratus, the great sculpin, or cabezon, of California reaches a length of 24 feet. It has the ventral rays Fic. 550.—Jordania zonope Starks. Puget Sound. 1, 5, although almost in all the other sculpins the rays are. reduced to 1, 3 or 1, 4. The flesh has the livid blue color seen in the cultus cod, Ophiodon elongatus. To Icelinus, Artedius, Hemilepidotus, Astrolytes, and related genera belong many species with the body partly scaled. These Fic. 551.—Astrolytes notospilotus (Girard). Puget Sound. are characteristic of the North Pacific, in which they drop to a considerable depth. Jcelus, Triglops, and Artediellus are found also in the North Atlantic, the Arctic fauna of which is derived almost entirely from Pacific sources. The genus Hemi- lepidotus contains coarse species, with pvands of scales. The “Trish lord,” Hemilepidotus jordam, a familiar and fantastic 654 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes inhabitant of Bering Sea, is much valued by the Aleuts as a food-fish, although the flesh is rather tough and without much Fie. 552.—Irish Lord, Hemilepidotus jordanit Bean. Unalaska. flavor. Almost equally common in Bering Sea is the red scul- pin, Hemulepidotus hemilepidotus, and the still rougher Cera- Fig. 553.—Triglops pingeli Kroyer. Chebucto, Canada. j tocottus diceraus. The stone-sculpin, or buffalo-sculpin, Enophrys | bison, with bony plates on the side and rough horns on the preo- . ) Fic. 554.—Buffalo Sculpin, Znophrys bison (Girard). Puget Sound. percle, is found about Puget Sound and southward. In all these large rough species from the North Pacific the preopercle Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 655 is armed with long spines which are erected when the fish is disturbed. This makes it almost poaceae le for any larger fish to swallow them. Fic. 555.—Ceratocottus diceraus (Cuv. & Val.). Tolstoi Bay, Alaska. The genera Cottus and Uranidea include the miller’s thumbs, also called in America, blob and muffle-jaws, of the Northern << . AS Fie. 556.—Elanura ws Gilbert. Bering Sea. rivers. These little fishes are found in Europe, Asia, and America wherever trout are found. They lurk under weeds and stones, Fig. 557.—Yellowstone Miller’s Thumb, Cottus punctulatus (Gill). Yellowstone River. 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 tctalops 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 Fic. 558.—Miller’s Thumb, Uranidea tenuis Evermann & Meek. Klamath Falls. 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 1, 3. Uvranidea gracilis is the commonest of these, the miller’s thumb of New England. Rheopresbe fujiyame is a large river sculpin in Japan. 656 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes ; | Fic. 559.—Cottus evermanni Gilbert. Lost River, Oregon. Trachidermus ansatus is another river species, the ‘‘ mountain- witch”? (yama-no-kami) of Japan, remarkable for a scarlet brand on its cheek, conspicuous in life. The chief genus of Atlantic sculpins is Myoxocephalus, con- taining large marine species, in structure much like the species of Cottus. Mvyoxocephalus bubalis is the European fatherlasher, or proach; the European sculpin is Myoxocephalus scorpius. The very similar daddy sculpin of New England is Myoxocepha- lus grenlandicus, This species swarms everywhere from Cape Cod northward. Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 657 According to Fabricius, Myoxocephalus grenlandicus is “abundant in all the bays and inlets of Greenland, but prefers a stony coast clothed with seaweed. It approaches the shore in Fie. 660.—California Miller’s Thumb, Cottus gulosus Girard. McCloud River,Cal. (Photograph by Cloudsley Rutter.) 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 devour- ing crustacea and worms. It is very active and bold, but does not come to the surface unless it be led thither in pursuit of Fic. 561—Pribilof Sculpin, Myoxocephalus niger (Bean). St. Paul Island, Bering Sea. 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.” The little sculpin, or grubby, of the New England coast is Myoxocephalus @neus, and the larger eighteen-spined sculpin is Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus. Still more numerous. and 658 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 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 Arctic Europe, entering the lakes of Russia and British oO Fic. 562.—18-spined Sculpin, Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus (Mitchill). Beasley Point, N. J. America. Triglopsis thompsoni of the depths in our own Great Lakes seems to be a dwarfed and degenerate descendant of Oncocottus. The genus Zesticelus contains small soft-bodied sculpins from the depths of the North Pacific. Zesticelus profundorum was Fic. 563 —Oncocottus quadricornis (L.). St. Michael, Alaska. 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 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 659 remaining genera Gymnocanthus (tricuspis, etc.) has no vomer- ine teeth. Leptocottus (armatus) and Clinocottus (analis) abound on the coast of California, and Pseudoblennius (percoides) is UWS Fic. 564 —Blepsias cirrhosus Pallas. Straits of Fuca. found everywhere along the shores of Japan. Vellitor centro- pomus of Japan is remarkable among sculpins for its compressed body and long snout. Dialarchus snyderi of the California rock- Wet We Fic. 565 —Sea raven, Hemitripterus americanus (Gmelin). Halifax, Nova Scotia. pools is perhaps the smallest species of sculpin, Blepsias (cir- rhosus), Nautichthys (oculofasciatus), and Hemuitripterus (ameri- canus), the sea-raven, among the most fantastic. In the last- named genus the spinous dorsal is many-rayed, as in Scorpe- nide@, a fact which has led to its separation by Dr. Gill as a dis- 660 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes tinct family. But the dorsal spines are equally numerous in Jordania, which stands at the opposite extreme of the cottoid seires. 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 Fic. 566.—Oligocottus maculosus Girard. Sitka. with free rays below its pectorals, should perhaps represent a distinct family, Ereuniide. The degeneration of the spinous dorsal in Psychrolutes and Gil- bertidia of the North Pacific has been already noticed. These genera seem to lead directly from Cottunculus to Liparis. Fossil Cottide are few. Eocottus veronensis, from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, is completely scaled, with the ventral rays 1, 5. It is apparently related to Jordanza, but is still more primitive. Lepidocottus (aries and numerous other species, mostly from the Miocene) is covered with scales, but apparently has fewer 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 Rhamphocottide 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 Rhampho- cottus richardsont. The Sea-poachers: Agonide.—The sea-poachers or alligator- fishes, Agonide, 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 Loricariide. So far as structure goes, these singular fishes are essentially like the Cottide, but 199 ‘uedep ‘1yestyy = “sepAug 2 uepsor wojnz7046 sMIUNaly— L9G “DIT 662 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes Fic. 568 —Sleek Sculpin, Psychrolutes paradoxus (Giinther). Puget Sound. Perret nT mea OB Fie. 569.—Gilbertidia sigolutes (Jordan). Puget Sound. Fie. 570.—Richardson’s Boule sch ee richardsoni (Ciinther). Puget Sound. £99 ‘under ‘u0Wl0W apmioby Aprare gy ‘rapAug 3 ue PLL ZyIDS snosrovugq@— 6 vy g “DIY 664 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 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 Fic. 573.—Agonoid-fish, Pallasina barbata (Steindachner). Port Mulgrave, Alaska 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 Dractscus 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 Fic. 574—Aspidophoroides monopterygius (Bloch). Halifax. 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. ‘ No fossil Agonide are known. The Lump-suckers: Cyclopteride.— The lump-suckers, Cyciop- teride, are structurally very similar to the Cottide, 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 subortal stay indicates the relation of these fishes with the — Cottide. The species are chiefly Arctic, the common lump- fish 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 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 665 watch the eggs. Cyclopterichthys ventricosus is a large species with smooth skin from the North Pacific. The Sea-snails: Liparidide.— The sea-snails, Liparidide 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 ven- Fic. 576.—Liparid, Crystaltias matsushime (Jordan and Snyder). Family Liparidide. Matsushima Bay, Japan. tral 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, 666 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 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 varia- tions in color. Liparts agassizi is abundant in Japan and north- ward, and Liparis pulchellus in California. In the most primi- tive 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 ered iy, Fig. 577.—Snailfish, Neoliparis mucosus (Ayres). San Francisco. disk is gone and the lowest stage of degradation of the Loricate or Scorpena-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. The Baikal Cods: Comephoride.—The family of Comephoride includes Comephorus batkalensis, 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 Cottide. 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 vertebrae 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. Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 667 Suborder Craniomi: the Gurnards, Triglide.—A remarkable off- shoot from the Paretoplite is the suborder of gurnards, known as Craniomt (xpaviov, skull; Gos, shoulder). In these fishes the suborbital stay is highly developed, much as in the Agonide, bony externally and covering the cheeks. The shoulder-girdle is distorted, the post-temporal being solidly united to the cra- nium, 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 Agonide or certain aberrant Cottide as Ereunias. In the true gurnards or Triglide 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, Fic. 578 —Sea-robin, Prionotus evolans (L.). Wood’s Hole, Mass. 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. Cheli- donichthys, 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. Lepidotrigla, with larger scales, has many species on the coasts of Europe as well as in China and Japan. Lepzidotrigla 668 Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 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 Fic. 579 —Flying Gurnard, Cephalacanthus volitans (L.). Virginia. 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 has much value as food, being dry and bony. Numerous fossil species Lee: , ib BS SS Fic. 580.—Peristedion miniatum Goode & Bean. Depths of the Gulf Stream. referred to Trigla are found in the Miocene. Podopteryx, from the Italian Miocene, with small pectorals and very large ven- trals, perhaps belongs also to this family, but its real affinities are unknown. The Peristediide.— The Peristediide are deep-water sea- robins, much depressed, with flat heads, a bony coat of mail, AZIS IVUOLVN SGUXIHL-OML LOOKV (SOE NNI'I) SNVLVYIOA SQHLNVOVW IVHdHO HSI LV&@ ‘GUVNUND DNIATA Pareioplite, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 669 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 Pertstedion urcianense is described from the Pliocene of Orciano, Tuscany. The Flying Gurnards: Cephalacanthide.— The flying gur- nards, Cephalacanthide, 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 petersen is found in Japan and Cepha- lacanthus 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. CHAPTER XLI GOBIOIDEI, DISCOCEPHALI, AND TAZNIOSOMI UBORDER Gobioidei, the Gobies: Gobiide.—The great family of Gobtide, having no near relations among the spiny-rayed fishes, may be here treated as form- ing a distinct suborder. The chief characteristics of the family are the following: The ventral fins are thoracic in position, each having one spine and five soft rays, in some cases reduced to four, but never wanting. The ventral fins are inserted very close together, the inner rays the longest, and in most cases the two fins are completely joined, forming a single roundish fin, which may be used as a sucking-disk in clinging to rocks. The shoulder-girdle is essentially perch-like in form, the cranium is usually depressed, the bones being without serrature. There is no lateral line, the gill-openings are restricted to the sides, and the spinous’ dorsal is always small, of feeble spines, and is sometimes altogether wanting. There is no bony stay to the preopercle. The small pharyngeals are separate, and the vertebre heat in normal number, ro +14 =24. The species are excessively numerous in the tropics and temperate zones, being found in lakes, brooks, swamps, and bays, never far out in the sea, and usually in shallow water. Many of them burrow in the mud between or below tide-marks. Others live in swift waters like the darters, which they much resemble. A few reach a length of a foot or two, but most of the species rarely exceed three inches, and some of them are mature at half an inch. The largest species, Philypnus dormitor, the guavina de rio, is found in the rivers of Mexico and the West Indies. It reaches a length of nearly two feet and is valued as food. Unlike most of the others, in this species there are 670 tc Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi 671 teeth on the vomer. Other related forms of the subfamily of Eleotrine, having the ventral fins separate, are Eleotris pisoms, a common river-fish everywhere in tropical America; Eleotris fusca, a river-fish ee from Tahiti and Samoa Candle ‘Nd Z eee sit Fic. 581.—Guavina de Rio, Philypnus dormitor (Bloch & Schneider). Puerto Rico. to Hindostan; Dormitator maculatus, the stout-hodied guavina- mapo of the West Indian regions, with the form of a small carp. Guavina guavina of Cuba is another species of this type, and numerous other species having separate ventrals are found in the East Indies, the West Indies, and in the islands of Poly- nesia. Some species, as Valenciennesia strigata of the East Fic. 582—Dormeur, Eleotris pisonis Gmelin. Tortugas, Fla. Indies and Vireosa hane of Japan, are very gracefully colored. One genus, Eviota, is composed of numerous species, all minute, less than an inch in length. These abound in the crevices in coral-heads. Eviota epiphanes is found in Hawaii, the others farther south. Hypseleotris guntheri, of the rivers and springs of Polynesia, swims freely in the water, like a minnow, never hugging the bottom as usual among gobies. 672 Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi Of the typical gobies having the ventrals united we can mention but a few of the myriad forms, different species being , Mis, i LY Ce aye A , MY ? Fic. 583—Guavina mapo, Dormitator maculatus (Schneider). Puerto Rico. abundant alike in fresh and salt waters in all warm regions. In Europe Gobtus jozo, Gobius ophiocephalus, and many others Fic. 584 —Vireosa hane Jordan & Snyder. Misaki, Japan. are common species. The typical genus Gobius is known by its united ventrals, and by the presence of silken free rays on Fic. 585.—Esmeralda de Mar, Gobionellus oceanicus (Pallas). Puerto Rico, the upper part of the pectoral fin. Mapo soporator swarms about coral reefs in both Indies. Gobtonellus oceanicus, the Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Teniosomi 673 esmeralda or emerald-fish, is notable for its slender body and the green spot over its tongue. Gobiosoma alepidotum and other species are scaleless. Barbulifer ceuthwcus lives in the cavities of sponges. Coryphopterus similis, a small goby, swarms in almost every brook of Japan. The species of Ptero- Fig. 586 —Pterogobius daimio Jordan & Snyder. Misaki, Japan. gobius are beautifully colored, banded with white or black, or striped with red or blue. Pterogobius virgo and Pterogobius daimio of Japan are the most attractive species. Species of Cryptocentrus are also very prettily colored. Of the species burrowing in mud the most interesting is the long-jawed goby, Gullichthys mirabilis. In this species Fic. 587.