FISHES. 293 



the Pediculati. The chief characteristics of this group or order are the position of 

 the gill apertures, and the reduction in number, to two or three, of the bones (actin- 

 osts) which are at the base of the pectoral fins, and which, in ordinary fishes, are four 

 'in number. The gill apertures are reduced to a simple foramen on each side, which is 

 in the axil or behind the base of the pectoral. The actinosts are mostly very elon- 

 gated, and form a pedicle or stalk to the pectoi-al fins, whence the name of the order 

 — Pediculati. The scapular arch is co-ossified with the cranium, and there are other 

 peculiar characters in the skull, which prove that the order is a distinct, as well as 

 natural one. A remarkable feature in the development in these fishes is the extreme 

 modification often to be seen in the first dorsal fin. 



The family containing by far the most numerous species of the order is that of 

 the Antbnnaeiid^. These have the first dorsal fin generally represented by three 

 spines, the first of which is usually more or less modified into a sort of tentacle ; the 

 second is rather long ; the branchial apertures are in the inferior axil of the pectorals ; 

 the mouth is wide and oblique, and the lower jaw closes in front ; the pectoral fins 

 are more or less capable of being bent downwards, and exhibit a sort of elbow at the 

 junction with the bones at the base, or the actinosts, which are three in number. To 

 this group belongs the little fish which is found in mid-ocean among the Sargassum 

 "weed, and which is celebrated for its nest-building proclivities. Most of the other 

 species of the family belong to the genus known as Anfennarius, and these live mostly 

 in coral groves, often with head downward, where they lie in wait for prey. 



Another family of the order, named Ceeatiid^, is noteworthy as containing a 

 number of species all of which are inhabitants of the deep sea, and some of which 

 are very eccentric in the development of the fins and the so-called fishing apparatus. 

 The basal bones of the pectoral fins are much less elongated than in any of the others, 

 and their habits must be correspondingly different. 



The largest and best known of the Pediculate fishes form the family Lophiid^, 

 represented by the anglers. These have the branchial apertures in or behind the ante- 

 rior axils of the pectoral fins ; the anterior dorsal fin is divided into three parts ; in the 

 first there are three disconnected spines, and behind are three smaller ones united into 

 a continuous fin ; the second dorsal and anal are of moderate length ; the bones at the 

 base of the pectorals are reduced to two, and the pectorals make scarcely any elbow 

 with the stalks or false arms; the mouth is deeply cleft, and the lower jaw projects 

 somewhat in front of the upper. 



The name ' angler ' is derived from the supposition that by means of the foremost 

 dorsal spine, which bears leaf-like tags or appendages at the end it angles for fishes 

 itself, lying upon the ground with its head somewhat upraised. According to Mr. S. 

 Kent, however, this is at most only partly the case. " That the fish deliberately uses 

 this structure as a fisherman does his rod and line for the alluring and capture of 

 other fish is a matter of tradition handed down to us from the time of Pliny and 

 Aristotle, and which scarcely any authority since their time has ventured to gainsay. 

 Nevertheless, like many of the delightful natural-history romances bequeathed to 

 us by the ancient philosophers, this one of the angler-fish will have to be relegated to the 

 limbo of disproved fiction. The plain and certain ground of facts, all the same, has fre- 

 quently more startling revelations in store for us than the most fervid imaginations of 

 philosophers, and that this assertion holds good in the case now under consideration must 

 undoubtedly be admitted. It is here proposed to show, in fact, that the angler is one 

 of the most interesting examples upon which nature has exercised her handicraft, in 



