Beats Prt het tate CAP ehnteehenda tote Pstr dione tt intitle aahaiie be Mena PLEA Hr y arabs ee bhd IBRARY aes arakananee Pat Ann ions i tity Diebea gh Mh Uaioe a ete magna ie ae saa ae ah ‘] Panett AL pens ate Sahar as i be Di Pac ne sin ‘ee ea mt ees £ i se ema LC Be " - : of * et | eerie co areeigeaet ir Cones he Cie EI: Pies i eof shee Fergie iin sper oo es habe earth gel ari etal Fp psn i t SISters ree fot fol S Hes NREL ete De Hd peed ea aie tela Petia fied ps PB Roman teticy paiiss tel syst Pineal rpetcieh ee bein tere Lieve ti 4 ne Ure Street atte! psec ona a eoeer ears is Bay Pitan tine futet ean tote trot 1 a Mone ren a da a y Caren aires Werke) Een a) CT eee acaa tear lege A esse rae bide reel ee Siig reas pee Pr peer tuered ofr pps Laren o potest Lnheth Pieter ae ity ares erereeaore dedatiaen ors rn PU Oat a jie ei Sethe Sper pats prs a reesei paet eters rise meget amet aa tate dite elm ts {ieee teeta tree tees weer ele sats fiat i gatepaemiee Te elt a re Peete cll Pelt seen itoye) ine ava i cuelper Snes ieee Bape ree Peedi tt ie Roepe pets te Peteiet I ppp by ciodiapsty i rose it anna a Cents rth reat dia iat Piero bs i" y ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY ~ New YorK STATE COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY — wn ge 4 . Ss atone vs 30uS c\e\ @ Ao a Z x wee en ow ae jis ge , 2 : Las x09 2. OceamoVps loki uitoia , Rolocentrus Lodewno ae Forcipigex . Novaculichtays Sy Kallosomus Qua wat unroceWatlus ahs, E € Sa AMroscrirertes Wase ei rcdors CopyRIGHT, 1907) BY HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PREFATORY NOTE Tuis work contains virtually all the non-technical material contained in the author’s “Guide to the Study of Fishes.” It lacks the considerable portion relating to the structure and classification of fishes, which is intended rather for the technical student of ichthyology. The present volume contains substantially all which the author would have written had his original purpose been to cover the subject of fishes in a general natural history of animals. The fishes used as food and those sought by anglers in America are treated fully, and proportionate attention is paid to all the existing as well as all extinct families of fishes. Notwithstanding the relative absence of technical material in the present volume, the writer hopes that it may still be valuable to students of ichthyology, though his chief aim has been to make it interesting to nature-lovers and anglers, and instructive to all who open its pages. Davip STARR JORDAN. June 15, 1907- CONTENTS CHAPTER I. THE LIFE OF THE FISH (Lepomis megalotis). What is a Fish?—The Long-eared Sunfish.—Form of the Fish._—Face of the Fish.—How the Fish Breathes.—Teeth of the Fish.—How the Fish Sees. —Color of the Fish.—The Lateral Line-—The Fins of the Fish.—The Skeleton of the Fish—The Fish in Action.—The Air-bladder.—The Brain of the Fish:—The’ Fish's: Nest)... oe sees ak. ete ees be dee ds CHAPTER II. THE EXTERIOR OF THE FISH. Form of Body.—Measurement of the Fish.—The Scales or Exoskeleton.— Ctenoid and Cycloid Scales —Placoid Scales.—Bony and Prickly Scales. —Lateral Line.—Function of the Lateral Line—The Fins of Fishes.— MAAS CLES 5 Sst water. c sires betes ih a the Mer et aen oe ait aaa een merit ac ak ee CHAPTER III. THE DISSECTION OF THE FISH. The Blue-green Sunfish.—The Viscera.—Organs of Nutrition.—The Alimen- tary Canal.—The Spiral Valve.—Length of the Intestine.—The Eggs of Fishes.—Protection of the Young... ........ eee eee eee eee eee nee CHAPTER IV. INSTINCTS, HABITS, AND ADAPTATIONS. The Habits of Fishes.—Irritability of Animals —Nerve-cells and Fibers.— The Brain or Sensorium.—Reflex Action.—Instinct.—Classification of Instincts.—Variability of Instincts Adaptations to Environment.— Flight of Fishes —Quiescent Fishes.—Migratory Fishes.—Anadromous Fishes ===Pupriacity: Of Fishes... 3 s.0..séipeaun ed yoowojs ~uyf posLop ~~ JO \ doy svjno1ado au2y yp12}0) = s Si +2PPd]Q-waims y1 fo Rava“ \ 4appn}q-wens The Dissection of the Fish 27 Next it flows into the thick-walled ventricle, whence by the rhythmical construction of its walls it is forced into an arterial bulb which lies at the base of the ventral aorta, which carries it on to the gills. After passing through the fine gill-filaments, it is returned to the dorsal aorta, a large blood-vessel which ex- tends along the lower surface of the back-bone, giving out branches from time to time. The kidneys in fishes constitute an irregular mass under the back-bone posteriorly. They discharge their secretions through the ureter to a small urinary bladder, and thence into the uro- genital sinus, a small opening behind the anus. Into the same sinus are discharged the reproductive cells in both sexes. In the female sunfish the ovaries consist of two granular masses of yellowish tissue lying just below and behind the swim- bladder. In the spring they fill much of the body cavity and the many little eggs can be plainly seen. When mature they are discharged through the oviduct to the urogenital sinus. In some fishes there is no special oviduct and the eggs pass into the abdominal cavity before exclusion. In the male the reproductive organs have the same position as the ovaries in the female. They are, however, much smaller in size and paler in color, while the minute spermatozoa appear milky rather than granular on casual examination. > shy } DP) I SID Fie. 30.—Sand-darter, Ammocrypta clara (Jordan and Meek). Des Moines River. The motion is very swift, at first in a straight line, but is later deflected in a curve, the direction bearing little or no relation to that of the wind. When a vessel passes through a school of these fishes, they spring up before it, moving in all directions, as grasshoppers in a meadow. Quiescent Fishes.—Some fishes, as the lancelet, lie buried in the sand all their lives. Others, as the sand-darter (A mmocry pta pellucida) and the hinalea (Julis gaimard), bury themselves in the sand at intervals or to escape from their enemies. Some live in the cavities of tunicates or sponges or holothurians or corals or oysters, often passing their whole lives inside the cavity of one animal. Many others hide themselves in the interstices of kelp or seaweeds. Some eels coil themselves in the crevices of rocks or coral masses, striking at their prey like snakes. Some sea-horses cling by their tails to gulfweed or sea-wrack. Many Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations 45 little fishes (Gobiomorus, Carangus, Psenes) cluster under the stinging tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war or under ordinary jellyfishes. In the tide-pools, whether rock, coral, or mud, in all regions multitudes of little fishes abound. As these localities are neglected by most collectors, they have proved of late years a most prolific source of new species. Fia, 31.—Pearl-fish, Fierasfer acus (Linneus), issuing from a Holothurian. Coast of Italy. (After Emery.) The tide-pools of Cuba, Key West, Cape Flattery, Sitka, Una- laska, Monterey, San Diego, Mazatlan, Hilo, Kailua and Waiane in Hawaii, Apia and Pago-Pago in Samoa, the present ~ writer has found peculiarly rich in rock-loving forms. Even richer are the pools of the promontories of Japan, Hakodate. Head, Misaki, Awa, Izu, Waka, and Kagoshima, where a whole new fish fauna unknown to collectors in markets and sandy bays has been brought to light. Some of these rock-fishes are left buried in the rock weeds as the tide flows, lying quietly until it returns. Others cling to the rocks by ventral suckers, while still others depend for their safety on their powers of leaping or on their quickness of their movements in the water. Those of the latter class are often brilliantly colored, but the others mimic closely the algee or the rocks. Some fishes live in the sea only, some prefer brackish water. Some are found only 46 Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations in the rivers, and a few pass more or less indiscriminately from one kind of water to another. Migratory Fishes.—The movements of migratory fishes are mainly controlled by the impulse of reproduction. Some pelagic fishes, especially those of the mackerel and flying-fish families, swim long distances to a region favorable for the deposition of spawn. Others pursue for equal distances the schools of men- haden or other fishes which serve as their prey. Some _ species are known mainly in the waters they make their breeding homes, as in Cuba, Southern Cali- fornia, Hawaii, or Japan, the individuals being scattered at other times through the wide seas. Anadromous Fishes. — Many fresh-water fishes, as trout and suckers, forsake the large streams in the spring, ascending the small brooks where their young can be reared in greater safety. ! Still others, known as anadromous Fie. 82. — Portuguese Man-of-war fishes, feed and mature in the Fish, Gobiomorus gronoviit. Family sea, but ascend the rivers as the Shumate, impulse of reproduction grows strong. Among such fishes are the salmon, shad, alewife, stur- geon, and striped bass in American waters. The most remark- able case of the anadromous instinct is found in the king ‘salmon or quinnat (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) of the Pacific Coast. This great fish spawns in November, at the age of four years and an average weight of twenty-two pounds. In the Columbia River it begins running with the spring freshets in March and April. It spends the whole summer, without feeding, in the ascent of the river. By autumn the individuals have reached the mountain streams of Idaho, greatly changed in appearance, Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations 47 discolored, worn, and distorted. The male is humpbacked, with sunken scales, and greatly enlarged, hooked, bent, or twisted jaws, with enlarged dog-like teeth. On reaching the spawning beds, which may be a thousand miles from the sea in the Columbia, over two thousand in the Yukon, the female de- posits her eggs in the gravel of some shallow brook. The male covers them and scrapes the gravel over them. Then both male and female drift tail foremost helplessly down the stream; none, so far as certainly known, ever survives the reproductive act. The same habits are found in the five other species of salmon in the Pacific, but in most cases the individuals do not start so early nor run so far. The blue-back salmon or redfish, however, does not fall far short in these regards. The salmon of the Atlantic has a similar habit, but the distance traveled is everywhere much less, and most of the hook-jawed males drop down to the sea and survive to repeat the acts of reproduction. Catadromous fishes, as the true eel (Anguilla), reverse this order, feeding in the rivers and brackish estuaries, apparently finding their usual spawning-ground in the sea. Pugnacity of Fishes.