254 BY THE DEEP SEA. 



thumb behind his pectoral fins, when he would obligingly open 

 his enormous mouth to show how well the jaws and palate are 

 furnished with teeth. When fully grown he attains a length 

 of five or six inches. 



Our illustration on page 251 contains a portrait of the long 

 and slender Worm Pipe-fish (Syngnathus lumbriciformis), 

 besides that of the Father Lasher. A more striking contrast 

 could not be desired between fishes of the same length, for 

 the Father Lasher is thick and spiny, whilst the Worm Pipe- 

 fish almost comes within the definition of a line, "length 

 without breadth," and in addition he is as smooth as an eel, 

 though of harder exterior. This little fellow might more 

 easily pass muster as a worm than as a fish. It will more 

 frequently be found under stones at low-water, but occasion- 

 ally we shall find it in the pool twining S-shaped round some 

 seaweed. 



The peculiarity of the pipe-fishes, of which we have several 

 native species, is to have these long tapering bodies, with the 

 snout drawn out into the form of a beak, but which instead of 

 separating into two mandibles, opens only at the extremity 

 with a little mouth. Another distinguishing feature is found 

 in the gills : instead of these being a series of crimson frills 

 covered by a large plate, fixed only by a small portion of its 

 edge, and freely opening to allow the passage of water to and 

 from them, their blood-vessels are gathered into little tufts 

 which are arranged in pairs. These are all covered in by a 

 bony plate that is fixed all round, with the exception of a 

 small opening near the top edge. Then instead of the body 

 being covered with scales as in many, or most, fishes, these 

 are encased in large plates of mail. In the male of our 

 Greater Pipe-fish or Greater Sea Adder (S. acus], there is 

 another remarkable item in the shape of a marsupial pouch of 

 the same practical value as that of the Kangaroo, into which 

 the female transfers her eggs, and where they not only remain 

 until they are hatched, but the young fish also use it as a 



