THE TRUE FISHES. IgI 
FIG. 233.—The angler (Lophius piscatorius). 
Order VII. Lophobranchii. Sea-Horses (/ifpo- 
campide).—These curious fishes have a fibro-cartilaginous 
skeleton. The gills take the form of tufted lobes on each 
side of the branchial arches. The snout and lower jaw 
are developed into a tube, at the end of which is the 
mouth, The tail is ‘prehensile, like an opossum’s, and 
by it. they cling to plants, or swim upright by the dorsal 
fin alone, their movements being slow and deliberate. 
Norte.—They are wonderful mimics. The leaf-finned sea-horse, or 
Phyllopteryx eques (Fig. 234), from Australian waters, is provided, with 
numbers of reddish streaining filaments that resemble plants, forming 
a perfect protection to the fish as they float about. The male sea-horse 
receives the eggs into a pouch on its ventral surface. When they hatch, 
it presses the pouch against a stone or shell 
pipe-fish belongs to this group, and is also z 
In the genera Werophis and Protocampus the pouc 
eggs being attached to the abdomen of the femdte* 
