OSSEOUS FISHES. 
683 
paler beneath and more vivid about the fins, of which there are two 
distinct dorsal and one ventral. Beneath the pectorals are three 
detached rays ; both jaws and front of the lower palate are armed with 
fine velvety teeth. The Perlon, or Sapharine Gurnard ( 2’. 
is a large and handsome fish, remarkable for the lively green and blue 
hues of the inner surface of its large pectoral fins. 
the Jwlf blfiT d «**"> — ambles 
I f ! m haVmS the the pectorals con- 
S T’J t iCh * iS enaWed t0 itself some 
air, like the flymg-fish,- the pectorals, when extended 
Fig. 339. The Flying Gurnard (Dactylopteras volitans). 
forming a sort of parachute (Big. 389), which sustains it when it 
leaps out of the water. Several species are known. 
AH nature seems to conspire against these singular creatures, while 
they have been gifted with the double power of swimming and flying, 
lhe flymg-fish only escapes from the Bonitas, and other voracious 
fishes which pursue it on the bosom of the sea, to expose itself to the 
attacks of the inhabitants of the air. A crowd of sea-fowls, such as 
frigate-birds, the albatross, and the gulls, carry on a bloody war with 
them when they venture on flight. War thus pursues the unhappy 
fish whatever element it betakes itself to. Nevertheless it passes from 
one element to the other, with an energy which frequently defeats 
