RIBBON-FISHES. 



521 



long filament. The coloration is generally silvery, with rosy 

 fins. 



"When these fishes reach the surface of the water the 

 expansion of the gases within their body has so loosened all 

 parts of their muscnlar and bony system, that they can be 

 lifted out of the water with difficulty only, and nearly always 

 portions of the body and fins are broken and lost. The bones 

 contain very httle bony matter, are very porous, thin and 

 light. At what depths Eibbon-fishes live is not known ; pro- 

 bably the depths vary for different species ; but although 

 none have been yet obtained by means of the deep-sea 

 dredge, they must be abundant at the bottom of all oceans, as 

 dead fishes or fragments of them are frequently obtained. 

 Some writers have supposed from the great length and nar- 

 row shape of these fishes that they have been mistaken for 

 " Sea-serpents ;" but as these monsters of the sea are always 

 represented by those who have had the good fortune of meet- 

 ing with them as remarkably active, it is not likely that 

 harmless Eibbon-fishes, which are either dying or dead, have 

 been the objects described as " Sea-serpents." 



Young Eibbon-fishes (from two to four inches) are not 



Fig. 238.— Yoxing Tivacliypterus. 



rarely met with near the surface ; they possess the most 



