CHETODONS. 465 
a little black between two or three of the first and last rays; the second dorsal 
and the pectoral are pale drown, and the tail and other fins are bright red. 
PasSING by many large genera, which cannot be noticed for lack of space, 
we come to a very odd-looking fish, called perforce, for want of a popular 
title, the OREOSOMA, a name formed from two Greek words, and literally 
signifying hilly-bodied. As the reader may see by reference to the engraving, 
the name is very appropriate. The upper figure shows its aspect from below. 
This remarkable little fish was captured in the Atlantic by Peron, and has 
ever been esteemed as one of the curiosities of the animal kingdom. Upon 
the body there are no true 
scales, but their place is sup- 
plied by a number of bony 
or horny protuberances, of a 
conical shape, and serving no 
ascertained purpose. These 
cones may be divided into two 
distinct sets, the larger set 
being arranged intotworanks, z 
four on the back and ten on 
theabdomen, and among them 
are placed the smaller set. 
The body of this fish is very 
deep in proportion to its 
length, and the operculum 
has two ridges, terminating 
in flattened angles. There 
are two dorsal fins, the first 
armed with five spines. 
WE now arrive at a large 
family, containing a series of 
fishes reniarkable for their 
extraordinary shape, their 
bold and eccentric colour- 
ing, and their curious habits. 
In Dr. Giinther’s elaborate 
arrangement of the Acantho- 
pterygiian fishes, this family is 
called by the name of Squa- 
mipennes, or scaly-finned fishes, because “the vertical fins are more or less 
densely covered with small scales;” the spinous portions sometimes not scaly. 
They are nearly all carnivorous fishes, and for the most part are exclusively 
inhabitants of the tropical seas or rivers. Their bodies are very much 
compressed and extremely deep in proportion to their length, and the mouth 
is usually small and placed in front of the snout. 
The first group of this family, or sub-family as it might be called, is termed 
Cheetodontina, from the large typical genus of the group. Their mouths are 
small, and furnished with several rows of very tiny, slender, and bristle-like 
teeth, a peculiarity of structure that has gained for them their scientific name 
Cheetodontina, a term composed of two Greek words, the former signifying 
“hair,” and the latter “a tooth.” The colours of the species belonging to 
this group are brilliant in tint, and are generally arranged in bold stripes or 
spots. Black and yellow are the prevailing hues, but blue and green are found 
in some species. 
The figure given on page 466 represents a most remarkable species, called, 
from the form of its mouth, the BEAKED CHATODON. 
OREOSOMA.—(Oreosoma Atlanticum.) 
HH 
