26 FISHES OF THE VICINITY OF NEW YORK 



E. Tail finless, thread-like. Body band-like, silvery. 

 Jaws with large teeth. Trichiuridce 



2. Body elongate, not eel shaped. Back fin long and high, 



the rays all flexible spines, mouth with large canine 

 teeth. Anarichadidce 



3. Body elongate, tapering, slender, covered with bony 



plates. Agonidce 



4. Body flattened, to lie on the bottom. Both eyes on one 



side, the other side colorless. 



A. A pectoral fin on the colored side. Pleuronectidce 



B. No pectoral fin on the colored side. Mouth small 



and very crooked. Soleidoe 



5. Not as above. 



A. Mouth small. The teeth more or less fused and 



nipper-like. 



a. Body triangular, beech-nut shaped, encased 



in a hard shell. Ostraciidce 



b. Body rotund, covered with stout spines. 



Diodontidce 



c. Body rotund, more or less finely prickly, 



skin loose. Capable of swelling to a 

 spherical form when irritated. Tetraodontidoe 



d. Body deep and vertically flattened. Skin 



leathery. 



(I) First back fin of three spines, scales 

 evident. Balistidce 



(II) First back fin of a single spine, scales 

 not evident. Monacanthidce 



(III) No spines. Back and anal fins high, 

 flipper-like. The body ending im- 

 mediately behind them. A large off- 

 shore fish. Molidoe 



B. A sucking disk on the top of the head or on the 



breast. 



a. Sucking disk on the top of the head. 



Echineididas 



