CYPiaXUUUX CALAlilTANUS. :5()9 



they came to rest at tlie bottom, though at last it learned to take food from the 

 hand. The fishes spawn in confinement ; the eggs are as large as millet-seed. 

 The species is reputed poisonous by the fishermen, who have a superstitious belief 

 that it is unfortunate to catch Dogfish. Formerly they were frequently 

 brought to the Vienna market, and are still seen occasionally scattered among 

 the great masses of Misgurmis fossi li s brought from the Neusiedler See. 



Family: C Y P R I N O D O N T I D ^. 

 Genus : Cyprinodon (Lacepede). 



Cyprinodon is the type of a family of fresh-water fishes, whicli are for the 

 most part viviparous, and present marked differences of aspect and ornament in 

 the two sexes. The head as well as the body is covered with scales. The 

 pre-maxillaries form the margin of the upper jaw. The mandible is short, with 

 the bones on each side firmly blended. The teeth have an incisor character, 

 are notched, of moderate size, and arranged in a single series. The scales are 

 rather large ; the dorsal and anal fins are larger in the male than in the female. 



The species of Cyprinodon extend along the Mediterranean region, occur in 

 the Dead Sea, the Jordan, the valley of the Tigris, and in Persia and Abys- 

 sinia ; other species are found in the United States. 



Cyprinodon calaritanus (Bonelli). 



D. 9—10, A. 10— 11, V. (), p. Ki, C. 11. Scales : lat. line 20, trans. 9—10. 



In Italy this fish is known as the Noiio. It is common about the lag'oons 

 of Venice, and ascends some of the streams which flow into them, but has been 

 taken of a larger size at Treviso, in the Sile, than in Venice itself. It is rarely 

 found in the sea. The largest specimens measure less than three inches. 



It is an interesting species, as having been found by Canon Tristram in the 

 hot springs of Sidiahkbar in the Sahara, and it is also found at Susa and Tunis. 



The males have nine or ten very distinct silvery cross-bars; each bar is about 

 as wide as a scale. The caudal fin shows an indistinct band on its hinder half 

 and the front rays of the dorsal fin are black. 



The female is silvery on the sides and has a number of black vertical bars 

 on the sides, which do not extend to the back or belly ; but neither the silver 

 bars of the male nor the black lines of the female are developed in the young. 

 The colour of the fish is yellowish or pale olive-green. 

 2 1. 