—Some fishes are very pugnacious, al- ways ready for a quarrel with their own kind. The stickle- backs show this disposition, especially the males. In Hawaii the natives take advantage of this trait to catch the Uu (Myrtpristis murdjan), a bright crimson-colored fish found in those waters. The species lives in crevices in lava rocks. Catching a live one, the fishermen suspend it by a string in front of the rocks. It remains there with spread fins and flashing scales, and the others come out to fight it, when all are drawn to the surface by a 48 Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations concealed net. Another decoy is substituted and the trick is repeated until the showy and quarrelsome fishes are all secured. In Siam the fighting-fish (Betta pugnax) is widely noted. The following account of this fish is given by Cantor:* ““When the fish is in a state of quiet, its dull colors pre- sent nothing remarkable; but if two be brought together, or if one sees its own image in a looking-glass, the little creature becomes suddenly excited, the raised fins and the whole body shine with metallic colors of dazzling beauty, while the pro- jected gill membrane, waving like a black frill round the throat, adds something of grotesqueness to the general appearance. In this state it makes repeated darts at its real or reflected antag- onist. But both, when taken out of each other’s sight, instantly become quiet. The fishes were kept in glasses of water, fed with larve of mosquitoes, and had thus lived for many months. The Siamese are as infatuated with the combats of these fish as the Malays are with their cock-fights, and stake on the issue considerable sums, and sometimes their own persons and fami- lies. The license to exhibit fish-fights is farmed, and brings a considerable annual revenue to the king of Siam. The species abounds in the rivulets at the foot of the hills of Penang. The inhabitants name it ‘Pla-kat,’ or the ‘fighting-fish’; but the kind kept especially for fighting is an artificial variety culti- vated for the purpose.” A related species is the equally famous tree-climber of India (Anabas scandens). In 1797 Lieutenant Daldorf describes his capture of an Anabas, five feet above the water, on the bark of a palm-tree. In the effort to do this, the fish held on to the bark by its preopercular spines, bent its tail, inserted its anal spines, then pushing forward, repeated the operation. * Cantor, Catal. Malayan Fishes, 1850, p. 87. Bowring, Siam, P- 155, gives a similar account of the battles of these fishes. oP ‘ . I e ‘DL, . : Tq TYLPSTTY UL mest T PLL PS ul opis yWou oy} wlodj uoljzeI1S RO1SOTOL TyeSsITN 9 LHBST 0 sjood-opt1 « ‘9g a8eg—CySneppayy “| °O 4q YdeaSojoY) “66ST ‘6% Tady ‘erasoyyeg ‘OALT IO AID Aos[o3T ‘papuviys soysy oy} Seavey ‘Surpes ‘ures B roqye ‘soya. YSIY oq} ‘uavds 07 Wess v dn Buruuny “aisseBy sypupib snproyooyrtiig -ysg-menbg—pvFe Ot j CHAPTER V ADAPTATIONS OF FISHES PINES of the Catfishes.—The catfishes or horned pouts (Siluride) have a strong spine in the pectoral fin, one or both edges of this being jagged or serrated. This spine fits into a peculiar joint and by means of a slight downward or forward twist can be set immovably. It can then be broken more easily than it can be depressed. A slight turn in the opposite direction releases the joint, a fact known to the fish and readily learned by the boy. The sharp spine inflicts a jagged wound. Ey Fig. 35 —Mad-tom, Schilbeodes furiosus Jordan and Meek. Showing the poisoned pectoral spine. Family Siluride. Neuse River. Pelicans which have swallowed the catfish have been known to die of the wounds inflicted by the fish’s spine. When the catfish was first introduced into the Sacramento, according to Mr. Will S. Green, it caused the death of many of the native ‘“Sacra- mento perch” (Archoplites interruptus). This perch (or rather bass) fed on the young catfish, and the latter erecting their pectoral spines in turn caused the death of the perch by tear- ing the walls of 1ts stomach. In like manner the sharp dorsal and ventral spines of the sticklebacks have been known to cause the death of fishes who swallow them, and even of ducks. In Puget Sound the stickleback is often known as salmon-killer. SI 2 Adaptations of Fishes Certain small catfishes known as stone-cats and mad-toms (Noturus, Schilbeodes), found in the rivers of the Southern and Middle Western States, are provided with special organs of offense. At the base of the pectoral spine, which is sometimes very jagged, is a structure supposed by Professor Cope to be a poison gland the nature of which has not yet been fully ascer- tained. The wounds made by these spines are exceedingly painful like those made by the sting of a wasp. They are, however, apparently not dangerous. Venomous Spines.—Many species of scorpion-fishes (Scor- pena, Synanceia, Pelor, Pterois, etc.), found in warm seas, as well as the European weavers (Trachinus), secrete poison Fic. 86—Black Nohu, or Poison-fish, Emmydrichthys vulcanus Jordan. A species with stinging spines, showing resemblance to lumps of lava among which it lives. Family Scorpenide. From Tahiti. from under the skin of each dorsal spine. The wounds made by these spines are very exasperating, but are not often danger- ous. In some cases the glands producing these poisons form an oblong bag excreting a milky juice, and placed on the base of the spine. In Thalassophryne, a genus of toad-fishes of tropical America, is found the most perfect system of poison organs known among fishes. The spinous armature of the opercle and the two spines of the first dorsal fin constitute the weapons. The details are known from the dissections of Dr. Giinther. According to his * observations, the opercle in Thalassophryne ‘“‘is very narrow, * Gunther, Introd. to the Study of Fishes, p. 192. Adaptations of Fishes $3 vertically styliform and very mobile. It is armed behind with a spine eight lines long and of the same form as the hollow venom-fang of a snake, being perforated at its base and at its extremity. A sac covering the base of the spine discharges its contents through the apertures and the canal in the interior of the spine. The structure of the dorsal spines is similar. There are no secretory glands imbedded in the membranes of the sacs and the fluid must be secreted by their mucous membrane. The sacs are without an external muscular layer and situated im- mediately below the thick, loose skin which envelops the spines at their extremity. The ejection of the poison into a living animal, therefore, can only be effected as in Synanceta, by the pressure to which the sac is subjected the moment the spine enters another body.” The Lancet of the Surgeon-fish.—Some fishes defend themselves by lashing their enemies with their tails. In the tangs, or surgeon- fishes (Teuthis), the tail is provided with a formidable weapon, Fig 37.—Brown Tang, Teuthis bahianus (Ranzani). Tortugas, Florida. a knife-like spine, with the sharp edge directed forward. This spine when not in use slips forward into a sheath. The fish, when alive, cannot be handled without danger of a severe cut. In the related genera, this lancet is very much more blunt and immovable, degenerating at last into the rough spines of Balista pus or the hair-like prickles of Monacanthus. 54 Adaptations of Fishes Spines of the Sting-ray.—JIn all the large group of sting- rays the tail is provided with one or more large, stiff, barbed spines, which are used with great force by the animal, and are capable of piercing the leathery skin of the sting-ray itself. There is no evidence that these spines bear any specific poison, but the ragged wounds they make are always dangerous and often end in gangrene. It is possible that the mucus on the surface of the spine acts as a poison on the lacerated tissues, rendering the wound something very different from a simple cut. Protection Through Poisonous Flesh of Fishes. —In certain groups of fishes a strange form of self-protection is acquired by Fig. 88.—Common Filefish, Stephanolepis hispidus (Linneus). Virginia. the presence in the body of poisonous alkaloids, by means of which the enemies of the species are destroyed in the death of the individual devoured. Such alkaloids are present in the globefishes (Tetraodontide), the filefishes (Monacanthus), and in some related forms, while members of other groups (Batrachoidid@) are under suspicion in this regard. The alkaloids produce a disease known as cigua- tera, characterized by paralysis and gastric derangements. Severe cases of ciguatera with men, as well as with lower animals, may end fatally in a short time. The flesh of the filefishes (Stephanolepis tomentosus), which Adaptations of Fishes ss the writer has tested, is very meager and bitter, having a de- cidedly offensive taste. It is suspected, probably justly, of be- ing poisonous. In the globefishes the flesh is always more or less poisonous, that of Tetraodon hispidus, called muki-muki, or death-fish, in Hawaii, is reputed as excessively so. The poi- sonous fishes have been lately studied in detail by Dr. Jacques Pellegrin, of the Museum d’Histoire Naturelle at Paris. He shows that any species of fish may be poisonous under certain circumstances, that under certain conditions certain species are poisonous, and that certain kinds are poisonous more or less at Fig. 39.—Tetraodon meleagris (Lacépéde). Riu Kiu Islands. all times. The following account is condensed from Dr. Pelle- grin’s observations. The flesh of fishes soon BHaCHeORS decomposition in hot climates. The consumption of decayed fish may produce serious disorders, usually with symptoms of diarrhoea or erup- tion of the skin. There is in this case no specific poison, but the formation of leucomaines through the influence of bacteria. This may take place with other kinds of flesh, and is known as botolism, or allantiasis. For this disease, as produced by the flesh of fishes, Dr. Pellegrin suggests the name of ichthyosism. It is especially severe in certain very oily fishes, as the tunny, the anchovy, or the salmon. The flesh of these and other fishes occasionally produces similar disorders through mere indiges- tion. In this case the flesh undergoes decay in the stomach. 56 Adaptations of Fishes In certain groups (wrasse-fishes, parrot-fishes, etc.) in the tropics, individual fishes are sometimes rendered poisonous by feeding on poisonous mussels, holothurians, or possibly polyps, species which at certain times, and especially in their spawning season, develops alkaloids which themselves may cause cigua- tera. In this case it is usually the very old or large fishes which are liable to. be infected. In some markets numerous species are excluded as suspicious for this reason. Such a list is in use in the fish-market of Havana, where the sale of certain species, elsewhere healthful, or at the most suspected, was rigidly Fig. 40 —The Trigger-fish, Balistes carolinensis Gmelin. New York. prohibited under the Spanish régime. A list of these suspicious fishes has been given by Prof. Poey. In many of the eels the serum of the blood is poisonous, but its venom is destroyed by the gastric juice, so that the flesh may be eaten with impunity, unless decay has set in. To eat too much of the tropical morays is to invite gastric troubles, but no true ciguatera. The true ciguatera is produced by a specific poisonous alkaloid. This is most developed in the globefishes or puffers (Tetraodon, Spheroides, Tropidichthys, etc.). It is present in the filefishes (Monacanthus, Alutera, etc.), prob-— ably in some toadfishes (Batrachoides, etc.), and similar com- pounds are found in the flesh of sharks and especially in sharks’ livers. Adaptations of Fishes 57 These alkaloids are most developed in the ovaries and testes, and in the spawning season. Thev are also found in the liver and sometimes elsewhere in the body. In many species other- wise innocuous, purgative alkaloids are developed in or about the eggs. Serious illness has been caused by eating the roe of the pike and the barbel. The poison is less virulent in the species which ascend the rivers. It is also much less developed in cooler waters. For this reason ciguatera is almost confined to the tropics. In Havana, Manila, and other tropical ports it is of frequent occurrence, while northward it is practically un- known as a disease requiring a special name or treatment. On the coast of Alaska, about Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet, Fic. 41.—Numbfish, Narcine brasiliensis Henle, showing electric cells. Pensacola, Florida. a fatal disease resembling ciguatera has been occasionally pro- duced by the eating of clams. The purpose of the alkaloids producing ciguatera is con- sidered by Dr. Pellegrin as protective, saving the species by the poisoning of its enemies. The sickness caused by the specific poison must be separated from that produced by ptomaines and leucomaines in decaying flesh or in the oil diffused through it. Poisonous bacteria may be destroyed by cooking, but the alka- loids which cause ciguatera are unaltered by heat. It is claimed in tropical regions that the germs of the bu- bonic plague may be carried through the mediation of fishes which feed on sewage. It is suggested by Dr. Charles B. Ash- 58 Adaptations of Fishes mead that leprosy may be so carried. It is further suggested that the custom of eating the flesh of fishes raw almost uni- versal in Japan, Hawaii, and other regions may be responsible for the spread of certain contagious diseases, in which the fish acts as an intermediate host, much as certain mosquitoes spread the germs of malaria and yellow fever. Electric Fishes.