124 



FISH GALLERY. 



Bum- 

 malow 



Killie- 

 fishes. 



with two luminous patches nearly touching one another on the top 

 of the broad, flat head. The photophores are supposed to attract 

 small fishes as a candle or gas flame attracts moths, and the Ip nops 

 having lured such prey into the neighbourhood of its large mouth 

 does not need eyes to see what that prey is before gulping it 

 down. 



The Bummalow or Bummaloe, Harpodon nehereus, 41 2, is a 

 uniformly phosphorescent fish, frequently found in great numbers 

 at the surface of the Indian Ocean and even in the estuaries of the 

 coast of Bengal and Burmah. After salting and drying, these 

 fishes are exported in large quantities from Bombay and the Malabar 

 coast and sold under the name of " Bombay Duck/' a delicacy 

 familiar to all who have travelled in India. 



Aulopus purpwissatus, 414, the " Sergeant Baker " of the 

 Australian fishermen, occurs in moderate depths of the sea off the 

 coast of Australia. It has a small adipose fin, rough, firm scales, 

 and no luminous spots. 



The Alepidosauridse are deep-sea fishes differing from the 

 Scopelidse in the great size of the dorsal fin, which is supported 

 by long, slender, unjointed fin-rays. An adipose fin is present. 

 The body is without scales ; the teeth are formidable ; the bones 

 are feebly ossified. These fishes are found in the Atlantic and 

 Pacific Oceans, and include the largest of the deep-sea fishes, some 

 attaining a length of four feet. The skull of Alepidosaurus ferox 

 exhibited (415) shows the great predatory teeth and the frailness 

 of the bones ; a complete skeleton (1097) in a special glass case is 

 shown elsewhere in the Gallery. 



The Cyprinodonts (e. g. 416) are small fishes occurring in fresh 

 or brackish waters of America (where they are known as Killie- 

 fishes), and in Africa, Southern Europe, and Southern Asia. The 

 head is rather flattened, the mouth is extremely protractile and 

 with the upper border supported by the premaxillaries only. The 

 scales are large and extend more or less over the head. A few 

 Cyprinodonts are herbivorous and have a long intestine, but 

 most are carnivorous and with a short intestine. The females are 

 usually larger than the males and not so brightly coloured, and 

 in many species they are viviparous. 



