f ils ELA ead ahs Rin Eight gets bette ng! ‘ Se ii Cua uhoas aaa escheat es meas Salve nnn ite Hit eps Se cae se Rees ace bh rate meee . " ‘ vie hahetabalay hele i : q “ as ratty Bad ct nthe hana? atti dy Nell We fotwts a eee as at aan ht oe f 4 Lah srgenetenrie tear Paes K Baer se aoe ht at 7 ade as stele robigaeet , * jin nee AS vie ve irahaagit 5 Pence beri fede ican hig aly ae it Miah MP nie H sabia ate RAE vee Tease oe i ete ies inte " uteas i re Me vii e rial Mas hata Muerte : i oh ae igh ha separ if i nie Nain tele oe trate i at ia oe paca net ryiateleh i ghee et on ie ay Vig g at laine i an Ca eae tm eatin), eae es re tes sent Mier AU ele eae PR ALI) torte lareleie al ® ey ne Relies POTN sabia rete Wie Ae a 0 nel a TOA Ge Cae wee Tes gat Gnipae ir ‘ 4 D8 eh HA ae if Pre h at tel Soa eVisie MB Einnsiel ite ht pk TL HE dances Atoka ee fey Wks Soant a ; be Fyne ates asics i at Sie add me if My elie myers {i rere . gels ” ath pene dita, apenas eh ate wet ie a rer ee 4 i ra ihe ot cae mie sini a : SC ice eH inal { aye Hess i a “ aa Battal ih Payt * Ae diana "7 a i tid ia sacait Bie yi that saat in a pe : Wy pee eect ie HieiMr diet pitie cert it ny funds rie atetie ties Lai uate hay bith Be aes aed at tegheey colnet Seepage Patty pa i aaigseye tna te i: Py Ge a al Hay ilgtes pe ase ae uate } uti it us geek! tele pein Be Celi Acecaseninset a ean i“ Fee a ane: PIN (eg eee aoe c Va sine ines a bhi, nia ; sitiaiaye sheer aie i CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE ‘ornell University Libra TANNIN Cornell University The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024557658 GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF FISHES VARIATIONS IN THE COLOR OF FISHES The Oniokose or Demon Stinger, Znimicus japonicus (Cuv, and Val.), from Wakanoura, Japan. From nature by Kako Morita. Surface coloration about lava rocks. Coloration of specimens living among red algze. Coloration in deep water; Juimicus aurantiacus (Schlegel), A GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF FISHES BY DAVID STARR JORDAN President of Leland Stanford Junior University With Colored Frontispieces and 507 Illustrations IN TWO VOLUMES Vou II. ‘«T am the wiser in respect to all knowl- edge and the better qualified for all fortunes for knowing that there is a minnow in that brook.” — Thoreau NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 1905 Copyright, 1905 BY HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY Published March, 1905 ROBERT DRUMMOND, PRINTER, NEW YORK CONTENTS VOL. II. CHAPTER I. THE GANOIDS. PAGE Subclass Actinopteri—The Series Ganoidei—Are the Ganoids a Natural Group?—Systematic Position of Lepidosteus.—Gill on the Ganoids as a Natural Groupies .oa sg eho yo ghee AE Red BGS Ba dens deed Sxeeee I CHAPTER II. THE GANOIDS (Continued). Classification of Ganoids.—Order Lysopteri—The Paleoniscide.—The Platy- somide.—The Dorypteride.—The Dictyopygide.—Order Chondrostei.— Order Selachostomi: the Paddle-fishes.—Order Pycnodonti.—Order Lepi- dostei.—Family Lepisosteida.—Embryology of the Garpike.—Fossil Gar- pikes.—Order Halecomorphi.—Pachycormide.—The Bowfins: Amiide.— The: Oligopletridee sc oie aiei-di 6.4. pulse ieeuved pease ndlaes akcnaga eae eee eels 13 CHAPTER III. ISOSPONDYLI. The Subclass Teleostei, or Bony Fishes.—Order Isospondyli—The Classifica- tion of the Bony Fishes.—Relationships of Isospondyli—The Clupeoidea.— The Leptolepide.—The Elopide.—The Albulide.—The Chanide.—The Hiodontide.—The Pterothrisside.—The Ctenothrisside.—The Notopteri- de.—The Clupeide.—The Dorosomatide.—The Engraulidide.—Gono- rhynchide.—The Osteoglosside.—The Pantodontide. ................. 37 CHAPTER IV. SALMONID&. The Salmon Family.—Coregonus, the Whitefish.—Argyrosomus, the Lake Her- ring.—Brachymystax and Stenodus, the Inconnus.—Oncorhynchus, the Quinnat Salmon.—The Parent-stream Theory.—The Jadgeska Hatchery. —Salmon=packing. i. ue ccna n cee naan seenaee nit adda dw dale anes 61 vi Contents CHAPTER V. SALMONID (Continued). Salmo, the Trout and Atlantic Salmon.—The Atlantic Salmon.—The Ouan- aniche.—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.—Cormo- rant-fishing.—Fossil Salmonida. ....- 0.0... - 600s e seen eee teeter eee CHAPTER VI. THE GRAYLING AND THE SMELT. The Grayling, or Thymallide.—The Argentinidz.—The Microstomide.—The Salangide, or Icefishes—The Haplochitonide.—Stomiatide.—Suborder Iniomi, the Lantern-fishes.—Aulopide.—The Lizard-fishes.—Ipnopide.— Rondeletiide. — Myctophide. — Chirothricide. — Maurolicide. — The Lancet-fishes.—The Sternoptychide.—Order Lyopomi................... CHAPTER VII. THE APODES, OR EEL-LIKE FISHES. The Eels.—Order Symbranchia.—Order Apodes, or True Eels.—Suborder Archencheli.—Suborder Enchelycephalii—Family Anguillide.—Reproduc- tion of the Eel.—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 Gulpers.—Order Heteromi.................... CHAPTER VIII. SERIES OSTARIOPHYSI. Ostariophysii—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 CHAPTER IX. THE NEMATOGNATHI, OR CATFISHES. The Nematognathi.—Families of Nematognathi—The Siluride.—The Sea Catfish—The Channel Cats.—Horned Pout.—The Mad-toms.—The Old World Catfishes.—The Sisoride.—The Plotosida.—The Chlariidee.— The Hypophthalmide or Pygidiide.—The Loricariide.—The Callichthyidae,— Fossil Catfishes.—Order Gymnonoti......... 06.0.0. eee e eee, PAGE 89 I20 139 159 Contents vil CHAPTER X. THE SCYPHOPHORI, HAPLOMI, AND XENOMI. PAGE Order Scyphophori—The Mormyride.—The Haplomi—The Pikes.—The Mud minnows. — The Killifishes. — Amblyopside. — Kneriide, etc. — The Galaxiide. —Order Xenomi.. 2.0.0.6... c ee cece cece cee eee eee eee e eee 188 CHAPTER XI. ACANTHOPTERYGII; SYNENTOGNATHI. Order Acanthopterygii, the Spiny-rayed Fishes.—Suborder Synentognathi.— The Garfishes: Belonide.—The Flying-fishes: Exoccetide................ 208 CHAPTER XII. PERCESOCES AND RHEGNOPTERI. Suborder Percesoces—The Silversides: Atherinide.—The Mullets: Mugi- lide.—The Barracudas: Sphyrzenide.—Stephanoberycide.—Crossognathi- dz.—Cobitopside.—Suborder Rhegnopteri. .......-.- 60sec eee eee eee eee 215 CHAPTER XIII. PHTHINOBRANCHII: HEMIBRANCHI], LOPHOBRANCHII, AND HYPOSTOMIDES. Suborder Hemibranchii—The Sticklebacks: Gasterosteida.—The Aulo- rhynchide.—Cornet-fishes: Fistulariida.—The Trumpet-fishes: Aulostomi- dz.—The Snipefishes: Macrorhamphoside.—The Shrimp-fishes: Centri- _ scide.—The Lophobranchs.—The Solenostomide.—The Pipefishes: Syn- gnathidz.—The Sea-horses: Hippocampus.—Suborder Hypostomides, the Sea-moths: Pegasidz.............. Bis ne Sas oe aS Tod Sle ne Gua Bad eae 227 CHAPTER XIV. SALMOPERCZ AND OTHER TRANSITIONAL GROUPS. Suborder Salmoperce, the Trout-perches: Percopside.—Erismatopteride.— Suborde: Selenichthyes, the Opahs: Lampridide.—Suborder Zeoidea.— Amphistiide.—The John Dories: Zeide.—Grammicolepide.........-..-- 241 CHAPTER XV. BERYCOIDEI. The Berycoid Fishes.—The Alfonsinos: Berycida.—The Soldier-fishes: Holo- centrida.—The Polymixiide.—The Pine-cone Fishes: Monocentride....... 250 Vili Contents CHAPTER XVI. PERCOMORPHI. PAGE Suborder Percomorphi,the Mackerels and Perches.—The Mackerel Tribe: Scom- broidea.—The True Mackerels: Scombride.—The Escolars: Gempylide.— Scabbard and Cutlass-fishes: Lepidopide and Trichiuride.—The Palo- rhynchidz.—The Sailfishes: Istiophorida.—The Swordfishes: Xiphiide.... 258 CHAPTER XVII. CAVALLAS AND PAMPANOS. The Pampanos: Carangide.—The Papagallos: Nematistiide—The Blue- fishes: Cheilodipteride.—The Sergeant-fishes: Rachycentride.—The But- ter-fishes: Stromateide.—The Ragfishes: Icosteide—The Pomfrets: Bramide.—The Dolphins: Coryphenide.—The Menide.—The Pem- pheride.—Luvaride.—The Square-tails: Tetragonuride.—The Crested Bandfishes:: Lophotid@sss. 2. siosece soya dhs ca neteaie sce ach ean Rgds Gales 6 272 CHAPTER XVIII. PERCOIDEA, OR PERCH-LIKE FISHES. Percoid Fishes.—The Pirate-perches: Aphredoderide—The Pigmy Sun- fishes: Elassomida.—The Sunfishes: Centrarchide.—Crappies and Rock Bass.—The Black Bass.—The Saleles: Kuhliide.—The True Perches: Percide.—Relations of Darters to Perches.—The Perches.—The Darters: Etheostomineiss chev ehancincdav eicasee bin wanbae de een d Abe oe aun ebale 293- CHAPTER XIX. THE BASS AND THEIR RELATIVES. The Cardinal-fishes: Apogonide.—The Anomalopide.—The Asineopide-— The Robalos: Oxylabracide.—The Sea-bass: Serranide.—The Jewfishes. —The Gronpers.—The Serranos.—The Flashers: Lobotide.—The Big eyes: Priacanthide.—The Pentacerotida.—The Snappers: Lutianide.— The Grunts: Hemulide.—The Porgies: Sparidze.—The Picarels: Menide. —The Mojarras: Gerride.—The Rudder-fishes: Kyphoside............. 316 CHAPTER XX. THE SURMULLETS, THE CROAKERS AND THEIR RELATIVES. The Surmullets, or Goatfishes: Mullide.—The Croakers: Sciznidze.—The Sil- laginide, etc.—The Jawfishes: Opisthognathide, etc—The Stone-wall Perch: Oplegnathide.—The Swallowers: Chiasmodontide.—The Mala- canthide.—The Blanquillos: Latilide.—The Bandfishes: Cepolidae.— The Cirrhitida.—The Sandfishes: Trichodontide Contents ix CHAPTER XXI. LABYRINTHICI AND HOLCONOTI. PAGE The Labyrinthine Fishes—The Climbing-perches: Anabantide.—The Gou- ramis: Osphromenide.—The Snake-head Mullets: Ophicephalida.— Suborder Holconoti, the Surf-fishes——The Embiotocide............... — 365 CHAPTER XXII. CHROMIDES AND PHARYNGOGNATHI. Suborder Chromides.—The Cichlide.—The Damsel-fishes: Pomacentride.— Suborder Pharyngognathi—The Wrasse Fishes: Labrida.—The Parrot- fishes: Scaridgia.: cc. ases os od eed onn hey ea eas eae emeneanay 380 CHAPTER XXIII. THE SQUAMIPINNES. The Squamipinnes.—The Scorpidide.—The Boarfishes: Antigoniide.—The Arches: ‘Toxotide.—The Ephippide.—The Spade-fishes: Ilarchide.— The Platacide.—The Butterfly-fishes: Chatodontide.--The Pygexide.— The Moorish Idols: Zanclide—The Tangs: Acanthuride.—Suborder Amphacanthi, the Siganide .......... 2... c cee ences 397 CHAPTER XXIV. SERIES PLECTOGNATHI. The Plectognaths.—The Scleroderms.—The Trigger-fishes: Balistidee.—The File-fishes: Monacanthide.—The Spinacanthide.—The Trunkfishes: Os- traciide.—The Gymnodontes.—The Triodontide.—The Globefishes: Tetra- odontide.—The Porcupine-fishes: Diodontida.—The Head-fishes: Molide. . 411 CHAPTER XXvV. PAREIOPLIT2, OR MAILED-CHEEK FISHES. The Mailed-cheek Fishes.—The Scorpion-fishes: Scorpenide.—The Skil- fishes: Anoplopomide.—The Greenlings: Hexagrammide.—The Flat- heads or Kochi: Platycephalide.—The Sculpins: Cottide.—The Sea- poachers: Agonide.—The Lump-suckers: Cyclopteride.—The Sea-snails: Liparidide.—The Baikal Cods: Comephoride.—Suborder Craniomi: the Gurnards, Triglide.—The Peristediide.—The Flying Gurnards: Cephala- CANE MAE ess: Sis bSeadlc date nate ae as wR A hag wera Aregiew ale a 426 CHAPTER XXVI. GOBIOIDEI, DISCOCEPHALI, AND TANIOSOMI. Suborder Gobioidei, the Gobies: Gobiide.—Suborder Discocephali, the Shark- suckers: Echeneidide.—Suborder Tzniosomi, the Ribbon-fishes.—The Oarfishes: Regalecide.—The Dealfishes: Trachypteride................ 459 x Contents CHAPTER XXVII. SUBORDER HETEROSOMATA. PAGE 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: Soleidee.—The Broad Soles: Achirine.—The European Soles (Soleinz).— The Tongue-fishes: Cynoglossina.......-.- 6. sss sees seen erence eens 481 CHAPTER XXVIII. SUBORDER JUGULARES. The Jugular-fishes.—The Weevers: Trachinide.—The Nototheniide.—The Leptoscopide.—The Star-gazers: Uranoscopida.—The Dragonets: Calli- onymide.—The Dactyloscopida. ....-.... 0. ese e cee cece eee eee eens 409 CHAPTER XXIXx. THE BLENNIES: BLENNIIDA. The Northern Blennies: Xiphidiine, Stichziniz, etc—The Quillfishes: Ptilich- thyide.—The Blochiide.—The Patecide, etc.—The Gadopside, etc.— The Wolf-fishes: Anarhichadide.—The Eel-pouts: Zoarcide.—The Cusk- eels: Ophidiide.—Sand-lances: Ammodytide.—The Pearlfishes: Fieras- feride.—The Brotulide.—Ateleopodide.—Suborder Haplodoci.—Suborder MENOPLery Bile vata nda cess, Nae deo deca coud wae Aceuesin eins Ne galiech roan are andiguativn 507 CHAPTER XXX. OPISTHOMI AND ANACANTHINI. Order Opisthomi.—Order Anacanthini.—The Codfishes: Gadida.—The Hakes: Merluciida.—The Grenadiers: Macrouride............ 00.0.0 cece cece 532 CHAPTER XXXI. ORDER PEDICULATI: THE ANGLERS. The Angler-fishes.—The Fishing-frogs: Lophiide.—The Sea-devils: Ceratiide. —The Frogfishes: Antennariide.—The Batfishes: Ogcocephalide......... 542 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS VOL. II. PAGE Shoulder-girdle of a Flounder, Paralichihys californicus ...........0000e eee 2 Palaoniscum frieslebenense. . 00... 0c ence nce n eee eens 14 PUY GLUS CHONGIUS oc c02i5 wed ce BRINE ee nee Deed oS A Walace RIA elton E 15 Dory pterus WofMmant ovo ed cas cays heck ane ee see ea ba eee Hea HE Hote Ree ES 16 Chondrosteus acipenseroides. 0. 0.0. c cnet e nen nenes 18 Acipenser sturio, Common Sturgeon. ... 1.6... cece cece eee ene ee 19 Acipenser rubicundus, Lake Sturgeon... ....... 00. e cece cee eee 20 Scaphirhynchus platyrhynchus, Shovel-nosed Sturgeon. . ......-..+.0:eeeeeee 20 Polyodon spathula, Paddle-fish, side-view........ 2.06.0 e cece ect e eee eens 2I Polyodon spathula, Paddle-fish, view from below. ......--..--+00++eeeeeeeee 21 PSCPHULUS: BIGGS 50 gf aie aah aot GARG AS 8 pisliheg RRO A Rt tae abide Ren 2i Gyn OdUs NEXOLONUSS jn sa Sadbe Sek 8e HE LET EN eay SSPE OB Sed Ee oe eee ES 22 MM eSlUrus VEFPUCOSUS so 5. sciaie ied. dct tik ea AS «RAS L aE ME MRO oe Geta GEaat 4S 428 Sebastodes mystinus, Priest-fish. ... 00.6... c cece nee 430 Sebastichtleys Service PSs. sivssite eae Bigs) oi Ses nb tenes Winkie Baw eesente sea es 431 Sebastichthys nigrocinctus, Banded Rockfish..............0.000 0000 cee eee 432 Scorpena grandicornis, Lion-fish.........6 066 c eee nets 433 Scorpena mystes, Sea-SCOrpion. . . 0... eee eens 434 Pterois volitans, Lion-fish or Sausolele..............0.. 00 eee eee eee eee 435 Emmydrichthys vulcanus, Black Nohu or Poison-fish.............-.000-0005 436 Snyderind YAMANORAMI. 6... ne nnn 437 Trachacephales uranoscopus. 0... ed 438 Anoplopoma fimbria, Skilfish............. SSRI ERG 2s ie Valente sneha Bie 438 Pleurogrammus monopterygius, Atka-fish.. ........ 6.00 c cece eee eee eee 439 Hexagr os docagr SS CTOCM IN Be dik ae Sa crcyiigkees derseedista ein ota eae ee 440 Ophiodon elongatus, Cultus Cod... ...- 6-60.00 eee ete 440 TORUGNIE ZOND PEs 5.96 sag ciara ek Hak Aa G sk Gee eco RL ARN Bee AS Poste A RE ASHE 442 Astrolytes notospilotus, ©. 0 00 c cc cect tenet n ented 442 Hemilepidotus jordani, Irish Lord. ........ 0.6.0.0. 0 cece eee eee eee eee 443 Trighops pingeli.... 00... ccc gece cece n eee eee nee ene ene 443 Enophrys bison, Buffalo Sculpin wave OEE Rev es weed wets debae wea cree Lee 443 Ceratocolttts GicerQus:oa66 sei siacs Cian ty pe eek ME a Re Re eR EN 444 PG HUG ab JOP ACOA skicsct escent bis: Ndre SUD eee 8 A Gala echaae ae Galo RENE AR 444 Cottus punctulatus, Yellowstone Miller’s Thumb..............--.-. w.esee. 444 XX List of Illustrations PAGE Uranidea tenuis, Miller’s Thumb. ... ........ 0000000 cece eee ee eee ene 445 COMMS CDEP MATINEE, 25s ToaS i Se Cad eh deseo dt Each AERO eg RAS GG MOAI RDO 445 Cottus gulosus, California Miller’s Thumb..............000 000 e eee eee 446 Myxocephalus niger, Pribilof Sculpin. ...........-. 0.00. e eee eee eee ees 446 Myxocephalus octodecimspinosus, 18-spined Sculpin. ........---+...++++0005- 447 ONGOCOUUS GUOEFICONNIS s sia:s5siskgagis in te ME ais, CID NEL ORE tee 8 0 og Bead 447. BICBSTGS CUPHOSUS 2 sw aiNn 5 dovlaTh tate Rca cae hela be Melt ob tiny diedecnee ae ee 448 Hemitripterus americanus, Sea-raven. . . 0... cee 448 Ol BOOS MACULOSUS cision Se ORR ARES Ea heat BSlep Hae RE HES 449 EG CUNIDS: BP GU QLOR ha Has sacens. usualy sudh Geo cron s GIRGLID MOS ela FREI va bm D a: Raaa aee es 450 Psychrolutes paradoxus, Sleek Sculpin... ......-. 2000s eee eee 451 GilberUdta St OlUES: «x dak FAAS et el tye teed REESE AEDS LARA REI OA 451 Rhamphocottus richardsoni, Richardson’s Sculpin..........-..--.600 0000s 0ee 451 SLEL OTS: VULSUS: ca sais he tseva it tojmual eh AG ets Bis gi AEs ine was Pale aNeE ee aes ete Eee Re 451 DOCISCUS SCENT. ere. risen tA WERT RMR ae oA A ad Ips Hace aan A Shr aera 452 Pallasina barbata, Agonoid-fish..... 0.600. 6 eee ete eee 453 Aspidophoroides mono plerygius. 0. 6.00 c cece cece eeene een et eens 453 Cyclopterus lumpus, Lumpfish... 0... 6666 een eee ee 454 Crystallias matsushima, Liparid. .. 2.00... 454 Neoli paris mucosus, Snailhshi.s ci034 saecsore iat Male a ee tas Hod dee ae 455 Prionotus. evolans;, Seavobitiecess-4 i954 28 68s GRA GAS SS RA EO EERE OR es 456 Cephalacanthus volitans, Flying Gurnard............ 0600000 e cece eee eee 437 POVASteGLON MUMLQULIN pao sen a sine ey Sash Big Sie a add Rada Sle aang bed WEIN Babee 457 Philypnus dormitor, Guavina de Rio. ... 16.6.6 460 Hleoivis: prsonts;: DOWMMeUr: o..2c0n ped gaag's dan SAARI RG diese d pte ae an Re 460 Dormitator maculatus, Guavina mMapo...........0 00. eee eee 461 VIM COSG: WONG a5 55 teh ae cinch 8 Sins Ring lala IOP Asia abit Ie AN! Sa MR IS IMs 461 Gobionellus oceanicus, Esmeralda de Mar... ......... 0... e beeen 401 Piero gObtus: Cunt he's os Sis eka ys AYRE Pe ES OR ASAE Rs acd Peabo Ca 462 Aboma etheostoma, Darter Goby... 0.60.0. 0 6.00 462 Gillichthys mirabilis, Long-jawed Goby... ........... 0.0 0000200 0000 eee e eee 463 Boleophthalmus chinensis, Pond-skipper..........0...000 0000000 c cece ee 466 Periophthalmus barbarus, Mud-skippy. ............ 0000.00 e eee 466 EULONVICILYS: BUI is oisestos igs speech ea ei aR a inch oe Geghbia@iace 2 eee baie ioe 467 Leptecheneis naucrates, Sucking-fish or Pegador. .................000000000 468 Rhombochirus osteochir. .. 0.6... ccc e nee eben nnenee 469 Regaleaus glesneacsanius, Glesnes Oarfish ...........0 0.0.00. e cece eee eee 476 Trachypterus rex-salmonorum, Dealfish or King of the Salmon. .............. 478 Young Flounder just hatched. ............. 0.000 e eee eee ... 482 Pseudo pleuronectes americanus, Larval Flounder..................00..0000. 483 Larval Stages of Platophrys podas, a Flounder..............0.0 000000. eee 484 Platophrys lunatus, Peacock Flounder... ...........00.0 000000 c cece eee eee ee 485 Heterocercal Tail of Young Trout, Salmo fario... 1.00... 0 00. 486 Homocercal Tail of a Flounder, Paralichthys californicus..................., 486 Lophopsetta maculata, Window-pane. ......... 200.0000 c cece eee 487 List of Illustrations Xxi PAGE Syacium papillosum, Wide-eyed Flounder............00.00ccccccecueevees 488 EO DUS: CHOSSOLUS aod sees se nie 5 3 Gehl rasnte ei a atacnahy ee mPa Ges go a Oe eS 489 Hippoglossus hippoglossus, Halibut... .......00.0 00. ccc cc vec ee ee cece veeees 492 Paralichthys dentatus, Wide-mouthed Flounder... .............00.000e0 eee 493 Liopsetta putnami, Eel-back Flounder... 2.0.00... 000 ccc cece ecu ceceveeees 494 Platichthys stellatus, Starry Flounder... .........0..0.00 00 ccc ceecuceeeeeeeee 495 Achirus lineatus, Hog-choker Sole. .........00000 ccc ccc eceeucucucueeeees 496: " Symphurus plagiusa Raab grate sodas SS aalde oan nn ee geen CaS Seah neem 498: PU OPSAPON CUOLENS seis nie aight Mie Gln ee aeons oa aa Ne eae 502 Bathymaster signatus........... SP OSTA HE Sls EAD SESS RES AS ERNE 503, PAVISCOPUS COURIUS ves ibis Sits ci ils. 3a ees ¢ ddagdad Ha cpn GRE AWN AE ast ecneanditode lS 504. Astroscopus guttatus, Star-gazer.. 0.0.62 ccc cece e ees 505 Neoclinus satiricus, Sarcastic Blenny. ..........2. 2.0.00 c eee eee eee es 507 Gibbonsia evides, Kelp Blenny.......... 0.0.0.0 ccc c ccc eeceececeee eee 508 BUCMNAUSCRISLONUS Essie, Aisne did ced Bis rennet etd See ce isle Tis re anc a es 508 Alticus atlanticus, Rock-skipper... 0.2002... ccc teen e nee e en 509 Alticus saliens, Lizard-skipper........0.0 0.00 c cece cnn een ene ees 509 Emblemaria atlantica ... 2.2.0.0... cece eee lataiGewigy SA pRaUeEEG eaNdlak 510 Scartichthys enosime, Fish of the rock-pools of the sacred island of Enoshima, Japan seal ee eave aacaant aati Rae ead Mam td aria ahs acai lt ke eed nace 510 ZOCOUES WY OPE ss soc! oe Hie Bie a RIEL ELS Rade Mean RA aome eR bee 511 Bryostemma-tarsodes. 73 vases 3 oe gees aR EEN Oe LES eye Sey oad SALE ae eRe 5ir LEQCEP PES: OS PEP isa. S sok Sabot Cote 0 BE tle SANG ERI Gah RN ae Gls SAR IS ORE Ma RCN 51Ir Pholis gunnellus, Gunnel cso. cadie aad aka gun ep datas MA SER ora Ee 512 Ma phistes: ChAPUS 3 eek en ee wee eee Yeeelse se Nia ae dewde un eae See ey 512 Oz0rihe:CiCiyO BT GIMME acces gate es RARE ROR ARATE Ra ROMER TA TRIE Ra a 513 SHCHBUS: PUNCIOIUS 2 Sa 2.85 sate ae Meena sind oa cube Remar ale ana eR RCS Ade Ss 513 Bryostemma olohimes ix seh wccce hewiaeh yo ba vas Cua Va OH eRe wee ee 514 Philichihys goodei, Quillfisb ss o0-40 2 oseee woe ca aihea eae eter eataine eee ace « 514 Blochius longir ostrts viele de ope oe T4a eS AS OY IPE BR ERDAS RRS OER 514 Ri phasia Setiperds, igi va ace ia on; eekes Me ayes Paes a ee 515 Cryptacanthodes maculatus, Wrymouth. .......- 6-0-0. e cece erect eee 516 Anarhichas lupus, Wolf-fish. .......0 0600 ccc cece nent tenes 517 Skull of Amarrhichthys ocellatus. 0.00.00 0600 tte ee 517 Zoacres anguillaris, Hel-pout... 2... 200.602 cece eee eee 518 Lycodes reticulatus, Eel-pout. .....6- 00600 c eee cece ene eee 519 Lycenchelys verrilli.. 0.00 ccc cc eee nent es 519 Scytalina cerdale.. 0.0.0 cece enn eas 519 Rissola marginata, Cusk-eel. ..... 00.600 c eect eee eee ees 520 Lycodapus dermatinus. . 0.0.0.0 c ccc eee nee nena 520 Ammodytes americanus, Sand-lance. ......- 0.0600 e eee eee ee ees 521 Embolichthys mitsukurti. 0. 0.00060 c cence ene nee 521 Fierasfer dubius, Pearlfish, Embedded in Pearl.... ...-.-.-- 0-0. s sees eeeees 522 Fierasfer acus, Pearlfish.... 0.60. 0000s cece ene ney 523 Brotula barbata. ...... OM A hk sadihiiars icant Cale O ioe Me a aaneakG Re Nwan aes 524 . XXll List of Illustrations PAGE Lucijuga subterranea, Blind Brotula. ............ 0.0. c eee eee eee eee 524 Opsanus pardus, Leopard Toadfish.... 2.0.6... 0.0. e cece e eee e eee eee 525 Porichthys porosissimus, Singing Fish (with Many Lateral Lines)........ eee 526 ASPOSMG CICOMIB sols okie Hoke Me ee ea ghee Sen eee REE Bae RS SEES 530 Caularchus meandricus, Clingfish.......--- 2.00000 e cece eee eee eee 531 Mastacembelus ellipsifets cscs ay ccausa. any cease ceeey sa liy dace gdesde eee aes 532 Gadus callarias; CoQhshdy eihed suc eds, aoomsksnaned atean mae eel we leh R ene ies 533 Skull of Haddock, Melanogrammus e@glifinus. .. 0.0.0... cece eee 536 Melanogrammus egifinus, Haddock... «2.206666 e eee 536 Theragra chalcogramma, Pollock... ....... 0.60. c cece e eee e ees 537 Microgradus tomcod, Tomcod. .......-. 66. c ccc cece eee tence eee eee 538 Leia maculosa; Burboty ees x oui ad aiss'de das Sade oa wea es chee eV eae FRYER 539 Enchelyopus cimbrius, Four-bearded Rockling.. ..................0.222000- 539 Merluccius productus, California Hake. ............... 00.00. e ee eee eee eee 540 Coryphenoides carapinus, showing leptocercal tail. ............-00.e eee ee eee 540 Celorhynchus carminatus, Grenadier... 2.6.0.6 e eee 541 Steindachnereilé argentets, 603225 dor e4 ae pep wy eA ds Lee oe ee Re eed “eee S42 Lophius litulon, Anko or Fishing-frog..............0 00.02 c cece een e eee nees 545 CRY PlOPSORES COURS a. Sates ew acsnedasb hed bated Ge Wiehe bars oda. Met Hae. 4 Bia wee ys 547 Ceratias holbolli, Deep-sea Angler. ....... 6.06. e ee eee eens 548 Caulophiryme Gord dwt. divs isueac a scx een ea ia Reb 8 SG Hes ae Re ta ece pile wa Se ES 548 Pterophryne tunida, Sargassum-fish, one of the Anglers.................... 549 Antennarius nox, Fishing-frog. .......... 000s sea baariecasoast ce 550 Shoulder-girdle of a Batfish, Ogcocephalus radiatus.. 0.1.0... 000... cc cece e ee 551 Antennarius scaber, Frogfish. .... 0.2.60 0 0.6 c ccc cece eee eee eae 551 Ogcocephalus ves perttlios. i ox vee eas gs nee Se sewee sXe He RR Ew MRD oes wade 552 Ogcocephalus vespertilio, Batfish. . ... 2... 6.06 ccc cee cence eee 553 Ogcocephalus vespertilio, Batfish.. 6.6.6... cece eee e cece cece e een eee eeee 553 CHAPTER I THE GANOIDS UBCLASS Actinopteri. — In our glance over the taxon- omy of the earlier Chordates, or fish-like vertebrates, we have detached from the main stem one after an- other a long series of archaic or primitive types. We have first set off those with rudimentary notochord, then those with retro- gressive development who lose the notochord, then those with- out skull or brain, then those without limbs or lower jaws. The residue assume the fish-like form of body, but still show great differences among themselves. We have then detached those without membrane-bones, or trace of lung or air-bladder. We next part company with those having the air-bladder a veritable lung, and those with an ancient type of paired fins, a jointed axis fringed with rays, and those having the palate still forming the upper jaw. We have finally left only those having fish-jaws, fish-fins, and in general the structure of the modern fish. For all these in all their variety, as a class or subclass, the name Actinoptert, or Actinopterygi, suggested by Professor Cope, is now generally adopted. The shorter form, Actinopteri, being equally correct is certainly preferable. This term (ax«zis, ray; mrepov or xtepvé, fin) refers to the structure of the paired fins. In all these fishes the bones supporting the fin-rays are highly specialized and at the same time con- cealed by the general integument of the body. In general two bones connect the pectoral fin with the shoulder-girdle. The hypercoracoid is a flat square bone, usually perforated by a foramen. Lying below it and parallel with it is the irregu- larly formed hypocoracoid. Attached to them is a row of bones, the actinosts, or pterygials, short, often hour-glass-shaped, which actually support the fin-rays. In the more specialized forms, or Teleosts, the actinosts are few (four to six) in number, II—I I 2 The Ganoids but in the more primitive types, or Ganoids, they may remain numerous, a reminiscence of the condition seen in the Crossop- terygians, and especially in Polypterus. Other variations may occur; the two coracoids sometimes are imperfect or specially modified, the upper sometimes without a foramen, and the ac- tinosts may be distorted in form or position. The Series Ganoidei.— Among the lower Acti- noptert many archaic traits still persist, and in its earlier representa- tives the group ap- proaches closely to the Crossopterygit, although no forms actually inter- mediate are known either living or fossil. The great group of Actinopteri may be divided into two series or subclasses, the Ganoidei, or Chrondrostet, containing those forms, mostly extinct, which re- tain archaic traits of one sort or another, and the Fic. 1.—Shoulder-girdle of a Flounder, Para- Teleoste1, or n lichthys californicus (Ayres). j bony fishes, in which most of the primitive characters have disappeared. Doubtless all of the Teleostet are descended from a ganoid ancestry. Even among the Ganoidet, as the term is here restricted, there remains a very great variety of form and structure. The fossil and existing forms do not form continuous series, but rep- resent the tips and remains of many diverging branches perhaps from some Crossopterygian central stock. The group constitutes at least three distinct orders and, as a whole, does not admit of The Ganoids 3 perfect definition. In most but not all of the species the tail is distinctly and obviously heterocercal, the lack of symmetry of the tail in some Teleosts being confined to the bones and not’ evident without dissection. Most of the Ganoids have the skeleton still cartilaginous, and in some it remains in a very primitive condition. Usually the Ganoids have an armature of bony plates, diamond-shaped, with an enamel like that developed on the teeth. In all of them the pectoral fin has numerous basal bones or actinosts. All of them have the air- bladder highly developed, usually cellular and functional as a lung, but connecting with the dorsal side of the gullet, not with the ventral side as in the Dipnoans. In all living forms there is a more or less perfect optic chiasma. These ancient forms retain also the many valves of the arterial bulb and the spiral valve of the intestines found in the more archaic types of fishes. But traces of some or all of these structures are found in some bony fishes, and their presence in the Ganoids by no means justifies the union of the Ganoids with the sharks, Dipnoans, and Crossopterygians to form a great primary class, Paletch- thyes, as proposed by Dr. Gtinther. Almost every form of body may be found among the Ganoids. In the Mesozoic seas these fishes were scarcely less varied and perhaps scarcely less abundant than the Teleosts in the seas of to-day. They far exceed the Crossopterygians in number and variety of forms. Transitional forms connecting the two groups are thus far not recognized. So far as fossils show, the characteristic actinopterous fin with its reduced and altered basal bones appeared at once without in- tervening gradations. The name Ganoidet (yavos, brightness; e7dos, resemblance), alluding to the enameled plates, was first given by Agassiz to those forms, mostly extinct, which were covered with bony scales or hard plates of one sort or another. As the term was originally defined, mailed catfishes, sea-horses, Agonide, Arthrodires, Ostracophores, and other wholly unrelated types were included with the garpikes and sturgeons as Ganoids. Most of these intruding forms among living fishes were eliminated by Johannes Miller, who recognized the various archaic characters common to the existing forms after the removal of the mailed Teleosts. Still later Huxley separated the Crossopterygians as a distinct 4 The Ganoids group, while others have shown that the Ostracophori and Arthro- dira should be placed far from the garpike in systematic classi- fication. Cope, Woodward, Hay, and others have dropped the name Ganoid altogether as productive of confusion through the many meanings attached to it. Others have kept it as a convenient group name for the orders of archaic Actinoptert. For these varied and more or less divergent forms it seems con- venient to retain it. As an adjective ‘‘ganoid’’ is sometimes used as descriptive of bony plates or enameled scales, some- in the sense of archaic, as applied to fishes. Are the Ganoids a Natural Group ?— Several writers have urged that the Ganozdet, even as thus restricted, should not be considered as a natural group, whether subclass, order, or group of orders. The reasons for this view in brief are the following: 1. The group is heterogeneous. The Amzde differ more from the other Ganoids than they do from the herring-like Teleosts. The garpikes, sturgeons, paddle-fishes likewise di- verge widely from each other and from the Palgoniscide and the Platysomide. Each of the living families represents the residue or culmination of a long series, in some cases advancing, as in the case of the bowfin, sometimes perhaps degenerating, as in the case of the sturgeons. 2. Of the traits possessed in common by these forms, several (the cellular air-bladder, the many valves in the heart, the spiral valve in the intestine, the heterocercal tail) are all pos- sessed in greater or less degree by certain Isospondyli or allies of the herring. All these characters are still better developed in Crossoptergyi and Dipneusti, and each one disappears by degrees. Of the characters drawn from the soft parts we can know nothing so far as the extinct Ganoids are concerned. 3. The optic chiasma, thus far characteristic of Ganoids as distinct from Teleosts, may have no great value. It is urged that in closely related species of lizards some have the optic chiasma and others do not. This, however, proves nothing as to the value of the same character among fishes. 4. The transition from Ganoids to Teleosts is of much the same character as the transition from spiny-rayed to soft- rayed fishes, or that from fishes with a duct to the air-bladder to those without such duct. The Ganoids ¥ Admitting all this, it is nevertheless natural and convenient to retain the Ganoidei (or Chrondrostet if the older name be discarded on account of the many meanings attached to it) as a group equivalent to that of Tcleostei within the class or subclass of Actinopteri. It comprises the transitional forms between the Crossopterygii and the bony fishes, and its members are especially characteristic of the Mesozoic age, ranging from the Devonian to the present era. Of the extensive discussion relating to this important ques- tion we may quote two arguments for the retention of the sub- class of Ganoids, the first by Francis M. Balfour and William Kitchen Parker, the second from the pen of Theodore Gill. Balfour and Parker (‘‘ Structure and Development of Lepi- dosteus,” pp. 430-433) thus discuss the Systematic Position of Lepidosteus.—‘‘ Alexander Agassiz con- cludes his memoir on the development of Lepidosteus by point- ing out that in spite of certain affinities in other directions this form is ‘not so far removed from the bony fishes as has been supposed.’ Our own observations go far to confirm Agas- siz’s opinion. “Apart from the complete segmentation, the general de- velopment of Leptdosteus is strikingly Teleostean. In addition to the general Teleostean features of the embryo and larva, which can only be appreciated by those who have had an oppor- tunity of practically working at the subject, we may point to the following developmental features * as indicative of Teleos- tean affinities: ““(1) The formatica of the nervous system as a solid keel of the epiblast. ‘““(2) The division of the epiblast into a nervous and epi- dermic stratum. ‘“(3) The mode of development of the gut. ‘“(4) The mode of development of the pronephros; though the pronephros of Lepidosteus has primitive characters not retained by Teleostei. “(s) The early stages in the development of the vertebral column. * The features enumerated above are not in all cases confined to Lepidos- teus and Teleostei, but are always eminently characteristic of the latter. 6 The Ganoids “Tn addition to these, so to speak, purely embryonic char- acters there are not a few important adult characters: “(z) The continuity of the oviducts with the genital glands. ‘““(2) The small size of the pancreas, and the presence of numerous so-called pancreatic caca. (3) The somewhat coiled small intestine. ‘““(4) Certain characters of the brain, e.g., the large size of the cerebellum; the presence of the so-called lobi inferiores on the infundibulum, and of tori semi-circulares in the mid- brain. “In spite of the undoubtedly important list of features to which we have just called attention, a list containing not less important characters, both embryological and adult, separating Lepidosteus from the Teleostei, can be drawn up: ““(1) The character of the truncus arteriosus. “(2) The fact of the genital ducts joining the ureters. (3) The presence of vasa efferentia in the male carrying the semen from the testes to the kidney, and through the tubules of the latter into the kidney-duct. ““(4) The presence of a well-developed opercular gill. (5) The presence of a spiral valve; though this character may possibly break down with the extension of our knowledge. “(6) The typical Ganoid characters of the thalamencephalon and the cerebral hemispheres. ““(7) The chiasma of the optic nerves. “(8) The absence of a pecten, and presence of a vascular membrane between the vitreous humor and the retina. ‘““(g) The opisthoccelous form of the vertebre. ““(1o) The articulation of the ventral parts of the hamal arches of the tail with the processes of the vertebral column. “(r1) The absence of a division of the muscles into dorso- lateral and ventro-lateral divisions. (12) The complete segmentation of the ovum. “The list just given appears to us sufficient to demonstrate that Lepidosteus cannot be classed with the Teleostei; and we hold that Miuller’s view is correct, according to which Lepi- dosteus is a true Ganoid. “The existence of the Ganoids as a distinct group has, how- ever, recently been challenged by so distinguished an ichthy- The Ganoids 7 ologist as Giinther, and it may therefore be well to consider how far the group as defined by Muller is a natural one for living forms, and how far recent researches enable us to im- prove upon Muller’s definitions. In his classical memoir the characters of the Ganoids are thus shortly stated: “*These fishes are either provided with plate-like angular or rounded cement-covered scales, or they bear osseous plates, or are quite naked. The fins are often, but not always, beset with a double or single row of spinous plates or splints. The caudal fin embraces occasionally in its upper lobe the end of the vertebral column, which may be prolonged to the end of the upper lobe. Their double nasal openings resemble those of Teleostei. The gills are free, and lie in a branchial cavity under an operculum, like those of Teleostei. Many of them have an accessory organ of respiration, in the form of an opercular gill, which is distinct from the pseudobranch, and can be present together with the latter; many also have spiracles like Elas- mobranchii. They have many valves in the stem of the aorta like the latter, also a muscular coat in the stem of the aorta. Their ova are transported from the abdominal cavity by ovi- ducts. Their optic nerves do not cross each other. The in- testine is often provided with a spiral valve, like Elasmobranchii. They have a swimming-bladder with a duct, like many Teleostei. Their pelvic fins are abdominal. “Tf we include in a definition only those characters which are invariable, the Ganoids may be shortly defined as being those fish with numerous valves to the stem of the aorta, which is also provided with a muscular coat, with free gills, and an operculum, and with abdominal pelvic fins.’ ‘To these distinctive characters he adds, in an appendix to his paper, the presence of the spiral valve, and the absence of a ~ processus falciformis and a choroid gland. ‘To the distinctive set of characters given by Muller we may probably add the following: ‘““(r) Oviducts and urinary ducts always unite, and open by a common urogenital aperture behind the anus. “* (2) Skull hyostylic. ‘“(3) Segmentation complete in the types so far investigated, 8 The Ganoids though perhaps Amia may be found to resemble the Teleostei in this particular. ‘““(4) A pronephros of the Teleostean type present in the larva. ‘“(s) Thalamencephalon very large and well developed. ‘“(6) The ventricle in the posterior part of the cerebrum is not divided behind into lateral halves, the roof of the undivided part being extremely thin. “ (7) Abdominal pores always present. “The great number of characters just given are amply sufficient to differentiate the Ganoids as a group; but, curiously enough, the only characters, amongst the whole series which have been given, which can be regarded as peculiar to the Ganoids are (1) the characters of the brain, and (2) the fact of the ovi- ducts and kidney-ducts uniting together and opening by a common pore to the exterior. “This absence of characters peculiar to the Ganoids is an indication of how widely separated in organization are the different members of this great group. “At the same time, the only group with which existing Ganoids have close affinities is the Teleostei. The points they have in common with the Elasmobranchii are merely such as are due to the fact that both retain numerous primitive verte- brate characters,* and the gulf which really separates them is very wide. “There is again no indication of any close affinity between the Dipnoans and, at any rate, existing Ganoids. “Like the Ganoids, the Dipnoans are no doubt remnants of a very primitive stock; but in the conversion of the air-bladder into a true lung, the highly specialized character of their limbs,t their peculiar autostylic skulls, the fact of their ventral nasal openings leading directly into the mouth, their multisegmented bars (interspinous bars) directly prolonged from the neural and hemal and supporting the fin-rays of the unpaired dorsal * As instances of this we may cite (1) the spiral valve; (2) the frequent presence of a spiracle; (3) the frequent presence of a communication between the pericardium and the body-cavity; (4) the heterocercal tail. + Vide F. M. Balfour, ‘‘On the Development of the Skeleton of the Paired Fins of Elasmobranchs,”’ Proc. Zool. Soc., 1881. The Ganoids 9 and ventral fins, and their well-developed cerebral hemispheres, very unlike those of Ganoids and approaching the Amphibian type, they form a very well-defined group and one very dis- tinctly separated from the Ganoids. “No doubt the Chondrostean Ganoids are nearly as far re- moved from the Teleostei as from the Dipnoans, but the links uniting these Ganoids with the Teleostei have been so fully preserved in the existing fauna of the globe that the two groups almost run into each other. If, in fact, we were anxious to make any radical change in the ordinary classification of fishes, it would be by uniting the Teleostei and Ganoids, or rather constituting the Teleostei into one of the subgroups of the Ganoids, equivalent to the Chondrostei. We do not recom- mend such an arrangement, which in view of the great pre- ponderance of the Teleostei amongst living fishes would be highly inconvenient, but the step from Amza to the Teleostei is certainly not so great as that from the Chondrostei to Amia, and is undoubtedly less than that from the Selachii to the Holo- cephali.”’ Gill on the Ganoids as a Natural Group.—Dr. Gill observes (‘Families of Fishes,” 1872): “‘The name Ganoides (or Ganio- lepedoti) was originally framed by Prof. Agassiz as an ordinal term for fishes having the scales (when present) angular and covered with enamel; and in the group so characterized were combined the Ganoids of subsequent authors as well as the Tele- ostean orders Plectognathi, Lophobranchii, and Nematognathi, and (subsequently) the genus Sudis (Arapaima), the last being regarded as a Coelacanth. The group has not been accepted with these limits or characters. “ But the researches of Prof. Johannes Miller on the anatomy and classification of the fishes culminated at length in his cele- brated memoirs on those fishes for which he retained the ordinal name Ganoidei; those memoirs have left an impression on ichthyology perhaps more decided than made by any other contributions to science, and that published 7 extenso will ever be classical; numerous as have been the modifications since introduced into the system, no forms except those recognized by Miller (unless it be Dipnoi) have been interjected since among the Ganoids. Io The Ganoids “Tt has been objected that the Ganoids do not constitute a natural group, and that the characters (i.e., chiasma of optic nerves and multivalvular bulbus arteriosus) alleged by Muller to be peculiar to the teleostomous forms combined therein are problematical, and only znferentially supposed to be common to the extinct Ganoids so called, and, finally, such objections couched in too strong language have culminated in the assertion that the characters in question are actually shared by other physostome fishes. “No demonstration, however, has been presented as yet that any physostome fishes do really have the optic chiasma and multivalvular bulbs arteriosus, and the statement to the contrary seems to have been the result of a venial misappre- hension of Prof. Kner’s statements, or the offspring of impressions left on the memory by his assertions, in forgetfulness of his exact words. “But Prof. Kner, in respect to the anatomical characters referred to, merely objects: (1) that they are problematical, are not confirmable for the extinct types, and were probably not existent in certain forms that have been referred to the Ganoids; (2) the difference in number of the valves of the bulbus arteriosus among recent Ganoids is so great as to show the unreliability of the character; (3) a spiral valve is developed in the intestine of several osseous fishes (‘genera of the so-called intermediate clupeoid groups’), as well as in Ganoids; and (4) the chiasma of the optic nerves in no wise furnishes a posi- tive character for the Ganoids. “It will be noticed that all these objections (save in the case of the intestinal spiral valve) are hypothetical and vague. The failure of the intestinal spiral valve, as a diagnostic char- acter, has long been conceded, and in this case only have the forms that prove the failure been referred to; in the other cases, where it would be especially desirable to have indicated the actual types falsifying the universality or exclusiveness of the characters, they have not been referred to, and the objec- tions must be met as if they were not known to exist. “(1) The characters in question are, in the sense used, problematical, inasmuch as no examination can be made of the soft parts of extinct forms, but with equal force may it be The Ganoids II urged that any characters that have not been or cannot be directly confirmed are problematical in the case of all other groups (e.g., mammals), and it can only be replied that the coordina- tion of parts has been so invariably verified that all probabili- ties are in favor of similar coordination in any given case. ““(2) There is doubtless considerable difference in the num- ber of valves of the bulbus arteriosus among the various Ganoids, and even among the species of a single family (e.g., Lepido- steide), but the character of Ganoids lies not in the number, more or less, but in the greater number and relations (in con- tradistinction to the opposite pair of the Teleosts) in conjunc- tion with the development of a bulbus arteriosus. In no other forms of Teleostomes have similar relations and structures been yet demonstrated. (3) The failure of the spiral intestinal valve has already been conceded, and no great stress has ever been laid on the character. ““(4) The chiasma of the optic nerves is so common to all the known Ganoids, and has not been found in those forms (e.g., Arapaima, Osteoglossum, and Clupeiform types) agreeing with typical physostome Teleosts in the skeleton, heart, etc., but which at the same time simulate most certain Ganoids (e.g., Amia) in form. ‘‘Therefore, in view of the evidence hitherto obtained, the arguments against the validity of title, to natural association, of the Ganoids, have to meet the positive evidence of the co- ordinations noted; the value of such characteristics and co- ordinations can only be affected or destroyed by the demon- stration that in all other respects there is (1) very close agreement of certain of the constituents of the subclass with other forms, and (2) inversely proportionate dissimilarity of those forms from any (not all) other of the Ganoids, and consequently evi- dence ubi plurima nitent against the taxonomic value of the characters employed for distinction. ‘And it is true that there is a greater superficial resemblance between the Hyoganoids (Lepisosteus, Amia, etc.) and ordinary physostome Teleosts than between the former and the other orders of Ganoids, but it is equally true that they agree in other respects than in the brain and heart with the more generalized 12 The Ganoids Ganoids. They all have, for example, (1) the paraglenal ele- ments undivided (not disintegrated into hypercoracoid, hypo- coracoid, and mesocoracoid; (2) a humerus (simple or divided, that is, differentiated into metapterygium and mesopterygium) ; and (3) those with ossified skeletons agree in the greater number of elements in the lower jaw. Therefore, until these coordi- nates fail, it seems advisable to recognize the Ganoids as con- stituents of a natural series; and especially on account of the superior taxonomic value of modifications of the brain and heart in other classes of vertebrates, for the same reason, and to keep prominently before the mind the characters in question, it appears also advisable to designate the series, until further discovery, as a subclass. “But it is quite possible that among some of the generalized Teleosts at least traces of some of the characters now consid- ered to be peculiar to the Ganoids may be discovered. In anticipation of such a possibility, the author had at first dis- carded the subclass, recognizing the group only as one of the ‘superorders’ of the Teleostomes, but reconsideration convinces him of the propriety of classification representing known facts and legitimate inferences rather than too much anticipation. “It is remembered that all characters are liable to fail with increasing knowledge, and the distinctness of groups are but little more than the expressions of our want of knowledge of the intermediate forms; it may in truth be said that ability to segregate a class into well-defined groups is in ratio to our ignorance of all the terms,” CHAPTER II THE GANOIDS—Continued LASSIFICATION of Ganoids. — The subdivision of the Nl series of Ganoidei into orders offers great difficulty from the fact of the varying relationships of the mem- bers of the group and the fact that the great majority of the species are known only from broken skeletons preserved in the rocks. It is apparently easy to separate those with cartilaginous skeletons from those with these bones more or less ossified. It is also easy to separate those with bony scales or plates from those having the scales cycloid. But the one type of skeleton grades into the other, and there is a bony basis even to the thinnest of scales found in this group. Among the multitude of names and divisions proposed we may recognize six orders, for which the names Lysoptert, Chondrostei, Selachostomt, Pycnodonti, Lepidostet, and Halecomorphi are not inappropriate. Each of these seems to represent a distinct offshoot from the first primitive group. Order Lysopteri.