PEGASUS. 483 



are sometimes spinous. Ventral fins one- or two- rayed. 

 Upper part of the snout produced into a shorter or longer 

 process. Mouth inferior, toothless. Suborbital ring well 

 developed, forming a suture with the giU-cover. Vertebrae 

 in small number, thin; no ribs. Four species are known, 

 two of which are of a shorter, and the two others of a longer 

 form. The former are P. draconis, common in the Indian 

 Ocean, and F. volans, which is frequently stuck by the Chinese 

 into the insect-boxes which they manufacture for sale. The 



Pig. 217. — Pegasus uatans. 



two elongate species, F. natans and P. lancifer, are from the 

 Chinese and Australian coasts. They are all very small fishes, 

 probably living on sandy shoal places near the coast. 



ISTiNTH Division — Acanthoptekygii Gobiifoemes. 



The sj)inous dorsal, or spinous portion of the dorscd is 

 always present, short, either composed of flexible spines, or much 

 less developed than the soft ; the soft dorsal and anal of equal 

 extent. No lony stay for tlie angle of the praiopercidtcm. Ven- 

 trcds thoracic or jugidar, if present, composed of one spine and 

 five, rarely four, soft rays. A prominent anal papilla. 



Shore-fishes, mostly exclusively marine, but some entering 

 and living in fresh waters. 



First Family — Discoboli. 

 Body thick or ollong, naked or tuhercidar. Teeth small. 



