468 COLLEGE ZOOLOGY 



in tropical, warm seas. The first dorsal fin is modified to form 

 a sucker by means of which the fish attaches itself to sharks, 

 turtles, whales, other large aquatic animals, and floating objects 

 such as boats. They are able to swim, but prefer to be carried 

 about by other animals. Their food consists of other fish and 

 probably of the scraps obtained when the shark, or other animal 

 to which the individual is attached, has a meal. 



Family LOPHIID^E. - The Anglers. Living on the bottom 

 of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans are about a dozen 



FIG. 401. The fishing-frog or angler, Lophius piscatorius . (From 

 Sedgwick's Zoology, after Cuvier.) 



species of extremely large-mouthed fishes known as anglers. 

 Lophius piscatorius , the fishing-frog or goose-fish (Fig. 401), 

 occurs on the coast of North America. It is said to lie on the 

 bottom with its mouth open and to use its long first dorsal ray, 

 which is inserted on the snout, as a bait to attract other fishes 

 into its mouth cavity. It reaches a length of over three feet and 

 has a mouth more than a foot wide. 



Family SCOMBRHXE. The Mackerels. There are about 

 sixty species of food- fishes belonging to this family, fifteen of 

 which inhabit the salt waters of North America. The common 

 mackerel, Scomber scombrus (Fig. 402), occurs in the North 