—In the most primitive order, called Lysop- teri (Avoods, loose; mrepor, fin) by Cope, Heterocerci by Zittel and Eastman, and the ‘‘ascending series of Chondrostei” by Woodward, we find the nearest approach to the Chondropter- ygians. In this order the arches of the vertebree are more or less ossified, the body is more or less short and deep, covered with bony dermal plates. The opercular apparatus is well developed, with numerous branchiostegals. Infraclavicles are present, and the fins provided with fulcra. Dorsal and anal fins are present, with rays more numerous than their supports; ’ ventral fin with basal supports which are imperfectly ossified ; caudal fin mostly heterocercal, the scales mostly rhombic in form. All the members of this group are now extinct. 13 14 The Ganoids The Palzoniscide.—The numerous genera of this order are referred to three families, the Paleoniscide, Platysomide, and Dictyopygide; a fourth family, Dorypteride, of uncertain re- lations, being also tentatively recognized. The family of Palaoniscide is the most primitive, ranging from the Devonian to the Lias, and some of them seem to have entered fresh waters in the time of the coal-measures. These fishes have the body elongate and provided with one short dorsal fin. The tail is hetercoercal and the body covered with rhombic plates. Fulcra or rudimentary spine-like scales are developed on the upper edge of the caudal fin in most recent Ganoids, and often the back has a median row of undeveloped scales. A multi- tude of species and genera are recorded A typical form is the genus Palconiscum,* with many species represented in the rocks of various parts of the world. The longest known species is Paleoniscum frieslebenense from the Permian of Germany and England. Paleontscum magnum, sixteen inches long, occurs Fic. 2.—Paleoniscum frieslebenense Blainville. Family Paleoniscide. (After Zittel.) in the Permian of Germany. From Canobius, the most primi- tive genus, to Coccolepis, the most modern, is a continuous series, the suspensorium of the lower jaw becoming more oblique, the basal bones of the dorsal fewer, the dorsal extending farther forward, and the scales more completely imbricate. Other prominent genera are Amblypterus, Eurylepis, Cheirolepis, Rhadinichthys, Pygopterus, Elonichthys, A®rolepis, Gyrolepis, Myriolepis, Oxygnathus, Centrolepis, and Holurus. The Platysomide.— The Platysomide are different in form the body being deep and compressed, often diamond-shaped, * This word is usually written Palgoniscus, but Blainville, its author (1818) chose the neuter form. : The Ganoids 1g with very long dorsal and anal fins. In other respects they are very similar to the Palgoniscide, the osteology being the same. The Paleoniscide were rapacious fishes with sharp teeth, the Platysomide less active, and, from the blunter teeth, probably feeding on small animals, as crabs and snails. The rhombic enameled scales are highly specialized and held together as a coat of mail by peg-and-socket joints. The most extreme form is Platysomus, with the body very deep. Platysomus gibbosus and other species occur in the Permian rocks of Germany. Cheirodus is similar to Platysomus, but without ventral fins. Eurynotus, the most primitive genus, is remarkable for its large pectoral fins. Eurynotus crenatus occurs sas AR Laneat NARA . SOA Wen BATRa STEN TASS Fie. 3.—Eurynotus crenatus Agassiz, restored. Carboniferous. Family Platysomide. (After Traquair.) in the Subcarboniferous of Scotland. Other genera are Meso- lepis, Globulodus, Wardtchthys, and Chetrodopsis. Some of the Platysomide have the interneural spines pro- jecting through the skin before the dorsal fin. This condition is found also in certain bony fishes allied to the Carangide. The Dorypteride.—Dorypterus hoffmant, the type of the sin- gular Palzozoic family of Dorypteride, with thoracic or sub- jugular many-rayed ventrals, is Stromateus-like to all appear- ance, with distinct resemblances to certain Scombroid forms, but with a heterocercal tail like a ganoid, imperfectly ossified back-bone, and other very archaic characters. The body is apparently scaleless, unlike the true Platysomide, in which the 16 The Ganoids scales are highly developed. A second species, Dorypterus althaust, also from the German copper shales, has been described. This species has lower fins mant, but may be the adult Dorypterus is regarded by cialized offshoot from the many-rayed ventrals and the body and fins suggest affinity Dictyopygide.—In the Dic- d@), the body is gracefully pressed, the heterocercal tail turned upwards, the teeth hooked, and the bony plates this group two genera are taining numerous species. In terus Redfield, not of Agassiz) than Dorypterus hoff- of the same type. Woodward as a spe- Platysomide. The general form of the with the Lampride. tyopygide (Catoptert- elongate, less com- is short and abruptly are sharp and usually well developed. Of recognized, each con- Redfieldius (=Catop- the dorsal is inserted Fic. 4.—Dorypterus hoffmani Germar, restored. (After Hancock and Howse.) behind the anal, while in Dictyopyge this is not the case. Red- fieldius gracilis and other species are found in the Triassic of the Connecticut River. Dictyopyge macrura is found in the same region, and Dictyopyge catoptera and other species in Europe. The Ganoids 17 Order Chondrostei—The order Chondrostei (yovdpos, carti- lage; doréov, bone), as accepted by Woodward, is characterized by the persistence of the notochord in greater or less degree, the endoskeleton remaining cartilaginous. In all, the axonosts and baseosts of the median fins are arranged in simple regu- lar series and the rays are more numerous than the sup- porting elements. The shoulder-girdle has a pair of infra- clavicular plates. The pelvic fins have well-developed base- osts. The branchiostegals are few or wanting. In the living forms, and probably in all others, a matter which can never be ascertained, the optic nerves are not decussating, but form an optic chiasma, and the intestine is provided with a spiral valve. In all the species there is one dorsal and one anal fin, separate from the caudal. The teeth are small or wanting, the body naked or covered with bony plates; the caudal fin is usually heterocercal, and on the tail are rhombic plates. To this order, as thus defined, about half of the extinct Ganoids belong, as well as the modern degenerate forms known as stur- geons and perhaps the paddle-fishes, which are apparently derived from fishes with rhombic enameled scales. The species extend from the Upper Carboniferous to the present time, being most numerous in the Triassic. At this point in Woodward’s system diverges a descending series, characterized as a whole by imperfect squamation and elongate form, this leading through the synthetic type of Chon- drosteide to the modern sturgeon and paddle-fish, which are regarded as degenerate types. The family of Saurorhynchide contains pike-like forms, with long jaws, and long conical teeth set wide apart. The tail is not heterocercal, but short-diphycercal; the bones of the head are covered with enamel, and those of the roof of the skull form a continuous shield. The opercular apparatus is much reduced, and there are no branchiostegals. The fins are all small, without fulcra, and the skin has isolated longitudinal series of bony scutes, but is not covered with continuous scales. The principal genus is Saurorhynchus (=Belonorhynchus; the former being the earlier name) from the Triassic. Sauwrorhynchus acutus from the English Triassic is the best known species. The family of Chondrosteide includes the Triassic precursors 18 The Ganoids of the sturgeons. The general form is that of the sturgeon, but the body is scaleless except on the upper caudal lobe, and there are no plates on the median line of the skull. The oper- cle and subopercle are present, the jaws are toothless, and there are a few well-developed caudal rays. The caudal has large fulcra. The single well-known species of this group, Chondrosteus acipenseroides, is found in the Triassic rocks of England and reaches a length of about three feet. It much resembles a modern sturgeon, though differing in several technical respects. . Chondrosteus pachyurus is based on the tail of a species of much larger size and Gyrosteus mirabilis, also of the English Triassic, SS : MS) MY ex ° WY Fig. 5.—Chondrosteus acipenseroides Egerton. Family Chondrosteide. (After Woodward.) is known from fragments of fishes which must have been 18 to 20 feet in length. The sturgeons constitute the recent family of Actpenseride, characterized by the prolonged snout and toothless jaws and the presence of four barbels below the snout. In the Actpen- serid@é there are no branchiostegals and a median series of plates is present on the head. The body is armed with five rows of large bony bucklers,—each often with a hooked spine, sharpest in the young. Besides these, rhombic plates are developed on the tail, besides large fulcra. The sturgeons are the youngest _ of the Ganoids, not occurring before the Lower Eocene, one species, Acitpenser toliapicus occurring in the London clay. About thirty living species of sturgeon are known, referred to three genera: Acztpenser, found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, Scaphirhynchus, in the Mississippi Valley, and Kesslerta (later called Pseudoscaphirhynchus), in Central Asia alone. Most of the species belong to the genus Acipenser, which _ abounds in all the rivers and seas in which salmon are found. Some of the smaller species spend their lives in the rivers, ascend- The Ganoids 19 ing smaller streams to spawn. Other sturgeons are marine, ascending fresh waters only for a moderate distance in the spawning season. They range in length from 24 to 30 feet. All are used as food, although the flesh is rather coarse and beefy. From their large size and abundance they possess great economic value. The eggs of some species are prepared as caviar. The sturgeons are sluggish, clumsy, bottom-feeding fish. The mouth, underneath the long snout, is very protractile, sucker-like, and without teeth. Before it on the under side of the snout are four long feelers. Ordinarily the sturgeon feeds on mud and snails with other small creatures, but I have seen Fig. 6.—Common Sturgeon, Acipenser sturio Mitchill. Potomac River. large numbers of Eulachon (Thaletchthys) in the stomach of the Columbia River sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus). This fish and the Eulachon run in the Columbia at the same time, and the sucker-mouth of a large sturgeon will draw into it num- bers of small fishes who may be unsuspiciously engaged in depositing their spawn. In the spawning season in June these clumsy fishes will often leap wholly out of the water in their play. The sturgeons have a rough skin besides five series of bony plates which change much with age and which in very old examples are sometimes lost or absorbed in the skin. The common sturgeon of the Atlantic on both shores is Actpenser sturto. Actpenser huso and numerous other species are found in Russia and Siberia. The great sturgeon of the Columbia is Acitpenser transmontanus, and the great sturgeon of Japan Actpenser kikuchi. Smaller species are found farther south, as in the Mediterranean and along the the Carolina coast. Other small species abound in rivers and lakes. Actpenser rubicundus is found throughout the Great Lake region and the Mississippi Valley, never entering the sea. It is four to six feet long, and at Sandusky, Ohio, in one season 14,000 sturgeons were taken 20 The Ganoids in the pound nets. A similar species, Acipenser mtikadot, is abundant and valuable in the streams of northern Japan. ‘Ss ——_——— Fic. 7.—Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser rubicundus Le Sueur. Ecorse, Mich. In the genus Acipenser the snout is sharp and conical, and the shark-like spiracle is still retained. The shovel-nosed sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platyrhynchus) has lost the spiracles, the tail is more slender, its surface wholly bony, and the snout is broad and shaped like a shovel. The single species of Scaphirhynchus abounds in the Mississippi Fig. 8.—Shovel-nosed Sturgeon. Scaphirhynchus platyrhynchus (Rafinesque). Ohio River. Valley, a fish more interesting to the naturalist than to the fisherman. It is the smallest of our sturgeons, often taken in the nets in large numbers. In Scaphyrhynchus the tail is covered by a continuous coat of mail. In Kessleria* fedtschenkot, rossikowt, and other Asiatic species the tail is not mailed. Order Selachostomi: the Paddle-fishes. — Another type of Ganoids, allied to the sturgeons, perhaps still further degenerate, is that of the paddle-fishes, called by Cope Selachostomi (céAayos, shark; oroya, mouth). This group consists of a single family, Polyodontide, having apparently little in common with the other Ganoids, and in appearance still more suggestive of the sharks. The common name of paddle-fishes is derived from the long flat blade:in which the snout terminates. This ex- tends far beyond the mouth, is more or less sensitive, and is * These species have also been named Pseudoscaphirhynchus. Kessleria is the earlier name, left undefined by its describer, although the type was indicated. The Gateide 21 used to stir up the mud in which are found the minute organisms on which the fish feeds. Under the paddle are four very minute Fie, 9.—Paddle-fish, Polyodon spathula (Walbaum). Ohio River. barbels corresponding to those of the sturgeons. The vernacular names of spoonbill, duckbill cat, and shovel-fish are also derived from the form of the snout. The skin is nearly smooth, the tail is heterocercal, the teeth are very small, and a long fleshy flap covers the gill-opening. The very long and slender gill-rakers Fic. 10.—Paddle-fish, Polyodon spathula (Walbaum). Ohio River. serve to strain the food (worms, leeches, water-beetles, crusta- ceans, and algz) from the muddy waters from which they are taken. The most important part of this diet consists of En- tomostracans. The single American species, Polyodon spathula, abounds through the Mississippi Valley in all the larger streams. It reaches a length of three or four feet. It is often taken in the nets, but the coarse tough flesh, like that of our inferior catfish, is not much esteemed. In the great rivers of China, the Yangtse and the Hoang Ho, is a second species, Fig. 11.—Psephurus gladius Giinther. Yangtse River. (After Giinther.) Psephurus gladius, with narrower snout, fewer gill-rakers, and much coarser fulcra on the tail. The habits, so far as known, are much the same. Crossopholis magnicaudatus of the Green River Roeetie shales is a primitive member of the Polyodontidg. Its rostral blade 22 The Ganoids is shorter than that of Polyodon, and the body is covered with small thin scales, each in the form of a small grooved disk with several posterior denticulations, arranged in oblique series but not in contact. The scales are quadrate in form, and more widely separated anteriorly than posteriorly. As in Polyodon, the teeth are minute and there are no branchiostegals. The squamation of this fish shows that Polyodon as well as Acipenser may have sprung from a type having rhombic scales. The tail of a Cretaceous fish, Pholidurus disjectus from the Cretaceous of Europe, has been referred with doubt to this family of Poly- odontide. Order Pycnodonti.—tIn the extinct order Pycnodontt, as rec- ognized by Dr. O. P. Hay, the notochord is persistent and with- out ossification, the body is very deep, the teeth are always Fic. 12.—Gyrodus hexagonus Agassiz. Family Pycnodontide. Lithographic Shales. blunt, the opercular apparatus is reduced, the dorsal fin many- rayed, and the fins without fulcra. The scales are rhombic, but are sometimes wanting, at least on the tail. Many genera and species of Pycnodontide are described, mostly from Triassic and Jurassic rocks of Europe. Leading European genera are Pycnodus, Typodus (Mesodon), Gyrodus, and Paleobalistum. The numerous American species belong to Typodus, Celodus, Pycnodus, Hadrodus, and Uranoplosus. These forms have no affinity with Balistes, although there is some resemblance in appearance, which has suggested the name of Paleobalistum. The Ganoids 28 Woodward places these fishes with the Semionotide and Ha- lecomorphi in his suborder of Protospondyli. It seems preferable, however, to consider them as forming a distinct order. Order Lepidostei—We may place, following Eastman’s edition of Zittel, the allies and predecessors of the garpike in a single order, for which Huxley’s name Lepidostet may well be used. In this group the notochord is persistent, and the vertebrz are in various degrees of ossification and of different forms. The Fic. 13.—Mesturus verrucosus Wagner. Family Pycnodontide. (After Woodward.) opercles are usually complete, the branchiostegals present, and there is often a gular plate. There is no infraclavicle and the jaws have sharp teeth. The fins have fulcra, and the supports of the fins agree innumber with the rays. The tail is more or less sheterocercal. The scales are rhombic, arranged in oblique series, ‘ which are often united above and below with peg-and-socket articulations. This group contains among recent fishes only the garpikes (Lepisosteus). They are closely allied to the Palgonts- cide, but the skeleton is more highly ossified. On the other hand they approach very closely to the ancestors of the bow- fin, Amita. One genus, Acentrophorus, appears in the Permian; the others are scattered through Mesozoic and Tertiary rocks, the isolated group of gars still persisting. In the gars the vertebree are concavo-convex, with ball-and-socket joints. In the others the vertebrae are incomplete or else double-con- cave, as in fishes generally. 24 The Ganoids For the group here called Lepidostei numerous other names have been used corresponding wholly or in part. Rhombo- ganoidea of Gill covers nearly the same groups; Holoste: of Miller and Hyoganoidea of Gill include the Halecomorphi also; Ginglymodt of Cope includes the garpikes only, while £theo- spondylt of Woodward includes the Aspidorhynchide and the garpikes. Fig. 14.—Semionotus kapffi Fraas, restored. Family Semionotide. (After Fraas, per Nicholson.) The Semionotide (Stylodontide) are robust-bodied Ganoids, having the vertebree developed as rings, the jaws with several rows of teeth, those of the outer row styliform. Semtonotus bergert is a well-known species, with the body moderately elongate. Semzonotus agassizi and many other species occur in the Triassic of the Connecticut valley and in New Jersey. The body is very deep in the related genus Dapedium, and the head is covered with strong bony plates. Dapedium politum is a well-known species of the English Triassic. Tetra- gonolepis (Pleurolepis) is a similar form, very deep and com- . pressed, with strong, firm scales. In the extinct family of Lepidotide the teeth are conical or chisel-shaped, while blunt or molar teeth are on the inside of the mouth, which is small, and the suspensorium of the mandible is vertical or inclined forward. The body is robust-fusiform, covered with rhomboid scales; the vertebrze form rings about the notochord; the teeth are either sharp or blunt. The dorsal fin is short, with large fulcra. The best known of the numerous genera are Lepidotes, rather elongate in body, with large, blunt teeth. Of the many species of Lepidotes, Lepidotes elvensis abounds in the English Sz (Preapooay soqzy) “Mpyouormuogy TUR, “paroysaz ‘yoray wnjrjod wnipadog—ey ‘pr 26 The Ganoids and German Triassic, and Lepidotes minor in the English Triassic. Another well-known European species is Lepidotes mantellt. The Isopholide (Eugnathide) differ from the families last named in the large pike-like mouth with strong teeth. The mandibular suspensorium is inclined backwards. The body is elongate, the vertebrae forming incomplete rings; the dorsal fin is short with large fulcra. Isopholis dentosus is found with numerous other species in the British Triassic. Caturus furcatus is especially characteristic Fic. 16.—Tetragonolepis semicinctus Brown. Lias. Family Semionotide. (After Woodward.) of Triassic rocks in Germany. Ptycholepis marshi occurs in the Connecticut valley. The Macrosemude are elongate fishes with long dorsal fin, the numerous species being found in the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous of Europe. Macrosemius rostratus has a very high, continuous dorsal. Macropistius arenatus is found in the Cretaceous of Texas, the only American species known. Promi- nent European genera are Notagogus, Ophiopsis, and Petalopteryx. Intermediate between the allies of the gars and the modern herrings is the large extinct family of Pholidophoride, referred by Woodward to the Isospondyli, and by Eastman to the Lepi- dostei. These are small fishes, fusiform in shape, chiefly of lz CPST ‘PreuoqoW “T “W wes puv uepior “g “q ‘einjzeu WOIq) ‘“UWsuodstAA ‘aA NOY “(snauury) snasso snajsosidaT ‘ayidiery posou-Bu0T oy,—'sT ‘SIT (PIVMPOOA\ JazsV) “SIT “(zisseBy) snwojsoyjio sipoydosr— Ly ‘PIy 28 The Ganoids the Triassic and Jurassic. The fins are fringed with fulcra, the scales are ganoid and rhombic, and the vertebre reduced Fie. 19.—Caturus elongatus Agassiz. Jurassic. Family Isopholide. (After Zittel.) to rings. The mouth is large, with small teeth, and formed as in the Isospondyli, The caudal is scarcely heterocercal. Fic. 20.—Notagogus pentlandi Agassiz. Jurassic. Family Macrosemiide. (After Woodward.) Of Pholidophorus, with scales joined by peg-and-socket joints and uniform in size, there are many species. Pholidophorus Fic. 21.—Ptycholepis curtus Egerton. Lias. Family Isopholide (After Woodward.) (eG latiusculus and many others are found in the Triassic of England and the Continent. Pholidophorus americanus occurs in the The Ganoids 29 Jurassic of South Dakota. Pleuropholis, with the scales on the lateral line, which runs very low, excessively deepened, is also widely distributed. I have before me a new species from the Cretaceous rocks near Los Angeles. The Archeomenide differ from Pholidophoride in having cycloid scales. In both families the vertebree are reduced to rings about the notochord. From fishes allied to the Pholidophoride the earliest Isospondyli are probably descended. In the Aspidorhynchide the snout is more or less produced, the mandible has a distinct presymphysial bone, the vertebrze are double-concave or ring-like, and the fins are without fulcra. This family constitutes the suborder A:theospondyli. In form these fishes resemble Albula and other modern types, but have Fig. 22.—Pholidophorus crenulatus Egerton. Lias. (After Woodward.) mailed heads and an ancient type of scales. Two genera are well known, Aspidorhynchus and Belonostomus. Aspidorhyn- chus acuttrostris reaches a length of three feet, and is found in the Triassic lithographic stone of Bavaria. Other species occur in rocks of Germany and England. Belonostomus has the snout scarcely produced. Belono- stomus sphyrenoides is the best known of the numerous species, all of the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous. Family Lepisosteidez.—The family of Lepzsosterde, constituting the suborder Ginglymodi (yiyyAvmos, hinge), is characterized especially by the form of the vertebre. These are opisthoccelian, convex in front and concave behind, as in reptiles, being connected by ball-and-socket joints. The tail is moderately heterocercal, less so than in the Halecomorphi, and the body is covered with very hard, diamond-shaped, enameled 30 The Ganoids scales in structure similar to that of the teeth. A number of peculiar characters are shown by these fishes, some of them having often been regarded as reptilian traits. Notable features are the elongate, crocodile-like jaws, the upper the longer, and both armed with strong teeth. The mandible is without pre- symphysial bone. The fins are small with large fulcra, and the scales are nearly uniform in size. All the species belong to a single family, Leptsostetde, which includes the modern garpikes and their immediate relatives, some of which occur in the early Tertiary. These voracious fishes are characterized by long and slender cylindrical bodies, with enameled scales and mailed heads and heterocercal tail. The teeth are sharp and unequal. The skeleton is well ossified, and the animal itself is extremely voracious. The vertebre, reptile-like, are opisthoccelian, that is, convex in front, concave behind, forming ball-and-socket joints. In almost all other fishes they are amphiccelian or double-concave, the interspace filled with gelatinous substance. The recent species, and per- haps all the extinct species also, belong to the single genus Lepisosteus (more correctly, but also more recently, spelled Lepidosteus). Of existing forms there are not many species, three to five at the most, and they swarm in the lakes, bayous, and sluggish streams from Lake Champlain to Cuba and along the coast to Central America. The best known of the species is the long-nosed garpike, Lepisosteus osseus, which is found throughout most of the Great Lake region and the Mississippi Valley, and in which the long and slender jaws are much longer than the rest of the head. The garpike frequents quiet waters and is apparently of sleepy habit. It often lies quiet for a long time, carried around and around by the eddies. It does not readily take the hook and seldom feeds in the aquarium. It feeds on crayfishes and small fishes, to which it is exceedingly destructive, as its bad reputation indicates. Fishermen every- where destroy it without mercy. Its flesh is rank and tough and unfit even for dogs. In the young garpike the caudal fin appears as a second dorsal and anal, the filamentous tip of the tail passing through and beyond it. The short-nosed garpike, Lepisosteus platystomus, is gener- The Ganoids 31 ally common throughout the Mississippi Valley. It has a short broad snout like the alligator gar, but seldom exceeds three feet in length. In size, color, and habits it agrees closely with the common gar, differing only in the form of the snout. The form is subject to much variation, and it is possible that two or more species have been confounded. The great alligator-gar, Lepisosteus tristechus, reaches a length of twenty feet or more, and is a notable inhabitant of the streams about the Gulf of Mexico. Its snout is broad and relatively wide, and its teeth are very strong. It is very de- structive to all sorts of food-fishes. Its flesh is worthless, and its enameled scales resist a spear or sometimes even shot. Fic. 23.—Alligator-gar, Lepisosteus tristechus (Bloch). Cuba. It breathes air to a certain extent by its lungs, but soon dies in foul water, not having the tenacity of life seen in Ama. Embryology of the Garpike.— Mr. Alexander Agassiz has given an account of the embryology of the garpike, of which the following is an abstract: “The garpike comes up the St. Lawrence in May, lays its eggs about the zoth, and then disappears. The eggs are large, viscous, stick fast in an isolated way to whatever they fall upon, and look much like those of toads, having a large outer membrane and a small yolk. Artificial fecundation failed, but about soo naturally-laid eggs were secured, of which all but 30 perished through mold. The young began to hatch in six days. Out of 30 young hatched, 27 lived until the 15th of July. Connection with the sharks appears in the similarity of the branchial arches and by the presence of the lateral fold in which the pectoral fins are formed; the way the tail is developed is very like that of the bony fishes. Among the Ganoids it appears, as well as in ordinary fishes, the dorsal cord is straight at first, then assumes a slightly up- 32 The Ganoids ward curve at the extremity, when finally there appears the beginning of a lobe underneath, pointing to a complete hetero- cercal tail. All this is as in the bony fishes, but this is the permanent condition of the garpike, while in the bony fishes the extremity of the dorsal cord becomes extinct. The mode of development of the pectoral lobe (very large in this species) furnishes another resemblance. In the brain, and in the mode of formation of the gills, a likeness to the sharks is noticeable. The young garpikes move very slowly, and seem to float quietly, save an exceedingly rapid vibration of the pectorals and the tip of the tail. They do not swim about much, but attach themselves to fixed objects by an extraordinary horseshoe- shaped ring of sucker-appendages about the mouth. These appendages remain even after the snout has become so extended that the ultimate shape is hinted at; and furthermore, it is a remnant of this feature that forms the fleshy bulb at the end of the snout in the adult. The investigations thus far show that the young garpike has many characteristics in common with the sharks and skates, but it is not so different from the bony fishes as has been supposed.”’ Fossil Garpikes.—A number of fossil garpikes, referred by Cope to the genus Clastes and by Eastman and Woodward to Lepidosteus, are found in the Eocene of Europe and America. The most perfect of these remains is called Lepisosteus atrox, upward of four feet long, as large as an alligator-gar, which the species much resembles. Although found in the Eocene, Dr. C. R. Eastman declares that “it has no positively archaic features. If we inquire into the more remote or pre-Eocene history of Lepidosteids, paleontology gives no answer. They blossom forth suddenly and fully differentiated at the dawn of the Tertiary, without the least clue to their ancestry, unheralded and unaccompanied by any intermediate forms, and they have remained essentially unchanged ever since.”’ Another fossil species is Leptsosteus fimbriatus, from the Upper Eocene of England. Scales and other fragments of garpikes are found in Germany, Belgium, and France, in Eocene and Miocene rocks. On some of these the nominal genera Natsia, Trichiurides, and Pneumatosteus are founded. Clastes, regarded by Eastman as fully identical with Leptsosteus, is said The Ganoids 34 to have the ‘‘mandibular ramus without or with a reduced fissure of the dental foramen, and without the groove con- tinuous with it in Lepisosteus. One series of large teeth, with _ small ones external to them on the dentary bone.’’ Most of the fossil forms belong to Clastes, but the genus shows no differ- ence of importance which will distinguish it from the ordinary garpike. Order Halecomorphi.—To this order belong the allies, living or extinct, of the bowfin (Amia), having for the most part cycloid scales and vertebre approaching those of ordinary 7 \ piles ou WN jy i \\n Mababw Mh, ‘ \ fishes. The resemblance to the Jsospondyli, or herring group, is indicated in the name (Halec, a herring; popdy, form). The notochord is persistent, the vertebrz variously ossified. The opercles are always complete. The branchiostegals are broad and there is always a gular plate. The teeth are pointed, usually strong. There is no infraclavicle. Fulcra are present or absent. The supports of the dorsal and anal are equal in num- ber to the rays. Tail heterocercal. Scales thin, mostly cycloid, but bony at base, not jointed with each other. Mandible com- plex, with well-developed splenial rising into a coronoid process, which is completed by a distinct coronoid bone. Pectoral fin with more than five actinosts; scales ganoid or cycloid. In the living forms the air-bladder is connected with the cesophagus through life; optic chiasma present; intestine with a spiral valve. This group corresponds to the Amioider of Liitken ll—3 34 The Ganoids : and essentially to the Cycloganoidet of Gill. The Protospondyli (xporos, before; ozovédvdos, vertebra) of Woodward contains essentially the same elements. Pachycormide.—In the family of Pachycormide the noto- chord is persistent, the ethmoids and vomer fused and pro- jecting between the maxillaries to form the prominent snout, the teeth large, the body fusiform, the dorsal short, with slender tays and few fulcra or none, and the scales are thin and rhombic. The numerous species are characteristic of the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous. In Sauropsis (longimana) the body. is elon- gate, and the pectoral fins are large and sickle-shaped. Luthy- notus has small fulcra. In Pachycormus (macropterus, esocinus, etc.) the form is robust and the ventral fins are wanting. In Hypsycormus ventrals are present, and the caudal deeply forked. In the American family of Protosphyrenide the jaws are armed with very strong teeth, as in the Barracuda, which, however, the species do not resemble in other respects. Proto- sphyrena nitida, perniciosa, and numerous other extinct forms, some of them of large size, were voracious inhabitants of the Cretaceous seas, and are found fossil, especially in North Carolina and Kansas. Numerous species called Erisichthe and Pelecopterus are all referred by Hay to Protosphyrena. In this family the scapula and coracoids are ossified, and perhaps. the vertebre also, and, as Dr. Hay has recently suggested, the Protosphyrenide may really belong to the J. sospondyli, In any event, they stand on the border-line between the most fish-like of the Ganoids and the most archaic of the bony fishes. The Lrodesmide (genus Liodesmus) are much like Amia, but the notochord is persistent, its sheath without ossification. Liodesmus gracilis and L. sprattiformis occur in the lithographic stones of Bavaria. Woodward places Liodesmus with Megalurus among the Amzide. The Bowfins: Amiide.—The Amide have the vertebree more complete. The dorsal fin is many-rayed and is without distinct fulcra. The diamond-shaped enameled scales disappear, giving place to cycloid scales, which gradually become thin and mem- branous in structure. A median gular plate is developed be- ° tween the branchiostegals. The tail is moderately heterocercal, and the head covered with a bony coat of mail. The Ganoids 35 The family of Amiide contains a single recent species, Amia calva, the only living member of the order Halecomor phi. The bowfin, or grindle, is a remarkable fish abounding in the lakes and swamps of the Mississippi Valley, the Great Lake region, and southward to Virginia, where it is known by the imposing but unexplained title of John A. Grindle. In the Great Lakes it is usually called “dogfish,” because even the dogs will not eat it, and “lawyer,” because, according to Dr. Kirtland, “it will bite at anything and is good for nothing when caught.” The bowfin reaches a length of two and one half feet, the male being smaller than the female and marked by an ocellated black spot on the tail. Both sexes are dark mottled green in Fig. 25.—Bowfin (female), Amia calva Linneus. Lake Michigan. color. The flesh of the species is very watery, pasty, much of the substance evaporating when exposed to the air. It is ill-flavored, and is not often used as food. The species is very voracious and extremely tenacious of life. Its well-devel- oped lung enables it to breathe even when out of the water, and it will live in the air longer than any other fish of American waters, longer even than the horned pout (Ameziurus) or the mud-minnow (Umbra). As a game fish the grindle is one of the very best, if the angler does not care for the flesh of what he catches, it being one of the hardest fighters that ever took the hook. ‘The Amiide retain many of the Ganoid characters, though approaching more nearly than any other of the Ganoids to the modern herring tribe. For this reason the name Halecomorphi (shad-formed) was given to this order by Professor Cope. The gular plate found in Amia and other Ganoids reappears in the herring-like family of Elopide, which includes the tarpon and the ten-pounder. 36 The Ganoids Woodward unites the extinct genera called Cyclurus, Noteus, Amiopsis, Protamia, Hypamia, and Pappichthys with Amuza. Pappichthys (corsont, etc.), from the Wyoming Eocene, is doubt- less a valid genus, having but one row of teeth in each jaw, and Amiopsis is also recognized by Hay. Woodward refers to Ama the following extinct species: Amza valenciennesi, from the Miocene of France; Amia macrocephala, from the Miocene of Bohemia; and Amza ignota, from the Eocene of Paris. Other species of Amia are known from fragments. Several of these are from the Eocene of Wyoming and Colorado. Some of them have a much shorter dorsal fin than that of Amza calva and may be generically different. The genus Megalurus differs from Amza in the still shorter dorsal fin, less than one-third the length of the back. The body is elongate and much depressed. Megalurus lepidotus Fic. 26.—Megalurus elegantissimus Wagner. Family Amiide. (After Zittel.) and several other species are found in the lithographic stones of Bavaria and elsewhere. The Oligopleuride.— In the extinct family Oligopleuride the scales are cycloid, the bones of the head scarcely enameled, and the vertebra well ossified. Fulcra are present, and the mouth is large, with small teeth. The genera are Oligopleurus, Ionoscopus, and Spathiurus, the species not very numerous and chiefly of the Cretaceous. Ionoscopus cyprinoides of the lithographic shales of Bavaria is a characteristic species. From the three families last named, with the Pholidophoride, there is an almost perfect transition from the Ganoid fishes to teleosteans of the order of Isospondyli, the primitive order from which all other bony fishes are perhaps descended. The family of Leptolepide, differing from Oligopleuride in the absence of fulcra, is here placed with the Jsospondyli, but it might about as well be regarded as Ganoid. CHAPTER III ISOSPONDYLI still remain for discussion constitute the great sub- y| class or series of Teleostei (reAeos, true; ooréor, bone), or ar fishes. They lack wholly or partly the Ganoid traits, or show them only in the embryo. The tail is slightly, if at all, heterocercal; the actinosts of the pectoral fins are few and large, rarely over five in number, except among the eels; the fulcra disappear; the air-bladder is no longer cellular, except in very tare cases, nor does it assist in respiration. The optic nerves are separate, one running to each eye without crossing; the skeleton is almost entirely bony, the notochord usually dis- appearing entirely with age; the valves in the arterial bulb are reduced in number, and the spiral valve of the intestines disappears. Traces of each of the Ganoid traits may persist somewhere in some group, but as a whole we see a distinct specialization and a distinct movement toward the fish type, with the loss of characters distinctive of sharks, Dipnoans, and Ganoids. In a general way the skeleton of all Teleosts corre- sponds with that of the striped bass (see Figs 22, 23, Vol. I), and the visceral anatomy is in all cases sufficiently like that of the sunfish (Fig. 16, Vol. I). The mesocoracoid or preecoracoid arch, found in all Ganoids, persists in the less specialized types of bony fishes, although no trace of it is found in the perch-like forms. With all this, there is developed among the bony fishes an infinite variety in details of structure. For this reason the Teleostei must be broken into many orders, and these orders are very different in value and in degrees of distinctness, the various groups being joined by numerous and puzzling intergradations. 37 38 Isospondyli Order Isospondyli—Of the various subordinate groups of bony fishes, there can be no question as to which is most primi- tive in structure, or as to which stands nearest the orders of Ganoids. Earliest of the bony fishes in geological time is the order of Isospondyli (tcos, equal; oxovévuios, vertebra), contain- the allies, recent or fossil, of the herring and the trout. This order contains those soft-rayed fishes in which the ventral fins are abdominal, a mesocoracoid or precoracoid arch is de- veloped, and the anterior vertebrae are unmodified and essen- tially similar to the others. The orbitosphenoid is present in all typical forms. In certain forms of doubtful affinity ([miomz) the mesocoracoid is wanting or lost in degeneration. Through the Isospondyli all the families of fishes yet to be considered are apparently descended, their ancestors being Ganoid fishes and, still farther back, the Crossopterygians. Woodward gives this definition of the Isospondyli: ‘‘ Noto- chord varying in persistence, the vertebral centra usually com- plete, but none coalesced; tail homocercal, but hamal supports not much expanded or fused. Symplectic bone present, mandible simple, each dentary consisting only of two elements (dentary and articulo-angular), with rare rudiments of a splenoid on the inner side. Pectoral arch suspended from the cranium; pre- coracoid (mesocoracoid) arch present; infraclavicular plates wanting. Pelvic (ventral) fins abdominal. Scales ganoid only in the less specialized families. In the living forms air-bladder connected with the cesophagus in the adult; optic nerves decus- sating (without chiasma), and intestine either wanting spiral valve or with an incomplete representative of it.” The Classification of the Bony Fishes.—The classification of fishes has been greatly complicated by the variety of names applied to groups which are substantially but not quite identical one with another. The difference in these schemes of classi- fication lies in the point of view. In all cases a single character must be brought to the front; such characters never stand quite alone, and to lay emphasis on another character is to make an alteration large or small in the name or in the bounda- ries of a class or order. Thus the Ostariophyst with the Iso- spondyli, Haplomi, and a few minor groups make up the great division of the Abdominales. These are fishes in which the Isospondyli 39 \ ventral fins are abdominal, that is, inserted backward, so that the pelvis is free from the clavicle, the two sets of limbs being attached to different parts of the skeleton. Most of the ab- dominal fishes are also soft-rayed fishes, that is, without con- secutive spines in the dorsal and anal fins, and they show a number of other archaic peculiarities. The Malacopterygians (ualakos, soft; zrepvé, fin) of Cuvier therefore correspond very nearly to the Abdominals. But they are not quite the same, as the spiny-rayed parracudas and mullets have abdominal ventrals, and many unquestioned thoracic or jugular fishes, as the sea- snails and brotulids, have lost, through degeneration, all of their fin-spines. In nearly but not quite all of the Abdominal fishes the slender tube connecting the air-bladder with the cesophagus persists through life. This character defines Miuller’s order of Physostomi (@vaods, bladder; crdua, mouth), as opposed to his Physoclystt (@ucos, bladder; xAeiorods, closed), in which this tube is present in the embryo or larva only. Thus the Thoracices and Jugulares, or fishes having the ventrals thoracic or jugular, together correspond almost exactly to’ the Acanthopterygians, (axavéa, spine; xzrepvé, fin), or spiny-rayed fishes of Cuvier, or to the Physoclystt of Miller. The Malacopterygians, the Abdomz- nales, and the Physostomi are in the same way practically identical groups. As the spiny-rayed fishes have mostly ctenoid scales, and the soft-rayed fishes cycloid scales, the Physostomi correspond roughly to Agassiz’s C'ycloidet, and the Physoclysti to his Ctenordez. But in none of these cases is the correspondence perfectly exact, and in any system of classification we must choose charac- ters for primary divisions so ancient and therefore so perma- nent as to leave no room for exceptions. The extraordinary difficulty of doing this, with the presence of most puzzling intergradations, has led Dr. Gill to suggest that the great body of bony fishes, soft-rayed and spiny-rayed, abdominal, thoracic, and jugular alike, be placed in a single great order which he calls Teleocephali (redeos, perfect; xepadn, head). The aberrant forms with defective skull and membrane-bones he would sepa- rate as minor offshoots from this great mass with the name of separate orders. But while the divisions of Teleocephali 40 Isospondyli are not strongly differentiated, their distinctive characters are real, ancient, and important, while those of the aberrant groups, called orders by Gill (as Plectognathi, Pediculati, Hemibranchit), are relatively modern and superficial, which is one reason why they are more easily defined. There seems to us no special advantage in the retention of a central order Teleocephali,, from which the divergent branches are separated as distinct orders. While our knowledge of the osteology and embryology of most of the families of fishes is very incomplete, it is evident that the relationships of the groups cannot be shown in any linear series or by any conceivable arrangement of orders and suborders. The living teleost fishes have sprung from many lines of descent, their relationships are extremely diverse, and their differences are of every possible degree of value. The ordinary schemes have magnified the value of a few common characters,’ at the same time neglecting other differences of equal value. No system of arrangement which throws these fishes into large groups can ever be definite or permanent. Relationships of Isospondyli—For our purposes we may divide the physostomous fishes as understood by Muller into several orders, the most primitive, the most generalized, and economically the most important being the order of I[sospondyli. This order contains those bony fishes which have the anterior vertebre unaltered (as distinguished from the Ostariophysi), the skull relatively complete, or at least not eel-like, the mesocoracoid typically developed, but atrophied in deep-sea forms and finally lost, the orbitosphenoid present. In all the species the ventral fins are abdominal and normally composed of more than six rays; the air-duct is developed. The scales are chiefly cycloid and the fins are without true spines. In many ways the order is more primitive than Nematognathi, Plectospondyli, or A podes. It is certain that it began earlier in geological time than any of these. On the other hand, the Isospondyli are closely con- nected through the Berycoidet with the highly specialized fishes. The continuity of the natural series is therefore interrupted by the interposition of the side branches of Ostariophysans and eels before considering the Haplomi and the other transitional forms. The forms called Iniomi, which lack the mesocoracoid and the Isospondyli 41 orbitosphenoid, have been lately transferred to the Haplomi by Boulenger. This arrangement is probably a step in advance. Ganoid traits are present in certain families of Isospondylt. Among these are the gular plate (found in Amza and the Elopide), doubtless derived from the similar structure in earlier Ganoids; additional valves in the arterial bulb in the cellular air-bladder of Notopterus and Osteoglossum, the spiral intestinal valve in Chirocentride, and the ganoid scales of the extinct Lepto- lepide, The Clupeoidea.—The Isospondyli are divisible into numerous families, which may be grouped roughly under three subdivisions, Clupeoidea, the herring-like forms; the Salmonoidea, the trout-like forms; and the Juiomi, or lantern-fishes, and their allies. The last-named group should probably be removed from the order of Isospondylt1. In the Clupeoidea, the allies of the great family of the herring, the shoulder-girdle is normally developed, retain- ing the mesocoracoid arch on its inner edge, and through the post-temporal is articulated above with the cranium. The fishes in this group lack the adipose fin which is characteristic of most of the higher or salmon-like families. The Leptolepide.—Most primitive of the Isospondyli is the extinct family of Leptolepide, closely allied to the Ganoid families of Pholidophoride and Oligopleuride. It is composed of graceful, Fig. 27.