—Darter Goby, Aboma etheostoma Jordan. Mazatlan, Mex. the upper jaw is greatly prolonged, longer than the head, as in Opisthognathus and Neoclinus. In the ‘‘American Naturalist” for August, 1877, Mr. W. N. Lockington says of the long- jawed goby: “T call it the long-jawed goby, as its chief peculiarity con- sists in its tremendous length of jaw. A garpike has a long jaw, and so has an alligator, and it is not unlikely that the title will call up in the minds of some who read this the idea of a terrible | = 674 Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi mouth, armed with a bristling row of teeth. This would be a great mistake, for our little fish has no teeth worth bragging about, and does not open his mouth any wider than a well- behaved fish should do. The great difference between his long jaws and those of a garpike is that the latter’s project forward, while those of our goby are prolonged backward immensely. “The long-jawed goby was discovered by Dr. J. G. Cooper in the Bay of San Diego, among seaweed growing on small stones at the wharf, and in such position that it must have been out of the water from three to six hours daily, though kept moist by the seaweed. “On a recent occasion a single Gillichthys, much larger than any of the original types, was presented by a gentleman who said that the fish, which was new to him, was abundant upon his ranch in Richardson’s Bay, in the northern part of the Bay of San Francisco; that the Chinamen dug them up and ate them, and that he had had about eleven specimens cooked, Fic. 588—Long-jawed Goby, Gillichthys mirabilis Cooper. Santa Barbara. and found them good, tasting, he thought, something like eels. The twelfth specimen he had preserved in alcohol, in the interest of natural science. This gentleman had the opportunity of observing something of the mode of life of these fishes, and informed us that their holes, excavated in the muddy banks of tidal creeks, increase in size as they go downward, so that the lower portion is below the water-level, or at least sufficiently low to be kept wet by the percolation from the surrounding mud. ‘“‘When the various specimens now acquired were placed side by side, the difference in the relative length of their jaws was very conspicuous, for while in the smallest it was about one- fifth of the total length, in the largest it exceeded one-third. “As the fish had now been found in two places in the bay, —— al Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Teniosomi 675 I thought I would try to find it also, and to this end sallied out one morning, armed with a spade, and commenced pros- pecting in a marsh at Berkeley, not far from the State Univer- sity. For a long time I was unsuccessful, as I did not know by what outward signs their habitations could be distinguished, and the extent of mud-bank left bare by the retreating tide was, as compared with my powers of delving, practically limit- less. “At last, toward evening, while digging in the bend of a small creek, in a stratum of soft, bluish mud, and at a depth of about a foot below a small puddle, I found five small fishes, which at first I believed to belong to an undescribed species, so little did they resemble the typical G. mzrabilis, but which proved, upon a closer examination, to be the young of that species. There was the depressed, broad head, the funnel- shaped ventral ‘disk’ formed by the union of the two ventral fins, and the compressed tail of the long-jawed goby, but where were the long jaws? The jaws were, of course, in their usual place, but their prolongations had only just begun to grow along the sides of the head, and were not noticeable unless looked for. A comparison of the various specimens proved conclusively that the strange-looking appendage is developed during the growth of the fish, as will be seen by the following measure- ments of four individuals: “Tn the smallest specimen the maxillary expansion extends beyond the orbit for a distance about equal to that which inter- venes between the anterior margin of the orbit and the tip of the snout; in No. 2 it reaches to the posterior margin of the preoperculum; in No. 3 it ends level with the gill-opening; while in the largest individual it passes the origin of the pectoral and ventral fins. “What can be the use of this long fold of skin and cartilage, which is not attached to the head except where it joins the mouth, and which, from its gradual development and ultimate large dimensions, must certainly serve some useful purpose? “Do not understand that I mean that every part of a crea- ture is of use to it in its present mode of life, for, as all natural- ists know, there are in structural anatomy, just as in social life, cases of survival; remains of organs which were at some 676 Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi former time more developed, parallel in their nature to such survivals in costume as the two buttons on the back of a man’s coat, once useful for the attachment of a sword-belt. But in this fish we have no case of survival, but one of unusual develop- ment; the family (Gobtide) to which it belongs presents no similar case, although its members have somewhat similar habits, and the conviction grows upon us, as we consider the subject, that the long jaws serve some useful purpose in the economy of the creature. In view of the half-terrestrial life led by this fish, I am inclined to suspect that the expansion of the upper jaw may serve for the retention of a small quantity of water, which, slowly trickling downward into the mouth and gills, keeps the latter moist when, from an unusually low tide or a dry season, the waters of its native creek fail, perhaps for several hours, to reach the holes in which the fishes dwell. It may be objected to this view that, were such an appendage necessary or even useful, other species of Gobiide@, whose habits are similar, would show traces of a similar adaptation. This, however, by no means follows. Nature has many ways of working out the same end; and it must be remembered that every real species, when thoroughly known, differs somewhat in habits from its congeners, or at least from its family friends. To take an illustration from the mammalia. The chimpanzee and the spider-monkey are both quadrumanous and both arboreal, yet the end which is attained in the former by its more perfect hands is reached in the latter by its prehensile tail. “Why may not the extremely long channel formed by the jaw of this rather abnormal member of the goby family be another mode of provision for the requirements of respiration? ” Of the Asiatic genera, Periophthalmus and Boleophthalmus are especially notable. In these mud-skippers the eyes are raised on a short stalk, the fins are strong, and the animal has the power of skipping along over the wet sands and mud, even skimming with great speed over the surface of the water. It chases its insect prey among rocks, leaves, and weeds, and out of the water is as agile as a lizard. Several species of these mud-skippers are known on the coasts of Asia and Polynesia, Periophthalmus barbarus and Boleophthalmus chinensis being the best known. Awaous crassilabris is the common oopu, or Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi 677 river goby, of the Hawaiian streams, and Lentipes stimpsoni is the mountain oopu, capable of clinging to the rocks in the —— ZZ Fig. 589.—Pond-skipper, Boleophthalmus chinensis (Osbeck). Bay of Tokyo, Japan. (Eye-stalks sunken in preservation.) tush of torrents. Paragobiodon echinocephalus is a short thick- set goby with very large head, found in crevices of coral reefs of Polynesia. ~~ Fic. 590.—Mud-skippy, Periophthalmus oarbarus (L.). Mouth of Vaisigono River, Apia, Samoa. In numerous interesting species the first dorsal fin is wanting or much reduced. The crystal goby, Crystallogobius mnilssont, of Europe is one of this type, with the body translucent. Equally 678 Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi translucent is the little Japanese shiro-uwo, or whitefish, Leuco- psarion peterst. Muistichthys luzonius of the Philippine Islands, another diaphanous goby, is said to be the smallest of all verte- brates, being mature at half an inch in length. This minute fish is so very abundant as to become an important article of food in Luzon. The rank of “smallest-known vertebrate ”’ has been claimed in turn for the lancelet (Asymmetron lucayanum), the top minnow, Heterandria formosa, and the dwarf sunfish (Elassoma zonatum). Mistichthys luzonius is smaller than any of these, but the diminutive gobies, called Eviota, found in interstices of coral rocks are equally small, and there are several brilliant but minute forms in the reefsof Samoa. The snake-like Eutenichthys gilli of Japanese rivers is scarcely larger, though over an inch long. Typhlogobius californiensis, “the blindfish of Point Loma,” is a small goby, colorless and blind, found clinging in dark crevices of rock about Point Loma and Dead Man’s Island in southern California. Its eyes are represented by mere rudiments, their loss being evidently associated with the peculiar habit of the species, Fic. 591—Euteniichthys gillii Jordan & Snyder. Tokyo, Japan. which clings to the under side of stones in relative darkness, though in very shallow water.: The flesh is also colorless, the animal appearing pink in life. In the Japanese species Luciogobus guttatus, common under stones and along the coast, the spinous dorsal, weak in numer- ous other species, finally vanishes altogether. Other gobies are band-shaped or eel-shaped, the dorsal spines being continu- ous with the soft rays. Among these are the barreto of Cuba, Gobioides broussoneti, and in Japan Tenioides lacepedet and Trypauchen wake, the latter species remarkable for its strong canines. Fossil gobies are practically unknown. A few frag- ments, otoliths, and partial skeletons in southern Europe have been referred to Gobius, but no other genus is represented. SO Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi 679 The family of Oxudercide contains one species, Oxuderces dentatus, a small goby-like fish from China. It is an elongate fish, without ventral fins, and with very short dorsal and anal. Suborder Discocephali, the Shark-suckers: Echeneidide.—Next to the gobies, for want of a better place, we may mention the singular group of Discocephali (dicxos, disk; xe@ydy, head). In this group the first dorsal fin is transformed into a peculiar laminated sucking-disk, which covers the whole top of the head and the nape. In other respects the structure does not diverge very widely from the percoid type, there being a remarkable re- semblance in external characters to the Scombroid genus Rachy- centron. But the skeleton shows no special affinity to Rachy- centron or to any perciform fish. The basis of the cranium is Fic. 592.—Sucking-fish, or Pegador, Leptecheneis naucrates (Linneus). Virginia. simple, and in the depression of the head with associated modi- fications the Discocephali approach the gobies and blennies rather than the mackerel-like forms. The Discocephali comprise the single family of shark-suckers or remoras, the Echeneidide. All the species of this group are pelagic fishes, widely diffused in the warm seas. All cling by their cephalid” disks to sharks, barracudas, and other free- swimming fishes, and are carried about the seas by these. They do not harm the\shark except by slightly impeding its move- ment. They are carnivorous fishes, feeding on sardines, young herring, and the likes. When a shark, taken on the hook, is drawn out of the waterthe/sucking-fish leaves it instantly, and is capable of much speed in swimming on its own account. These fishes are all dusky in color, the belly as dark as the back, so as to form little contrast to the color of the shark. The commonest species, Leptecheneis naucrates, called pega- pega or pegador in Cuba, reaches a length of about two feet and is almost cosmopolitan in its range, being found exclusively on the larger sharks, notably on Carcharias lamia, It has 680 Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi 20 to 22 plates in its disk, and the sides are marked by a dusky lateral band. Almost equally widely distributed is the smaller remora, or shark-sucker (Echeneis remora), with a stouter body and about 18 plates in the cephalic disk. This species is found in Europe, on the coast of New York, in the West Indies, in California, and in Japan, but is nowhere abundant. Another widely distributed species is Remorina albescens with 13 plates in its disk. Remoropsis brachyptera, with 15 plates and a long soft dorsal, is also occasionally taken. Rhombochirus osteochir is a rare species of the Atlantic with 18 plates, having the pec- Fic. 593.—Rhombochirus osteochir (Cuy. & Val.). Wood’s Hole, Mass. toral rays all enlarged and stiff. The louse-fish (Phtheirichthys lineatus) is a small and slender remora having but 10 plates in its disk. It is found attached, not to sharks, but to barra- - cudas and spearfishes. A fossil remora is described from the Oligocene shales in Glarus, Switzerland, under the name of Opisthomyzon glaronen- sis. It is characterized by the small disk posteriorly inserted. Its vertebree are 10+13=24 only. Dr. Storms gives the follow- ing account of this species: “A careful comparison of the proportion of all the parts of the skeleton of the fossil Echenets with those of the living forms, such as Echeneis naucrates or Echeneis remora, shows that the fossil differs nearly equally from both, and that it was a more normally shaped fish than either of these forms. The head was narrower and less flattened, the preoperculum wider, but its two jaws had nearly the same length. The ribs, as also the neural and hemal spines, were longer, the tail more forked, and the soft dorsal fin much longer. In fact it was a more compressed type, probably a far better swimmer than Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Teniosomi 681 its living congeners, as might be expected if the smallness of the adhesive disk is taken into account.” Concerning the relations of the Discocephali Dr. Gill has the following pertinent remarks: “The family of Scomberoides was constituted by Cuvier for certain forms of known organization, among which were fishes evidently related to Caranx, but which had free dorsal spines. Dr. Giinther conceived the idea of disintegrating this family because, iter alias, the typical Scomberoides (family Scombride) have more than 24 vertebre and others (family Carangide) had just 24. The assumption of Cuvier as to the relationship of Elacate (Rachycentron) was repeated, but inasmuch as it had ‘more than 24 vertebre’ (it had 25=12+13) it was severed from the free-spined Carangide and associated with the Scombride. Elacate has an elongated body, flattened head, and a longi- tudinal lateral band; therefore Echenets was considered to be next allied to Elacate and to belong to the same family. The very numerous differences in structure between the two were entirely ignored, and the reference of the Echeneis to the Scom- bride is simply due to assumption piled on assumption. The collocation need not, therefore, longer detain us. The posses- sion by Echeneis of the anterior oval cephalic disk in place of a spinous dorsal fin would alone necessitate the isolation of the genus as a peculiar family. But that difference is associated with almost innumerable other peculiarities of the skeleton and other parts, and in a logical system it must be removed far from the Scombride, and probably be endowed with sub- ordinal distinction. In all essential respects it departs greatly from the type of structure manifested in the Scombride and rather approximates—but very distantly—the Gobzoidea and Blennioidea. In those types we have in some a tendency to flattening of the head, of anterior development of the dorsal fin, a simple basis cranii, etc. Nevertheless there is no close affinity, nor even tendency to the extreme modification of the spinous dorsal exhibited by Echeneis. In view of all these facts Echeneis, with its subdivisions, may be regarded as constitu- ting not only a family but a suborder. . . . Who can consistently object to the proposition to segregate the Echenetdide as a sub- order of teleocephalous fishes? Not those who consider that 682 Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi the development of three or four inarticulate rays (or even less) in the front of the dorsal fin is sufficient to ordinarily differen- tiate a given form from another with only one or two such. Cer- tainly the difference between the constituents of a disk and any rays or spines is much greater than the mere development or atrophy of articulations. Not those who consider that the manner of depression of spines, whether directly over the follow- ing, or to the right or left alternately, are of cardinal importance; for such differences, again, are manifestly of less morphological significance than the factors of a suctorial disk. Nevertheless there are doubtless many who will passively resist the propo- sition because of a conservative spirit, and who will vaguely refer to the development of the disk as being a ‘ teleological modi- fication,’ and as if it were not an actual fact and a develop- ment correlated with radical modifications of all parts of the skeleton at least. But whatever may be the closest relations of Echeneis, or the systematic value of its peculiarities, it is certain that it is not allied to Elacate any more than to hosts of scombroid, percoid, and kindred fishes, and that it differs im toto from it notwithstanding the claims that have been made otherwise. It is true that there is a striking resemblance, espe- cially between the young—almost as great, for example, as that between the placental mouse and the marsupial Antecht- nomys—but the likeness is entirely superficial, and the scientific ichthyologist should be no more misled than would be the scien- tific therologist by the likeness of the marsupial and placental mammals.”’ Suborder Tzniosomi, the Ribbon-fishes.