THE PERCH 41 
The sub-class Te/eostei is arranged in six orders, whereof 
the first—Acanthopterygii, or Spiny-finned Fishes—is dis- 
tinguished by the presence of spinous rays, more or less sharply 
pointed, in one or more of the fins. This great order 
is again subdivided into nineteen sub-orders, the first of which 
is that of Acanthopterygii perciformes, or Perch-like Spiny- 
finned Fishes, a well-defined clan, with spinous dorsal fin 
well developed, and a soft anal fin. The first family in this 
sub-order is that of the Percide, or Perches. 
PERCIDAZE: THE PERCH FAMILY 
The Perch (Perca fluviatilis) 
Fin ForMULA. TEETH. 
First Dorsal: 14 or 15 spines. Villiform, without canines. 
Second Dorsal: 1 spine or 2, 13 or 14 rays. On the palatine bones 
Pectoral : 14 rays. and vomer. None on 
Ventral: 1 spine, 5 rays. the tongue. 
Anal: 2 spines, 8 or g rays. 
Caudal or tail fin : 17 rays. 
The eye of one peering curiously into a clear lake, or the 
tranquil depths of an English river, may be attracted by the 
Paes te gliding movement in mid-water of certain groups 
“of dark vertical bars, like shadows. ‘ Look at the 
perch !” he will exclaim, if he knows anything about aquatic 
life, all unconscious that he is really saying, ‘“ Look at the 
striped fellows!’ For that is the root meaning of the English 
word “perch,” which has found its way into our vocabulary 
through the French perche, the Latin perca, and the Greek 
mépky, spotted or pied, all of common origin with the Sanskrit 
pricni, and connected with the Latin spargere and English 
sprinkle. In East Anglia and Lancashire the perch is known as 
the barse, representing the Anglo-Saxon ders, a word which is 
glossed “ perca, lupus,” in /Elfric’s Glossary. This is the same as 
the modern German darsch and the Dutch daars, both signifying 
