OSSEOUS FISHES. 
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body furnished with a longitudinal series of carinated scales on each 
side, the dorsal fin placed above the anal, the eyes large, and the jaws 
furnished with small pointed teeth. 
The Flying-fishes (Fig. 381) in their own element are harassed by 
attacks of other inhabitants of the ocean, and when under the excite- 
ment of fear they take to the air, they are equally exposed to the 
attacks of aquatic birds, especially the various species of gulls. We 
Fig. 381. The Flying-fish (E. exiliens). 
have said that, in then.’ leap from the water, their fins sustain them 
rather as parachutes than wings, with which they beat the air. 
Mr. Bennett’s description is pretty clear on this point. “ I have 
never,” he says, “ been able to see any percussion of the pectoral fins 
during flight ; and the greatest length of time I have seen this volatile 
fish on the fly has been thirty seconds by the watch, and the longest 
flight, mentioned by Captain Basil Hall, has been two hundred yards, 
but he thinks that subsequent observation has extended the space. 
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