—The suborder Teni- osomt (raivia, ribbon; ca@pa, body), or ribbon-fishes, is made up of strange inhabitants of the open seas, perhaps aberrant derivatives of the mackerel stock. The body is greatly elongate, much compressed, extremely fragile, covered with shining silvery skin. The ribbon-fishes live in the open sea, probably at no very great depth, but are almost never taken by collectors except when thrown on shore in storms or when attacked by other fishes and dragged above or below their depth. When found they are usually reported as sea-serpents, and although perfectly harmless, they are usually at once destroyed by their ignorant captors. The whole body is exceedingly fragile; —— Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi 683 the bones are porous, thin, and light, containing scarcely any calcareous matter. In the Teniosomi the ventral fins are thoracic, formed of one or a few soft rays. More remarkable is the character of the caudal fin, which is always distorted and usually not in line with the rest of the body. The teeth are small. The general structure is not very different from that of the cutlass-fishes, Trichiuride, and other degraded off- shoots from the scombroid group. The species are few and, from the nature of things, very imperfectly known. Scarcely any specimens are perfectly preserved. When dried the body almost disappears, both flesh and bones being composed chiefly of water. The Oarfishes: Regalecide— The Kegalecide, or oarfishes, have the caudal fin obsolete and the ventrals reduced to long filaments, thickened at the tip. The species reach a length of twenty or thirty feet, and from their great size, slender forms, and sinuous motion have been almost everywhere regarded as sea-serpents. The very long anterior spines of the dorsal fin are tipped with red, and the fish is often and not untruth- fully described as a sea-serpent “having a horse’s head with a flaming red mane.” The great oarfish, Regalecus glesne (see Fig. 113), was long known to the common people of Norway as king of the herrings, it being thought that to harm it would be to-drive the herring to some other coast. The name “king of the herrings” went into science as Regalecus, from rex, king, and halec, herring. The Japanese fancy, which runs in a different line, calls the creature ‘“‘Dugunonuatatori,’’ which means the “cock of the palace under the sea.”’ The Atiantic oarfish is named Kegalecus glesne, from the Norwegian farm of Glesnzs, where the first recorded specimen, described by Ascanius, was taken 130 years ago. Since then the species has been many times found on the shores of Great Britain and Norway, and once at Bermuda, and also twice in Florida. In this species the body is half-transparent, almost jelly-like, light blue in color, with some darker cross-stripes, and the head has a long jaw and a high forehead, suggesting the head of a horse. The dorsal fin begins on the head, and the first 684 Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi few spines are very long, each having a red tuft on the end. When the animal is alive these spines stand up like a red mane. The creature is harmless, weak in muscle as well as feeble in mind. It lives in the deep seas, all over the world. After great storms it sometimes comes ashore. Perhaps this is because for some reason it has risen abeve its depth and so lost control of itself. When a deep-water fish rises to the surface the change of pressure greatly affects it. Reduction of pressure bursts its blood-vessels, its swim-bladder swells, if it has one, and turns its stomach inside out. If a deep-water fish gets above its depth it is lost, just as surely as a surface fish is when it gets sunk to the depth of half a mile. Sometimes, again, these deep-sea fishes rush to the shore to escape from parasites, crustaceans that torture their soft flesh, or sharks that would tear it. Numerous specimens have been found in the Pacific, and to these several names have been given, but the species are not at all clearly made out. The oldest name is that of Regalecus russelli, for the naturalist Patrick Russell, who took a specimen at Vizagapatam in 1788. I have seen two large examples of Regalecus in the museum at Tokio, and several young ones have recently been stranded on the Island of Santa Catalina in southern California. A specimen twenty-two feet long lately came ashore at Newport in Orange County, California. The story of its capture is thus told by Mr. Horatio J. Forgy, of Santa Ana, California: ‘‘On the 22d of February, 1901, a Mexican Indian reported at Newport Beach that about one mile up the coast he had landed a sea-serpent, and as proof showed four tentacles and a strip of flesh about six feet long. A crowd went up to see it, and they said it was about twenty feet long and like a fish in some respects and like a snake in others. Mr. Remsberg and I, on the following day, went up to see it, and in a short time we gathered a crowd and with the assistance of Mr. Pea- body prepared the fish and took the picture you have received. “It measured twenty-one feet and some inches in length, and weighed about 500 or 600 pounds. “The Indian, when he reported his discovery, said it was Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Txniosomi 685 alive and in the shallow water, and that he had landed it himself. “This I very much doubt, but when it was first landed it was in a fine state of preservation and could have easily been shipped to you, but he had cut it to such an extent that ship- ment or preservation seemed out of the question when we first saw it. “At the time it came ashore an unusual number of peculiar fishes and sharks were found. Among others, I found a small oarfish about three feet long in a bad state of preservation in a piece of kelp. One side of it was nearly torn off and the other side was decayed.” Mr. C. F. Holder gives this account of the capture of oar- fishes in southern California: “From a zoological point of view the island of Santa Cata- lina, which lies eighteen miles off the coast of Los Angeles County, southern California, is very interesting, many rare animals being found there. Every winter the dwellers of the island find numbers of argonaut-shells, and several living specimens have been secured, one for a time living in the aqua- rium which is maintained here for the benefit of students and the entertainment of visitors. A number of rare and interest- ing fishes wander inshore from time to time. Several years ago I found various Scopeloid fishes, which up to that time had been considered rare, and during the past few years I have seen one oarfish (Kegalecus russell:) alive, while another was brought to me dead. From reports I judge that anumber of these very rare fishes have been observed here. The first was of small size, not over two feet in length, and was discovered swimming in shallow water along the beach of Avalon Bay. I had an opportunity to observe the radiant creature before it died. Its ‘topknot’—it can be compared to nothing else— was a vivid red or scarlet mass of seeming plumes—the dorsal fins, which merged into a long dorsal fin, extending to the tail. The color of the body was a brilliant silver sheen splashed with equally vivid black zebra-like stripes, which gave the fish a most striking appearance. ‘The fish was a fragile and delicate creature, a very ghost of a fish, which swam along where the water gently lapped the sands with an undulatory motion, looking like one of its 686 Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi | names—the ribbon-fish. The fortunate finder of this specimen could not be persuaded to give it up or sell it, and it was its : fate to be pasted upon a piece of board, dried in the sun as a ; ‘curio,’ where, as if in retaliation at the desecration of so rare a specimen, it soon disappeared. ‘This apparently was the first oarfish ever seen in the United : States, so at least Dr. G. Brown Goode wrote me at the time that it had not been reported. In 1899 another oarfish was | brought to me, evidently having been washed in after a storm and found within a few yards of the former at Avalon. The discoverer of this specimen also refused to allow it to be properly preserved, or to donate or sell it to any one who would have sent it to some museum, but, believing it valuable as a ‘curio,’ also impaled it, the delicate creature evaporating under the strong heat of the semitropic sun. ; “This, as stated, was the second fish discovered, and during the past winter (1900) a fine large specimen came in at New- : port Beach, being reported by H. J. Forgy, of Santa Ana. The ; newspapers announced that a Mexican had found a young sea- ] serpent at Newport, and investigation showed that, as in hun- : dreds of similar instances, the man had found a valuable prize without being aware of it. According to the account, the discoverer first saw the fish alive in the surf and hauled it ashore. Being ignorant of its value, he cut it up, bringing in a part of the scarlet fins and a slice of the flesh. This he showed to some men, and led the way to where lay the mutilated remains of one of the finest oar- or ribbon-fishes ever seen. The speci- men was twenty-one feet in length, and its weight estimated at five hundred pounds. The finder had so mutilated it that the fish was ruined for almost any purpose. If he had packed it in salt, the specimen would have returned him the equivalent of several months’ labor. Apparently the man had cut it up in wanton amusement. “This recalls a similar incident. I was on one occasion excavating at San Clemente Island, and had remarked that it was a singular fact that all the fine stone ollas were broken. ‘Nothing strange about that,’ said a half-breed, one of the party. ‘I used to herd sheep here, and we smashed mortars and ollas to pass away time.’”’ Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Txniosomi 687 The Dealfishes: Trachypteridea.— The family of Trachypteride comprises the dealfishes, creatures of fantastic form and silvery coloration, smaller than the oarfishes and more common, but of similar habit. Just as in Norway the fantastic oarfish was believed to be the king of the herrings and cherished as such, so among the Indians of Puget Sound another freak fish is held sacred as the king of the salmon. The people about Cape Flattery believe that if one does any harm to this fish the salmon will at once leave the shores. This fable led the naturalists who first discov- ered this fish to give it its name of Trachypterus rex-salmonorum. In Europe a similar species (Trachypterus atlanticus) has long been known by the name of dealfish, or vogmar, neither of these names having any evident propriety. The dealfish is one of the most singular of all the strange creatures of the sea. It reaches a length of three or four feet. Its body is thin as a knife and would be transparent were it not. covered over with a shining white pigment which gives to the animal the luster of burnished silver. On this white surface is a large black blotch or two, but no other colors. The head is something like that of the oarfish, to which animal the deal- fish bears a close relationship. Both have small teeth and neither could bite if it would, and neither wants to, for they are creatures of the most inoffensive sort. On the head of the dealfish, where the oarfish has its mane, is a long, streamer-like fin. At the end of the tail, instead of the ordinary caudal fin, is a long, slim fin which projects directly upwards at right angles to the direction of the back-bone. No other fish shows this strange peculiarity. The dealfish swims in the open sea close to the surface of the water. It does not often come near shore, but it is occa- sionally blown on the beach by storms. Tyrachypterus rex- salmonorum has been recorded two or three times from Puget Sound and twice from California. The finest specimen known, the one from which our figure is taken, was secured off the Faral- lones in 1895 by a fisherman named W. C. Knox, and by him sent to Stanford University. The specimen is perfect in all its parts, a condition rare with these fragile creatures, and its picture gives a good idea of the mysterious king of the salmon. 889 , P Csouoyeae,T oy} JO Waywy uguttoeds & W101 7) @, ~ : i : J prmwajdhyov. T, ATU, J qloqiyy a3 uBpsloe UWNLoUoU)DS-TAL sniadhymiy “uowypeg af} jo Bury 10 ‘ysypeaq@—Pse “OT, LD I) i he DH cI ro Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi 689 Four of these fishes have been obtained on the coast of Japan, and have been described and figured by the present writer in the annals of the Imperial University of Tokyo. These are different from the California species and are named Trachypterus ishikawe, but they show the same bright silver color and the same streamers on the head and tail. Probably they, too, in Japan are kings of something or other, or perhaps silver swans from ‘the submarine palace, for along such lines the Japanese fancy is more likely to run. The young of the dealfish has the caudal symmetrical, and the dorsal spines and ventral rays produced in very long streamers. According to Goode and Bean, the dealfishes are ‘‘ true deep- sea fishes, which live at very great depths, and are only found when floating dead on the surface or washed ashore by the waves. Almost nothing is known of their habits except through Nilsson’s observations in the far north. This naturalist, as well as Olafson, appears to have had the opportunity of observing them in life. They say that they approach the shore at flood- tide on sandy, shelving bottoms, and are often left by the retreating waves. Nilsson’s opinion is that its habits resemble those of the flatfishes, and that they move with one side turned obliquely upward, the other toward the ground; and he says that they have been seen on the bottom in two or three fathoms of water, where the fishermen hook them up with the imple- ments employed to raise dead seals, and that they are slow’ swimmers. This is not necessarily the case, however, for the removal of pressure and the rough treatment by which they were probably washed ashore would be demoralizing, to say the least. Tvichiurus, a fish similar in form, is a very strong, swift swimmer, and so is Kegalecus. Whether or not the habits of Trachypterus arcticus, on which these observations were made, are a safe guide in regard to the other forms is a matter of some doubt, but it is certain that they live far from the surface, except near the arctic circle, and that they only come ashore accidentally. They have never been taken by the deep-sea dredge or trawl-net, and indeed perfect specimens are very rare, the bodies being very soft and brittle, the bones and fin- rays exceedingly fragile. A considerable number of species have 690 Gobioidei, Discocephali, and Tzniosomi been described, but in most instances each was based on one or two specimens. It is probable that future studies may be as fruitful as that of Emery, who, by means of a series of twenty- three specimens, succeeded in uniting at least three of the Mediterranean species which for half a century or more had been regarded as distinct. The common species of the eastern Atlantic, Trachypterus atlanticus, is not rare, one or more speci- mens, according to Gunther, being secured along the coast of northern Europe after almost every severe gale. We desire to quote the recommendation of Dr. Giinther, and to strongly urge upon any one who may be so fortunate as to secure one of these fishes that no attempt should be made to keep it entire, but that it should be cut into short lengths and preserved in the strongest spirits, each piece wrapped separately in muslin.”’ The family of Stylephoride is known from a single specimen of the species, Stylephorus chordatus, taken off Cuba in 1790. In this form the tail ends in a long, whip-like appendage, twice as long as the head. No fossil dealfishes or oarfishes are known. CHAPTER XLII SUBORDER HETEROSOMATA from the order of spiny-rayed fishes is the great group W-+) of flounders and soles, called by Bonaparte Heterosomata (ones, differing; oda, body). The essential character of this group is found in the twisting of the anterior part of the cra- nium, an arrangement which brings both eyes on the same side of the head. This is accompanied by a great compression of the body, as a result of which the flounders swim horizontally or lie flat on the sand. On the side which is uppermost both eyes are placed, this side being colored, brown or gray or mottled. The lower side is usually plain white. In certain genera the right side is uppermost, in others the left. In a very few, confined to the coast of California, the eyes are on the right or left side indifferently. The process of the twisting of the head has been already described (see p. 75). The very young have the body trans- lucent and symmetrical, standing upright in the water. Soon the tendency to rest on the bottom sets in, the body leans to left or right, and the lower eye gradually traverses the front of the head to the other side. This movement is best seen in the species of Platophrys, in which the final arrangement of the eyes is a highly specialized one. In some or all of the soles it is perhaps true that the eye turns over and pierces the cranium instead of passing across it. This opinion needs verification, and the process should be studied in detail in as many species as possible. The present writer has seen it in species of Platophrys only, the same genus in which it was carefully studied by Dr. Carlo F. Emery of Bologna. In the halibut, and in the more primitive flounders 691 692 Suborder Heterosomata generally, the process takes place at an earlier stage than in Platophrys. Optic Nerves of Flounders.