REVIEW OF LOCAL FL'^IIES 



55 



The Trumpet Fish is an cloiij^atc* poncil-shapcMl species, superficially 

 resembling; the BillfiFh but prcbably reflated to the Sticklebacks. It has 

 a very small mouth at the end of an elonjj;ate snout and a peculiar whip- 

 like lash extending from the center of its forked tail fin. It readies a 

 gieat size, sometimes being six feet long, but specimens a foot or two in 

 length are most conmion. 



Like the Trumpet Fish the Pipe 

 Fish has a small mouth at the end of 

 a long snout. It is even more slender, 

 more slender than an eel in fact, but 

 here the lesemblance ceases and the 

 relationship between Trumpet and Pipe 

 Fishes, if any exists, is so distant as to 

 be very uncertain. The Pipe Fish has 

 its thin body made up of numerous 

 hard rings or segments, with a httle 

 fan-shaped tail fin on the last one, and 

 a small squarish fin of many fine soft 

 rays in the middle of the back. It is 

 not an active swimmer, lurking and 

 squirming abundantly among eel grass 

 and other marine w^eed and may even 

 be caught in the hand. The male fish 

 is equipped with a pouch in which he 

 carries the eggs until hatched. 



The Sea Horse is closely related 

 to the Pipe Fish, having the same 

 fundamental structure and differing 

 in its broad body, horse-shaped head 

 and prehensile ta.I, lacking a UA\ fin. 

 It is rather common and its habits are 

 similar to those of the Pipe Fish. It 

 swims erect. 



VIII. The Mullets, etc. 

 (Percesoces, etc.) 



We have three families of fishes more or less closely related to the 

 Mullet. All have a small spiny rayed first dorsal fin isolated on the 

 b ick in front of the larger soft rayed dorsal. The first family of Silver- 

 sides contains small species scarcely larger than minnows and with a 

 conspicuous silver lengthwise stripe on the body. They swim in schools. 



SEA HORSE 



