80 
room xi. size of the fleshy lips which cover their teeth, 
have the general form of the Percoid, with 
the body covered with large scales, and only 
a single dorsal fin, which is spinous in front. 
Their colours are generally exceedingly bril¬ 
liant; and from their usually living on rocky 
shores, they are commonly called Rock Fish. 
The Parrot Fish (Scarits) are peculiar in this 
family, for the bones of their jaws being very 
large, and convex externally. The- jaws are 
covered on the front part with teeth placed one 
over the other like scales; and as fast as those 
at the edge are worn away, they are succeeded 
by a new set. 
The last family of the Spiny-rayed Fishes, 
from the bones of their mouths being elongated 
into a tube, are called the Tubular-mouthed 
Fishes. This family consists of only two ge¬ 
nera, distinguished by the shape of the body. 
In the Tobacco-pipe Fish (Fistularia) it is cy¬ 
lindrical, and in the Sea Snipes (Centriscus) it is 
compressed. 
The second division of Fish is characterized 
by all the rays of the fins (except the first 
of the dorsal and pectoral fins) being soft, 
jointed, and usually divided at the end into se¬ 
veral branches. This division has been sepa¬ 
rated into several orders, according to the posi¬ 
tion of the ventral fin. 
The 
