FISHES. 579: 
bones of the shoulder. It is much the more numerous and im- 
portant of the order. It includes most of our fresh-water fishes, a 
great number of marine species, and many like the salmon, which be- 
take themselves to the rivers in the spawning season to deposit their 
ova. We shall limit our remarks to the Salmonida, the Clupeada, 
and a few others. 
Saimonide.—The fishes of this family are graceful in shape, and 
Fig. 378.—Adult Salmon. 
have the body clothed in scales; they have two dorsals, the first 
with soft rays, followed by a second, which is smaller, formed without 
rays, and adipose—that is, formed simply of a skin filled with fatty 
matter, unsupported by osseous rays. They inhabit the seas of 
temperate and northern regions; ascending the rivers at certain 
seasons,-and, in some instances, living exclusively in the great rivers 
and watercourses. They are found even in the most elevated moun- 
tain brooks. The grayling, trout, and the salmon, the type of the 
family, belong to the group. 
The genus Sa/mo includes three well-known species, namely, Salma 
1 eee a 
