1 18 Pharyngognatus. FISHES. Cyclolabroids. 
West Indies ; and in Barbadoes they constitute an 
important part of the negro diet. Two thousand people 
of that island are estimated to live by the fisheries, and 
at Bridgetown fifty boats may be seen coming in of a 
morning, each, when fully charged, carrying three tons 
of fish. The fishery is carried on at some distance 
from the shore, during the night, with hoop nets baited 
with pounded fish. The Flying-fish are gutted and 
cleaned as they are caught. Thus prepared they keep 
over the day, having in that respect the advantage 
over most of the fish of the Caribbean seas. Some 
method of preserving the fre.shness and firmness of 
fi.sh caught near the equator, and keeping them from 
becoming tainted before they can take the salt, is 
needed, before the very productive fisheries of hot cli- 
mates can be of the economic value to which they 
might be raised. Weak sulphureous or pyroligneous 
acids might, perhaps, be used to advantage ; and the 
skill of chemists could not be better directed than in 
seeking for some cheaper and more effective material. 
So much has been written eloquently on the flight of 
flying-fish by the lamented Humboldt, and other scien- 
tific voyagers, that we shall not enter on the subject 
here. 
Family II. — CHROMIDANS {ChromididcB). 
The Chromides of Muller have an interrupted lateral 
line, villiform teeth, a single dorsal, and only one nos- 
tril or opening to each pituitary sac. They are short, 
moderately compressed, symmetrical fishes, with large 
ctenoid scales, spinous rays in front of the dorsal and 
anal, and scaly integument enveloping the bases of 
these fins. The ventrals have a spine in front of the 
five soft raj's, and are situated behind the pectorals. 
The stomach is ciecal, and the pancreatic caeca are 
•few in number. The family belongs to the sub-order 
of Acanthopterygian Pharyngognaths, and is made up 
of the following genera : — 
Chromis, inhabiting the Nile ; Sarotheroden (Riippell), fre- 
quenting the Bight of Benin; and Acara, Chietobranchus, 
Creniq/chla, Geophagus, fleros, all Brazilian genera, described 
by Heekel ; also Cycla (Bloch) from Surinam. 
The Bolti {Chromis nilotica) is said to be the best 
fish in the Nile. It is compressed, with a sub-orbicular 
profile. A Crenicychla of the fresh waters of the island 
of Trinidad is known locally by the name of Le Brocket 
or Pike. Haligenes, is a chromidan genus recently 
characterized by Dr. Gunther. 
Family III.— CTENOLABROIDS (Plate 5, fig. 2G). 
This family, named by some Foma centr idee, is com- 
posed of oval or oblong fishes, with the head forming 
part of the general elliptic profile. The scales are 
large and ctenoid, and the general aspect is neat, com- 
pact, and peculiar, so that 'the family is readily' recog- 
nizable by those who have seen a few species. The 
dorsal and anal are placed on the posterior curves of 
the oval profile, and are supported in front by spinous 
rays. The naked part of the tail intervening between 
the three vertical fins is short and moderately high. 
There is only a single nostril to each pituitary sac, as 
in the Chromidans, and the closed air-bladder is with- 
out appendages. The ovisac opens externally by a 
tube that issues behind the vent. There are no caverns 
in the outer walls of the cranium, as in the Scisenoids ; 
between which and the Ctenolabroids there is some 
resemblance in form. 
The genera are — Caprodon (Schlegel); Amphiprion ; Prem- 
nas; Pomacentrus ; Pristotis (Riippell); Dascyllus; Glyphiso- 
don ; Eiroplus ; and Heliases. 
They are inhabitants of the warmer districts of the 
ocean, are of small size, do not assemble in sculls, and 
are not the objects of any special fishery. 
Family IV.— CYCLOLABROIDS {Cyclolabridce). 
Plate 5, figs. 27, 28. 
In this family cycloid scales are associated with spin 
ous fin-rays, a combination which impairs the exactness 
of the distinctive characters which Agassiz had at first 
assigned to his ctenoid and cycloid orders. Systemat- 
ists have always met with similar impediments to their 
grouping animals by one or two peculiarities of struc- 
ture. The members of the family are more or less 
compressed scaly fishes, with an oval, elliptical, or 
oblong profile, and generally with a parallel-sided naked 
part of the tail intervening between the vertical fins. 
The ventrals are thoracic, with one spine and five 
branching rays. The dorsal is single, with anterior 
spinous rays, which have frequently membranous pro- 
cesses behind their tips ; and there is always a distinct 
well-developed caudal. The lateral line is either con- 
tinuous or interrupted. The jaws are covered by fleshy 
lips, and their dentition varies with the genera, being 
villiform, or subulate, or conical, and in one group incor- 
porated with the bones so as to form horseshoe-shaped 
jaws, which have been compared to the bill of a parrot. 
The palate is smooth, without teeth, and there is one 
pharyngeal bone below and two above, which are armed 
sometimes with cylindrical teeth having flat cusps, 
sometimes with lamellated plates, sometimes with flat 
teeth simulating mosaic, and sometimes the pharyngeal 
teeth are card-like. The air-bladder is simple and 
closed, as in the rest of the order. There are no pan- 
creatic cseca, and the eggs are discharged through a 
tube which opens behind the vent. 
The genera are — Labrus ; Cossyphus ; Crenilabrus ; Cteno- 
labrus; Acanthulabrus ; Coricus; Clepticus ; Lachnohimus ; 
Tautoga ; Koplarchus {Kaup') ; Malacanthus ; Cheilio ; Malap- 
terus; Jiilis ; Chierops (Riippell); Anampses ; Gomphosus; 
Xyricht/iys ; Novaculti ; Ckeiliiius ; Cirrkilahrtis (Sclilegel) ; 
Epibubis; Scarus; Cullyodoti; and Odax. 
In Xyrichthys and Novacula some of the front rays 
of the dorsal are detached forwards, forming, as it were, 
two dorsals. The British species are the Wrasse- 
conner {Labrus bergylta) ; the Comber W rasse {Labrus 
comber)-, the Cook or Red Wrasse {Labrus mixtus); the 
Gorkwmg {Cre7iilab7-us melops); the Corkling (Crem- 
labrus 2>7tsillus) ; Goldfinny ( Ctenolabrus rupestris) ; the 
Scale-rayed Wrasse {Acantholabrus couchii); the Sea- 
wife {Acantholabrus Tjari-ellii) ; the Rock-cook {Acan- 
tholabrus exoletus) ; and the Rainbow Wrasse {Julis 
Meditei-ranea). Some of these species are plentiful 
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