—Several species of fishes possess the power to inflict electric shocks not unlike those of the Leyden jar. This is useful in stunning their prey and especially in confound- ing their enemies. In most cases these electric organs are evidently developed from muscular substance. Their action, which is largely voluntary, is in its nature like muscular action. The power is soon exhausted and must be restored by rest and food. The effects of artificial stimulation and of poisons are parallel with the effect of similar agents on muscles. In the electric rays or torpedos (Narcobatide) the electric organs are large honeycomb-like structures, ‘‘ vertical hexag- (After Boulenger.) ’ onal prisms,” upwards of 400 of them, at the base of the pec- toral fins. Each prism is filled ‘‘ with a clear trembling jelly-like substance.”’ These fishes give a shock which is communicable through a metallic conductor, as an iron spear or the handle of a knife. It produces a peculiar and disagreeable sensation not at all dangerous. It is said that this living battery shows all the known qualities of magnetism, rendering the needle mag- netic, decomposing chemical compounds, etc. In the Nile is an electric catfish (Torpedo electricus) having similar powers. Its electric organ extends over the whole body, being thickest below. It consists of rhomboidal cells of a firm gelatinous substance. The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus), the most powerful Adaptations of Fishes 59 of electric fishes, is not an eel, but allied rather to the sucker or carp. It is, however, eel-like in form and lives in rivers of Brazil and Guiana. The electric organs are in two pete one on the back of the tail, the other on the anal fin. These are made up of an enormous number of minute cells. In the electric eel, as in the other electric fishes, the nerves supplying these organs are much larger than those passing from the spinal cord for any other pur- pose. In all these cases closely related species show no trace of the electric powers. Dr. Gilbert has described the electric powers of species of star-gazer (Astroscopus -grecum and A. seplyreus), the electric cells lying under the naked skin of the top of the head. Electric power is ascribed to a species of cusk (Urophycis regius), but this perhaps needs verification. Photophores or Luminous Oigans.—Many fishes, chiefly of the deep seas, develop organs for producing light. These are known as luminous organs, phosphorescent or- gans, or photophores. These are independently developed in four entirely unrelated groups of fishes. This differ- ence in origin is accompanied by corresponding difference type is found in the Iniomi, their many relatives. These ‘pues oy} Ul Surpyjos (snpojynb sndovsoajsy) 1ozes-1eIg— Ep “OTA CHPPMYS “AL UW Aq oft] WoL) in str: senue The best- oan including the lantern-fishes and may have luminous spots, differ- 60 Adaptations of Fishes entiated areas round or oblong which shine star-like in the dark. These are usually symmetrically placed on the sides of Ay Fig. 44.—Headlight Fish, .#thoprora lucida Goode and Bean. Gulf Stream. the body. They may have also luminous glands or diffuse areas which are luminous, but which do not show the specialized structure of the phosphorescent spots. These glands of similar nature to the spots are mostly on the head or tail. In one fae Fic. 45.—Corynolophus reinhardti (Liitken), showing luminous bulb (modified after Liitken). Family Cerattide. Deep sea off Greenland. genus, thoprora, the luminous snout is compared to the head- light of an engine. Adaptations of Fishes 61 Entirely different are the photophores in the midshipman or singing-fish (Porichthys), a genus of toad-fishes or Batra- choidide. This species lives near the shore and the luminous spots are outgrowths from pores of the lateral line. In one of the anglers (Corynolophus reinhardtt) the complex bait is said to be luminous, and luminous areas are said to occur on the belly of a very small shark of the deep seas of ° i = Fie, 46.—Htmopterus lucifer Jordan and Snyder. Misaki, Japan. Japan (Etmopterus lucifer). This phenomenon is now the sub- ject of study by one of the numerous pupils of Dr. Mitsukuri. The structures in Corynolophus are practically unknown. Photophores in Iniomous Fishes.—In the /niomz the luminous organs have been the subject of an elaborate paper by Dr. R. von Lendenfeld (Deep-sea Fishes of the Challenger. Ap- pendix B). These he divides into ocellar organs of regular form or luminous spots, and irregular glandular organs or luminous areas. The ocellar spots may be on the scales of the lateral line or on other definite areas. They may be raised above the surface or sunk below it. They may be simple, with or without black pigment, or they may have within them a reflecting surface. They are best shown in the Myctoplide and Stomiatide, but are found in numerous other families in nearly all soft-rayed fishes of the deep sea. The glandular areas may be placed on the lower jaw, on the barbels, under the gill cover, on the suborbital or preorbital, on the tail, or they may be irregularly scattered. Those about the eye have usually the reflecting membrane. In all these structures, according to Dr. von Lendenfeld, the whole or part of the organ is glandular. The glandular part is at the base and the other structures are added distally. The ' primitive organ was a gland which produced luminous slime. 62 Adaptations of Fishes To this in the process of specialization greater complexity has been added. The luminous organs of some fishes resemble the supposed original structure of the primitive photophore, though of course these cannot actually represent it. The simplest type of photophore now found is in Astronesthes, in the form of irregular glandular luminous patches on the surface of the skin. Fie. 47 —Argyropelecus olfersi Cuvier. Gulf Stream. There is no homology between the luminous organs of any insect and those of any fish. Photophores of Porichthys.—Entirely distinct in their origin are the luminous spots in the midshipman (Porichthys notatus), a shore fish of California. These have been described in detail by Dr. Charles Wilson Greene (late of Stanford University, now of the University of Missouri) in the Journal of Morphology, xv., p. 667. These are found on various parts of the body in connection with the mucous pores of the lateral lines and about the mucous pores of the head. The skin in Porichthys is naked, and the photophores arise from a modification of its epidermis. Each is spherical, shining white, and consists of four parts—the Adaptations of Fishes 63 lens, the gland, the reflector, and the pigment. As to its func- tion Prof. Greene observes: “T have kept specimens of Porichthys in aquaria at the Hop- kins Seaside Laboratory, and have made numerous observations on them with an effort to secure ocular proof of the phospho- rescence of the living active fish. The fish was observed in the dark when quiet and when violently excited, but, with a single exception, only negative results were obtained. Once a phosphorescent glow of scarcely perceptible intensity was observed when the fish was pressed against the side of the aquarium. Then, this is a shore fish and quite common, and one might suppose that so striking a phenomenon as it would present if these organs were phosphorescent in a small degree would be observed by ichthyologists in the field, or by fisher- men, but diligent inquiry reveals no such evidence. ‘Notwithstanding the fact that Porichthys has been observed to voluntarily exhibit only the trace of phosphorescence men- tioned above, still the organs which it possesses in such num- bers are beyond doubt true phosphorescent organs, as the fol- lowing observations will demonstrate. A live fish put into an aquarium of sea-water made alkaline with ammonia water ex- hibited a most brilliant glow along the location of the well- developed organs. Not only did the lines of organs shine forth, but the individual organs themselves were distinguish- able. The glow appeared after about five minutes, remained prominent for a few minutes, and then for twenty minutes gradually became weaker until it was scarcely perceptible. Rubbing the hand over the organs was followed always by a distinct increase in the phosphorescence. Pieces of the fish containing the organs taken five and six hours after the death of the animal became luminous upon treatment with ammonia water. “ Electrical stimulation of the live fish was also tried with good success. The interrupted current from an induction coil was used, one electrode being fixed on the head over the brain or on the exposed spinal cord near the brain, and the other moved around on different parts of the body. No results fol- lowed relatively weak stimulation of the fish, although such currents produced violent contractions of the muscular system 64 Adaptations of Fishes of the body. But when a current strong enough to be quite painful to the hands while handling the electrodes was used then stimulation of the fish called forth a brilliant glow of light apparently from every well-developed photophore. All the lines on the ventral and lateral surfaces of the body glowed with a beautiful light, and continued to do so while the stimu- lation lasted. The single well-developed organ just back of and below the eye was especially prominent. No luminosity was observed in the region of the dorsal organs previously de- scribed as rudimentary in structure. I was also able to produce Fie. 48.—Luminous organs and lateral line of Midshipman, Porichthys notatus Girard. Family Batrachoidide. Monterey, California. (After Greene.) the same effect by galvanic stimulation, rapidly making and breaking the current by hand. “The light produced in Porichthys was, as near as could be determined by direct observation, a white light. When pro- duced by electric stimulation it did not suddenly reach its maximal intensity, but came in quite gradually and disappeared in the same way when the stimulation ceased. The light was not a strong one, only strong enough to enable one to quite Say distinguish the apparatus used in the experiment. ‘An important fact brought out by the above experiment is that an electrical stimulation strong enough to most violently stimulate the nervous system, as shown by the violent con- tractions of the muscular system, may still be too weak to produce phosphorescence. ‘This fact gives a physiological con- Adaptations of Fishes 65 firmation of the morphological result stated above that no specific nerves are distributed to the phosphorescent organs. “IT can explain the action of the electrical current in these experiments only on the supposition that it produces its effect by direct action on the gland. “The experiments just related were all tried on specimens of the fish taken from under the rocks where they were guarding ee Ra Bie Y Jorrer Ny Ly Q \y, PIF C21} eet ie ii oY, a eAai3 se Fic. 49.—Cross-section of a ventral phosphorescent organ of the Midshipman, Porichthys notatus Girard. 