CHAPTER LVI 
THE ORDER OF PIPE-FISHES AND SEA-HORSES 
L OPHOB RANCHI 
At the foot of the Subclass of Bony Fishes, 
stand certain small creatures, each of which is so 
fantastic in form that it requires to be introduced 
with the solemn assurance, “ This is a fish! ” At 
first glance, any one wholly unacquainted with 
them might from their hard external shells be 
inclined to regard them as particularly odd crus- 
taceans; but the presence of tiny fins without, 
and skeletons more or less bony within, place 
them fairly within the confines of the Bony Fishes. 
The Great Pipe-Fish 1 is a long, 
slender stalk of jointed bone, with 
queer little fins very far apart, and 
a head that terminates in a long, hol- 
low tube. But for this very tough and 
persistent bony armor, other small 
fishes would devour the Pipe-Fishes, 
bit by bit, as children bite off sticks 
of candy. Its armor is so stiff, how- 
ever, that the wearer moves slowly 
and with difficulty, and the prey usually 
sought by this fish is found very small 
and weak, hiding in the branches of 
sea-weed, coral clusters, sponges, and 
the sea-grasses generally. It was for 
insertion into such hunting-grounds as 
these that the long, tubular snout of 
this fish has been developed. 
The Pipe-Fishes swim in a half ver- 
tical position, as if literally leading up 
to the introduction of the next species, 
which swims bolt upright in the water, and 
fairly caps the climax in fishes. All the Pipe- 
Fishes are small creatures. Our largest species 
is found on the Pacific coast, and “reaches a 
length of 18 inches.” (Jordan and Evermann.) 
There exists in North American waters about 
thirty species. 
The Sea-Horse 2 bears not the faintest resem- 
1 Syng-na' thus a'cus. 
2 Hip-po-cam-pus hep-tag' o-nus . 
blance to a typical fish, and is the strangest-look- 
ing creature of the whole fish world. It looks 
like a Chinese dragon, reduced about a thousand 
diameters. Its minute pectoral fins are so in- 
conspicuous they are at first quite unnoticed, and 
the fan-shaped dorsal fin seems when in action 
like a stationary fan with which the outlandish 
creature frequently tries to fan itself. 
At all times the Sea-Horse swims in a perpen- 
dicular attitude, and with its prehensile tail it 
holds itself stationary by grasping any inanimate 
object that either grows upon the bottom or 
floats in the water. Like the pipe-fish, it is com- 
pletely encased in a strong suit of bony plate- 
armor. The average aquarium Sea-Horse is sel- 
dom more than 4 inches in length, but the Gigan- 
tic species ( H . ingens ) of the Pacific coast “ reaches 
a length of nearly a foot.” (J. & E.) The small- 
est species, found abundantly about Pensacola, is 
only 2 inches long. 
