SCLKliODKIiMS. 



631 



TIr' Suiitisli is sclddiii, if c'xcr, used as t'ond. Ail its and in Tin- I-'icltl (4tii I'el)., 1S82) we arc told liow a 



various parasites and tlie siiuiv coat of its liod\- rciider I person was cheated into tlie belief that he was eating 



it re])ulsivc to the ordinary tisiu'rniiin: and the phos- tlu^ most delicious turtle sou]), which was really made 



phorescent lii^'iit tliat i-adiatcs from it in the dark, has of the ficsii of the Suntisii. 'Die oidy economical value 



caused it to he suspected of injurious properties. Ac- of tin' Suidisii lies in tlie oil into which tiie tlesii and 



cording to Itisso", howesn-, th^' li\ci' is eaten in tlie liver are l)oiled down, or tlie glue extracted from the 



nortii of Italw though nu great vahie is set u|ion it; | Ixines and gristle. 



1am balistidj:. 



Sclrrodcniis irith hard se(ih'i< or sculc-like plates (iinl on/fhiiKnts (■(irfij)((ri's) diid iritli tiro dorsal fi)is, the first {more 

 or less fiiUji derdoped) iritli sj)itioiis rai/s. Caudal Jin icitli Id tiraiiched rai/s, and one siinjde raij at each martjin. 



Tliis famih' is composed of fishes of far less sin- 

 gular appearance tlian the preceding one. Its members 

 are tlie least abnormal of the Plectoguates; and their 

 primexal cliaracters are veiled in a great luimber of 

 them by an undeniable beauty of colour — several of the 

 IJalistoids belong to the most handsomely coloured tishes 

 of the modern period. The dermal covering, however, 

 varies considerably not only Ijetween genus and genus, 

 but also in several forms during the changes of growth. 

 Sometimes the scales are extremely small and hardlj- 

 visible to the naked e\e; and tlie juvenile forms may 

 be armed with spines, especially on the sides of the tail, 

 which remind us of tlie equipment of the Acanfhuri, 

 but in many forms disajipear with age. The dermal 

 covering is not the only character that distinguishes 

 these tishes from the other Scleroderms, the famih' of 



the Coffer-fishes {Ostraciontida;): they are also marked 

 by the ])resence of an anterior, spinou.s-rayed dorsal fin 

 — though this tin may sometimes consist of a single 

 spinous ray — , by the compressed form of the body, 

 and by their stronger, rodent-like jaw-teeth. 



The family belongs properly to the tropical seas — 

 JoiiDAN and GiLi^EHT have estimated the number of the 

 species at aliout 100 — and may be divided into three 

 subfamilies: the Triacanthlno', furnished with ventral 

 tins and with the jaw-bones oidy loosely united; the 

 Monavanthince, without ventral tins, or with only one 

 rudimentary ventral ray, w\X\\ extremely small scales, 

 Avith at most two rays in the first dorsal fin, the mem- 

 brane of which is also rudimentary, and with only 6 

 teeth in tiie lower jaw; and the Balistin<e. 



Subfamily BALISTINJE. 



Ventral fins wanting or represented merely hi/ one fixed or mohile spine on the end of the pelvic hones, icIiicJi are 

 confiuent. First dorsal fin with three spinous rays. Caudal fin rounded or with S-shaj)ed hind marc/in. Scales 

 middle-sized or larye, more or less plate-like. Cpper Jair irith s teeth in an outer row and (> in a dense row 

 within {behind) the former. Lower Jaw irith 6' teeth in a sinyle roir. JJofh the upper ami tlie loirer phary)i- 

 yeals furnished irith teeth. Brancliiostegal rays (i or .'). VertehrfC 17. 



LiXN^rs called these tishes Fitare'' (Filers), a Swe- ture of the tirst dorsal fin it ranks between them: in 



dish expression for the later name of Sclerodermi. the absence of ventral tins and in the rounding (at 



In English they are called File-fishes, from the rough i least at the middle of the margin) of the caudal fin it 



front surface of the first ray of the anterior dorsal fin. i has characters in common with the Monacanthime, which 



Even liy the external characters this subfamily is i have fewer jaw-teeth, and in which we find either one 



easily distinguished from the other lialistoids. The com- ' single row of teeth on the lower pharyngeals or no teeth 



])aratively large scales of the body separate it both from , at all on the pharyngeal bones. In a MeUchthys {Ba- 



the Triacanthina' and the Monacanthin/e: in the struc- listes) huniva from Ascension we find the lower pha- 



