642 TELEOSTEI CHAP. 
scales are absent or very small and spinulose, the mouth large, 
with cardiform teeth ; spinous dorsal short, soft dorsal and anal 
elongate. Chiasmodon and Pseudoscopelus have a complicated 
system of sensory organs on the body, which in the latter suggest 
the photophores of Scopelids. Champsodon voraxz is a fish of 
extreme voracity, swallowing prey much larger than itself. Only 
four species of this family are known. 
Fam. 7. Sphyraenidae.— Maxillary excluded from the border 
of the upper jaw; dentition very strong. Body covered with 
cycloid scales. Anterior ribs sessile, the rest inserted on para- 
pophyses, Pectoral fin nearer the ventral than the dorsal out- 
line; ventral fin more or less approximated to the pectoral, with 
1 spine and 5 soft rays; pelvis not connected with the pectoral 
arch. Two well-separated dorsal fins, the anterior formed of a 
small number of spines. Air-bladder large. Vertebrae 24. 
Carnivorous Pike-lhke Marine Fishes from the tropical and 
sub-tropical seas, often found at the mouths of rivers. The 
“ Barracudas” form a single genus, Sphyraena, with about 20 
species, the largest of which grow to 8 feet and are dangerous to 
people bathing; many are valued as food, but some are reported 
to be poisonous, at least at certain seasons. Remains of several 
species are known from the Eocene and later periods in Europe 
and North America. 
Fam. 8. Tetragonuridae.— Maxillary excluded from the 
border of the upper jaw; dentition feeble. Oesophagus with 
lateral sacs which are beset with papillae internally; a series of 
gill-raker-like knobs below the pseudobranchiae. Body covered 
with rhomboidal, striated scales in oblique transverse series, those 
of every single transverse series coherent. Ribs mostly sessile. 
Pectoral fin nearer the ventral than the dorsal outline. Ventral 
fin with 1 spine and 5 soft rays, near the pectoral, but pelvis 
free from the pectoral arch. A long continuous dorsal fin, its 
anterior portion formed of numerous short spines. Air-bladder 
absent. Vertebrae 58. 
This family includes a single, rather rare fish, Zetragonurus 
cuviert, from the Mediterranean and neighbouring parts of the 
Atlantic and the South Pacific. It is said to descend to great 
depths at certain seasons, and to feed on Medusae; its flesh is 
poisonous. Young specimens have been observed by Emery to 
live in the respiratory cavity of large Salpae. 
