PISCES. 223 



the lateral line extends to the tail only as a light furrow. PL 8'i,fig. 5, 

 represents one of the European species of fresh water Coitus, known as the 

 bullhead, miller's-thumb, chabot, &lc. The salt water species are termed, 

 provincially, sculpins or bull-heads. Aspidophorus has the body octagonal, 

 and covered with scaly plates ; snout with recurved spines ; no teeth in the 

 vomer ; two dorsal fins. A. cataphractus (pi. 82, ßg. 1) is found both in 

 Europe and America. The genus Scorpcena resembles Coitus, but has a 

 compressed head, an undivided dorsal, and palatine teeth ; as also cutaneous 

 filaments in various parts of the body. <S. scropha is represented in pi. 83, 

 fig. 5. Somewhat allied to Scorpcena is the genus Synanceia, a species of 

 which, Ä. horrida, is shown in pi. 82, fig. 9. It is from the Indian seas. 

 The genus Sebastes has some resemblance to the perch, but differs in the 

 spined operculum and preopereulum. All parts of the head are covered 

 with scales ; branchiostegous rays seven ; teeth on the jaws, vomer, and 

 the palatines. Sebastes norvegius, Norway haddock, snapper, or rose fish, 

 is a highly beautiful fish, of a reddish color, and is taken in deep water, 

 off the coast of New England and further north. The genus Gasterosleus, 

 or stickleback, closes the series of those Triglidce which we have room to 

 mention here. They have a body without scales, but variously armed with 

 plates on the sides and back. A variable number of the anterior dorsal 

 rays occur as separated spines. Ventral fins represented by a single spine. 

 Branchiostegous rays three. The species of this genus are mostly of small 

 size, and inhabitants of brackish water ; yet some species occur in perfectly 

 fresh water. They are highly quarrelsome, active little fish ; and one 

 European species, at least, is remarkable for constructing a regular nest of 

 grass. The male performs this labor of love, and forces females successively 

 into the nest, there to deposit their spawn, which he immediately fecundates. 

 The nest and its contents are watched with the most jealous vigilance by 

 the male stickleback, who exercises a careful guardianship over the young 

 after they are hatched. Other species of Gastei-osteus will probably be 

 found to possess the same habit, shared also by some other genera, at least 

 by Calliclithys of South America. PL 82, fig. 6, represents the common 

 European species, Gasterosieus aculeatus. 



The third family, Sci^NiOiE, exhibits a close parallelism with the Percoidce. 

 The vomer and palatines are, however, destitute of teeth, and the head is 

 generally enlarged by cavernous swellings. The ventral fins are sometimes 

 scaled. 



The first genus with an American representative is OtoUilms, charac- 

 terized by the two dorsals, the weak anal, the absence of barbels, and the 

 two or three highly developed front teeth. The principal species is 

 O. regalls, or weak fish, abundant on the whole Atlantic coast. It is called 

 salt water trout, or simply trout on the southern coast. Another species is 

 called salmon trout. When caught in the latter part of the summer, and 

 eaten within a few hours after its capture, it is, perhaps, superior in 

 delicacy of flavor to any salt water American species, excepting the far- 

 famed sheepshead, and scarcely inferior even to this most delightful of 

 fish. Corvijia differs in the strong second anal spine and the perfectly 



427 



