608 THE OCEAN WORLD. 



this vast extent of ocean, a witty French writer says, " One is almost 

 tempted to believe that our planet was specially created for fishes." 

 They are, indeed, a very important part of creation ; they form, as it 

 were, a bond uniting the vertebrate to invertebrate animals. They 

 have a more complicated organization than any of the other oceanic 

 inhabitants (except the Cetaceae), as they are also the most numerous, 

 the most varied in form, and by far the most brilliant in colour, and 

 the most active in their movements. 



Pliny, the naturalist, describes ninety-four species of fishes. Lin- 

 naeus has characterised four hundred and seventy-eight. The natu- 

 ralists of the present day know upwards of thirteen thousand, a tenth 

 of which are fresh -water fishes. 



