434: 



TIh'V arc nsnallv of small size 



VERTEBRATA. 



I lib .st.\ aoiiSE. 



/ 



THK PIPE-FISH. 



Mr. "\'arroll describes two specimens of the Short-nosed Sea-Horsc 

 takon in England; they were about five inches lona;, and 

 bcinu; put into a t^lass vessel swam about, their heads in a 

 vertical j)(>siti<)ii, and their tails readily grasping the sea- 

 weed put into the vase. ANlini the two approached each 

 other, tliev ufteii twiiu'd their tails together. These little 

 fishes arc very amusing in an aquarium. 



To the same family as the preceding belong the Pipe- 

 Fishes^ which have a long, eel-like body, with the jaws 

 united and forming a tube nearly cylindrical. The eggs of 

 the female are cast by her into a sort of false belly be- 

 longing to the male, and situated near the tail; here they are hatched, and here they occasionally 



take refuge like young opossums ! So 

 apt are they to take to this retreat, 

 that if the parent be caught and the 

 young fry be shaken out of the pouch, 

 they will innnediately return if the 

 tail of the parent be held in the water. 

 There are several species : the Great 

 PiPE-FiSH, Syngnathus acus, which is 

 found on the European coasts, is twelve 

 to eighteen inches long. It lives on 

 water insects, worms, and small moUusca, and swims horizontally or perpendicularly, in every atti- 

 tude of contortion. 



THE ACANTHOPTERA. 



This sub-order includes those of the Acanthopterygii or Spiny-finned Fishes of Cuvier, which 

 have the inferior pharyngeal bones distinctly separated. The rays of the first dorsal fin are 

 always spinous, and the first rays of the other fins, excepting the caudal, are often of the same 

 structure. The number of fishes belonging to this division is very great ; we shall notice them 

 under the following heads: Aulostomida:, Trir/iUdoe or Cataj)hracta, Percidce, Scicenidce, Sparidce, 

 Chcctodontidce, Teutkidce, Scomber idee, Xiphiidce, Coryphcenidce, Notacanthidce, Cepolid(x, Mugi- 

 lidce. Anabatidce, Gobiidoe, Blenmidce, and Lojohiidce. 



THE AULOSTOMID^E. 



The fishes of this family, whose scientific name means pipe-mouthed, have the bones of the face 



drawn out into a long tube, at the extrem- 

 ity of which is the opening of the mouth; 

 hence they are called Sea-Snipes, Trumpet- 

 Fishes, Bellows-Fishes, &c. There are 

 several species, mostly inhabitants of the 

 seas of warm climates. The Common 

 Trumpet or Bellows-Fish, Centriscus sco- 

 lopax, like the rest of the family, feeds on 

 minute animals found among sea-weed; 

 its flesh is good; length five inches and upward; common on the coasts of Europe. The Tobacco- 

 pipe-Fish, Fistularia serrata, and New York Trumpet-Fish, F. iabacaria, are American species. 



THE TRIGILIDJ3 OR CATAPIIRACTA. 



These fishes arc noted for having the cheeks covered with bony plates, and the head is usually 

 more or less armed with spines, or furnished with membraneous appendages, which often give 

 them a singular appearance. The fins are usually greatly developed. 



Genus DACTYLOPTERA : Dactyloptcra. — In the species of this genus, the pectoral fins 

 attain such a length as to enable the fish to support itself in the air for a short time. There are 



THE TRUMPET-FISU. 



