102 GIANT FISHES 



was poisonous. There is a fine and clearly recognizable 

 picture of this fish in a Pompeian mosaic in the Naples 

 Museum, and it is often depicted upon the Graeco-Roman 

 " fish-plates '. i 



GAR-FISHES OR NEEDLE-FISHES. 



(Family Belonid^e.) Fig. 36. 



Soft-rayed Bony Fishes with a long and very slender body, 

 covered with small, thin scales. Both the jaws are drawn out 

 to form a long " beak ", the lower being the longer, and each 

 is armed with a band of small, sharp teeth, as well as with a 

 row of long needle-like teeth set well apart. There are special 

 plate-like bones (pharyngeals) in the throat, also armed with 

 teeth. The dorsal and anal fins are rather long, and are placed 

 opposite to each other at the hinder end of the body. The 

 caudal fin is short and forked, with the lower lobe longer than 

 the upper. The pectoral fins are of moderate size. The 

 pelvic fins are small, and are situated behind the middle of the 

 body. The lateral line runs very low down, and forms a fold 

 along the edge of the belly, but rises to the middle of the side 

 in the tail region. An air-bladder is present, but is not 

 connected with the gullet. The coloration is generally sea- 

 green or bluish-green on the back, becoming more or less shot 

 with blue or purple on the sides, and silvery white beneath ; 

 there is often a silvery stripe along the middle of the side. 



Some of the larger species grow to a length of 5 or 6 feet. 



The Gar-fishes are found in most warm seas, and sometimes 

 enter rivers. Fossil remains date back to the Eocene period. 



About fifty species are known, and are generally grouped into 

 four genera. The Common Gar-fish (Belone belone) is found on 

 the coasts of Europe from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, 

 and is common on the southern coasts of the British Isles. 

 Among other large forms may be mentioned the American 

 Gar-fish or Agujon (Tylosurus marinus), which ranges on the 

 Atlantic coast from Cape Cod to Texas ; the Hound-fish or 

 Guard-fish (T. raphidoma) , abundant from Florida to Brazil ; 

 and the Ribbon Gar-fish (Athlennes hians), with a distribution 

 similar to the Hound-fish. 



The Gar-fishes are very active creatures, spending most of 



