TELE08TS. 25 



and the ventral fins, when present, placed near the vent. 

 A swim-bladder is almost always present, and is connected 

 with the gullet by a tube through which it can be emptied 

 of air. The scales are usually cycloid (10). Most of the 

 forms belong in fresh water. 



The catfishes and horned pout, with long filaments or 

 barbels about the mouth, belong here. In our Eastern 

 waters the species are small, but in the Mississippi basin 

 occur large species, some weighing a hundred pounds or 

 more. Many more species occur in the tropics of Africa 

 and South America, and some of these have the scales 



FIG. 3. Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar). After Goode. 



developed into a bony armor protecting the body. In 

 Africa occurs a species which, like the electrical eel, can 

 give a severe electrical shock. 



The carp and minnows abound in fresh water, but, 

 excepting as they furnish food for other fishes, they are of 

 little importance, the carp of Europe being the least bad 

 food. 



Much more valuable is the group of trout and salmon, 

 which are among the most important of food fishes. As a 

 rule these have a soft fin behind the rayed dorsal. The 

 salmon, of which there are one species on the Atlantic and 

 four on the Pacific coast, live in the sea and come into the 

 rivers to lay their eggs. The whitefish of the lakes are 

 closely allied forms. 



