100 NATURAL HISTORY. 



where the ground is moist, and can endure fresh water for a short time. It is rarely five inches 



long- 

 Some species of the genus Salarias have the intestine three times as long as the fish. The species 

 of the genera Clinus and Cristiceps are viviparous. The Batter-fish (Cenlronotus gunellus) is a 

 northern species, ranging south to the coasts of Britain and France. It has a low dorsal fin. running 

 along the back, and is covered with a thick mucous secretion. The length rarely exceeds seven 

 inches. The colour is a dappled purplish-brown. Another well-known form is the Viviparous Blenny 

 {Zoarces viviparus), which ranges round the German Ocean and into the Baltic. The length is 

 about six or seven inches, and the young, which sometimes number three hundred at a birth, are an 

 inch and as half long when born. The body is long and compressed from side to side, with the form 

 usual among the Blennies. The colour is pale brown. The males are smaller than the females and 

 less numerous. The fish is not valued for food, and when boiled its bones become green. 



FAMILY XXXIX. ACANTHOCLINID^E. 



The Acanthoclinidse are represented by a single New Zealand species (AcantJwclinus littoreus), 

 distinguished by the great number of spines in the long anal fin. It has several lateral lines. 



FAMILY XL. MASTACEMBELID^E. 



The Mastacembelidse include fishes from the fresh waters of the East Indies, having an Eel-like 

 body covered with very small scales, and wanting the ventral fins. Dr. Giirxtlier remarks that 

 these fishes are Eels in which parts of the dorsal fins are spinous. 



The eleventh division is the Mngiliformes, in which three families are comprised. 



FAMILY XLI. SPHYR^NID^E. 



The Sphyranidse are carnivorous fishes, represented by the one genus Sphyrsena, which is 

 widely distributed in the tropics, especially in Eastern seas, and represented in the Atlantic ami 

 Mediterranean by Sphyrcena vulgaris. In this fish there are two dorsal fins well separated from 

 each other, and the ventral fins are well tinder the abdomen. All the species have the teeth 

 strong, and possess twenty- four vertebrae. The air-bladder bifurcates in front. 



FAMILY XLIL ATHERINLDJE. 



The Atherinidse are fishes with a feeble dentition, two dorsal fins, the ventral fins abdominal, 

 and numerous vertebrae in both the caudal and abdominal regions. Several species of the genus 

 Atherina enter fresh waters. In the genus Tetragonurus the scales are striated and keeled. This 

 group is represented in the British seas by Atherina presbyter, where it is known as the Sand 

 Smelt. It is chiefly caught in the estuaries and creeks of the south coast, especially in sandy bnys. 

 It is a well-flavoured fish. It is often taken at Brighton, where it is eaten in the winter. A broad 

 silver stripe runs the length of its side, and covers the fifth and parts of the two adjacent rows of 

 scales. This fish bites readily at any bait ; it ranges south to Madeira and the coast of Algiers. 

 The Atherina hepsetus is found in the Mediterranean, Black Sea, and Canaries; the Atherina lacustris 

 is met with only in some of the smaller lakes of Italy. The other species of the genus are widely 

 distributed. 



FAMILY XLIII. MUGILID.E. 



The Mugilidae are a small family of three genera, but include a large number of species. These fishes 

 have twenty-four vertebrae, and two short dorsal fins. In the genus Mugil there are no trne teeth in the 

 jaws, and in the two other genera the teeth are small. The species of Mugil are migratory, pass a part 

 of the year in the sea, abound in temperate and tropical regions, and feed on the organic substances 

 which are mixed with mud and sand. The pharynx forms a sort of filter, the pharyngeal bones 

 rejecting everything but the fine sediment. These pharyngeal bones are supported on masses of fat, 

 .so that they are somewhat elastic. The second portion of the stomach resembles that of birds ; the 

 intestines are greatly convoluted, measuring seven feet in length in a specimen thirteen inches long. 

 Mugil cephalus is met with in the Mediterranean and in the lakes and rivers of North Africa, but 

 some species are confined to fresh waters, like the Mugil nepalensis of Nepaul. 



