THE CHILODACTYLE. 247 



eight genera, none of which comprise many species. Altogether, this family is not larger 

 than many single genera. The members of which it is composed are all exotic species, 

 inhabiting the " seas of the tropical regions and the southern temperate parts of the 

 Pacific," and never, so far as is known, making their appearance on the British coasts. 



It would, however, be unwise to assert that such fish never do come within reach of 

 our coasts, for it is manifestly impossible to decide the precise range of any active in- 

 habitant of the ocean. Perplexing as is the task of ascertaining the habitation of 

 migrating birds, the difficulty of fixing the range of fishes is far less easy to overcome, 

 as the transition from the tropical to the temperate, and from them to the colder seas, 

 is so extremely gentle, that a fish of errant disposition, or one that has been caught in 

 a long lasting storm might be, and has been often, driven into strange waters which it 

 does not know, and from which it can find no retreat. 



The Banded Chilodactyle is a native of the Chinese and Japanese seas, and there 

 are specimens in the British Museum from both these localities. The dorsal fin of 

 this fish has the fourth spine much elongated, and the membrane of the spinous portion 



RED SCORPION.FISH.-Scorp*n scroja. 



deeply notched. The pectoral fins have also one spine, the last but four, considerably 

 lengthened and pointing backwards. The color of the fish is light brown, with several 

 bands of a darker brown and spots of the same hue. A rather broad blackish band 

 runs along the soft portion of the dorsal fin, and on the tail fin are a number of round 

 gray spots edged with brown. When this fish attains to a considerable age, a pair of 

 elevated tubercles make their appearance, one on the forehead and another on the 

 snout. 



THE large and important family of the Triglidae, or Gurnards, is represented by 

 several British fishes. This family contains a great number of species, many of which 

 are most remarkable, not only for their beautiful colors, which alone are sufficient to 

 attract attention, but also for the strange and wild shape, and large development of the 

 fins. They are carnivorous fish, mostly inhabiting the seas, a very few species being 

 able to exist in fresh water. They are not swift or strong swimmers, and therefore 

 remain, for the most part, in deep water. Some, however, are able, by means of their 

 largely developed pectoral fins, to raise themselves into the air, and for a brief space 

 to sustain themselves in the thinner element. The mouth is mostly large, and in some 

 cases the gape is so wide, and the head and jaws so strangely shaped, that the general 

 aspect is most repulsive. 



