252 LOWER VERTEBRATES. 



■which cling to its body with their suckers. The number of eggs ranges from 200,000 

 to 400,000. It is a voracious species, which preys upon small crustaceans, mol- 

 luscs, and fish-spawn." The observations thus epitomized were made in the 

 southern Baltic. 



The lump-sucker is really very good, although there is quite a general prejudice 

 against it on account of its ' uncanny ' appearance. Those who are familiar with 

 Walter Scott's ' Antiquary ' may remember that Mr. Oldbuck gave as much for a fish 

 of this kind as he did for a turbot. 



Still other of the mail-cheeked fishes are distinguished by the armature of the 

 head and distance of the ventrals from each other. The body is elongate conical, 

 declining backwards from the head; scales or plates cover the trunk; the head is 

 quadrate, angulated, covered with bony plates, and the jaws are overarched by and 

 retractile under the preorbital plates ; there are two doi-sals, an anterior short, spinifer- 

 ous one, and a longer posterior rayed fin, to which is opposed a similar anal ; the pec- 

 torals have three or two lower rays entirely detached and independent, developed as 

 enlarged tactile organs ; the ventrals are separated by a wide flattened area, and are per- 

 fect, that is, have a spine and five rays each. Two quite distinct groups are kept in 

 this family, the Triglinae, with scales and three free pectoral rays, and the Peristed- 

 iinse with plates and two free rays. 



The Triglinae are mostly shallow-water fishes, and may at times be seen progressing 

 near the ground, often in curves or a zig-zag couree, sometimes leisurely, sometimes 

 hurrying up, with the snout more or less downward, and the free pectoral rays curved 

 forward and downward, and used, partly for locomotion, and partly as feelers. 

 Rather curiously for such northern forms, one genus (Triffla) with many species is 

 found in Europe and not in America, while another {Prionotics) with several species 

 is confined to America. The Triglm are mostly called gurnards in England, while the 

 Prionoti are chiefly known as robins or sea-robins along the American coast. Mr. 

 Goode informs us that the sea-robins have excellent food qualities, but are eaten, so far 

 as we have record, only in the vicinity of Hartford, Conn., where they are known 

 as " wing-fish." It is queer that we have to go into an inland town to learn the 

 worth of a common sea-fish. A dweller near salt water, however, and a very competent 

 judge of what is good for the table, Mr. J. Careon Brevoort, thinks that a sea-robin 

 is " one of the most delicate morsels that can be laid before an epicure, the flesh being 

 snow-white, firm, and fully as good as that of the king-fish, or whiting. In fact it 

 would be hard to distinguish them when placed on the table."' The European species 

 are also mostly favorably regarded for the table. 



Next comes a small group of fishes of family rank, named Cephalacanthid^ or 

 DacttlopteeiDjE, closely related to the Tiiglidae, but distinguished by some salient 

 features. The body is also elongate conical, and is covered by regular but keeled 

 scales ; the head is of a parallelopiped form, covered with bony plates, and the pre- 

 opercvilum extends backwards in a long spine ; the first dorsal fin is short, and has only 

 four or five slender spines, of which the first two are nearly free ; the second is little 

 lonrrer, and the anal is quite short ; the pectorals are singular in being divided into two 

 parts, an upper narrower, and a lower much larger and more elongated portion, whose 

 rays are all connected together ; the ventrals are imj)erfect (having only one spine and 

 four rays) and comparatively near each other. What further especially distinguishes 

 the group is a coalescence of the anterior vertebrse (about four) into a tubiform body. 



The species are few in number, but interesting in habits. They are pelagic fishes, 



