VERTEBRATE ANIMALS OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 24^ 



PROTEIDiE. 



GIBBES' PROTEUS. Necturus punctatus, Gibbes'. 

 LAKE SIREN ; PROTEUS. Necturus lateralis, Say. 



SIRENID^. 



STRIATED SIREN. Pseudobranchus striatus, LeConte. 

 SIREN. Siren lacertina, Linne. 



CLASS PISCES. FISHES. 



Cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, with fore and hind limbs, the pecto- 

 ral and ventral fins, adapted for swimming. A more or less bony skull. 

 A relatively small brain. The single or unpaired fins, namely, those 

 on the median line of tlie back (dorsal fins), and that behind the vent 

 (anal fin), do not represent limbs, but are special developments from the 

 skin. A distinct lower jaw. A heart witli, two cells and an arterial bulb. 

 Breathing carried on by means of gills (branchiae). Skin covered with 

 scales or bony plates ; rarely naked. 



The foregoing definition is intended to include the true fishes and the 

 ganoid fishes, such as the sturgeons and gar-pikes. 



The fislies constitute a very large group, whose representatives vary 

 greatly in size, form and mode of life. They are distributed everywhere 

 over the globe, occurring in all bodies of water, whether large or small 

 as well in arctic as tropical regions. A few lakes, such as the Dead Sea. 

 are uninhabited by fishes. Other bodies of water of cjuite as unusual a 

 character, such as hot springs and saline springs, often contain represen- 

 tatives of this class. 



Fishes form the object of the most completely organized, extensive, and 

 important industry anywhere carried on in connection with animals in 

 the wild state. The fisheries of the world, according to Prof. Goode, furnish 

 products at the present time valued at not less than $235,000,000. Not 

 only do fishes furnish an abundant food-supply, but, also, great c^uan- 

 tities of other valuable products, such as oils and fertilizers. 



About thirteen thousand species of fishes are known, of which some 

 thirteen hundred are North American. 



