CHAPTER XXXVII 
CHROMIDES AND PHARYNGOGNATHI 
UBORDER Chromides.—The suborder Chromtdes con- 
tains spiny-rayed fishes similar to the perch-like 
forms in most regards, but strikingly distinguished 
by the complete union of the lower pharyngeal bones, as in the 
Holconott and Pharyngognatht, and still more remarkably by 
the presence of but one nasal opening on each side. In all the 
perch-like fishes and in nearly all others there are two nasal 
openings or nostrils on each side, these two entering into the 
same nasal sac. In all the Chromudes the lateral line is incom- 
plete or interrupted, and the scales are usually large and ctenoid. 
The Cichlide.—The suborder Chromides includes two fami- 
lies, Cichlide, and Pomacentride. The Cichlide are fresh-water 
fishes of the tropics, characterized by the presence of three to 
ten spines in the anal fin. In size, color, appearance, habits, 
and food value they bear a striking resemblance to the fresh- 
water sunfishes, or Centrarchide, of the eastern United States. 
This resemblance is one of analogy only, for in structure the 
Cichide have no more in common with the Centrarchide than 
with other families of perch or bass. The numerous species 
of Cichlide are confined to tropical America and to correspond- 
ing districts in Africa and western Asia. Tilapia nilotica 
abounds in the Nile. Tzlapia galilea is found in the river 
Jordan and the Lake of Galilee. This species is supposed to 
form part of the great draught of fishes recorded in the Gospels, 
and a black spot on the side is held to commemorate the touch 
of Simon Peter. Numerous other species of Cichlide, large and 
small, abound in central Africa, even in the salt ditches of the 
Sahara. 
The species of Cichla, especially Cichla ocellaris, of the rivers 
of South America, elongate and large-mouthed, bear a strong 
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