THE HORSE- LIKE PHYLLOPTERYX. 291 
dorsal fin, set far back, and capable of being moved in a marvellous fashion, that reminds the 
observer of a screw-propeller, and evidently answers a similar purpose. The tail of the Sea- 
Horse, stiff as it appears to be in dried specimens, is, during the life of the creature, almost as 
flexible as an elephant’s proboscis, and is employed as a prehensile organ, whereby its owner 
may be attached to any fixed object. The specimens represented in the engraving are shown 
in the attitude which the creatures are fond of assuming. The head of the Sea-Horse is 
wonderfully like that of the quadruped from which it takes its name, and the resemblance is 
increased by two apparent ears that project pertly from the sides of the neck. These organs, 
are, however, fins, and when the fish is in an active mood, are moved with considerable 
rapidity. It is rather a remarkable fact, that the Sea-Horse, like the chameleon, possesses the 
power of moving either eye at will, quite independently of the other, and therefore must be 
gifted with some curious modification in the sense of sight, which enables it to direct its gaze 
to different objects without confusing its vision. 
The color of this interesting little fish is light ashen-brown, relieved with slight dashes of 
blue on different parts of the body, and in certain lights gleaming with beautiful iridiscent 
GREAT PIPE OR BILL-FISH.— Syngnathus acus . SEA-HORSE. —Hippocampus antiquorum. (One-half natural size.) 
hues that play over its body with a changeful lustre. About twenty species of Sea-Horses are 
known. 
In the seas of the Southern Hemisphere, especially in the Hew Holland waters, there is 
found sometimes, as a companion of the Sea-Horse, sometimes alone, the Hobse-like 
Phylloptebyx, a fish which, for its extraordinarily odd aspect, we consider worthy of 
illustration. This fish, in which are united all the exclusive peculiarities of the family 
Syngnathidse, forms a separate genus. As may be seen by reference to the engraving, it 
is distinguished by many spines, elongated thorns, and tape-like appendages, which float down 
from all parts of the body. The spines are strong and sharp, the elongated thorns being stiff, 
while the tape-like streamers are flexible. These three different kinds of appendages take 
seemingly the function of fins, which, with the exception of the large dorsal fin, and of the 
small and not clearly visible pectoral fin, are crippled. Its streaming filaments resemble 