1, lens; gl, gland; r, reflector; bl, blood; p, pig- ment. (After Greene.) the young brood. Two specimens, however, taken by hooks from the deeper water of Monterey Bay, could not be made to show phosphorescence either by electrical stimulation or by treatrment with ammonia. These specimens did not have the high development of the system of mucous cells of the skin exhibited by the nesting fish, My observations were, how- 66 Adaptations of Fishes ever, not numerous enough to more than suggest the possibility of a seasonal high development of the phosphorescent organs. “Two of the most important parts of the organ have to do with the physical manipulation of light—the reflector and the lens, respectively. The property of the reflector needs no dis- cussion other than to call attention to its enormous develop- ment. The lens cells are composed of a highly refractive sub- stance, and the part as a whole gives every evidence of light refraction and condensation. The form of the lens gives a theoretical condensation of light at a very short focus. That such is in reality the case, I have proved conclusively by exami- nation, of fresh material. If the fresh fish be exposed to direct Fic. 50—Section of the deeper portion of phosphorescent organ of Porichthys notatus, highly magnified. (After Greene.) stinlight, there is a reflected spot of intense light from each phosphorescent organ. This spot is constant in position with reference to the sun in whatever position the fish be turned and is lost if the lens be dissected away and only the reflector left. With needles and a simple microscope it is comparatively easy to free the lens from the surrounding tissue and to examine it directly. When thus freed and examined in normal saline, I have found by rough estimates that it condenses sunlight to a bright point a distance back of the lens of from one-fourth to one-half its diameter. I regret that I have been unable to make precise physical developments. : ‘The literature on the histological structure of known phos- phorescent organs of fishes is rather meager and unsatisfactory. Von Lendenfeld describes twelve classes of phosphorescent organs from deep-sea fishes collected by the Challenger expe- Adaptations of Fishes 67 dition. All of these, however, are greater or less modifications of one type. This type includes, according to von Lendenfeld’s views, three essential parts, 7.e., a gland, phosphorescent cells, and a local ganglion. These parts may have added a reflector, a pigment layer, or both; and all these may be simple or com- pounded in various ways, giving rise to the twelve classes. Blood-vessels and nerves are distributed to the glandular por- tion. Of the twelve classes direct ocular proof is given for one, 1.e., ocellar organs of Myctophum which were observed by Willemoes-Suhm at night to shine ‘like a star in the net.’ Von Lendenfeld says that the gland produces a secretion, and he supposes the light or phosphorescence to be produced either by the ‘burning or consuming’ of this secretion by the phos- phorescent cells, or else by some substance produced by the phosphorescent cells. Furthermore, he says that the phos- phorescent cells act at the ‘will of the fish’ and are excited to action by the local ganglion. ‘““Some of these statements and conclusions seem insufficiently grounded, as, for example, the supposed action of the phos- phorescent cells, and especially the control of the ganglion over them. In the first place, the relation between the ganglion and the central nervous system in the forms described by von Lendenfeld is very obscure, and the structure described as a ganglion, to judge from the figures and the text descriptions, may be wrongly identified. At least it is scarcely safe to ascribe ganglionic function to a group of adult cells so poorly preserved that only nuclei are to be distinguished. In the second place, no structural character is shown to belong to the ‘phosphorescent cells’ by which they may take part in the process ascribed to them.* ‘The action of the organs described by him may be explained on other grounds, and entirely independent of the so-called ‘ganglion cells’ and of the ‘ phosphorescent cells.’ * The cells which von Lendenfeld designates ‘phosphorescent cells’ have as their peculiar characteristic a large, oval, highly refracting body imbedded in the protoplasm of the larger end of theclavate cells. These cells have nothing in common with the structure of the cells of the firefly known to be phos- phorescent in nature. In fact the true phosphorescent cells are more probably the ‘gland-cells’ found in ten of the twelve classes of organs which he describes. 68 Adaptations of Fishes ‘“‘Phosphorescence as applied to the production of light by a living animal is, according to our present ideas, a chemical action, an oxidation process. The necessary conditions for producing it are two—an oxidizable substance that is luminous on oxida- tion, 1.e., a photogenic substance on the one hand, and the pres- ence of free oxygen on the other. Every phosphorescent organ must have a mechanism for producing these two conditions; all other factors are only secondary and accessory. If the gland of a firefly can produce a substance that is oxidizable and luminous on oxidation, as shown as far back as 1828 by Faraday and confirmed and extended recently by Watasé, it is ‘conceivable, indeed probable, that phosphorescence in Myctophum and other deep-sea forms is produced in the same direct way, that is, by direct oxidation of the secretion of the gland found in each of at least ten of the twelve groups of organs described by von Lendenfeld. Free oxygen may be supplied directly from the blood in the capillaries distributed to the gland which he describes. The possibility of the regulation of the supply of blood carrying oxygen is analogous to what takes place in the firefly and is wholly adequate to account for any “flashes of light’ ‘at the will of the fish.’ ‘In the phosphorescent organs of Porichthys the only part the function of which cannot be explained on physical grounds is the group of cells called the gland. If the large granular cells of this portion of the structure produce a secretion, as seems probable from the character of the cells and their behavior toward reagents, and this substance be oxidizable and luminous in the presence of free oxygen, i.e., photogenic, then we have the conditions necessary for a light-producing organ. The numerous capillaries distributed to the gland will supply free oxygen sufficient to meet the needs of the case. Light pro- duced in the gland is ultimately all projected to the exterior, either directly from the luminous points in the gland or reflected outward by the reflector, the lens condensing all the rays into a definite pencil or slightly diverging cone. This explanation of the light-producing process rests on the assumption of a secretion product with certain specific characters. But com- paring the organ with structures known to produce such a sub- stance, i.e., the glands of the firefly or the photospheres of Eu- Adaptations of Fishes 69 phausia, it seems to me the assumption is not less certain than the assumption that twelve structures resembling each other in certain particulars have a common function to that proved for one only of the twelve. “Tam inclined to the belief that whatever regulation of the action of the phosphorescent organ occurs is controlled by the regulation of the supply of free oxygen by the blood-stream flowing through the organ; but, however this may be, the essen- tial fact remains that the organs in Porichthys are true phos- phorescent organs.’’ (GREENE.) Other species of Porichthys with similar photophores occur in Texas, Guiana, Panama, and Chile. The name midshipman alludes to these shining spots, compared to buttons. Globefishes.—The globefishes (Tetraodon, etc.) and the por- cupine-fishes have the surface defended by spines. These fishes have an additional safeguard through the instinct to swallow air. When one of these fishes is seriously disturbed it rises to Fre. 51.—Sucking-fish, or Pegador, Leptecheneis naucrates (Linneus). Virginia. the surface, gulps air into a capacious sac, and then floats belly upward on the surface. It is thus protected from other fishes, although easily taken by man. The same habit appears in some of the frog-fishes (Antennarius) and in the Swell sharks (Cepha- loscyllium). The writer once hauled out a netful of globefishes (Tetrao- don hispidus) from a Hawaiian lagoon. As they lay on the bank a dog came up and sniffed at them. As his nose touched them they swelled themselves up with air, becoming visibly two or three times as large as before. It is not often that the lower animals show surprise at natural phenomena, but the attitude of the dog left no question as to his feeling. Remoras.—The different species of Remora, or shark-suckers, fasten themselves to the surface of sharks or other fishes and are carried about by them often to great distances. These 70 Adaptations of Fishes fishes attach themselves by a large sucking-disk on the top of the head, which is a modified spinous dorsal fin. They do not harm the shark, except possibly to retard its motion. If the shark is caught and drawn out of the water, these fishes often instantly let go and plunge into the sea, swimming away with great celerity. Sucking-disks of Clingfishes.— Other fishes have sucking- disks differently made, by which they cling to rocks. In the gobies the united ventrals have some adhesive power. The blind goby (Typhlogobius californiensis) is said to adhere to rocks in dark holes by the ventral fins. In most gobies the adhesive power is slight. In the sea-snails (Liparidide) and lumpfishes (Cyclopteride) the united ventral fins are modified into an Fig. 52.—Clingfish, Caularchus meandricus (Girard). Monterey, California. elaborate circular sucking-disk. In the clingfishes (Gobzesocide) the sucking-disk lies between the ventral fins and is made in part of modified folds of the naked skin. Some fishes creep over the bottom, exploring it with their sensitive barbels, as the gurnard, surmullet, and goatfish. The suckers (Catostomus) test the bottom with their thick, sensitive lips, either puckered or papillose, feeding by suction. Lampreys and Hagfishes.—The lampreys stiekk the blood of other fishes to which they fasten themselves by their disk-like mouth armed with rasping teeth. The hagfishes (Myxine, Eptatretus) alone among fishes are truly parasitic. These fishes, worm-like in form, have round mouths, armed with strong hooked teeth. They fasten them- selves at the throats of large fishes, work their way into the muscle without tearing the skin, and finally once inside devour all the muscles of the fish, leaving the skin unbroken and the viscera undisturbed. These fishes become living hulks before Adaptations of Fishes ze they die. If lifted out of the water, the slimy hagfish at once slips out and swims quickly away. In gill-nets in Monterey Bay great mischief is done by hagfish (Polistotrema stouti). It is a curious fact that large numbers of hagfish eggs are taken from the stomachs of the male hagfish, which seems to be Fie. 58. —Hagfish, Polistotrema stouti (Lockington). almost the only enemy of his own species, keeping the numbers in check. The Swordfishes.—In the swordfish and its relatives, the sail- fish and the spearfish, the bones of the anterior part of the head are grown together, making an efficient organ of attack. The sword of the swordfish, the most powerful of these fishes, has been known to pierce the long planks of boats, and it is supposed that the animal sometimes attacks the whale. But stories of this sort lack verification. The Paddle-fishes.—In the paddle-fishes (Polyodon spatula and Psephurus gladius) the snout is spread out forming a broad paddle or spatula. This the animal uses to stir up the mud on the bottoms of rivers, the small organisms contained in mud constituting food. Similar paddle-like projections are developed in certain deep-water Chimeras (Harriottia, Rhino- chimera), and in the deep-sea shark, Muitsukurina. The Sawfishes.—A certain genus of rays (Pristis, the saw- fish) and a genus of sharks (Pristiophorus, the saw-shark), pos- sess a similar spatula-shaped snout. But in these fishes the snout is provided on either side with enamelled teeth set in sockets and standing at right angles with the snout. The animal swims through schools of sardines and anchovies, strikes ZL a VW : ‘eIpul— Fg “Dig TET JO syyNow JAY ‘“WeyyeT uoushz sysig “YsSgMeg uvIpuy (Avg aaqyyy) "weysnput T hee Adaptations of Fishes 73 right and left with this saw, destroying the small fishes, who thus become an easy prey. These fishes live in estuaries and river mouths, Pristis in tropical America and Guinea, Pristi- ophorus in Japan and Australia. In the mythology of science, the Fie. 55.