SEA-HORSES AND PIPE-FISHES. 59 



under surface. The most common and most widely-distri- 

 buted of these fishes, is that known as Bellows-Fish, 

 Trumpet-Fish or Sea-Snipe (Centriscus scolopax) ; which, 

 while occurring 1 on the Australian coast, is also found 



Fig. 21. LITTLE BELLOWS-FISH (Centriscus graciliis). 



on portions of the coast of Europe. Another and a, 

 smaller one which is found on our coast is the "Little 

 Bellows-Fish " (Centriscus gracilis). This is the species 

 here illustrated. It, also, is very widely distributed. I have 

 obtained this species on fine moonlight nights when it was 

 being washed up during a south-easterly breeze, on the 

 Ocean Beach at Manly, N.S.W. 



SEA HORSES AND PIPE-FISHES. 



(Family: Syngnathidce.) 



MOST of my readers are, no doubt, familiar with those 

 comical-looking little fishes known as Sea-Horses ; and, 

 though a lesser number will have met with the Pipe-Fishes, 

 these may be described roughly as being really "straight- 

 ened out" Sea-Horses. In these fishes the gill-openings are 

 reduced to a very small aperture near the upper posterior 

 angle of the gill-cover. They only possess one soft dorsal 

 fin, which, in all of the species, is used largely for locomo- 

 tion in some solely. They have no ventral fins, and some- 

 times one or more of the others are also absent. In the 

 Sea-Horses, the tail is prehensile, being used to hold on to 

 marine plants or other objects while resting or feeding; 

 while in the Pipe-Fishes the tail is not prehensile, and is 

 usually provided with a small terminal fin. The rate of 

 progress of these fishes particularly the former is very 