—In the Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology (Vol. XL, No. 5) Professor George H. Parker discusses the relations of the optic nerves in the group of flounders or flatfishes. In the bony fishes the optic nerves pass to the optic lobes of the brain, the one passing to the lobes of the opposite side simply lying over the other, without intermingling of fibers, such as takes place in the higher vertebrates and in the more primitive fishes. According to Parker’s observations, in ordinary bony fishes the right nerve may be indifferently above or below the other. In 1000 specimens of ten common species, 486 have the left nerve uppermost and 514 the right nerve. In most individual species the numbers are practically equal. Thus, in the had- dock, 48 have the left nerve uppermost and 52 the right nerve. In the unsymmetrical teleosts or flounders, and soles, this condition no longer obtains. In those species of flounder with the eyes on the right side 236 individuals, representing sixteen species, had the left nerve uppermost in all cases. Of flounders with the eyes on the left side, 131 individuals, representing nine species, all have the right nerve uppermost. There are a few species of flounders in which reversed examples are so common that the species may be described as having the eyes on the right or left side indifferently. In all these species, however, whether Fic. 595 — Young Flounder, just dextral or sinistral, the relation ry rear ae hey ea eyes: of the nefves conforms to the type and is not influenced by the individual deviation. Thus the starry flounder (Platich- thys) belongs to the dextral group. In 50 normal specimens, the eyes on the right have the left nerve dorsal, while the left nerve is also uppermost in 50 reversed examples with eyes on the left. In 15 examples of the California bastard halibut (Paralichthys californicus), normally sinistral, the right eye is always uppermost. It is uppermost in 11 reversed examples. Among the soles this uniformity or monomorphism no Suborder Heterosomata 693 longer obtains. In 49 individuals of four species of dextral soles, the left nerve is uppermost in 24, the right nerve in 25. Among sinistral soles, or tonguefishes, in 18 individuals of two species, the left nerve is uppermost in 13, the right nerve in 5. Professor Parker concludes from this evidence that soles are not degenerate flounders, but rather descended from primi- tive flounders which still retain the dimorphic condition as te the position of the optic nerves, a condition prevalent in all bony fishes except the flounders. The lack of symmetry among the flounders lies, therefore, deeper than the matter of the migration of the eye. The asym- metry of the mouth is an independent trait, but, like the migra- tion of the eye, is an adaptation to swimming on the side. Each of the various traits of asymmetry may appear independently of the others. The development of the monomorphic arrangement in flounders Professor Parker thinks can be accounted for by the Fie. 596.—Larval Flounder, Pseudoplewronectes americanus. (After S. R. Williams.) principle of natural selection. In a side-swimming fish the fixity of this trait has a mechanical advantage. The unmeta- morphosed young of the flounder are not strictly symmetrical, for they possess the monomorphic position of the optic nerve. The reversed examples of various species of flounders (these, by the way, chiefly confined to the California fauna) afford “striking examples of discontinuous variation.”’ A very curious feature among the flounders is the possession in nine of the California-Alaskan species of an accessory half- lateral line. This is found in two different groups, while near relatives in other waters lack the character. One species in Japan has this trait, which is not found in any Atlantic species, 694 Suborder Heterosomata or in any other flounders outside the fauna of northern Cali- fornia, Oregon, and Alaska. Ancestry of Flounders.— The ancestry of the flounders is wholly uncertain. Because, like the codfishes, the flounders lack all fin-spines, they have been placed by some authors after the Anacanthint, or codfishes, and a common descent has been assumed. Some writers declare that the flounder is only a codfish with distorted cranium. A little study of the osteology of the flounder shows that this suppositicn is without foundation. The flounders have Fic. 598. Fies. 597 and 598.—Larval stages of Platophrys podas, a flounder of the Mediterra- nean, showing the migration of the eye. (After Emery.) thoracic ventrals, not jugular as in the cod. The tail is homo- cercal, ending in a large hypural plate, never isocercal, except in degraded soles, in which it is rather leptocercal. The shoulder- girdle, with its perforate hypercoracoid, has the normal perch- like form. The ventral fins have about six rays, as in the perch, although the first ray is never spinous. Pseudobranchie are developed, these structures being obsolete in the codfishes. The gills and pharyngeals are essentially as in the perch. It is fairly certain that the Heterosomata have diverged from the early spiny-rayed forms, Zeoidei, Berycoidei, or Scombroidet ar Ae a eae, li egy” ins mel sR tie ism at Ma anand ~ =a Suborder Heterosomata 695 of the Jurassic or Cretaceous, and that their origin is prior to the development of the great perch stock. If one were to guess at the nearest relationships of the group, it would be to regard them as allies of the deep-bodied mackerel- like forms, as the Stromateide, or perhaps with extinct Berycoid forms, as Platycormus, having the ventral fins wider than in the mackerel. Still more plausible is the recent suggestion of Dr. Boulenger that the extinct genus Amplistium resembles the primi- tive flounder. But there is little direct proof of such relation, and the resemblance of larval flounders to the ribbon-fishes may have equal significance. But the ribbon-fishes themselves may be degenerate Scombroids. In any case both ribbon-fishes and Fic. 599.—Platophrys lunatus (Linneus), the Peacock Flounder. Family Pleuronachder. Cuba. (From nature by Mrs. H. C. Nash.) flounders find their nearest living relatives among the Bery- coidei or Zeoidei, and have no affinity whatever with the isocercal codfish or with other members of the group called Anacanthinz. The Heterosomata are found in all seas, always close to the bottom and swimming with a swift, undulatory motion. They are usually placed in a single family, but the degraded types known as soles may be regarded as forming a second family. The Flounders: Pleuronectide.—In the flounders, or Plewronec- tide, the membrane-bones of the head are distinct, the eyes large and well separated, the mouth not greatly contracted, and the jaws 696 Suborder Heterosomata always provided with teeth. Among the 500 species of flounders is found the greatest variation in size, ranging in weight from an ounce to 500 pounds. The species found in arctic regions are most degenerate and these have the largest number of ver- tebre and of fin-rays. The halibut has 50 vertebra (16 +34), the craig-flounder 58, while in Etropus and other tropical forms the number is but 34 (10 +24). The common flounders of intermediate geographical range (Paralichthys dentatus, etc.) show intermediate numbers as 40 (10 +30). Fic. 600,—Heterocercal tail of young Trout, Salmo fario Linnweus. (After Parker & Haswell.) : Fic. (01.—Homocercal tail of a Flounder, Paralichthys californicus. It is, perhaps, related to the greater pressure of natural selection in the tropics, showing itself in the better differentiation of the bones and consequently smaller number of the vertebre. Fossil flounders are very few and give no clue as to the origin of the group. In the Eocene and Miocene are remains which have been referred to Bothus (Rhombus). Bothus minimus is the oldest species known, described by Agassiz from the Eocene of Monte Bolca. In the Miocene are numerous other species of Bothus, as also tubercles referable to Scophthalmus. On the testimony of fossils alone the genus Bothus, or one Suborder Heterosomata 697 of its allies, would be the most primitive of the group. If it be so, the simpler structure of the halibut and its relatives is due to degeneration, which is probable, although their structure has the suggestion of primitive simplicity, especially in the greater approach to symmetry in the head and the symmetry in the insertion of the ventral fins. Soles have been found in the later Tertiary rocks. Solea kirchbergiana of the Miocene is not very different from species Fic. 602—Window-pane, Lophopsetta maculata. Virginia. now extant in southern Europe. No remains referable to allies of the halibut or plaice are found in Tertiary rocks, and these relatively simple types must be regarded as of recent origin. The Turbot Tribe: Bothine.—The turbot tribe have the mouth large, the eyes and color on the left side, and the ventral fins unlike, that of the left side being extended along the ridge of the abdomen. The species are found in the warm seas only. They are deeper in body than the halibut and plaice, and some of them are the smallest of all flounders. It is probable that these approach most nearly of existing flounders to the original ancestors of the group. Perhaps the most primitive genus is Bothus, species of which genus are found in Italian Miocene. The European 698 Suborder Heterosomata brill, Bothus rhombus, is a common fish of southern Europe, deep-bodied and covered with smooth scales. Very similar but much smaller in size is the half translu- cent speckled flounder of our Atlantic coast (Lophopsetta macu- lata), popularly known as window-pane. This species is too small to have much value as food. Another species, similar to the brill in technical characters but very different in appear- ance, is the turbot, Scophthalmus maximus, of Europe. This large flounder has a very broad body, scaleless but covered with warty tubercles. It reaches a weight of seventy pounds and has a high value as a food-fish. There is but one species of tur- bot and it is found in Europe only, on sandy bottoms from Fic. 603.—Wide-eyed Flounder, Syacium papillosum Linneus. Pensacola, Fla. Norway to Italy. In a turbot of twenty-three pounds weight Buckland found a roe of five pounds nine ounces, with 14,311,260 eggs. The young retains its symmetrical condition for a relatively long period. No true turbot is tound in America and none in the Pacific. Other European flounders allied to the turbot and brill are Zeugopterus punctatus; the European whiff, Lepido- rhombus whiff-jagonis; the topknot, Phrynorhombus regius; the lantern-flounder, Arnoglossus laterna, and the tongue-fish, Eucz- tharus linguatula, the last two of small size and feeble flesh. In the wide-eyed or peacock flounders, Platophrys podas in Europe, Platophrys lunatus, etc., in America, Platophrys mancus in Polynesia, the eyes in the old males are very far apart, and the changes due to age and sex are greater than in any other genera. The species of this group are highly variegated and lie on the sand in the tropical seas. Numerous small Suborder Heterosomata 699 species allied to these abound in the West Indies, known in a general way as whiffs. The most widely distributed of these are Citharichthys spilopterus of the West Indies, Citharichthys gilbertt and Azevia panamensis of Panama, Orthopsetta sordida of California, and especially the common small-mouthed Etropus crossotus found throughout tropical America. Numerous other genera and species of the turbot tribe are found on the coasts of tropical Asia and Africa, most of them of small size and weak structure. Samaris cristatus of Asia is the type of another tribe of flounders and the peculiar hook-jawed Oncopterus darwini of Patagonia represents still another tribe. The Halibut Tribe: Hippoglossine.—In the great halibut tribe the mouth is large and the ventral fins symmetrical. The arctic and subarctic species have the eyes and color on the Fic. 604.—Etropus crossotus Jordan & Gilbert. Cedar Keys, Fla. right. Those of the warmer regions (bastard halibut) have the eyes and color on the left. These grow progressively smaller in size to the southward, the mouth being smaller and more feebly armed in southern species. The largest of the family, and the one commercially of far greatest importance, is the halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus). This species is found on both shores of both oceans, north of about the latitude ot Paris, Boston, Cape Mendocino, and Mat- sushima Bay in Japan. Its preference is for offshore banks . 700 Suborder Heterosomata of no great depth, and in very many localities it exists in great abundance, reaching a length of 6 to 8 feet and a weight of 600 pounds. It sometimes ranges well out to sea and enters deeper waters than the cod. The flesh is firm, white, and of good quality, although none of the flatfishes have much flavor, the muscles being mostly destitute of oil. Small halibut, called “chicken halibut,’’ are highly esteemed. Dr. Goode states that the “history of the halibut fishery has been a peculiar one. At the beginning of the present century these fishes were exceedingly abundant on George’s Banks; since 1850 they have partially disappeared from this region, and the fishermen have since been following them to other banks, and since 1874 out into deeper and deeper water, and the fisheries are now carried on almost exclusively in the gullies between the offshore banks and on the outer edges of the banks, in water 100 to 350 fathoms in depth. “The halibut with its large mouth is naturally a voracious fish, and probably would disdain few objects in the way of fresh meat it would come across. ' It is said, however, to feed more especially upon crabs and mollusks in addition to fish. These fish ‘they waylay lying upon the bottom, invisible by reason of their flat bodies, colored to correspond to the general color of the sand or mud upon which they rest. When in pursuit of their prey they are active and often come quite to the surface, especially when in summer they follow the capelin to the shoal water near the land. They feed upon skates, cod, haddock, menhaden, mackerel, herring, . lobsters, flounders, sculpins, grenadiers, turbot, Norway haddock, bank-clams, and anything else that is eatable and can be found in the same waters.’ Fre- quently halibut may be seen chasing flatfish over the bottom of the water. About Cape Sable their favorite food seems to be haddock and cusk. called “mackerel-midges.’””’ Our commonest species is Enchely- opus cimbrius, found also in Great Britain. The cusk, or torsk, Brosme brosme, has a single dorsal fin Opisthomi and Anacanthini 74.5 only. It is a large fish found on both shores of the North Atlan- tic, but rather rare on our coasts. Fossil codfishes are not numerous. Fragments thought to belong to this family are found in English Eocene rocks. Nemopteryx troscheli, from the Oligocene of Glarus, has three dorsal fins and a lunate caudal fin. Other forms have been referred with more or less doubt to Gadus, Brosmius, Strinsia, and Melanogrammus. Gill separates the “three-forked hake” (Raniceps trifur- cus) of northern Europe as a distinct family, Ranicipitide. In this species the head is very large, broad and depressed, differ- ing in this regard from the codlings and hakes, which have also two dorsal fins. The deep-water genus, Bathyonus, is also regarded as a distinct family, Bathyonide. The Hakes: Merluciide.—Better defined than these families Fic. 659.—California Hake, Merluccius productus (Ayres). Seattle. is the family of hakes, Merluciide. These pike-like codfishes have the skull peculiarly formed, the frontal bones being paired, excavated above, with diverging crests continuous forward from the forked occipital crest. The species are large fishes, very voracious, without barbels, with the skeleton papery and the flesh generally soft. The various species are all very much alike, large, ill-favored fishes with strong teeth and a ragged appearance, the flesh of fair quality. Merluccius merluccius, the hake or stock-fish, is common in Europe; Merluccius bilinearis, the silver hake, is common in New England, Merluccius pro- ductus in California, and Merluccius gayi in Chile. The Grenadiers: Macrouride.— The large family of grena- diers, or rat-tails, Macrouride, is confined entirely to the oceanic 746 Opisthomi and Anacanthini depths, especially of the north Atlantic and Pacific. The head is formed much as in the codfishes, with usually a barbel at the chin. There are two dorsals, the second like the anal being low, but the leptocercal tail is very long and tapering, ending in a fila- Fic. 660.—Coryphenoides carapinus (Goode & Bean), showing leptoceral tail. Gulf Stream. ment. without caudal fin. The scales are usually rough and spinous. The species are usually large in size, and dull gray or black in color. The best-known genus is Macrourus. Macrourus berglax is found on both shores of the north Atlantic. Macrourus Fic. 661.—Grenadier, Celorhynchus carminatus Goode & Bean. Martha’s Vineyard. bairdi is abundant in off-shore dredgings from Cape Cod to Cuba. Macrourus cinereus, the pop-eye grenadier, outnumbers all other fishes in the depths of Bering Sea. Calorhynchus japonicus is often taken by fishermen in Japan. Coryphenotdes rupestris is common in the north Atlantic. Bogoslovius clarkt and Albatrossia pectoralis were dredged by the Albatross about the voleanic island of Bogoslof. Trachyrhynchus trachyrhynchus is characteristic of the Mediterranean. Nematonurus goodei is common in the Gulf Stream, and Dolloa longifilis is found off Opisthomi and Anacanthini 747 Japan. Other prominent genera are Bathygadus, Gadomus, Re- gania, and Stetndachnerella. | Fic. 662.