—Saw-shark, Pristiophorus japonicus Giinther. Specimen from Nagasaki. sawfish attacks the whale, but in fact the two animals never come within miles of each other, and the sawfish is an object of danger only to the tender fishes, the small fry of the sea. Peculiarties of Jaws and Teeth.—The jaws of fishes are sub- ject to a great variety of modifications. In some the bones are joined by distensible ligaments and the fish can swallow other fishes larger than itself. In other cases the jaws are excessively small and toothless, at the end of a long tube, so ineffective in appearance that it is a marvel that the fish can swallow any- thing at all. In the thread-eels (Nemichthys) the jaws are so recurved that they cannot possibly meet, and in their great length seem worse than useless. In some species the knife-like canines of the lower jaw pierce through the substance of the upper. In four different and wholly unrelated groups of fishes the teeth are grown fast together, forming a horny beak like that of the parrot. These are the Chimeras, the globefishes (Tetroadon), and their relatives, the parrot-fishes (Scarus, etc.), and the stone-wall perch (Oplegnathus). The structure of the beak varies considerably in these four cases, in accord with the dif- ference in the origin of its structures. In the globefishes the 74. Adaptations of Fishes jaw-bones are fused together, and in the Chimeras they are solidly joined to the cranium itself. The Angler-fishes.—In the large group of angler-fishes the first spine of the dorsal fin is modified into a sort of bait to attract smaller fishes into the capacious mouth below. This structure is typical in the fishing-frog (Lophius), where the fleshy tip of this spine hangs over the great mouth, the huge fish lying on the bottom apparently inanimate as a stone. In other related fishes this spine has different forms, being often reduced to a vestige, of little value as a lure, but retained in accordance with the law of heredity. In a deep-sea angler the bait is enlarged, provided with fleshy streamers and a luminous body which serves to attract small fishes in the depths. The forms and uses of this spine in this group constitute a very suggestive chapter in the study of specialization and ulti- mate degradation, when the special function is not needed or becomes ineffective. Similar phases of excessive development and final degrada- tion may be found in almost every group in which abnormal stress has been laid on a particular organ. Thus the ventral fins, made into a large sucking-disk in Lrparis, are lost alto- gether in Paraliparis. The very large poisoned spines of Pterois become very short in Aploactis, the high dorsal spines of Citula are lost in Alectis, and sometimes a very large organ dwindles to a very small one within the limits of the same genus. An example of this is seen in the poisoned pectoral spines of Schilbeodes. The Unsymmetrical Eyes of Flounders.—In the two great families of flounders and soles the head is unsymmetrically formed, the cranium being twisted and both eyes placed on the same side. The body is strongly compressed, and the side pos- sessing the eyes is uppermost in all the actions of the fish. This upper side, whether right or left, is colored, while the eye- less side is white or very nearly so. It is well known that in the very young flounder the body rests upright in the water. After a little there is a tendency to turn to one side and the lower eye begins its migration to the other side, the interorbital bones or part of them moving before Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations 75 it. In most flounders the eye seems to move over the surface of the head, before the dorsal fin, or across the axil of its first ray. In the tropical genus Platophrys the movement of the eye is most easily followed, as the species reach a larger size than do most flounders before the change takes place. The larva, while symmetrical, is in all cases transparent. In a recent study of the migration of the eye in the winter Fias. 56, 57.—Larval stages of Platophrys podas, a flounder of the Mediterranean, showing the migration of the eye. (After Emery.) flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) Mr. Stephen R. Wil- liams reaches the following conclusions: 1. The young of Limanda ferruginea (the rusty dab) are probably in the larval stage at the same time as those of Pseu- dopleuronectes americanus (the winter flounder). 2. The recently hatched fish are symmetrical, except for the relative positions of the two optic nerves. 3. The first observed occurrence in preparation for meta- morphosis in P. americanus is the rapid resorption of the part of the supraorbital cartilage bar which lies in the path of the eye. 4. Correlated with this is an increase in distance between 76 Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations the eyes and the brain, caused by the growth of the facial carti- lages. 5. The migrating eye moves through an arc of about 120 degrees. Bais: Fig. 58.—Platophrys lunatus (Linneus), the Wide-eyed Flounder. Family Pleuronectide. Cuba. (From nature by Mrs. H. C. Nash.) 6. The greater part of this rotation (three-fourths of it in P. americanus) is a rapid process, taking not more than three days. 7. The anterior ethmoidal region is not so strongly influ- enced by the twisting as the ocular region. 8. The location of the olfac- tory nerves (in the adult) shows Fie. 59.— Young Flounder, just that the morphological midline hatched, with symmetrical eyes. follows the interorbital septum, */ter &-R- Williams.) 9. The cartilage mass lying in the front part of the orbit of the adult eye is a separate anterior structure in the larva. 1o. With unimportant differences, the process of meta- morphosis in the sinistral fish is parallel to that in the dextral fish. 11. The original location of the eye is indicated in the adult by the direction first taken, as they leave the brain, by those cranial nerves having to do with the transposed eye. Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations oT 12. The only well-marked asymmetry in the adult brain is due to the much larger size of the olfactory nerve and lobe of the ocular side. 13. There is a perfect chiasma. 14. The optic nerve of the migrating eye is always anterior to that of the other eye. ‘““The why of the peculiar metamorphosis of the Pleuro- nectide is an unsolved problem. The presence or absence of a swim-bladder can have nothing to do with the change of habit of the young flatfish, for P. americanus must lose its air- bladder before metamorphosis begins, since sections showed no Fig. 60.—Larval Flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus. (After S. R. Williams.) Fie. 61.—Larval Flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus. (After S. R. Williams.) evidence of it, whereas in Lophopsetta maculata, ‘the window- pane flounder,’ the air-sac can often be seen by the naked eye up to the time when the fish assumes the adult coloration, and long after it has assumed the adult form. “Cunningham has suggested that the weight of the fish acting upon the lower eye after the turning would press it toward the upper side out of the way. But in all probability the planktonic larva rests on the sea-bottom little if at all before metamorphosing. Those taken by Mr. Williams into the labora- tory showed in resting no preference for either side until the eye was near the midline. 78 Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations Fig. 62.—Japanese Sea-horse, Hippocampus mohniket Bleeker. Misaki, Japan. CHAPTER VI THE COLORS OF FISHES lV IIGMENTATION.—The colors of fishes are in general pro- %,| duced by oil sacs or pigment cells beneath the epidermis #2] or in some cases beneath the scales. Certain metallic shades. silvery blue or iridescent, are produced, not by actual pigment, but, as among insects, by the deflection of light from the polished skin or the striated surfaces of the scales. Certain fine striations give an iridescent appearance through the inter- ference of light. The pigmentary cvlors may be divided into two general classes, ground coloration and ornamentation or markings. Of these the ground color is most subject to individual or local variation, although usually within narrow limits, while the markings are more subject to change with age or sex. On the other hand, they are more distinctive of the species itself. Protective Coloration.— The ground coloration most usual among fishes is protective in its nature. In a majority of fishes the back is olivaceous or gray, either plain or mottled, and the belly white. To birds looking down into the water, the back is colored like the water itself or like the bottom below it. To fishes in search of prey from below, the belly is colored like the surface of the water or the atmosphere above it. In any case the darker colored upper surface casts its shadow over the paler lower parts. In shallow waters or in rivers the bottom is not uniformly colored. The fish, especially if it be one which swims close to the bottom, is better protected if the olivaceous surface is marked by darker cross streaks and blotches. These give the fish a color resemblance to the weeds about it or to the sand and stones on which it lies. As a rule, no fish which lies on the bottom is ever quite uniformly colored. In the open seas, where the water seems very blue, blue 79 8o The Colors of Fishes colors, and especially metallic shades, take the place of oliva- ceous gray or green. As we descend into deep water, especially in the warm seas, red pigment takes the place of olive. Ata moderate depth a large percentage of the fishes are of vari- ous shades of red. Several of the large groupers of the West Indies are represented by two color forms, a shore form in which the prevailing shade is olive-green, and a deeper-water form which is crimson. In several cases an inter- AON dG ake he ¢ ea LA LH oY Fie. 68.—Garibaldi (scarlet in color), Hypsypops rubicunda (Girard). La Jolla, San Diego, California. mediate-color form also exists which is lemon-yellow. On the coast of California is a band-shaped blenny (A podichthys flavidus) which appears in three colors, according to its sur- roundings, blood-red, grass-green, and olive-yellow. The red coloration is also essentially protective, for the region inhab- ited by such forms is the zone of the rose-red alge. In the arctic waters, and in lakes where rose-red alge are not found, the red-ground coloration is almost unknown, although red may appear in markings or in nuptial colors. It is possible that the red, both of fishes and alge, in deeper water is related to the effect of water on the waves of light, but whether this should make fishes red or violet has never been clearly under- 1 HALICHG@RES TRIMACULATUS (QUOY & GAIMARD) 2 HALICHG{RES DAjDALMA (JORDAN & SEALE) 3 HALICHGRES OPERCULARIS (GUNTHER) FISHES OF THE CORAL REEFS, SAMOA. FAMILY LABRIDZ The Colors of Fishes 81 stood. It is true also that where the red in fishes ceases violet- black begins. In the greater depths, from 500 to 4000 fathoms, the ground color in most fishes becomes deep black or violet-black, sometimes with silvery luster reflected from the scales, but more usually dull and lusterless. This shade may be also protective. In these depths the sun’s rays scarcely penetrate, and the fish and the water are of the same apparent shade, for black coloration is here the mere absence of light. In general, the markings of various sorts grow less distinct with the increase of depth. Bright-red fishes of the depths are usually uniform red. The violet-black fishes of the oceanic abysses show no markings whatever (luminous glands excepted), and in deep waters there are no nuptial or sexual differences in color. Ground colors other than olive-green, gray, brown, or silvery rarely appear among fresh-water fishes. Marine fishes in the tropics sometimes show as ground color bright blue, grass- green, crimson, orange-yellow, or black; but these showy colors are almost confined to fishes of the coral reefs, where they are often associated with elaborate systems of markings. Protective Markings.