THE TRUE FISHES. 





viviparous fishes, and created no little excitement in the scientii 



but now there are several others which arc known to have th< 

 parity. The surf-fishes have but little value as food, and th 

 weighs more than five pounds. 



Still more remarkable are a number of fishes belongi 

 hemisphere, and especially to India. The mosl celebrated ainon^ 

 the climbing-fish, or climbing-perch, which has been known | 

 nearly a hundred years. The story was then told thai this 6sh 



Fig. 317. — Gourami (Osphramenus gourami). 



trees, but soon the tale fell into disrepute. Now it would ap] 

 fully authenticated. As seen in the figure, the gill-covers 

 with long spines, and these, together with the tail, seem to be 

 employed. The reason for the climbing is not easily seen ; 

 from the desire to make their way up any stream, and the 

 down the trunks of the trees may arouse all the ambition 

 remarkable feature in its anatomy, and one which is common I 

 species to be mentioned next, is the structure of its gills and 

 series. Above the gills there is a large labyrinthine chamber r» 

 plied with blood-vessels. This was formerly believed to be 