—Steindachnerella argentea (Goode & Bean). Gulf Stream. The Murenolepide are deep-sea fishes, with minute eel-like scales, and no caudal fin. The ventrals are five-rayed and there are 10 pterygials. ORDER PEDICULATI: THE ANGLERS HIME Angler-fishes.—The few remaining fishes possess also ; : CHAPTER XLVI | lary jugular ventral fins, but in other regards they show so P| many peculiarities of structure that we may well con- ; sider them as forming a distinct order, Pediculati (pedicula, a foot-stalk), although the relation of these forms to the : Batrachoidide seems a very close one. The most salient character of the group is the reduction and : backward insertion of the gill-opening, which is behind the pectoral fins, not in front of them as in all other fishes. The hypocoracoid and hypercoracoid are much elongate and greatly changed in form, so that the pectoral fin is borne on the end of a sort of arm. The large ventrals are similarly more or less ex- serted. The spinous dorsal is much reduced, the first spine being modified to form a so-called fishing-rod, projecting over the mouth with a fleshy pad, lure, or bait at its tip. The form of the body varies much in the different families. The scales are lost or changed to prickles and the whole aspect is very singular, and in many cases distinctly frog-like. The species are mostly tropical, some living in tide-pools and about coral reefs, some ‘on sandy shores, others in the oceanic abysses. The nearest allies of the Pediculates among normal fishes are probably the Batrachotdide. One species of Lophiide is recorded among the fossils, Lophius brachysomus, from the Eocene of Monte Bolca. No fossil Antennartide are known. Fossil teeth from the Cretaceous of Patagonia are doubtfully named “ Lophius patagonicus.”’ The Fishing-frogs: Lophiide.—In the most generalized family, that of the fishing-frogs (Lophiide), the body is very much depressed, the head the largest part of it. The mouth is exces- sively wide, with strong jaw-muscles, and strong sharp teeth. 748 Order Pediculati: The Anglers 749 The skin is smooth, with dermal flaps about the head. Over the mouth, like a fishing-rod, hangs the first dorsal spine with a lure at the tip. The fishes lie flat on the bottom with sluggish move- ments except for the convulsive snap of the jaws. It has*beén denied that the bait serves to attract small fishes to their destruc- tion, but the current belief that it does so is certainly plausible. Mr. Saville Kent recently expressed doubt as to whether the fishing-frogs really use the first spine for purposes of angling. In no other group, however, is the coloring more distinctly that of the rocks and alge among which the fishes lurk. The great fishing-frog of the North Atlantic, Lophius piscato- rius, is also known as angler, monkfish, goosefish, allmouth, « Fig. 663 —Anko or Fishing-frog, Lophius litulon (Jordan). Matsushima Bay, Japan. wide-gape, kettleman, and bellows-fish. It is common in shal- low water both in America and Europe, ranging southward to Cape Hatteras and to the Mediterranean. It reaches a length of three feet or more. A fisherman told Mr. Goode that “he once saw a struggle in the water, and found that a goosefish had swallowed the head and neck of a large loon, which had pulled it to the surface and was trying to escape. There is authentic record of seven wild ducks having been taken from the stomach of one of them. Slyly approaching from below, they seize birds as they float upon the surface.” 750 Order Pediculati: The Anglers The genus Lophius of northern range has a vertebral col- umn of about thirty vertebree. Lophius litulon occurs in Japan. In the North Pacific is found Lophiomus, similar in appearance but smaller in size, ranging southward to the equator, a southern fish having but eighteen vertebrae. Lophiomus setigerus is the common anko of Japan, and other species are recorded from Hawaii and the Galapagos. The Sea-devils: Ceratiide.—The sea-devils, or Ceratiid@, are degenerate anglers of various forms, found in the depths of the arctic seas. The body is compressed, the mouth vertical; the substance is very soft, and the color uniform black. Dr. Gunther thus speaks of them: “The bathybial sea-devils are degraded forms of Lophius; they descend to the greatest depths of the ocean. Their bones Fic. 664 —Cryptopsaras couesi Gill. Gulf Stream. are of an extremely light and thin texture, and frequently other parts of their organization, their integuments, muscles, and intestines, are equally loose in texture when the specimens are brought to the surface. In their habits they probably do not differ in any degree from their surface representative, Lophius. The number of the dorsal spines is always reduced, and at the end of the series of these species only one spine remains, with a Order Pediculati: The Anglers 751 simple, very small lamella at the extremity (Melanocetus john- sont, Melanocetus murrayi). In other forms sometimes a Fic. 666—Caulophryne jordani Goode & Bean. Gulf Stream. Family Ceratiide. second cephalic spine, sometimes a spine on the back of the trunk, is preserved. The first cephalic spine always retains the original function of a lure for other marine creatures, but to render it more effective a special luminous organ is sometimes 752 Order Pediculati: The Anglers developed in connection with the filaments with which its ex- tremity is provided (Ceratias bispinosus, Onetrodes eschrichtit). So far as known at present these complicated tentacles attain to the highest degree of development in Himantolophus and AZge@onichthys. In other species very peculiar dermal appen- dages are developed, either accompanying the spine on the back or replacing it. They may be paired or form a group of three, are pear-shaped, covered with common skin, and perforated at the top, a delicate tentacle sometimes issuing from the foramen,”’ Of the fifteen or twenty species of Ceratitde described, none aa Fic. 667—Sargassum-fish, Plerophryne tumida (Osbeck), Florida. Family Antennariide. are common and all are rare catches of the deep-sea dredge. Caulophryne jordant is remarkable for its large fins and the luminous filaments, Linophryne lucifer for its large head, and Corynolophus reinhardti for its luminous fishing-bulb. The Frogfishes: Antennariide.—The frogfishes, Antennartide, belong to the tropical seas and rarely descend far below the sur- face. Most of them abound about sand-banks or coral reefs, especially along the shores of the East and West Indies, where they creep along the rocks like toads. Some are pelagic, drifting Order Pediculati: The Anglers 753 about in floating masses of seaweed. All are fantastic in form and color, usually closely imitating the objects about them. The body is compressed, the mouth nearly vertical, and the skin either prickly or provided with fleshy slips. The species of Pterophryne live in the open sea, drifting with the currents in masses of sargassum. Two species, Pterophryne tumida and Pterophryne gibba, are found in the West Indies and Gulf Stream. Two others very similar, Pterophryne histrio and Pterophryne ranina, live in the East Indies and drift in the Kuro Fic. 668 —Fishing-frog, Antennarius nox Jordan. Wakanoura, Japan. Shiwo of Japan. All these are light olive-brown with fantastic black markings. The genus Antennarius contains species of the shoals and reefs, with markings which correspond to the colors of the rocks. These fishes are firm in texture with a velvety skin, and the pre- vailing color is brown and red. There are many species wher- ever reefs are found. Antennarius ocellatus, the pescador, is the commonest West Indian species. Antennarius multiocel- latus, with many ocellated spots, is the Martin Pescador of Cuba, also common. On the Pacific coast of Mexico the commonest species is Antennarius strigatus. In Japan, Antennarius tridens abounds everywhere on the muddy bottoms of the bays. Antennarius 754 Order Pediculati: the Anglers nox is a jet-black species of the Japanese reefs, and Antennarius sanguifluus is spotted with blood-red in imitation of coralline patches. Many other species abound in the East Indies and in (Fie. 669.—Shoulder-girdle of a Batfish, Ogcocephalus radiatus (Mitchill). Polynesia. The genus Chaunax is represented by several deep- water species of the West Indies, Japan, etc. The Gigactinide of the deep seas differ from the Ogcoce- phalide, according to Boulenger, in the absence of ventrals. Fic. 670-—Frogfish, Antennarus scaber (Cuvier). Puerto Rico. The Batfishes: Ogcocephalide.—The batfishes, Ogcocephalide, are anglers with the body depressed and covered with hard bony warts. The mouth is small and the bony bases of the eS ene Order Pediculati: the Anglers FAN pectoral and ventral fins are longer than in any other of the anglers. The species live in the warm seas, some in very shallow water, others descending to great depths, the deep-sea forms being small and more or less devenerate. These walk along like toads on the sea-bottoms; the ventrals, being jugular, act as fore legs and the pectorals extend behind them as hind legs. The common sea-bat, or diablo, of the West Indies, Ogcocepha- lus vespertilio, is dusky in color with the belly coppery red. It reaches the length of a foot. The angling spine is very short, hidden under the long stiff process of the snout. Farther north Fia. 671.—Ogcocephalus vespertilio (L.). Florida. occurs the short-nosed batfish, Ogcocephalus radiatus, very simi- lar, but with the nostril process, or snout, blunt and short. Zali- eutes elater, with a large black eye-like spot on each side of the back, is found on the west coast of Mexico. In deeper water are species of Halieutichthys in the West Indies and of Halieutea in Japan. Dzbranchus atlanticus has the gills reduced to two pairs. Malthopsis consists of small species, with the rostrum prominent, like a bishop’s miter. Two species are found in the Pacific, Malthopsis mitrata in Hawaii and Malthopsis tiarella in Japan. And with these dainty freaks of the sea, the results of cen- turies on centuries of specialization, degeneration, and adapta- tion, we close the long roll-call of the fishes, living and dead. 756 Order Pediculati: the Anglers And in their long genealogy is enfolded the genealogy of men and beasts and birds and reptiles and of all other back-boned animals of whom the fish-like forms are at once the ancestors, the cousins, and the younger brothers. When the fishes of the Devonian age came out upon the land, the potentiality of the Fic. 672.—Batfish, Ogcocephalus vespertilio (L.). Florida. higher methods of life first became manifest. With the new conditions, more varied and more exacting, higher and more varied specialization was demanded, and, in response to these new conditions, from a fish-like stock have arisen all the birds and beasts and men that have dwelt upon the earth. Py Fic, 673.—Batfish, Ogcocephalus vespertilio (Linneeus). Carolina Coast. THE END. RESUME OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF FISHES AND FISH-LIKE VERTEBRATES We here present a résumé of the classification of the families and higher groups of fishes and of the other aquatic Chordata, as adopted in this yolume, a few slight changes being made in certain groups. The names of extinct families are printed in italics. Branch or Phylum CHORDATA Division PROTOCHORDATA Class ENTEROPNEUSTA Order ADELOCHORDATA Harrimaniide Glandicepitide Balanoglossidz Class TUNICATA Order LARVACEA Appendiculariide Order ASCIDIACEA Ascidiidee Cynthiide Clavellinide Molgulid Botryllide Polystyelidze Didemnide Distomide Polyclinide Pyrosomide Order THALIACEA Salpide Division VERTEBRATA Class LEPTOCARDII Branchiostomide (Lancelets) Class CYCLOSTOMI Order HYPEROTRETA Eptatretide (Borers) Myxinide (Hagfishes) 757 758 Classification of Fishes Order HYPEROARTIA Petromyzonide (Lampreys) Mordaciide Class ELASMOBRANCHII Subclass SELACHIT Order PLEUROPTERYGII Cladoselachide Order ACANTHODEI Acanthoesside Diplacanthide Ischnacanthide Order ICHTH YOTOMI Pleuracanthide Order NOTIDANI Hexanchide (Cow-sharks) Chlamydoselachide (Frill-sharks) Order CESTRACIONTES Cochliodontide Hybodontide Orodontide Heterodontide (Bull-head Sharks) Psammodontide Tamiobatide Order ASTEROSPONDYLI (GALEOIDEI) Scylliorhinide (Cat-sharks) Hemiscylliide Orectolobide Ginglymostomide (Nurse-sharks) Odontaspidide (Sand-sharks) Mitsukurinide (Goblin-sharks) Alopiide (Threshers) Pseudotriakide Lamnide (Man-eater Sharks) Cetorhinide (Basking-sharks) Rhineodontide Carchariide (Common Sharks) Sphyrnide (Hammer-head Sharks) Order TECTOSPONDYLI (SQUALOIDED) Squalide (Dog-fishes) Dalatiide Echinorhinide (Bramble-sharks) 4 { } Classification of Fishes 759 Order TECTOSPONDYLI (SQUALOIDEI)—Continued Squatinide (Angel-sharks) Pristiophoride (Saw-sharks) Order BATOIDEI (HYPOTREMA) Pristidz (Sawfishes) Rhinobatide (Guitar-fishes) Rajide (Skates) Narcobatide (Torpedoes) Petalodontide Pristodontide Dasyatide (Sting-rays) Aétobatide (Eagle-rays) Psammodontide Mobulide (Devil-rays) Subclass HOLOCEPHALI Order CHIM/EROIDEI Chimeride (Chimeras) Rhinochimeride Callorhynchide (Bottle-nose Chimeras) Ptyctodontide Squalorajide _ Myriacanthide Class OSTRACOPHORI Order HETEROSTRACI Thelodontide Psammosteide Drepanas pide Pteras pide Order OSTEOST RACI Cephalas pide Thyestide Odontodontide Order ANTIARCHA Asterolepide Order ANASPIDA Birkeniide Class TELEOSTOMI Subclass CROSSOPTERYGII Order HAPLISTIA Tarrasstide 760 Classification of Fishes Order RHIPIDISTIA Holoptychiide Megalichthyide Osteole pide Onychodontide Order ACTINISTIA Celacanthide Order CLADISTIA Polypteride (Bichirs) Subclass DIPNEUSTI Series SIRENOIDEA Order CTENODIPTERINI Uronemide Dipteride Ctenodontide Order SIRENOIDEI Ceratodontide (Barramundas) Lepidosirenide (Loalaches) Series ARTHRODIRA Order STEGOPHTHALAMI Macro petalichthyide Asterosteide Order TEMNOTHORACI Chelonichthyide Order ARTHROTHORACI Coccosteide Dinichthyide Titanichthyide Mylostomide Selenosteide Order CYCLIZ Palos pondylide Subclass ACTINOPTERI Series GANOIDEI Order LYSOPTERI Paleoniscide Platysomide Dorypteride _Dictyo pygide Order CHONDROSTEI Chondrosteide Classification of Fishes 761 Order CHONDROSTEI—Continued Belonorhynchide Acipenseride (Sturgeons) Order SELACHOSTOMI Polyondontide (Paddle-fishes) Order PYVCNODONTI Pycnodontide Order HOLOSTEIL (RHOMBOGANOIDEA) Semionotide Lepidotide Isopholide Macrosemiide Aspidorhynchide Order GINGLYMODI Lepisosteide (Garpikes) Order HALECOMORPHI (CYCLOGANOIDEI) Pachycormide Protos phyrenide Liodesmide Amiatidz (Bowfins) Series TELEOSTEI Order ISOSPONDYLI Pholido phoride Archeomenide Oligopleuride Leptolepide Elopide (Ten-pounders) Megalopide (Tarpons) ‘Spaniodontide Pachyrhizodontide Albulidz (Lady-fishes) Thryptodontide Chanide (Milk-fishes) Pterothrissidz Hiodontide (Moon-eyes) Chirocentride (Dorabs) Ichthyodectide Ctenothrisside Phractolemide Notopteridx Clupeide (Herrings) Classification of Fishes Order ISOSPONDYLI—Continued Engraulide (Anchovies) Dorosomide (Gizzard-shads) Osteoglosside Phareodontide =| Pantodontide Alepocephalide Gonorhynchidz Cromeriide Salmonide (Salmon and Trout) Thymallide (Graylings) Argentinide (Smelts) Microstomide Salangide (Ice-fishes) Stomiatide Astronesthide Malacosteide Chauliodontide Gonostomatide Aulopide Synodontide (Lizard-fishes) Benthosauride Bathypteroide Ipnopide Rondeletiide Cetomimide Myctophide (Lantern-fishes) Chirothricide Rhinellide Exocoetoidide Mauroliciide Plagyodontide (Lancet-fishes) Evermannellide Paralepide Sternoptychide Idiacanthide Enchodontide 1] Dercetide . Stratodontide | Order LYOPOMI | Halosauride ; Classification of Fishes 763 Order SYMBRANCHIA Suborder ICHTHYOCEPHALI Monopteride (Rice-eels) Suborder HOLOSTOMI Symbranchidee Amphipnoid Chilobranchide Order APODES Suborder ARCHENCHELI Urenchelyide Suborder ENCHELYCEPHALI Anguillide (Eels) Simenchelyide (Pug-nosed Eels) Synaphobranchide Leptocephalide (Conger-eels) Mureenesocide Ilyophide Heterocongride Myride Dysommide Ophichthyide (Snake-eels) Nettastomide (Duck-billed Eels) Nemichthyide (Snake-eels) Suborder COLOCEPHALI Murenide (Morays) Myrocongridz Moringuide Order CARENCHELI Derichthyide Order LYOMERI Eurypharyngide (Gulpers) Saccopharyngide Order HETEROMI Pronotacanthide Notacanthide (Spring-eels) Lipogenyidz Order OSTARIOPHYSI Suborder HETEROGNATHI Characide (Characins) Erythrinide 704 Classification of Fishes Suborder EVENTOGNATHI Cyprinide (Carp and Minnows) Catostomide (Suckers) Cobitide (Loaches) Homalopteriide Kneriide Suborder NEMATOGNATHI Diplomystide Siluride (Catfishes) Sisoride Bunocephalide Plotoside Chacide Clariide Hypophthalmide Pygidiidz Argidz Loricariide Callichthyide Suborder GYMNONOTI Electrophoride (Electric Eels) Gymnotide (Carapos) Order SCYPHOPHORI Mormyride Gymnarchide Haplochitonide Galaxiide (New Zealand Trout) Order HAPLOMI Esocide (Pikes) Umbride (Mud-minnows) Peeciliide (Killifishes) Amblyopside (Cave Blindfishes) Crossognathide Cobito pside Order XENOMI Dalliide (Blackfishes) Order ACANTHOPTERI Suborder SYNENTOGNATHI Belonide (Garfishes) Exoccetide (Flying-fishes) Classification of Fishes 765 Suborder PERCESOCES Atherinidee (Silversides) Mugilide (Mullets) Sphyrenide (Barracudas) Suborder RHEGNOPTERI Polynemide (Thread-fins) Suborder HEMIBRANCHII Gasterosteide (Sticklebacks) Aulorhynchide Protosyngnathide Fistulariide (Cornet-fishes) Aulostomidze (Trumpet-fishes) Macrorhamphoside (Snipe-fishes) Uros phenide Kham phoside Centriscidze (Shrimp-fishes) Suborder LOPHOBRANCHII Solenostomide Syngnathide (Pipefishes and Sea-horses) Suborder HYPOSTOMIDES Pegaside (Sea-moths) Suborder SALMOPERCAE Percopside (Trout-perch) Erismato plerid @ Suborder SELENICHTHYES Lampride (Opahs) Semiophoride Suborder ZEOIDEA Amphistiide Zeide (John-dories) Grammicolepide Suborder BERYCOIDEA Berycide (Alfonsinos) Trachichthyide Holocentride (Soldier-fishes) Polymixiide Monocentrid# (Pine-cone Fishes) Stephanoberycide Suborder PERCOMORPHI Group SCOMBROIDEA Scombride (Mackerels) 706 Classification of Fishes Group SCOMBROIDEA—Continued Gempylide (Escolars) Lepidopide (Frost-fishes) Trichiuridz (Cutlass-fishes) Paleorhynchide Istiophoride (Sailfishes) Xiphiide (Swordfishes) Carangide (Cavallas) Nematistiide (Papagallos) Vomeropside Cheilodipteride (Pomatomide) (Bluefishes) | Rachycentride (Sergeant-fishes) Stromateide (Harvest-fishes) Icosteide (Ragfishes) Acrotide t Zaproride , Bramide (Pomfrets) Steinegeriide Pteraclide Coryphenide (Dolphins) Equulide Lactariide : Menide Luvaride (Louvars) Pempheride Bathyclupeide Tetragonuride Group PERCOIDEA Centrarchide (Sunfishes) Aphredoderide (Pirate-perches) Kuhliide (Seseles) Elassomide (Pygmy-perches) Oxylabracidze (Centropomide) (Robalos) Percide (Perches and Darters) Apogonide (Apogonichthyide) (Cardinal-fishes) Ambasside (Parambassidz) Scombropidz Acropomide Enoplosid Anomalopidz Asineopide a aes j : ; } Classification of Fishes 767 Group PERCOIDEA—Continued Serranide (Basses and Groupers) Lobotide (Flashers) Priacanthide (Big-eyes) Histiopteridz Lutianide (Snappers) Cesionide Hemulide (Grunts) Scorpidae Sparide (Porgies) Meenidze (Picarels) Gerridze (Mojarras) Kyphoside (Rudder-fishes) Mullidee (Goat-fishes) Scieenide (Croakers) Sillaginidze Oplegnathide (Stone-wall Fishes) Nandide Polycentride Pseudochromidee Opisthognathide (Jawfishes) Trichodontide (Sand-fishes) Chiasmodontide (Swallowers) Champsodontide Malacanthidee (Matajuelos) Latilide (Blanquillos) Pinguipedidz Cepolidz (Ribbon-fishes) Cirrhitide (Hawk-fishes) Latridide (Trumpeters) Aplodactylidze Suborder KURTOIDEA Kurtide Suborder LABYRINTHICI Anabantidx (Climbing-fishes) Osphromenide (Gouramies) Helostomide Luciocephalidz Ophicephalidz (Snakefishes) Suborder HOLCONOTI Embiotocide (Surf-fishes) Classification of Fishes Suborder CHROMIDES Cichlide (Cichlids) Pomacentride (Demoiselles) Suborder PHARYNGOGNATHI Labride (Wrasses) Scaride (Scarichthyide) (Parrot-fishes) Odacide Siphonognathide Suborder SQUAMIPINNES Antigoniide (Boarfishes) Toxotide (Archers) Ephippide Tlarchide (Spadefishes) Drepanide Platacide (Batfishes) Chetodontide (Butterfly-fishes) Zanclide (Moorish idols) Acanthurid (Surgeons) Suborder AMPHACANTHI Siganide Suborder SCLERODERMI * Triacanthide Balistide (Trigger-fishes) Monacanthide (Filefishes) Spinacanthide Suborder OSTRACODERMI * Ostraciide (Trunkfishes) Suborder GYMDODONTES * Triodontide (Pursefishes) Chonerhinidze Tetraodontide (Puffers) Diodontide (Rabbit-fishes) Heptadiodontdie , Molidz (Headfishes) Suborder GOBIOIDEA Gobiide (Gobies) Oxudercidee Suborder DISCOCEPHALI Echeneide (Remoras) * These three suborders constitute the series called Plectognathi. Classification of Fishes Suborder SCLEROPAREI Scorpenide (Rockfishes) Caracanthide Anoplopomatid (Skil-fishes) Ophiodontide (Blue Cods) Oxylebiide Zaniolepide Hexagrammide (Greenlings) Platycephalide Hoplichthyide Bembridz Cottidz (Sculpins) Ereuniidz Rhamphocottide Comephoridz (Baikal-fishes) Agonidz (Sea-poachers) Cyclopteridee (Lumpfishes) Liparide (Snailfishes) Suborder CRANIOMI Triglidee (Gurnards) Peristediide =~ Cephalacanthide (Flying Gurnards) Suborder TAXSNIOSOMI Lophotidee Regalecide (Oarfishes) Trachypteride (Dealfishes) Stylephoride Suborder HETEROSOMATA Pleuronectide (Flounders) Soleidz (Soles) Suborder JUGULARES Trachinide (Weevers) Calli plerygide Nototheniidz Harpagiferide Bovichthyide Percophide Pteropsaridz Bathymasteridze (Ronquils) Leptoscopidee Uranoscopide (Star-gazers) 769 If? Classification of Fishes Suborder JUGULARES—Continued Dactyloscopidz Callionymide (Dragonets) Rhyacichthyide Trichonotide Hemeroceetide Blenniide (Blennies) Xiphidiide (Gunnels) Ptilichthyidz (Quillfishes) Xiphasiide Patecide Blochiide Gnathanacanthide Acanthoclinide Gadopside Cerdalide Anarrhichadide (Wolf-fishes) Cryptacanthodide (Wry-mouths) Zoarcide (Eel-pouts) Scytalinide Congrogadide Derepodichthyide Xenocephalide Ophidiidz (Cusk-eels) Lycodapodide Ammodytide (Sand-lances) Bleekeriide Tierasferide (Pearl fishes) Brotulide (Brotulas) Bregmacerotide . Suborder HAPLODOCI Batrachoidide (Toadfishes) Suborder XENOPTERYGII Gobiesocide (Clingfishes) Suborder OPISTHOMI Mastacembelide Suborder ANACANTHINI Gadide (Codfishes) Ranicipitide Bathyonide Merluciide (Hakes) Classification of Fishes 771 . ; Suborder ANACANTHINI—Continued Macruridee (Grenadiers) ' Ateleopodide Murenolepidae Order PEDICULATI Lophiid (Fishing-frogs) a = Ceratiida qn Antennariide (Frogfishes) Gigantactinide Ogcocephalide (Sea-bats) INDEX : oe - : . beshow, 649 bottle-nosed ceaeans evg of, | Carangus, 490* ee biajaiba, 550* 34* carp, 382, 389 = bowfins, 262* bigeye, 546*, 547 bishop-fish, 151 black angel-fish, 614* black bass, 516 Hallock on, 517 Henshall on, 517 large-mouthed, 519 small-mouthed, 134*, 518 black-fin s apper, 550 black grouper, 5390 black nohu, 52*, 647* black-nosed dace, 383* black roneador, 570 black-sided darter, 526* black swallower, 27*, 574* Gill on, 574 brown tang, 53%, 619* destroyed by lampreys, black tai, 558 Brycon, 381 177* blackfish, Alaska, 423* Bryostemma, 721*, 724* electric, 58*, 4o2* bIacksmith, 592 budai, 601 fossil, 405 Brachymystax, 291 brain or sensorium, 39 of fish, 11 of monkfish, 204* Branchiostoma, 165* bream, 382 Bregmacerotide, 734 Brevoortia, 277* bristly globefishes, 633* brit, 434* broad soles 705 brook-trout, 333 334*, 335 Brotula, 734* Brotulide, 733 Carpiodes, 392* carp-suckers, 391, 392* casabes, 491 Cassiquaire, through, 116 catadromous fishes, 48 Catalina flying-fish, 43*, 430, 431* catalineta, 555 catalufa, 545* catalufa de lo alto, 504* catalufas, 503 catfishes, African, 51, 396-406 channel, 398, 300* dispersion catfishes, Old World, 401 sea, 397, 398* spine of, 396 Catostomide, 390 Catostomus, 393 pharyngeal teeth of, 394 Caularchus, 70, 738* Caulophryne, 751* causes of dispersion, 127 cavallas, 481, 487-507 cave-fish, 420 Cayuga Lake, lampreys of, 173-178 centers of distribution, 97 central fact of distribution, 95 Centrarchide, 5 2 Centriscidz, 449 Centropomus, 133* Cephalacanthide, 669 Cephalacanthus, 668* Cepolide, 577 Ceratias, 751* Ceratiide, 750 Ceratocottus, 655* Ceratodontidz, family of, 239 Ceratodus, teeth of, 240* Ceratoscopelus, 356* Cerdalidz, 726 Cestraciont sharks, teeth of, 188* Cetomimus, 355* Cetorhinidz, family of, 196 Cetorhinus, 197* Chetodipterus, 134*, 612* Chetodon, 613* Chetodontide, 613 Chamsodontide, 575 Chanide, 271 Channa, 585* channel-bass, 569 channel-cat, 398 channel-catfish, 399* Chanos, 272* characters of Elasmobranchs, 181 charr, 330 Chauliodus, 352* Cheilodipteride, 493 Cheilodipterus, 494* Chiasmodon, 27*, 574* Chiasmodontide, 574 Chilomycterus, 634* Chimera, 222* chimeras, 218-223 Dean on, 220 relationship of, 220 skeleton of, 221* Woodward on, 219 Chimeride, family of, 221 China-fishes, 585 chirivita, 616 Chirostoma, 138*, 434* Index Chirothricide, 356 | Chirothrix, 273 Chlamydoselachide, of, 186 Chlamydoselachus, 186* Chlarias, 404* Chlariide, 403 Chlevastes, 86 chogset, 598 Chologaster, 419* Chondrostei, order of, 253 Chondrosteus, 254* Chonerhinide, 632 chopa blanco, 564 chopa spina, 560 Chromides, 591-607 suborder, 591 chub mackerel, 476 chub of Great Basin, 388* chub of Pacific slope, 388 chub-sucker, 124%, 391* chum, 295 Cichlide, 591 Ciguatera, 54, 56,: 57, 549, 622, 624 family Cirrhitide, 577 Cirrhitus, 578* cisco, 289, 290* Cladistia, order of, 231 Cladoselache, 183* Clark, handwriting and sketch by, 348* classification of bony fishes, 265 of Dipnoans, 238 of Elasmobranchs, 181 of Ganoids, 249 climbing-fish, Gill on, 580 climbing-perch, 580* clingfishes, 70*, 737, 738* sucking-disks of, 70 Clupea, 140*, 275* Clupeide, 275 Clupeoidea, 268 coalfish, 649 cobbler-fish, 491 cobia, 497 Cobitopside, 439 Cobitopsis, 439* cockeye-pilot, 594* codfishes, 140*, 740* dwarf, 743 eggs of, 741 Ccelacanthus, 230* coho, 295 collecting, methods of, 158 collection of fishes, 157-162 Colocephali, suborder of, 371 Colorado River trout, 329* coloration, effect of spirits on, 88 intensity of, 85 nuptial, 83 777 coloration, recognition-marks, 84 sexual, 83 variation of pattern, 88 colors of fishes, 79-89 Columbia, 457* Comephorid, 666 common eel, 366* filefish, 54*, 626* skate, 209* sturgeon, 255* sucker, 393* sunfish, 6*, 516* conejo, 482 conger-eels, 368, 369* larva of, 369* Congrogadide, 729 continents, map of, 92 coral-reef fishes, 88 coral reefs, at Apia, 87* Corax, teeth of, 200* Coregonus, 130*, 286, 287%, 288* cormorant fishing, 142*, 143, 144*, 339 Whitney on, 339 cornet-fishes, 448 coronado, 488 corsair, 641 Corynolophus, 60* Coryphena, 502 Coryphenoides, 746* Cottide, 652 Cottus, 657* Cowfish, 627* skeleton of, 31*, 629* cow-shark, 184* crab-eater, 497 Prime on, 497 Craniomi, suborder of, 667 crappie, 387, 512*, 513* cravo, 459 creekfish, 391* crested bandfishes, 506 Cristivomer, 337* croakers, 565-578 Crossognathidx, 439 Crossopterygian fish, 228%, Crossopterygians, orders of, 228 Crossopterygil, 224-234 Cryptacanthodes, 726* Cryptacanthodidx, 726 Cryptopsaras, 750* Cryptotomus, 602* crystal darter, 528* goby, 677 Crystallaria, 528* Crystallias, 665* 778 Ctenodipterini, order of, 238 Ctenothrissa, 274* Ctenothrissidx, 274 Cuban fishes, 123 cubero, 549 cub-shark, 199* cuckold, 627* cultus cod, 651* cunner, 598 cusk, 744 cusk-eel, 730* cutlass-fishes, 482, 483* cutthroat-trout, 325 Evermann on, 326 Cycliz, 245 Cyclopteride, 664 Cyclopterus, 665* [202 Cyclospondyli, suborder of, Cyclostomes, 167-178 extinct, 168 orders of, 168 Cymatogaster, 32*, 586* Cynoglossine, 708 Cynoscion, 567* Cyprinide, 382 fossil, 393 number of species, 384 Cyprinodon, 415* Cypselurus, 43*, 431* dace, 382 black-nosed, 383* species of, 385 Dactyloscopide, 716 daddy-sculpin, 656 Dalatiide, family of, 203 Daldorf, on tree-climber, 49 Dallia, 423* Damalichthys, 588* damsel-fishes, 592, 593* indigo, 595* darters, black-sided, 525, 526* blue-breasted, 529* crystal, 528 fantail, 530 goby, 673* green-sided, 1or*, 527* johnny, 528 ; least, 530 rainbow, 530 relation to perch, 521 sand, 528 tessellated, 527 Dasyatide, 212 Dasyatis, roo, 213* Davis, on planting of salmon- fry, 309 day-chub, head of, 386* dealfishes, 687, 688* Dean, on chimeras, 220 on lateral line, 21 Index Death Valley fish, 418* deep-sea angler, 751* Derepodichthyidx, 730 Derichthys, 375* devil-ray, 216* diablo, 755 diamond-fishes, 609 Diaphus, 355* Dictyopygide, 252 Diodon, 15*, 633* Diodontide, 633 Diplesion, 101*, 527* Diplodus, 560* Diplomystus, 278* Dipnoans, classification of, 238 Discocephali, 670-690 Gill on, 681 Dismal Swamp fish, 419* dispersion, causes still operation, 127 dissection of the fish, 24- 31 distribution, agency of ocean currents, in 6 barriers against, 97 centers of, 97 effect of temperature, 95 equatorial zone, 104 of fresh-water fishes, 103 laws of, gt of littoral fishes, ror local barriers to, 107 of marine fishes, 99 northem zone of, 103 southern zone of, 105 doctor-fish, 618 dogfish, 202* dogoro, 592 dog-salmon, 295 dog-snapper, 550 dollar-fish, 498 Dolly Varden 336%, 337* dolphin, 502* Doncella, 106*, 607* dorado, 502* Doras, Giinther on, 402 dormeur, 671* Dormitator, 672* Dorosoma, 297* Dorosomatidz, 279 dorsal fin, of Holoptychius, 229* Dorypterid, 251 Dorypterus, 252 Draciscus, 663* dragonets, 714 drum, 572* trout, 136, eagle-ray, 215* Ebisu, 557* Echeneidide, 679 Echinorhinide, 204 economic fisheries, 142 eel-back flounder, 704* eel, common, 366* eel-fairs, 365 eel, food of, 366 larva of, 366, 367 eel-like fishes, 362-377 eel-pout, 728*, 729* eels, 362 conger,’ 368, 369* duck-bill, 370 long-necked, 372 pug-nosed, 367 snake, 369 species of, 367 family of, 88s ; of bottle-nosed chimera, 34* of fishes, 32, 34* of hagfish, 34* of Port Jackson shark, 35*, 188* eighteeen-spined sculpin, 658* Elasmobranchii, 180-217 Elasmobranchs, characters of, 181 clas-ification of, 181 subclasses of, 182 Elassoma, 510* Elassomide, 511 electric catfish, 58*, 4o2* electric eel, 58 electric fishes, 58 Electris, 671* elephant-fish, 222* Elopide, 269 Elops, 269* Embiotocide, 587 Emblemaria, 720* Embolichthys, 731* embryo, of Lepidosiren, 243* Emmydrichthys, 52*, 647* Empetrichthys, 418* Enchelycephali, suborder of, 365 Enchelyopus, 744* Engraulidide, 280 Enophrys, 654* Entosphenus, 175* Ephippide, 61x Epinephelus, 18*, 538*, 539*, 540* 543* equatorial fishes, to2 zone of distribution, 104 Ereunias, 661* Ericymba, 384* Erimyzon, 124, 391* Erismatopteride, 457 Erismatopterus, 457* Erpetoichthys, 234* escolars, 482 esmeralda de mar, 672* Esocidz, 409 Esox, 137*, 410*, 411* Etelis, 551* Etheostoma, 84*, 529* Etheostomine, 525 Etmopterus, 61*, 203* Etropus, 699* eulachon, 129*, 347* sketch by Clark, 348* Eupomotis, 6*, 12*, 516* European chub, pharyngeal bones of, 382* European soles, 706 Eurynotus, 251* Eurypholis, 359*, 360* Eutzniichthys, 678* Eyventognathi, 382 everglade minnow, 416* pigmy perch, 510* Evermann, on golden trout, 323 on Two-Ocean Pass, 117 Exerpes, 721* Exoceetide, 427 Exoglossum, head of, 386* Exonautes, 429* exoskeleton, 18 exterior of fish, 14-23 extinction of species, 93 eves, of flounders, 74 fading of pigment, 888 fair-maid, 558 fallfish, 386 family Alopiide, 193 Anguillide, 365 Ceratodontide, 239 Cetorhinidz, 196 Chimeride, 221 Chlamydoselachide, 186 Dalatiidz, 203 Echinorhinide, 204 Heterodontide, 188 Hexanchide, 185 Lamnide, 194 Lepisosteide, 259 Mitsukurinide, 191 Mobulide, 216 Moringuide, 372 Pristiophoride, 205 Psammodontide, 215 Pseudotriakid, 193 Rhineodontide, 197 Scylliorhinide, 189 Sphyrnide, 200 Squalidz, 202 fantail darter, 530 Index fathead, 599 faunal areas, 102 favorable waters have most species, 110 Felichthys, 398* fiatola, 498 Fierasfer, 45*, 732* 779 fish, teeth of, 4 tide-pool, 45 viviparous, 32*, 33%, 118* fish-god of Japan, 557* fisheries, 143 economic, 142 issuing from Holothurian, | fishes, = the Fierasferide, 732 fighting-fish, 49, 584 filefish, 95*, 625* common, 626* needle-bearing, 625* finnan haddie, 742 fins, of Crossopterygians, 22 of the fish, 22 fish, in action, 10 air-bladder in, 11 alimentary canal of, 29 anadromous, 46 body form of, 14 brain of, 11, 39 breathing of, 4 catadromous, 48 color of, 5 coral reef, 88 definition of, 1 disease transmitted by, 57 of Dismal Swamp, 419 dissection of, 2 eggs of, 32, 34* electric, 58 exterior of, 14-23 face of, 4 fins of, 8, 22 flight of, 43 form of, 3 four-eyed, 414* habits of, 38 hearing of, 7 iniomous, 61 instinct in, 40 intestine of, 31 jaws of, 28* lateral line in, 8 luminous organs of, 59 measurement of, 17 migratory, 46 muscles of, 23 mythology of, 149-156 of paradise, 583 pine-cone, 471*, 472 poisonous flesh in, 55 pugnacity of, 48 quiescent, 44 scales of, 18 sight of, 5 skeleton of, 9 spines of, 51 spiral valve in, 30 bassalian, 99 berycoid, 465 bony, 264 butter, 498 cardinal, 531 collection of, 157-162 colors of, 79-89 corner, 448 Cuban, 123 cutlass, 482 damsel, 592 distribution of, go—105 eel-like, 362 elephant, 222 equatorial, 102 flesh of, 129 as food for man, 128-148 guitar, 207, 208* jugular, 709 labyrinthine, 579 lancet, 357, 358* lantern, 352 littoral, ror lizard, 355 lowland, 122 lung, 235 mailed-cheek, 637 most specialized, 102 nest-building by, 445, 443 paddle, 256 parrot, 601 pelagic, 999 percoid, 508 poison, 52 how to preserve, 159 records of, 161 ribbon, 682 river, 106 rudder, 563 sail, 483 saw, 206, 207* scabbard, 482 how to secure, 157 sergeant, 497 shark-like, 180 shrimp, 449 snipe, 449 soldier, 468 spiny-rayed, 424 surf, 586 tropical, 142 trumpet, 448 upland, 120 viper, 352 viviparous, 586* 780 fishes, watersheds crossed by, 115 wolf, 727 wrasse, 596 fishing, apparatus, 144 for ayu, 142%, 144* cormorant, 142*, 144%, 339 methods of, 143 for tai, 147* fishing-frog, 16*, 748, 749%, a3" Fistularia, shoulder-girdle of, 442 Fistulariide, 448 flashers, 545* flatfishes, 691 flatheads, 652 flesh of fishes, 129 flight of fish, 43 Gilbert on, 43 Florida jewfish, 537* lion-fish, 644* flounder, eel-back, 704 homocercal tail of, 696* larval, 693* larval stages of, 75*, 77* shoulder-girdle of, 247* wide-eyed, 698* wide-mouthed, 703* young, 76*, 692* flounders, 695 ancestry of, 694 eyes of, 74 optic nerve of, 692 flower of the surf, 435* flying-fish, 43*, 427 Australian, 429* Catalina, 430 sharp-nosed, 430* flying gurnards, 668*, 669 flying robin, 669 Fodiator, 430* food of eels, 366 of lampreys, 171 food-fishes, abundance of, 138 relative rank of, 129 foolfishes, 624 Forgy, on capture of oarfish, formalin, value of, 160 fossil catfishes, 405 Cyprinide, 393 flounders, 696 herring, 