—Leptolepis dubius Blainville, Lithographic Stone. (After Woodward.) herring-like fishes, with the bones of the head thin but covered with enamel, and the scales thin but firm and enameled on their free portion. There are no fulcra and there is no lateral line. The vertebre are well developed, but always pierced by the notochord. The genera are Lycoptera, Leptolepis, A:thalion, and Thrissops. In Lycoptera of the Jurassic of China the 42 Isospondyli vertebral centra are feebly developed, and the dorsal fin short and posterior. In Leptolepis the anal is short and placed behind the dorsal. There are many species, mostly from the Triassic and lithographic shales of Europe, one being found in the Cretaceous. Leptolepis coryphenotdes and Leptolepts dubius are among the more common species. Athalion (knorrt) differs in the form of the jaws. In Thrissops the anal fin is long and opposite the dorsal. Thrissops salmonea is found in the lithographic stone; Thrissops exigua in the Cretaceous. In all these early forms there is a hard casque over the brain- cavity, as in the living types, Amia and Osteoglossum. The Elopide.—The family of Elopide contains large fishes herring-like in form and structure, but having a flat membrane- Fra, 28.—Ten-pounder, Elups saurus lL. An ally of the earliest bony fishes. Virginia. bone or gular plate between the branches of the lower jaw, as in the Ganoid genus Ama. The living species are few, abound- ing in the tropical seas, important for their size and numbers, AN) ee a9) 4’ Ye Fic, 29.—A primitive Herring-like fish, [olcolepis lewesiensis, Mantell Family Elopide. English Chalk. (After Woodward.) ic though not valued as food-fishes save to those who, like the Hawaiians and Japanese, eat fishes raw. These people prefer Isospondyli 43 for that purpose the white-meated or soft-fleshed forms like Elops or Scarus to those which yield a better flavor when cooked. The ten-pounder (Elops saurus), pike-like in form but with very weak teeth, is found in tropical America. Elops machnata, the jackmariddle, the awaawa of the Hawaiians, abounding in the Pacific, is scarcely if at all different. The tarpon, called also grande écaille, silver-king, and sabalo (Tarpon atlanticus), is a favorite game-fish along the coasts of Florida and Carolina. It takes the hook with great spirit, and Fic. 30.—Tarpon or Grande Eeaille, Tarpon atlanticus Cuv. & Val. Florida. as it reaches a length of six feet or more it affords much excite- ment to the successful angler. The very large scales are much used in ornamental work. A similar species of smaller size, also with the last ray of the dorsal very much produced, is Megalops cyprinoides of the East Indies. Other species occur in the South Seas. Numerous fossil genera related to Elops are found in the Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks. Holcolepis lewesiensis (wrongly called Osmeroides) is the best-known European species. Numer- ous species are referred to Elopopsis. Megalops prisca and species of Elops also occur in the London Eocene. In all these the large parietals meet along the median line of the skull. In the closely related family of Spaniodontide the parietals are small and do not meet. All the species of this group, united by Woodward with the Elopide, are extinct. These fishes preceded the Elopide in the Cretaceous period. Leading genera are Thrissopater and Spaniodon, the latter armed with large teeth. Spaniodon blondeli is from the Creta- 44 Isospondyli ceous of Mount Lebanon. Many other species are found in the European and American Cretaceous rocks, but are known from imperfect specimens only. Sardinius, an American Cretaceous fossil herring, may stand near Spaniodon. Rhacolepis buccalis and Notelops brama are found in Brazil, beautifully preserved in concretions of cal- careous mud supposed to be of Cretaceous age. The extinct family of Pachyrhizodontide is perhaps allied to the Elopide. Numerous species of Pachyrhizodus are found in the Cretaceous of southern England and of Kansas. The Albulide.—The Albulide, or lady-fishes, characterized by the blunt and rounded teeth, are found in most warm seas. Fic. 31.+The Lady-fish, Albula vulpes (Linneus). Florida. Albula vulpes is a brilliantly silvery fish, little valued as food. The metamorphosis (see Fig. 112, Vol. I) which the larva under- goes is very remarkable. It is probably, however, more or less typical of the changes which take place with soft-rayed fishes generally, though more strongly marked in Albula and in certain eels than in most related forms. Fossils allied to Albula, Albula owent, Chanoides macropomus, are found in the Eocene of Europe; Syntegmodus altus in the Cretaceous of Kansas. In Chanoides, the most primitive genus, the teeth are much fewer than in Albula. Plethodus and Thryptodus, with peculiar dental plates on the roof and floor of the mouth, probably constitute a dis- tinct family, Thryptodontide. The species are found in Euro- pean and American rocks, but are known from imperfect speci- mens only. The Chanide#.—The Chanide, or milkfishes, constitute another small archaic type, found in the tropical Pacific. They are Isospondyli AS large, brilliantly silvery, toothless fishes, looking like enormous dace, swift in the water, and very abundant in the Gulf of ED Fic. 32.—Milkfish, Chanos chanos (L.). Mazatlan. California, Polynesia, and India. The single living species is the Awa, or milkfish, Chanos chanos, largely used as food in Hawaii. Species of Prochanos and Chanos occur in the Cretaceous, Eocene, and Miocene. Allied to Chanos is the Cretaceous genus Ancylostylos (gibbus), probably the type of a distinct family, toothless and with many-rayed dorsal. The Hiodontide.The Hiodontide, or mooneyes, inhabit the rivers of the central portion of the United States and Canada. Fig. 33.—Mooneye, Hiodon tergisus Le Sueur. Ecorse, Mich. They are shad-like fishes with brilliantly silvery scales and very strong sharp teeth, those on the tongue especially long. They are very handsome fishes and take the hook with spirit, but the flesh is rather tasteless and full of small bones, much like that 46 Isospondyli — of the milkfish, The commonest species is Hiodon tergisus. No fossil Hiodontide are known. The Pterothrisside.—The Pterothrisside are sea-fishes like Albula, but more slender and with a long dorsal fin. They live Fic. 34.—Istieus 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 Istieus, from the Upper Cretaceous, probably be- longs near the Pterothrisside. Istieus grandis is the best-known Fig. 35.—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, Lr (‘Biaquiayg “FT sapivy,) Sq yderBoyoyg) ‘edog snssojow snoyjiog JO Uox]Pyxs auRsty—'9e “OI PAL III DIY re | am % na AAD eens gga SNT as Ne 48 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. Se The Ctenothrisside.—A related family, Ctenothrisside, is represented solely by extinct Cretaceous species. In this group Wen Fig. 37.—Ctenothrissa vexillifera Pictet, restored. Mt. Lebanon Cretaceous. (After 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 re) 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. primevus, 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 tftee pieces. In most of the genera the belly ends in a serrated edge, though in the true herring this is not very evident, Fie. 38.—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 pallast, 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 vertebree 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) vertebra. The alewife, or branch-herring (Pomolobus pseudoharengus), ascends the rivers to spawn and has become land-locked in 1I—4 50 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 aed it } My Wy k YY) Y WA ah RR \/\F 1S, YOOX oe4 i Tia. 39.—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 very 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 Espafia” of Isospondyli 51 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 Optsthonema, 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, Brevoortia tyrannus, inhabiting the sandy coasts from New England southward. It is a coarse and bony fish, rarely Fic. 40.—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 whale-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 ig Isospondyli tropics and are largely salted and dried by the Chinese. Among these are Ilisha 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. Hvstiothrissa Fig. 41.—A fossil Herring, Diplomystus humilis Leidy. (From a specimen obtained at Green River, Wyo.) The scutes along the back lost in the specimen. Family Clupecde. 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 Isospondyli 53 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 Fig. 42.—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 54 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, is 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 vertebre 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 vertebre are fewer, the Fra, 43.—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 fram 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 sivaetine covering the head, weak dentition, the dorsal fin small, and ‘wprysuhysoucy Ape y ‘as00q JaANT userrn ‘adog snynoso snauohojoN— Fh 56 Isospondyli posterior without spines. The mesocoracoid is present as in ordinary Isospondyli. 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 Cromeriide the head and body are naked. The Osteoglosside.—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 400 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 ey Other species are Phareodus acutus, known from the jaws; P. encaustus is known from a mass of thick scales with retic- ulate or mosaic-like surface, much as in Osteoglossum, and P. e@quipennis from a small example, perhaps immature. Fic. 45.—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 muellert, 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 buchholzt, a small fish of the brooks of West Africa, gs CyysIuy “OD Inq Aq ydesBoz0yq) “SurOd A “[ISSOT 7B ‘snpoasny Bulvaq ‘sa[Vyg Jaary usar) jo spisodeaq— 9p “OI 6S (ays ‘CE angi “Jorg Aq ydesSojoyg) “Surwo0AM ‘TIssog ‘so[Byg eus00q IOAN Usein ‘oxo ‘snjshwmopdig ‘snpoavyg ‘saysy [Issoq Jo yoyeo sAep W— Lp ‘DL 60 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 Hsien, Fig. 48.—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 IV SALMONIDZE HIHE Salmon Family.—The series or suborder Salmonoidea, +m ii or allies of the salmon and trout, are characterized as a Waew’-+} whole by the presence of the adipose fin, a struc- ture 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 Salmomide, 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. Pseudobranchiz 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. Vertebre in large number, usually about sixty. 61 62 Salmonidz The stomach in all the Salmonide is siphonal, and at the pylorus are many (15 to 200) comparatively large pyloric cceca. 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 Khabdofario 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 63 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 williamsont) has also a small mouth and projecting snout, but the latter is blunter Fic. 49.—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 64 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 Coregonz. The adult fishes develop a considerable fleshy hump at the Nyy) aNSAS) AARP RR: IY) Fic. 50.—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 Salmonidze 65 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 Cyprinidae. Argyrosomus, the Lake Herring.—In the genus Argyrosonius 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 hoyt). 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 artedz), 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 66 Salmonidz 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 NG PN yh Ha \ YR RRZAY y i yey Waywynry yyy RSX UK i OOO I KEN OOK KK ON ‘i NNN Anny) Ne SH Nan XX ee RY AOC Fic. 51.—Bluefin Cisco, Argyrosomus nigripinnis Gill. Sheboygan. Michigan during the periods of their absence. One author, con- founding “‘cisco”’ with “‘siscowet,’’ has assumed that this under- ground passage leads to Lake Superior, and that the cisco is identical with the fat lake trout which bears the latter name. The name “lake herring’’ alludes to the superficial resemblance which this species possesses to the marine herring, a fish of quite a different family. Closely allied to the lake herring is the bluefin of Lake Michi- gan and of certain lakes in New York (Argyrosomus nigripinnis), a fine large species inhabiting deep waters, and recognizable by the blue-black color of its lower fins. In the lakes of central New York are found two other species, the so-called lake smelt (Argyrosomus osmerifornis) and the long-jaw (Argyrosomus Salmonide _ 67 prognathus). Argyrosomus lucidus is abundant in Great Bear Lake. In Alaska and Siberia are still other species of the cisco type (Argyrosomus lauretta, A. pusillus, A. alascanus); and in Europe very similar species are the Scotch vendace (Argyrosomus vandestus) and the Scandinavian Lok-Sild (lake herring), as well as others less perfectly known. The Tullibee, or ‘mongrel whitefish”? (Argyrosomus tullibee), has a deep body, like the shad, with the large mouth of the ciscoes. It is found in the Great Lake region and northward, and very little is known of its habits. A similar species (Argy- rosomus cyprinoides) is recorded from Siberia—a region which is peculiarly suited for the growth of the Coregoni, but in wabiclt the species have never received much study. Brachymystax and Stenodus, the Inconnus.—Another little- known form, intermediate between the whitefish and the salmon, Fig. 52.—Inconnu, Stenodus mackenziei (Richardson). Nulato, Alaska. is Brachymystax lenock, a large fish of the mountain streams of Siberia. Only the skins brought home by Pallas a century ago are yet known. According to Pallas, it sometimes reaches a weight of eighty pounds. Still another genus, intermediate between the whitefish and the salmon, is Stenodus, distinguished by its elongate body, feeble teeth, and projecting lower jaw. The Inconnu, or Mac- kenzie River salmon, known on the Yukon as ‘“‘charr’”’ (Stenodus mackenziet), belongs to this genus. It reaches a weight of twenty pounds or more, and in the far north is a food-fish of good quality. It runs in the Yukon as far as White Horse Rapids. Not much is recorded of its habits, and few specimens exist in 68 Salmonidz museums. A species of Stenodus called Stenodus leucichthys inhabits the Volga, Obi, Lena, and other northern rivers; but as yet little is definitely known of the species. Oncorhynchus, the Quinnat Salmon.—The genus Oncorlyn- chus contains the salmon of the Pacific. They are in fact, as well as in name, the king salmon. The genus is closely related to Salmo, with which it agrees in general as to the structure of its vomer, and from which it differs in the increased number of anal rays, branchiostegals, pyloric cceca, and gill- rakers. The character most convenient for distinguishing Oncorhynchus, young or old, from all the species of Salmo, is the number of developed rays in the anal fin. These in Onco- rhynchus are thirteen to twenty, in Salmo nine to twelve. The species of Oncorhynchus have long been known as anad- romous salmon, confined to the North Pacific. The species were first made known nearly one hundred and fifty years ago by that most exact of early observers, Steller, who, almost simultaneously with Krascheninnikov, another early investigator, described and distinguished them with perfect accuracy under their Russian vernacular names. These Russian names were, in 1792, adopted by Walbaum as specific names in giving to these animals a scientific nomenclature. Five species of Oncorhynchus are well known on both shores of the North Pacific, besides one other in Japan. These have been greatly misunderstood by early observers on account of the extraordinary changes due to differ- ences in surroundings, in sex, and in age, and in conditions con- nected with the process of reproduction. There are five species of salmon (Oncorhynchus) in the waters of the North Pacific, all found on both sides, besides one other which is known only from the waters of Japan. These species may be called: (1) the quinnat, or king-salmon, (2) the blue- back salmon, or redfish, (3) the silver salmon, (4) the dog- salmon, (5) the humpback salmon, and (6) the masu; or (1) Oncorhynchus tschawytscha, (2) Oncorhynchus nerka, (3) Onco- rhynchus milktschitsch, (4) Oncorhynchus keta, (5) Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, (6) Oncorhynchus masou. All these species save the last are now known to occur in the waters of Kamchatka, as well as in those of Alaska and Oregon. These species, in all their varied conditions, may usually be distinguished by the Salmonide 69 characters given below. Other differences of form, color, and appearance are absolutely valueless for distinction, unless speci- mens of the same age, sex, and condition are compared. The quinnat salmon (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha),* called quinnat, tyee, chinook, or king-salmon, has an average weight of 22 pounds, but individuals weighing 70 to 100 pounds are occasionally taken. It has about 16 anal rays, 15 to 19 branchi- ostegals, 23 (9+14) gillrakers on the anterior gill-arch, and 140 to 185 pyloric coeca. The scales are comparatively large, there being from 130 to 155 in a longitudinal series. In the spring the body is silvery, the back, dorsal fin, and caudal fin having more or less of round black spots, and the sides of the head having a peculiar tin-colored metallic luster. In the fall Fig. 53.—Quinnat Salmon (female), Oncorhynchus tschawytscha (Walbaum). Columbia River. the color is often black or dirty red, and the species can then be distinguished from the dog-salmon by its larger size and by its technical characters. The flesh is rich and salmon-red, becoming suddenly pale as the spawning season draws near. The blue-back salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka),t also called red salmon, sukkegh, or sockeye, usually weighs from 5 to 8 pounds. It has about 14 developed anal rays, 14 branchioste- * For valuable accounts of the habits of this species the reader is referred to papers by the late Cloudsley Rutter, ichthyologist of the Albatross, in the publications of the United States Fish Commission, the Popular Science Monthly, and the Overland Monthly. {For valuable records of the natural history of this species the reader is referred to various papers by Dr. Barton Warren Evermann in the Bulletins of the United States Fish Commission and elsewhere. 70 Salmonidze gals, and 75 to 95 pyloric coeca. The gill-rakers are more numer- ous than in any other salmon, the number being usually about Fic. 54.—King-salmon grilse, Oncorhynchus tschawytscha (Walbaum). (Photograph by Cloudsley Rutter.) 39 (16+23). The scales are larger, there being 130 to r4o in the lateral line. In the spring the form is plumply rounded, and the color is a clear bright blue above, silvery below, and everywhere immaculate. Young fishes often show a few round black spots, which disappear when they enter the sea. Fall specimens in the lakes are bright crimson in color, the head clear olive-green, and they become in a high degree hook-nosed and slab-sided, and bear little resemblance to the spring run. Young spawning male grilse follow the changes which take place in the adult, although often not more than half a pound in weight. Fic. 55.—Male Red Salmon in September, Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum), Payette Lake, Idaho. These little fishes often appear in mountain lakes, but whether they are landlocked or have come up from the sea is still un- Salmonidz 71 settled. These dwarf forms, called kokos by the Indians and benimasu in Japan, form the subspecies Oncorhynchus nerka kennerlyt, The flesh in this species is firmer than that of any other and very red, of good flavor, though drier and less rich than the king-salmon. The silver salmon, or coho (Oncorhynchus muilktschitsch, or kisutch), reaches a weight of 5 to 8 pounds. It’has 13 devel- oped rays in the anal, 13 branchiostegals, 23 (10 +13) gill-rakers, and 45 to 80 pyloric coeca. There are about 127 scales in the lateral line. The scales are thin and all except those of the lateral line readily fall off. This feature distinguishes the species readily from the red salmon. In color it is silvery in spring, greenish above, and with a few faint black spots on the upper parts only. In the fall the males are mostly of a dirty red. The flesh in this species is of excellent flavor, but pale in color, and hence less valued than that of the quinnat and the red salmon. The dog-salmon, calico salmon, or chum, called saké in Japan (Oncorhynchus keta), reaches an average weight of about 7 to 10 pounds. It has about 14 anal rays, 14 branchiostegals, 24 (9+15) gill-rakers, and 140 to 185 pyloric cceca. There are about 150 scales in the lateral line. In spring it is dirty silvery, immaculate, or sprinkled with small black specks, the fins dusky, the sides with faint traces of gridiron-like bars. In the fall the male is brick-red or blackish, and its jaws are greatly distorted. The pale flesh is well flavored when fresh, but pale and mushy in texture and muddy in taste when canned. It is said to take salt well, and great numbers of salt dog-salmon are consumed in Japan. The humpback salmon, or pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gor- buscha), is the smallest of the American species, weighing from 3 to 5 pounds. It has usually 15 anal rays, 12 branchiostegals, 28 (13+15) gill-rakers, and about 180 pyloric cceca. Its scales are much smaller than in any other salmon, there being 180 to 240 in the lateral line. In color it is bluish above, silvery below, the posterior and upper parts with many round black spots, the caudal fin always having a few large black spots oblong in form. The males in fall are dirty red, and are more extravagantly distorted than in any other of the Salmonide, 72 Salmonidz The flesh is softer than in the other species; it is pale in color, and, while of fair flavor when fresh, is distinctly inferior when canned. The masu, or yezomasu (Oncorhynchus masou), is very similar to the humpback, the scales a little larger, the caudal without Fic. 56.—Humpback Salmon (female), Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Walbaum). Cook’s Inlet. black spots, the back usually immaculate. It is one of the smaller salmon, and is fairly abundant in the streams of Hokkaido, the island formerly known as Yezo. Of these species the blue-back or red salmon predominates in Frazer River and in most of the small rivers of Alaska, includ- Fic. 57.—Masu (female), Oncorhynchus cae (Brevoort). Aomori, Japan. ing all those which flow from lakes. The greatest salmon rivers of the world are the Nushegak and Karluk in Alaska, with the Columbia River, Frazer River, and Sacramento River farther south. The red and the silver salmon predominate in Puget Sound, the quinnat in the Columbia and the Sacramento, and the silver salmon in most of the smaller streams along the coast. All the species occur, however, from the Columbia northward; Salmonide 73 but the blue-back is not found in the Sacramento. Only the quinnat and the dog-salmon have been noticed south of San Francisco. In Japan keta is by far the most abundant species of salmon. It is known as saké, and largely salted and sold in the markets. Nerka is known in Japan only as landlocked in Lake Akan in northern Hokkaido. Mulktschitsch is generally common, and with masou is known as masu, or small salmon, as distinguished from the large salmon, or saké. Tschawytscha and gorbuscha are unknown in Japan. Masou has not been found elsewhere. The quinnat and blue-back salmon, the “noble salmon,” habitually ‘‘run’’ in the spring, the others in the fall. The usual order of running in the rivers is as follows: tschawytscha, nerka, muilktschitsch, gorbuscha, keta. Those which run first go farthest. In the Yukon the quinnat runs as far as Caribou Crossing and Lake Bennett, 2250 miles. The red salmon runs to ‘‘Forty-Mile,” which is nearly 1800 miles. Both ascend to the head of the Columbia, Fraser, Nass, Skeena, Stikeen, and Taku rivers. The quinnat runs practically only in the streams of large size, fed with melting snows; the red salmon only in streams which pass through lakes. It spawns only in small streams at the head of a lake. The other species spawn in almost any fresh water and only close to the sea. The economic value of the spring-running salmon is far greater than that of the other species, because they can be cap- tured in numbers when at their best, while the others are usually taken only after deterioration. The habits of the salmon in the ocean are not easily studied. Quinnat and silver salmon of all sizes are taken with the seine at almost any season in Puget Sound and among the islands of Alaska. This would indicate that these species do not go far from the shore. The silver salmon certainly does not. . The quinnat pursues the schools of herring. It takes the hook freely in Monterey Bay, both near the shore and at a distance of six to eight miles out. We have reason to believe that these two species do not necessarily seek great depths, but probably remain not very far from the mouth of the rivers in which they were spawned. The blue-back or red salmon cer- tainly seeks deeper water, as it is seldom or never taken with the seine along shore, and it is known to enter the Strait of Fuca in 74 Salmonidz July, just before the running season, therefore coming in from the open sea. The great majority of the quinnat salmon, and probaby all the blue-back salmon, enter the rivers in the spring. The run of the quinnat begins generally at the last of March; it lasts, with various modifications and interruptions, until the actual spawning season in November, the greatest run being in early June in Alaska, in July in the Columbia, The run begins earliest in the northernmost rivers, and in the longest streams, the time of running and the proportionate amount in each of the subordinate runs varying with each different river. In general the runs are slack in the summer and increase with the first high water of autumn. By the last of August only straggling blue-backs can be found in the lower course of any stream; but both in the Columbia and in the Sacramento the quinnat runs in considerable numbers at least till October. In the Sacramento the run is greatest in the fall, and more run in the summer than in spring. In the Sacramento and the smaller rivers southward there is a winter run, beginning in December. The spring quinnat salmon ascends only those rivers which are fed by the melting snows from the mountains and which have sufficient volume to send their waters well out to sea. Those salmon which run in the spring are chiefly adults (supposed to be at least three years old). Their milt and spawn are no more developed than at the same time in others of the same species which have not yet entered the rivers. It would appear that the contact with cold fresh water, when in the ocean, in some way causes them to run towards it, and to run before there is any special influence to that end exerted by the development of the organs of generation. High water on any of these rivers in the spring is always followed by an increased run of salmon. The salmon-canners think—and this is probably true—that salmon which would not have run till later are brought up by the contact with the cold water. The cause of this effect of cold fresh water is not understood. We may call it an instinct of the salmon, which is another way of expressing our ignorance. In general it seems to be true that in those rivers and during those years when the spring run is greatest the fall run is least to be depended on. The blue-back salmon runs chiefly in July ‘and early August, Salmonide 7s beginning in late June in Chilcoot River, where some were found actually spawning July 15; beginning after the middle of July in Frazer River. As the season advances, smaller and younger salmon of these species (quinnat and blue-back) enter the rivers to spawn, and in the fall these young specimens are very numerous. We have thus far failed to notice any gradations in size or appearance of these young fish by which their ages could be ascertained. It is, however, probable that some of both sexes reproduce at the age of one year. In Frazer River, in the fall, quinnat male grilse of every size, from eight inches upwards, were running, the milt fully developed, but usually not showing the hooked jaws and dark colors of the older males. Females less than eighteen inches in length were not seen. All of either sex, large and small, then in the river had the ovaries or milt developed. Little blue-backs of every size, down to six inches, are also found in the upper Columbia in the fall, with their organs of generation fully developed. Nineteen-twentieths of these young fish are males, and some of them have the hooked jaws and red color of the old males. Apparently all these young fishes, like the old ones, die after spawning. The average weight of the adult quinnat in the Columbia, in the spring, is twenty-two pounds; in the Sacramento, about sixteen. Individuals weighing from forty to sixty pounds are frequently found in both rivers, and some as high as eighty or even one hundred pounds are recorded, especially in Alaska, where the species tends torun larger. It is questionable whether these large fishes are those which, of the same age, have grown more rapidly; those which are older, but have for some reason failed to spawn; or those which have survived one or more spawing seasons. All these origins may be possible in individual cases. There is, however, no positive evidence that any salmon of the Pacific survives the spawning season. Those fish which enter the rivers in the spring continue their ascent till death or the spawning season overtakes them. Doubt- less not one of them ever returns to the ocean, and a large pro- portion fail to spawn. They are known to ascend the Sacra- mento to its extreme head-waters, about four hundred miles. In the Columbia they ascend as far as the Bitter Root and Saw- 76 Salmonidez tooth mountains of Idaho, and their extreme limit is not known. This is a distance of nearly a thousand miles. In the Yukon a few ascend to Caribou Crossing and Lake Bennett, 2250 miles. At these great distances, when the fish have reached the spawn- ing grounds, besides the usual changes of the breeding season their bodies are covered with bruises, on which patches of white fungus (Saprolegnia) develop. The fins become mutilated, their eyes are often injured or destroyed, parasitic worms gather in their gills, they become extremely emaciated, their flesh becomes white from the loss of oil; and as soon as the spawning act is accomplished, and sometimes before, all of them die. The ascent of the Cascades and the Dalles of the Columbia causes the injury or death of a great many salmon. When the salmon enter the river they refuse to take bait, and their stomachs are always found empty and contracted. Fie. 58.—Red Salmon (mutilated dwarf male, after spawning), Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum). Alturas Lake, Idaho In the rivers they do not feed; and when they reach the spawn- ing grounds their stomachs, pyloric cceca and all, are said to be no larger than one’s finger. They will sometimes take the fly, or a hook baited with salmon-roe, in the clear waters of the upper tributaries, but this is apparently solely out of annoyance, snapping at the meddling line. Only the quinnat and blue-back (there called redfish) have been found at any great distance from the sea, and these (as adult fishes) only in late summer and fall. The spawning season is probably about the same for all the species. It varies for each of the different rivers, and for different parts of the same river. It doubtless extends from July to Zl (‘reyyny Aofspnopg Aq ydeasoj0qg) Ba basins ‘IOATY OJTOWRIOVG «“SuTaMeds Jaye Suidp ‘oyss7imvyos) snysuhysooug ‘uowW]TY, yeuuNy sey sunoX— EC a i RRA TE 78 Salmonidz December, and takes place usually as soon as the temperature of the water falls to 54°. The manner of spawning is probably similar for all the species. In the quinnat the fishes pair off; the male, with tail and snout, excavates a broad, shallow ‘“‘nest”’ in’ the gravelly bed of the stream, in rapid water, at a depth of one to four feet and the female deposits her eggs in it. They then float down the stream tail foremost, the only fashion in which salmon descend to the sea. As already stated, in the head-waters of the large streams, unquestionably, all die; it is the belief of the writer that none ever survive. The young hatch in sixty days, and most of them return to the ocean during the high water of the spring. They enter the river as adults at the age of about four years. The salmon of all kinds in the spring are silvery, spotted or not according to the species, and with the mouth about equally symmetrical in both sexes. As the spawning season approaches the female loses her silvery color, becomes more slimy, the scales on the back partly sink into the skin, and the flesh changes from salmon-red and becomes variously paler, from the loss of oil; the degree of paleness varying much with individuals and with inhabitants of different rivers. In the Sacramento the flesh of the quinnat, in either spring or fall, is rarely pale. In the Columbia a few with pale flesh are sometimes taken in spring, and an increasing number from July on. In Frazer River the fall run of the quinnat is nearly worthless for canning purposes, because so many are “white-meated.” In the spring very few are “ white-meated’”’; but the number increases towards fall, when there is every variation, some having red streaks running through them, others being red toward the head and pale toward the tail. The red and pale ones cannot be dis- tinguished externally, and the color is dependent on neither age nor sex. There is said to be no difference in the taste, but there is little market for canned salmon not of the conventional orange-color. As the season advances the difference between the males and females becomes more and more marked, and keeps ‘pace with the development of the milt, as is shown by dissection. The males have (1) the premaxillaries and the tip of the lower jaw more and more prolonged, both of the jaws becoming finally Salmonide 79 strongly and often extravagantly hooked, so that either they shut by the side of each other like shears, or else the mouth cannot be closed. (2) The front teeth become very long and canine-like, their growth proceeding very rapidly, until they are often half an inch long. (3) The teeth on the vomer and tongue often disappear. (4) The body grows more compressed and deeper at the shoulders, so that a very distinct hump is formed; this is more developed in the humpback salmon, but is found in all. (5) The scales disappear, especially on the back, by the growth of spongy skin. (6) The color changes from silvery to various shades of black and red, or blotchy, according to the species. The blue-back turns rosy-red, the head bright olive; the dog-salmon a dull red with blackish bars, and the quinnat generally blackish. The distorted males are Fic. 60.—Quinnat Salmon, Oncorhynchus tschawytscha (Walbaum). Monterey Bay. (Photograph by C. Rutter.) commonly considered worthless, rejected by the canners and salmon-salters, but preserved by the Indians. These changes are due solely to influences connected with the growth of the reproductive organs. They are not in any way due to the action of fresh water. They take place at about the same time in the adult males of all species, whether in the ocean or in the rivers. At the time of the spring runs all are symmetrical. In the fall all males, of whatever species, are more or less dis- torted. Among the dog-salmon, which run only in the fall, the males are hook-jawed and red-blotched when they first enter the Strait of Fuca from the outside. The humpback, taken in salt water about Seattle, have the same peculiarities. The male is slab-sided, hook-billed, and distorted, and is re- 80 Salmonide jected by the canners. No hook-jawed females of any species have been seen. On first entering a stream the salmon swim about as if play- ing. They always head towards the current, and this appear- ance of playing may be simply due to facing the moving tide. Afterwards they enter the deepest parts of the stream and swim straight up, with few interruptions. Their rate of travel at Sacramento is estimated by Stone at about two miles per day; on the Columbia at about three miles per day. Those which enter the Columbia in the spring and ascend to the moun- tain rivers of Idaho must go at a more rapid rate than this, as they must make an average of nearly four miles per day. As already stated, the economic value of any species depends in great part on its being a “spring salmon.” It is not gen- erally possible to capture salmon of any species in large num- bers until they have entered the estuaries or rivers, and the spring salmon enter the large rivers long before the growth of the organs of reproduction has reduced the richness of the flesh. The fall salmon cannot be taken in quantity until their flesh has deteriorated; hence the dog-salmon is practically almost worthless except to the Indians, and the humpback salmon was regarded as little better until comparatively re- cently, when it has been placed on the market in cans as “ Pink Salmon.” It sells for about half the price of the red salmon and one-third that of the quinnat. The red salmon is smaller than the quinnat but, outside the Sacramento and the Columbia, far more abundant, and at present it exceeds the quinnat in economic value. The pack of red salmon in Alaska amounted in 1902 to over two million cases (48 pounds each), worth whole- sale about $4.00 per case, or about $8,000,000. The other species in Alaska yield about one million cases, the total wholesale value of the pack for 1902 being $8,667,673. The aggregate value of the quinnat is considerably less, but either species far exceed in value all other fishes of the Pacific taken together. The silver salmon is found in the inland waters of Puget Sound for a considerable time before the fall rains cause the fall runs, and it may be taken in large numbers with seines before the season for entering the rivers. - The fall salmon of all species, but especial'y of the dog- Salmonidz 81 salmon, ascend streams but a short distance before spawning. They seem to be in great anxiety to find fresh water, and many of them work their way up little brooks only a few inches deep, where they perish miserably, floundering about on the stones. Every stream of whatever kind, from San Francisco to Bering Sea, has more or less of these fall salmon. The absence of the fine spring salmon in the streams of Japan is the cause of the relative unimportance of the river fisheries of the northern island of Japan, Hokkaido. It is not likely that either the quinnat or the red salmon can be introduced into these rivers, as they have no snow-fed streams, and few of them pass through lakes which are not shut off by waterfalls. For the same reason neither of these species is likely to become naturalized in the waters of our Eastern States, though it is worth while to bring the red salmon to the St. Lawrence. The silver salmon, already abundant in Japan, should thrive in the rivers and bays of New England. The Parent-stream Theory.—It has been generally accepted as unquestioned by packers and fishermen that salmon return to spawn to the very stream in which they were hatched. As early as 1880 the present writer placed on record his opinion that this theory was unsound. In a general way most salmon return to the parent stream, because when in the sea the parent stream is the one most easily reached. The channels and run- ways which directed their course to the sea may influence their return trip in the same fashion. When the salmon is mature it seeks fresh water. Other things being equal, about the same number will run each year in the same channel. With all this, we find some curious facts. Certain streams will have a run of exceptionally large or exceptionally small red salmon, The time of the run bears some relation to the length of the stream: those who have farthest to go start earliest. The time of running bears also a relation to the temperature of the spawning grounds: where the waters cool off earliest the fish run soonest. The supposed evidence in favor of the parent-stream theory may be considered under three heads: * (1) Distinctive runs in * See an excellent article by H. S. Davis in the Pacific Fisherman for July, 1903. t 11—6 82 Salmonidz various streams. (2) Return of marked salmon. (3) Intro- duction of salmon into new streams followed by their return. Under the first head it is often asserted of fishermen that they can distinguish the salmon of different streams. Thus the Lynn Canal red salmon are larger than those in most waters, and it is claimed that those of Chilcoot Inlet are larger than those of the sister stream at Chilcat. The red salmon of Red Fish Bay on Baranof Island are said to be much smaller than usual, and those of the neighboring Necker Bay are not more than one- third the ordinary size. Those of a small rapid stream near Nass River are more wiry than those of the neighboring large stream. The same claim is made for the different streams of Puget Sound, each one having its characteristic run. In all this there is some truth and perhaps some exaggeration. I have noticed that the Chilcoot fish seem deeper in body than those at Chilcat. The red salmon becomes compressed before spawn- ing, and the Chilcoot fishes having a short run spawn earlier than the Chilcat fishes, which have many miles to go, the water being perhaps warmer at the mouth of the river. Perhaps some localities may meet the nervous reactions of small fishes, while not attracting the large ones. Mr. H. S. Davis well observes that “until a constant difference has been demon- strated by a careful examination of large numbers of fish from each stream taken at the same time, but little weight can be attached to arguments of this nature.” It is doubtless true as a general proposition that nearly all salmon return to the region in which they were spawned. Most of them apparently never go far away from the mouth of the stream or the bay into which it flows. It is true that salmon are occasionally taken well out at sea, and it is certain that the red-salmon runs of Puget Sound come from outside the Straits of Fuca. There is, however, evidence that they rarely go so far as that. When seeking shore they do not reach the original channels. In 1880 the writer, studying the salmon of the Columbia, used the following words, which he has not had occasion to change: “It is the prevailing impression that the salmon have some special instinct which leads them to return to spawn in the Salmonidz 83 same spawning grounds where they were originally hatched. We fail to find any evidence of this in the case of the Pacific- coast salmon, and we do not believe it to be true. It seems more probable that the young salmon hatched in any river mostly remain in the ocean within a radius of twenty, thirty, or forty miles of its mouth. These, in their movements about in the ocean, may come into contact with the cold waters of their parent rivers, or perhaps of any other river, at a consider- able distance from the shore. In the case of the quinnat and the blue-back their ‘instinct’ seems to lead them to ascend these fresh waters, and in a majority of cases these waters will be those in which the fishes in question were originally spawned. Later in the season the growth of the reproductive organs leads them to approach the shore and search for fresh waters, and still the chances are that they may find the original stream. But undoubtedly many fall salmon ascend, or try to ascend, streams in which no salmon was ever hatched. In little brooks about Puget Sound, where the water is not three inches deep, are often found dead or dying salmon which have entered them for the purpose of spawning. It is said of the Russian River and other California rivers that their mouths, in the time of low water in summer, generally become entirely closed by sand- bars, and that the salmon, in their eagerness to ascend them, frequently fling themselves entirely out of water on the beach. But this does not prove that the salmon are guided by a mar- velous geographical instinct which leads them to their parent river in spite of the fact that the river cannot be found. The waters of Russian River soak through these sand-bars, and the salmon instinct, we think, leads them merely to search for fresh waters. This matter is much in need of further investi- gation; at present, however, we find no reason to believe that the salmon enter the Rogue River simply because they were spawned there, or that a salmon hatched in the Clackamas River is snore likely, on that account, to return to the Clacka- mas than to go up the Cowlitz or the Des Chutes.”’ Attempts have been made to settle this question by marking the fry. But this is a very difficult matter indeed. Almost the only structure which can be safely mutilated is the adipose fin, and this is often nipped off by sticklebacks and other med- 84 Salmonidz dling fish. The following experiments have been tried, accord- ing to Mr. Davis: In March, 1896, 5000 king-salmon fry were marked by cutting off the adipose fin, then set free in the Clackamas River. Nearly 400 of these marked fish are said to have been taken in the Columbia in 1898, and a few more in 1899. In addition a few were taken in 1898, 1899, and 1900 in the Sacramento River, but in much less numbers than in the Columbia. In the Columbia most were taken at the mouth of the river, where nearly all of the fishing was done, but a few were in the original stream, the Clackamas. It is stated that the fry thus set free in the Clackamas came from eggs obtained in the Sacramento— a matter which has, however, no bearing on the present case. In the Kalama hatchery on the Columbia River, Washing- ton, 2000 fry of the quinnat or king-salmon were marked in 1899 by a V-shaped notch in the caudal fin. Numerous fishes thus marked were taken in the lower Columbia in 1901 and 1902. A few were taken at the Kalama hatchery, but some also at the hatcheries on Wind River and Clackamas River. At the hatchery on Chehalis River six or seven were taken, the stream not being a tributary of the Columbia, but flowing into Shoal- water Bay. None were noticed in the Sacramento. The evi- dence shows that the most who are hatched in a large stream tend to return to it, and that in general most salmon return to the parent region. There is no evidence that a salmon hatched in one branch of a river tends to return there rather than to any other. Experiments of Messrs. Rutter and Spaulding in marking adult fish at Karluk would indicate that they roam rather widely about the island before spawning. An adult spawning fish, marked and set free at Karluk, was taken soon after on. the opposite side of the island of Kadiak. The introduction of salmon into new streams may throw some light on this question. In 1897 and 1898 3,000,000 young quinnat-salmon fry were set free in Papermill Creek near Olema, California. This is a small stream flowing into the head of Tomales Bay, and it had never previously had a run of salmon. In 1900, and especially in 1901, large quinnat salmon appeared in considerable numbers in this stream. One specimen weigh- ing about sixteen pounds was sent to the present writer for Salmonide 85 identification. These fishes certainly returned to the parent stream, although this stream was one not at all fitted for their purpose. But this may be accounted for by the topography of the bay. Tomales Bay is a long and narrow channel, about twenty miles long and from one to five in width, isolated from other rivers and with but one tributary stream. Probably the salmon had not wandered far from it; some may not have left it at all. In any event, a large number certainly came back to the same place. That the salmon rarely go far away is fairly attested. Schools of king-salmon play in Monterey Bay, and chase the herring about in the channels of southeastern Alaska. A few years since Captain J. F. Moser, in charge of the Albatross, set. gill- nets for salmon at various places in the sea off the Oregon and Washington coast, catching none except in the bays. Mr. Davis gives an account of the liberation of salmon in Chinook River, which flows into the Columbia at Baker’s Bay: “Tt is ‘a small; sluggish stream and has never been fre- quented by Chinook salmon, although considerable numbers of silver and dog salmon enter it late in the fall. A few years ago the State established a hatchery on this stream, and since 1898 between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 Chinook fry have been turned out here annually. The fish are taken from the pound- nets in Baker’s Bay, towed into the river in crates and then liberated above the dike, which prevents their return to the Columbia. When ripe the salmon ascend to the hatchery, some two or three miles farther up the river, where they are spawned. “The superintendent of the hatchery, Mr. Hansen, informs me that in 1902, during November and December, quite a number of Chinook salmon ascended the Chinook River. About 150 salmon of both sexes were taken in a trap located in the river about four miles from its mouth. At first thought it would appear that these were probably fish which, when fry, had been liberated in the river, but unfortunately there is no proof that this was the case. According to Mr. Hansen, the season of 1902 was remarkable in that the salmon ran inshore in large schools, a thing which they had not done before for years. It 86 Salmonidz is possible that the fish, being forced in close to the shore, came in contact with the current from the Chinook River, which, since the stream is small and sluggish, would not be felt far from shore. Once brought under the influence of the current from the river, the salmon would naturally ascend that stream, whether they had been hatched there or not.” The general conclusion, apparently warranted by the facts at hand, is that salmon, for the most part, do not go to a great distance from the stream in which they are hatched, that most of them return to the streams of the same region, a majority to the parent stream, but that there is no evidence that they choose the parental spawning grounds in preference to any other, and none that they will prefer an undesirable stream to a favorable one for the reason that they happen to have been hatched in the former. The Jadgeska Hatchery.