TIIE SCI^XID^:. 83 



branched. The family includes eight genera, which are confined to the tropics, though some species 

 range farther south. 



FAMILY IX.-SCORPJSXIXA. 



The Scorpseninse are a family of twenty-four genera, distinguished by having a bony support 

 for the angle of the pre-operculum ; the family includes two sections, one with distinct scales, 

 and the other with rudimentary scales, or none at all. Among the genera are the widely distributed 

 *Sebastes ; Scorpsena, characterised by having a groove on the occiput ; Tnenianotus, which has the 

 dorsal lin continuous with the caudal fin ; Enneapterygius, which has three separate dorsal fins ; 

 Amphiprionichthys, in which the pre-operculum and operculum are small, and do not cover the gill 

 membrane ; and Synaiicidium, Synanceia, and Pelor, in which the head is of irregular and monstrous 

 form. Felorjilamentosum is from Mauritius. Pterois has the spines and rays of the fins elongated 

 and branched. These, with the other genera in the family, are mostly from tropical seas, especially 

 the Archipelago of the Indian Ocean. They comprise some of the ugliest of known fishes. The 

 large development of the pectoral fin, and the existence of pectoral appendages, give them at firot 

 .sight some resemblance to the Gurnards. 



FAMILY X. POLYCEXTRID^E. 



The Polycentriclae include two genera of carnivorous fresh-water fishes from Tropical America. 

 The lateral line in them is absent, and the teeth are very small. Monocirrhus has a barbel to the 

 mandible, which is absent in Polycentrus ; both genera have a long spinous anal fin. 



FAMILY XL TEUTHIDID^. 



The Teuthididse are a family formed for a single genus of herbivorous fishes frequenting the 

 tropical parts of the Indian Ocean, and adjacent seas, and the west coast of the Pacific. The ventral 

 fin has a spine both on its inner and outer margins. 



Dr. Giinther's second great division of the Acanthopterygian fishes is termed Beryciformes ; it 

 comprises the one family Berycidse. 



FAMILY XII. BERYCIDJE. 



These fishes have the body compressed and elevated ; the head has large mucus cavities covered 

 with thin skin. The type genus Beryx.has some of the species limited to the sea about Madeira, 

 and others occurring in the Australian region. The opercular bones are serrated, but the pre- 

 operculum has no spine. The scales are of the ctenoid pattern, usual in the family. In the genus 

 Monocentria the scales are large, bony, and form an armour to the body. 



The third division is named Kurtiformes ; it includes 



FAMILY. XIII. KURTTDJE. 



These comprise two genera of East Indian fishes, characterised by having a long anal fin, and one 

 dorsal fin, which is rather short. The colour of the genus Pempheris is usually reddish-brown, or 

 violet-brown, with bright coloured fins, and various spots on the body. The tail vertebrae in this 

 genus gradually become more elongated posteriorly ; the abdominal vertebrae are very short. 



The fourth division, Polynemiformes, includes 



FAMILY XIV. POLYXEMIDJE. 



There are three genera Polynemus, from Indian Seas; Pentanemus, from the west coast of 

 Africa and the Caribbean Sea ; and the genus Galeoides, from the river Niger and adjacent coast of 

 Africa. This group has two short dorsal fins, which are remote from each other, and several 

 appendages below the pectoral fin, which are entirely free and jointed. The mucus system in the 

 head is well developed, and the air-bladder is sometimes absent, sometimes attains a large size, and 

 is occasionally excessively minute in species nearly allied to each other. 



The ScMeniformes include only 



FAMILY XV.-SCL.EXLTLE. 



Of the Scisenidse there are thirteen genera, some temperate and some tropical, with a few species 

 inhabiting the fresh waters of America, Africa, and the East Indies. There are no filaments in the 



