358 The Grayling and the Smelt 
feebly ossified, and the ligaments connecting the vertebre are 
very loose and extensible, so that the body can be considerably 
stretched. ‘This loose connection of the parts of the body 
is found in numerous deep-sea fishes, and is merely the conse- 
quence of their withdrawal from the pressure of the water to 
which they are exposed in the depths inhabited by them. When 
within the limits of their natural haunts, the osseous, muscular, , 
and fibrous parts of the body will have that solidity which is 
required for the rapid and powerful movements of a predatory 
fish. That the fishes of this genus (Plagyodus) belong to the 
most ferocious of the class is proved by their dentition and the 
contents of their stomach.’’ (Gtnther.) Dr. Gtnther else- 
a si 
“eeniiact atiommestors 
~ YY 
eS 
Fic, 265. —Lancet-fish, Plagyodus ferox (Lowe). New York. 
where observes: ‘‘From the stomach of one example have been 
taken several octopods, crustaceans, ascidians, a young Brama, 
twelve young boarfishes (Capros), a horse-mackerel, and one 
young of its own species.” 
The lancet-fish, Plagyodus ferox, is occasionally taken on 
either side of the Atlantic and in Japan. The handsaw-fish, 
called Plagyodus e@sculapius, has been taken at Unalaska, off 
San Luis Obispo, and in Humboldt Bay. It does not seem to 
differ at all from Plagyodus ferox. The original type from Una- 
laska had in its stomach twenty-one lumpfishes (umicrotremus 
spinosus). This is the species described from Steller’s manu- 
scripts by Pallas under the name of Plagyodus. Another 
species, Plagyodus borcalis, is occasionally taken in the North 
Pacific. 
The Evermannellide is a small family of small deep-sea fishes 
