IX. FISHES. 71 



folium, from the Mississippi, remarkable for the great length of its 

 spoon-shaped upper jaw ; (4) Folypteridce, by Polypterus bichir, 

 from Tropical Africa, and (5) Lepidosteidce by Lepidosteus osseus, 

 and L. viridis, the " Bony Pikes " of the southern states of North 

 America. 



We now come to the second sub-class, the TELEOSTEI, havin^y 

 a bony skeleton with completely formed vertebne ; the greater 

 number of recent fishes belong to this sub-class, and they com- 

 prise an almost infinite variety of forms. They are divided into 

 six orders. 



Order AOANTHOPTERYGII is so named on account 

 of a portion of the dorsal, anal and ventral fins being formed of 

 spines ; the pharyngeal bones, as the fifth branchial arch is called, 

 are generally separate. The principal families are as follows • 

 (1) Pevcidce, represented by numerous genera and species in the 

 rivers and seas of Australia. The following forms will be familiar 

 to our readers : the English Perch {Perca), found commonly over 

 the temperate region of the Northern Hemisphere, and introduced 

 n many parts of the colonies ; the Australian Perch {Percalates) ; 

 the Black Rock Cod (Serranus), so justly esteemed for the excel- 

 lence of its flesh; the Pearl Perch (Glaucosoma), an even better fish ; 

 the Golden Vevoh^Otenolates), Silver Bream (^AerapoTi), and Murray 

 •Cod ( Oligorus^ the last three abundant in our inland waters, 

 and of excellent flavor, and many others ; (2) the Chwfodontidce, 

 or " Coral fishes ", consisting chiefly of small fishes of exquisite 

 <3olors ; but one species, the Sweep (Scorpis^ is marketable ; (3) 

 the MullidcB, or Red Mullets, highly esteemed as they always have 

 been in Europe for the quality of their food, are of little value here ; 

 (4) the Sparidce, or Sea-Breams, are a valuable group in our waters, 

 as the Black-fishes (Girella), the Schnapper (Pagrus), the Black 

 Bream and Tarwhine (Chri/sopJiri/s), with several others, belong 

 to it ; (5) the GirrTiitidce contains some of our best table-fish, such 

 as the Jackass-fish ( Chilodactylus) and the IVumpeters (Latris) ; 

 (6) the Scorpcenidce, embracing the Red Rock Cods, and many 

 other curious forms ; (7) the Berycidce, which is an interesting 

 family, since to it belong the oldest known Teleostean Pishes, 

 many of its members occurring in the chalk formations, whence 

 several species of Beryx have been described, a genus to which 