—Mr. John C. Callbreath of Wrangel, Alaska, has long conducted a very interesting but very costly experiment in this line. About 1890 he established himself in a small stream called Jadgeska on the west coast of Etolin Island, tributary to McHenry Inlet, Clarence Straits. This stream led from a lake, and in it a few thousand red salmon spawned, besides multitudes of silver salmon, dog-salmon, and humpback salmon. Making a dam across the stream, he helped the red salmon over it, destroying all of the inferior kinds which entered the stream. He also established a hatchery for the red salmon, turning loose many fry yearly for ten or twelve years. This was done in the expectation that all the salmon hatched would return to Jadgeska in about four years. By destroying all individuals of other species attempting to run, it was expected that they would become extinct so far as the stream is concerned. The result of this experiment has been disappointment. After twelve years or more there has been no increase of red salmon in the stream, and no decrease of humpbacks and other humbler forms of salmon. Mr. Callbreath draws the con- clusion that salmon run at a much greater age than has been supposed—at the age of sixteen years, perhaps, instead of four. A far more probable conclusion is that his salmon have joined other bands bound for more suitable streams. It is indeed Salmonidz 87 claimed that since the establishment of Callbreath’s hatchery on Etolin Island there has been a notable increase of the salmon tun in the various streams of Prince of Wales Island on the opposite side of Clarence Straits. But this statement, while largely current among the cannerymen, and not improbable, needs verification. We shall await with much interest the return of the thou- sands of salmon hatched in 1902 in Naha stream. We may venture the prophecy that while a large percentage will return to Loring, many others will enter Yes Bay, Karta Bay, Moira Sound, and other red-salmon waters along the line of their return from Dixon Entrance or the open sea. Salmon-packing.—The canning of salmon, that is, the packing of the flesh in tin cases, hermetically sealed after boiling, was begun on the Columbia River by the Hume Brothers in 1866. In 1874 canneries were established on the Sacramento River, in 1876 on Puget Sound and on Frazer River, and in 1878 in Alaska. At first only the quinnat salmon was packed; after- wards the red salmon and the silver salmon, and finally the humpback, known commercially as pink salmon. In most cases the flesh is packed in one-pound tins, forty-eight of which constitute a case. The wholesale price in 1903 was for quinnat salmon $5.60 per case, red salmon $4.00, silver salmon $2.60, humpback salmon $2.00, and dog-salmon $1.50. It costs in round numbers $2.00 to pack a case of salmon. The very low price of the inferior brands is due to overproduction. The output of the salmon fishery of the Pacific coast amounts to about fifteen millions per year, that of Alaska constituting seven to nine millions of this amount. Of this amount the red salmon constitutes somewhat more than half, the quinnat about four-fifths of the rest. In almost all salmon streams there is evidence of considerable diminution in numbers, although the evidence is sometimes conflicting. In Alaska this has been due to the vicious custom, now done away with, of barricading the streams so that the fish could not reach the spawning grounds, but might be all taken with the net. In the Columbia River the reduction in numbers is mainly due to stationary traps and salmon- wheels, which leave the fish relatively little chance to reach the 88 Salmonidz spawning grounds. In years of high water doubtless many salmon run in the spring which might otherwise have waited until fall. The key to the situation lies in the artificial propagation of salmon by means of well-ordered hatcheries. By this means the fisheries of the Sacramento have been fully restored, those of the Columbia approximately maintained, and a hopeful beginning has been made in hatching red salmon in Alaska. CHAPTER V SALMONIDA— (Continued) ALMO, the Trout and Atlantic Salmon.—The genus Salmo comprises those forms of salmon which have been longest known. As in related genera, the mouth is large, and the jaws, palatines, and tongue are armed with strong teeth. The vomer is flat, its shaft not depressed below the level of the head or chevron (the anterior end). There are a few teeth on the chevron; and behind it, on the shaft, there is either a double series of teeth or an irregular single series. These teeth in the true salmon disappear with age, but in the others (the black-spotted trout) they are persistent. The scales are silvery and moderate or small in size. There are g to 11 developed rays in the anal fin. The caudal fin is truncate, or variously concave or forked. There are usually 4o to 70 pyloric coeca, 11 or 12 branchiostegals, and about 20 (8+12) gill-rakers. The sexual peculiarities are in general less marked than in Oncorhynchus; they are also greater in the anadromous species than in those which inhabit fresh waters. In general the male in the breeding season is redder, its jaws are prolonged, the front teeth enlarged, the lower jaw turned upwards at the end, and the upper jaw notched, or sometimes even perforated, by the tip of the lower. All the species of Salmo (like those of Oncorhynchus) are more or less spotted with black. Unlike the species of Oncorhynchus, the species of Salmo feed more or less while in fresh water, and the individuals for the most part do not die after spawning, although many old males do thus perish. The Atlantic Salmon._-The large species of Salmo, called salmon by English-speaking people (Salmo salar, Salmo trutia), are marine and anadromous, taking the place in the North Atlantic occupied in the North Pacific by the species of Onco- 89 go Salmonidz rhynchus. Two others more or less similar in character occur in Japan and Kamchatka. The others (trout), forming the subgenus Salar, are non-migratory, or at least irregularly or imperfectly anadromous. The true or black-spotted trout abound in all streams of northern Europe, northern Asia, and in that part of North America which lies west of the Mississippi Valley. The black-spotted trout are entirely wanting in eastern America—a remarkable fact in geographical distribution, perhaps explained only on the hypothesis of the comparatively recent and Eurasiatic origin of the group, which, we may suppose, has not yet had opportunity to extend its range across the plains, unsuitable for salmon life, which separate the upper Missouri from the Great Lakes. The salmon (Salmo salar) is the only black-spotted sal- monoid found in American waters tributary to the Atlantic. In Europe, where other species similarly colored occur, the species may be best distinguished by the fact that the teeth on the shaft of the vomer mostly disappear with age. From the only other species positively known, the salmon trout (Salmo trutta), which shares this character, the true salmon may be distinguished by the presence of but eleven scales between the adipose fin and the lateral line, while Salmo trutta has about fourteen. The scales are comparatively large in the salmon, there being about one hundred and twenty-five in the lateral line. The caudal fin, which is forked in the young, becomes, as in other species of salmon, more or less truncate with age. The pyloric cceca are fifty to sixty in number. The color in adults, according to Dr. Day, is “superiorly of a steel-blue, becoming lighter on the sides and beneath. Mostly a few rounded or X-shaped spots scattered above the lateral line and upper half of the head, being more numerous in the female than in the male. Dorsal, caudal, and pectoral fins dusky; ventrals and anal white, the former grayish internally. Prior to entering fresh waters these fish are of a brilliant steel- blue along the back, which becomes changed to a muddy tinge when they enter rivers. After these fish have passed into the fresh waters for the purpose of breeding, numerous orange streaks appear in the cheeks of the male, and also spots or even marks of the same, and likewise of a red color, on the body, Salmonidz gl It is now termed a ‘redfish.’ The female, however, is dark in color and known as ‘blackfish.’ ‘Smolts’ (young river fish) are bluish along the upper half of the body, silvery along the sides, due to a layer of silvery scales being formed over the trout-like colors, while they have darker fins than the yearling ‘ping,’ but similar bands and spots, which can be seen (as in the parr) if the example be held in certain positions of light. ‘Parr’ (fishes of the year) have two or three black spots only on the opercle, and black spots and also orange ones along the upper half of the body, and no dark ones below the lateral line, although there may be orange ones which can be seen in its course. Along the side of the body are a series (12 to 15) of transverse bluish bands, wider than the ground color and crossing the lateral line, while in the upper half of the body the darker color of the back forms an arch over each of these bands, a row of spots along the middle of the rayed dorsal fin, and the adipose orange-tipped.”’ The dusky cross-shades found in the young salmon or parr are characteristic of the young of salmon, trout, grayling, and nearly all the other Salmonide. The salmon of the Atlantic is, as already stated, an anadro- mous fish, spending most of its life in the sea, and entering the streams in the fall for the purpose of reproduction. The time of running varies much in different streams and also in different countries. As with the Pacific species, these salmon are not easily discouraged in their progress, leaping cascades and other obstructions, or, if these prove impassable, dying after repeated fruitless attempts. The young salmon, known as the “parr,” is hatched in the spring. It usually remains about two years in the rivers, de- scending at about the third spring to the sea, when it is*known as“ smolt.” In the sea it grows much more rapidly, and becomes more silvery in color, and is known as “‘grilse.”’ The grilse rapidly develop into the adult salmon; and some of them, as in the case with the grilse of the Pacific salmon, are capable of reproduction. After spawning the salmon are very lean and unwholesome in appearance, as in fact. They are then known as “‘kelts.” The Atlantic salmon does not ascend rivers to any such dis- 92 Salmonidz tances as those traversed by the quinnat and the blue-back. Its kelts, therefore, for the most part survive the act of spawn- ing. Dr. Day thinks that they feed upon the young salmon in the rivers, and that, therefore, the destruction of the kelts might increase the supply of salmon. As a food-fish the Atlantic salmon is very similar to the quinnat salmon, neither better nor worse, so far as I can see, when equally fresh. In both the flesh is rich and finely flavored ; but the appetite of man becomes cloyed with salmon-flesh sooner than with that of whitefish, smelt, or charr. In size the Atlan- tic salmon does not fall far short of the quinnat. The average weight of the adult is probably less than fifteen pounds. The largest one of which I find a record was taken on the coast of Ireland in 1881, and weighed 84? pounds. The salmon is found in Europe between the latitude of 45° and 75°. In the United States it is now rarely seen south of Cape Cod, although formerly the Hudson and numerous other rivers were salmon-streams. Overfishing, obstructions in the rivers, and pollution of the water by manufactories and by city sewage are agencies against which the salmon cannot cope. Seven species of salmon (as distinguished, from trout) are recognized by Dr. Gunther in Europe, and three in America. The landlocked forms, abundant in Norway, Sweden, and Maine, which cannot, or at least do not, descend to the sea, are regarded by him as distinct species. ‘‘The question,” observes Dr Gunther, “whether any of the migratory species can be retained by artificial means in fresh water, and finally accom- modate themselves to a permanent sojourn therein, must be negatived for the present.’’ On this point I think that the balance of evidence leads to a different conclusion. These fresh-water forms (Sebago and Ouananiche) are actually salmon which have become landlocked. I have compared numerous specimens of the common landlocked salmon (Salmo salar sebago) of the lakes of Maine and New Brunswick with land- locked salmon (Salmo salar hardini) from the lakes of Sweden, and with numerous migratory salmon, both from America and Europe. I see no reason for regarding them as specifically distinct. The differences are very trivial in kind, and not greater than would be expected on the hypothesis of recent Salmonidz 93 adaptation of the salmon to lake life. We have therefore on our Atlantic coast but one species of salmon, Salmo salar. The landlocked form of the lakes of Maine is Salmo salar sebago. The Ouananiche of Lake St. John and the Saguenay, beloved of anglers, is Salmo salar ouananiche. The Ouananiche.—Dr. Henry Van Dyke writes thus of the Ouananiche: “But the prince of the pool was the fighting Ouananiche, the little salmon of St. John. Here let me chant thy praise, thou noblest and most high-minded fish, the cleanest feeder, the merriest liver, the loftiest leaper, and the bravest warrior of all creatures that swim! Thy cousin, the trout, in his purple and gold with crimson spots, wears a more splendid armor than thy russet and silver mottled with black, but thine is the kinglier nature. “The old salmon of the sea who begat thee long ago in these inland waters became a backslider, descending again to the ocean, and grew gross and heavy with coarse feeding. But thou, unsalted salmon of the foaming floods, not landlocked as men call thee, but choosing of thine own free will to dwell on a loftier level in the pure, swift current of a living stream, hath grown in grace and risen to a better life. “Thou art not to be measured by quantity but by quality, and thy five pounds of pure vigor will outweigh a score of pounds of flesh less vitalized by spirit. Thou feedest on the flies of the air, and thy food is transformed into an aerial passion for flight, as thou springest across the pool, vaulting toward the sky. Thine eyes have grown large and keen by piercing through the foam, and the feathered hook that can deceive thee must be deftly tied and delicately cast. Thy tail and fins, by cease- less conflict with the rapids, have broadened and strengthened, so that they can flash thy slender body like a living arrow up the fall. As Launcelot among the knights, so art thou among the fish, the plain-armored hero, the sunburnt champion of all the water-folk.” Dr. Francis Day, who has very thoroughly studied these fishes, takes, in his memoir on ‘‘The Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland,” and in other papers, a similar view in regard to the European species. Omitting the species with permanent teeth on the shaft of the vomer (subgenus Salar), he finds 94 Salmonide among the salmon proper only two species, Salmo salar and Salmo trutta. The latter species, the sea-trout or salmon-trout of England and the estuaries of northern Europe, is similar to the salmon in many respects, but has rather smaller scales, there being fourteen in an oblique series between the adipose fin and the lateral line. It is not so strong a fish as the salmon, nor does it reach so large a size. Although naturally anadro- mous, like the true salmon, landlocked forms of the salmon- trout are not uncommon. These have been usually regarded as different species, while aberrant or intermediate individuals are usually regarded as hybrids. The salmon-trout of Europe have many analogies with the steelhead of the Pacific. The present writer has examined many thousands of Ameri- can Salmonide, both of Oncorhynchus and Salmo. While many variations have come to his attention, and he has been com- pelled more than once to modify his views as to specific dis- tinctions, he has never yet seen an individual which he had the slightest reason to regard as a “hybrid.” It is certainly illogical to conclude that every specimen which does not corre- spond to our closet-formed definition of its species must therefore be a ‘hybrid’’ with some other. There is no evidence worth mentioning, known to me, of extensive hybridization in a state of nature in any group of fishes. This matter is much in need of further study; for what is true of the species in one region, in this regard, may not be true of others. Dr. Gtinther observes: “Johnson, a correspondent of Willughby, had already ex- pressed his belief that the different salmonoids interbreed; and this view has since been shared by many who have ob- served these fishes in nature. Hybrids between the sewin (Salmo trutta cambricus) and the river-trout (Salmo fario) were numerous in the Rhymney and other rivers of South Wales before salmonoids were almost exterminated by the pollutions allowed to pass into these streams, and so variable in their characters that the passage from one species to the other could be demonstrated in an almost unbroken series, which might induce some naturalists to regard both species as identical, Abundant evidence of a similar character has accumulated, showing the frequent occurrence of hybrids between Salmo fario and S. trutta. . . . In some rivers the conditions appear Salmonidz 95 to be more favorable to hybridism than in others in which hybrids are of comparatively rare occurrence. Hybrids be- tween the salmon and other species are very scarce everywhere.” Very similar to the European Salmo trutta is the trout of Japan (Salmo perryt), the young called yamabe, the adult kawamasu, or river-salmon. This species abounds everywhere in Japan, the young being the common trout of the brooks, black-spotted and crossed by parr-marks, the adult reaching a weight of ten or twelve pounds in the larger rivers and descending to the sea. In Kamchatka is another large, black-spotted, salmon-like species properly to be called a salmon-trout. This is Salmo mykiss, a name very wrongly applied to the cutthroat trout of the Columbia. The black-spotted trout, forming the subgenus Se difter from Salmo salar and Salmo trutia in the greater develop- ment of the vomerine teeth, which are persistent throughout life, in a long double series on the shaft of the vomer. About seven species are laboriously distinguished by Dr. Gunther in the waters of western Europe. Most of these are regarded by Dr. Day as varieties of Salmo fario. The latter species, the common river-trout or lake-trout of Europe, is found through- out northern and central Europe, wherever suitable waters occur. It is abundant, gamy, takes the hook readily, and is excellent as food. It is more hardy than the different species of charr, although from an esthetic point of view it must be regarded as inferior to all of the Salvelint. The largest river- trout recorded by Dr. Day weighed twenty-one pounds. Such large individuals are usually found in lakes in the north, well stocked with smaller fishes on which trout may feed. Far- ther south, where the surroundings are less favorable to trout- life, they become mature at a length of less than a foot, and a weight of a few ounces. These excessive variations in the size of individuals have received too little notice from students of Salmonide. Similar variations occur in all the non-migratory species of Salmo and of Salvelinus. Numerous river-trout have been recorded from northern Asia, but as yet nothing can be definitely stated as to the number of species actually existing. The Black-spotted Trout—In North America only the re- gion west of the Mississippi Valley, the streams of southeastern 96 Salmonide Alaska, and the valley of Mackenzie River have species of black-spotted trout. There are few of these north of Sitka in Alaska, although black-spotted trout are occasionally taken on Kadiak and about Bristol Bay, and none east of the Rocky Mountain region. If we are to follow the usage of the names “salmon” and “trout”? which prevails in England, we should say that, in America, it is only these western regions which have any trout at all. Of the number of species (about twenty- five in all) which have been indicated by authors, certainly not more than about 8 to 10 can possibly be regarded as distinct species. The other names are either useless synonyms, or else they have been applied to local varieties which pass by degrees into the ordinary types. The Trout of Western America.—In the western part of America are found more than a score of forms of trout of the genus Salmo, all closely related and difficult to distinguish. There are represen- tatives in the headwaters of the Rio Grande, Arkansas, South Platte, Missouri, and Colorado rivers; also in the Great Salt Lake basin, throughout the Columbia basin, in all suitable waters from southern California and Chihuahua to Sitka, and even to Bristol Bay, similar forms again appearing in Kamchatka and Japan. Among the various more or less tangible species that may be recognized, three distinct series appear. These have been termed the cutthroat-trout series (allies of Salmo clarkit), the rainbow-trout series (allies of Salmo irideus), and the steel- head series (allies of Salmo rivularis, a species more usually but wrongly called Salmo gatrdnert). The steelhead, or rivularts series, is found in the coastwise streams of California and in the streams of Oregon and Washing- ton, below the great Shoshone Falls of Snake River, and north- ward in Alaska along the mainland as far as Skaguay. The steelhead-trout reach a large size (10 to 20 pounds). They spend a large part of their life in the sea. In all the true steel- heads the head is relatively very short, its length being contained about five times in the distance from tip of snout to base of caudal fin. The scales in the steelhead are always rather small, about 150 in a linear series, and there is no red under the throat. The spots on the dorsal fin are fewer in the steelhead (4 to 6 rows) than in the other American trout. Salmonidz 97 The rainbow forms are chiefly confined to the streams of California and Oregon. In these the scales are large (about 13 in a lengthwise series) and the head is relatively large, forming nearly one-fourth of the length to base of caudal. These enter the sea only when in the small coastwise streams. Usually they have no red under the throat. The cutthroat forms are found from Humboldt Bay northward as far as Sitka, in the coastwise streams of northern California, Oregon, Wash- ington, and Alaska, and all the clear streams on both sides of the Rocky Mountains, and in the Great Basin and the headwaters of the Colorado. The cutthroat-trout have the scales small, about 180, and there is always a bright dash of orange-red on each side concealed beneath the branches of the lower jaw. Along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada there are also forms of trout with the general appearance of rainbow- trout and evidently belonging to that species, but with scales intermediate in number (in McCloud River), var. shasta, or with scales as small as in the typical cutthroat (Kern River), var. gilbertt. In these small-scaled forms more or less red appears below the lower jaw, and they are doubtless what they appear to be, really intermediate between clarkii and irideus, although certainly nearest the latter. A similar series of forms occurs in the Columbia basin, the upper Snake being inhabited by clarkii and the lower Snake by clarki and rivularis, together with a medley of forms apparently intermediate. It seems probable that the American trout originated in Asia, extended its range to southeast Alaska, thence southward to the Fraser and Columbia, thence to the Yellowstone and the Missouri via Two-Ocean Pass; from the Snake River to the Great Basins of Utah and Nevada; from the Missouri south- ward to the Platte and the Arkansas, thence from the Platte to the Rio Grande and the Colorado, and then from Oregon southward coastwise and along the Sierras to northern Mexico, thence northward and coastwise, the sea-running forms passing from stream to stream. Of the American species the rainbow trout of California (Salmo irideus) most nearly approaches the European Salmo fario. It has the scales comparatively large, although rather smaller than in Salmo jfario, the usual number in a longitudinal II—7 98 Salmonide series being about 135. The mouth is smaller than in other American trout; the maxillary, except in old males, rarely extending beyond the eye. The caudal fin is well forked, becoming in very old fishes more nearly truncate. The head is relatively large, about four times in the total length. The size of the head forms the best distinctive character. The color, as in all the other species, is bluish, the sides silvery in the males, with a red lateral band, and reddish and dusky blotches. The head, back, and upper fins are sprinkled with round black spots, which are very variable in number, those on the dorsal usually in about nine rows. In specimens taken Fig. 61.—Rainbow Trout (male), Salmo irideus shasta Jordan. (Photograph by Cloudsley Rutter.) in the sea this species, like most other trout in similar con- ditions, is bright silvery, and sometimes immaculate. This species is especially characteristic of the waters of California. It abounds in every clear brook, from the Mexican line north- ward to Mount Shasta, or beyond, the species passing in the Columbia region by degrees into the species or form known as Salmo masont, the Oregon rainbow trout, a small rainbow trout common in the forest streams of Oregon, with smaller mouth and fewer spots on the dorsal. No true rainbow trout have been anywhere obtained to the eastward of the Cascade Range or of the Sierra Nevada, except as artificially planted in the Tru- ckee River. The species varies much in size; specimens from northern California often reach a weight of six pounds, while in the streams above Tia Juana in Lower California the south- Salmonide 99 ernmost locality from which I have obtained trout, they seldom exceed a length of six inches. Although not usually an ana- dromous species, the rainbow trout frequently moves about in the rivers, and it often enters the sea, large sea-run specimens being often taken for steelheads. Several attempts have been made to introduce it in Eastern streams, but it appears to seek the sea when it is lost. It is apparently more hardy and less greedy than the American charr, or brook-trout (Salvelinus Fic. 62.—Rainbow Trout (female), Salmo irideus shasta Jordan. (Photograph by Cloudsley Rutter.) fontinalis). On the other hand, it is distinctly inferior to the latter in beauty and in gaminess. Three varieties of some importance have been indicated, Salmo irideus stonei, the Nissui trout of the Klamath, with spots on the posterior parts only, Salmo irideus shasta of the upper Sacramento, and the small-scaled Salmo irideus gilbert of the Kings and Kern rivers. In the head-waters of the Kern, in a stream called Volcano Creek or Whitney Creek, the waterfall some- times called Agua-Bonita shuts off the movements of the trout. Above this fall is a dwarf form with bright golden fins, and the scales scarcely imbricated. This is the ‘golden trout of Mount Whitney,” Salmo irideus agua-bonita. It will possibly be found to change back to the original type if propagated in different waters. In beauty of color, gracefulness of form and movement, 100 Salmonidz sprightliness when in the water, reckless dash with which it springs from the water to meet the descending fly ere it strikes the surface, and the mad and repeated leaps from the water when hooked, the rainbow trout must ever hold a very high rank. “The gamest fish we have ever seen,” writes Dr. Evermann, ‘‘ was a 16-inch rainbow taken on a fly in a small spring branch tribu- tary of Williamson River in southern Oregon. It was in a broad and deep pool of exceedingly clear water. As the angler from behind a clump of willows made the cast the trout bounded from the water and met the fly in the air a foot or more above the surface; missing it, he dropped upon the water, only to turn about and strike viciously a second time at the fly just as it touched the surface; though he again missed the fly, the hook caught him in the lower jaw from the outside, and then began a fight which would delight the heart of any angler. His first effort was to reach the bottom of the pool, then, doubling upon the line, he made three jumps from the water in quick succession, clearing the surface in each instance from one to four feet, and every time doing his utmost to free himself from the hook by shaking his head as vigorously as a dog shakes a rat. Then he would rush wildly about in the large pool, now attempting to go down over the riffle below the pool, now trying the opposite direction, and often striving to hide under one or the other of the banks. It was easy to handle the fish when the dash was made up or down stream or for the opposite side, but when he turned about and made a rush for the protec- tion of the overhanging bank upon which the angler stood it was not easy to keep the line taut. Movements such as these were frequently repeated, and two more leaps were made. But finally he was worn out after as honest a fight as trout ever made.” “The rainbow takes the fly so readily that there is no reason for resorting to grasshoppers, salmon-eggs, or other bait. It is a fish whose gaminess will satisfy the most exacting of expert anglers and whose readiness to take any proper line will please the most impatient of inexperienced amateurs.” The steelhead (Salmo rivularis) is a large trout, reaching twelve to twenty pounds in weight, found abundantly in river estuaries and sometimes in lakes from Lynn Canal to Santa Salmonidz IOI Barbara. The spent fish abound in the rivers in spring at the time of the salmon-run. The species is rarely canned, but is valued for shipment in cold storage. Its bones are much more firm than those of the salmon—a trait unfavorable for canning purposes. The flesh when not 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- ne eee SE fj Fig. 63.—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 crescents, the Beardslee trout, Salmo beardsleez, 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. 102 Salmonidz 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 r60o 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 clarkii is, as in other specjes, 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 clark, 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 clarkiz 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 Salmonidz 103 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 Fig. 64. s Fia. 65. Fic. 64.—Head of adult Trout-worm, Dibothrium cordiceps Leidy, a parasite of Salmo clarkii. From intestine of white pelican, Yellowstone Lake. (After Linton.) Fic. 65.—Median segments of Dibothrium cordiceps. 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 104 Salmonide 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 henshaw1, the trout of Lake Tahoe and its tributaries and outlet, Truckee River, found in fact also in the Humboldt Fig. 66.—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 clarkit 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 clarkii bou- vier. In the head-waters of the Platte and Arkansas rivers is the small green-back trout, green or brown, with red throat-patch Salmonidz 105 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. rst Fic. 67.—Green-back Trout, Salmo stomias Cope. Arkansas River, Leadville, Colo. In Twin Lakes, a pair of glacial lakes tributary of the Arkansas near Leadville, is found Salmo clarkit 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 Fic. 68.—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 clarkiw 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 jordant, the “spotted trout”? of Lake Southerland, and Salmo declivifrons, the ‘‘salmon-trout.”” These seem to be distinct forms or sub- species produced through isolation. 106 Salmonidz The Rio Grande trout (Salmo clarkii spilurus) is a large and profusely spotted trout, found in the head-waters of the Rio 8 Fiq, 69.—Rio Grande Trout, Salmo clarkii 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 Fic. 70.—Colorado River Trout, Salmo clarkii pleuriticus Cope. Trapper’s Lake, Colo. it is the trout of the Colorado Basin, Salmo clarkit 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. Salmonidz 107 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, Fic. 71.—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 24 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 (Micropterus, 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 108 Salmonidz usually edged with bright colors. The sexual differences are not great. The scales, in general, are smaller than in other Salmonide, 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.’-—LoweELL. 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, 72.—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 Salmonidz 109 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 = Fig. 73.—Sunapee Trout, Salvelinus aureolus 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 marstont of Garman. 110 Salmonidz 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 stagnalts, is the Floeberg charr (Salvelinus arcturus). This species has been brought from Victoria Lake and Floeberg Beach, in the Fic. 74.—Speckled Trout (male), Salvelinus jontinalis (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 Iil o1g¢g—' ra § Cappenys “Ay “YW Ad Aq ayy tory) = ‘ezts yeanyeu “(rqpony) srppurquof snurpaaog ‘nol, YooIg—'s), “IPT SM i ’ t 112 Salmonidz 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 immaculatus), 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 eyes 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. Salmonidz 119 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, Fig. 76.—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 1—8 114 Salmonidz 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 Fic. 77 —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 Salvelinits 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 charrs, but now placed by us in a different genus, Crist’vomer, is the Fic. 78.—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 having on its vomer a raised crest behind Salmonide ris 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 116 Salmonidze 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. 79.—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 \ Salmonide 117 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. But it 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 aliivelis. 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. 118 Salmonidze 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 haé 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, Salmonide 119 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 (p. 62), fragments of the hooked jaws of salmon, from pleistocene deposits in Idaho, are in the museum of the University of California. CHAPTER VI THE GRAYLING AND THE SMELT " HE Grayling, or Thymallide.—The small family of Thymallide, or grayling, is composed of finely organized ZH) 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, Thymallus, 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. 80.—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 120 The Grayling and the Smelt Foi 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 offshoots from a common stock, which has now spread itself widely through the northern regions. The common grayling of Europe (Thymallus ihymallus) is found throughout northern Europe, and as far south as the mountains of Hungary and northern Italy. The name Thymallys 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 122 The Grayling and the Smelt the northern form (signijer); 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 had a 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 Fic. 81.—Michigan Grayling, Thymallus 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. The Grayling and the Smelt £23 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- trossts, 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. 82.—Smelt, Osmerus mordux (\itchill). 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. J/esopits, the surf-smelty 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 124 The Grayling and the Smelt 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 Fic. 83.—Eulachon, or Ulehen. Thaleichthys pretiosus Girard. Columbia River. Family Argentinida. tivers 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-oilfrom 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 : peut eatin; ‘ Otto Ft igen inp a A Pru + tw cr an ere on pein PEK 2. a Vi Focus =o eh ae ratne Vi Feder ans Clase Clufoee, bh Wwheeckho Ver Make eo Prvee WE j Ylber Qeculis ond Sertats pen Vs taviB ot Jor Laked. She Nii eS ps } ati botnleves. iay oc1e} bay afl Py : a Es (aeg Qagceite Fro eke O 4 oo “ oy A. Pie a ereer Baris ZaiWieb, tvew Pines Rbsl and, hans Pe txKilis pak f le Later * Moun flerlZfin forme? they Lint inl; Ctecllane 2m un, fie pata! flea hors} “pk dnceovey princi aatalete bak Hog hak ar ee Fics gil wt acon, fe Tit fom obey trustiins | e Fic. 84.—Page of William Clark’s handwriting with sketch 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 Journals of the __ Lewis and Clark Expedition.’’) 125 126 The Grayling and the Smelt 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 from them. 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 (Mallotus 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 Fic. 85.—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 The Grayling and the Smelt 127 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 Muzcrostomide 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 Microstoma 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 Salmonide 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 128 The Grayling and the Smelt same thing. They are also sometimes called icefish (Hingzo), 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 cranius 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 Galaxiide, also Australian, but lacking the adipose fin, is mentioned in a later chapter. Fie. 86.—Icefish, Salanxz hyalocranius Abbott. Family Salangide. Tientsin, China. Stomiatide. — The Stonatide, with elongate bodies, have the mouth enormous, with fang-like teeth, usually barbed. Of Fic. 87.—Stomias ferox 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- The Grayling and the Smelt 129 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 sloanet is notable for the length of the fangs. Much smaller and feebler are the species of the closely related family of Gonostomide. Gonostoma and Cyclothone dwell in oceanic abysses. One species, Cyclothone elongata, occurs at the depth of from half a mile to nearly four miles: lic. 88.—Chauliodus sloanei 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 [niom1 (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 Isospondyli, 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 Iniom: 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 II—9 130 The Grayling and the Smelt 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 Inzomz . the adipose fin of the Salmonide 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- an Fic. 89.—Lizard-fish, Synodus fetens L. Charleston, 8. 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 The Grayling and the Smelt 131 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 shown 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 Fig. 90.—Ipnops murrayi Ginther. destined undoubtedly to produce an image and to receive especial luminous rays.’”’ The single species, [pnops murrayt, 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 Ipnops, 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 132 The Grayling and the Smelt 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, Fic. 91.—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. Myctophide.— The large family of Myctophide, or lantern- fishes, is made up of small fishes allied to the Aulopide, but Fic. 92.—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. The Grayling and the Smelt 133 Largely from Danish merchant-vessels, Dr. Lutken 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. 93.—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 (4thoprora) there is a large luminous gland on the end of the short snout, like the headlight of an Fic. 94.—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 0 (theta). One of the commonest species is Myctophum humboldtz. 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 134 The Grayling and the Smelt enlarged, and the ventrals are well forward. The dorsal fin, inserted well forward, has stout basal bones. Chirothrix libant- 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, Exocetoidide, 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- Fic. 95.—Rhinellus furcatus Agassiz. Upper Cretaceous of Mt. Lebanon. (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 The Grayling and the Smelt 135 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. Gitinther else- Fic. 96.—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 esculapius, 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 (Eumucrotremus 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 136 The Grayling and the Smelt with large teeth, distensible muscles, and an extraordinary power of swallowing other fishes, scarcely surpassed by Chzas- modon or Saccopharynx. Evermannellus (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 Sudis had been digested. Perhaps allied to the Plagyodontide is also the large family of Enchodontide, widely represented in the Cretaceous rocks of Fic. 97.—Eurypholis sulcidens Pictet, restored. Family Enchodontide. Upper Cretaceous of Mt. Lebanon. (After Woodward, as E. borssieri.) Syria, Europe, and Kansas. The body in this group is elongate, the teeth very strong, and the dorsal fin short. Enchodus lewesiensts 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 Heteromi. This is an expression of the fact that their relations are still unknown. Probably The Grayling and the Smelt 197 related to the Dercetide is the American family of Stratodontide with its two genera, Stradodus and Empo from the Cretaceous Fic. 98.—Eurypholis freyeri Heckel. Family Enchodontide. Cretaceous. (After Heckel; the restoration of the jaws incorrect.) (Niobrara) deposits of Kansas. Empo nepaholica is one of the best-known species. The Sternoptychide.— The Sternoptychide differ materi- ally from all these forms in the short, compressed, deep body and distorted form. The teeth are small, the body bright silvery, with luminous spots. The species live in the deep seas, rising in dark or stormy weather. Sternoptyx diaphana is found in almost all seas, and species of Argyropelecus are almost Fic. 99.—Argyropelecus olfersi Cuvier. Gulf Stream. as widely distributed. After the earthquakes in 1896, which engulfed the fishing villages of Rikuzen, in northern Japan, 138 The Grayling and the Smelt numerous specimens of this species were found dead, floating on the water, by the steamer Albatross. The Idiacanthide are small deep-sea fishes, eel-shaped and without pectorals, related to the Inzomz. Order Lyopomi.—Other deep-sea fishes constitute the order or suborder Lyopomi (Avos, loose; mapa, opercle). These are elongate fishes having no mesocoracoid, and the preopercle rudimentary and connected only with the lower jaw, the large Fic. 100.—Aldrovandia gracilis (Goode & Bean). Guadaloupe Island, West Indies. Family Halosauride. subopercle usurping its place. The group, which is perhaps to be regarded as a degenerate type of Isospondyli, contains the single family of Halosauride, with several species, black in ‘color, soft in substance, with small teeth and long tapering tail, found in all seas. The principal genera are Halosaurus and Aldrovandia (Halosauropsis). Aldrovandia macrochira is the commonest species on our Atlantic coast. Several fossil Halosauride are described from the Creta- ceous of Europe and Syria, referred to the genera Echidnocephalus and Enchelurus. Boulenger refers the Lyopomi to the suborder Heteromi, CHAPTER VII. THE APODES, OR EEL-LIKE FISHES E Eels.—We may here break the sequence from the Isospondyli to the other soft-rayed fishes, to inter- polate a large group of uncertain origin, the series or subclass of eels. The mass of apodal or eel-like fishes has been usually regarded as constituting a single order, the Apodes (a without; zods, foot). The group as a whole is characterized by the almost universal separation of the shoulder-girdle from the skull, by the absence of the mesocoracoid arch on the shoulder-girdle, by the presence of more than five pectoral actinosts, as in the Ganoid fishes, by the presence of great numbers of undifferen- tiated vertebre, giving the body a snake-like form, by the absence in all living forms of the ventral fins, and, in all living forms, by the absence of a separate caudal fin. These structures indicate a low organization. Some of them are certainly results of degeneration, and others are perhaps indications of primitive simplicity. Within the limits of the group are seen other features of degeneration, notably shown in the progressive loss of the bones of the upper jaw and the membrane-bones of the head and the degradation of the various fins. The symplectic bone is wanting, the notochord is more or less persistent, the vertebral centra always complete constricted cylinders, none coalesced. But, notwithstanding great differences in these regards, the forms have been usually left in a single order, the more degraded forms being regarded as descended from the types which approach nearest to the ordinary fishes. From this view Professor Cope dissents. He recognizes several orders of eels, claiming that we should not unite all these various fishes into a single order on account of the eel-like form. If we do so, we should place in another order those with the fish-like form. 139 bic a Bir. aN Naf 140 The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes It is probable, though not absolutely certain, that the Apodes are related to each other. The loss among them, first, of the con- nection of the post-temporal with the skull; second, of the separate caudal fin and its hypural support; third, of the distinct maxillary and premaxillary ; and fourth, of the pectoral fins, must be regarded as successive phases of a general line of degradation. The large number of actinosts, the persistence of the notochord, the absence of spines, and the large numbers of vertebree seem to be traits of primitive simplicity. Special lines of degenera- tion are further shown by deep-sea forms. What the origin of the Apodes may have been is not known with any certainty. They are soft-rayed fishes, with the air-bladder connected by a tube with the cesophagus, and with the anterior vertebre not modified. In so far they agree with the Isospondyli. In some other respects they resemble the lower Ostariophyst, especially the electric eel and the eel-like catfishes. But these resem- blances, mainly superficial, may be wholly deceptive; we have no links which certainly connect the most fish-like Apodes with any of the other orders. Probably Woodward’s sugges- tion that they may form a series parallel with the JIso- pondylt and independently descended from Tertiary Ganoids deserves serious consideration. Perhaps the most satisfactory arrangement of these fishes will be to regard them as constitut- ing four distinct orders for which we may use the names Sym- branchia (including Ichthyocephali and Holostomi), Apodes (in- cluding Enchelycephalt and Colocephalt), Carenchelt, and Lyo- mere. Order Symbranchia.