CHARACTERISTIC DEEP-SEA TYPES. FISHES. 



29 



reasonable to believe that these fishes live at comparatively mod- 

 erate depths, like the members of the family Trichiuridae. 



Among the bottom-loving groups, the sciilpin descends to 732 

 fathoms ; its representatives go back to the tertiary formations. 



The scorpsenoids descend to 440 fathoms. Scorpaena occurs 

 in the eocene of Oran. 



The blennies are still represented at a depth of 471 fathoms. 



The gobies have a representative in deep water, Callionymus 

 (Fio-. 207), a huge sea-robin-like fish. The discovery of a mem- 



Fig. 207. — Callionymus Agassizii. About ^. 



ber of this old-world family in the Gulf of Mexico, at a depth 

 of 340 fathoms, is one of the noteworthy features of the 

 " Blake " exploration. 



We should also mention the tile-fish dredged off our Middle 

 Atlantic coast in deep water, the remarkable Lopholatilus cha- 

 m<jeleonticeps. 



Chiasmodon niger (Fig. 208) is a species which has been 



Fig. 208. — Chiasmodon niger. About f (U. S. F. C.) 



often described, but its common name, " the great swallower," 

 is so characteristic that we may here recall it to memory. It is 

 able to take in fishes fully half as large as itself. GUnther 



