CD VI BITS BODIA \. 



warm and temperate regions of tin- gloU*. The greater numlier of tin- s|ie<-ie8 are marine, but 

 a few an- foiuul in tin- 

 As an example of tin- t\ |.'u-il -enus, we will take the K \k v \\ I', ,*/i/*>inft //</*/), a species 

 f.Miinl in the "Red Sett. aloii- the east .-..ast of Africa, through all tin- Indian seas to the 

 northern shores of Australia." 



la this prettily marked ypecies, th> dorsal fins are separated by :i notrh. rather variable in 

 d.-|ith, and tin- fourth dorsal spine i.s much elongut-d, U-in^ inde^l <>]ual to half the length of 

 the head. The second spin.- of th- anal tin is also long am I sharp, Tin- coloring of the Kukaan 

 is seldom pre.-is.-ly tin- same in any two individuals, luit tin- Unly is always covered with a 

 great number of brown sj-uls, arranged with some degree of regularity. EkNMtimes these spots 

 fall into horizontal lin.-s : as to look at a littl<- distance liki- a series of brown bars drawn 

 along the body, whiln in oili.-r s|H-cimcns tin- sjxjts are gather**! intov.-rtii-al hands. There are 

 also several aeries of circular brown spots on both tin- dorsal tins. 



THE CAPEFWA, or Fon: -i 1:1 AKI i. RM> i IIIIMAT, is a remarkably pretty fish, and a good 

 example of th<- g M->S t<> which it I "-longs. 



The generic ti.!-- of Ila-mulon is given to these fishes on accmint ..f tin- l>iii;ht ruddy color 

 of that part of the lower jaw \\hii-h is ri>n:-i-alfd when the jaws an- shut. Tin- l-'ivnch cull this 

 genus RoogegutMile. The profile of their ratln-r i-lniiiratcd head is thought to bear some 

 resemblance to that of a pig. The Capeuna is most beautifully colored, as will be seen when 

 the description i^ compared with the figure. Tlie spines of the dnr-al fins are tolerably firm, 

 bnt cannot be termed strong or formidable, and the sjiine may be said of the lengthened second 

 spine of the anal fin. The ,-\,- is larp- and full, and the tail is deeply forked. A rich brown 

 band runs alor.u' the whole .f the Imdy just above the dorsal line, and a corre8]>onding band is 

 drawn irauediately Mow it. IVtueen the upper hand and the spinous portion of the dorsal 

 fin, a short brown streak is drawn, looking as if dashed hastily with one sweep of a brush, und 

 i still ihortaR strip.- nf tli.- HUM OOln mils .il.m- .-.-irli -i<\<- of \\i> ln-;i.| just al><>\e the >. 

 Prom the eyes are drawn two wider stripes of rich golden-yellow, which pass beneath the 

 latent) lii<i-, and run to a considerable distance, the lower streak being continued as far as the 

 tail tin. and the upper reaching to the middle of the soft portion of the dorsal fin, where it 

 turns slightly upwards. 



O.VE of those remarkably colored species for which the warmer seas are BO famous, and 

 whose vivid coloring and striking forms put to shame the comparatively sober inhabitants of 

 tho northern waters, is the BODIAX, or CUVIKK'S BOMAX, as it is generally called. 



What connection there may be between colors and caloric is one of the unsolved enigmas 

 of creation, and though it is most evident that such a connection exists, its principles and 

 evn its results are at present shrouded in mystery. 



The tints which decorate the tinny inhabitants of these tepid waters are brilliant beyond 

 all power of description, and the most glowing colors of the artist, though painted on a ground 

 of burnished gold, fail to convey more than a dim idea of the wondrous chromatic effect* pro- 

 duced by the living creatures. Kvi-n the patterns in which these colors are arranged are as 

 unexpected as they are effective, and the art student would jniin no slight knowledge of that 

 most difficult science of color, were he to visit the tropical seas, and study the tishrs as ih,.\ 

 swim calmly in the crystalline water, amid the forests of waving seawalls or branching corals. 



The harmony of tin- tints is not less remarkable than their brilliancy, for the brightest 

 and most glowing colors art' Hung lx>ldly toother in kaleidoscopic profusion, and. in deliano- 

 of all the conventional rules by which artists like to govern thetns.-lv.-s and others., are so 

 exquisitely harmonious that not a tint could l>e altered or removed without destroying the 

 entire chromatic efT.-ct. Examples of some of these fish will IH> given in the course of the suc- 

 (i-din:* pages, and the reader will see that, even when laboring in this instance under the dis- 

 advant.i -ubstituting plain black and white for their natural colors, they must be truly 



the humming-birds of the ocean. 



Vol. IIL-*. 