278* remora, Storms on, 680 Salmonide, 341 four-bearded rockling, 744* Index four-eyed fish, 414* Marsh on, 414 four-spined stickleback, 447* fresh-water fishes, 103 fresh-water vivaparous perch, 587* frigate-mackerel, 477 frill-shark, 186* frog, arm of, 227 frogfishes, 752, 754* frostfish, 743 Fundulus, 417* Gadide, 740 Gadopside, 726 Gadus, 140*, 740* gaff-topsail cat, 398* Galaxiide, 422 Galeichthys, 398* Galeus, 198* galliwasp, 353 Ganoidei, series, 247 Ganoids, 246-263 : classification of, 249 garfishes, 426 Garibaldi, 80*, 593* garpikes, 260 imaginary, 154 gaspergou, 568 Gasterosteida, 443 Gasterosteus, 447* shoulder-girdle of, 442* Gastronemus, 504* Gastrostomus, 375* gatasami, 575 Gempylide, 482 geographical distribution, go— 105 Germo, 478* Gerres, 563* ghostfish, 727 Gibbonsia, 718* Gigactinide, 754 Gilbert, : on electric organs, 59 on flight of fishes, 43 Gilbertidia, 662* Gill on black-swallower, 574 on climbing-fish, 580 on Discocephali, 681 on labyrinthine fishes, 579 on Lopholotilus, 575 on Trachinide, 710 gill-basket of lamprey, 166* Gillichthys, 674* gilt-head, 558 ginpo, 722 globefishes, 69, 98*, 630 bristly, 633* Glyphisodon, 594* Gnathanacanthide, 726 Gnathonemus, 408* goatfishes, 565 gobies, 670 Gobiide, 670 Gobioidei, 670-690 Gobiomorus, 46, 500* Gobionellus, 672* goblin-sharks, 191, 192* gofu, 82* golden surmullet, 131*, 566* golden trout, 322 Evermann on, 323 goldfish, 360* , 389 Gonorhynchide, 280 Goode, on Albacore, 478 on halibut fishery, 700 on mackerel, 475 on Spanish mackerel, 479 Goodea, 33* goosefish, 749 goujon, 401 gourami, habits of, 582 Grammicolepide, 464 grand écaille, 270* grass porgy, 560 grayling, 343 Alaskan, 343* of Europe, 344 Michigan, 345* and smelt, 343-361 gray snapper, 548*, 549 Great Basin, chub of, 388* fish fauna of, 111 great oarfish, 683 Great Lake trout, 337* great parrot-fish, 139* great sculpin, 653 green-back trout, 328* green cod, 742 Greene, on photophores, 62 greenfish of Alaska, 651 of California, 564 greenlings, 650, 651* green rockfish, 640 green-sided darter, ro1*, 527* grenaciers, 745, 746* grilse, 294* griset or cow-shark, 184* grouper, 537 black, 539 Nassau, 53 red, 539 snowy, 543* yellow-finned, 539 grubby, 657 grunts, 554* guacamaia, 139* guahu, 48x guasa, $37 guativere, 538 guavina de rio, 670, 671* guavinamapo, 671, 672* guitar-fishes, 207, 208* gulper-eel, 375* gulpers, 374 gunnel, 722* Gunther, on Barramunda, 241 on Doras, 402 on poison-organs, 52 on poisonous fishes, 737 on preserving fish, 159 on zones of distribution, 103 gurnards, 667 Gymnodontes, 629 Gymnonoti, order of, 406 Gymnothorax, 373*, 374* Gyrodus, 258* Gyroptychius, 230* habits of fishes, 38 of lancelot, 164 of Lepidosiren, 243 haddock, 742* Hadropterus, 526* Hemulide, 552 hagfishes, 70, 71*, 168 California, 169* egg of, 34* species of, 170 hake, 743, 745 Halecomorphi, order of, 261 halfbeak, 428* half-moon fish, 564 halibut, 141*, 700, 702* halibut fishery, Goode on, ‘00 halibut tribe, 699 Halichceres, 106*, 607* Hallock, on black bass, Syl hammer-head sharks, 201* Haplistia, 228 Haplochitonide, 351 Haplodoci, 735 Haplomi, 407-423 hard-tails, 490 Harpagiferide, 711 harvest-fish, 16*, 498, 499* hatcheries, Jadgeska, 310 head of day-chub, 386* headfishes, 635* headlight fish, 60%, 355* Helicolenus, 643 Helostomide, 584 Hemibranchii, suborder of, 442 Hemilepidotus, 654* Hemitripterus, 659* Henshall, on black 200, bass, Index herring, 140*, fossil, 278* product of, 139 heterocercal tail, 696* heterodontide, 188 Heterodontus, 187* egg of, 35* lower jaw of, 187* teeth of, 188* Heterognathi, 380 Heteromi, order of, 376 Heterosomata, 691-708 Hexagrammide, 650 Hexagrammos, 651* Hexanchide, 185 Hexanchus, 184* hickory-shad, 279* Hiodon 272* Hiodontide, 272 Hippocampus, 15*, 78*, 451, 453* Hippoglossine, 699 Hippoglossus, 141*, 702* Histiopterida, 547 hog-choker sole, 706* hogfish, 598* Holacanthus, 615*, 616* Holcolepis, 269* Holder, on capture of oarfish, 685 Holocentride, 468 Holocentris, 469* Holocephali, 218-223 Holoconoti, 579-590 suborder of, 586 Holoptychius, dorsal fin of, 229* homocercal tail, of flounder, 275* Hoplopagrus, 550* Hoplopteryx 467* horned dace, 386, 387* pout, 399, 400% trunkfish, 627* hornless trunkfish, 629* horsehead-fish, development of, 36* hound-sharks, 198 Hucho, 329, 330* humpback salmon, 295, 296* Hybodus, teeth of, 188* Hyperoartia, 170 Hyperotreta, 168 Hypocritichthys, 589* Hypophthalmidz, 404 Hypoplectrus, 542* Hyporhamphus, 428* Hypostomides, 442-455 Hypsurus, 587* Hysterocarpus, 587%, 590 517 Heptranchias, teeth of, 185* " Hypsypops, 80*, 593* of trout, 781 icefishes, 350, 351* ichthyosis, 438 Icosteid, soo Ictalurus, 399* Ictiobus, 392* shoulder- -girdle of, 379* igami, 601 Tlarchide, 611 inconnu, 291* Indian-fish, 616 Indian sawfish, 72* indigo damsel- fish, 595* Inimicus, 645 iniomous fishes, 61 Tniomi, suborder of, 352 instincts, classification of, 40 of courtship, 41 habits and adaptations, 38- 50 variability of, 42 Ipnopid, 354 Ipnops, 354* Irish lord, 653, 654* Irish pampano, 563* Isabelita, 615* Iso, 435* Isospondyli, 264-284 relationships of, 267 Woodward on, 265 Istieus, 273* Istiophoride, 483 Isuropsis, 194* Isurus, teeth of, 195* Italian parrot-fish, pharyn- geals of, 602* Ito, 330* jacks, 490 Jadgeska hatchery, 310 jallao, 555 Janassa, teeth of, 211* janissary, 599 Japanese blenny, 8* filefish, 95* samlet, 130*, 339* sea-horse, 78* snipefish, 449* jaqueta, 594 jawfishes, 573* jaws of blue parrot-fish, 604* of fish, 28* of Nemichthys, 42*, 371* of parrot-fish, 602 peculiarities of, 73 Jerusalem haddock, 459 jewfish, Florida, 537* jewfishes, 535 jiguagua, 491 jocu, 550 john-dories, 462, 463* 782 john-paw, 539* Johnson, on interbreeding of salmon, 317 jolt-head porgy, 559* Jordanella, 416* Jordania, 653* jorobado, 491 joturo, 437* Joturus, 437** jJugular-fishes, 709 Jugulares, 709-716 jurel, 491 Kamchatka lamprey, 176* Kamloops trout, 324 kelp-blenny, 718* Kerr, on Lepidosiren, 243 kettleman, 749 killifishes, 413 king of the mackerel, 636* king of salmon, 688* Kingfish, 570, 571* king-salmon, 294* Kirtlandia, 434* kisugo, 572 klipvisch, 730 Kneriide, 422 Kochi, 652 Kuhliide, 519 kumu, 566 Kyphoside, 563 Labride, 596 Labyrinthici, 579-590 Index lampreys, mischief by, 173 of Oregon, 175* running of, 174 structure of, 167 Surface on, 172 Lampris, 132* shoulder-girdle cf, 458* lancelet, 163 California, 165* habits of, 164 origin of, 165 species of, 164 lancet of surgeon-fish, 53 lancet-fishes, 357, 358*, 619 lane-snapper, 550* lantern-fishes, 352, 356* large-mouthed black _ bass, 519, 520% little-head porgy, 559 littoral fishes, 1or : distribution of, 100 Tiuranus, 86* lizard-fishes, 353* lizard-skipper, 83*, 719* loaches, 394 Lobotes, 545 Lobotide, 545 local barriers, 107 Lockington, on long-jawed goby, 673 log-perch, 526 long-eared sunfish, 1, 2*, 3%, 515* long-fin albacore, 478* long-jawed goby, 673, 674* Lockington on, 673 long-necked eels, 372 Lophiide, 748 Lophius, 16*, 749* Lophobranchii, 442-455 Lopholotilus, 575 Lophopsetta, 697* Lophotide, 506 Lord, on _nest-building of sticklehacks, 445 Loricaria, 405* Loricariide, 404 Lota, 744* louse-fish, 680 louvar, 505* lower jaw of Heterodontus, 187* of Neoceratodus, 242* of common eel, 367* of conger-eel, 369* of eel, 366 of Lepidosiren, 244* larval flounder, 77*, 693* lateral line, 8, 20 Dean on, 21 function of, 21 Latilide, 575 Latridide, 577 laws of distribution, gt lawyer, 743 le monstre marin, 150%, 151* least darter, 530 Lendenfeld, on luminous or- labyrinthine fishes, gill in, 579 Lachnolaimus, 598* Lactariide, 572 Lactophrys, 31*, 627, 628*, 629* face view of, 628* gans, 61 length of intestine, 31 leopard-toadfish, 735* Lepidaplois, 600* skeleton of, 629* 242* ladyfish, 271* embryo of, 243* transformation of, 37* Kerr on, 243 Lagocephalus, 630* larva of, 244* Lepidosirenide, 242 Lepidostei, order of, 259 Lepisosteide, family of, 259 Lepisosteus, 261* Lepomis, 2*, 3*, 515* Leptecheneis, 69*, 679* Leptocardii, 163-166 Leptocephalus, larva of, 369* Leptolepide, 268 Leptolepis, 268* Leptoscopide, 713 Leuciscus, 388* _ Pharyngeal bones of, 382* 8 743 lion-fish, 646* Florida, 644* Liopsetta, 704* liparid, 665* Liparidide, 665 lake herring, 289 Lake Tahoe, trout of, 327 lake sturgeon, 256* Lamna, teeth of, 194* Lamnide, family of, 194 Lamnoid sharks, 190 Lampetra, 172, 176* Lampridide, 458 lampreys, 70, 167-178 ascending brook, 175* breeding habits of, 178 catfishes destroyed by, 177* of Cayuga Lake, 174-178 defined, 170 fod of, 171 gill-basket of, 166* Kamchatka, 176* larval, 172* metamorphosis of, 171 Lepidosiren, adult male of, of Polypterus, 232* lower pharyngeals of parrot-fish, 604 of Placopharynx, 390* lowland fishes, 122 Luciocephalidz, 584 luminous organs, 59, 60%, 61, _ 62, 64% lumpfish, 665* lump-suckers, 664 lungfishes, 235-245 Lutianide, 547 Lutianus, 140*, 548*, 550* Luvaridre, 506 Luvarus, 505* Lycenchelys, 729* Lycodapus, 730* Lycodes, 729* Lyomeri, order of, 374 Lyopomi, order of, 36r Lysopteri, order of, 249 Mackenzie River saimon, 291 mackerel, r41* Atka, 650 frigate, 477 Goode on, 475 king of, 636* Index 783 mackerel, midshipman, 736 Murena, 372* midges, 744 luminous organs of, 64* | murcielago, 669 shark, 194* phosphorescent organ of, | muscles of the fish, 23 sharks 190 65*, 66* muskallunge, 411* Spanish, 479* migratory fish, 46 mutsu, 532 thimble-eyed, 476 milkfish, 272* mutton-snapper, 140*, 549 tribe, 473 miller’s-thumb, 655*, 656* Mycteroperca, 541* mackerels, 473, 474, 475* California, 657* Myctophide, 355 Macrorhamphoside, 449 Yellowstone, 655 Myctophum, 356* Macrorhamphosus, 449* Minnows, 382, 412 Myliobatide, 214 Macrouridx, 745 everglade, 416 Myoxocephalus, 656, 657%, mademoiselle, 569* round, 415 658* : mad-toms, 51*, 401* silver-jaw, 384* Myrichthys, 370* Menidie, 561 sword-tail, 418* mythology of fishes, 149-156 mahogany-snapper, 550 minor faunal areas, 102 Myxine, egg of, 34* maigre, 569 Misaki Biological Station, 47* mailed catfish, 405* mischief done by lampreys,| Nandide, 572 mailed-cheek fishes, 637-669 173 “| Narcine, 57, 210* Malacanthide, 575 Mitsukurina, 192* Narcobatide, 210 male red salmon, 294* Mitsukurinide, family of, r91 | Nassau grouper, 538* Mallotus, 349* Mobulide, family of, 216 natural selection, effect of, 106 Malma trout, 336* mojarras, 561, 562* effect on species, 93 Mammoth Cave, blindfish of,! blanca, 562 Naucrates, 488* 421 cardenal, 469 needle-bearing filefish, 62 4* man-eating shark, 195 de las piedras, 616 needle-fish, 426* Manta, 216* de ley, 562 negro-chub, 386 map of continents, 92 mola, 635* negro-fish, 538 margate-fish, 555 Molide, 635 Nelson, on Anablebs, 415 marine fishes, Monacanthide, 624 nematistiide, 493 barriers to movement, 94 |monkfish, 149, 749 Nematognathi, 396-406 distribution of, 99 brain of, 204* families of, 397 mariposa, 459 Rondelet on, 149 Nemichthys, 15*, 155*, 371* Marsh, on four-eyed fish, 414] Monocentride, 472 jaws of, 42* Mastacembelide, 739 Monocentris, 14*, 471* Neoceratodus, 240* Mastacembelus, 739* Monodactylus, 608* archipterygium of, 240 masu, 296* monstrous goldfish, 360* lower jaw of, 242* matao, 464 mooneye, 272* shoulder-girdle of, 235* Maurolicide, 357 moonfish, 132*, 459, 491, 503| _ upper jaw of, 241* mayfish, 417* Moorish idol, 617* Neoclinus, 717* measurements of fish, 17 Moorish idols, 617 Neoliparis, 666* mebaru, 642 moray, 374* Neosebastes, 644 Meddaugh, photo by, 50* morays, 371 nerve-cells and fibers, 38 medialuna, 564 Moringuide, family of, 372 | nest-building, 443 medico, 618* Mormyridz, 407 nest of fish, 13 Megalichthyidz, 229 Morone, 536* New England fish fauna, 111 Melanogrammus, 742* mountain chains, as barriers, | northern blennies, 721 Mene, 503* 119 northern zone of distribution, menhaden, 277* mouth 103 Menide, 503 of brook lamprey, 172* Notacanthus, 377 Menticirrhus, 571* of lake lamprey, 172* Notidani, order of, 184 Merluciide, 745 of lamprey, 172* Notogoneus, 281* mermaid, the, 149 mud-minnow, 412* Nototheniide, 711 mero, 539* mud-minnows, 412 Notropis, 384, 385* merou, 538 mud-skippers, 676, 677* Notropteridz, 274 Mesogonistius, 514 muffle-jaws, 655 numbfish, 57*, 210* Mesturus, 259* Mugil, 441* nuptial — metamorphosis, of lamprey, | Mugilid, 436 coloration, 83 171 mullets, 436 tubercles, 386* Michigan grayling, 345* snake-head, 584 Microgadus, 743* striped, 441* oarfish, 152*, 153* Micropterus, 134*, 518*, 520*| Mullide, 565 capture of, 6840 Microspathodon, 595* Mullus, 131*, 566* ocean currents, affecting dis- Microstomidz, 350 munu, 566 tribution, 96 784 Ocyurus, 551* Odacidz, 601 Ogcocephalide, 754 Ogcocephalus, 755*, 756* Oligocottus, 660* Oncorhynchus, 292, 293*, 294*, 296*, 300* 301* of Monterey Bay, 303* Onocottus, 658* opah, 132*, 458, 459 Ophicephalid, 584 Ophicephalus, 585* Ophichthus, 370* Ophidiide, 730 Ophiodon, 651* Opisthognathide, 573 Opisthognathus, 573*, 574* Opisthomi, 739-747 Ophlegnathide, 573 optic nerve of flounder, 692 order, Acanthopterygii, 424 Actinistia, 230 Anacanthini, 739 Apodea, 364 Asterospondyli, 186 Carencheli, 372 Chondrostei, 253 Cladistia, 231 Crossopterygians, 228 Ctenodipterini, 238 Gymnonoti, 406 Halecomorphi, 261 Heteromi, 376 Isopondyli, 265 Lepidostei, 259 Lyomeri, 374 Lyopomi, 361 Lysopteri, 249 Notidani, 184 Opisthomi, 739 Pediculati, 748-756 Pycnodonti, 258 Scyphophori, 407 Selachostomi, 256 Sirenoidei, 239 Symbranchia, 365 Tectospondyli, 200 Xenomi, 422 Oregon lamprey, 175* sucker, pharyngeal of, 304* trout-perch, 457* organs, of nutrition, 27 origin of Amphibians, 226 of lancelets, 165 Osbeckia, 625* Osmerus, 346* Osphromenide, 582 Ostariophysi, 378-395 Osteoglosside, 282 teeth Index Ostichthys, 470* Ostraciidz, 626 Ostracion, 627* Ostracophori, 223 ouananiche, Van Dyke on, 316 Owen, on swordfish, 485 Oxylabrax, 533* Ozorthe, 8*, 723* Pacific slope, chubs of, 388 paddle-fishes, 71, 256, 257* Pagrus, 556* Palenomiscum, 250* Palwoniscide, 250 Paleorhynchide, 483* Palworhynchus, 483* Pallasina, 664* pampano, Irish, 563* pampanos, 487-507 Pantodontidz, 283 Papagallos, 493 Paralichthys, 696*, 703* shoulder-girdle of, 247* Paratrachichthys, 468* Pareioplite, 627-669 * parent-stream theory, 305 pargo criollo, 140*, 549 pargo de lo alto, 550 pargo guachinango, 549 Pargos, 547 parr, 314 parrot-fishes, 595, 601, 606* jaws of, 28*, 602 pharyngeals of, 602* paru, 616 Patecide, 726 patao, 562 peacock flounder, 695* pearl-fishes, 45*, 732* issuing from Holothurian, (kk péche prétre, 640 Pecropsis, 456* ; pegador, 69*, 679* Pegaside, 454 peixe re, 433 pelagic fishes, 99 Pelligrin, on poisonous fish, 55 Pemphris, 504*, 505* penfishes, 559 Peprilus, 16*, 499* Perca, 523* Percesoces, 432-441 perches, 473, 522 climbing, 580* of Europe, 522 everglade pigmy, 510 pirate, 509 relation to darters, 521 true, 519 viviparous, 587, 590 yellow, 523* Perch-like fishes, 508-530 Percide, 519 Percina, 526* percoid fishes, 508 Percoidea, 507-530 Percomorphi, 473-486 Percopside, 456 Periophthalmus, 677* Peristediidz, 668 Peristedion, 108*, 668* pescado azul, 593 pescado blanco, 138*, 434* pescados del rey, 433 pesce rey, 433 Petalodontidx, 211 peto, 481 Petromyzon, 171*, 177* mouth of, 172* pez de pluma, 559 pez del rey, 435* Phaneropleuron, 239* Phareodus, 283* pharyngeal bones, of Euro- pean chub, 382* pharyngeal teeth, of Oregon sucker, 394* pharyngeals, of Italian par- rot-fish, 602* Pharyngognathi; 591-607 Philypnus, 671* Pholis, 722* photophores, 59 in iniomous fishes, 61 of Porichthys, 62 Phthinobranchii, 442-455 picarels, 561 pickerel, 412 picuda, 438 pigmentation, 79 pigmy sunfishes, 511 pike, 137*, 409, 410* pike-perch, 524 pilot-fish, 487, 488* Pimelometopon, 600* pine-cone fish, r4*, 471*, 472 pinfish, 560 Pinguipedide, 577 pink salmon, 295 pintado, 481 pipefishes, 451 pirate-perches, 509, 510* Placopharynx, lower pharyn- geal of, 3, 390* Plagyodus, 358* plaice tribe, 702 Platacida, 612 Platichthys, 705* Platophrys, 75*, 76*, 695* larval, 694* Platycephalide, 652 Platysomida, 250 Plecoglossus, 130*, 339* Plectognathi, 622-636 Plenniide, 717-738 Pleurogrammus, 137*, 650* Pleuronectidie, 695 Pleuronectine, 702 Plotosid, 403 Pogonias, 572* poisonous fishes, 52*, 54, 55, 57, 82%, 549, 622, 647%, 737 Giinther on, 737 pole-flounder, 704 Poleophthalmus, 677* Polistotrema, 71*, 169* pollack, 742* Polycentride, 572 Polydactylus, 440* Polymixiide, 471 polyodon, 257* Polypteridz, 234 Polypterus, 228*, 233* lower jaw of, 232* shoulder-girdle of, 226* Polyrhizodus, teeth of, 212 Pomacanthus, 614* Pomacentride, 592 Pomacentrus, 593* Pomatomus, 132* Pomolobus, 276* pompano, 492* BOM POD ID Pomoxis, 512*, 513* pond-skipper, 677* poppy-fish, 498 porcupine-fish, 15*, 633* porgies, 556 porgy, 558 jolt-head, 559* little-head, 559* Porichthys, 21*, 64*, 736* luminous organs of, 64%, 65*, 66* photophores of, 62, 63 porkfish, 555* Port Jackson shark, egg of, 35%, 188* portugais, 616 Portuguese man-of-war fish, 46*, 500* preserving fishes, in alcohol, 161 in formalin, 160 Giinther on, 159 Priacanthide, 547 Priacanthus, 545* Pribilof sculpin, 657* priestfish, 640, 641* Prime, on crab-eater, 497 primitive herring-like 269* Prionotus, 667* Pristidide, 206 Pristiophorus, 73*, 205* Pristis, 72*, 207* fis), Index Promicrops, 537* protection, of young, 35 through poison, 54 protective coloration, 79, 82* markings, 81 Protopterus, 245* Psammodontide, family of, 215 Psephurus, 257* Psettias, 610* Pseudochromipide, 573 Pseudopleuronectes, 77*, 693* Pseudopriacanthus, 