282 LOPHOBRANCHII. PIPE FISHES. 



The mode of propagation, as far as known, coin- 

 cides in every respect with that of the true Syn- 

 gnathi. There can be little doubt also, from the 

 structure of the mouth and snout, that the food is 

 the same as in that typical group. 



The Cuverian Order named Plectognathi, or 

 fishes with soldered jaws, next claims our attention. 

 The principal characters he states to consist in the 

 maxillary bone being soldered to the side of the in- 

 termaxillary, which constitutes the jaw, and the 

 connexion of the palatal arch with the cranium by 

 an immoveable suture. The skeleton is still osseous, 

 although from the slow manner in which ossification 

 takes place, and the imperfect structure of the jaws, 

 we can discern an approach to the great tribe of 

 cartilaginous fishes, in which no true bone occurs. 



