KEY TO THE PRINCIPAL FISHES 197 



t. The head has some rough 

 spiny ridges or crests ; 

 there is a patch of teeth 

 on the tongue ; the pelvic 

 fins are placed below the 

 roots of the pectorals 



Stone Bass or 

 Wreck-fishes (p. 115). 

 TT. The head has no rough, 

 spiny ridges ; the tongue 

 is quite smooth ; the 

 pelvic fins are placed just 

 in front of the roots of the 

 pectorals Jew-fishes (p. 117). 

 ss. The inner teeth in the jaws are 

 hinged at their bases and 

 are depressible inwards ; 

 usually there are some 

 larger canine teeth at the 

 front of the jaws 

 Groupers or Rock-fishes (p. 119). 

 rr. The spinous part of the dorsal fin 

 is shorter than the soft, with 

 the spines either slender or 

 quite short ; the front 2 

 spines of the anal fin are 

 detached from the rest of the 

 fin (but sometimes hidden 

 under the skin) ; the caudal 

 fin is forked 

 u. The soft dorsal fin is longer 

 than the anal, 

 v. The spinous dorsal fin has 

 7 spines, which are con- 

 nected with one another 

 by membrane 



Amber-fishes or 

 Yellow-tails (p. 122). 

 vv. The spinous dorsal fin has 4 

 or 5 weak spines which are 

 not connected by mem- 

 brane Pilot-fishes (p. 124). 

 uu. The soft dorsal and the anal 

 fins are nearly equal in size ; 

 the spinous dorsal fin has 

 7 small spines, which are not 

 connected by membrane 



Leer-fish (p. 127). 



