Surmullets, Croakers, etc. 361 
the tail and gradually climbs over it with its jaws, first using 
one and then the other; as the captive is taken in the stomach 
and integuments stretch out, and at last the entire fish is passed 
through the mouth and into the stomach, and the distended 
belly appears as a great bag, projecting out far backwards and 
forwards, over which is the swallower with the ventrals dislo- 
cated and far away from their normal place. The walls of the 
stomach and’ belly have been so stretched that they are trans- 
parent, and the species of the fish can be discerned within. But 
such rapacity is more than the captor itself can stand. At 
length decomposition sets in, the swallower is forced belly up- 
wards, and the imprisoned gas, as in a balloon, takes it upwards 
from the depths to the surface of the ocean, and there, perchance, 
it may be found and picked up, to be taken home for a wonder, 
as it is really. Thus have at least three specimens found their 
way into museums—one being in the United States National 
Museum—and in each the fish in the stomach has been about 
twice as long, and stouter in proportion, than the swallower— 
six to twelve times bulkier! Its true habitat seems to be at a 
depth of about 1,500 fathoms.” 
Allied to this family is the little group of Champsodontide of 
Japan and the East Indies. Champsodon vorax looks like a 
young Uranoscopus. The body is covered with numerous 
lateral lines and cross-lines. 
The Malacanthide.— The MJalacanthide are elongate fishes, 
rather handsomely colored, with a strong canine on the premaxil- 
lary behind. Malacanthus plumiert, the matajuelo blanco, a 
slender fish of a creamy-brown color, is common in the West 
Indies. Other species are found in Polynesia, the most notable 
being Malacanthus (or Oceanops) lativittatus, a large fish of a 
brilliant sky-blue, with a jet-black lateral band. In Samoa this 
species is called gatasami, the “eye of the sea.” 
The Blanquillos: Latilide.—The Latilida, or blanquillos, have 
also an enlarged posterior canine, but the body is deeper and the 
flesh more firm. The species reach a considerable size and are 
valued as food. Lopholotilus chameleonticeps is the famous 
tilefish dredged in the depths under the Gulf Stream. It is a 
fish of remarkable beauty, red and golden. This species, Pro- 
fessor Gill writes, ‘‘was unknown until 1879, when specimens 
