FfSHES. l;;:; 



head is naked, the body scaly. The strueture nf the fins is in general similar to that 

 seen in the Cj'pi'inidw. 



No Characinida" are found in the Old World excejit in Afriea. In America a very 

 few extend their range northward into IVIexico and the southernmost of the West 

 Indies, and a single one {Tetraffonopterus argentatits) is abundant in southern Texas. 

 The family is divided by Dr. Gtlnther into eleven sub-families, only the more impor- 

 tant of which need be mentioned here. 



The Erytlirininaj differ from the other Characins in having no adipose fin. The 

 species are all South American, and some of them are large fishes with very strong 



teeth. The Curiniatina', likewise numerous in South America, Ikivc the ti'ctii very 

 few or wanting, and the dorsal fin sliort. 



The Citharininse, with the teeth likewise very feeble, have the dorsal fin rather long. 

 The few species are African. The Anostominte have the teeth well developed, and 

 the gill membranes grown to the isthmus. They are mostly small fishes from Brazil 

 and Guiana. Allied to them are the very small Nannocharaeina' from Africa. 



The largest of the sub-families is that of Tetragonopterina^, distinguished by the 

 free gill membranes and the incisor-like teeth, which are notched or serrate on the edge. 

 The s]iecies are found botli in South America and Africa. The largest genus is 

 Tetragonopterus, all the species of which arc American. 



The Hydrocyoninffi differ especially in having the teeth in the jaws conical and 

 very strong. They are voracious fishes, many of them of arge size, found in the 

 rivers of Afriea and South .Vmerica. Some of them {nydrocyoii, Ci/iiodon) reach 



