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room^xi. ( Brama ) has many of the characters of the Chas- 
todons, except that the palate is not toothed. 
The Scomberoid fishes have a smooth skin 
covered with a multitude of small scales, and a 
large caudal fin. They are much used as food, 
and afford great employment to the fishermen. 
The Mackerel ( Scomber ) has two dorsal fins: 
the hinder rays of the posterior are separat¬ 
ed from each other, as if forming a series of 
small fins, as in the common Mackerel (Scomber 
Scombus ). Some of the species have a ridge of 
cartilaginous spines on the side of the tail. 
The Sword Fish (. Xiphias ) is very like the 
Tunny, but the front part of its upper jaw is 
produced into a long beak, by which it at¬ 
tacks the larger sea animals. It swims with 
excessive rapidity, and its flesh is much praised. 
The common Sword Fish (Xiphias gladius) 
has no ventral fins. The Flying Sword Fish 
(Notistium) has distinct ventral fins, and the 
dorsal very high and long, which enables it 
to swim with such velocity that it can drive its 
beak through the stout oak planking of a ship. 
A fine specimen of this fish is in a Case over 
the Fire-Place, and by the side of it is a piece 
of oak plank pierced by the beak of a larger 
fish of this species. The fish itself is very rare, 
yet several well recorded instances of similar 
occurrences are known. In many genera of 
the Scomberoid family, the spines, which in 
most 
