THE FLYING GURNARDS AND THEIR ALLIES 2755 



common along the line of our southern coast, where it is well known; and the 

 young of small size are frequently taken by the shrimpers in most of the sandy bays 

 at the mouth of the Thames and of other rivers; on the eastern coast it is very 

 plentiful. It seldom exceeds six inches in length; its food is aquatic insects and 

 crustaceans; it spawns in May, depositing the ova among stones, and its flesh is said 

 to be firm and good." Somewhat curiously, an outlying representative of the 

 genus occurs on the Chilian coast. 



As a genus remarkable for the singularity of their form we may 

 briefly notice the beaked gurnards, of which the European representa- 

 tive (Peristethus cataphractum) is shown in our illustration. These 

 rather small fishes are specially characterized by the preorbital bone being prolonged 

 into a flattened process projecting on each side beyond the muzzle; the whole of the 

 squared head being invested in a solid bony case. I/arge plates of bone form the 

 body armor; the dorsal fin may be either continuous or divided into two moieties, 

 of which the second is the longer; there are two free appendages in advance of each 

 pectoral fin; teeth are wanting, and the lower jaw is provided with barbels. These 

 fishes, of which there are some ten representatives, range from the southern shores 

 of Britain, through the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and likewise from the Indian 

 Ocean to China and the Sandwich islands. Nowhere abundant, they are believed 

 to inhabit deeper water than the gurnards, which they resemble in their general 

 mode of life. 



Of more interest than either of the preceding are the so-called flying 

 1 d gurnards (Dactylopterus) of the Mediterranean, the tropical Atlantic, 

 and Indo-Pacific Oceans, since they alone share with the true flying 

 fish the power of taking long flying leaps along the surface of the sea. In order to 

 do this, their pectoral fins are greatly developed, assuming a wing-like form, with 

 the anterior portion shorter and separated from the remainder. The upper surface 

 and sides of the squared, gurnard-like head are bony; long spines are present on the 

 scapular and preopercular; the body is covered with medium-sized keeled scales, 

 among which there is no lateral line; and the second dorsal fin but slightly exceeds 

 the first in length. Although granular teeth are present on the jaw, the palate is 

 toothless. The air bladder is divided into longitudinal halves, and furnished with a 

 muscle. It is only in the adult that the pectoral fins are sufficiently developed to 

 enable these fishes to "fly." Of the three species, the best known is D. volitans, 

 which may be commonly met with in the Mediterranean. Very similar in their 

 habits to the true flying fish, the flying gurnards are more heavily built, and meas- 

 ure as much as eighteen inches in length. 



In this place may be noticed the curious little dragon fishes (Pega- 



sus] from the Indian, Chinese, and Australian seas, which although 



referred by Dr. Giinther to a distinct family are included by Day in 



the present one. In these strange little fishes the broad and depressed body is 



covered with bony plates, which are movable, although those investing the tail are 



firmly welded together. The narrow gill opening is situated in front of the pectoral 



fin; the gill cover is formed of a single plate, and the gills themselves are four in 



number. The single short dorsal fin is placed opposite an anal of similar size; the 