—The markings of fishes are of alrnost every conceivable character. They may be roughly grouped as protective coloration, sexual coloration, nuptial coloration, recognition colors, and ornamentation, if we may use the latter term for brilliant hues which serve no obvious purpose to the fish itself. Examples of protective markings may be seen everywhere. The flounder which lies on the sand has its upper surface cov- ered with sand-like blotches, and these again will vary according to the kind of sand it imitates. It may be true sand or crushed coral or the detritus of lava, in any case perfectly imitated. Equally closely will the markings on a fish correspond with rock surroundings. With granite rocks we find an elaborate series of granitic markings, with coral rocks another series of shades, and if red corals be present, red shades of like appear- ance are found on the fish. Still another kind of mark indi- cates rock pools lined with the red calcareous alge called coral- lina. Black species are found in lava masses, grass-green ones 2g “SOAT] YI POIYA JO SZJopO oy} Ul ‘SassvUI [VI0D 0} ddUB[GUIESeI suimoys ‘eoureg ‘eidy wto1y usumsdg 9 -apiumdsoag ATuUe,, “(sn@uUlyT) vsoan.iaa pwouvulig ‘Ys UOSIog JO ‘Njoy—"FQ “Ol The Colors of Fishes 83 among the fronds of ulva, and olive-green among Sargassum or fucus, the markings and often the form corresponding to the nature of the alge in which the species makes its home. Sexual Coloration.—In many groups of fishes the sexes are differently colored. In some cases bright-red, blue, or black markings characterize the male, the female having similar marks, but less distinct, and the bright colors replaced by olive, Kmo rita Fie. 65.—Lizard-skipper, Alticus saliens (Forster). A blenny which lies out of water on lava-rocks, leaping from one to another with great agility. From nature; specimen from Point Distress, Tutuila Island, Samoa. (About one- half size.) brown, or gray. In a few cases, however, the female has marks of a totally different nature, and scarcely less bright than those of the male. Nuptial Coloration. — Nuptial colors are those which appear on the male in the breeding season only, the pigment after- wards vanishing, leaving the sexes essentially alike. Such colors are found on most of the minnows and dace (Cyprinide) of the rivers and to a less degree in some other fresh-water fishes, as the darters (Etheostomine) and the trout. In the 84 The Colors of Fishes minnows of many species the male in spring has the skin charged with bright pigment, red, black, or bright silvery, for the most part, the black most often on the head, the red on the head and body, and the silvery on the tips of the fins. At the same time other markings are intensified, and in many species the head and sometimes the body and fins are covered with warty excrescences. These shades are most distinct on the most vigor- Fia. 66.—Blue-breasted Darter, Etheostoma camurum (Cope), the most brilliantly colored of American river-fishes. Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. ‘ous males, and disappear with the warty excrescences after the fertilization of the eggs. Nuptial colors do not often appear among marine fishes, and in but few families are the sexes distinguishable by differences in coloration. Recognition-marks.— Under the head of ‘‘recognition-marks”’ may be grouped a great variety of special markings, which may be conceived to aid the representatives of a given species to recognize each other. That they actually serve this purpose is a matter of theory, but the theory is plausible, and these mark- ings have much in common with the white tail feathers, scarlet crests, colored wing patches, and other markings regarded as recognition-marks among birds. Among these are ocelli, black- or blue-ringed with white or yellow, on various parts of the body; black spots on the dorsal fin; black spots below or behind the eye; black, red, blue, or yellow spots variously placed; cross-bars of red or black or green, with or without pale edges; a blood-red fin or a fin of shining blue among pale ones; a white edge to the tail; a yellow, blue, cr red streamer to the dorsal fin, a black tip to the pectoral 1 ABUDEFDUF LEUCOPOMUS (CUVIER & VALENCIENNES) 2 ABUDEFDUF UNIOCELLATUS (QUOY & GAIMARD) 3 ABUDEFDUF TAUPU JORDAN & SEALE. TYPE DAMSEL FISHES (POMACENTRIDA!) FROM THE CORAL REEFS, SAMOA, SHOWING ‘‘RECOGNITION MARKS’’ The Colors of Fishes 85 or ventral; a hidden spot of emerald in the mouth or in the axil; an almost endless variety of sharply defined markings, not directly protective, which serve as recognition-marks, if not to the fish itself, certainly to the naturalist who studies it. These marks shade off into an equally great variety for which we can devise no better name than ‘‘ornamentation.’”’ Some fishes are simply covered with brilliant spots or bars or reticu- lations, their nature and variety baffling description, while no useful purpose seems to be served by them, unless we stretch still more widely the convenient theory of recognition-marks. In many cases the markings change with age, certain bands, stripes, or ocelli being characteristic of the young and gradu- ally disappearing. In such cases the same marks will be found permanent in some related species of less differentiated colora- tion. In such cases it is safe to regard them as ancestral. In case of markings on the fins and of elaborate ornamenta- tion in general, it is best defined in the oldest and most vigorous individuals, becoming intensified by degrees. The most bril- liantly colored fishes are found about the coral reefs. Here may be found species of which the ground color is the most intense blue, others are crimson, grass-green, lemon-yellow, jet-black, and each with a great variety of contrasted mark- ings. The frontispiece of this volume shows a series of such fishes drawn from nature from specimens taken in pools of the great coral reef of Apia in Samoa. These colors are not pro- tective. The coral masses are mostly plain gray, and the fishes which lie on the bottom are plain gray also. Nothing could be more brilliant or varied than the hues of the free-swimming fishes. What their cause or purpose may be, it is impossible to say. It is certain that their intense activity and the ease with which they can seek shelter in the coral masses enable them to defy their enemies. Nature seems to riot in bright colors where her creatures are not destroyed by their presence. Intensity of Coloration.—In general, coloration is most in- tense and varied in certain families of the tropical shores, and especially about coral reefs. But in brilliancy of individual markings some fresh-water fishes are scarcely less notable, especially the darters (Etheostomine) and sunfishes (Centrar- chide) of the streams of eastern North America. The bright 86 The Colors of Fishes hues of these fresh-water fishes are, however, more or less con-. cealed in the water by the olivaceous markings and dark blotches of the upper parts. Coral-reef Fishes.—The brilliantly colored fishes of the trop- ical reefs seem, as already stated, to have no need of pro- tective coloration. They save themselves from their enemies in most cases by excessive alertness and activity (Chetodon, Pomacentrus), or else by burying themselves in coral sand (/ulis gaimard), a habit more frequent than has been suspected. Every large mass of branching coral is full of lurking fishes, some of them often most brilliantly colored. Fading of Pigments in Spirits—In the preservation of speci- mens most red and blue pigments fade to whitish, and it requires considerable care to interpret the traces which may be left of red bands or blue markings. Yet some blue pigments are abso- lutely permanent, and occasionally blood-red pigments persist through all conditions. Black pigment seldom changes in spirits, and olivaceous markings simply fade a little without material alteration. It is an important part of the work of the systematic ichthyologist to learn to interpret the traces of the faded pigment left on specimens he may have occasion to ex- amine. In such cases it is more important to trace the mark- ings than to restore the ground color, as the ground color is at once more variable with individuals and more constant in large groups. Variation in Pattern.—Occasionally, however, a species is found in which, other characters being constant, both ground color and markings are subject to a remarkable range of varia- tion. In such cases the actual unity of the species is open to serious question. The most remarkable case of such variation known is found in a West Indian fish, the vaca, which bears the incongruous name of Hypoplectrus unicolor. In the typical vaca the body is orange with black marks and blue lines, the fins checkered with orange and blue. In a second form the body is violet, barred with black, the head with blue spots and bands. In another form the blue on the head is wanting. In still another the body is yellow and black, with blue on the head only. In others the fins are plain orange, without checks, and the body yellow, with or without blue stripes and spots, and The Colors of Fishes Fie. 67.—Snake-eels, Liuranus semicinctus (Lay and Bennett), and Chlevastes colubrinus (Boddaert), from Riu Ku Islands, Japan. The Colors of Fishes 88 veidy 48 yoo [I0Q—"S9 “OL [lucas The Colors of Fishes 89 sometimes with spots of black or violet. In still others the body may be pink or brown, or violet-black, the fins all yellow, part black or all black. Finally, there are forms deep indigo-blue in color everywhere, with cross bands of indigo-black, and these again may have bars of deeper blue on the head or may lack these altogether. I find no difference among these fishes ex- cept in color, and no way of accounting for the differences in this regard. Certain species of puffer (Tetraodon setosus, of Panama, and Tetraodon nigropunctatus, of Polynesia) show similar remark- able variations, being dark gray with white spots, but varying to indigo-blue, lemon-yellow, or sometimes having coarse blotches of either. Lemon-yellow varieties of several species are known, and these may be due to a failure of pigment, a sort of semi- albinism. True albinos, individuals wholly without pigment, are rare among fishes. In some cases the markings, commonly black, will be replaced by a deep crimson which does not fade in alcohol. This change happens most frequently among the Scorpenide. An example of this is shown on colored plate facing page 644. The Japanese okose or poison-fish (Inimicus) is black and gray about lava-rocks. In deeper water among red alge it is bright crimson, the color not fading in spirits, the markings remaining the same. In still deeper water it is lemon- yellow. CHAPTER VII THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF FISHES f,|OOGEOGRAPHY.—Under the head of distribution we *| consider the facts of the actual location of species e of organisms on the surface of the earth and the laws by which their location is governed. This constitutes the subject-matter of the science of zoogeography. In physical geography we may prepare maps of the earth or of any part of it, these bringing to prominence the physical features of its surface. Such maps show here a sea, there a plateau, here a mountain chain, there a desert, a prairie, a peninsula, or an island. In political geography the maps show their physical features of the earth as related to the people who inhabit them and the states or powers which receive or claim their allegiance. In zoogeography the realms of the earth are con- sidered in relation to the species or tribes of animals which inhabit them. Thus series of maps could be drawn representing those parts of North America in which catfishes or trout or sunfishes are found in the streams. In like manner the distri- bution of any particular fish as the muskallonge or the yellow perch could be shown on the map. The details of such a map are very instructive, and their consideration at once raises a series of questions as to the cause behind each fact. In science it must be supposed that no fact is arbitrary or meaningless. In the case of fishes the details of the method of diffusion of species afford matters of deep interest. These are considered in a subsequent chapter. The dispersion of animals may be described as a matter of space and time, the movement being continuous but modified by barriers and other codnitions of environment. The ten- dency of recent studies in zoogeography has been to consider 90 The Geographical Distribution of Fishes gl the facts of present distribution as the result of conditions in the past, thus correlating our present knowledge with the past relations of land and water as shown through paleontology. Dr. A. E. Ortmann well observes that ‘‘Any division of the earth’s surface into zoogeographical regions which starts exclusively from the present distribution of animals without considering its origin must always be unsatisfactory.” We must therefore consider the coast-lines and barriers of Tertiary and earlier times as well as those of to-day to understand the present distribution of fishes. General Laws of Distribution.