642 TELEOSTEI chap. 



scales are absent or very small and spinulose, the mouth large, 

 with cardiform teeth ; spinous dorsal short, soft dorsal and anal 

 elongate. Chiasmodon and Pseudoscopelus have a complicated 

 system of sensory organs on the body, which in the latter suggest 

 the photophores of Scopelids. Champsodon vorax is a fish of 

 extreme voracity, swallowing prey much larger than itself Only 

 four species of this family are known. 



Fam. 7. Sphyraenidae. — Maxillary excluded from the border 

 of the upper jaw ; dentition very strong. Body covered with 

 cycloid scales. Anterior ribs sessile, the rest inserted on para- 

 pophyses. Pectoral fin nearer the ventral than the dorsal out- 

 line ; ventral fin more or less approximated to the pectoral, with 

 1 spine and 5 soft rays ; pelvis not connected with the pectoral 

 arch. Two well-separated dorsal fins, the anterior formed of a 

 small number of spines. Air-bladder large. Vertebrae 24. 



Carnivorous Pike-like Marine Pishes from the tropical and 

 sub-tropical seas, often found at the mouths of rivers. The 

 " Barracudas " form a single genus, Spliyraena, with about 20 

 species, the largest of which grow to 8 feet and are dangerous to 

 people bathing ; many are valued as food, but some are reported 

 to be poisonous, at least at certain seasons. Eemains of several 

 species are known from the Eocene and later periods in Europe 

 and North America. 



Fam. 8. Tetragonuridae. — Maxillary excluded from the 

 border of the upper jaw ; dentition feeble. Oesophagus with 

 lateral sacs which are beset with papillae internally ; a series of 

 gill-raker-like knobs below the pseudobranchiae. Body covered 

 with rhomboidal, striated scales in oblique transverse series, those 

 of every single transverse series coherent. Eibs mostly sessile. 

 Pectoral fin nearer the ventral than the dorsal outline. A^entral 

 fin with 1 spine and 5 soft rays, near the pectoral, but pelvis 

 free from the pectoral arch. A long continuous dorsal fin, its 

 anterior portion formed of numerous short spines. Air-bladder 

 absent. Vertebrae 58. 



This family includes a single, rather rare fish, Tetragonurus 

 cuvieri, from the Mediterranean and neighbouring parts of the 

 Atlantic and the South Pacific. It is said to descend to great 

 depths at certain seasons, and to feed on Medusae ; its flesh is 

 poisonous. Young specimens have been observed by Emery to 

 live in the respiratory cavity of large Salpae. 



