THE LOPFIIAD^.— THE SYNGNATHUS. 



tu cut ort' tlie cliase; wliile they, in a manner really 

 not unlike llint of the hare, doubled more than once 

 upon their pursuer. But it was soon plainly to he seen 

 that the strength and confidence of the Hying fish were 

 fast ebhing ; their flights became shorter and shorter, 

 and their course more fluttering and uncertain, while 

 the leaps of the dolphin seemed to grow more vigor- 

 ous at each bound. Eventually this skilful sea-sports- 

 man seemed to arrange his springs so as to fall just 

 under the very spot on which the exhausted flying tish 

 were about to drop. This catastrophe took place at 

 too great a distance for us to see from the deck what 

 happened ; but on our mounting high on the rigging, 

 we may be said to have been in at the death ; for then 

 we could discover that the unfortunate little creatures, 

 one after another, either popped right into the dolphin's 

 jaws as they lighted on the water, or were snapped 

 instantly after." 



THE FROG-FISH. 



This extraordinary denizen of the marine world is 

 variously known as the Frog-fish, the Fisljing-frog, 

 the Toad-fish, the Seadevil, and the Angler. ]tB 

 scientific appellation is Lophius piscatwiiis. Its vulgar 

 name it owes partly to its resemblance to a frog in the 

 tadpole state, and partly to the manner in wliich it 

 preys on the other fish. It lies constantly in ambus- 

 cade at tlie bottom of the sea, stirring up the mud and 

 sand with its fins in such wise as to conceal itself from 

 detection by its prey. 



The head in circuit is larger than the whole body, 

 and completely flat on the upper part; the mouth is 

 nearly as wide as the head ; the lower jaw, bearded all 

 round the edge, is considerably longer than the upper, 

 and both are armed with numerous sharp conical teeth, 

 curving inwards. The nostrils have no external orifice, 

 but their places are supplied by two internal ones. 

 The eyes are large, with brown irides, and black 

 ])npils. The broad pectoral fins are rounded at the 

 edges, and wide at the base. Broad, thick, and fleshy 

 are the vertical fins, and jointed like arms ; they are 

 divided in the insiiles. 



The upper part of the body is of a brown colour, 

 the lower part of a white. The vential and pectoral 

 fins are black, and nearly black the tail. The skin is 

 smooth. The common Frog-fish varies in length from 

 three to six feet. 



There are six otlier species, viz. : — 



The Marbled Angler (Lojiliius mimuoruhis), whicli 

 is oval in shape, with a slightly compressed body. The 

 arched back is edged with a long, narrow, solitary fin, 

 extending nearly to the tail. The vertical fins are 

 short, and shaped somewhat like an arm, while the 

 tliick lobes in which ihcy terminate give them a 

 kind of resendilance to the paws of a quadruped. 

 The colour of the upper parts of the body is a black- 

 brown, clouded and spotted with blue ; of the lower, a 

 dubious white ; of the sides, white, edged with a dull 

 rod. The eyes are white, but radiated with blue. 

 The mouth is wide, and above the uj^jier lip extends a 

 long filament, which at tl.-v3 lip forks into two. 



The body of the Jluricated Angler {Lnphius mun- 

 alius) is very flat, rounded, and covered on the upper 

 surface with very numerous small tubercles, tipped 

 with radiated spines. The hind-part, which contracts 

 snddeidy, is covered with similar spines, and terminated 

 by a tail-fin. 



The Beaked Angler {Lophius roslrahis), a native of 

 the South American seas, and measuring only one foot 

 to one foot aiid a half in length, has a body broad in 

 the middle, but tapering towards the tail, and eo 

 strongly acuminated in front as to present an elongated 

 sharp-pointed snout. The mouth is of moderate width. 

 The pectoral fins are attaclied to very strong arm- 

 shaped basis. All the animal's body is spotted with 

 roundi.sh crenated tubercles, pointed at the tips. 



The Striped Angler {Lophius striatus) is marked all 

 over, as its name indicates, with numerous narrow 

 streaks of black, chiefly in a transverse direction. Its 

 habitat is the Pacific Ocean. 



Nearly allied to the foregoing is^ 



The Harlequin Angler {Lophius hislrio) a very 

 remarkable and curiously fantastic fish. Its body la 

 thick and much compressed. Its ventral fins may be 

 likened to shoit arms, are situated in the fore part of 

 the body, and palniated at their tips. A larger dorsal 

 fin stretches from the middle of the back nearly to the 

 tail, which is of a rounded shape. Above the upper 

 lip rises a long and slender cartilaginous process or 

 filament, which divides at the top into two dilated oval 

 and pointed appendages. Beyond this lies a strong 

 fleshy process, tipped with a few filaments. Anl 

 beyond this again we see a much larger and thicker 

 process, similarly adorned. The lower tip und the 

 dorsal fin are bearded or fringed with nuraeroud 

 scattered cirri ; and the whole animal is of a yellow- 

 brown colour, irregularly maiked with shades of brown 

 or black, some of which are edged with white. The 

 general efl'eot is that of a harlequin suit, and hence the 

 animal's popular name. 



The habits of all these species are the same, and 

 they mostly reside in tropical waters. 



THE PIPE FISH. 



There are several species of this genus {Si/ngnathus), 

 distinguished by the following characteristics: — A 

 singularly elongated and slender body, like that of an 

 eel, covered with a series of indurated plates, arranged 

 in parallel rows; a long tubular snout ; gills disposed 

 in small round tufts along the branchial arches ; no 

 veitical fins. 



The Great Pipe-fish (Symjnc'tfius acvs) is very fre- 

 quently met with on the British coast. Its average 

 length is from twelve to fifteen inches, though in the 

 nortli individuals have been found measuring fully three 

 feet long. It is of a curiously slender form, gradually 

 tapering towards the extremity ; of a palish-brown 

 colour, shaded throughout its entire length with broad 

 alternate belts of a deeper hue, slightly variegated. 

 The lamina? covering the joints of the body, seem finely 

 radiated from the centre by manifold streaks. The 



