286o 



THE BONY FISHES AND GANOIDS 



vertebra. Externally the body is covered with thin deciduous scales; barbels, and 

 a fatty fin are alike lacking; but the elements of the gill covers are fully developed. 

 The margin of the upper jaw is formed partly by the premaxillae and partly by the 

 maxillse, which are firmly welded at their junction; the short dorsal fin is situated 

 in the caudal region of the vertebral column above the much longer anal, the tail is 

 deeply forked, the pelvic fins are minute, the lower surface of the body is sharp, 

 the gill opening wide, and false gills wanting. The upward direction of the cleft of 



THE DORAB 



.(One-thirtieth natural size.) 



the mouth, which is armed with formidable teeth, coupled with the elongation of 

 the lower jaw, gives a rather peculiar expression to the head, and the eyes are 

 remarkable for being covered with skin. The stomach is furnished with a blind 

 appendage, the intestine is short, and the air bladder cellulated. As this fish attains 

 a length of fully a dozen feet it is a sufficiently formidable monster, and when cap- 

 tured is said to bite viciously at every object within reach. Its flesh is of poor 

 quality. It has been considered that the extmct Chiromystus, from the Eocene of 

 Brazil, may belong to this family. 



LONG-FINNED HERRING Family BATHTTHRISSID^ 



Although its osteology has not apparently been described, we may place here 

 the fish (Bathythrissa dorsalis} shown in the illustration on p. 2861, which is another 

 of the numerous forms in the present section representing a family by itself. Hav- 

 ing an oblong body, with a rounded under surface, invested with cycloid scales, the 

 head naked and devoid of barbels, and no fatty fin, this fish may be at once 

 recognized by the great length of the many-rayed dorsal fin, which occupies 

 nearly the whole length of the back, and is situated in advance of the short anal. 



