112 NATURAL 



genus Argyropelecus includes several deej>-sea fishes from the Atlantic and Mediterranean, which have 

 the body covered with silvery pigment, while a series of phosphorescent spots runs along the lower 

 side of the head, body, and tail ; a series of imbricated scutes extends from the humeral arch to the 

 pubic spine. A similar series of twenty-five luminous spots marks the body of Coccia ovata ; they are 

 small pearl-coloured discs, each mounted on a black globular body. The stomach in this fish is 

 remarkable for having two elongated branches, one of which is directed backwards, while the other 

 runs forward. This group of fishes is represented on British shores by the Pearl-side, Maurolicus 

 borealis, a small fish varying from an inch to two inches and a half long. Its sides have a resplendent 

 silvery lustre, and on each side there are about forty-six or forty-seven pearly spots, placed in depres- 

 sions in the skin, each margined with a narrow black ring. In front of the ventral fin, there are 

 twenty-four spots on each side, extending backward from the head in two parallel rows placed low 

 down on the side. There is a short single row extending in a curve between the ventral fin and the 

 beginning of the anal fin, while from the commencement of the anal fin to the caudal fin the spots are 

 so close together as to be almost confluent. It occurs throughout the North Atlantic, but most of the 

 English spscimens have been cast on shore at Redcar. 



In the Mediterranean other species are met with, in two of which there are from twenty-three 

 to twenty-five pairs of luminous spots on each side, which Dr. Giinther describes as i-esembling convex 

 pearls, each resting upon a black globe-shaped body. The two genera of this family, Goiiostoma and 

 Chauliodus, which have thin deciduous scales, both have series of luminous spots running from the 

 lower side of the head to the tail. They are represented by single species, which occur in the 

 Mediterranean. 



FAMILY V. SCOPELID.E. 



This family comprises many genera of fishes which frequent the open sea, or ai - e found in deep 

 water. They differ from each other in the length and position of the dorsal fin, the characters of the 

 teeth, and presence or absence of scales. The Harpodon nehereus has been called the Bombay Duck. 

 It is well known in England as an article of food when imported dried. Its vertebrae are soft, and 

 perforated by a channel which is occupied by the unossitied remains cf the notochord. It occurs in the 

 Ganges and throughout the Indian and Chinese seas. Two genera, Scopelus and Scopelosaurus, have 

 series of luminous spots which run down the sides of the head, body, and tail, and in the former genus 

 a similar substance sometimss covers the front of the snout and the back of the tail. The species of 

 Scopelus are chiefly found in the open waters of the Mediterranean and Atlantic, though Scopelus 

 boops, S. asper, and S. sub-asper are found in the Pacific. The species are all small, varying from 

 one inch to ten inches in length. The genus Alepidosaurus is constituted for long compressed fishes 

 which are without scales. They are extremely fragile, and the connection between the vertebrae is so 

 loose, that the length of the fish is easily stretched. Alepidosaurus ferox, which inhabits the deep sea 

 of Van Diemen's Land and of the Atlantic, is ferocious. The stomach of one specimen caught at 

 Madeira contained a young individual of its own species, one Trachurus trachurus, twelve young 

 Capros aper, one young Brama, and several Octopods, Crustaceans, and Ascidians. All the bones are 

 flexible, and contain very little earthy matter. The vertebral column includes forty-two long vertebra;. 

 Dr. Giinther records that this fish has a system of abdominal ribs arranged symmetrically on both 

 sides. They run the whole length of the median line of the abdomen to the origin of the anal fin. 



FAMILY VI. STOMIATID^). 



This family is a small group of fishes found only in the Atlantic, and usually in deep 

 water. Three of the genera, Astroiiesthes, Echiostoma, and Stomias, have series of phosphores- 

 cent dots along the lower side of the head, body, and tail. The two first-named genera have the body 

 naked, and Stomias is covered with delicate deciduous scales. Astronesthes niger has the body of a 

 brownish-black colour, and has two dorsal fins, the second one being formed of fat, as is usual in this 

 order. The other genera have but one dorsal fin, which is placed opposite to the anal fin. All these 

 fishes have a fleshy barbel suspended from the centre of the hyoid region, 



FAMILY VII. SALMONID^). 



The Salmonidte include fifteen or more genera, all of which are covered with scales, though in the 

 Japanese Whitebait of the genus Salanx the scales avs very delicate and deciduous. The head, however, 



