u6 



BEGINNERS' ZOOLOGY 



gill cover. These rays grow from the tongue bone. (Zu, 



Fig. 216. This is a rear view.) 



Watch a live fish and determine how the water is forced 



between the gills. Is the mouth opened and closed in the 

 act of breathing ? Are the openings behind 

 the gill covers opened and closed ? How 



Fig. 218. — Nostrils, Mouth, and Gill Openings of 

 Sting- ray. 



manv times per minute does fresh water reach 

 Fig. 217.— J r 



Circulation the gills ? Do the mouth and the gill covers 



in gills. open at the same time ? Why must the water 

 in contact with the gills be changed constantly ? Why 

 does a fish usually rest with 'its 

 head up stream ? How may a 

 fish be kept alive for a time 

 after it is removed from the 

 water? Why does drying of 

 the gills prevent breathing ? If 

 the mouth of a fish were propped open, and the fish re- 

 turned to the water, would it suffocate ? Why, or why not? 



<•••••, 



• 1 



Fig. 219. 



Gill Openings of 

 Eel. 



Food Tube. — The gullet is short and wide. The stomach is 

 elongated (Fig. 220). There is a slight constriction, or narrow- 

 ing, where it joins the intestine. Is the intestine straight, or does 

 it lie in few or in many loops? (Fig. 220.) The liver has a gall 

 bladder and empties into the intestine through a bile duct. Is the 



