CriiXOID ACVNTIIOPTEKES.- 



-FISIIES.- 



-Ladtkintiiidranciis. 



120 



the pectorals, and the dorsal is clothed with very fine 

 scales, diflering in size and appearance from those of 

 the bod}'. Tiie stomach is of moderate size, and the 

 liancroatic Cieca vary in number from four to seven. 

 The swim-bladder is largo, rounded anteriorly, and 

 divided very generally into two posterior pointed 

 lobes. 



The f;oncra .are — Mmiia; Smaris; CcEsio; Gcrres; Datnioldes 

 (niceker); EmmeVichihys (Richardson); Ditrema (Schlegel); 

 JJiplej-i/fjnuotiis (Bleeker); Apogenoides (id-); Maidusoma 

 (Guicbcnot); Pentaprion (Bleeker); Vdrfcr (.Schlegel); 

 Achariics (Miiller and Troschel); Aphareus; Chistopieriis 

 (.Schlegel) ; and Eucinostomus (Bau'd and Girard). 



None of these are British, and they are of compara- 

 tively little importance in human economy. The 

 Mediterranean species arc alluded to by Aristotle and 

 his Roman copyists under the names of Maiais and 

 Smarts. Martial speaks of them with contempt, as 

 being unsavoury and of bad odour. In the Dutch 

 eastern settlements some of the f^imil}' pass by the 

 name of Wakkum, meaning probably, wide-awake or 

 vigilant. 



Family XIV.— LABYRINTHIBRANCHS {Laby- 

 riiitliibranchii). — Plate 9, figs. 46, 47. 



The structure of the upper pharyngeals is the spe- 

 ciality of this family, whose members in external form 

 of boely resemble in one direction the Sparoids, and iu 

 the other the i\Iullets. By the expansion of the upper 

 pharyngeals into numerous, undulating, leaf-like folds, 

 many winding passages and recesses are formed, in 

 which water may be retained for moistening the gills 

 in times of drought. To make room for this appa- 

 ratus the gill-covers are more than usually convex, 

 and they fit tightly to the shoulder, so as to prevent 

 the water from escaping. If the gills are kept moist 

 and their processes well separated, they can in several 

 fishes, perhaps in many, extract oxygen from atmos- 

 pheric air. In the Labyrinthibranchs the scales arc 

 generally large, and those covering the head are little 

 inferior in size to those on the body. The mouth is 

 cleft past the orbits in one genus only ; in most the 

 gape reaches only half-way to the ej'C, and in all it is 

 terminal. The dorsal is single, and the ventrals, 

 which are composed of five or six soft rays, with or 

 without the addition of a spine, are situated under the 

 pectorals, or in some cases a little farther forwards. 

 Tlie lateral line varies, being straight, deflexcd, or 

 arched, and either interrupted or continuous accord- 

 ing to the genus. The branchiostcgous membrnne 

 most frequently shuts up under the scales of the throat 

 and mandible, so as to be concealed when the mouth 

 is closed. 



Tlie genera are — Anabas; Ilehsioma; PoIt/ftcarUhus ; Ctcno- 

 pnma (I'ttcv) ; BMa (Bleeker) ; Colka ; Macropodus ; Os- 

 p/troneijtvs ; Trlchopus ] Spirobranchus ; and Ophiccphnhfi ; 

 which i.xst is named from the resemblance of its flat scaly 

 head to that of a serpent, an aspect more or less cbavacterLitic 

 cf most of the other genera. 



The author of a work on " Fishes that live in dry 

 Vol. II. 



places," supposed to be Theophrastus, who flourished 

 in the fourth century before our era, says that in India 

 certain little fislies resembling the Mullets leave the 

 rivers for a time and return to tliem again. Allhougli 

 a commentary on this treatise was published in 1GG5 

 at Naples by Sevcriuus, it was not jiropcrly understood 

 until 1797, when M. Daldorf communicated to the 

 Linnaean Society his observations on the Tree-climber 

 {Anabas scandens), one of which he had himself cap- 

 tured as it was in the act of ascending the palm called 

 Borassus flahdUfurmis, which grew near a pond. The 

 object of the fish in making this ascent is said to have 

 been to reach a small reservoir of rain-water collected 

 in the axils of the leaves, and full of insects. This 

 faculty of climbing lias been vouched for by some 

 other observers, and denied by several. Dr. Cantor 

 says that in the Malay countries the Anabas is eaten 

 by the poorer classes, who do not attribute to it either 

 the medicinal qualities or the climbing propensities for 

 which it is celebrated in Bengal. It can live long, 

 however, out of water, and is frequently sent in a dry 

 vessel, from the marshes of Yazor to Calcutta, a jour- 

 ney of several daj's, which it survives. 



The Plahat of Siam [Macropodus pvfjnaor) is 

 domesticated by the Siamese, with whom it is a great 

 favourite, being kept in jars of water and fed with the 

 larviB of mosquitoes. A variety reared by artificial 

 means and h'ained to fight is mentioned by Dr. Cantor, 

 who says — " When the fish is in a state of quiet, with 

 the fins at rest, the dull colours present nothing 

 remarkable. But if two are brought within sight of 

 eacli other, or if one sees its own image in a looking- 

 glass, the little creature becomes suddenly excited, the 

 raised fins and the whole body shine with metallic 

 colours of dazzling beauty, while the projected gill- 

 membrane, waving like a black frill round the throat, 

 adds something grotesque to the general appearance. 

 In this state of irritation it makes repeated darts at 

 its real or reflected antagonist. Bnt the fish, when 

 out of each other's sight, instantly become quiet. 

 This description of their actions was drawn up in 

 1840, at Singapore, by a gentleman who had received 

 a present of several from the king of Siam. They 

 were kept singly in glasses of wafer, fed with the 

 larvte of mosqintoes, and had thus lived many months. 

 The Siamese are as infatuated with combats of these 

 fishes as the Malays are with their cock-fights, and 

 stake considerable sums, and sometimes their liberty 

 and that of their families, on the issue. The licence 

 to exhibit fish-fights is farmed, and yields a consiilcr- 

 able revenue to the crown." The Osphroncmus olfux 

 has been naturalized at Penang and Malacca, having 

 been originally brought from China. It becomes i-o 

 tame as to approach the hand of the feeder, and will 

 rise to flies, beetles, and certain flowers, especially a 

 large Hibiscus. This species, named the Gourami 

 by Commerson, has been transplanted also to the Isle 

 of France and to French Cayenne, in both of which 

 localities it now thrives. Very recently it has been 

 introduced into Australia. The Opidccphali are named 

 Lancjya, or " living fish," by the Chinese, because they 

 are carried about in tubs and sold in pieces cut from 

 the fish when alive. 



