176 



VERTEBRATA. PISCES. 



mind us of the Marsupial Mammalia. It is the 

 presence of a pouch, or false belly, found, however, 

 strange to say, in the male only, and formed by two 

 soft flaps which fold together. "They breed in the 

 summer ; the females casting their roe into the false 

 belly of the male." Here it remains until the deve- 

 lopement of the young ; and even afterwards " the 

 pouch probably serves as a place of shelter, to which 

 the young ones retreat in case of danger." Mr. 

 Yarrell has " been assured by fishermen, that if the 

 young were shaken out of the pouch into the water 

 over the side of the boat, they did not swim away, 

 but when the parent fish was held in the water in 

 a favourable position, the young would again enter 

 the pouch."* These fishes appear to feed on water- 

 insects, Crustacea, spawn, &c., which they suck up 

 through their tubular mouth. 



Hippocampus. -j- 



This singular little creature, possessing but slight 

 outward resemblance to a fish, is frequently met 

 w T ith in cabinets of shells, and familiarly known as the 

 Sea-horse, the head and neck when dried assuming 

 much of the form of a horse. With the jaws formed 

 as in the preceding genus, the body is much flattened 

 sidewise, and deep in the abdomen ; the whole divided 

 into squares by transverse and longitudinal ridges, 

 with short spines at the corners ; there are pectorals 



* Br. Fishes, vol. ii. p. 32.0. 



f "iv-x-os, hippos, a horse, and x,.(jt.<vn, kampe, a worm. 



