78 LEWIS : 



The head and mouth are large, the jaws being armed with 

 strong and unequal teeth, giving them a ferocious appearance. 

 They are surface fishes of tropical seas, and are swift and 

 active swimmers. There are about six species known, one of 

 which occurs in the western Atlantic, northward as far as 

 Virginia, and on the Pacific side, occasionally in I^ower Cali- 

 fornia. The same species is abundant in the West Indies, 

 where it is sensitive to climatic changes, becoming benumbed 

 with the slightest cold. 



These Cutlass Fishes are bright silvery in color, are with- 

 out scales, and justify their ferocious appearance by being 

 voracious feeders. They are nearly related to the Frost 

 Fishes of the family Lepidopodidac, which are also band or 

 ribbon shaped, but which retain the rudiments of a Mackerel 

 like tail. Their habits are similar to those of the Cutlass 

 Fishes, in which the tail ends in a fine, hair like point. 



Near the last of the series of the Spiny Rayed Fishes is a 

 group known as the Tacyiiosomi, or " Slender Bodied Fishes," 

 consisting of three families, all of which are extremely slender 

 in proportion to their width, being band or ribbon shaped, 

 and are known as the " Ribbon Fishes." 



In the first family, the Oar Fishes, or Reo^a/ecidac, the back 

 or dorsal fin extends over the top of the head and there 

 expands into a crown of eight very long curved spines, which 

 are either reddish brown or red in color, and become a striking 

 ornament ; while the ventral fins are converted into two long, 

 thread like streamers, extending backward for a long distance, 

 the thin and flexible body ending in a pointed tail. They 

 are thus described : — 



"The fishes of the genus Rco^alcais are very remarkable, 

 not only on account of their peculiar appearance and struc- 

 ture, but because of their enormous size. They have been 

 known to attain the length of twenty feet, and it is more than 

 probal)le that they grow very much longer, and that many of 

 the creatures popularly identified with the ' Sea Serpent ' are 



