BULL-HEADS AND GURNARDS. 
3 S 5 
Beaked As a genus remarkable for the singularity of their form, we may 
Gurnards, briefly notice the beaked gurnards, of which the European representa¬ 
tive (Peristethus cataphractum ) is shown in our illustration. These rather small 
fishes are specially characterised by the preorbital bone being prolonged into a 
flattened process projecting on each side beyond the muzzle; the whole of the 
squared head being invested in a solid bony case. Large plates of bone form the 
body-armour; the dorsal fin may be either continuous or divided into two moieties, 
of which the second is the longer; there are two free appendages in advance of 
each pectoral fin; teeth are wanting; and the lower jaw is provided with barbels. 
These fishes, of which there are some ten representatives, range from the southern 
shores of Britain, through the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and likewise from the 
BEAKED GURNARD nat. size). 
Indian Ocean to China and the Sandwich Islands. Nowhere abundant, they are 
believed to inhabit deeper water than the gurnards, which they resemble in their 
general mode of life. 
nying Of more interest than either of the preceding are the so-called 
Gurnards. flying gurnards ( Dactylopterus ) of the Mediterranean, the Tropical 
Atlantic, and Indo-Pacific Oceans, since they alone share with the true flying- 
fish the power of taking long flying leaps along the surface of the sea. In order 
to do this, their pectoral fins are greatly developed, assuming a wing-like form, 
with the anterior portion shorter and separated from the remainder. The upper 
surface and sides of the squared, gurnard-like head are bony; long spines are present 
on the scapular and preopercular; the body is covered with medium-sized keeled 
scales, among which there is no lateral line ; and the second doisal fin but slightly 
exceeds the first in length. Although granular teeth are piesent on the jaw, the 
palate is toothless. The air-bladder is divided into longitudinal halves, and 
furnished with a muscle. It is only in the adult that the pectoral fins are suffi¬ 
ciently developed to enable these fishes to “ fly.” Of the three species, the best 
VOL. V.-25 