—The Symbranchia are distinguished by the development of the ordinary fish mouth, the maxillary and premaxillary being well developed. The gill-openings are very small, and usually confluent below. These fresh-water forms of the tropics, however eel-like in form, may have no real affinity with the true eels. In any event, they should not be placed in the same order with the latter. The eels of the suborder Ichthyocephali (iyOus, fish; ce@adn, head) have the head distinctly fish-like. The maxillary, pre- maxillary, and palatines are well developed, and the shoulder- girdle is joined by a post-temporal to the skull. The body is distinctly eel-like, the tail being very short and the fins incon- The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 141 spicuous. The number of vertebrae is unusually large. The order contains the single family Monopteride, the rice-field eels, one species, Monopterus albus, being excessively common in pools and ditches from China and southern Japan to India. The eels of the suborder Holostomi (6Ads, complete; crédpa, mouth) differ from these mainly in the separation of the shoulder- girdle from the skull, a step in the direction of the true eels. The Symbranchide are very close to the Monopteride in external appearance, small, dusky, eel-like inhabitants of sluggish ponds and rivers of tropical America and the East Indies. The gill- openings are confluent under the throat. Symbranchus mar- moratus ranges northward as far as Vera Cruz, having much the habit of the rice-field eel of Japan and China The Amphip- noid@, with peculiar respiratory structures, abound in India. Amphipnous cuchia, according to Gunther, has but three gill- arches, with rudimentary lamina and very narrow slits. To supplement this insufficient branchial apparatus, a lung-like sac is developed on each side of the body behind the head, open- ing between the hyoid and the first branchial arch. The inte- rior of the sac is abundantly provided with blood-vessels, the arterial coming from the branchial arch, whilst those issuing from it unite to form the aorta. Amphipnous has rudimentary scales. The other Holostomi and Ichthyocephalt are naked and all lack the pectoral fin. The Chilobranchide are small sea-fishes from Australia, with the tail longer than the rest of the body, instead of much shorter as in the others. No forms allied to Symbranchus or Monopterus are recorded as fossils. Order Apodes, or True Eels. —In this group the shoulder- girdle is free from the skull, and the bones of the jaws are reduced in number, through coalescence of the parts. Three well-marked suborders may be recognized, groups per- haps worthy of still higher rank: Archencheli, Enchelycephal, and Colocephalt. Suborder Archencheli—The Archencheli, now entirely extinct, are apparently the parents of the eels, having, however, certain traits characteristic of the Isospondyli. They retain the sepa- rate caudal fin, with the ordinary hypural plate, and Professor 142 The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes Hay has recently found, in an example from the Cretaceous of Mount Lebanon, remains of distinct ventral fins. These traits seem to indicate an almost perfect transition from the Isospondyli to the Archenchelz. One family may be recognized at present, Urenchelyide. The earliest known eel, Urenchelys avus, occurs in the upper Cretaceous at Mount Lebanon. It represents the family Uren- chelyide, apparently allied to the Angudllide, but having a separate caudal fin. Its teeth are small, conical, blunt, in many series. There are more than 100 vertebre, the last expanded in a hypural. Pectorals present. Scales rudiment- ary; dorsal arising at the occiput. Branchiostegals slender, not curved around the opercle. Urenchelys anglicus is another species, found in the chalk of England. Suborder Enchelycephali. — The suborder Enchelycephali (éy- yedus, eel; Kepadn, head) contains the typical eels, in which the shoulder-girdle is free from the skull, the palatopterygoid arch relatively complete, the premaxillaries wanting or rudi- mentary, the ethmoid and vomer coalesced, forming the front of the upper jaw, the maxillaries lateral, and the cranium with a single condyle. In most of the species pectoral fins are present, and the cranium lacks the combined degradation and speciali- zation shown by the morays (Colocephalt). Family Anguillide.—The most primitive existing family is that of the typical eels, Anguzllide, which have rudimentary scales oblong in form, and set separately in groups at right angles with one another. These fishes are found in the fresh and brackish waters of all parts of the world, excepting the Pacific coast of North America and the islands of the Pacific. Inthe upper Great Lakes and the upper Mississippi they are also absent unless intro- duced. The species usually spawn in the sea and ascend the rivers to feed. But some individuals certainly spawn in fresh water, and none go far into the sea, or where the water is entirely salt. The young eels sometimes ascend the brooks near the sea in incredible numbers, constituting what is known in England as “eel-fairs.”” They will pass through wet grass to surmount. ordinary obstacles. Niagara Falls they cannot pass, and according to Professor Baird ‘“‘in the spring and summer the visitor who enters under the sheet of water at the foot of the The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 143 falls will be astonished at the enormous numbers of young eels crawling over the slippery rocks and squirming in the seething whirlpools. An estimate of hundreds of wagon-loads, as seen in the course of the perilous journey referred to, would hardly be considered excessive by those who have visited the spot at a suitable season of the year.’’ “At other times large eels may be seen on their way down-stream, although natu- rally they are not as conspicuous then as are the hosts of the young on their way up-stream. Nevertheless it is now a well- assured fact that the eels are catadromous, that is, that the fic. 101.—Common Eel, Anguilla chrisypa Rafinesque. Holyoke, Mass. old descend the watercourses to the salt water to spawn, and the young, at least of the female sex, ascend them to enjoy life in the fresh water.”’ Reproduction of the Eel.—Dr. Gill (‘‘ Riverside Natural His- tory,”’ p. 103) gives the following account of the reproduction of Anguilla: “The generation of the eel was long involved in great mystery, and the knowledge thereof is one of the recent acqui- sitions of scientific investigation. So late, indeed, as 1880 it was declared that ‘their mode of propagation is still unknown.’ In want of positive knowledge the rein has been given to loose hypothesis and conjecture. It has been variously asserted that eels were generated from slime, from dew, and from the skins of old eels or of snakes. The statement that they come from horse-hairs is familiar to many country boys, and the origin of this belief is due simply to the fact that there are certain aquatic worms, known under the generic name Gordzus, which are elongated and apparently smooth like the eel, and which 144 The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes may be found in the same waters. It was one of the ideas of the Greek to attribute their paternity, as of many other doubt- ful offspring, to the convenient Jupiter. The statement that they are viviparous has arisen from two causes: one the exist- ence of intestinal worms, and the other from the confusion of the eel with an elongated and consequently eel-like but other- wise very different form, the Zoarces viviparus. The Zoarces is indeed, in Germany as well as in the Scandinavian countries, generally known as the Aal-mutter, or eel-mother, and thus in its name perpetuates the fancy. Even where eels are to be found in extreme abundance, and where they are the objects of a special culture, like erroneous opinions prevail. Thus, according to Jacoby, about the lagoon of Comacchio there is an ‘ineradicable belief among the fishermen that the eel is born of other fishes; they point to special differences in color and especially in the common mullet, Mugil cephalus, as the causes of variation in color and form among eels. It is a very ancient belief, widely prevalent to the present day, that eels pair with water-snakes. In Sardinia the fishermen cling to the belief that a certain beetle, the so-called water-beetle, Dytiscus reselit, is the progenitor of eels, and they therefore call this ‘‘mother of eels.”’’ The assignment of such maternity to the water-beetle is doubtless due to the detection of the hair-worm, or Gordius, in the insect by sharp-sighted but unscientific observers, and, inasmuch as the beetle inhabits the same waters as the eel, a very illogical deduction has led to connect the two together. “All such beliefs as have been thus recounted are due to the inconspicuous nature of the generative organs in eels found in fresh waters and at most seasons—a characteristic which is in strong contrast to the development of corresponding parts in fishes generally. Nevertheless the ovaries of the eel were discovered, as long ago as 1707, by Dr. Sancassini of Comacchio, and described by the celebrated Valisneri (after whom the plant Valisnertia was named) in 1710, again by Mondini in 1777, and almost contemporaneously by O. J. Miller of Denmark. Later the illustrious Rathke (in 1824, 1838, and 1850) and also Hornbaum-Hornschuch published the results of special investigations, and figured the eggs. But it was only in 1873 (after several futile endeavors by others) that the male organ The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 145 of the eel was recognized, also by an Italian naturalist, Dr. Syrski, in small individuals of the species, and a previous idea that the eel was hermaphroditic thereby dispelled. The sexual differences are correlated with external ones, and generally the males and females, when adult, can be told apart. Jacoby testifies that he examined large numbers with a view to solve this question. The most important differences relate to (1) size; (2) form of the snout; (3) color; (4) dorsal fin; and (5) size of the eyes. (1) The males rarely attain a length of more than seventeen to nineteen inches, while adult females are generally much larger; (2) the snout in the male is attenu- ated and rather pointed, while in the female it is comparatively broad and blunt; (3) the male is of a deep darkish green, or often a deep black with a shining luster and a whitish belly, while the female has a clearer color, usually of a greenish hue on the back and yellowish on the belly; (4) the dorsal fin is lower and less developed in the male than in the female; and (s) the eye of the male is large and that of the female, as a rule, comparatively small. These characters, however, do not always hold good. Jacoby remarked that ‘special reference having been paid to the height and narrowness of the dorsal fin, much success has been met with in picking out, in the fish-market of Trieste, the eels which possessed the organ of Syrski (that is, the male organ); absolute certainty, however, in recog- nizing them cannot be guaranteed. If one is searching among living eels with no characters in mind,—with the exception of the first, that of length,—he will find in every ten eels, on an average, eight females and two with the supposed male organ, but if the selection is made with a careful reference to all these marks of difference, the proportion changes, and out of every ten examples about eight will be found with the supposed male organ.’ “ According to Herr Benecke, ‘it may be assumed with the greatest safety that the eel lays its eggs like most other fish, and that, like the lamprey, it spawns only once and then dies. All the eggs of a female show the same degree of maturity, while in the fish which spawn every year, besides the large eggs which are ready to be deposited at the next spawning period, there exist very many of much smaller size, which are II—10 146 The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes destined to mature hereafter and be deposited in other years. It is very hard to understand how young eels could find room in the body of their mother if they were retained until they had gained any considerable size. The eel embryo can live and grow for a long time supported by the little yolk, but, when this is done, it can only obtain food outside of the body of its mother. The following circumstances lead us to believe that the spawning of the eel takes place only in the sea: (1) that the male eel is found only in the sea or brackish water, while female eels yearly undertake a pilgrimage from the inland waters to the sea, a circumstance which has been known since the time of Aristotle, and upon the knowledge of which the principal capture of eels by the use of fixed apparatus is dependent; (2) that the young eels, with the greatest regularity, ascend from the sea into the rivers and lakes.’”’ All statements in opposition to this theory are untenable, since the young eels never find their way into landlocked ponds in the course of their wanderings, while eels planted in such isolated bodies of water thrive and grow rapidly, but never increase in numbers. Another still more convincing argument is the fact that in lakes which formerly contained many eels, but which, by the erection of impassable weirs, have been cut off from the sea, the supply of eels has diminished, and after a time only scattering individuals, old and of great size, are taken in them. An instance of this sort occurred in Lake Musken- gorf in West Prussia. If an instance of the reproduction of the eel in fresh water could be found, such occurrences as these would be quite inexplicable. In the upper stretches of long rivers the migration of the eels begins in April or in May; in their lower stretches and shorter streams, later in the season. In all running waters the eel-fishery depends upon the downward migrations; the eels press up the streams with occasional halts, remaining here and there for short periods, but always make their way above. They appear to make the most progress during dark nights, when the water is troubled and stormy, for at this time they are captured in the greatest numbers. It is probable that after the eels have once returned to the sea and there deposited their spawn, they never can return into fresh water, but remain The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 147 there to die. A great migration of grown eels in spring or summer has never been reported, and it appears certain that all the female eels which have once found their way to the sea are lost to the fisherman. Food of the Eel.—Eels, in the words of Mr. W. H. Ballou, are “among the most voracious of carnivorous fishes. They eat most inland fishes, except the garfish and the chub. Inves- tigation of six hundred stomachs by Oswego fishermen showed that the latter bony fish never had a place in their bill of fare. They are particularly fond of game-fishes, and show the delicate taste of a connoisseur in their selection from choice trout, bass, pickerel, and shad. They fear not to attack any object when disposed, and their bite in human flesh shows even a vicious attitude towards man. On their hunting excursions they over- turn huge and small stones alike, working for hours if neces- sary, beneath which they find species of shrimp and crayfish, of which they are exceedingly fond. Of shrimps they devour vast numbers. Their noses are poked into every imaginable hole in their search for food, to the terror of innumerable small fishes.”’ In the opinion of Mr. Ballou, too, “eels are to the water what the fishhawk is to the air. They are, perhaps, the most powerful and rapid of natatorians. Again, they hide in the mud beneath some log or overhanging rock, and dart out with tremendous fury at the unsuspecting prey. They attack the spawn of other fishes open-mouthed, and are even said to suck the eggs from an impaled female. They fearlessly and rapidly © dive head-foremost in the mud, disappearing from view in the twinkling of a star. They are owl-like in their habits, commit- ting many of their depredations at night. “No fish is yet reported to utilize a full-grown eel as food. Pickerel, garfish, and bass, which are particularly numerous in these lakes, are supposed to literally devour the young fry. Mr. Sawyer describes the operation of the pickerel darting through a long column of young eels open-mouthed and de- vouring vast numbers of them.” Larva of the Eel.—The translucent band-shaped larva of the common eel has been very recently identified and described by Dr. Eigenmann. It is probable that all true eels, Enchely- 148 The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes cephali, pass through a band-shaped or leptocephalous stage, as is the case with Albula and other Isospondylt, In the con- tinued growth the body becomes firmer, and at the same time ‘ aN \\ (« Zw Fic. 102.—Luarva of Common Eel, Anguilla chrisypa (Rafinesque), called Lepto- cephalus grassti. (After Eigenmann.) much shorter and thicker, gradually assuming the normal form of the species in question. In a recent paper Dr. Carl H. Eigenmann has very fully reviewed the life-history of the eel. The common species live in fresh waters, migrating to the sea in the winter. They deposit in deep water minute eggs that float at the surface. The next year they develop into the band-shaped larva. The young eels enter the streams two years after their parents drop down to the sea. It is doubtful whether eels breed in fresh water. The male eel is much smaller than the female. The eel is an excellent food-fish, the flesh being tender and oily, of agreeable flavor, better than that of any of its rela- tives. Eels often reach a large size, old individuals of five or six feet in length being sometimes taken. Species of Eels.—The different species are very closely related. Not more than four or five of them are sharply defined, and these mostly in the South Seas and in the East Indies. The three abundant species of the north temperate zone, Anguilla angutlla of Europe, Anguilla chrisypa of the eastern United States, and Anguilla japonica of Japan, are scarcely distinguishable. In color, size, form, and value as food they are all alike. Fossil species referred to the Anguillid@ are known from the early Tertiary. Anguilla leptoptera occurs in the Eocene of Monte Bolea, and Anguilla elegans in the Miocene of CEningen in Baden. Other fossil eels seem to belong to the Nettasto- mide and Myride. Pug-nosed Eels.—Allied to the true eel is the pug-nosed eel, Simenchelys parasiticus, constituting the family of Simen- chelyide. This species is scaled like a true eel, has a short, The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 149 blunt nose, and burrows its way into the bodies of halibut and other large fishes. It has been found in Newfoundland and Fic. 103.—Pug-nosed Fel, Simenchelys parasiticus Gill. Sable Island Bank. Madeira. Another family possessing rudimentary scales is that of the Synaphobranchide, slender eels of the ocean depths, widely distributed. In these forms the gill-openings are confluent. Synaphobranchus pinnatus is the best-known species. Fic. 104.—Synaphobranchus pinnatus (Gronow). Ie Have Bank. Conger-eels. — The Leptocephalide, or conger-eels, are very similar to the fresh-water eels, but are without scales and with a somewhat different mouth, the dorsal beginning nearer to the head. The principal genus is Leptecephalus, including the common conger-eel (Leptocephalus conger) of eastern America and Europe and numerous very similar species in the tropics of both con- tinents. These fishes are strictly marine and, reaching the length of five or six feet, are much valued as food. The eggs are much larger than those of the eel and are produced in great numbers, so that the female almost bursts with their numbers. Dr. Hermes calculated that 3,300,000 were laid by one female in an aquarium. These eggs hatch out into transparent band-like larva, with very small heads formerly known as Leptocephalus, an ancient name which is now taken for the genus of congers, having , 150 The Apodes or Eel-like Fishes been first used for the larva of the common conger-eel. The loose watery tissues of these ‘‘ ghost-fishes’’ grow more and more compact and they are finally transformed into young congers. yy Fig. 105.—Conger-eel, Leptocephalus conger (L.). Noank, Conn. The Afurenesocide are large eels remarkable for their strong knife-like teeth. MJure@nesox savanna occurs in the West Indies and in the Mediterranean, M/urenesox cinereus in Japan, and AMlurenesox coniceps on the west coast of Mexico, all large wy YU Yi YY) WM) UU YY KOK é Fie. 106.—Larva of Conger-eel Caples rats conger), called Leptocephalus morrisst. (After Higenmann.) and fierce, with teeth like shears. The Myride are small and worm-like eels closely allied to the congers, having the tail surrounded by a fin, but the nostrils labial. Mvyrus myrus is found in the Mediterranean. Species of Eomyrus, Rhyncho- rhinus, and Paranguilla apparently allied to AZyrus occur in the Eocene. Other related families, mostly rare or living in the deep seas, are the Ilyophide, Heterocongride, and Dysommuide. The Snake-eels.—Most varied of the families of eels is the Ophichthyide, snake-like eels recognizable by the form of the tail, which protrudes beyond the fins. Of the many genera found in tropical waters several are remarkable for the sharply defined coloration, suggesting that of the snake. Characteristic species are Chilevastes colubrinus and Leiuranus semicinctus, two beauti- fully banded species of Polynesia, living in the same holes in the reefs and colored in the same fashion. Another is Calle. The Apodes or Eel-like Fishes 151 chelys melanotenia. The commonest species on the Atlantic coast is the plainly colored Ophichthus gomest. In the genus Sphagebranchus, very slender eels of the reefs, the fins are almost wanting. Fic. 108.—Myrichthys pantostigmius Jordan & McGregor. Clarion Island. Allied to the Congers is the small family of duck-billed eels (Nettastonid@) inhabiting moderate depths of the sea. Net- tastoma bolcense occurs in the Eocene of Monte Bolca. The pro- duced snout forms a transition to the really extraordinary type of thread-eels or snipe-eels (Nemichthyide), of which numerous genera and species live in the oceanic depths. In Nemuchthys Fic. 109.—Ophichthus ocellatus (Le Sueur). Pensacola, the long, very slender, needle-like jaws are each curved back- ward so that the mouth cannot by any possibility be shut. The body is excessively slender and the fish swims with swift undulations, often near the surface, and when seen is usually Coe The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes taken for a snake. The best-known species is Nemichthys scolo- paceus of the Atlantic and Pacific. Nemuichthys avocetta, very much like it, has been twice taken in Puget Sound. Suborder Colocephali, or Morays.——In the suborder Colocephalz (colds, deficient; Kepadn, head) the palatopterygoid arch and the mem- brane-bones generally are very rudimentary. The skull is thus very narrow, the gill-struc- tures are not well developed, and in the chief family there are no pectoral fins. This group is very closely related to the Enchelycephalt, from which it is probably derived. In the great family of morays (Murenide) the teeth are often very highly developed. The muscles are always very strong and the spines bite savagely, a live moray being often able to drive men out of a boat. The skin is thick and leathery, and the coloration is highly specialized, the pattern of color being often Fig. 110. Fie. 111. Fig. 110,—Thread-eel, Nemichthys avocetta Jordan & Gilbert. Vancouver Island. Fig. 111.—Jaws of Nemichthys avocetta Jordan & Gilbert. elaborate and brilliant. In Echidna zebra for example the body is wine-brown, with cross-stripes of golden yellow. In Murena each nostril has a barbel. Murena helena, the oldest moray known, is found in Europe. In Gymnothorax, the largest genus, only the anterior nostrils are thus provided. Gymmnothorax mordax of California is a large food-fish, as are also the brown Gymnothorax funebris and the spotted Gymnothorax moringa in the West Indies. These and many other species may coil them- selves in crevices in the reefs, whence they strike out at their prey like snakes, taking perhaps the head of a duck or the finger of a man. The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 15% In many of the morays the jaws are so curved and the mouth so filled with knife-like teeth that the jaws cannot be closed. This fact, however, renders no assistance to their prey, as the teeth are adapted for holding as well as for cutting. In Enchelynassa bleekeri, a huge wine-colored eel of the South Seas, the teeth are larger than in any other species. Evenchelys Fie. 112.—Murena retifera Garman. Charleston, 8. (macrurus) is remarkable for its extraordinary length of tail, Echidna for its blunt teeth, and Scuticaria, Uropterygius, and Channomurena for the almost complete absence of fins. In Anarchias (allardicet; knighti), the anal fin is absent. The flesh of the morays is rather agreeable in taste, but usually oily and not readily digestible, less wholesome than that of the true eels. The Myrocongride are small morays with developed pectoral fins. The species are few and little known. Family Moringuide.—Structurally one of the most peculiar of the groups of eels is the small family of Moringutde of the East and West Indies. In these very slender, almost worm- like fishes the heart is placed very far behind the gills and the tail is very short. The fins are very little developed, and some forms, as Gordiichthys irretitus of the Gulf of Mexico, the body as slender as a whiplash, possess a very great number of vertebree. Moringua hawatiensis occurs in Hawaii, M. edwardst in the Bahamas. This family probably belongs with the morays to the group of Colocephali, although its real relationships are not wholly certain. Order Carencheli, the Long-necked Eels.—Certain offshoots from the Apodes so widely diverging in structure that they must apparently be considered as distinct orders occur sparingly in the deep seas. One of these, Derichthys serpentinus, the ‘ppruominyy ATU anEL “dopxug Ypt.toq rpsoyjoumfij— eT] ‘DIT The Apodes, or. Eel-like Fishes 155 long-necked eel, constitutes the sole known species of the sub- order Carencheli (xapa, head; €yyedus, eel). In this group the premaxillaries and maxillaries are present as in ordinary Fig. 114.—Gymnothorax jordani (Evermann & Marsh). Family A/urenide. Puerto Rico: fishes, but united by suture and soldered to the cranium. As in true eels, the shoulder-girdle is remote from the skull. The Fig. 115.—Moray, Gymmothorar moringa Bloch. Family Muranide. Tortugas. head is set on a snake-like neck. The single species representing the family Derichthyide was found in the abysmal depths of the Gulf Stream. Order Lyomeri, or Gulpers.—Still more aberrent and in many respects extraordinary are the eels of the order or suborder Lyomert (Avos, loose; pépos, part), known as “Gulpers.” These are degenerate forms, possibly degraded from some con- ger-like type, but characterized by an extreme looseness of structure unique among fishes. The gill-arches are reduced to five small bars of bone, not attached to the skull, the pala- topterygoid arch is wholly wanting, the premaxillaries are 156 The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes wanting, as in all true eels, and the maxillaries loosely joined to the skull. The symplectic bone is wanting, and the lower jaw is so hinged to the skull that it swings freely in various direc- tions. In place of the lateral line are singular appendages. Fig. 116.—Derichthys serpentinus Gill. Gulf Stream. Dr. Gill says of these fishes: ‘‘ The entire organization is peculiar to the extent of anomaly, and our old conceptions of the char- acteristics of a fish require to be modified in the light of our knowledge of such strange beings.’’ Special features are the extraordinary size of the mouth, which has a cavity larger than that of the rest of the body, the insertion of the very small eye at the tip of the snout, and the relative length of the tail. The whole substance is excessively fragile as usual with animals living in great depths and the color is jet black. Three species Fra. 117.—Gulper-eel, Gastrostomus bairdi Gill & Ryder. Gulf Stream. have been described, and these have been placed in two families, Saccopharyngide, with the trunk (gill-opening to the vent) much longer than the head, and Eurypharyngide, with the trunk very short, much shorter than the head. The best-known species is the pelican eel (Eurypharynx pelacanoides), of the coast of Morocco, described by Vaillant in 1882. Gastrostomus bairdi, very much like it, occurs in the great depths under the Gulf Stream. So fragile and so easily distorted are these fishes that The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 157 it is possible that all three are really the same species, for which the oldest name would be Saccopharynx ampullaceus. Of this form four specimens have been taken in the Atlantic, one of them six feet long, carried to the surface through having swallowed fishes too large to be controlled. To be carried above its depth in a struggle with its prey is one of the greatest dangers to which the abysmal fishes are subject. Order Heteromi.—The order of Heteromi (érepds, different; @pos, shoulder), or spiny eels, may be here noticed for want of a better place, as its affinities are very uncertain. Some writers have regarded it as allied to the eels; some have placed it among the Ganoids. Others have found affinities with the stickle- backs, and still others with the singular fresh-water fishes called Mastacembelus. The Heteromi agree with the eels, as well as with Mastacembelus, in having the scapular arch separate from the cranium. Unlike all the true eels, most of the species have true dorsal and anal spines, as in the Percesoces and Hemi- branchii. The ventral fins, when present, are abdominal and each with several spines in front, a character not found among the Acanthoptert. There is no mesocoracoid. The air-bladder has a duct, and the coracoids, much as in the XNenomi, are reduced to a single lamellar imperforate plate. The two groups have little else in common, however, and this trait is possibly primitive in both cases, more likely to have arisen through independent degeneration. The separation of the shoulder-girdle doubtless indicates no affinity with the eels, as the bones of the jaws are quite normal. Two families are known, both from the deep sea, besides an extinct family in which spines are not developed. The Notacanthide are elongate, compressed, ending in a band- shaped, tapering tail; the back has numerous free spines and few or no soft rays, and the mouth is normal, provided with teeth. The species of Notacanthus are few and scantily pre- served. Those of Macdonaldia are more abundant. Mac- donaldia challengeri is from the North Pacific, being once taken off Tokio. The extinct family of Protonotacanthide differs in the total absence of dorsal spines and fin-rays; the single species, Pronotocanthus sahel-alme, originally described as a primitive eel, occurs in the Cretaceous of Mount Lebanon. 158 The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes The Lipogenyide have a round, sucker-like mouth, with imperfect lower jaw, but are otherwise similar, Lipogenys gilli was dredged in the Gulf Stream. Aas ae , 4 Fig. 118.—Notacanthus phasganorus Goode & Bean. Grand Banks. Dr. Boulenger has recently extended the group of Heteromz by the addition of the Dercetide, Halosauride (Lyopomi), and the Fierasferide. We can hardly suppose that all these forms are really allied to Notacanthus. CHAPTER VIII SERIES OSTARIOPHYSI %)|\STARIOPHYSI.—A large group of orders, certainly of common descent, may be brought together under the an f| general name of Ostariophysi (écraptov, a small bone; 6vods, inflated). These are in many ways allied to the Jso- spondyli, but they have undergone great changes of structure, some of the species being highly specialized, others variously degenerate. A chief character is shared by all the species. The anterior vertebre are enlarged, interlocked, considerably modi- fied, and through them a series of small bones connect the air- bladder with the ear. The air-bladder thus becomes apparently an organ of hearing through a form of connection which is lost in all the: higher fishes. In all the members of this group excepting perhaps the degraded eel-like forms called Gymnonoti, the mesocoracoid arch persists, a trait found in all the living types of Ganoids, as well as in the Teleost order of Isospondylt. Other traits of the Ostariophysan fishes are shared by the Isospondylt (herring, salmon) and other soft-rayed fishes. The air-bladder is large, but not cellular. It leads through life by an open duct to the cesophagus. The ven- tral fins are abdominal in position. The pectorals are inserted low. A mesocoracoid arch is developed on the inner side of the shoulder-girdle. (See Fig. 119) There are no spines on the fins, except in many cases a single one, a modified soft ray at front of dorsal or pectoral. The scales, if present, are cycloid or replaced by bony plates. Many of the species have an armature much like that of the sturgeon, but here the resemblance ends, the bony plates in the two cases being without doubt independently evolved. According to Cope, the affinities of the catfishes to the sturgeon are “seen in the absence of symplectic, the rudimentary maxillary 159 160 Series Ostariophysi bone, and, as observed by Parker, in the interclavicles. There is also a superficial resemblance in the dermal bones.” But it is not likely that any real affinity exists. The sturgeons lack the characteristic auditory ossicles, or “Weberian ap- paratus,” which the catfishes possess in common with the carp family, the Cha- racins, and the Gymnonott. These orders must at Jeast have a common origin, although this origin is obscure, and fossil remains give little help to the solution of the problem. Probably the ancestors of the Ostariophyst are to be found among the allies of the Osteoglosside. Gill has Fic. 119. —Inner view of Called attention to the resemblance of ee. oe Erythrinus to Amia. In any event, all the balus Rafinesque, show- Ostarzophyst must be considered together, (59). borer aes as it is not conceivable that so complex a structure as the Weberian apparatus should have been more than once independently evolved. The branchiostegals, numerous among the Isospondyli, are mostly few among the Ostariophyst. To the Ostartophyst belong the vast majority of the fresh- water fishes of the world. Their primitive structure is shown in Fig. 120.—Weberian apparatus and air-bladder of Carp. (From Ginther after Weber.) é many ways; among others by the large number of vertebrz instead of the usual twenty-four among the more highly special- ized families of fishes. We may group the Ostariophysi under Series Ostariophysi 161 four orders: Heterognathi, Eventognathi (Plectospondyli), Nema- tognatht, and Gymnonott. The Heterognathi—Of these the order of Heterognathi seems to be the most primitive, but in some ways the most highly de- veloped, showing fewer traits of degeneration than any of the others. The presence of the adipose fin in this group and in the catfishes seems to indicate some sort of real affinity with the salmon-like forms, although there has been great change in other regards. The order Heterognatht, or Characini (€repos, different; yra- Gos, jaw), contains those Ostariophysi which retain the meso- coracoid and are not eel-like, and which have the lower pharyn- geals developed as in ordinary fishes. In most cases an adipose fin is present and there are strong teeth in the jaws. There are no pseudobranchie, and, as in the Cyprinide, usually but three branchiostegals. The Characide constitute the majority of the fresh-water fishes in those regions which have neither Cyprinide nor Salmonide. Nearly four hundred species are known from the rivers of South America and Africa. A single species, Tetragonopterus argentatus, extends its range northward to the Rio Grande in Texas. None are found in Asia, Europe, or, with this single exception, in the United States. Most of them are small fishes with deep bodies and very sharp, serrated, incisor- like teeth. Some are as innocuous as minnows, which they very much resemble, but others are extremely voracious and destruc- tive in the highest degree. Of the caribe, belonging to the genus Serrasalmo, known by its serrated belly, Dr. Gunther observes : “Their voracity, fearlessness and number render them a perfect pest in many rivers of tropical America. In all the teeth dre strong, short, sharp, sometimes lobed incisors, arranged in one or more series; by means of them they cut off a mouth- ful of flesh as with a pair of scissors; and any animal falling into the water where these fish abound is immediately attacked and cut to pieces in an incredibly short time. They assail persons entering the water, inflicting dangerous wounds before the victims are able to make their escape. In some localities it is scarcely possible to catch fishes with the hook and line, as the fish hooked is immediately attacked by the ‘caribe’ (as II—I1 162 Series Ostariophysi these fish are called), and torn to pieces before it can be with- drawn from the water. The caribes themselves are rarely hooked, as they snap the hook or cut the line. The smell of plood is said to attract at once thousands of these fishes to the spot.” Two families of Heterognatht are recognized: the Erythri- nide, which lack the adipose fin, and the Characide, in which this fin is developed. The Erythrinide are large pike-like fishes of the South American rivers, robust and tenacious of life, with large mouths armed with strong unequal teeth. The best-known species is the Trahira (Hoplias malabaricus). Among the Characide, Serrasalmo has been already noticed. Citharinus in Africa has very few teeth, and Curimatus in South America none at all. Nannocharax in Africa is composed of Fig. 121.—Brycon dentexr Giinther. Family Characide. Nicaragua. very diminutive fishes, Hydrocyon exceedingly voracious ones, reaching a length of four feet, with savage teeth. Many of the species are allies of Tetragonopterus, small, silvery, bream-like fishes with flat bodies and serrated incisor teeth. Most of these are American. A related genus is Brycon, found in the streams about the Isthmus of Panama. Extinct Characins are very rare. Two species from the Ter- tiary lignite of Sao Paulo, Brazil, have been referred to Tetra- gonopterus—T avus and T. ligniticus. The Eventognathi—The Eventognathi (ev, well; éy, within; yvaoos, jaw) are characterized by the absence of teeth in the jaws and by the high degree of specialization of the lower phar- Series Ostariophysi 163 yngeals, which are scythe-shaped and in typical forms are armed with a relatively small number of highly specialized teeth of peculiar shape and arranged in one, two, or three rows. In all the species the gill-openings are restricted to the sides; there is no adipose fin, and the broad, flat branchiostegals are but three in number. In all the species the scales, if present, are cycloid, and the ventral fins, of course, abdominal. The modification of the four anterior vertebra and their connection with the air bladder are essentially as seen in the catfishes. The name Plectospondyli is often used for this group (zAexrés, interwoven; owordvaos, vertebra), but that term originally in- cluded the Characins as well. The Cyprinide.—The chief family of the Eventognathi and the largest of all the families of fishes is that of Cyprinide, comprising Fic. 122.—Pharyngeal bones and teeth of European Chub, Leuciscus cephalus (Linneeus). (After Seelye.) 200 genera and over 2000 species, found throughout the north tem- perate zone but not extending to the Arctic Circle on the north, nor much beyond the Tropic of Cancer on the south. In this family belong all the fishes known as carp, dace, chub, roach, bleak, minnow, bream, and shiner. The essential character of the family lies in the presence of one, two, or three rows of highly specialized teeth on the lower pharyngeals, the main row con- taining 4, 5, 6, or 7 teeth, the others 1 to 3. The teeth of the main row differ in form according to the food of the fish. They may be coarse and blunt, molar-like in those which feed on shells; 164 Series Ostariophysi they may be hooked at tip in those which eat smaller fishes; they may be serrated or not; they may have an excavated ‘‘srinding surface,” which is most developed in the species which feed on mud and have long intestines. In the Cyprinidae, or carp family, the barbels are small or wanting, the head is naked, the caudal fin forked, the mouth is toothless and without suck- ing lips, and the premaxillaries form its entire margin. With a few exceptions the Cyprinide are small and feeble fishes. They form most of the food of the predatory river fishes, and their great abundance in competition with these is due to their fecundity and their insignificance. They spawn profusely and find everywhere an abundance of food. Often they check the increase of predatory fish by the destruction of their eggs. In many of the genera the breeding color of the males is very brilliant, rendering these little creatures for a time the most beautifully colored of fishes. In spring and early summer the fins, sides, and head in the males are often charged with pig- ment, the prevailing color of which is rosy, though often satin- white, orange, crimson, yellow, greenish, or jet black. Among American genera Chrosomus, Notropis, and Rhinichthys are most highly colored. Rhodeus, Rutilis, and Zacco in the Old World are also often very brilliant. In very many species, especially in America, the male in the breeding season is often more or less covered with small, SN YIN ) ) TAS Fig. 123.—Black-nosed Dace, Rhinichthys dulcis Girard. ‘\ellowstone River. grayish tubercles or pearly bodies, outgrowths of the epidermis. These are most numerous on the head and fall off after the breeding season. They are most developed in Campostoma. The Cyprinide are little valued as food-fishes. The carp, largely domesticated in small ponds for food, is coarse and Series Ostariophysi 165 tasteless. Most of the others are flavorless and full of small bones. One species, Opsariichthys uncirostris, of Japan is an exception in this regard, being a fish of very delicate flavor. In America 225 species of Cyprinide are known. One hun- dred of these are now usually held to form the single genus SAN Fig. 124.—White Chub, Notropis hudsonius (Clinton). Kilpatrick Lake, Minn. Notropts. This includes the smaller and weaker species, from two to seven inches in length, characterized by the loss, mostly through degeneration, of special peculiarities of mouth, fins, and teeth. These have no barbels and never more than four teeth Fic. 125.—Silver-jaw Minnow, Ericymba buccala Cope. Defiance, Ohio. in the main row. Few, if any, Asiatic species have so small a number, and in most of these the maxillary still retains its rudimentary barbel. But one American genus (Orthodon) has more than five teeth in the main row and none have more than two rows or more than two teeth in the lower row. By these and other peculiarities it would seem that the American species are at once less primitive and less complex than the Old World 166 Series Ostariophysi forms. There is some evidence that the group is derived from Asia through western America, the Pacific Coast forms being much nearer the Old World types than the forms inhabiting the Mississippi Valley. Not many Cyprinide are found in Mexico, none in Cuba, South America, Australia, Africa, or the islands to the eastward of Borneo. Many species are very widely distributed, many others extremely local. In the genus Notro- pts, each river basin in the Southern States has its series of different and mostly highly colored species. The presence of Notropis niveus in the Neuse, Notropis pyrrhomelas in the Santee, Notro- pis zonisttus in the Chattahoochee, Notropis callistius, tri- chroistius, and sttgmaturus in the Alabama, Notropts whipplet in Fic, 126.—Silverin, Notropis whipplei (Girard). White River, Indiana. Family Cyprinide. the Mississippi, Notropis galacturus in the Tennessee, and Notro- pis cercostigma in the Sabine forms an instructive series in this regard. These fishes and the darters (Etheostomine) are, among American fishes, the groups best suited for the study of local problems in distribution. Species of Dace and Shiner.—Noteworthy species in other genera are the following: Largest and best known of the species of Notropis is the familiar shiner or redfin, Notropis cornutus, found in almost every brook throughout the region east of the Missouri River. Campostoma anomalum, the stone-roller, has the very long intestines six times the length of its body, arranged in fifteen coils around the air-bladder. This species feeds on mud and spawns in little brooks, swarming in early spring throughout Series Ostariophysi 167 the Mississippi Valley, and is notable for its nuptial tubercles and the black and orange fins. In the negro-chub, Exoglossum maxtlingua of the Pennsyl- Fig. 127.—Stone-roller, Campostoma anomalum (Rafinesque). Family Cyprinide. Showing nuptial tubercles and intestines coiled about the air-bladder. vanian district, the rami of the lower jaw are united for their whole length, looking like a projecting tongue. The fallfish, Semotilus corporalis, is the largest chub of the Eastern rivers, 18 inches long, living in swift, clear rivers. It is a soft fish, and according to Thoreau ‘it tastes like brown paper salted’’ when it is cooked. Close to this isthe horned dace, Semotilus atromaculatus, and the -horny head, Hybopsis kentucki- ensts, both among the most widely distributed of our river fishes. These are all allied to the gudgeon (Gobto gobio), a common boys’ fish of the rivers of Europe, and much Fic. 128.—Head of Day-chub, Fzo- glossum_ mazxillingua (Le Sueur). sought by anglers who can get Shenandoah River. nothing better. The bream, Abramis, represented by numerous species in Europe, has a deep compressed body and a very long anal-fin. It is also well repre- sented in America, the golden shiner, common in Eastern and Southern stréams, being Abramis chrysoleucus. The bleak of Europe (Alburnus alburnus) is a ‘“‘shiner’’ close to some of our species of Notropis, while the minnow of Europe, Phoxinus phoxinus, resembles our gorgeously colored Chrosomus erythro- 168 Series Ostariophysi gaster. Other European forms are the roach (Rutilus rutilus), the chub (Leuciscus cephalus), the dace (Leuciscus leuciscus), Ills. Family Cyprinide. the id (Idus idus), the red-eye (Scardinius erythropthalmus), and the tench (Tinca tinca). The tench is the largest of the European species, and its virtues with those of its more or less Fic. 130.—Shiner, Abramis chrysoleucus (Mitchill). Hackensack River, N. J. insignificant allies are set forth in the pages of Izaak Walton. All of these receive more attention from anglers in England than their relatives receive in America. All the American Cyprinide are ranked as ‘“‘boys’ fish,’ and those who seek the trout or black bass or even the perch or crappie will not notice them. Thoreau speaks of the boy who treasures the yellow Series Ostariophysi 169 perch as a real fish: “So many unquestionable fish he counts, then so many chubs which he counts, then throws away.” Chubs of the Pacific Slope—In the Western waters are numer- ous genera, some of the species reaching a large size. The species Fic. 131.