2724 THE BONY FISHES AND GANOIDS 



ber; the scales are small or medium in size, and both the jaws, palatines, and vo- 

 mers bear villiform teeth. While the typical genus Ciirtus is confined to the Indian 

 seas, Pempheris ranges over the Indian Ocean, the Malayan seas, and the tropical 

 parts of the Pacific. The presence of a number of filaments, which may attain an 

 enormous length, is the most distinctive feature of the second family, as shown in 

 the example of the type genus (Polynemzis plebejus}, represented on the left side of 

 the illustration last referred to; while a second characteristic is to be found in the 

 two rather short dorsal fins, situated at a considerable distance from one another, 

 and a third in the well-marked mucous-bearing canals on the head. The body is 

 oblong and somewhat compressed, with smooth or slightly ciliated scales, and a contin- 

 uous lateral line. The muzzle projects somewhat beyond the mouth, which is inferior 

 in position, with a lateral cleft, and the large eyes are lateral. There are villiform 

 teeth in the jaws and on the palate, and the pelvic fins are thoracic in position, with 

 one spine and five rays. These fishes, which form three genera, include a number 

 of species haunting the shores of tropical seas, and sometimes entering brackish 

 or fresh water. Their filaments, which sometimes exceed twice the entire length of 

 the head and body and can be moved independently of the pectoral fins, serve as 

 feelers; and as these fish live in muddy water, and generally have their large eyes 

 obscured by a film, the use or such accessory organs of touch is easily understood. 



THE SCI^NOIDS Family 



Of more general interest than the last is the family of Sciaenoids, among which 

 the umbrine of the Mediterranean and the widely distributed meagre are well-known 

 examples. In this group the spinous dorsal is abbreviated at the expense of the 

 more or less elongated soft dorsal, which also exceeds the anal fin in length; and al- 

 though mucous canals are well developed on the head, there are no filaments near 

 the pectoral fin. The somewhat elongated and compressed body is coated with 

 ctenoid scales, and the uninterrupted lateral line sometimes continued onto the tail 

 fin. The long mouth is at the extremity of the muzzle; the eye is medium and lat- 

 eral; and in addition to bands of villiform teeth, the jaws may carry tusks, although 

 they are never provided with incisors or molars, and the palate is devoid of teeth. 

 The preopercular bone is smooth, and without any bony connection with the orbit; 

 and the thoracic pelvic fins cany one spine and five rays. Frequently the air blad- 

 der is provided with a number of appendages. These fishes have a rather curious 

 geographical distribution, being unknown in the Pacific and Red Sea, but widely 

 spread in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and especially common round the shores 

 of India, where many species enter estuaries and rivers. Some species have, in- 

 deed, taken completely to fresh water, and never by any chance descend to the sea. 

 Nearly all are eaten as food, and the air bladders of many of the Indian forms are 

 extensively used as a source of isinglass. 



The North-American fish, rejoicing in the name of "drum" (Po- 



gonias chromis) , represents a genus characterized by the upper jaw of 



the convex muzzle overhanging the lower, the presence of numerous small barbels 



