FISHES. 563 
without ventral fins; the skin forms under the belly near the base of 
the tail, in some species, a pouch into which the eggs to be hatched 
are placed, and which is afterwards a shelter for the young. Most of 
the species are strangers to European seas, but some few are found 
around our coasts. The Pipe-fish, S. acus (Fig. 370), has the head 
small, the snout long, nearly cylindrical, slightly raised at the end, 
and terminating in a very small mouth without teeth. The animal is 
about twenty inches long; its skin is of a yellowish colour varied 
Fig. 370.—The Pipe-fish (Syngnathus acus). 
with brown. It lives in both the Atlantic and Mediterranean seas, 
where it is largely used by the fishermen in baiting their hooks. 
The Sea Horse (Hippocampus brevirostris) is a small creature 
about the size of the engraving (Fig. 371); its head has a singular 
resemblance to that of the horse. The rings which form the integu- 
ment of the body and tail have a close resemblance to the rings of 
some caterpillars. This curious combination of forms originated the 
name Hippocampus, from ‘mos, horse, xdumos, fish, adopted in very 
ancient times to designate this creature. It is found in the Atlantic, 
round the coast of Spain, the south of France, on the coast of 
Britain, in the Mediterranean, and in the Indian Ocean. Mr. Lukis, 
who observed two females in captivity, describes their habits as 
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