—The Squawfish, Ptychocheilus grandis Agassiz. (Photograph by Cloudsley Rutter.) of squawfish (Ptychochetlus lucius in the Colorado, Ptychocheilus grandis in the Sacramento, and Ptychochetlus oregonensis in the Columbia) reach a length of 4 or 5 feet or even more. These fishes are long and slender, with large toothless mouths and the aspect of a pike. Allied to these are the ‘‘hard tails’’ (Gila elegans and Gila robusta) of the Colorado Basin, strange-looking fishes scarcely eatable, with lean bodies, flat heads, and expanded tails. The split-tail, Pogonichthys macrolepidotus, is found in the Sacramento. In the chisel-mouth, Acrocheilus alutaceus, of the Columbia the lips have a hard cutting edge. In Meda, very small fishes yee 0. yi ‘5 SST nN ») Reema ine een aie: y 9) ; Sine Wen aaa eat nt ), CNR yy. yyy) dey dy rods - RD Sean oS Fig. 132.—Chub of the Great Basin, Leuciscus lineatus (Girard). Heart Lake, Yellowstone Park. Family Cyprinide. of the Colorado Basin, the dorsal has a compound spine of peculiar structure. Many of the species of Western waters belong to the genus Leuciscus, which includes also many species 170 Series Ostariophysi of Asia and Europe. The common Japanese dace (Leuciscus hakuensis) is often found out in the sea, but, in general, Cyprinide are only found in fresh waters. The genus of barbels (Barbus) contains many large species in Europe and Asia. In these the barbel is better developed than in most other genera, a character which seems to indicate a primitive organization. Bgrbus mosal of the mountains of India is said to reach a length of more than six feet and to have “scales as large as the palm of the hand.” The Carp and Goldfish.—tIn the American and European Cy- prinide the fin is few-rayed, but in many Asiatic species it is longer, having 15 to 20 rays and is often preceded by a ser- rated spine like that of a catfish. Of the species with long dorsal the one most celebrated is the carp (Cyprinus carpio). This fish is a native of the rivers of China, where it has been domesticated for centuries. Nearly three hundred years ago it was brought to northern Europe, where it has multiplied in domestication and become naturalized in many streams and ponds. Of late years the cultivation of the carp has attracted much attention in America. It has been generally satisfactory where the nature of the fish is understood and where expecta- tions have not been too high. The carp is a dull and sluggish fish, preferring shaded, tran- quil, and weedy waters with muddy bottoms: Its food con- sists of water insects and other small animals, and vegetable matter, such as the leaves of aquatic plants. They can be fed on much the same things as pigs and chickens, and they bear much the same relation to trout and bass that pigs and chickens do to wild game and game-birds. The carp is a very hardy fish,.grows rapidly, and has immense fecundity, 700,000 eggs having been found in the ovaries of a single individual. It reaches sometimes a weight of 30 to 4o pounds. As a food- fish the carp cannot be said to hold a high place. It is tolerated in the absence of better fish. The carp, either native or in domestication, has many ene- mies. In America, catfish, sunfish, and pike prey upon its eggs or its young, as well as water-snakes, turtles, kingfishes, cray- fishes, and many other creatures which live about our ponds and in sluggish streams. In domestication numerous varieties Series Ostariophysi Lyi of carp have been formed, the “‘leather-carp’’ (Lederkarpfen) being scaleless, others, “mirror-carp’’ (Spiegelkarpfen), having rows of large scales only along the lateral line or the bases of the fins. Closely allied to the carp is the goldfish (Carassius-auratus). This is also a common Chinese fish introduced in domestication into Europe and America. The golden-yellow color is found only in domesticated specimens, and is retained by artificial selection. The native goldfish is olivaceous in color, and where the species have become naturalized (as in the Potomac River, where it has escaped from fountains in Washington) it reverts to its natural greenish hue. The same change occurs in the rivers of Japan. The goldfish is valued solely for its bright colors as an ornamental fish. It has no beauty of form nor any interesting habits, and many of our native fishes (Percide, Cyprinide) far excel it in attractiveness as aquarium fishes. Unfortunately they are less hardy. Many varieties and mon- strosities of the goldfish have been produced by domestication. The Catostomide.—The suckers, or Catostomide, are an off- shoot from the Cyprinide, differing chiefly in the structure of the mouth and of the lower pharyngeal bones. The border of the mouth above is formed mesially by the small premaxillaries and laterally by the maxillaries. The teeth of the lower pharyngeals are small and very numerous, arranged in one series like the teeth of acomb. The lips are usually thick and fleshy, and the dorsal fin is more or less elongate (its rays eleven to fifty in number), characters which distinguish the suckers from the American Cyprinide generally, but not from those of the Old World. About sixty species of suckers are known, all of them found in the rivers of North America except two, which have been re- yy¢. 133.—Lower pha- corded on rather uncertain authority from — tyngeal of Placopha- . : rynx duquesni (Le Siberia and China. Only two or three of — Sueur). the species extend their range south of the Tropic of Cancer into Mexico or Central America, and none 172 Series Ostariophysi occur in Cuba nor in any of the neighboring islands. The majority of the genera are restricted to the region east of the Rocky Mountains, although species of Catostomus, Chasmistes, Deltistes, Xyrauchen, and Pantosteus are found in abundance in the Great Basin and the Pacific slope. In size the suckers range from six inches in length to about three feet. As food-fishes they are held in low esteem, the flesh of all being flavorless and excessively full of small bones. Most of them are sluggish fishes; they inhabit all sorts of streams, lakes, and ponds, but even when in mountain brooks they gather in the eddies and places of greatest depth and least current. They feed on insects and small aquatic animals, and also on mud, taking in their food by suction. They are not very tenacious of life. Most of the species swarm in the spring in shallow waters. In the spawning season they migrate up smaller streams than those otherwise inhabited by them. The : eas y - Fie. 134.—Creekfish or Chub-sucker, Erimyzon sucetta (Lacép4de). Nipisink Lake, Hlinois. Family Catostomide. large species move from the large rivers into smaller ones; the small brook species go into smaller brooks. In some cases the males in spring develop black or red pigment on the body or fins, and in many cases tubercles similar to those found in the Cyprinide appear on the head, body, and anal and caudal fins. The buffalo-fishes and carp-suckers, constituting the genera Ictiobus and Carpiodes, are the largest of the Catostomide, and Series Ostariophysi EF % bear a considerable resemblance to the carp. They have the dorsal fin many rayed and the scales large and coarse. They Fig. 135.—Buffalo-fish, Ictiobus cyprinella (Cuv. & Val.). Normal, IIL. abound in the large rivers and lakes between the Rocky Mountains and the Alleghanies, one species being found in Central America and a species of a closely related genus (Myxocyprinus astaticus) a Fic. 136.—Carp-sucker, Carpiodes cyprinus (Le Sueur). Havre de Grace. being reported from eastern Asia. They rarely ascend the smaller rivers except for the purpose of spawning. Although so abundant in the Mississippi Valley as to be of importance commerically, they are very inferior as food-fishes, being coarse and bony. The genus Cycleptus contains the black-horse, or Missouri sucker, a peculiar species with a small head, elongate 174 Series Ostariophysi body, and jet-black coloration, which comes up the smaller rivers tributary to the Mississippi and Ohio in large numbers Fic. 137.—Common Sucker, Catostomus commersoni (Le Sueur). Ecorse, Mich. in the spring. Most of the other suckers belong to the genera Catostomus and Moxostoma, the latter with the large-toothed Placopharynx being known, from the red color of the fins, as Fic. 138.—California Sucker, Catostomus occidentalis Agassiz. (Photograph by Cloudsley Rutter.) red-horse, the former as sucker. Some of the species are very widely distributed, two of them (Catostomus commersoni, Eri- myzon sucetta) being found in almost every stream east of the Rocky Mountains and Catostomus catostomus throughout Canada to the Arctic Sea. The most peculiar of the suckers in appear- ance is the harelip sucker (Quassilabia lacera) of the Western rivers. Very singular in form is the hump-back or razor-back sucker of the Colorado, Xyrauchen cypho. Fossil Cyprinide.—Fossil Cyprinide, closely related to exist- ing forms, are found in abundance in fresh-water deposits of the Tertiary, but rarely if ever earlier than the Miocene. Cyprinus Series Ostariophysi 175 priscus occurs in the Miocene of Germany, perhaps showing that Germany was the original home of the so-called ‘German carp,”’ afterwards actually imported to Germany from China. Some specimens referred to Barbus, Tinca, Rhodeus, Aspius, and Gobio are found in regions now inhabited by these genera, and many species are referred to the great genus Leuciscus, Leu- ciscus eningensts from the Miocene of Germany being perhaps the best known. Several species of Leuciscus or related genera are found in the Rocky Mountain region. Among these is the recently de- scribed Leuctscus turnert. Fossil Catostomide are very few and chiefly referred to the genus Amyzon, \y supposed to be allied to Erimyzon, but george were ca ts with a longer dorsal. Amyzon commune er, Catostomus macro- and other species are found in the Rocky — “*et!s- Mountains, especially in the Miocene of the South Park in Colo- rado and the Eocene of Wyoming. Two or three species of Fie. 140.—Razor-back Sucker, Xyrauchen cypho (Lockington). Green River, Utah. Catostomus, known by their skulls, are found in the Pliocene of Idaho. The Loaches.—The Cobitide, or loaches, are small fishes, all less than a foot in length, inhabiting streams and ponds of Europe and Asia. In structure they are not very different from minnows, but they are rather eel-like in form, and the numerous 176 Series Ostariophysi long barbels about the mouth strongly suggest affinity with the catfishes. The scales are small, the pharyngeal teeth few, and the air-bladder, as in most small catfishes, enclosed in a capsule. The loaches are all bottom fishes of dark colors, tenacious of life, feeding on insects and worms. The species often bury themselves in mud and sand. They lie quiet on the bottom and move very quickly when disturbed much after the manner of darters and gobies. Species of Cobitts and Mis- gurnus are widely distributed from England to Japan. Nema- chilus barbatulus is the commonest European species. Cobitis tenia is found, almost unchanged, from England to the streams of Japan. Remains of fossil loaches, mostly indistinguishable from Cobit:s, occur in the Miocene and more recent rocks. From ancestors of loaches or other degraded Cyprinide we may trace the descent of the catfishes. The Homalopteride are small loaches in the mountain streams of the East Indies. They have no air-bladder and the number of pharyngeal teeth (10 to 16) is greater than in the loaches, carp, or minnows. CHAPTER IX THE NEMATOGNATHI, OR CATFISHES ma HE Nematognathi—The Nematognatht (via, thread; vA j yvados, jaw), known collectively as catfishes, are y*s| recognized at once by the fact that the rudimentary and “usually toothless maxillary is developed as the bony base of a long barbel or feeler. Usually other feelers are found around the head, suggesting the “smellers” of a cat. The body is never scaly, being either naked and smooth or else more or less completely mailed with bony plates which often resemble superficially those of a sturgeon. Other distinctive characters are found in the skeleton, notably the absence of the subopercle, but the peculiar development of the maxillary and its barbel with the absence of scales is always distinctive. The symplectic is usually absent, and in some the air-bladder is reduced to a rudiment inclosed in a bony capsule. In almost all cases a stout spine exists in the front of the dorsal fin and in the front of each pectoral fin. This spine, made of modified or coalescent soft rays, is often a strong weapon with serrated edges and capable of inflicting a severe wound. When the fish is alarmed, it sets this spine by a rotary motion in its socket joint. It can then be depressed only by breaking it. By a rotary motion upward and toward the body the spine is again lowered. The wounds made by this spine are often painful, but this fact is due not to a specific poison but to the irregular cut and to the slime of the spine. In two genera, Noturus and Schilbeodes, a poison-gland exists at the base of the pectoral spine, and the wound gives a sharp » pain like the sting of a hornet and almost exactly like the sting of a scorpion-fish. Most of the Nematognatht possess a fleshy or adipose fin behind the dorsal, exactly as in the salmon. In 1I—12 177 iy af wee 178 The Nematognathi, or Catfishes a few cases the adipose fin develops an anterior spine and occasionally supporting rays. All the Nematognathi are carnivorous bottom feeders, de- vouring any prey they can swallow. Only a few enter the sea, and they occur in the greatest abundance in the Amazon region. Upward of 1200 species, arranged in 150 genera, are recorded. They vary greatly in size, from two inches to six feet in length. All are regarded as food-fishes, but the species in the sea have very tough and flavorless flesh. Some of the others are extremely delicate, with finely flavored flesh and a grateful absence of small bones. Families of Nematognathi—According to Dr. Eigenmann’s scheme of classification,* the most primitive family of Nema- tognathi is that of Diplomystide, characterized’ by the pres- ence of a well-developed maxillary, as in other soft-rayed fishes. The single species, Diplomystes paptllosus, 1s found in the waters of Chile. Similar to the Diplomystide in all other respects is the great central family of Siluride, by far the most numerous and im- portant of all the divisions of Nematognatht. The Siluride.—This group has the skin naked or imperfectly mailed, the barbels on the head well developed, the dorsal short, inserted forward, the adipose fin without spine, and the lower pharyngeals separate. All the marine catfishes and most of the fresh-water species belong to this group, and its members, some 7oo species, abound in all parts of the world where cat- fishes are known—‘‘a bloodthirsty and bullying race of rangers inhabiting the river bottoms with ever a lance at rest and ready to do battle with their nearest neighbor.” ~ The Sea Catfish.—In the tropical seas are numerous species of catfishes belonging to Tachysurus, Arius, Galeichthys, Felich- thys, and other related genera. These are sleek, silvery fishes covered with smooth skin, the head usually with a coat of mail pierced by a central fontanelle. Some of them reach 4 eat. siderable size, swarming in sandy bays. None are valued as food being always tough and coarsely flavored. Sea birds, as the pelican, which devour these catfishes are often destroyed by * A Revision of the South American Nematognathi, 1890, p. 7 The Nematognathi, or Catfishes 179 the sudden erection of the pectoral spines. None of these are found in Europe or in Japan. Of the very many American species the gaff-topsail catfish (Felichthys felis), noted for its Fic. 141.—Gaff-topsail Cat, Felichthys felis (L.). Wood’s Hole. very high spines, extends farthest north and is one of the very largest species. This genus has two barbels at the chin. Most others have four. The commonest sea catfish of the Carolina coast is Galeichthys milbertt. In Tachysurus the teeth Fic. 142.—Sea Catfish, Galeichthys milberti (Cuv. & Val.). Pensacola, on the palate are rounded, in most of the others they are in villiform bands. In most or all of the sea catfish the eggs, as large as small peas, are taken into the mouth of the male and there cared for until hatched. The Channel Cats.—In all the rivers of North America east of the Rocky Mountains are found catfishes in great variety. The channel cats, Ictalurus, known most readily by the forked tails, are the largest in size and most valued as food. The tech- 180 The Nematognathi, or Catfishes nical character of the genus is the backward continuation of the supraoccipital, forming a bony bridge to the base of the dorsal. The great blue cat, Ictalurus furcatus, abounds throughout the large rivers of the Southern States and reaches a weight of 150 pounds or more. It is an excellent food and its firm flesh is read- ily cut into steaks. In the Great Lakes and northward is a very similar species, also of large size, which has been called Ictalurus Fra. 143.—Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque). Illinois River. Family Siluride. lacustris, Another similar species is the willow cat, Ictalurus anguilla, The white channel-cat, Ictalurus punctatus, reaches a much smaller size and abounds on the ripples in clear swift streams of the Southwest, such as the Cumberland, the Alabama, and the Gasconade. It is a very delicate food-fish, with tender white flesh of excellent flavor. Horned Pout.—The genus Amezurus includes the smaller brown catfish, horned pout, or bullhead. The body is more plump and the caudal fin is usually but not always rounded. The many species are widely diffused, abounding in brooks, lakes, and ponds. Ameturus nebulosus is the best-known species, ranging from New England to Texas, known in the East as horned pout. It has been successfully introduced into the Sacramento, where it abounds, as well as its congener, Ameturus catus (see Fig. 229, Vol, I), the white bullhead, brought with it from the Potomac. The latter species has a broader head and concave or notched tail. All the species are good food-fishes. All are extremely tenacious of life, and all are alike valued by the urchin, for they will bite vigorously at any sort of bait. All must be handled with care for the sharp pectoral spines make an ugly cut, a species a The Nematognathi, or Catfishes 181 wound from which few boys’ hands in the catfish region are often free. In the caves about Conestoga River in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a partly blind catfish, evidently derived from (From life by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt.) Fig. 144.—Horned Pout, Ameiurus nebulosus (Le Sueur). local species outside the cave. It has been named Gronas nigrilabris. A few species are found in Mexico, one of them, Ictalurus 182 The Nematognathi, or Catfishes meridionalis, as far south as Rio Usamacinta on the boundary of Guatemala. Besides these, a large channel-cat of peculiar dentition, known as Istlarius balsanus, abounds in the basin of Rio Balsas. In Mexico all catfishes are known as Bagre, this species as Bagre de Rio. The genus Leptops includes the great yellow catfish, or goujon, known at once by the projecting lower jaw. It is a mottled olive and yellow fish of repulsive exterior, and it reaches a very great size. It is, however, a good food-fish. The Mad-toms.— The genera Noturus and Schilbeodes are composed of diminutive catfishes, having the pectoral spine armed at base, with a poison sac which renders its sting ex- Fic, 145.—Mad-tom, Schilbeodes juriosus Jordan & Meek. Showing the poisoned pectoral spine. Family Siluride. Neuse River. tremely painful though not dangerous. The numerous species of this genus, known as “mad-toms’”’ and ‘stone cats,” live among weeds in brooks and sluggish streams. Most of them rarely exceed three inches in length, and their varied colors make them attractive in the aquarium. The Old World Catfishes.—In the catfishes of the Old World and their relatives, the adipose fin is rudimentary or wanting. The chief species found in Europe is the huge sheatfish, or wels, Silurus glanis. This, next to the sturgeon, is the largest river fish in Europe, weighing 300 to goo pounds. It is not found in Eng- land, France, or Italy, but abounds in the Danube. It isa lazy fish, hiding in the mud and thus escaping from nets. It is very voracious, and many stories are told of the contents of its stomach. A small child swallowed whole is recorded from Thorn, and there are still more remarkable stories, but fot The Nematognathi, or Catfishes 183 properly vouched for. The sheatfish is brown in color, naked, sleek, and much like an American Ameiurus save that its tail is much longer and more eel-like. Another large catfish, known to the ancients, but only recently rediscovered by Agassiz and Garman, is Parasilurus aristotelis of the rivers of Greece. In China and Japan is the very similar Namazu, or Japanese catfish, Parastlurus asotus, often found in ponds and used as food. Numerous smaller related catfishes, Porcus (Bagrus), Pseudo- bagrus, and related genera swarm in the brooks and ponds of the Orient. In the genus Torpedo (Malapterurus) the dorsal fin is wanting. Torpedo electricus, the electric catfish of the Nile, is a species of much interest to anatomists. The shock is like that of a Leyden jar. The structures concerned are noticed on Pp. 186, Fie. 146.—Electrie Catfish, Torpedo electricus (Gmelin). Congo River. (After Boulenger.) Vol. I. The generic name Torpedo was applied to the electric catfish before its use for the electric ray. In South America a multitude of genera and species cluster around the genus Pimelodus. Some of them have the snout very long and spatulate. Most of them possess a very long adipose fin. The species are generally small in size and with smooth skin like the North American catfishes. Still other ‘species in great numbers are grouped around the genus Doras. In this group the snout projects, bearing the small mouth at its end, and the lateral line is armed behind with spinous shields. All but one of the genera belong to the Amazon district, Syno- dontis being found in Africa. Concerning Doras, Dr. Gtnther observes: “These fishes have excited attention by their habit of traveling during the dry season from a piece of water about to dry up in quest of a pond of greater capacity. These journeys are occasionally of such a length that the fish spends whole nights on the way, 184 The Nematognathi, or Catfishes and the bands of scaly travelers are sometimes so large that the Indians who happen to meet them fill many baskets of the prey thus placed in their hands. The Indians suppose that the fish carry a supply of water with them, but they have no special organs and can only do so by closing the gill-openings or by retaining a little water between the plates of their bodies, as Hancock supposes. The same naturalist adds that they make regular nests, in which they cover up their eggs with care and defend them, male and female uniting in this parental duty until the eggs are hatched. The nest is constructed, at the beginning of the rainy season, of leaves and is sometimes placed in a hole scooped out of the beach.” The Sisoride.—The Sisoride are small catfishes found in swift mountain streams of northern India. In some of the genera (Pseudecheneis) in swift streams a sucking-disk formed of longitudinal plates of skin is formed on the breast. This enables these fishes to resist the force of the water. In one genus, Exostoma, plates of skin about the mouth serve the same purpose. The Bunocephalide are South American catfishes with the dorsal fin undeveloped and the top of the head rough.. In Platystacus (Aspredo), the eggs are carried on the belly of the female, which is provided with spongy tentacles to which the eggs are attached. After the breeding season the ventral sur- face becomes again smooth. The Plotoside.— The Plotoside are naked catfishes, largely marine, found along the coasts of Asia. In these fishes the second dorsal is very long. Plotosus anguitllaris, the sea catfish of Japan, is a small species striped with yellow and armed with sharp pectoral spines which render it a very disagreeable object to the fishermen. In sandy bays like that of Nagasaki it is very abundant. Allied to this is the small Asiatic family of Chacide. , The Chlariide—The Chlarizd@ are eel-like, with a soft skele- ton and a peculiar accessory gill. These abound in the swamps and muddy streams of India, where some species reach a length of six feet. One species, Chlarias magur, has been brought by the Chinese to Hawaii, where it flourishes in the same The Nematognathi, or Catfishes Les waters as Ameiurus nebulosus, brought from the Potomac and by Chinese carried from San Francisco. The Hypophthalmide and Pygidiide.— The Hypophthalmide have the minute air-bladder inclosed in a long bony capsule. The eyes are placed very low and the skin is smooth. The statement that this family lacks the auditory apparatus is not correct. The few species belong to northern South America. lied to this group is the family Pygidiide with a differ- ently formed bony capsule and no adipose fin. The numerous species are all South American, mostly of mountain streams of high altitude. Some are very small. Certain species are said to flee for protection into the gill-cavity of larger cat- Fic. 147.—An African Catfish, Chlarias breviceps Boulenger. Congo River. Family Chlariide. (After Boulenger.) fishes. Some are reported to enter the urethra of bathers, causing severe injuries. The resemblance of certain species to the loaches, or Cobitide, is very striking. This similarity is due to the results of similar environment and necessarily parallel habits. The Argide have the capsule of the air-bladder formed in a still different fashion. The few species are very small, inhabitants of the streams of the high Andes. The Loricariide—In the family of Loricartide the sides and back are armed with rough bony plates. The small air-bladder is still in a bony capsule, and the mouth is small with thick fringed lips. The numerous species are all small fishes of the South American waters, bearing a strong external resemblance to Agonide, but wholly different in anatomy. The Callichthyidea.— The Callichthyide are also small fishes armed with a bony interlocking coat of mail. They are closely allied to the Pygidiide. The body is more robust than in the Callichthyide and the coat of mail is differently formed. The species swarm in the rivers of northern South America, where » 186 The Nematognathi, or Catfishes with the mailed Loricariide they form a conspicuous part of the fish fauna. Fossil Catfishes——Fossil catfishes are very few in number. Siluride, allied to Chlarias, Bagarius, Hetero- branchus, and other fresh-water forms of India, are found in the late Tertiary rocks of Sumatra, and catfish spines exist in the Tertiary rocks of the United States. Verte- bree in the Canadian Oligocene have been referred by Cope to species of Ameiurus (A. cancellatus and A. maconnelli), Rhineastes peltatus ¥ and six other species, perhaps allied y to Pimelodus, have been described by Cope from Eocene of Wyoming and Colorado. Bucklandium diluvit is found in the Eocene London | clays, and several species apparently marine, referred to the neighbor- hood of Tachysurus or Arius, are found in Eocene rocks of England. There is no evidence that the |! group of catfishes has any great i antiquity, or that its members were ever so numerous and varied as at the present time. The group is evidently derived from scaly ances- tors, and its peculiarities are due to specialization of certain parts and degeneration of others. There is not the slightest reason for regarding the catfishes as direct descendants of the sturgeon or other Ganoid type. They should rather be looked upon as a degener- ate and highly modified offshoot pie 148 —Loricaria aurea ; f a ale ‘ : ‘ Steindach- rom the primitive Characins. ner, a mailed Catfish from Rio Meta Venezuela. = Family Loricartidg’ (After Steindachner.) The Nematognathi, or Catfishes 187 Order Gymnonoti—At the end of the series of Ostariophysans we may place the Gymnonoti (yupros, bare; vGros, back). This group contains about thirty species of fishes from the rivers of South America and Central America. All are eel-like in form, though the skeleton with the shoulder-girdle suspended from the cranium is quite unlike that of a true eel. There is no dorsal fin. The vent is at the throat and the anal is ex- cessively long. The gill-opening is small as in the eel, and as in most elongate fishes, the ventral fins are undeveloped. The body is naked or covered with small scales. Two families are recognized, differing widely in appearance. The Electrophoride constitutes by itself Cope’s order of Glanen- cheli (yAavis, catfish; eyyeAvs, eel). This group he regards as intermediate between the eel-like catfishes (Chlarias) and the true eels. It is naked and eel-shaped, with a short head and projecting lower jaw like that of the true eel. The single species, Electrophorus electricus, inhabits the rivers of Brazil, reaching a length of six feet, and is the most powerful of all electric fishes. Its electric organs on the tail are derived from modified muscular tissue. They are described on p. 170, Vol, 1. : The Gymnotide are much smaller in size, with compressed scaly bodies and the mouth at the end of a long snout. The numerous species are all fishes without electric organs. Ezgen- mannia humboldtt of the Panama region is a characteristic species. No fossil Gymnonott are recorded. CHAPTER X THE SCYPHOPHORI, HAPLOMI, AND XENOMI %)| RDER Scyphophori.— The Scyphophori (oxvdos, cup; i popéew, to bear) constitutes a small order which lies &| apparently between the Gymnonoti and the Isospondylz. Boulenger unites it with the Isospondyli, The species, about seventy-five in number, inhabit the rivers of Africa, where they are important as food-fishes. In all there is a deep cavity on each side of the cranium covered by a thin bony plate, the supertemporal bone. There is no symplectic bone, and the subopercle is very small or concealed. The gill-openings are narrow and there are no pharyngeal teeth. The air-bladder connects with the ear, but not apparently in the same way as with, the Ostartophysan fishes, to which, however, the Scypho- phori are most nearly related. In all the Scyphophori the body is oblong, covered with cycloid scales, the head is naked, there are no barbels, and the small mouth is at the end of a long snout. All the species possess a peculiar organ on the tail, which with reference to a similar structure in Torpedo and Electrophorus is held to be a degenerate electric organ. Accord- ing to Gunther, “it is without electric functions, but evidently representing a transitional condition from muscular substance to an electric organ. It is an oblong capsule divided into numerous compartments by vertical transverse septa and con- taining a gelatinous substance.” The Mormyride.— There are two families of Scyphophori. The Mormyride have the ordinary fins and tail of fishes and the Gymnarchide are eel-like,.with ventrals, anal and caudal wanting. Gymnarchus miloticus of the Nile reaches a length of six feet, and it is remarkable as retaining the cellular structure of the air-bladder as seen in the garpike and bowfin. It doubtless serves as an imperfect lung. 188 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi _189 The best-known genus of Scyphophori is Mormyrus. Species of this genus found in the Nile were worshiped as sacred by the ancient Egyptians and pictures of Mormyrus are often seen among the emblematic inscriptions. The Egyptians did not eat the Mormyrus because with two other fishes it was accused of having devoured a limb from the body of Osiris, so that Isis was unable to recover it when she gathered the scattered re- mains of her husband. In Mormyrus the bones of the head are covered by skin, the snout is more or less elongated, and the tail is generally short and insignificant. One of the most characteristically eccentric species is Guathonemus curvirostris, lately discovered by Dr. Boulenger from the Congo. Fossil Mormyride are un- known. The Haplomi.—In the groups called Iniomi and Lyopomi, the mesocoracoid arch is imperfect or wanting, a condition Fic. 149.—Gnathonemus curvirostris Boulenger. Family Mormyride. Congo River. (After Boulenger.) which in some cases may be due to the degeneration produced by deep-sea life. Inthe eels a similar condition obtains. Inthe group called Haplomi (amioos, simple; wos, shoulder), as in all the groups of fishes yet to be discussed, this arch is wholly wanting at all stages of development. In common with the Jsospondyli and with soft-rayed fishes in general the air-bladder has a persistent air-duct, all the fins are without true spines, the ventral fins are abdominal, and the scales are cycloid. The group is a transitional one, lying almost equidistant between the Isospondyli and the Acanthopterygii. Gill unites it with the latter and Woodward with the former. We may regard it for the present 190 ‘The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi as a distinct order, although no character of high importance separates it from either. Hay unites the Haplomt with the Synentognathi to form the order of Mesichthyes, or transitional fishes, but the affinities of either with other groups are quite as well marked as their relation to each other. Boulenger unites the Iniomi. with the Haplomi, an arrangement which apparently has merit, for the most primitive and non-degenerate Iniomz, as Aulopus and Synodus, lack both mesocoracoid and orbitosphe- noid. These bones are characteristic of the Isospondylz, but are wanting in Haplomz. There is no adipose dorsal in the typical Haplomz, the dorsal is inserted far back, and the head is generally scaly. Most but not all.of the species are of small size, living in fresh or brackish water, and they are found in almost all warm regions, though scantily represented in California, Japan, and Polynesia. The four families, of typical Haplomz differ considerably from one another and are easily distinguished, although obviously re- lated. Several other families are provisionally added to this group on account of agreement in technical characters, but their actual relationships are uncertain. The Pikes.—The Esocide have the body long and slender and the mouth large, its bones armed with very strong, sharp teeth of different sizes, some of them being movable. The upper jaw is not projectile, and its margin, as in the Salmonide, is formed by the maxillary. The scales are small, and-the dorsal fin far back and opposite the anal, and the stomach is without pyloric ceca. There is but a single genus, Esox (Lucius of Rafinesque), with about five or six living species. Four of these are North American, the other one being found in Europe,. Asia, and North America. All the. pikes are greedy and voracious fishes, very destruc- tive to other species which may happen to be their neighbors; “mere machines for the assimilation of other organisms.” ‘Thoreau describes the pike as. ‘‘the swiftest, wariest, and most ravenous of fishes, which Josselyn calls the river-wolf. It is a solemn, stately, ruminant fish, lurking under the shadow of a lily-pad at noon, with still, circumspect, voracious eye; motion- less as a jewel set.in water, or moving slowly along to take up its position; darting from time to time at such unlucky fish CIPPINIS * Sm us q aft] WOlg) “YT sntonj-xosq ‘aMld Ald OL—'OST ‘91 A SS 192 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenom1 or frog or insect as comes within its range, and swallowing it at one gulp. Sometimes a striped snake, bound for greener meadows across the stream, ends its undulatory progress in the same receptacle.” As food-fishes, all the Esocide rank high. Their flesh is white, fine-grained, disposed in flakes, and of excellent flavor. The finest of the Esocid@, a species to be compared, as a grand game fish, with the salmon, is the muskallunge (Esox masquinongy). Technically this species may be known by the fact that its cheeks and opercles are both naked on the lower half. It may be known also by its great size and by its Fra. 151.—Muskallunge, Psox masquinongy Mitchill. Ecorse, Mich. color, young and old being spotted with black on a golden- olive ground. The muskallunge is found only in the Great Lake region, where it inhabits the deeper waters, except for a short time in the spring, when it enters the streams to spawn. It often reaches a length of six feet and a weight of sixty to eighty pounds. It is necessarily somewhat rare, for no small locality would furnish food for more than one such giant. It is, says Hallock, “a long, slim, strong, and swift fish, in every way formed for the life it leads, that of a dauntless marauder.”’ A second species of muskallunge, Esov olhiensis, unspotted but vaguely cross-barred, occurs sparingly in the Ohio River and the upper Mississippi Valley. It is especially abundant in Chautauqua Lake. The pike (Esox luctus) is smaller than the muskallunge, and is technically best distinguished by the fact that the opercles are naked below, while the cheeks are entirely scaly. The spots and cross-bars in the pike are whitish or yellowish, and always paler than the olive-gray ground color. It is the most The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi 193 widely distributed of all fresh-water fishes, being found from the upper Mississippi Valley, the Great Lakes, and New England to Alaska and throughout northern Asia and Europe. It reaches a weight of ten to twenty pounds or more, being a large strong fish in its way, inferior only to the muskallunge. In England Esox luctus is known as the pike, while its young are called by the diminutive term pickerel. In America the name pickerel is usually given to the smaller species, and sometimes even to Esox lucius itself, the word being with us a synonym for pike, not a diminutive. Of the small pike or pickerel we have three species in the eastern United States. They are greenish in color and banded or reticulated, rather than spotted, and, in all, the opercles as well as the cheeks are fully covered with scales. One of these (Esox reticulatus) is the common pickerel of the Eastern States, which reaches a respectable size and is excellent as food. The others, Esox americanus along the Atlantic seaboard and Esox vermiculatus in the middle West, seldom exceed a foot in length and are of no economic importance. Numerous fossil species are found in the Tertiary of Europe, Esox lepidotus from the Miocene of Baden being one of the e Fig. 152.—Mud-minnow, Umbra pygmwa (De Kay}. New Jersey. earliest and the best known; in this species the scales are much larger than in the recent species. The fossil remains would seem to indicate that the origin of the family was in southern Europe, although most of the living species are American. The Mud-minnows.—Close to the pike is the family of Um- bride, or mud-minnows, which technically differ from the pikes only in the short snout, small mouth, and weak dentition. The II—13 194 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi mud-minnows are small, sluggish, carnivorous fishes living in the mud at the bottom of cold, clear streams and ponds. They are extremely tenacious of life, though soon suffocated in warm waters. The barred mud-minnow of the prairies of the middle West (Umbra limz) often remains in dried sloughs and bog- holes, and has been sometimes plowed up alive. Umbra pygmea, a striped species, is found in the Eastern States and Umbra cramert in bogs and brooks along the Danube. This wide break in distribution seems to indicate a former wide extension of the range of Umbride, perhaps coextensive with Esox. Fossil Umbrideé are, however, not yet recognized. The Killifishes—Most of the recent Haplomi belong to the family of Peciliide (killifishes, or Cyprinodonts). In this group the small mouth is extremely protractile, its margin formed by the premaxillaries alone much as in the spiny- rayed fishes. The teeth are small and of various forms accord- ing to the food. In most of the herbivorous forms they are incisor-like, serrate, and loosely inserted in the lips. In the species that eat insects or worms they are more firmly fixed. The head is scaly, the stomach without ceca, and the intes- tines are long in the plant-eating species and short in the others. There are nearly 200 species, very abundant from New England and California southward to Argentina, and in Asia and Africa also. In regions where rice is produced, they swarm in the rice swamps and ditches. Some of them enter the sea, but none of them go far from shore. Some are brilliantly colored, and in many species the males are quite unlike the females, being smaller and more showy. The largest species (Fundulus, Anableps) rarely reach the length of a foot, while Heterandria formosa, a diminutive inhabitant of the Florida rivers, scarcely reaches an inch. Some species are oviparous, but in most of the herbivorous forms, and some of the others, the eggs are hatched within the body, and the anal in the male is modified into a long sword-shaped intromittent organ, placed farther forward than the anal in the female. The young when born closely resemble the parent. Most of the insectivorous species swim at the surface, moving slowly with the eyes partly out of water. This habit in the genus Anableps (four-eyed fish, or Cuatro ojos) is associated with an The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi 195 extraordinary structure of the eye. This organ is prominent and is divided by a horizontal partition into two parts, the upper, less convex, adopted for sight in the air, the lower in the water. The few species of Anableps are found in tropical America. The species of some genera swim near the bottom, but always in very shallow waters. Allare very tenacious of life, and none have any commercial value although the flesh is good. Fig. 152a.—Four-eyed Fish, Anableps dovit Gill. Tehuantepec, Mexico. The unique structure of the eye of this curious fish has been carefully studied by Mr. M. C. Marsh, pathologist of the U. S. Fish Commission, who furnishes the following notes published by Evermann & Goldsborough: “The eye is crossed by a bar, like the diameter of a circle, and parallel with the length of the body. This bar is darker than the other external portions of the eyeball and has its edges darker still. Dividing the external aspect of the eye equally, it has its lower edge on the same level as the back of the fish, which is flat and straight from snout to dorsal, or nearly the whole length of the fish; so that when the body of the fish is just submerged the level of the water reaches to this bar, and the lower half of the eye is in water, the upper half in the air. Upon dissecting the eyeball from the orbit, it appears nearly round. A membranous sheath covers the external part and invests most of the ball. It may be peeled off, when the dark bar on the external portion of the eye is seen to be upon this membrane, which may correspond to the conjunctiva.’ The back portion of the eyeball being cut off, one lens is found. The lining of the ball consists, in front, of one black layer, evidently choroid. Behind there is a retinal layer. The choroid layer turns up anteriorly, making a free edge comparable to an iris. The free edge is chiefly evident in the lower part of the eye. A large pupil is left, but is divided by two flaps, continuations of the choroid coat, projecting from either side and overlapping. 196 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi There are properly then two pupils, an upper and lower, sepa- rated by a band consisting of the two flaps, which may probably, by moving upward and downward, increase or diminish the size of either pupil; an upward motion of the flaps increasing the lower pupil at the expense of the other, and vice versa.” This division of the pupil into two parts permits the fish, when swimming at the surface of the water, as is its usual cus- tom, to see in the air with the upper portion and in the water with the lower. It is thus able to see not only such insects as are upon the surface of the water or flying in the air above, but also any that may be swimming beneath the surface. According to Mr. E. W. Nelson, ‘the individuals of this species swim always at the surface and in little schools arranged in platoons or abreast. They always swim headed upstream against the current, and feed upon floating matter which the current brings them. A platoon may be seen in regular for- Fic. 153.—Round Minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus Lacépéde. St. George Island, Maryland. mation breasting the current, either making slight headway upstream or merely maintaining their station, and on the qui vive for any suitable food the current may bring. Now and then one may be seen to dart forward, seize a floating food particle, and then resume its place in the platoon. And thus The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi 197 they may be observed feeding for long periods. They are almost invariably found in running water well out in the stream, or at least where the current is strongest and where floating matter is most abundant, for it is upon floating matter that they seem chiefly to depend. They are not known to jump out of the water to catch insects flying in the air or resting upon vegetation above the water surface, nor do they seem to feed to any ‘extent upon all small crustaceans or other portions of the plankton beneath the surface. “When alarmed—and they are wary and very easily fright- ened—they escape by skipping or jumping over the water, Ne : e aes an PSE ES Fic. 154.—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.” : 198 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi Of the many genera of Peciliide, top-minnows, and killi- fishes we may mention the following: Cyprinodon is made Fig. 155.—Mayfish, Fundulus majalis (L.) (male). Wood’s Hole. up of chubby little fishes of eastern America with tricuspid, incisor teeth, oviparous and omnivorous. Very similar to Fig. 156.—Mayfish, Fundulus majalis (female). Wood’s Hole. these but smaller are the species of Lebias in southern Europe. Jerdanella floride of the Florida everglades is similar, but with Fig. 157.—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 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi 199 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 heteroclitus, the killifish, the most abundant. Fundulus diaphanus inhabits sea and lake Fic. 158.—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 atripinnts with tricuspid teeth lives in warm springs in Mexico, Fic. 159.—-Sword-tail Minnow, male, Xiphophorus helleri Heckel. The anal fin 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 affinis abounds in all kinds of sluggish water in 002 Cy JeyV) ‘“wprpowmg Ayre “Ootxapy ‘orenozyeq ayeVT Wor Sy snorediata YW *(s9uTpoeputeyg) wppodjny napo0H—'O9T “SIT The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi 201 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; Mollenesia 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 (see Fig. 53, Vol. I) 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- ttas) 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 Lebtas 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. Amblyopsida.—The cave-fishes, Amblyopside, are the most remarkable of the haplomous fishes. In this family the vent is Fic. 161.—Dismal Swamp Fish, Chologaster edrnnna Agassiz. Supposed ancestor of Typhlichthys. Virginia. placed at the throat. The form is that of the Pwciliide, 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 202 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 IIlinois. 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- Fic. 162.—Blind Cave-fish, — sie sei 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 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi 203 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 ANS aS Fic. 163.—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 204. 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 papille, 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 Kueriidea, and perhaps the entire series of forms called Iniomi, most of which possess the osteological traits of the Haplomz. The family of Kunerizde 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 Haploni. 