5 46* Pseudoscarus, 139* Pseudotriakide, family of, 193 Pseudupeneus, 138%, 565* Psychrolutes, 662* Pterogobius, 673* Pterois, 646* Pterophryne, 752* Pteropsaride, 712 Pteropsaron, 712* Pterothrisside, 273 Ptilichthyide, 723 Ptilichthys, 724* Ptychocheilus, 48, 50*, 388* pudding-wife, 599 pudiano, 599 puffer, 631* inflated, 631* puffers, 630 pugnacity of fishes, 48 pug-nosed eels, 367, 368* Pycnodonti, order of, 258 Pygeidee, 616 Pygidiide, 404 quiescent fish, 44 quillfishes, 723, 724* Quinnat salmon, 292, 293%, 303* young male, 301* rabbit-fish, 482, 634* rabirubia, 551 Rachycentride, 497 Rachycentron, 497 Rafinesque, on garpike, 154 ragfishes, 500 rainbow darter, 530 rainbow trout, 135*, 321*, 322* Raja, 209* imaginary 320, | Rajidz, 208 Rangeley trout, 135*, 331* Ranzania, 636* ray, devil, 216* eagle, 215* sting, 213* rays, 206 785 razor-back sucker, 394* razor-fish, 599* realms of distribution, 103 recognition-marks, 84 records of fishes, 161 red-drum, 569, 570* red-eye, 387 redfin, 385 redfish, 600* red goatfish, 138*, 565* red grouper, 539* red hind, 5 40* red mullet, 566 red parrot-fish, 603* red salmon, 294*, 300* red tai, 556* red-throated trout, 325 red voraz, 552 Reed, on trout fishing, 335 reflex action in fish, 39 Regalecidx, 683 Regalecus, 152*, 153*, 683 relationship, of chimeras, 220 of darters to. perches, 521 of Tsospondyli, 267 relative rank of foodfishes, 129 remoras, 69, 679 Remsberg, photo by, 152* requins, 197 Rhacochilus, 588* Rhamphocottide, 660 Rhamphocottus, 662* Rhegnopteri, 432-441 suborder of, 439* Rhine, suborder of, 204 Rhinellus, 357* Rhineodontide, family of, 107 Rhinichthys, 383* Rhinobatidz, 207 Rhinobatus, 208* Rhinochimeeride, 222 Rhipidistia, 228 Rhombochirus, 680* Rhyacichthyide, 714 ribbon-fishes, 682 Richardson’s sculpin, 662* Rio Grande trout, 329* Rissola, 730* river-drum, 568 river-fishes, 106 roach, 382 robalo, 133*, 533*; 569 rock-bass, 512, 514* skull of, 511* rock-beauty, 616* rock-cod, 640 rockfish, 640 rock-hind, 18* rock-pilots, 592 rock-skipper, 719* 786 rocklings, 730 four-bearded, 744* Rocky Mountain whitefish, 287* romero, 487 roncador, yellow-fin, 571* ronco amarillo, 554 ronco arara, §54 Rondelet, on monkfish, 149 Rondeletiide, 355 rosefish, 638* round minnow, 415* Rudarius, 95* rudder-fishes, 488, 563 Rutter, photo by, 321, 388, 590, 657* Rypticus, 544* saboti, 519 sailfishes, 483 sailor’s choice, 555 saké, 295 Salangide, 350 Salanx, 351* salele, 519 salema, 561* Salmo, 135*, 136*, 312, 321*, 322*, 324, 327%, 328%, 320* tail of, 696* salmon, after spawning, 300* artificial propagation of, 312 Atlantic, 312 breeding changes in, 303 canning of, 311 colors of, 302 of Columbia, 306 diminution of, 311 dying after spawning, 301 of Europe, 315 humpback, 296* hybrids, 317 interbreeding of, 317 ocean habits of, 297 packing of, 311 parent-stream theory, 305 Quinnat, 292 red, 296 running of, 297-299 species of, 292 value of pack, 304 salmon family, 285 salmon fishery, output of, 211 salmon-fry, marking of, 308 planting of, 308 salmon packing, 311 salmonete, 138*, 565* Salmonide, 285-342 fossil, 341 Salmoperce, 456-464 salpa, 563 Index Salvelinus, 135*, 336%, 337* samlet, 339* samson-fish, 488 sand-darter, 44*, 528* sandfishes, 578* sand-lances, 731* sand-roller, 456* sand-whiting, 571 San Pedro fish, 459 sapo, 736 sarcastic-blenny, 717* sargassumefish, 752* sargos, 560 sauger, 524* saurel, 489* saury, 427, 428* sausolele, 646 sawfishes, 71, 206, 207* Indian, 72* saw-sharks, 73*, 205* scabbard-fishes, 482 scales, 18, 19* cycloid, 20 Scapanorhynchus, 193 Scaphirhynchus, 256* Scaridz, 601 Scartichthys, 720* Scarus, 605*, 606* jaws of, 604* lower pharyngeals of, 604* upper pharyngeals of, 604* Sceloderms, 623 Schilbeodes, 51, 401* Scienida, 567 Scienops, 570* Scomber, 141*, 475* Scomberomorus, 131*, 479* Scombresox, 428* Scombridz, 474 Scombroidea, 473 Scorpena, 644*, 645* Scorpznichthys, 653 skull of, 638* Scorpenide, 637 Scorpenopsis, 645 Scorpidide, 609 scorpion-fishes, 637 sculpins, 652 eighteen-spined, 658* Pribilof, 657* Richardson’s, 662* sleek, 662 scup, 558* Scylliorhinide, family of, 189 Scyphophori, 407-423 Scytalina, 729* Scytalinide, 729 sea-bass, 534 sea-bat, 755 sea-catfish, 397 sea-devils, 216*, 750 136*, 330,|sea-drum, 571 331*, 332%, 333%, 334%, | Sea-horses, 15*, 451, 453* breeding habits of, 453 sea-mink, 570 sea-moths, 454, 455* sea-poachers, 660 sea-raven, 659* sea-robin, 667* sea-scorpion, 645* sea-Sserpent, 151 sea-snails, 665 seal-fish, 350 Sebastapistes, 645 Sebastes, 638* Sebastichthys, 642*, 643* Sebastiscus, 643 Sebastodes, 639, 641* Sebastolobus, 639* Sebastopsis, 643 Selachii, 183 Selachostomi, order of, 256 Selene, 36* Semiophorus, 461* Semotilus, 387* sennet, 438 sergeant-fish, 497* Series, Ganoidei, 247 Ostariophysi, 378-395 Seriola, 488* serrana, 571 Serranida, 534 serranos, 541 sese de lo alto, 550 sexual coloration, 83 shad, 276 shark, Port Jackson, 188* soup-fin, 198* shark-like fishes, 180-217 sharks, 180 basking, 196 carcharioid, 197 goblin, ror hammer-head, 200, 201* hound, 198 lamnoid, 190 mackerel, 190 man-eating, 195 thresher, 193 shark’s pilot, 488 shark-suckers, 679 sharp-nosed flying-fish, 430* sheatfish, 4o2 oe 8 sheepshead, 29*, 560 shiner, 382, 387* species of, 385 shoulder-girdle, inner view of, 379* . of batfish, 754* of Fistularia, 442* of flounder, 247* of Neoceratodus, 235* shoulder-girdle of Opah, 458* of Polypterus, 226* of stickleback, 442* of threadfin, 440* shovel-nosed sturgeon, 256* shrimpfish, 450* shrimpfishes, 449 Shufeldt, photo by, 2, 6, 12, 334, 410, 513; 520, 536, 543, 540%, ~ 597) 715 sierra, 481 Sierra Nevada, fish fauna of, 113 Siganide, 620 silk-snapper, 550 Sillagninide, 572 Siluride, 397 silver anchovy, 280* silver hake, 745 silver jenny, 562 silver salmon, 295 silver surf-fish, 118* silverfin, 385* silver-jaw minnow, 384* silversides, 432, 434* silvery puffer, 630* Simenchelys, 368* singing-fish, 21*, 736* Siphonognathide, 6o0r Sirenoidei, order of, 239 siscowet, trout, 338 Sisoridz, 403 skates, 208, 209* skeleton of chimera, 221* of cowfish, 629* of fish, 9 skilfishes, 649* skipper, 427 skull of Anarrhichthys, 727* of berycoid fish, 465* of rock-bass, 511* of Scorpeenichthys, 638* sleek-sculpin, 662* slippery-dick, 106*, 599, 607* small-mouth black bass, 134*, 518* smelt, 345, 346* smelt and grayling, 343-361 Smith, H. M., photo by, 175* snailfish, 666* snake-eels, 86*, 369 snake-head China-fish, 585* snake-head mullets, 584 snappers, 547 snipe-fishes, 449 snook, 534 snowy grouper, 543* Snyder, photo by, 147* Snyderina, 648* Index soapfishes, 544* soldier-fishes, 468, 469* sole, hog-choker, 706* Soleidee, 705 Soleine, 706 Solenostomide, 451 Solenostomus, 452* soles, 705 soup-fin shark, 198* southern zone of distribution, 105 spadefish, 134, 612* spadefishes, 611 Spanish-flag, 537 Spanish lady-fish, 599 Spanish mackerel, 131*, 479* Goode on, 479 Sparide, 556 Sparisoma, 28*, 603* pharyngeals of, 602 species absent through barriers, 91 absent through failure of foothold, 91 Arctic, in lakes, 125 changed through selection, 93 excess in favorable wat rs, 110 extinction of, 93 of eel, 367 of lancelet, 164 speckled hind, 539* speckled trout, 135*, 333* spet, 438 Spheroides, 631* Sphyrena, 438* Sphyrenide, 437 Sphyma, 201* Sphymide, family of, 2co Spinacanthide, 626 spineless trunkfish, 628* spines, of catfish, 51 of sting-ray, 54 venomous, 52 spiny-rayed fishes, 424 spiral valve, 30 spotted trunkfish, 627* face view of, 628* spotted weakfish, 567* Squalide, family of, 202 Squalus, 202* squamipinnes, 608-621 square-tails, 506 Squatina, brain of, 204* squawfish, 48*, 50*, 288* stranding of, 50* squeteague, 567 squirrel-fishes, 542 squirrel-hake, 743 star-gazers, 59*, 713, 714*, 715* 787 starry-flounder, 692, 705* steelhead, 319 steelhead-trout, 136*, 324* Steindachnerella, 747* Stelgis, 662* Stenodus, 291* Stenotomus, 558* Stephanoberycide, 438 Stephanolepis, 54*, 626 Sternoptychide, 360 Sticheine, 721 Sticheeus, 723 sticklebacks, 443 four-spined, 447 nest-building habits of, 443 shoulder-girdle of, 442* three-spined, 447 sting-rays, 100, 212, 213* spines of, 54 Stizostedion, 524* Stomias, 351* Stomiatide, 351 stone-bass, 537 stone-roller, 31*, 386* stone-sculpin, 654 stone-wall perch, 573* Storms, on fossil remoras, 680 striped mojarra, 562 striped sheepshead, 561* Stromateide, 498 structure, of lamprey, 167 sturgeons, 254 common, 255* lake, 256 shovel-nosed, 256* Stylephoridz, 690 subclass, Actinopteri, 246 Crossopterygii, 225 Dipneusti, 235-245 Elasmobranchs, 182 Teleostei, 264 suborder, Amphacanthi, 620 Archencheli, 364 Batoidei, 206 Cestraciontes, 187 Chromides, 591 Colocephali, 371 Craniomi, 667 Cyclospondyli, 202 Discocephali, 679 Enchelycephali, 365 Galei, 189 Gobioidei, 670 Haplodoci, 735 Hemibranchii, 442 Holconoti, 586 Hypostomides, 454 Iniomi, 352 Percesoces, 432 Percomorphi, 473 Pharyngognathi, 595 —— ree 788 suborder, Rhegnopteri, 439 Rhine, 204 Salmoperce, 456 Selenichthys, 458 Synentognathi, 425 Teniosomi, 682 Xenopterygii, 737 Zeoidea, 460 sucker, 390 California, 393* carp, 391 common, 393* Oregon, 394 razor-back, 394* sucking-disks, 70 sucking-fish, 69*, 679* Suletind watershed, 115 Sunapee trout, 332* sunfishes, 512 banded, 514 blue-green, 24, 25*, 564* common, 6*, 12*, 516 long-eared, 1, 2*, 3%, 515 pigmy, 511 Surface, on lampreys, 172 photo by, 177* surf-fishes, 586, 588* surgeon-fishes, 618 lancet of, 53 surmullets, 565-578 golden, 566* swallowers, 574 swampy watersheds, 123 sweetfish, 338 swell-toad, 634 swordfishes, 71, 484, 485* Owen on, 485 swordtail-minnow, 418* Syacium, 698* Symbranchia, order of, 363 Symphurus, 708 Synanceia, 82*, 645 Synaphobranchus, 368* Synechodus, teeth of, 188 Synentognathi, 424-431 suborder of, 425 Syngnathid, 451 Teniosomi, 670-690 Tahoe trout, 136*, 327* tai fishing, 147* tangs, 618 target-fish, 464 tarpon, 270* tarwhine, 558 tautog, 596*, 597* Tautoga, 596*, 597* Tectospondyli, order of, 200 teeth of Ceratodus, 240* of Cestraciont sharks, 188*! Trichodon, 578* Index teeth of chimzras, 219 of Corax, 200* of Heptranchias, 185* of Isurus, 195* of Janassa, 211* of Lamna, 194* of Polyrhizodus, 212* peculiarities of, 73 Teleostei, class, 224 subclass of, 264 temperature, affecting dis- tribution, 95 tench, 387 tenguzame, 192* ten-pounder, 269* tessellated darter, 527* Tetradontide, 630 Tetragonuride, 506 Tetraodon, 55*, 98*, 633* Teuthis, 53*, 618*, 619* Thaleichthys, 129, 347* Theragra, 742* thick-lipped surf-fish, 588* thimble-eyed mackerel, 476 thread-eel, 15*, 155*, 371* jaws of, 371* threadfin, shoulder-girdle of, 44o* threadfish, 49x three-spined stickleback, 447* thresher-shark, 193 Thymallide, 343 Thymallus, 137*, 343%, 345* tide-pool fishes, 46 tide-pools of Misaki, 47* tile-fish, 575 toadfishes, 735 leopard, 735* poison, 730 tomcod, 743* tongue-fishes, 708 top-minnows, 417 torabuku, 634 torpedo, 58*, 402* torpedoes, 210 torsk, 744 totuava, 568 Toxotide, 611 Trachicephalus, 649* Trachichthyide, 467 Trachinide, 710 Gill on, 710 Trachinotus, 492* Trachurus, 489* Trachypteride, 687 Trachypterus, 688* transitional groups, 456-464 tree-climbing fish, 49 treefish, 642 Trichiurus, 483 4 Trichodontide, 578 Trichonotide, 716 trigger-fishes, 56*, 623* Tnglide, 667 Triglops, 65 4* Triodontide, 629 triple-tails, 545 tropical fishes, variety of, 142 Tropidichthyidz, 632 trout, 312 black-spotted, 318 brook, 333 of Colorado River, 329* cutthroat, 325 Dolly Varden, 336, 337- Great Lake, 337* green-back, 328 heterocercal tail of, 696* Kamloops, 324 Malma, 336 rainbow, 320 Rangeley, 331* red-throated, 325 Rio Grande, 329* speckled, 333* steelhead, 319 Sunapee, 332* Tahoe, 327* of Western America, 319 yellowfin, 328 trout-perches, 456 trout-worm, figured, 326 trucha, 534 true eels, 364 mackerels, 474 perches, 519 sharks, 180-217 trumpet-fishes, 448, 449* trunkfishes, 626 Tuna, 477 tunny, 477 turbot tribe, 697 Twin Lakes, trout of, 328 Two-Ocean Pass, 116 described by Evermann, 117 Tylosurus, 426* Typhlichthys, 420* ulchen, 129*, 347* Umbra, 412* Umbrina, 571* Undina, 231* unicorn-fish, 620 upland fishes, 120, 121 upper jaw, of Neoceratodus, 241* upper pharyngeals, of Indian parrot-fish, 604* Uranidea, 656* Uranoscopide, 713 Index vaca, 541 Van Dyke, on ouananiche, 316 variety of tropical fishes, 142 Vierosa, 672* viper-fishes, 352 viscera, 24 viuva, 640 viviparous fish, 1r8* viviparous perch 587*, 590% volador, 669 white perch, 536* white surf-fish, 32%, 586%, 588* Whitman, on instincts, 42 wide-eyed flounder, 76%, 698* wide-mouthed flounder, 703* Williams, on flounder eye, 75 window-pane, 697* wolf-fishes, 727%, 728 woodcock-fish, 449 Woodward, on chimeras, 219 wachna cod, 743 on Isospondyli, 265 wall-eye, 523 wrasse fishes, 596 waterfalls and cascades, as] wrasses, 595 barriers, 109 wreckfish, 537 watersheds, wrymouth, 726* as barriers, rr4 how crossed, 115 swampy, 123 Suletind, rrs weakfish, spotted, 567* Weberian apparatus of carp, 379% ‘ weevers, 710 whale-shark, 197 white bass, 535 white-bone porgy, 560 white chub, 384* whitefish, r30*, 286, 287%, 288* Xenocephalidz, 730 Xenocys, 552* Xenomi, order of, 422 Xenopterygii, 737 Xiphasia, 725* Xiphias, 484%, 485* Xiphiide, 484 Xiphiidine, 721 Xiphistes, 722* Xiphophorus, 418* Xyrauchen, 394* Xyrias, 370* Xyrichthys, 599* of California, 576 Xystema, 562* Rocky Mountain, 287* Sault, 289 yellow white hake, 743 bass 535 789 yellow catfish, yor goatfish, 566 mackerel, 490* perch, 523* yellowfin grouper, 541* roncador, 571* trout, 328* Yellowstone miller’s-thumb, 655* yellow-tail, 488 yellow-tail roncador, 570 snapper, 551* Young, on angling, 145 young flounder, 692* young swordfish, 484* Zacalles, 721* Zalises, 455* Zanclide, 617 Zanclus, 617* zander, 524, 533 Zaprora, 501 Zeid, 462 Zenomi, 407-423 Zeoidea, suborder, 460 Zesticelus, 658 Zeus, 463* zingel, 525* Zoarces, 728* Zoarcide, 728 , zoogeography, go Zygonectes, 417 ————— THE AMERICAN NATURE SERIES The fortunate increase in the attention paid by the American people to Nature study, has led to the publication of many popular books on the subject, some of which are good, and some not. In the hope of doing something toward furnishing a series where the seeker will] surely find a readable book of high authority, the publishers of the American Science Series have begun the publication of the American Nature Series. It is the intention that in its own way, the new series shall stand on a par with its famous predecessor. The primary object of the new series is to answer questions—those (outside of the domain of philosophy) which the contemplation of Nature is constantly arousing in the mind of the unscientific intelligent person. But a collateral object will be to give some intelligent notion of the “causes of things.’ The books will be under the guarantee of American experts, and from the American point of view; and where material crowds space, pref- erence will be given to American facts over others of not more than equal interest. The series will be in five divisions: GROUP I. CLASSIFICATION OF NATURE This division will consist of three sections. Section A. A large popular Natural History in several volumes, with the topics treated in due proportion, by authors of unquestioned authority. There is no existing Natural History which does not fall short in some one of these particulars. Possibly the Natural History in the American Nature Series may not be kept ideal regarding all of them, but if it is not, the fault will not be due to carelessness or apathy on the part of the publishers. The books so far arranged for in this section are: FISHES, by Davin Srarr Jorpan, President of the Leland Stanford Uni- versity. INSECTS, by Vernon L. Keiioce, Professor in the Leland Stanford Junior University. $5.00 net; carriage, 35 cents. TREES, by N. L. Brirron, Director of the New York Botanical Garden. WILD MAMMALS OF NORTH AMERICA, by C. Harr Merriam, Chief of the United States Biological Survey. BIRDS OF THE WORLD. A popular account by Frank H. 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DOMESTIC ANIMALS, by Wituiam H. Brewer, Professor Emeritus in Yale University. THE CARE OF TREES IN LAWN, STREET AND PARK, by B. E. Fernow, Late Head of the Cornell School of Forestry. GROUP V. DIVERSIONS FROM NATURE This division will include a wide range of writings not rigidly system- atic or formal, but written only by authorities of standing. FISH STORIES, by Davin Srarr Jorvan, President of the Leland Stan- ford Junior University. HORSE TALK, by Wiitiam H. Brewer, Professor Emeritus in Yale University. BIRD NOTES, by C. W. Beene, Curator of Birds in the New York Zoological Park. HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY, /PuvuBLIsHERS 29 WEST TWENTY-THIRD STREET, NEW YORK ih ee cles RALLYE rt of! J , if i ’ ce) ae a b > ’ re) 2) ‘s rat A ’ tf i t Fined of 4 Gig, Pig gre aa dw (0 i) ven . WU Me Ons or Watt ~~ Ee eovfedptegal vale» 4 gh pn vi oil ie oe ‘ net va aah i Nach SE WETIOW, Ob A Meee, Maataes : 2 , i Val Feig OU) haw #4 ro 4 7 ow] : are Tasbhos Haters 1%, nek Vk j a —_— _ ae a "1.2 ae verre HAT TUE d 4 Te “A uy , 7 oe 2 Croels, Ptege Gene tes sagt 0 tow M ty all BPS i} ‘? «si Pi bites T pwourr, - Fire hang a yon ieee nf’ Tied ie 4 + a et w, ¥ avr PAgXt, yp 8 a” i 7 Pel er); Pa 7 id | ; io PP} pias | ‘ NATURE at , ‘ee pad riathy dp sonal a) 2 + he: 4 . 7 ay ” > ae, et an : E : ‘oe Viale HARES ee jONIAN INSTITUTION i il in ‘ll 00084 112