240 



THE SPOTTED HORSEMAN. 



The Aeapaima {Sadis gigas\ also called Pikarucu, is one of the most remarkable fishes 

 known, as to size esi^ecially. Specimens have been caught meastiring fifteen feet in length, 

 and of 410 pounds weight. In our illustration the gigantic fish is shown one-twentieth of its 



AEAPAIMA.— Satiw glgas. 



natural size. The body is entirely covered by large scales. The remarkable colors add to its 

 singularity, as large fishes are usually plainly decorated. This fish has the tail so small, it 

 ai)j)ears to have been shorn of a large part. The color of the body and base of fins is a mixture 

 of bluish and crimson lake, with a terminal bar of blue along the fins and tail. It is abundant 

 in the Amazon, where it is prized as an edible. 



Another family, the Scicenidce, now come before us. The members of this family are 

 clothed with ctenoid, or toothed scales ; the mouth is set in front of the snout, the teeth are 

 ai'rauged in bands, and the gill-covers are either unarmed or furnished with I'eeble spines. 



The first example of this family is the Belted Horseman, a striking and boldly marked 

 species. 



This fish is found upon the Atlantic coasts of tropical America, and is, perhaps, the most 

 striking of the limited genus to which it belongs. The body is oblong, and the nape of the 

 neck is very high, its elevated line being continued by the first dorsal fin, which is short, high, 

 and pointed, its height being just equal to the depth of the body. The second dorsal fin is 

 long, rather low, and is covered with very tliin scales. The tail fin is covered in like manner. 

 The scales of the body are of moderate size. 



Its general color is grayish yellow, diversified with three broad brown belts, edged with 

 whitish gray. 



Another species of the same genus, the Spotted Horseman {Eques pimctatus), is nearly, 

 though not quite as remarkable a fish, and is notable for the bluish-white, spots which decorate 

 the dorsal, ventral, and anal fins. The general color of this fish is brown, with two verticiil 



