526 
THE OCEAN WORLD. 
II. Lophobranchii. 
The Lophohrancliii comprehend a few types, but are numerous in 
species. Here the gills are divided into small round tufts, and arranged 
in pairs along the branchial arches; a structure quite peculiar, of 
which we have no examples in any other fishes. These gills are en- 
closed under a large cover, or operculum, attached on all sides by a 
membrane, which leaves only a small hole for the escape of water which 
has served the purposes of respiration. 
These little cuirassed fishes consist of two genera, Syngnathm and 
Hippocampus. The Syngnathes, or pipe-fishes, possess a very curious 
Fig 360. Tiie Trumpet Pipe-fish (Syngnatlius). 
organic peculiarity. Their bodies are long, slender, and slightly 
tapering, covered with plates set lengthwise, without ventrals ; the 
skin, in swelling, forms under the belly or under the tail, according to 
the species, a pouch into which the eggs glide to be hatched, and 
which is afterwards a shelter for the young. Most of the species are 
strangers to European seas, but some few are found in the Channel 
The Trumpet Pipe-fish (Pig. 360) has the head small, the muzzle long, 
nearly cylindrical, slightly raised at the end, and terminating in a 
very small mouth without teeth. The animal is about twenty inches 
long ; its skin is of a yellowish colour varied with brown. It lives in 
