432 



VEliTEBUATA. 



known species. It inhabits tlie rivers of the warm parts of America, and feeds on Crustacea. It 

 is »)f small size, and is i>f little value for food. 



Another family is that of the J'ohjpteriihc ; one sjierios, the Pohjpterus bichir, haunts the 

 muddv bottom of tin- Nile ; it is eii,diteen inches lono;, and has sixteen dorsal fins. It is esteemed 

 an fxi'i'llent li>h. Another species, P. Sencfjalus, found in the Senegal, has twelve dorsal fins. 



Of the Lej)t(losteid(r,\\n- only existing family is that of the Boni/ Pikes,t'onni\ in the rivers and 

 lakes of the United States. They are of a long pike-like form, the jaws produced into a long 

 narrow sn'>iif, presenting a reseniManee to that of the gavial. Their flesh is generally good. 



(niiun LHl'lI X )STI']rS : Z,<7.(/f/(>i7<'M,v, includes the Buffalo Ray-Pike, L. bison, two to three 

 feet huig; found in Lake Erie and other lakes in that region. The Flat-nosed Ray-Fish, L. 

 plati/r/ii/nchas, is about two feet long, and is found in Florida. There are several other species. 



ORDER 3. TELEO^EA. 



This extensive and important order derives its name from two Greek words, teleos, complete, 

 and osteon, bone, and corresponds nearly with Cuvier's great section of Osseous Irishes. The 

 skull is alwiiys of a very complicated structure, and composed of numerous bones ; the gills are 

 supported upon free bony arches, and the water passes away from them by a single opening, 

 protected by a bony operculum or gill-cover. The mouth is ah^^ays formed by a pair of rcfular 

 jaws, and usually armed with teeth. Many are covered with naked skins, but the luajority have 

 horny scales of various forms. We shall notice them under six divisions, as follows : the Plec- 

 tognatha, Lopkobranchia, Acanthoptera, Phai-ynffognatha, Anacanthina, and Physostomata. 



THE PLECTOGNATHA. 



This term is compounded of two Greek words, plektos, united, and gnathos, a jaw, and alludes 

 to the principal cluiracteristic of the group, the firm attachment of the bones of the upper jaw and 

 palate to the cranium. The division includes many species, some of which are of very extraor- 

 dinary appearance. Among them are the Trunk-Fishes, of which there are several species, cov- 

 ered with an inflexible bony armor. 



TUE TUL'.NK FISH. 



THE SEA-PORCUPINE. 



The Dromedary Trunk-Fish, Lactophrys camelinus, three and a half inclies long, and Yale's 

 Trunk-Fisii, Z. Valei, fourteen inches long, are found on our coasts. The Six-horned Trunk- 

 Fish, Ostracion sex-cornutus, is found in the Gulf of Mexico. 



To this group also belong the Balistes, of which there are several species, having a thick, 

 leathery skin, often beset witli spines. They chiefly inhabit warm climates, but one species,^ 

 the Dusky Balistes, B.fuliginosus, twelve inches long, is found on our coast. There are also 

 several species of this family, belonging to the genus Monocanthus, and called File-Fishes, com- 

 mon in our seas. They are of various sizes, from four inches to two feet. One of them, the 

 LoNG-FiNNED FiLE-FisH, J/, broccus, eight iuchcs long, is called the Fool-Fish, on account of its 

 absurd manner of swimming, with a wriggling motion, its body being sunk and its mouth on a 

 level with the surface of the water. It is common in New York harbor, and is often taken in 

 nets set for other fishes. 



