Pareioplitae, or Mailed-cheek Fishes 457 



alata, a red fish with a peculiar bony, forked snout, is common 

 in Japan. The American species of gurnards, having teeth 

 on the palatine, belong to the genus Prionotus. Northward 

 these fishes, known as sea-robins, live along the shores in 



Fio. 410. Flying Gurnard, Cephalacanthus volitans (L.). Virginia. 



shallow water. In the tropics they descend to deeper water, 

 assuming a red color. Prionotus carolinus is the commonest 

 species in New England. Prionotus strigatus, the striped sea- 

 robin, and Prionotus tribulus, the rough-headed sea-robin, are 

 common species along the Carolina' coast. None have much 

 value as food, being dry and bony. Numerous fossil species 



FIG. 411. Peristedion miniatum Goode & Bean. Depths of the Gulf Stream. 



referred to Trigla are found in the Miocene. Podopteryx, from 

 the Italian Miocene, with small pectorals and very large ven- 

 trals, perhaps belongs also to this family, but its real affinities 

 are unknown. 



The Peristediidae. The Peristediida are deep-water sea- 

 robins, much depressed, with flat heads, a bony coat of mail, 



