FISHES. 



579 



bones of the shoulder. It is much the more numerous and im- 

 portant of the order. It includes most of our fresh-water fishes, a 

 great number of marine species, and many like the salmon, which be- 

 take themselves to the rivers in the spawning season to deposit their 

 ova. We shall limit our remarks to the Salmomdce, the ChipeadcB, 

 and a itw others. 



Saimontdce. — -The fishes of this family are graceful in shape, and 



Fig. 378. — Adult Salmon. 



have the body clothed in scales ; they have two dorsals, the first 

 with soft rays, followed by a second, which is smaller, formed without 

 rays, and adipose — that is, formed simply of a skin filled with fatty 

 matter, unsupported by osseous rays. They inhabit the seas of 

 temperate and northern regions ; ascending the rivers at certain 

 seasons, and, in some instances, living exclusively in the great rivers 

 and watercourses. They are found even in the most elevated moun- 

 tain brooks. The grayling, trout, and the salmon, the type of the 

 family, belong to the group. 



The genus Salmo includes three well-known species, namely, Salmo 



L L 2 



