PIKES. 121 



reaching a length of eight or ten feet, and most are of remarkably 

 rich and varied coloration. 



Murana helena, the " Mursena " of the Romans (fig. 59), is 

 largely used as food around the Mediterranean. The species can 

 be domesticated and will live in fresh water. The fishes were 

 extensively kept by the Romans and fattened in special tanks and 

 ponds, and according to certain traditions were fed with the bodies 

 of slaves. The fish is not confined to the Mediterranean, but 

 occurs also in the north-western part of the Indian Ocean, the 

 eastern part of the Atlantic, and is sometimes caught off the 

 coast of England. 



Esociformes (Pikes). 



In the suborder Esociformes or Haplomi, including the Pikes Wall- 

 and their allies, the anterior vertebrae are without Weberian 

 ossicles, and the shoulder-girdle is connected with the back of the 

 skull. The two parietal bones are usually separated by the 

 supraoccipital. The fins are usually without spines, but the first 

 ray of the dorsal fin is sometimes stiffened and spine-like. There 

 are no barbels. The pelvic fins are abdominal in position. These 

 fishes occur chiefly in fresh water, but some in the deep sea. 



The Galaxiidfe are a small family of scaleless fishes in which Galaxi- 

 the parietal bones meet in the middle line of the skull, the post- • 



temporal bone is not forked, and the ribs are attached to strong 

 transverse processes. The chief genus is Galaxias (406), occurring 

 in the fresh waters, and in some cases also the seas, of the southern 

 parts of the world, South Australia, New Zealand, the south of 

 South America and the Cape of Good Hope. The settlers in New 

 Zealand called these fishes " Trout " and the young " Whitebait," 

 and the names still survive to a certain extent. The native name 

 of the fish is " Kokopu." 



The Esocidae constitute a small family of carnivorous fresh-water Esocidee. 

 fishes including the Pikes and the Umbras or Mud-Minnows, and 

 ranging through the temperate parts of the northern hemisphere. 

 The upper border of the mouth is supported by the maxillary 

 as well as by the premaxillnry bones, but the former are toothless. 

 There are no transverse processes to the trunk vertebras ; the 



