106 NATURAL HISTORY. 



the head. The gill-opening is rather narrow, and there is an organ above the cavity of the gills which 

 is formed of thin bony laminje, which branch and are folded so as to somewhat resemble a compound 

 coral This organ is placed upon the upper part of the first branchial arch, and retains a small 

 quantity of water, which serves to moisten the gills. The fish are capable of living for some time 

 out cf water or buried in mud. Several of the species have been domesticated, and they are carried 

 about by the Indian jugglers with their other apparatus. The various species live on small 

 animals as well as upon vegetable substances, and have been said to mount trees to a height of 

 several feet from the ground. One of the best known genera is Anabas, commonly called the 

 Climbing Perch. The supra-branchial organ becomes more complicated as the fish increases in 



size. The length of Anabas scandens is generally about 

 seven inches. It has teeth in the jaws and on the vomer. 

 There are many spines in the dorsal fin and several in the 

 fore part of the anal fin. The opercular bones are serrated, the 

 air-bladder is divided posteriorly, and both portions extend to 

 near the end of the tail. This species is of a greyish-olive 

 colour, and is found throughout the East Indies in rivers and 

 estuaries. Natives while fishing, according to Day, kill the 

 Climbing Perch by biting through the vertebral column behind 

 the head, but in this operation the fish occasionally slips down 

 the throat, and then, owing to its spiny character, it can be 



SUPRA-BRANCHIAL ORGAN () OF THE withdrawn only with great difficulty. Other species occur in 

 CLIMBING PERCH. China and the Malay Islands. The genus Helostoma, Avhich 



has the air-bladder simple, is confined to Java. Polyacanthus, 



like the foregoing genus, has no spines on the operculum. Macropus is a genus domesticated in 

 China. The Gourami (Osphromenus olfax) is a nest-building fish of this group, with the first ray 

 of the ventral fin greatly elongated. It is found in the fresh waters of Java, Sumatra, and Borneo. 

 "The genus Spirobranchus occurs in the rivers of the Cape of Good Hope. The genus Ctenopoma 

 is found near the mouth of the Zambesi in pools. Many of these fishes have colours of dazzling 

 beauty, and some of them are highly valued for food. 



FAMILY LI. THE LUCIOCEPHALID2E. 



Ludocepkalus pulcher Las a broad black band, margined below with white, running from the 

 eye to the caudal fin, and often has round black spots on the fins and body. It occurs in the 

 fresh waters of Borneo and some of the adjacent islands, and is the only member of its family 

 which diffei'S from the foregoing by having no spines in the anal fin or short dorsal fin, and by 

 having the gill-opening wide. 



The next division differs from all the foregoing in having the vent placed in front of the ventral 

 fins. 



FAMILY LIL THE APHREDODERID^E. 



This family includes only one species ( Aphredoderus sayanus), which is found in many of the lakes 

 and streams of the Atlantic coast of North America. The ventral fins are placed in the thoracic 

 region ; there is one dorsal fin, but its spinous part is but little developed. 



FAMILY LIII. THE LOPHOTIDJE. 



The eighteenth division also includes only one family, which is represented by Lopliotes 

 cepedianus, a fish with a riband-shaped body, with the vent near the extremity of the body, and a short 

 anal fin behind the vent. One dorsal fin runs the whole length of the back ; there are no scales. 

 The head is elevated into a high crest ; the fins are rose-coloured, but the body is silvery. It 

 reaches a length of about five feet, and is found in the Mediterranean and the Sea of Japan. 



The nineteenth division includes only 



FAMILY LI V. THE TRACHYPTERID^E. 



These fishes have the skeleton soft, and the body elongated, strongly compressed, and without scales. 

 The dorsal fin extends the whole length of the back, and has a detached anterior part. The anal 



