THE CYPR1NID3Z. 12 5 



the extremity. The 8pecies of Anableps are from the fresh waters of Central America and the 

 Guianas. The second group of this family includes four or five genera of mud-eating fishes. The 

 species are all from the West Indian Islands and Central and South America. The more important 

 genera are Poecilia, in which the minute teeth are arranged in bands, and Girardinus, in which the 

 pointed teeth are arranged in a single series, and the origin of the anal fin is in advance of that of the 

 dorsal fin. All these fishes are small. 



FAMILY XVI. HETEROPYGII. 



This family is formed for two genera of North American fishes, which have the heads naked and 

 the body covered with minute scales. The dorsal fin is opposite the caudal fin, and both are placed on 

 the caudal region of the body. Amblyopsis spelseus is a viviparous fish found in the caves of Ken- 

 tucky, which has the eyes absent or rudimentary, the lower jaw rather larger than the upper, a 

 band of teeth on each palatine bone, and the head covered with vertical wrinkles, which constitute 

 an acute organ of touch. The sense of hearing is also well developed. It is colourless, and has the- 

 ventral fins rudimentary, and sometimes entirely absent. It reaches a length of five inches. It is found 

 in the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. Chologaster cornutus is a similar fish, found in ditches in the 

 rice-fields of South Carolina, but differs from the foregoing in possessing eyes. The specific name is 

 derived from the circumstance that the snout is provided with two horn-like processes. 



FAMILY XVII. CYPRINID.E. 



This vast family comprises more than a hundred genera of fresh-water fishes, and includes the 

 majority of the species from the fresh waters of Europe and Asia, and is well represented in Africa 

 and North America. In Great Britain the group is known from such familiar examples as 

 the Carp, Barbel, Tench, Gudgeon, Gold-fish, Bream, Chub, Roach, Dace, and Minnow. In this 

 group the head is naked, and the body generally covered with scales. As a rule the belly is rounded, 

 the mouth is toothless, and the upper jaw is formed by the pre-maxillary bones. The lower pharyngeal 

 bones are furnished with teeth, which may be arranged in one, two, or three rows. The stomach lias no 

 pyloric appendages. The air-bladder is usually large, though its modifications furnish characters for 

 three primary divisions of the family. Dr. Gunther regards the Cyprinidae as including fourteen 

 groups. In the first twelve of these the air-bladder is divided transversely into anterior and posterior 

 portions ; and there are never more than four barbels. 



In the second division, which comprises the Homalopterina, the air-bladder is wanting. In the 

 third division the air-bladder is more or less completely enclosed in a bony sheath. This group ifi 

 known from its typical genus as the Cobitidina; the barbels vary from six to twelve. 



In the first of these three divisions the characters of the several groups are derived chiefly from 

 the characters of the pharyngeal teeth, the modifications of the anal fin, position of the lateral line, 

 and, in some cases, the dorsal fin also furnishes distinctive characters. 



The first group, Catostomina. has the pharyngeal teeth numerous, close set, and arranged in a 

 single series. There are no barbels. The dorsal fin is long, and the anal fin short. 



In the type genus Catostomus the skeleton is remarkable, from the circumstance that many of 

 the bones are so slightly ossified as to consist merely of a delicate bony network. This genus, like 

 nearly all the other members of the group, is confined to North America, and comprises fishes of 

 moderate size. Some of the species have the air-bladder with three divisions, as in Catostomus carpio, 

 of the Canadian lakes. 



The second group is termed Cyprinina. It has the pharyngeal teeth differently arranged in its 

 representatives in the Old and New World. In the former, the teeth are placed in triple series ; in the 

 latter region of the globe the teeth may be in double, or even in single, series. The anal tin is very 

 short, and includes five or six, or even seven, branched rays. The dorsal fin is opposite to the ventrals, 

 and the lateral line runs along the middle of the tail. The scales are cycloid. This is the largest group 

 of the family, and includes many familiar river fishes. The type genus is Cyprinus, which has a 

 rounded blunt snout and narrow mouth, with four barbels ; the dorsal tin has a strong serrated bonj 

 ray. The Carps are fishes of ths tempsrate parts of Europe and Asia, the best known, Cyprinus carpio, 

 presents a multitude of varietias in form, characters of skin and scales, and other features. It occm-s 

 not only throughout the northern part of Eui'ope, but, according to Dr. Gunther, in China, Japan, 



