XXIII ACANTHOPTERYGII FEM i 
5 genera: Batrachus, Opsanus, Thalassophryne, Thalassothia, and 
Porichthys. The eggs of Batrachus taw are very large, + inch 
in diameter, and are deposited in a little retreat provided by the 
parent ; the male assumes the care of the brood ; the young fasten 
themselves to rocks by means of an adhesive ventral disk, which 
soon disappears.’ 
In Lhalassophryne, from the coasts of Central America, the 
opercular spine and the two dorsal spines are perforated, and 
convey poison from subcutaneous sacs situated at their base.’ 
In the American genus Porichthys the head and body bear series 
of greatly developed mucous pores, some of which simulate 
the photophores of Scopelus, but are not luminous.’ 
os boa aDsa9coousc’ 
o2e° SWS 
ppavencrasevoe’ BEX .* 
ean” BRASS 
CWA 
CA 
og B OTR CAR ARR WW . RRP ™ 
SS Wns 
of 
Aw 
4 es, 
Fic. 429.—Porichthys porosissimus. (After Goode and Bean.) 4 nat. size. 
Fam. 11. Pholididae.—Suborbitals not forming a subocular 
shelf; mouth scarcely protractile, with thick lips. Praecaudal 
vertebrae similar to the caudals, without transverse processes, 
with heemal arches; ribs sessile. Gill-membranes free from the 
isthmus; 4 or 5 branchiostegal rays; gills 4, a slit behind the 
fourth ; pseudobranchiae present. Scapular arch as in Blenniidae. 
Ventral fins jugular and rudimentary, or absent. Body elongate, 
compressed, with very small scales. Dorsal and anal fins 
elongate, the former constituted entirely of non-articulated rays 
or spines. Caudal fin distinct, with expanded hypural. 
Small shore fishes of the Northern Seas, differing from the 
Blenniidae in the structure of the praecaudal vertebrae, in spite 
of the external resemblance which the two known genera, Pholis 
(Centronotus) and Apodichthys, bears to Anoplarchus and Xiphistes. 
Species about 10. 
1 On the breeding habits and development of this fish, ef. J. A. Ryder, Bul. 
U.S. Fish Comm. vi. 1886, p. 4, and Proc. Acad. Philad. 1890, p. 407. 
2 Cf. Giinther, Trans. Zool. Soc. vi. 1869, p. 437. 
3 Cf. C. W. Greene, Journ. of Morphol. xv. 1899, p. 667. 