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. Galaxtas 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. As intimated on p. 253, Vol. I, this distribution of Galaxtas with similar anomalies in other groups could not if unsupported by geological evidence be held to prove the former extension The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi 205 of the Antarctic continent. Dr. Boulenger * has recently shown that Galaxias lives freely in salt water, a fact sufficient * Dr. Boulenger (Nature, Nov. 27, 1902) has the following note on Galaxias: “Most text-books and papers discussing geographical distribution have made much of the range of a genus of small fishes, somewhat resembling trout, the Galaxias, commonly described as true fresh-water forms, which have long been known from the extreme south of South America, New Zealand, Tasmania, and southern Australia. The discovery, within the last few years, of a species of the same genus in fresh water near Cape Town, whence it had previously been described as a loach by F. de Castelnau, has added to the interest, and has been adduced as a further argument in support of the former existence of an Antarctic continent. In alluding to this discovery when discussing the distribution of African fresh-water fishes in the introduction to my work “Les Poissons du Bassin du Congo,’ in 1901, I observed that, contrary to the prevailing notion, all species of Galaxias are not confined to fresh water, and that the fact of some living both in the sea and in rivers suffices to explain the curious distribution of the genus; pointing out that in all probability these fishes were formerly more widely distributed in the seas south of the tropic of Capricorn, and that certain species, adapting themselves entirely to fresh-water life, have become localized at the distant points where they are now known to exist. Although as recently as October last the distinguished American ichthyologist D. S. Jordan wrote (Science, xiv, p. 20): ‘We know nothing of the power of Galaxias to survive submergence in salt water, if carried in a marine current’; it is an established fact, ascertained some years ago by F. E. Clarke in New Zealand and by R. Vallentin in the Falkland Islands, that Galaxias attenuatus lives also in the sea. In New Zealand it periodically descends to the sea, where it spawns, from January to March, and returns from March to May. In accordance with these marine habits, this species has a much wider range than any of the others, being known from Chile, Pata- gonia, Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, New Zealand, Tasmania, and southern Australia. “T now wish to draw attention to a communication made by Captain F. W. Hutton in the last number of the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute (xxxiv, p. 198), ‘On a Marine Galaxias from the Auckland Islands.’ This fish, named Galaxias bollansi, was taken out of the mouth of a specimen of Merganser australis during the collection excursion to the southern islands of New Zealand made in January, 1901, by His Excellency the Earl of Ran- furly. “Tt is hoped that by giving greater publicity to these discoveries the family Galaxiide will no longer be included among those strictly confined to fresh waters, and that students of the geographical distribution of animals will be furnished with a clue to a problem that has so often been discussed on insufficient data. As observed by Jordan (J. c.), ‘all anomalies in distribu- tion cease to be such when the facts necessary to understand them are at hand.’ “Of the fresh-water species of Galaxias, eight are known from New Zealand and the neighboring islands, seven from New South Wales, three or four from south Australia, one from west Australia, two from Tasmania, seven from South America, from Chile southwards, and one from the Cape of Good Hope.” 206 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi to account for its wide distribution in the rivers of the southern hemisphere. Neochanna is an ally of Galaxias living in burrows in the clay or mud like a crayfish, often at a distance from water. As in various other mud-living types, the ventral fins are obsolete. Order Xenomi.— We must place near the Haplomi the singular group of Xenomi (Servos, strange; @pos, shoulder), regarded by Dr. Gill as a distinct order. Externally these fish 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 Fig. 164.—Alaska Blackfish, Dallia pectoralis (Bean). St. Michaels, Alaska. into a fringe of narrow cartilaginous strips. These about equal the very large number (33 to 36) of pectoral rays, the basal part of each ray being slightly forked to receive the tip of the cartilaginous strip. “In the deep-sea eels of the order Heteromz 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 Heteromi) are not really related.”’ (Gilbert.) Of the single family Dallizde, one species is known, the Alaska blackfish, Dallia pectoralis. The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi —_207 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 as ever. 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 XI ACANTHOPTERYGII; SYNENTOGNATHI Bh? g\IRDER Acanthopterygii, the Spiny-rayed Fishes. — The j : most of the remaining bony fishes constitute a natural et &\) group for which the name. Acanthopterygit (axavia, spine; zrépv&, mrepov, fin or wing) may be used. This name is often written Actinopteri, 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 Haplomz 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 208 Acanthopterygii; Synentognathi 209 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 Acanthopterygii, or Acanthoptert, will serve us as well as any. The Physoclysti of Miller, the Thoracices of older authors, and the Ctenoidet of Agassiz in- clude substantially the same series of forms. The order Teleo- cephali of Gill (redeos, perfect; xegadn, 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 Haplom: and rejects the Hemibranchit, Lophobranchit, 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 Teleocephalt included the soft-rayed fishes as well. From it the Ostariophyst were first detached, and still later the Isospondyli 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 Synentognathi (adv, to- gether; év, within; yvados, jaw). These have, in brief, the fins and shoulder-girdle of Haplomt, 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- 11I—14 210 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 vertebrae 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 Fic. 165.—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 theair. 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 211 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: Exocetide.—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- tate 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 212 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 atherinoides) 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 Fic. 166.—Saury, Scombresox saurus (L.). Wood’s 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- Fic. 167.—Halfbeak, Hyporhamphus unifasciatus (Ranzani). Chesapeake Bay. monest species along our Atlantic coast is Hyporhamphus uni- fasciatus; a larger species, Hemirhamphus brasiliensis, abounds about the Florida Keys. Euleptorhamphus longirostris, 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, Acanthopterygii; Synentognathi 214 having the anal fin much modified in the male, forming an intromittent organ, as in the Paciliide, One species occurs in the river mouths in Samoa. The flying-fishes have both jaws short, and at least the Fie. 148.—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. Fodzator acutus, with sharp jaws, and Hemtexocetus, with a short beak on the lower jaw, are especially intermediate. The flight of the flying-fishes is described in detail on p. 157, Vol. [. The Catalina flying-fish, Cypselurus caltfornicus, 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 speculiger, and Exo- nautes vinciguerre, belong to this group, while those of Cypselurus mostly inhabit the Pacific. The large Australian species Exvo- nautes unicolor, Fig, 226, Vol. I, 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, 214 Acanthopterygii; Synentognathi with short 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, grasshopper-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. Latken (1876), the University of Copenhagen, Fic. 169.—Catalina Flying-fish, Cypselurus calijornicus (Cooper). Santa Barbara. which institution has received 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 Hemirhamphus edwardst from the Eocene of Monte Bolca. No fossil flying-fishes are known, and the genera, Exocetus, Exo- nautes, and Cypselurus are doubtless all of very recent origin. CHAPTER XII PERCESOCES AND RHEGNOPTERI i ee 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 wholly obsolete may belong with the Haplomi. Boulenger‘places the Chiasmodontide, the Siromateide, 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), 215 216 Percesoces and Rhegnopteri 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, -Percesoces and Rhegnopteri 217 Ch. ocotlane, Ch. lerme, Ch. chapale, Ch. grandocule, Ch. labarce, Ch. promelas, and Ch. bartont. A similar assemblage of species Fie. 170.—Pescado blanco, Chirostoma humboldtianwm (Val.). Lake Chalco, City of Mexico. nearly all different from these was obtained by Dr. Seth E. Meek in the lake of Patzcuaro, farther south. In this lake were found Ch. attenuatum, Ch. patzcuaro, Ch. humboldtianum, Ch. grandocule, and Ch. estor. The lake of Zirahuen, near Chapala, contains Ch. estor and Ch. ztrahuen. Still another species, Ch. jordant, is found about the city of Mexico, where it is sold baked in corn-husks. Along the coasts of Peru,.Chile, and Argentina is found still another assemblage of fishes of the king, with very small scales, constituting the genera Basilichthys and Gastropterus (Pisciregia). Basilichthys microlepidotus is the common Pesca del Rey of Chile. The small silversides, or ‘‘brit,’’ of our Atlantic coast belong to numerous species of Menidia, Menidia notata to the northward and llenidia menidia to the southward being most abundant. Fig. 171.—Silverside or Brit, Kirtlandia vagrans (Goode & Bean). Pensacola. Kirtlandia laciniata, with ragged scales, is common along the Virginia coast, and K. vagrans farther south. Another small species, very slender and very graceful, is the brook silver- 218 Percesoces and Rhegnopteri side Labidesthes sicculus, which swarms in clear streams from Lake Ontario to Texas. This species, three to four inches long, has the snout produced and a very bright silvery stripe along the side. Large and small species of silversides occur Fic. 172.—Blue Smelt or Pez del Rey, Atherinopsis californtensis Girard. San Diego. in the sea along the California coast, where they are known familiarly as ‘“‘blue smelt”’ or “‘Peixe Re.’’ The most impor- tant of these and the largest member of the family, reaching a length of eighteen inches, is Atherinopsis californiensts, an important food-fish throughout California, everywhere wrongly known as smelt. Atherinops affinis is much like it, but has S Fic. 173.—Flower of the waves, Iso flos-maris, Jordan & Starks. Enoshima, Japan. Y-shaped teeth. Iso flos-marits, called Nami-no-hana, or flower of the surf, is a shining little fish with belly sharp like that of a herring. It lives in the surf on the coast of Japan. Melanotema migrans of Australia (family Melanotentide) has the lateral band jet-black, as has also Melantris balsanus of the rivers of southern Mexico. Atherinosoma vorax of Australia has strong teeth like those of a barracuda. Fossil species of Atherina occur in the Italian Eocene, the best known being Atherina macrocephala. Another species, Khamphognathus paralepoides, allied to Menidia, occurs in the Eocene of Monte Bolca. Percesoces and Rhegnopteri 219 The Mullets: Mugilide.—The mullets (Mugilide) are more clumsy in form than the silversides, robust, with broad heads and stouter fin-spines. The ventral fins are abdominal but well forward, the pelvis barely touching the clavicle, a con- dition to be defined as “‘subabdominal.’”’ The small mouth is armed with very feeble teeth, often reduced to mere fringes. The stomach is muscular like the gizzard of a fowl and the species feed largely on the vegetation contained in mud. There are numerous species, mostly living in shallow bays and estuaries, but some of them are confined to fresh waters. All are valued as food and some of them under favorable con- ditions are especially excellent. Most of the species belong to the genera Mugil, the mullet of all English-speaking people, although not at all related to the red mullet or surmullet of the ancient Romans, Mullus barbatus. The mullets are stoutish fish from one to two feet long, with blunt heads, small mouths almost toothless, large scales, and a general bluish-silvery color often varied by faint blue stripes. The most important species is Mugil cephalus, the common striped mullet This is found throughout southern Europe and from Cape Cod to Brazil, from Monterey, California, to Chile, and across the Pacific to Hawaii, Japan, and the Red Sea. Among specimens from all these regions we can detect no difference. Professor Goode gives the following account of its habits: “The large mullets begin to assemble along the Florida coast in schools in the height of summer, probably preparatory to spawning, and at this time the eggs commence to mature. In this season they swim at the surface, and are then pursued by enemies in the water and the air, and also fall an easy prey to the fishermen. They appear to prefer to swim against the wind, and school best with a northeast wind. They also run against the tide. In Florida the spawning season seems to extend from the middle of November to the middle of January. Some of the fishermen say that they go on the mud-flats and oyster-beds at the mouth of the river to deposit their eggs. What becomes of them after this no one seems to know, but it is probable that they spread themselves over the whole sur- face of water-covered country in such a manner as not to be 220 Percesoces and Rhegnopteri perceptible to the fisherman, who makes no effort at this time to secure the spent, lean fish. Many of them probably find their way to the lakes and others remain wherever they find good feeding-ground, gathering flesh and recruiting strength for the great strain of the next spawning season.” Professor Goode informs us that the fishermen recognize “three distinct periods of schooling and separate runs of mullet. To what extent these are founded on tradition, or upon the necessity of change in the size of the mesh of their nets, it is impossible to say. The ‘June mullet’ average about five to the pound; the ‘fat mullet,’ which are taken from August 20 to October 1, weigh about two pounds; these have, the fisher- men say, a ‘roe of fat’ on each side as thick as a man’s thumb. The ‘roe mullet’ weigh about two and a half pounds and are caught in November and until Christmas. Between the seasons of ‘fat mullet’ and ‘roe mullet’ there is an intermission of two or three weeks in the fishing.’’ Professor Goode hazards the suggestion that “the ‘fat mullet’ of September are the breeding fish of November, with roes in an immature state, the ova not having become fully differentiated.” The mullet feed on the bottom in quiet water, swimming head downward. The food is sifted over in the mouth, the mud rejected, and the plants, chiefly microscopic, retained. Mr. Silas Stearns compares a school of mullets to barnyard fowls feeding together. When a fish finds a rich spot the others flock about it as chickens do. The pharyngeals form a sort of filter, stopping the sand and mud, the coarse parts being ejected through the mouth. Dr. Gunther thus describes this apparatus: “The upper pharyngeals have a rather irregular form: they are slightly arched, the convexity being directed toward the pharyngeal cavity, tapering anteriorly and broad posteriorly. They are coated with a thick, soft membrane, which reaches far beyond the margin of the bone and is studded all over with minute horny cilia. Each branchial arch is provided with a series of long gill-rakers, which are laterally bent down- ward, each series closely fitting to the sides of the adjoining arch; they constitute together a sieve admirably adapted to permit a transit for the water, retaining at the same time every solid substance in the cavity of the pharynx.” Percesoces and Rhegnopteri 221 The young mullet feed in schools and often swim with the head at the surface of the water. We are not able to distinguish from the common striped mullet of Europe and America the mullet of Hawaii, the famous Ama-ama, the most valued of Hawaiian fishes. This species is reared in mullet ponds, made by extending a stone wall across an arm of the sea. Through openings in the wall the young mullet enter, and in its protection they grow very fat on the abundant alge and other vegetation. They thus become the most plentiful and most esteemed of the market fishes of Honolulu. The Awa (Chanos) and the Awa-awa (Elops) also enter these ponds and are reared with the mullet, being & Fic. 174.—Striped Mullet, Mugil cephalus (L.). Wood’s Hole, Mass. similarly but less valued. Unfortunately the kaku, or small barracuda (Sphyrena helleri), also enters with these helpless fishes and destroys many of the smaller individuals. Another striped species, also very similar to Mugil cephalus in appearance and value, in fact indistinguishable from the Hawaiian mullet, abounds in Japan and India. The white or unstriped mullets are generally smaller, but otherwise differ little. Jugil curema is the white mullet of tropical America, ranging occasionally northward, and several other species occur in the West Indies and the Mediterranean. The genus Mugil has the eye covered by thick transparent tissue called the adipose eyelid. In Liza the adipose eyelid is wanting. Liza capito, the big-headed mullet of the Mediterra- nean, is a well-known species. Most of the mullets of the south seas belong to the genus Liza. Liza melinoptera and Liza 222 Percesoces and Rhegnopteri ceruleomaculata are common in Samoa. The genus Querimana includes dwarf-mullets, two or three inches long, known as whirligig-mullets. These little fishes gather in small schools and swim round and round on the surface like the whirligig- beetles, or Gyrinide, their habits being like those of the young mullets; some young mullets having been, in fact, described as species of Querimana. The genus Agonostomus includes fresh- water mullets of the mountain rivers of the East and West Indies and Mexico, locally known as trucha, or trout. Agonostomus nasutus of Mexico is the best-known species. The Joturo, or Bobo, Joturius pichardi, is a very large robust and vigorous mullet which abounds at the foot of waterfalls Fie. 175.—Joturo or Bobo, Joturus vichardi Poey. Rio Bayano, Panama. in the mountain torrents of Cuba, eastern Mexico, and Central America. It is a good food-fish, frequently taken about Jalapa, Havana, and on the Isthmus of Panama. Its lips are very thick and its teeth are broad, serrated, loosely inserted incisors. Fossil mullets are few. Augil radobojanus is the earliest from the Miocene of Croatia. The Barracudas: Sphyrenide.—The Splyrenide, or barracu- das, differ from the mullets in the presence of very strong teeth in the bones of the large mouth. The lateral line is also developed, there is no gizzard, and there are numerous minor modifications connected with the food and habits. The species are long, slender swift fishes, powerful in swimming and vora- cious to the last degree. Some of the species reach a length of six feet or more, and these are almost as dangerous to bathers Percesoces and Rhegnopteri 223 as sharks would be. The long, knife-like teeth render them very destructive to nets. The numerous species are placed in the single genus Sphyrena, and some of them are found in all warm seas, where they feed freely on all smaller fishes, their habits in the sea being much like those of the pike in the lakes. The flesh is firm, delicate, and excellent in flavor. In the larger species, especially in the West Indies, it may be difficult of digestion and sometimes causes serious illness, or “‘ichthyosism.”’ Fic. 176.—Barracuda, Sphyrana barracuda Walbaum. — Florida. Sphyrena sphyrena is the spet, or sennet, a rather small barracuda common in southern Europe. Sphyrena borealis of our eastern coast is a similar but still feebler species rarely exceeding a foot in length. These and other small species are feeble folk as compared with the great barracuda (Sphyrena barracuda) of the West Indies, a robust savage fish, also known as picuda or becuna. Sphyrena commersoni of Polynesia is a similar large species, while numerous lesser ones occur through the tropical seas. On the California coast Sphyrena argentea is an excellent food-fish, slenderer than the great barracuda but reaching a length of five feet. Several species of fossil barracuda occur in the Italian Eocene, Sphyrena bolcensis being the earliest. Stephanoberycide.—We may append to the Percesoces, for want of a better place, a small family of the deep sea, its affinities at present unknown. The Stephanoberycide have the ventrals 1, 5, subabdominal, a single dorsal without spine, and the scales cycloid, scarcely imbricated, each with one or two central spines. The mouth is large, with small teeth, the skull cavernous, as in the berycoids, from which group the normally formed ventrals abdominal in position would seem to exclude it. Stephanoberyx mone and S. gilli are found at the depth of a mile and a half below the Gulf Stream. Boulenger first placed 224 Percesoces and Rhegnopteri them with the Percesoces, but more recently suggests their re- lationship with the Haplomi. Perhaps, as supposed by Gill, they may prove to be degenerate berycoids in which the ven- tral fins have lost their normal connection. Crossognathide.— A peculiar primitive group referred by Woodward to the Percesoces is the family of Crossognathide of the Cretaceous period. As in these fishes there are no fin- spines, they may be perhaps better placed with the Haplomz. The dorsal fin is long, without distinct spines, and the abdom- inal ventrals have six to eight rays. The mouth is small, with feeble teeth, and the body is elongate and compressed. Crossognathus sabandianum occurs in the Cretaceous of Switzer- land and Germany, Syllemus latifrons and other species in the Colorado Cretaceous, and Syllemus anglicus in England. The Crossognathide have probably the lower pharyngeals sep- arate, else they would be placed among the Synentognathi, a group attached by Woodward, not without reason, to the Percesoces. Cobitopside.—Near the Crossognathide may be placed the extinct Cobttopside, Cobitopsis acuta being recorded from the Fic. 177.—Cobttopsis acuta Gervais, restored. Oligocene of Puy-de-Déme. (After Woodward.) Oligocene of Puy-de-Déme in France. In this species there is a short dorsal fin of about seventeen rays, no teeth, and the well-developed ventral fins are not far in front of the anal. This little fish bears a strong resemblance to Ammodytes, but the affinities of the latter genus are certainly with the ophidioid fishes, while the real relationship of Cobitopsis is uncertain. Suborder Rhegnopteri.—The threadfins (Polynemide) are al- led to the mullets, but differ from them and from all other fishes in the structure of the pectoral fin and its basal bones, or actinosts. The pectoral fin is divided into two parts, the lower com- posed of free or separate rays very slender and thread-like, Percesoces and Rhegnopteri 22.5 sometimes longer than the body. Two of the actinosts of the pectoral support the fin, one is slender and has no rays, while the fourth is plate-like and attached to the coracoids, support- ing the pectoral filaments. The body is rather robust, covered with large scales, formed much as in the mullet. The lateral Fig. 178.—Shoulder-girdle of a Threadfin, Polydactylus approximans (Lay & Bennett). line extends on the caudal fin as in the Sctenide, which group these fishes resemble in many ways. The mouth is large, inferior, with small teeth. The species are carnivorous fishes of excellent flesh, abounding on sandy shores in the warm seas. They are not very active and not at all voracious. The Fic. 179.—Threadfin, Polydactylus octonemus (Girard). Pensacola. coloration is bluish and silvery, sometimes striped with black. Most of the species belong to the genus Polydactylus. Poly- U—I5 226 Percesoces and Rhegnopteri dactylus virginicus, the barbudo, with seven filaments, is common in the West Indies and Florida. Polydactylus octonemus with eight filaments is more rare, but ranges further north. Poly- dactylus approximans, the raton of western Mexico, with six filaments, reaches San Diego. Polydactylus plebejus is common in Japan and other species range through Polynesia. In India isinglass is made from the large air-bladder of species of Poly- dactylus. The rare Polynemus quinquarius of the West Indies have five pectoral filaments, these being greatly elongate, much longer than the body. No extinct Polynemide are recorded. CHAPTER XIII PHTHINOBRANCHII: HEMIBRANCHII, LOPHO- BRANCHII, AND HYPOSTOMIDES UBORDER Hemibranchii.—Still another transitional 3 group, the Hemuibranchii, is composed of spiny- rayed fishes with abdominal ventrals. In this sub- order there are other points of divergence, though none of high importance. In these fishes the bones of the shoulder-girdle are somewhat distorted, the supraclavicle reduced or wanting, and the gill structures somewhat degenerate. The presence of bones called interclavicles or infraclavicles, below and behind the clavicle, has been supposed to characterize the order of Hemibranchit. But this character has very slight importance. In two families, Macrorhamphoside and Centriscide, the inter- clavicles are absent altogether. In the Fistulariide@ they are very large. According to the studies of Mr. Edwin C. Starks, Fic. 180. Fig. 181. Fic. 180.—Shoulder-girdle of a Stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus Linn:eus. (After Parker.) Fie. 181.—Shoulder-girdle of Fistularia petimba Lacépéde, showing greatly ex- tended interclavicle, the surface ossified. the bone in question is not a true infraclavicle. It is not identical with the infraclavicle of the Ganoids, but it is only a backward extension of the hypocoracoid, there being no suture between 227 228 Phthinobranchii the two bones. In those species which have bony plates in- stead of scales, this bone has a deposit of bony substance or ganoid enamel at the surface. This gives it an apparent prominence as compared with other bones of the skeleton, but it has no great taxonomic importance. Dr. Hay unites the suborders Hemibranchii, Lophobranchit, and Hypo- stomides to form the order Phthinobranchit (p6:vas, waning; Bpayyxos, gill), characterized by the reduction of the gill-arches. These forms are really nearly related, but their affinities with the Percesoces are so close that it may not be necessary to form a distinct order of the combined group. Boulenger unites the Hemibranchit with Lampris to form a group, Catosteomz, characterized by the development of infraclavicles; but we cannot see that Lampris bears any affinity to the stickle- backs, or that the presence of infraclavicle has any high significance, nor is it the supposed infraclavicle of Lampris homologous with that of the Hemibranchitz. The dorsal fin in the Hemibranchit has more or less developed spines; spines are also present in the ventral fins. The lower pharyngeals are separated; there is no air-duct. The mouth is small and the bones of the snout are often much produced. The preopercle and symplectic are distinct. The group is doubtless derived from some transitional spiny-rayed type allied to the Percesoces. The Lophobranchs, another supposed order, represent simply a still further phase of degradation of gills and ventral fins. Dr. Gill separates these two groups as distinct orders and places them, as aberrant offshoots, near the end of his series of bony fishes. We prefer to leave them with the other transi- tional forms, not regarding their traits of divergence as of any great importance in the systematic arrangement of families. The Sticklebacks: Gasterosteide.— The sticklebacks (Gaster- osteide) are small, scaleless fishes, closely related to the Fistularude so far as anatomy is concerned, but with very different appearance and habits. The body often mailed, the dorsal is preceded by free spines and the ventrals are each reduced to a sharp spine with a rudimentary ray. The jaws are short, bristling with sharp teeth, and these little creatures are among the most active, voracious, and persistent of all fishes. They attack the fins of larger fishes, biting off pieces, Phthinobranchii 229 and at the same time they devour the eggs of all species acces- sible to them. In almost all fresh and brackish waters of the north temperate zone these little fishes abound. “It is scarcely to be conceived,” Dr. Giinther observes, “what damage these little fishes do, and how greatly detrimental they are to the increase of all the fishes among which they live, for it is with the utmost industry, sagacity, and greediness that they seek out and destroy all the young fry that come their way.” The sticklebacks inhabit brackish and fresh waters of the northern hemisphere, species essentially alike being found throughout northern Europe, Asia, and America. The same species is subject to great variation. The degree of develop- ment of spines and bony plates is greatest in individuals living in the sea and least in clear streams of the interior. Each of the mailed species has its series of half-mailed or even naked varieties found in the fresh waters. This is true in Europe, New England, California, and Japan. The farther the indi- viduals are from the sea, the less perfect is their armature. Thus, Gasterosteus cataphractus, which in the sea has a full armature of bony plates on the side, about 30 in number, will have in river mouths from 6 to 20 plates and in strictly fresh water only 2 or 3 or even none at all. The sticklebacks have been noted for their nest-building habits. The male performs this operation, and he is provided with a special gland for secretion of the necessary cement. Dr. Gill quotes from Dr. John A. Ryder an account of this process. The secretory gland is a “‘large vesicle filled with a clear secretion which coagulates into threads upon contact with water. It appears to open directly in front of the vent. As soon as it is ruptured, it loses its transparency, and what- ever secretion escapes becomes whitish after being in contact with water for a short time. This has the same tough, elastic qualities as when spun by the animal itself, and is also composed of numerous fibers, as when a portion is taken that has been recently spun upon the nest. Thus provided, when the nuptial season has arrived the male stickleback prepares to build his nest, wherein his mate may deposit her eggs. How this nest is built, and the subsequent proceedings of the stickle- backs, have been told us in a graphic manner by Mr. John K. 230 Phthinobranchii Lord, from observations on Gasterosteus cataphractus on Van- couver Island, although the source of his secretion was mis- understood: “The site is generally amongst the stems of aquatic plants, where the water always flows but not too swiftly. He first begins by carrying small bits of green material which he nips off the stalks and tugs from out the bottom and sides of the bank; these he attaches by some glutinous material, that he clearly has the power of secreting, to the different stems destined as pillars for his building. During this operation he swims against the work already done, splashes about, and seems to test its durability and strength; rubs himself against the tiny kind of platform, scrapes the slimy mucus from his sides to mix with and act as mortar for his vegetable bricks. Then he thrusts his nose into the sand at the bottom, and, bringing a mouthful, scatters it over the foundation; this is repeated until enough has been thrown on to weight the slender fabric down and give it substance and stability. Then more twists, turns, and splashings to test the firm adherence of all the materials that are intended to constitute the foundation of the house that has yet to be erected on it. The nest, or nursery, when completed is a hollow, somewhat rounded, barrel-shaped structure worked together much in the same way as the plat- form fastened to the water-plants; the whole firmly glued together by the viscous secretion scraped from off the body. The inside is made as smooth as possible by a kind of plastering system; the little architect continually goes in, then, turning round and round, works the mucus from his body on to the inner sides of the nest, where it hardens like tough varnish. There are two apertures, smooth and symmetrical as the hole leading into a wren’s nest, and not unlike it. “All this laborious work is done entirely by the male fish, and when completed he goes a-wooing. Watch him as he swims towards a group of the fair sex enjoying themselves amidst the water-plants arrayed in his best and _ brightest livery, all smiles and amiability; steadily and in the most approved style of stickleback love-making this young and wealthy bachelor approaches the object of his affections, most likely tells her all about his house and its comforts, hints Phthinobranchii ae delicately at his readiness and ability to defend her children against every enemy, vows unfailing fidelity, and in lover fashion promises as much in a few minutes as would take a lifetime to fulfill. Of course she listens to his suit; personal beauty, indomitable courage, backed by the substantial recommendations of a house ready built and fitted for immediate occupation, are gifts not to be lightly regarded. “Throwing herself on her side the captive lady shows her appreciation, and by sundry queer contortions declares herself his true and devoted spouse. Then the twain return to the nest, into which the female at once betakes herself and therein deposits her eggs, emerging, when the operation is completed, by the opposite hole. During the time she is in the nest (about six minutes) the male swims round and round, butts and rubs his nose against it, and altogether appears to be in a state of defiant excitement. On the female leaving, he immediately enters, deposits the milt on the eggs, taking his departure through the back door. So far his conduct is strictly pure; but I am afraid morality in stickleback society is of rather a lax order. No sooner has this lady, his first love, taken her depart- ure, than he at once seeks another, introduces her as he did the first, and so on, wife after wife, until the nest is filled with eggs, layer upon layer, milt being carefully deposited betwixt each stratum of ova. As it is necessary there should be two holes, by which ingress and egress can be readily accomplished, so it is equally essential in another point of view. To fertilize fish-eggs, running water is the first necessity; and, as the holes are invariably placed in the direction of the current, a steady stream of water is thus directed over them.” To the genus Gasterosteus the largest species belong, those having three dorsal spines, and the body typically fully covered with bony plates. Gasterosteus aculeatus inhabits both shores of the Atlantic and the scarcely different Gasterosteus cataphractus swarms in the inlets from southern California to Alaska, Siberia, and northern Japan. Half-naked forms have been called by various names and one entirely naked in streams of southern California is named Gasterosteus williamsont. Its traits are, however, clearly related to its life in fresh waters. In Pygosteus pungitius, a type of almost equally wide range, 222 Phthinobranchii there are nine or ten dorsal spines and the body is more slender. All kinds of waters of the north on both continents may yield L Fic. 182.—Three-spined Stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L. Wood’s Hole, Mass. this species or its allies and variations, mailed or naked. The naked, Apeltes quadracus, is found in the sea only, along the New England coast. Eucalia inconstans is the stickleback of the clear brook from New York to Indiana and Minnesota. The male is jet Fig. 183.—Four-spined Stickleback, A peltes quadracus Mitchill. Wood’s Hole, Mass black in spring with the sheen of burnished copper and he is intensely active in his work of protecting the eggs of his own species and destroying the eggs and fry of others. Spinachia spinachia is a large sea stickleback of Europe with many dorsal spines. No fossil Gasterostetde are recorded, and the family, while the least specialized in most regards, is certainly not the most primitive of the suborder. The Aulorhynchide.— Closely related to the sticklebacks is the small family of Aulorhynchide, with four soft rays in the Phthinobranchii 249 ventral fins. Aulorhynchus, like Spinachia, has many dorsal spines and an elongate snout approaching that of a trumpet- fish. Aulorhynchus flavidus lives on the coast of California and Aulichthys japonicus in Japan. The extinct family of Pro- tosyngnathide is near Aulorhynchus, with the snout tubular, the ribs free, not anchylosed as in Aulorhynchus, and with the first vertebre fused, forming one large one as in Aulostomus. Proto- syngnathus sumatrensis occursin Sumatra. Protaulopsis bolcensis of the Eocene of Italy has the ventral fins farther back, and is probably more primitive than the sticklebacks. Cornet-fishes: Fistulariide.— Closely related to the stickle- backs so far as structure is concerned is a family of very dif- ferent habit, the cornet-fishes, or cornetas (Fistularitde). In these fishes the body is very long and slender, like that of a garfish. The snout is produced into a very long tube, which bears the short jaws at the end. The teeth are very small. There are no scales, but bony plates are sunk in the skin. The ventrals are abdominal, each with a spine and four rays. The four anterior vertebre are very much elongate. There are no spines in the dorsal and the backbone extends through the forked caudal, ending in a long filament. The cornet-fishes are dull red or dull green in color. They reach a length of two or three feet, and the four or five known species are widely distributed through the warm seas, where they swim in shallow water near the surface. istularia tabaccaria, the tobacco- pipe fish, is common in the West Indies, Fistularia petimba, F. serrata, and others in the Pacific. A fossil cornet-fish of very small size, Fistularia longirostris, is known from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, near Verona. Fustularia kenigi is recorded from the Oligocene of Glarus. The Trumpet-fishes: Aulostomide.—The Aulostomide, or trum- pet-fishes are in structure entirely similar to the Fvstu- lariide, but the body is band-shaped, compressed, and scaly, . the long snout bearing the feeble jaws at the end. There are numerous dorsal spines and no filament on the tail. Aulostomus chinensis (maculatus) is common in the West Indies, Aulostomus valentini abounds in Polynesia and Asia, where it is a food-fish of moderate importance. A species of Aulosto- mus (bolcensis) is found in the Italian Eocene. Allied to it is 234 Phthinobranchii the extinct family Urosphenidea, scaleless, but otherwise similar. Urosphen dubia occurs in the Eocene at Monte Bolca. Urosphen Fic. 184.—Trumpet-fish, Aulostomus chinensis (L.) Virginia. is perhaps the most primitive genus of the whole suborder of Hemibranchit. The Snipefishes: Macrorhamphoside.—Very remarkable fishes are the snipefishes, or Macrorhamphoside. In these forms Fic. 185.—Japanese Snipefish, Wacrorhamphosus sagijue Jordan & Starks. Misaki, Japan. the snout is still tubular, with the short jaws at the end. The body is short and deep, partly covered with bony plates. The dorsal has a very long serrated spine, besides several shorter ones, and the ventral fins have one spine and five rays. The snipefish, or woodcock-fish, Macrorhamphosus scolopax, is rather common on the coasts of Europe, and a very similar species (AZ. sagifue) occurs in Japan. The Rhamphoside, re- presented by Rhamphosus, an extinct genus with the ventrals further forward, are found in the Eocene rocks of Monte Bolea. khamphosus vastrum has minute scales, short dorsal and the snout greatly attenuate. The Shrimp-fishes: Centriscide.—One of the most extraor- dinary types of fishes is the small family of Centriscide, found in the East Indies. The back is covered by a transparent bony cuirass which extends far beyond the short tail, on which the two dorsal fins are crowded. Anteriorly this cuirass is Phthinobranchii 295 composed of plates which are soldered to the ribs. The small toothless mouth is at the end of a long snout. Fig. 186.—Shrimp-fish, oliscus strigatus (Giinther). Riu Kiu Islands, Japan. These little fishes with the transparent carapace look very much like shrimps. Centriscus scutatus (Amphisile) with the terminal spine fixed is found in the East Indies, and oliscus strigatus with the terminal spine movable is found in southern Japan and southwards. A fossil species, Zoliscus heinricht, is found in the Oligocene Fig. 187.—.Eoliscus heinricht Heckel. Eocene of Carpathia. Family Centriscide. (After Heckel.) of various parts of Europe, and Centriscus longirostris occurs in the Eocene of Monte Bolca. In the Centriscide and Macrorhamphoside the expansions of the hypocoracoid called infraclavicles are not developed. The Lophobranchs.— The suborder Lophobranchii (Aodgos, tuft; Boayyos, gill) is certainly an offshoot from the Hemu- branchii and belongs likewise among the forms transitional from soft to spiny-rayed fishes. At the same time it is a degenerate group, and in its modifications it turns directly away from the general line of specialization. The chief characters are found in the reduction of the gills to small lobate tufts attached to rudimentary gill-arches. The so-called infraclavicles are present, as in most of the Henu- branchii. Bony plates united to form rings take the place of scales. The long tubular snout bears the short toothless jaws at the end. The preopercle is absent, and the ventrals are seven- rayed or wanting. The species known as pipefishes and sea-horses are all very small and none have any economic value. They are 236 Phthinobranchii numerous in all warm seas, mostly living in shallow bays among seaweed and eel-grass. The muscular system is little developed and all the species have the curious habit of carrying the eggs until hatched in a pouch of skin under the belly or tail; this structure is usually found in the male. The Solenostomida.— The Solenostomide of the East Indies are the most primitive of these fishes. They have the body rather short and provided with spinous dorsal, and ventral fins. The pretty species are occasionally swept northward to Japan in the Black Current. Solenostomus cyanopterus is a characteristic species. Solenorhynchus elegans, now extinct (with the trunk more elongate), preceded Solenostomus in the Eocene of Monte Bolca. The Pipefishes: Syngnathide.—The Syngnathide are very long and slender fishes, with neither spinous dorsal, nor ventral fins, the body covered by bony rings. Of the pipefish, Syngnathus, there are very many species on all northern coasts, Syngnathus acus is common in Europe, Syngnathus fuscum along the New England coast, Syngnathus californiense in California, and Syngnathus schlegeli in Japan. Numerous other species of Syngnathus and other genera are found further south in the same regions. Corythroichthys is characteristic of coral reefs and Microphis of the streams of the islands of Polynesia. In general, the more northerly species have the greater number of vertebrae and of bony rings. Tuiphle tiphle is a large pipefish of the Mediterranean. This species was preceded by Tiphle albyi (Stphonostoma) in the Miocene of Sicily. Other pipefishes, referred to as Syngnathus and Cala- mostoma, are found as fossils in Tertiary rocks. The Sea-horses: Hippocampus.—8oth fossil and recent forms constitute a direct line of connection from the pipe-fishes to the sea-horses. In the latter the head has the form of the head of a horse. It is bent at right angles to the body like the head of a knight at chess. There is no caudal fin, and the tail in typical species is coiled and can hardly be straightened out. Calamostoma of the Eocene, Gasterotokeus of Polynesia, and Acentronura of Japan are forms which connect the true sea- horses with the pipefish. Gasterotokeus has the long head and slender body of the pipefish, with the prehensile finless 237 Phthinobranchii SNWojsouazog— SST ‘OL 238 Phthinobranchii tail of a sea-horse. Most of the living species of the sea-horse belong to the genus Hippocampus. These little creatures have the egg-sac of the male under the abdomen. They range from two inches to a foot in length and some of the many species may be found in abundance in every warm sea. Some cling by the tails to floating seaweed and are swept to great distances; others cling to eel- grass and live very near the shore. The commonest European species is Hippocampus hippocampus. Most abundant on our Atlantic coast is Hippocampus hudsonius. Hippo- campus coronatus is most common in Japan. The largest species are Hippocampus ingens of Lower Cali- fornia and Hippocampus kellogge in Japan. Many species, especially of the smaller ones, have the spines of the bony plates of the body ending in fleshy flaps. These are sometimes so enlarged as to simu- late leaves of seaweed, thus serving for the efficient protection of the DR ene Peete species. These flaps are developed sities alle ak to an extreme degree in Phyl- lopteryx eques, a pipefish of the East Indies. No fossil sea-horses are known. The following account of the breeding-habits of our smallest sea-horse (Hippocampus zostereé) was prepared by the writer for a book of children’s stories: “He was a little bit of a sea-horse and his name was Hippo- campus. He was not more than an inch long, and he had a red stripe on the fin on his back, and his head was made of bone and it had ashape just like a horse’s head, but he ran out to a point at his tail, and his head and his tail were all covered with bone. He lived in the Grand Lagoon at Pensacola in Florida, Phthinobranchii 239 where the water is shallow and warm and there are lots of seaweeds. So he wound his tail around a stem of seaweed and hung with his head down, waiting to see what would happen next, and then he saw another little sea-horse hanging on another seaweed. And the other sea-horse put out a lot of little eggs, and the little eggs all lay on the bottom of the sea at the foot of the seaweed. So Hippocampus crawled down from the seaweed where he was and gathered up all thosé little eggs, and down on the under side of his tail where the skin is soft he made a long slit for a pocket, and then he stuffed all the eggs into this pocket and fastened it together and stuck it with some slime. So he had all the other sea-horse’s eggs in his own pocket. “Then he went up on the seawrack again and twisted his tail around it, and hung there with his head down to see what would happen next. The sun shone down on him, and by and by all the little eggs began to hatch out, and each one of the eggs was a little sea-pony, shaped just like a sea-horse. And when he hung there with his head down he could feel all the little sea-ponies squirming inside his pocket, and by and by they squirmed so much that they pushed the pocket open, and then every one crawled away from him, and he couldn’t get them back, and so he went along with them and watched to see that nothing should hurt them. And by and by they hung themselves all up on the seaweeds, and they are hanging there yet. And.so he crawled back to his own piece of seaweed and twisted his tail around it, and waited to see what would happen next. And what happened next was just the same thing over again.”’ Suborder Hypostomides, the Sea-moths: Pegaside.—The small suborder of Hypostomides (bao, below; oréua, mouth) con- sists of the family of Pegaside. These ‘‘sea-moths” are fantastic little fishes, probably allied to the sticklebacks, but wholly unique in form. The slender body is-covered with bony plates, the gill-covers are reduced to a single plate. The small mouth underneath a long snout has no teeth. The pre- opercle and the symplectic are both wanting. The ventrals are abdominal, formed of two rays, and the very large pec- toral fin is placed horizontally like a great wing. 240 Phthinobranchii The species, few in number, known as sea-moths and sea- dragons, rarely exceed four inches in length. They are found Fia 190.