BY THE REV. J. E TENISON-WOODS. 



water fishes. In this matter it is hard to draw a reliable 

 distinction. Many freshwater fishes come down to the sea, and 

 many sea-fishes go hundreds of miles up freshwater rivers. 

 However, the general habits of the two kinds require separate 

 treatment. The fishes of the Indian Archipelago belong to what 

 is called the equatorial region. The tropical Atlantic and Indo- 

 Pacific regions are described separately, though the differences 

 between them are neither numerous nor important. The majority 

 of the principal types are found in both, and many of the species 

 are identical. Dr. Grunther (from whose essay on The Study of 

 Fishes this summary is mainly taken) says that species are far more 

 abundant in the Indo-Pacific region than in the Atlantic. Owing 

 to the innumerable islands, the varying configuration of the 

 coasts, the different nature of the sea-bottom, the long peninsulas, 

 and the archipelagos, this part of the globe is rendered the most 

 perfect for the development of fish life. It is not generally known 

 that the fishes of the Indian and Pacific Oceans between the 

 tropics are almost identical. Moreover, there is a very great 

 number of species which range from the Red Sea and east coast 

 of Africa to Polynesia. This Indo-Pacific fauna, however, does 

 not extend to the Pacific coast of South America. 



It would be tedious to go into much detail about the special 

 characters of this region, but a few general conclusions will be of 

 interest. Some 80 genera of shore-fishes are found in the Indo- 

 Pacific region only, but these genera have with some exceptions 

 only a few species. The sea-perches, of which our own Serranus 

 or rock-cod is an example, are among the special types, though not 

 confined to the region. They feed on small crustaceans and little 

 fishes. Next follow the coral-feeding Pharyngognaths, which are 

 most numerous in the Indo-Pacific region. They feed chiefly on 

 small marine animals, and such as have compressed teeth appear 

 to eat the crustaceans covering the banks round which these 

 coral-fishes abound. Next follow the Squamipinnes, so-called 

 because the soft and frequently spinous parts of their dorsal and 

 anal fins are so thickly covered with scales that the boundary 



