240 
THE SPOTTED HORSEMAN. 
The Aeapaima {Sadis gig as), also called Pirarucu, is one of the most remarkable fishes 
known, as to size especially. Specimens have been caught measuring fifteen feet in length, 
and of 410 pounds weight. In our illustration the gigantic fish is shown one-twentieth of its 
AJRAPAIHA .— Sadis gigas. 
natural size. The body is entirely covered by large scales. The remarkable colors add to its 
singularity, as large fishes are usually plainly decorated. This fish has the tail so small, it 
appears to have been shorn of a large part. The color of the body and base of fins is a mixture 
of bluish and crimson lake, with a terminal bar of blue along the fins and tail. It is abundant 
in the Amazon, where it is prized as an edible. 
Another family, the Scicenidce, now come before us. The members of this family are 
clothed with ctenoid, or toothed scales ; the mouth is set in front of the snout, the teeth are 
arranged in bands, and the gill-covers are either unarmed or furnished with feeble spines. 
The first example of this family is the Belted Horseman, a striking and boldly marked 
species. 
This fish is found upon the Atlantic coasts of tropical America, and is, perhaps, the most 
striking of the limited genus to which it belongs. The body is oblong, and the nape of the 
neck is very high, its elevated line being continued by the first dorsal fin, which is short, high, 
and pointed, its height being just equal to the depth of the body. The second dorsal fin is 
long, rather low, and is covered wit’ll very thin scales. The tail fin is covered in like manner. 
The scales of the body are of moderate size. 
Its general color is grayish yellow, diversified with three broad brown belts, edged with 
whitish gray. 
Another species of the same genus, the Spotted Horseman {Eques punctatus ), is nearly, 
though not quite as remarkable a fish, and is notable for the bluish- white spots which decorate 
the dorsal, ventral, and anal fins. The general color of this fish is brown, with two vertical 