—Sea-moth, Palaces unitenan Jordan & Snyder. Misaki, Japan. (View from below.) in the East Indies and drift with the currents northward to Japan. The genera are Pegasus, Parapegasus, and Zalises. The best-known species are Zalises draconts and Pegasus voli- fans. No fossil species of Pegasid@ are known. CHAPTER XIV SALMOPERCZ AND OTHER TRANSITIONAL GROUPS UBORDER Salmoperce, the Trout-perches: Percopside. —More ancient than the Hemibranchii, and still more distinctly in the line of transition from soft-rayed to spiny-rayed fishes, is the small suborder of Salmoperce. This is characterized by the presence of the adipose fin of the salmon, Fig. 191—Sand-roller, Pecropsis guttatus Agassiz. Okoboji Lake, Ia. in connection with the mouth, scales, and fin-spines of a perch. The premaxillary forms the entire edge of the upper jaw, the maxillary being without teeth. The air-bladder retains a rudimentary duct. The bones of the head are full of mucous cavities, as in the European perch called Gymnocephalus and Acerina. There are two spines in the dorsal and one or two in the anal, while the abdominal ventrals have each a spine and eight rays. Two species only are known among living fishes, these emphasizing more perfectly than any other known forms the close relation really existing between spinous and soft- rayed forms. The single family of Percopside would seem to find its place in Cretaceous rocks rather than in the waters of to-day. 1I—16 2gl 242 Salmoperce and Other Transitional Groups Percopsis guttata, the trout-perch or sand-roller of the Great Lakes, is a pale translucent fish with dark spots, reaching a length of six inches. It abounds in the Great Lakes and their tributaries and is occasionally found in the Delaware, Ohio, Fic. 192.—Oregon Trout-perch, Columbia transmontana Eigenmann. Umatilla River, Oregon. Kansas, and other rivers and northwestward as far as Medi- cine Hat on the Saskatchewan. It is easily taken with a hook from the piers at Chicago. Columbia transmontana is another little fish of similar type, but rougher and more distinctly perch-like. It is found in sandy or weedy lagoons throughout the lower basin of the Columbia, where it was first noticed by Dr. Eigenmann in 1892. Fic. 193.—Erismatopterus endlichert Cope. Green River Eocene. (After Cope.) From the point of view of structure and classification, this lett-over form is one of the most remarkable of American fishes. Erismatopteridz.—Here should perhaps be placed the family of Erismatopteride, represented by Erismatopterus levatus and other species of the Green River Eocene shales. In Erismatopterus the Salmoperce and Other Transitional Groups 243 short dorsal has two or three spines, there are two or three spines in the anal, and the abdominal ventrals are opposite the dorsal. Allied to Eris- matopterus is Amphiplaga of the same deposits. We cannot, however, feel sure that these extinct frag- ments, however well preserved, belonged to fishes having an adipose fin. Among spiny- rayed fishes the Percopside alone retain this character, and the real affinities of Erisma- toplterus may be with A phredo- deride and other percoid forms. The relations of the extinct family of Astneopide are also still uncertain. This group comprises fresh-water fishes said to be allied to the A phre- doderide, but with the pelvic bones not forked. Asineops pauciradiata, squamifrons and viridensts are described from the Green River shales. With Erismatopterus all these fishes may belong to the suborder of Salmoperce, but, as above stated, the possession of the adipose fin, the most characteristic trait of the Salmoperce, cannot be verified in the fossil remains. Suborder Selenichthyes, the Opahs: Lamprididea.—We may bring together as constituting another suborder certain forms of uncer- tain relationship, but which seem to be transitional between deep-bodied extinct Ganoids and the forms allied to Platax, Zeus, and Antigonia. The name of Selenichthyes (ondnvn, moon; iydus, fish) is suggested by Boulenger for the group of opahs, or moonfishes. These are characterized by the highly com- pressed body, the great development of a large hypocora- 244 Salmoperce and Other Transitional Groups coid, and especially by the structure of the ventral fins, which are composed of about fifteen rays instead of the one spine and five rays characteristic of the specialized perch- like fishes. The living forms of this type are further char- acterized by the partial or total absence of the spinous dorsal, by the small oblique mouth, and the prominence of the ventral curve of the body. A thorough study of the osteology of these forms living and fossil will be necessary before the group can be properly defined. The large bone above mentioned was at first considered by Boulenger as the interclavicle or infraclavicle, the hypocoracoid being re- garded by him as displaced, lying with the actinosts. But it is certain, from the studies of Mr. Starks, that this bone is the real hypocoracoid, which in this case is simply exaggerated in size, but placed as in ordinary fishes. The single living family, Lampridide, contains but one species, Lampris guttatus, known as opah, moonfish, mariposa, cravo, Jerusalem haddock, or San Pedro fish. This species reaches a length of six feet and a weight of 500 to 600 pounds. Fig. 199 (Vol. I) is taken from a photograph of an example weighing 317% pounds taken near Honolulu by Mr. E. L. Berndt. The body is almost as deep as long, plump and smooth, without scales or bony plates. The vertebrae are forty-five in number, and the large ventrals contain about fifteen rays. The dorsal is without spines, the small mouth without teeth. The color is a “rich brocade of silver and lilac, rosy on the belly, everywhere with round silvery spots.’ The head and back have ultramarine tints, the jaws and fins are vermilion. On a drawing of this fish made at Sable Island in 1856, Mr. James Farquhar wrote (to Dr. J. Bernard Gilpin): “Just imagine the body, a beau- tiful silver interspersed with spots of a lighter color about the size of sixpence, the eyes very large and brilliant, with a golden ring around them. ‘You will then have some idea of the splen- did appearance of the fish when fresh. If Caligula had seen them I might have realized a fortune.”’ The skeleton of the opah is very firm and heavy. The flesh is of varying shades of salmon-red, tender, oily, and of a rich, exquisite flavor scarcely surpassed by any other fish whatsoever. Salmoperce and Other Transitional Groups 245 The opah is a rare fish, swimming slowly near the surface and ranging very widely in all the warm seas. It was first noticed in Norway by Gunner, the good bishop of Throndhjem, about 1780. It was soon after recorded from Elsinore, Torbay, and Madeira, and is occasionally taken in various places in Europe. It is also recorded from Newfoundland, Sable Island, Cuba, Monterey, San Pedro Point (near San Francisco), Santa Cata- lina, Honolulu, and Japan. The specimen studied by the writer came ashore at Mon- terey in an injured condition, having been worsted in a struggle with some better-armed fish. Allied to Lampris is the imposing extinct species known as Semiophorus velifer from the Eocene of Monte Bolca near Ve- rona, the type of the extinct family of Semtophoride. This is a deep compressed fish, with very high spinous dorsal and very long, many-rayed ventrals. Other related species are known also from the Eocene. There is no evidence of any close relation between these fishes with Caranx or Platax, with which Woodward associates Semiophorus. The Semiophoride differ from the Lampridide chiefly in the development of the spinous dorsal fin, which is composed of many slender rays. : Suborder Zeoidea.—Not far from the Selenichthyes and the Berycoidei we may place the singular group of John Dories, or zeoid fishes. These have the ventral fins thoracic and many-rayed, the dorsal fin provided with spines, and the post-temporal, as in the Chetodontide, fused with the skull. Dr. Boulenger calls attention to the close relation of these fishes to the flounders, and suggests the possible derivation of both from a synthetic type, the Amphistiide, found in the European Eocene. The Amphistiide, Zeide, and flounders are united by him to form the group or suborder Zeorhombt, characterized by the thoracic ventrals, which have the rays not I, 5 in number, by the progressive degeneration of the fin- spines and the progressive twisting of the cranium, bringing the two eyes to the same side of the head. It is not certain that the flounders are really derived from Zeus-like fishes, but no other guess as to their origin has more elements of proba- bility. Fic. 195.—Semiophorus velifer Volta. Eocene. (After Agassiz, per Zittel.) 240 Salmoperce and Other Transitional Groups 247 We may, however, regard the Zeoidea on the one hand and the Heterosomata on the other as distinct suborders. This is Fic. 196.—Amphistium paradoxum Agassiz. Upper Eocene, (Supposed ancestor of the flounders). (After Boulenger.) certain, that the flounders are descended from spiny-rayed forms and that they have no affinities with the codfishes. Amphistiide.—The Amplistiide, now extinct, are deep-bodied, compressed fishes, with long, continuous dorsal and anal in which a few of the anterior rays are simple, slender spines scarcely differentiated from the soft rays. The form of body and the structure of the fins are essentially as in the flounders, from which they differ chiefly by the symmetry of the head, the eyes being normally placed. Amphistium paradoxum is described by Agas- siz from the upper Eocene. It occurs in Italy and France. In its dorsal and anal fins there are about twenty-two rays, the first three or four undivided. The teeth are minute or absent and there is a high supraoccipital crest. The John Dories: Zeide.—The singular family of Zezde, or John Dories, agrees with Chetodonts in the single char- acter of the fusion of the post-temporal with the skull. The species, however, diverge widely in other regards, and their ventral fins are essentially those of the Berycoids. In all the species there are seven to nine soft rays in the ventral fins, as in the Berycoid fishes. Probably the character of the fused “‘purpsugy ‘Uovsq = ‘snauury ‘aqnf snag ‘Aroq, Wyor AYT—'L6T (OMT Salmoperce and Other Transitional Groups 249 post temporal has been independently derived. The anterior vertebre in Zeus, as in Chetodon, are closely crowded together. In the Zeide the spinous dorsal is well developed, the body naked or with very thin scales, and provided with bony warts at least around the bases of dorsal and anal fins. The species are mostly of small size, silvery in color, living in moderate depths in warm seas. The best-known genus is Zeus, which is a group of shore-fishes of the waters of Asia and Europe. The common John Dory (called in Germany Harings-Konig, or king of the herrings), Zeus faber, abounds in shallow bays on the coasts of Europe. It reaches a length of nearly a foot, and is a striking feature of the markets of southern Europe. The dorsal spines are high, the mouth large, and on the sides is a black ring, said by some to be the mark of the thumb of St. Peter, who is reported to have taken a coin from the mouth of this species. A black spot on several other species is asso- ciated with the same legend. On the coasts of Japan abounds the Matao, or target-fish (Zeus japonicus), very similar to the European species and like it in form and color. Zenopsis nebulosa and Zen ttea also occur on the coasts of Japan. The remaining Zeide (Cyttus, Zenopsis, Zenion, etc.) are all rare species occasionally dredged especially in the Australian region. Zeus priscus is recorded from the Tertiary, and Cyttoides glaronensis from the upper Eocene of Glavus. Grammicolepide.—The Grammicolepide, represented by a single species, Grammicolepis brachiusculus, rarely taken off the coast of Cuba, is related to the Zezde. It has rough, ridged, parchment-like scales deeper than long. The ventrals are thoracic, with the rays in increased number, as in Zeus and Beryx, with each of which it suggests affinity. CHAPTER XV BERYCOIDEI HE Berycoid Fishes.— We may place in a separate order a group of fishes, mostly spiny-rayed, which P| appeared earlier in geological time than any other otf the spinous forms, and which in several ways represent the transition from the isospondylous fishes to those of the type of the mackerel and perch. In the berycoid fishes the ventral fins are always thoracic, the number of rays almost always greater than I, 5, and in all cases an orbitosphenoid bone is developed in connection with the septum between the Fic. 198.—Skull of a Berycoid fish, Beryx orbits above. This bone is splendens Cuv. & Val., showing the or- found in the Isospondyli and bitosphenoid (OS), characteristic of all see i Beryeatd fishes. other primitive fishes, but ac- cording to the investigations of Mr. E. C. Starks it is wanting in all percoid and scombroid forms, as well as in the Haplomi and in all the higher fishes. This trait may therefore, among thoracic fishes, be held to define the section or suborder of Berycordet. These fishes, most primitive of the thoracic types, were more abundant in Cretaceous and Eocene times than now. The possession of an increased number of soft rays in the ventral fins is archaic, although in one family, the AM/onocentride, the number is reduced to three. Most of the living Berycotdet retain through life the archaic duct to the air-bladder char- acteristic of most abdominal or soft-rayed fishes. In some however, the duct is lost. For the first time in the fish series the number of twenty-four vertebree appears. In most spiny- 250 Berycoidei oct rayed fishes of the tropics, of whatever family, this number is retained. In every case spines are present in the dorsal fin, and in certain cases the development of the spinous dorsal surpasses that of the most extreme perch-like forms. In geological times the Berycoids preceded all other perch-like fishes. They are probably ancestral to all the latter. All the recent species, in spite of high specialization, retain some archaic characters. The Alfonsinos: Berycide.—The typical family, Berycide, is composed of fishes of rather deep water, bright scarlet or black in color, with the body short and compressed, the scales varying in the different genera. The single dorsal fin has a few spines in front, and there are no barbels. The suborbi- tals are not greatly developed. The species of Beryx, called in Spanish Alfonsino, Beryx elegans and Beryx decadactylus, are widely distributed at mod- Fic. 199.—Beryx splendens Lowe. Gulf Stream. erate depths, the same species being recorded from Portugal, Madeira, Cuba, the Gulf Stream, and Japan. The colors are very handsome, being scarlet with streaks of white or golden. These fishes reach the length of a foot or more and are valued as food where sufficiently common. Numerous species of Beryx and closely allied genera are found in all rocks since Cretaceous times; Beryx dalmaticus, from the Cretaceous of Dalmatia, is perhaps the earliest. Beryx insculptus is found in New Jersey, but no other Berycoids 252 Berycoidei are yet known as fossils from North America. Sphenocephalus, with four anal spines, is found in the chalk, as are also species of Acrogaster and Pycnosterinx, these being the earliest of fishes with distinctly spiny fins. The Trachichthyide are deep-sea fishes with short bodies, cavernous skulls, and rough scales. The dorsal is short, with a few spines in front. The suborbitals are very broad, often covering the cheeks, and the anal fin is shorter than the dorsal, a character which separates these fishes from the Berycide, in Fic. 200.—Hoplopteryx lewestensis (Mantell), restored. | English Cretaceous Family Berycide. (After Woodward.) which group the anal fin is very long. The belly has ctten a serrated edge, and the coloration is red or black, the black species being softer in body and living in deeper water. Species of Hoplostethus, notably Hoplostethus mediterraneus, are found in most seas at a considerable depth. Tvachichthys, a genus scarcely distinguishable from Hoplostethus, is found in various seas. The genus Paratrachichthys is remarkable for the anterior position of the vent, much as in Aphredoderus. Species occur in Japan and Australia. Gephyroberyx, with the dorsal fin notched, is known from Japan (G. japonicus) and Madeira (G. darwint). We may also refer to the Trachichthyide@ certain species of still deeper waters, black in color and still softer in texture, with smaller scales which are often peculiar in form. These constitute the genera Caulolepis, Anoplogaster, Melamphaés, Berycoidei ann and Plectromus. In Caulolepis the jaws are armed with very strong canines. Allied to the Trachichihyide are also the fossil genera Hop- lopteryx and Homonotus. Hoplopteryx lewesiensis, from the English chalk, is one of the earliest of the spiny-rayed fishes. The Soldier-fishes: Holocentridea.— The soldier-fishes (/Holo- centride), also known as squirrel-fishes, Welshmen, soldados, matajuelos, malau, alehi, etc., are shore fishes very characteristic Fic. 201.—Paratrachichthys prosthemius Jordan & Fowler, Misaki, Japan. Family Trachichthyide. of rocky banks in the tropical seas. In this family the flesh is firm and the large scales very hard and with very rough edges. There are eleven spines in the dorsal and four in the anal, the third being usually very long. The ventral fins have one spine and seven soft rays. The whole head and body are rough with prickles. The coloration is always brilliant, the ground hue being scarlet or crimson, often with lines or stripes of white, black, or golden. The fishes are valued as food, and they furnish a large part of the beauty of coloration so charac- teristic of the fishes of the coral reefs. The species are active, pugnacious, carnivorous, but not especially voracious, the mouth being usually small. The genus Holocentris is characterized by the presence of a large spine on the angle of the preopercle. Its species are 254 Berycoidei especially numerous, Holocentrus ascenscionis, abundant in Cuba, ranges northward in the Gulf Stream. Holocentrus Fic. 202.—Soldier-fish, Holocentrus ascenscionis (Osbeck). suborbitalis, the mojarra cardenal, is a small, relatively dull species swarming about the rocks of western Mexico. Holo- Fig. 203.—Soldier-fish, Holocentrus ittodai Jordan & Fowler. Riu Kiu Islands Japan. centrus spinosissimus is a characteristic fish of Japan. Many other species abound throughout Polynesia and the East Indies, as well as in tropical America. Holocentrus ruber and Holo- Berycoidei 26% centrus diadema are common species of Polynesia and the East Indies. Other abundant species are H. spinifer, H. microstomus, and H. violascens. Holocentrus marianus is the marian of the French West Indies, Holocentrus sammara, and related large-mouthed species occur in Polynesia. In Myripristis the preopercular spine is wanting and the air-bladder is divided into two parts, the anterior extending to the ear. Ayripristis jacobus is the brilliantly colored candil, Fic. 204.—Ostichthys japonicus (Cuv. & Val.). Giran, Formosa. or ““Frére Jacques,” of the West Indies. Species of A/yripris- tis are known in Hawaii as u-u. A curious method of catching Myripristis murdjan is pursued on the Island of Hawaii. A living fish is suspended by a cord in front of a reef inhabited by this species. It remains with scarlet fins spread and glisten- ing red scales. Its presence is a challenge to other individuals, who rush out to attack it. These are then drawn out by a concealed scoop-net, and a fresh specimen is taken .as a decoy. Myrtpristts pralinius, M. multiradiatus, and other species occur in Polynesia. Ostichthys is allied to Mvyripristis but with very large rough scales. Ostichthys japonicus is a large and showy fish of the waters of Japan. Ostichthys pillwaxi 256 Berycoidei occurs at Honolulu. Holotrachys lima is a small, brick-red fish with small very rough scales found throughout Polynesia. Fossil species of Holocentrus, Myripristis, and related extinct genera occur in the Eocene and Miocene. Holocentrus macro- cephalus, from Monte Bolca Eocene, is one of the best known. Myricanthus leptacanthus from the same region, has very slender spines in the fins. The Polymixiide.—The family of Polymixiide, or barbudos, is one of the most interesting in Ichthyology from its bewilder- ing combination of characters belonging to different groups. With the general aspect of a Berycoid, the ventral rays I, 7, Fic. 205.—Pine-cone Fish, Monocentris japonicus (Houttuyn). Waka, Japan. and the single dorsal fin with a few spines, Polymixia has the scales rather smooth and at the chin are two long barbels which look remarkably like those of the family of Mullide or Sur- mullets. As in the Mullide, there are but four branchiostegals. In other regards the two groups seem to have little in common. According to Starks, the specialized feelers at the chin are different in structure and must have been independently developed in the two groups. In Polymixia, each barbel is suspended from the hypohyal; three rudimentary branchioste- gals forming its thickened base. In Mullus, each barbel is sus- pended from the trip of a slender projection of the ceratohyal, having no connection with the branchiostegals. Polymixia pos- Berycoidei 257 sesses the orbitosphenoid bone and is a true berycoid, while the Mullide are genuine percoid fishes. Four species of Polymixia are recorded from rather deep water: Polymixia nobilis from Madeira, Polymixia lowet from the West Indies, Polymixia berndti from Hawaii, and Poly- mixta japonica from Japan. All are plainly colored, without red. The Pine-cone Fishes: Monocentride.—Among the most ex- traordinary of all fishes is the little family of Monocentride, or pine-cone fishes. Monocentris japonicus, the best-known species, is common on the coasts of Japan. It reaches the length of five inches. The body is covered with a coat of mail, made of rough plates which look as though carelessly put together. The dorsal spines are very strong, and each ventral fin is replaced by a very strong rough spine. The animal fully justifies the remark of its discoverer, Houttuyn (1782), that it is ‘‘ the most remarkable fish which exists.” It is dull golden brown in color, and in movement as sluggish as a trunkfish. A similar species, called knightfish, Monocentris glorie-marts, is found in Australia. No fossils allied to Monoceniris are known. —17 CHAPTER XVI PERCOMORPHI UBORDER Percomorphi, the Mackerels and Perches. — We may place in a single suborder the various groups of fishes which cluster about the perches, and the mackerels. The group is not easily definable and may con- tain heterogeneous elements. We may, however, arrange in it, for our present purposes, those spiny-rayed fishes having the ventral fins thoracic, of one spine and five rays (the ventral fin occasionally wanting or defective, having a reduced number of rays), the lower pharyngeal bones separate, the suborbital chain without backward extension or bony stay, the post-temporal normally developed and separate from the cranium, the premaxillary and maxillary distinct, the cranium itself without orbitosphenoid bone, having a structure not greatly unlike that of perch or mackerel, and the back- bone primitively of twenty-four vertebra, the number increased in arctic, pelagic, or fresh-water offshoots. ; The species, comprising the great body of the spiny-rayed forms, group themselves chiefly about two central families, the Scombride, or mackerels, and the Serranide, the sea-bass, with their fresh-water allies, the Percide, or perch. The Mackerel Tribe: Scombroidea——The two groups of Per- comorphi, the mackerel-like and the perch-like, admit of no exact definition, as the one fully grades into the other. The mackerel-like forms, or Scombroidea, as a whole are defined by their adaptation for swift movement. The profile is sharp an- teriorly, the tail slender, with widely forked caudal; the scales are usually small, thin, and smooth, of such a character as not to produce friction in the water. In general the external surface is smooth, the skeleton light and strong, the muscles firm, and the species are carniv- 258 Percomorphi 259 orous and predaceous. But among the multitude of forms are many variations, and some of these will seem to be exceptions to any definition of mackerel-like fishes which could possibly be framed. The mackerels, or Scombroidea, have usually the tail very slender, composed of very strong bones, with widely forked fin. In the perch and bass the tail is stout, composed largely of flesh, the supporting vertebre relatively small and spread out fan-fashion behind. Neither mackerels nor perch nor any of their near allies ever have more than five soft rays in the ventral fins, and the persistence of this number throughout the Per- comorpht, Squamtipinnes, Pharyngognathi, and spiny fishes generally must be attributed to inheritance from the primitive perch-like or mackerel-like forms. In almost all the groups to be considered in this work, after the Berycoidea the ventral rays are I, 5, or else fewer through degeneration, never more. In the central or primitive members of most of these groups there are twenty-four vertebra, the number increased in cer- tain forms, probably through repetitive degeneration. The True Mackerels: Scombride.— We may first consider the great central family of Scombride, or true mackerels, distinguished among related families by their swift forms, smooth scales, metallic coloration, and technically by the presence of a number of detached finlets behind the dorsal and anal fins. The cut of the mouth is peculiar, the spines in the fins are feeble, the muscular system is extremely strong, the flesh oily, and the air-bladder reduced in size or altogether wanting. As in most swift-swimming fishes and fishes of pelagic habit, the vertebre are numerous and relatively small, an arrangement which promotes flexibility of body. It is not likely that this group is the most primitive of the scombroid fishes. In some respects the Stromaterde stand nearer the primitive stock. The true mackerels, however, furnish the most convenient point of departure in reviewing the great group. In the genus of true mackerels, Scomber, the dorsal fins are well separated, the first being rather short, and the scales of the shoulders are not modified to form a corselet. There are numerous species, two of them of general interest. The 260 Percomorphi common mackerel, Scomber scombrus, is one of the best known of food-fishes. It is probably confined to the Atlantic, where on both shores it runs in vast schools, the movements varying greatly from season to season, the preference being for cool waters. The female mackerel produces about 500,000 eggs each year, according to Professor Goode. These are very minute and each is provided with an oil-globule, which causes it to float on the surface. About 400,000 barrels of mackerel are salted yearly by the mackerel fleet of Massachusetts. Single schools of mackerel, estimated to contain a million barrels, have been recorded. Captain Harding describes such a school Fic. 206.—Mackerel, Scomber scombrus L. New York. as ‘‘a windrow of fish half a mile wide and twenty miles long.” Professor Goode writes: “Upon the abundance of mackerel depends the welfare of many thousands of the citizens of Massachusetts and Maine. The success of the mackerel-fishery is much more uncertain than that of the cod-fishery, for instance, for the supply of cod is quite uniform from year to year. The prospects of each season are eagerly discussed from week to week in thousands of little circles along the coast, and are chronicled by the local press. The story of each successful trip is passed from mouth to mouth, and is a matter of general congratulation in each fishing community. A review of the results of the American mackerel-fishery, and of the movements of the fish in each part of the season, would be an important contribution to the literature of the American fisheries. “The mackerel-fishery is peculiarly American, and its history is full of romance. There are no finer vessels afloat than the Percomorphi 261 American mackerel-schooners—yachts of great speed and unsurpassed for seaworthiness. The modern instruments of capture are marvels of inventive skill, and require the highest degree of energy and intelligence on the part of the fisher- men. The crews of the mackerel-schooners are still for the most part Americans of the old colonial stock, although the cod and halibut fisheries are to a great extent given up to foreigners. “When the mackerel is caught, trout, bass, and sheeps- head cannot vanquish him in a gastronomic tournament. In Holland, to be sure, the mackerel is not prized, and is accused of tasting like rancid fish-oil, and in England, even, they are usually lean and dry, like the wretched skeletons which are brought to market in April and May by the southern fleet, which goes forth in the early spring from Massachusetts to intercept the schools as they approach the coasts of Carolina and Virginia. They are not worthy of the name of mackerel. Scomber Scombrus is not properly in season until the spawning time is over, when the schools begin to feed at the surface in the Gulf of Maine and the ‘North Bay.’ “Just from the water, fat enough to broil in its own drip- pings, or slightly corned in strong brine, caught at night and eaten in the morning, a mackerel or a bluefish is unsurpass- able. A well-cured autumn mackerel is perhaps the finest of all salted fish, but in these days of wholesale capture by the purse-seine, hasty dressing and careless handling, it is very dif- ficult to obtain a sweet and sound salt mackerel. Salt mack- erel may be boiled as well as broiled, and a fresh mackerel may be cooked in the same manner. Americans will usually prefer to do without the sauce of fennel and gooseberry which transatlantic cooks recommend. Fresh and salt, fat and lean, new or stale, mackerel are consumed by Americans in immense quantities, as the statistics show, and whatever their state, always find ready sale.” Smaller, less important, less useful, but far more widely distributed is the chub-mackerel, or thimble-eyed mackerel, Scomber japonicus (Houttuyn, 1782), usually known by the later name of Scomber colias (Gmelin, 1788). In this species the air-bladder (absent in the common mackerel) is moder- 262 Percomorphi ately developed. It very much resembles the true mackerel, but is of smaller size, less excellence as a food-fish, and keeps nearer to the shore. It may be usually distinguished by the presence of vague, dull-gray spots on the sides, where the true mackerel is lustrous silvery. This fish is common in the Mediterranean, along our Atlantic coast, on the coast of California, and everywhere in Japan. Scomber antarcticus is the familiar mackerel of Australia. Scomber loo, silvery, with round black spots, is the common mackerel of the South Seas, localiy known as Ga. Scomber priscus is a fossil mackerel from the Eocene. Auxis thazard, the frigate mackerel, has the scales of the shoulders enlarged and somewhat coalescent, forming what is called a corselet. The species ranges widely through the seas of the world in great numbers, but very erratic, sometimes myriads reaching our Eastern coast, then none seen for years. It is more constant in its visits to Japan and Hawaii. Fossil species of Auxis are found in the Miocene. The genus Gymnosarda has the corselet as in Auxis, but the first dorsal fin is long, extending backward to the base of the second. Its two species, Gymnosarda pelamis, the Oceanic bonito, and Gymnosarda alleterata, the little tunny, are found in all warm seas, being especially abundant in the Mediterra- nean, about Hawaii and Japan. These are plump fish of mod- erate size, with very red and very oily flesh. Closely related to these is the great tunny, or Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) found in all warm seas and reaching at times a weight of 1500 pounds. These enormous fishes are much valued by anglers, a popular “Tuna Club” devoted to the sport of catch- ing them with a hook having its headquarters at Avalon, on Santa Catalina Island in California. They are good food, although the flesh of the large ones is very oily. The name horse-mackerel is often given to these monsters on the New England coast. In California, the Spanish name of tuna has become current among fisherman. Very similar to the tuna, but much smaller, is the Albacore (Germo alalonga). This reaches a weight of fifteen to thirty pounds, and is known by its very long, almost ribbon-like pec- toral fins. This species is common in the Mediterranean, and Percomorphi 263 about the Santa Barbara Islands, where it runs in great schools in March. The flesh of the albacore is of little value, unless, as in Japan, it is eaten raw. The Japanese shibi (Germo germo) is another large albacore, having the finlets bright yellow. It is found also at Hawaii. The bonito (Sarda sarda) wanders far throughout the Atlan- tic, abounding on our Atlantic coast as in the Mediterranean, coming inshore in summer to spawn or feed. Its flesh is red and not very delicate, though it may be reckoned as a fair food- Fic. 207.—The Long-fin Albacore, Germo alalunga (Gmelin). Gulf Stream. fish. It is often served under the name of ‘‘Spanish mackerel”’ to the injury of the reputation of the better fish. Professor Goode writes: “One of these fishes is a marvel of beauty and strength. Every line in its contour is suggestive of swift motion. The head is shaped like a minie bullet, the jaws fit together so tightly that a knife-edge could scarcely pass between, the eyes are hard, smooth, their surfaces on a perfect level with the adjoining surfaces. The shoulders are heavy and strong, the contours of the powerful masses of muscle gently and evenly merging into the straighter lines in which the contour of the body slopes back to the tail. The dorsal fin is placed in a groove into which it is received, like the blade of a clasp-knife in its handle. The pectoral and ventral fins also fit into depres- sions in the sides of the fish. Above and below, on the pos- terior third of the body, are placed the little finlets, each a little rudder with independent motions of its own, by which the course of the fish may be readily steered. The tail itself is a 264 Percomorphi crescent-shaped oar, without flesh, almost without scales, com- posed of bundles of rays flexible, yet almost as hard as ivory. A single sweep of this powerful oar doubtless suffices to propel the bonito a hundred yards, for the polished surfaces of its body can offer little resistance to the water. I have seen a common dolphin swimming round and round a steamship, advancing at the rate of twelve knots an hour, the effort being hardly perceptible. The wild duck is said to fly seventy miles in an hour. Who can calculate the speed of the bonito? It might be done by the aid of the electrical contrivances by which is calculated the initial velocity of a projectile. The bonitoes in our sounds to-day may have been passing Cape Colony or the Land of Fire day before yesterday.” Another bonito, Sarda chilensis, is common in California ; in Chile, and in Japan. This species has fewer dorsal spines than the bonito of the Atlantic, but the same size, coloration, and flesh. Both are blue, with undulating black stripes along the side of the back. The genus Scomberomorus includes mackerels slenderer in form, with larger teeth, no corselet, and the flesh comparatively pale and free from oil. Scomberomorus maculatus, the Spanish mackerel of the West Indies, is one of the noblest of food-fishes. Its biography Fic. 208.—The Spanish Mackerel, Scomberomorus maculatus (Mitchill). New York. was written by Mitchill almost a century ago in these words: “A fine and beautiful fish; comes in July.” Goode thus writes of it: “The Spanish mackerel is surely one of the most graceful Percomorphi 265 of fishes. It appeals as scarcely any other can to our love of beauty, when we look upon it, as shown in Kilbourn’s well- known painting, darting like an arrow just shot from the bow, its burnished sides, silver flecked with gold, thrown into bold relief by the cool green background of the rippled sea; the transparent grays, opalescent whites, and glossy blacks of its trembling fins enhance the metallic splendor of its body, until it seems to rival the most brilliant of tropical birds. Kilbourn made copies of his large painting on the pearly linings of sea- shells and produced some wonderful effects by allowing the natural luster of the mother-of-pearl to show through his trans- parent pigments and simulate the brilliancy of the life-inspired hues of the quivering, darting sea-sprite, whose charms even his potent brush could not properly depict. “Tt is a lover of the sun, a fish of tropical nature, which comes to us only in midsummer, and which disappears with the approach of cold, to some region not yet explored by ich- thyologists. It is doubtless very familiar in winter to the inhabitants of some region adjacent to the waters of the Carib- bean or the tropical Atlantic, but until this place shall have been discovered it is more satisfactory to suppose that with the bluefish and the mackerel it inhabits that hypothetical winter resort to which we send the migratory fishes whose habits we do not understand—the middle strata of the ocean, the floating beds of Sargassum, which drift hither and thither under the alternate promptings of the Gulf-stream currents and the winter winds.”’ The Spanish mackerel swims at the surface in moderate schools and is caught in abundance from Cape May south- ward. Its white flesh is most delicious, when properly grilled, and Spanish mackerel, like pampano, should be cooked in no other way. A very similar species, Scomberomorus sierra, occurs on the west coast of Mexico. For some reason it is little valued as food by the Mexicans. In California, the Monterey Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus concolor) is equally excellent as a food-fish. This fish lacks the spots characteristic of most of its relatives. It was first found in the Bay of Monterey, especially at Santa Cruz and Soquel, in abundance in the autumn 266 Percomorphi of 1879 and 1880. It has not, so far as is known, been seen since, nor is the species recorded from any other coast. The true Spanish mackerel has round, bronze-black spots upon its sides. Almost exactly like it in appearance is the pintado, or sierra (Scomberomorus regalis), but in this species the spots are oblong in form. The pintado abounds in the West Indies. Its flesh is less delicate than that of the more true Spanish mackerel. The name serra, saw, commonly applied to these fishes by Spanish-speaking people, has been corrupted into cero in some books on angling. Still other Spanish mackerel of several species occur on the coasts of India, Chile, and Japan. The great kingfish, or cavalla (Scomberomorus ‘cavalla), is a huge Spanish mackerel of Cuba and the West Indies, reaching a weight of too pounds. It is dark iron-gray in color, one of the best of food-fishes, and is unspotted, and its firm, rich flesh resembles that of the barracuda. Still larger is the great guahu, or peto, an immense sharp- nosed, swift-swimming mackerel found in the East and West Indies, as well as in Polynesia, reaching a length of six feet and a weight of more than a hundred pounds. Its large knife-like teeth are serrated on the edge and the color is almost black. Acanthocybium solandri is the species found in Hawaii and Japan. The American Acanthocybium petus, occasionally also taken in the Mediterranean, may be the same species. Fossil Spanish mackerels, tunnies, and albacores, as well as representatives of related genera now extinct, abound in the Eocene and Miocene, especially in northern Italy. Among them are Scomber antiquus from the Miocene, Scombrinus macropomus from the Eocene London clays, much like Scomber, but with stronger teeth, Sphyrenodus priscus from the same deposits, the teeth still larger, Scombramphodon crossidens, from the same deposits, also with strong teeth, like those of Scomberomorus. Scomberomorus is the best represented of all the genera as fossil, Scomberomorus speciosus and numerous other species occurring in the Eocene. A fossil species of Germo, G. lanceolatus, occurs at Monte Bolca in Eocene rocks, Another tunny, with very small teeth is Eothynnus salmonens, Percomorphi 267 from the lower Eocene near London. Several other tunny- like fishes occur in the lower Tertiary. The Escolars: Gempylide.—More predaceous than the mack- erels and tunnies are the pelagic mackerels, Gempylide, known as escolars (‘‘scholars’’), with the body almost band-shaped and the teeth very large and sharp. Some of these, from the ocean depths, are violet-black in color, those near the surface being silvery. Escolar violaceus lives in the abysses of the Gulf Stream. Ruvettus pretiosus, the black escolar, lives in more moderate depths and is often taken in Cuba, Madeira, Hawaii, and Japan. It is a very large fish, black, with very rough scales. The flesh is white, soft, and full of oil; sometimes rated very high, and at other times too rank to be edible. The name escolar means scholar in Spanish, but its root meaning, as applied to this fish, comes from a word meaning to scour, in allusion to the very rough scales. Promethichthys prometheus, the rabbit-fish, or conejo, so- called from its wariness, is caught in the same regions, being especially common about Madeira and Hawaii. Gempylus serpens, the snake-mackerel, is a still slenderer and more voracious fish of the open seas. Thyrsites atun is the Australian “ barra- cuda,”’ a valued food-fish, voracious and predaceous. Scabbard- and Cutlass-fishes: Lepidopide and Trichiuride.— The family of Lepidopide, or scabbard-fishes, includes degen- erate. mackerels, band-shaped, with continuous dorsal fin, and the long jaws armed with very small teeth. These are found in the open sea, Lepidopus candatus being the most common. This species reaches a length of five or six feet and comes to different coasts occasionally to deposit its spawn. It lives in warm water and is at once chilled by the least cold; hence the name of frostfish occasionally applied to it. Several species of Lepidopus are fossil in the later Tertiary. Lepido- pus glarisianus occurs in the Swiss Oligocene, and with it Thyrsitocephalus alpinus, which approaches more nearly to the Gempylide. Still more degenerate are the Trichiuride, or cutlass-fishes, in which the caudal fin is wanting, the tail ending in a hair-like filament. The species are bright silvery in color, very slender, and very voracious, reaching a length of three to five feet. 268 Percomorphi Trichiurus lepturus is rather common on our Atlantic coast. The names hairfish and silver-eel, among others, are often given to it. Trichiurus japonicus, a very similar species, 1s common Fic. 209.—Cutlass-fish, Trichiurus lepturus Linneus. St. Augustine, Fla. in Japan, and other species inhabit the tropical seas. Trt- chiurichthys, a fossil genus with well-developed scales, precedes Trichiturus in the Miocene. The Paleorhynchide.—The extinct family of Palgorhynchide is found from the Eocene to the Oligocene. It contains very Fic. 210.—Palworhynchus glarisianus Blainville. Oligocene. (After Woodward.) long and slender fishes, with long jaws and small teeth, the dorsal fin long and continuous. The species resembles the Escolar on the one hand and the sailfishes on the other, and they may prove to be ancestral to the Isttophoride. Hemi- rhynchus deshayest with the upper jaw twice as long as the lower, sword-like, occurs in the Eocene at Paris; Paleorhynchum glarisianum, with the jaws both elongate, the lower longest, is in the Oligocene of Glarus. Several other species of both genera are recorded. The Sailfishes: Istiophoride.—Remotely allied to the cutlass- fishes and still nearer to the Paleorhynchide is the family of sailfishes, Istiophoride, having the upper jaw prolonged into Percomorphi 269 a sword made of consolidated bones. The teeth are very feeble and the ventral fins reduced to two or three rays. The species are few in number, of large size, and very brilliant metallic coloration, inhabiting the warm seas, moving northward in summer. They are excellent as food, similar to the swordfish in this as in many other respects. The species are not well known, being too large for museum purposes, and no one having critically studied them in the field. Jst¢ophorus has the dorsal fin very high, like a great sail, and undivided; Jstiophorus nt- gricans is rather common about the Florida Keys, where it reaches a length of six feet. Its great sail, blue with black spots, is a very striking object. Closely related to this is Istiophorus orientalis of Japan and other less known species of the East Indies. Tetrapturus, the spearfish, has the dorsal fin low and divided into two parts. Its species are taken in most warm seas, Tetrapturus imperator throughout the Atlantic, Tetrapturus am- plus in Cuba, Tetrapturus mitsukuria and Tetrapturus mazara in Japan. These much resemble swordfish in form and habits, and they have been known to strike boats in the same way. Fossil Istiophoride are known only from fragments of the snout, in Europe and America, referred provisionally to Jstzo- phorus. The genus Xiphiorhynchus, fossil swordfishes from the Eocene, known from the skull only, may be referred to this family, as minute teeth are present in the jaws. X7phiorhyn- chus priscus is found in the London Eocene. The Swordfishes: Xiphiide.— The family of swordfishes, Xiphiide, consists of a single species, Xiphias gladius, of world- \ i ~ Z X Se we Fic. 211.—Young Swordfish, Xiphias gladius (Linnzus). (After Lutken.) wide distribution in the warm seas. The snout in the sword- fish is still longer, more perfectly consolidated, and a still more effective weapon of attack. The teeth are wholly wanting, and there are no ventral fins, while the second of the two fins on the back is reduced to a slight finlet. B70 Percomorphi The swordfish follows the schools of mackerel to the New England coasts. “Where you see swordfish, you may know that mackerel are about,’’ Goode quotes from an old fisherman. The swordfish swims near the surface, allowing its dorsal fin to appear, as also the upper lobe of the caudal. It often leaps out of the water, and none of all the fishes of the sea can swim more swiftly. “The pointed head,’’ says Goode, “the fins of the back and abdomen snugly fitting into grooves, the absence of ventrals, the long, lithe, muscular body, sloping slowly to the tail, fit Fic. 212.—Swordfish, Xiphias gladius (Linneus). (After Day.) it for the most rapid and forcible movement through the water. Prof. Richard Owen, testifying in an England court in regard to its power, said: “ COSLS ESOS OSSO LLP OS OS ss oN AY Family Lutianide. Odawara, Japan. Aphareus furcatus (Lacépéde). 76, 9 Fic. 339 340 The Bass and their Relatives the Mediterranean, Dentex dentex. Very many related species occur in the old world, the prettily colored Nemipterus virgatus, the Itoyori 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 burgeri 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: Hamulide.— The large family of Hemulide, known in America as grunters or roncos, is represented with the ie o> a RS Ne eee aN \ = = a Sa at « Bz Fic. 277.—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 (He@mulon scturus), these stripes cross the whole The Bass and their Relatives 341 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. Anso- tremus includes numerous deep-bodied species with smaller mouth, also all American. Anisotremus surinamensis, the pompon, abundant from Louisiana southward is the commonest species. Anzsotremus virginicus, the porkfish or Catalineta, ct Fic. 278.—Porkfish, Anisotremus virginicus (Linnus). 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 Antsotremus, but lacking the groove at the chin character- istic of Amisotremus 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. 342 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 trilineatuim, the Isaki of Japan, is equally abundant and very similar to it. Many related species belong to the Asiatic genera, Terapon, Scolopsis, Ca@sio, etc., sometimes placed in a distinct family as Teraponide. Terapon servits 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. Cceszo 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, Scolopsts trilineatus of Samoa, gray with white streaks and markings of delicate pattern. A fossil species in the Italian Eocene related to Pomadasts is Pomadasis furcatius. Another, perhaps allied to Terapon, is called Pelates quindecimalts, (R KA_4 f i Lott is 1 leila