500 Suborder Jugulares 



fishes, and still others more degenerate. The fishes having 

 the fins thus placed were long ago set apart by Linnaeus, 

 under the name of "Jugulares," Callionymus being the genus 

 first placed by him in this group. Besides their anterior inser- 

 tion, the ventrals in the Jugulares are more or less reduced in 

 size, the rays being usually but not always less than I, 5 in 

 number and more often reduced to one or two, or even wholly 

 lost. 



In general, the jugular fishes are degenerate as compared 

 with the perch-like forms, but in certain regards they are often 

 highly specialized. The groups showing this character are 

 probably related one to another, tjut in some cases this fact is 

 not clearly shown. In most of the jugular-fishes the shoulder- 

 girdle shows some change or distortion. The usual foramen 

 in the hypercoracoid is often wanting or relegated to the inter- 

 space between the coracoids, and the arrangement of the 

 actinosts often deviates from that seen in the perciform fishes. 



The Weevers: Trachinidae. Of the various families the 

 group of weevers, Trachinida , most approaches the type of 

 ordinary fishes. In the words of Dr. Gill, these fishes are 

 known by "an elongated body attenuated backward from 

 the head, compressed, oblong head, with the snout very short, 

 a deeply cleft, oblique mouth, and a long spine projecting 

 backward from each operculum and strengthened by exten- 

 sion on the surface of the operculum, as a keel. The dorsal 

 fins are distinct, the first composed of strong, pungent spines 

 radiating from a short base and about six or seven in number. 

 The second dorsal and anal are very long. The pectorals 

 have the lower rays unbranched, and the ventrals are in 

 advance of the pectorals, and have each a spine and five rays. 

 The species of this family are mostly found along the European 

 and western African coast; but singularly enough a species 

 closely related to the Old World form is found on the coast of 

 Chile. None have been obtained from the intermediate regions 

 or from the American coast. Two species are found in England, 

 and are known under the name of the greater weever (Trachinus 

 draco}, about twelve inches long, and the lesser weever 

 (Trachinus viper a], about six inches long. They are perhaps 

 the most dreaded of the smaller English fishes. The formid- 