—The general laws governing the distribution of all animals are reducible to three very simple propositions. Each species of animal is found in every part of the earth having conditions suitable for its maintenance, unless (a) Its individuals have been unable to reach this region through barriers of some sort; or, (b) Having reached it, the species is unable to maintain itself, through lack of capacity for adaptation, through severity of competition with other forms, or through destructive condi- tions of environment; or else, (c) Having entered and maintained itself, it has become so altered in the process of adaptation as to become a species dis- tinct from the original type. Species Absent through Barriers.—The absence from the Jap- anese fauna of most European or American species comes under the first head. The pike has never reached the Japanese lakes, though the shade of the-lotus leaf in the many clear ponds would suit its habits exactly. The grunt* and porgies} of our West Indian waters have failed to cross the ocean and there- fore have no descendants in Europe or Asia. Species Absent through Failure to Maintain Foothold. — Of species under (b), those who have crossed the seas and not found lodgement, we have, in the nature of things, no record. Of the existence of multitudes of estrays we have abundant evidence. In the Gulf Stream off Cape Cod are every year taken many young fishes belonging to species at home in the Bahamas and which find no permanent place in the New England fauna. In * Hemuion., + Calamus. The Geographical Distribution of Fishes g2 Fie. 69 —Map of the Continents, Eocene time. (After Ortmann.) The Geographical Distribution of Fishes 93 like fashion, young fishes from the tropics drift northward in the Kuro Shiwo to the coasts of Japan, but never finding a per- manent breeding-place and never joining the ranks of the Japa- nese fishes. But to this there have been, and will be, occasional exceptions. Now and then one among thousands finds per- manent lodgement, and by such means a species from another region will be added to the fauna. The rest disappear and leave no trace. A knowledge of these currents and their in- fluence is eventual to any detailed study of the dispersion of fishes. The occurrence of the young of many shore fishes of the Hawaiian Islands as drifting plankton at a considerable distance from the shores has been lately discovered by Dr. Gilbert. Each island is, in a sense, a “sphere of influence,” affecting the fauna of neighboring regions. Species Changed through Natural Selection.—In the third class, that of species changed in the process of adaptation, most insular forms belong. As a matter of fact, at some time or another almost every species must be in this category, for isola- tion is a source of the most potent elements in the initiation and intensification of the minor differences which separate re- lated species. It is not the preservation of the most useful features, but of those which actually existed in the ancestral individuals, which distinguish such species. Natural selection must include not only the process of the survival of the fittest, but also the results of the survival of the existing. This means the preservation through heredity of the traits not of the species alone, but those of the actual individuals set apart to be the first in the line of descent in a new environment. In hosts of cases the persistence of characters rests not on any special use- fulness or fitness, but on the fact that individuals possessing these characters have, at one time or another, invaded a cer- tain area and populated it. The principle of utility explains survivals among competing structures. It rarely accounts for qualities associated with geographical distribution. Extinction of Species. — The extinction of species may be noted here in connection with their extension of range. Prof. Herbert Osborn has recognized five different types of elimina- tion. 94 The Geographical Distribution of Fishes r. That extinction which comes from modification or pro- gressive evolution, a relegation to the past as the result of a transmutation into more advanced forms. 2. Extinction from changes of physical environment which outrun the powers of adaptation. 3. The extinction which results from competition. 4. The extinction from extreme specialization and limitation to special conditions the loss of which means extinction. 5. Extinction as a result of exhaustion. As an illustration of No. 1, we may take almost any species which has a cognate species on the further side of some barrier or in the tertiary seas. Thus the trout of the Twin Lakes in Colorado has acquired its present characters in the place of those brought into the lake by its actual ancestors. No. 2 is illustrated by the disappearance of East Indian types (Zanclus, Platax, Toxotes, etc.) in Italy at the end of the Eocene, perhaps for climatic reasons. Extinction through competition is shown in the gradual disappearance of the Sacra- mento perch (Archoplitts interruptus) after the invasion of the river by catfish and carp. From extreme specializaion certain forms have doubtless disappeared, but no certain case of this kind has been pointed out among fishes, unless this be the cause of the disappearance of the Devonian mailed Ostracophores and Arthrodires. It is not likely that any group of fishes has perished through exhaustion of the stock of vigor. Barriers Checking Movement of Marine Fishes.—The limits of the distribution of individual species or genera must be found in some sort of barrier, past or present. The chief bar- riers which limit marine fishes are the presence of land, the presence of great oceans, the differences of temperature arising from differences in latitude, the nature of the sea bottom, and the direction of oceanic currents. That which is a barrier to one species may be an agent in distribution to another. The common shore fishes would perish in deep waters almost as surely as on land, while the open Pacific is a broad highway to the albacore or the swordfish. Again, that which is a barrier to rapid distribution may be- come an agent in the slow extension of the range of a species. The great continent of Asia is undoubtedly one of the greatest of barriers to the wide movement of species of fish, yet its long shore-line enables species to creep, as it were, from bay to bay, The Geographical Distribution of Fishes 95 or from rock to rock, till, in many cases, the same species is found in the Red Sea and in the tide-pools or sand-reaches of Japan. In the North Pacific, the presence of a range of half- submerged volcanoes, known as the Aleutian and the Kurile Islands, has greatly aided the slow movement of the fishes of the tide-pools and the kelp. To a school of mackerel or of flying-fishes these rough islands with their narrow channels might form an insuperable barrier. Temperature the Central Fact in Distribution.—It has long been recognized that the matter of temperature is the central fact in all problems of geographical distribution. Few species in any group freely cross the frost-line, and except as borne by Fie. 70.—Japanese file-fish, Rudarius ercodes Jordan and Snyder. Wakanoura, Japan, Family Monacanthide. oceanic currents, not many extend their range far into waters colder than those in which the species is distinctively at home. Knowing the average temperature of the water in a given region we know in general the types of fishes which must inhabit it. It is the similarity in temperature and physical conditions which chiefly explains the resemblance of the Japanese fauna to that of the Mediterranean or the Antilles. This fact alone g6 The Geographical Distribution of Fishes must explain the resemblance of the Arctic and Antarctic faune, there being in no case a barrier in the sea that may not some time be crossed. Like forms lodge in like places. Agency of Ocean Currents.—We may consider again for a moment the movements of the great currents in the Pacific as agencies in the distribution of species. A great current sets to the eastward, crossing the ocean just south of the equator. It extends past Samoa and passes on nearly to the coast of Mexico, touching the Galapagos Islands, Clipperton Island, and especially the Revillagigedos. This may account for the number of Polynesian species found on these islands, about which they are freely mixed with immi- grants from the mainland of Mexico. From the Revillagigedos* the current moves northward and westward, passing the Hawaiian Islands and thence onward to the Ladrones. The absence in Hawaii of most of the charac- teristic fishes of Polynesia and Micronesia may be in part due to the long detour made by these currents, as the conditions of life in these groups of islands are not very different. North- east of Hawaii is a great spiral current, moving with the hands of the watch, forming what is called Fleurieu’s Whirlpool. This does not reach the coast of California. This fact may help to account for the almost complete distinction in the shore fishes of Hawaii and California.t No other group of islands in the tropics has a fish fauna so isolated as that of Hawaii. The genera are largely the ordinary tropical types. The species are largely peculiar to these islands. The westward current from Hawaii reaches Luzon and For- mosa. It is deflected to the northward and, joining a north- ward current from Celebes, it forms the Kuro Shiwo or Black Stream of Japan, which strews its tropical species in the rock pools along the Japanese promontories as far as Tokio. Then, turning into the open sea, it passes northward to the Aleutian Islands, across to Sitka. Thence it moves southward as a cold * Clarion Island and Socorro Island. } A few Mexican shore fishes, Chetodon humeralis, Galeichthys dasycephalus, Hypsoblennius parvipinnis, have been wrongly accredited to Hawaii by some misplacement of labels. The Geographical Distribution of Fishes 97 current, bearing Ochotsk-Alaskan types southward as far as the Santa Barbara Islands, to which region it is accompanied by species of Aleutian origin. A, cold return current seems to extend southward in Japan, along the east shore perhaps as far as Matsushima. A similar current in the sea to the west of Japan extends still further to the southward, to Noto, or beyond. It is, of course, not necessary that the movements of a species in an oceanic current should coincide with the direction of the current. Young fishes, or fresh-water fishes, would be borne along with the water. Those that dwell within floating bodies of seaweed would go whither the waters carry the drift- ing mass. But free-swimming fishes, as the mackerel or flying- fishes, might as readily choose the reverse direction. Toa free- swimming fish the temperature of the water would be the only consideration. It is thus evident that a current which to certain forms would prove a barrier to distribution, to others would be a mere convenience in movement. In comparing the Japanese fauna with that of Australia, we find some trace of both these conditions. Certain forms are perhaps excluded by cross-currents, while certain others seem to have been influenced only by the warmth of the water. whole body covered with large stone scales, lying in oblique rows; they are conical, pentagonal pentzdral, with equal sides, from half an inch to one inch in diameter, brown at first but becoming the color of turtle-shell when dry. They strike fire with steel and are ball-proof!”’ ¢: ke ro : 2 bari Cd JeiyV) ‘puepsugq ‘apsvomey ‘sutuvosy ousayb snoanhaay ‘ysyaeg sxusopy—'sIT ‘SIT ss Re oe ‘punog yoSng “qwoeqIyy x» Wepsor vya0an shygyovwan ‘Jee-PBeIy[— FIT “OM ; > CHAPTER XI THE COLLECTION OF FISHES OW to Secure Fishes.—In collecting fishes three things are vitally necessary—a keen eye, some skill in 93) adapting means to ends, and some _ willingness to take pains in the preservation of material. In coming into a new district the collector should try to preserve the first specimen of every species he sees. It may not come up again. He should watch carefully for specimens which look just a little different from their fellows, especially for those which are duller, less striking, or with lower fins. Many species have remained unnoticed through generations of col- lectors who have chosen the handsomest or most ornate speci- mens. In some groups with striking peculiarities, as the trunk- fishes, practically all the species were known to Linneus. No collector could pass them by. On the other hand, new gobies or blennies can be picked up almost every day in the lesser known parts of the world. For these overlooked forms—her- rings, anchovies, sculpins, blennies, gobies, scorpion-fishes—the competent collector should be always on the watch. If any specimen looks different from the rest, take it at once and find out the reason why. In most regions the chief dependence of the collector is on the markets and these should be watched most critically. By paying a little more for unusual, neglected, or useless fish, the supply of these will rise to the demand. The word passed along among the people of Onomichi in Japan, that “Ebisu the fish-god was in the village’ and would pay more for okose (poison scorpion-fishes) and umiuma (sea-horses) than real fishes were worth soon brought (in 1900) all sorts of okose and umiuma into the market when they were formerly left neglected on the beach. Thus with a little ingenuity the mar- kets in any country can be greatly extended. 157 158 The Collection of Fishes The collector can, if he thinks best, use all kinds of fishing ° tackle for himself. In Japan he can use the “dabonawa”’ long lines, and secure the fishes which were otherwise dredged by the Challenger and Albatross. If dredges or trawls are at his hand he can hire them and use them for scientific purposes. He should neglect no kind of bottom, no conditions of fish life which he can reach. Especially important is the fauna of the tide-pools, neg- lected by almost all collectors. As the tide goes down, espe- cially on rocky capes which project into the sea, myriads of little fishes will remain in the rock-pools, the algee, and the clefts of rock. In regions like California, where the rocks are buried with kelp, blennies will lie in the kelp as quiescent as the branches of the alge themselves until the flow of water returns. A sharp three-tined fork will help in spearing them. The water in pools can be poisoned on the coast of Mexico with the milky juice of the “‘hava”’ tree, a tree which yields strychnine. In default of this, pools can be poisoned by chloride of lime, sulphate of copper, or, if small enough, by formalin. Of all poisons the commercial chloride of lime seems to be most effective. By such means the contents of the pool can be secured and the next tide carries away the poison. The water in pools can be bailed out, or, better, emptied by a siphon made of small garden-hose or rubber tubing. On rocky shores, dynamite can be used to advantage if the col- lector or his assistant dare risk it and if the laws of the country do no prevent. Most effective in rock-pool work is the help of the small boy. In all lands the collector will do well to take him into his pay and confidence. Of the hundred or more new species of rock-pool fishes lately secured by the writer in Japan, fully two-thirds were obtained by the Japanese boys. Equally effective is the ‘‘muchacho” on the coasts of Mexico. Masses of coral, sponges, tunicates, and other porous or hollow organisms often contain small fishes and should be care- fully examined. On the coral reefs the breaking up of large masses is often most remunerative. The importance of securing the young of pelagic fishes by tow-nets and otherwise cannot be too strongly emphasized. The Collection of Fishes 159 How to Preserve Fishes.—Fishes must be permanently pre- served in alcohol. Dried skins are far from satisfactory, except as a choice of difficulties in the case of large species. Dr. Giinther thus describes the process of skinning fishes: “Scaly fishes are skinned thus: With a strong pair of scissors an incision is made along the median line of the abdomen from the foremost part of the throat, passing on one side of the base of the ventral and anal fins to the root of the caudal fin, the cut being continued upward to the back of the tail close to the base of the caudal. The skin of one side of the fish is then severed with the scalpel from the underlying muscles to the median line of the back; the bones which support the dorsal and caudal are cut through, so that these fins remain attached to the skin. The removal of the skin of the opposite side is easy. More difficult is the preparation of the head and scapu- lary region. The two halves of the scapular arch which have been severed from each other by the first incision are pressed toward the right and left, and the spine is severed behind the head, so that now only the head and shoulder bones remain attached to the skin. These parts have to be cleaned from the inside, all soft parts, the branchial and hyoid apparatus, and all smaller bones being cut away with the scissors or scraped off with the scalpel. In many fishes which are provided with a characteristic dental apparatus in the pharynx (Labroids, Cyprinoids), the pharyngeal bones ought to be preserved and tied with a thread to their specimen. The skin being now prepared so far, its entire inner surface as well as the inner side of the head are rubbed with arsenical soap; cotton-wool or some other soft material is inserted into any cavities or hol- lows, and finally a thin layer of the same material is placed between the two flaps of the skin. The specimen is then dried under a slight weight to keep it from shrinking. “The scales of some fishes, as for instance of many kinds of herrings, are so delicate and deciduous that the mere handling causes them to rub off easily. Such fishes may be covered with thin-paper (tissue paper is the best) which is allowéd to dry on them before skinning. There is no need for removing the paper before the specimen has reached its destination. ““Scaleless fishes, as siluroids and sturgeons, are skinned in 160 The Collection of Fishes the same manner, but the skin can be rolled up over the head; such skins can also be preserved in spirits, in which case the traveler may save to himself the trouble of cleaning the head. ‘‘Some sharks are known to attain to a length of thirty feet, and some rays to a width of twenty feet. The preservation of such gigantic specimens is much to be recommended, and although the difficulties of preserving fishes increase with their size, the operation is facilitated, because the skins of all sharks and rays can easily be preserved in salt and strong brine. Sharks are skinned much in the same way as ordinary fishes. In rays an incision is made not only from the snout to the end of the fleshy part of the tail, but also a second across the widest part of the body. When the skin is removed from the fish, it is placed into a cask with strong brine mixed with alum, the head occupying the upper part of the cask; this is necessary, because this part is most likely to show signs of decomposition, and therefore most requires supervision. When the preserving fluid has become decidedly weaker from the extracted blood and water, it is thrown away and replaced by fresh brine. After a week’s or fortnight’s soaking the skin is taken out of the cask to allow the fluid to drain off; its inner side is covered with a thin layer of salt, and after being rolled up (the head being inside) it is packed in a cask the bottom of which is covered with salt; all the interstices and the top are likewise filled with salt. The cask must be perfectly water-tight.” Value of Formalin.—In the field it is much better to use formalin (formaldehyde) in preference to alcohol. This is an antiseptic fluid dissolved in water, and it at once arrests decay, leaving the specimen as though preserved in water. If left too long in formalin fishes swell, the bones are softened, and the specimens become brittle or even worthless. But for ordi- nary purposes (except use as skeleton) no harm arises from two or three months’ saturation in formalin. The commercial formalin can be mixed with about twenty parts of water. On the whole it is better to have the solution too weak rather than too strong. Too much formalin makes the specimens stiff, swollen, and intractable, besides too soon destroying the color. Formalin has the advantage, in collecting, of cheapness and of ease in transportation, as a single small bottle will make The Collection of Fishes 161 a large amount of the fluid. The specimens also require much less attention. An incision should be made in the (right) side of the abdomen to let in the fluid. The specimen can then be placed in formalin. When saturated, in the course of the day, it can be wrapped in a cloth, packed in an empty petroleum can, and at once shipped. The wide use of petroleum in all parts of the world is a great boon to the naturalist. Before preservation, the fishes should be washed, to remove slime and dirt. They should have an incision to let the fluid into the body cavity and an injection with a syringe is a useful help to saturation, especially with large fishes. Even decay- ing fishes can be saved with formalin. Records of Fishes—The collector should mark localities most carefully with tin tags and note-book records if possible. He should, so far as possible, keep records of life colors, and water-color sketches are of great assistance in this matter. In spirits or formalin the life colors soon fade, although the pat- tern of marking is usually preserved or at least indicated. A mixture of formalin and alcohol is favorable to the preserva- tion of markings. In the museum all specimens should be removed at once from formalin to alcohol. No substitute for alcohol as a per- manent preservative has been found. The spirits derived from wine, grain, or sugar is much preferable to the poisonous methyl or wood alcohol. In placing specimens directly into alcohol, care should be taken not to crowd them too much. The fish yields water which dilutes the spirit. For the same reason, spirits too dilute are ineffective. On the other hand, delicate fishes put into very strong alcohol are likely to shrivel, a condition which may prevent an accurate study of their fins or other structures. It is usually necessary to change a fish from the first alcohol used as a bath into stronger alcohol in the course of a few days, the time depending on the closeness with which fishes are packed. In the tropics, fishes in alcohol often require attention within a few hours. In formalin there is much less difficulty with tropical fishes. Fishes intended for skeletons should never be placed in formalin. A softening of the bones which prevents future 162 The Collection of Fishes exact studies of the bones is sure to take place. Generally alcohol or other spirits (arrack, brandy, cognac, rum, sake “vino’’) can be tested with a match. If sufficiently concen- trated to be ignited, they can be safely used for preservation of fishes. The best test is that of the hydrometer. Spirits for permanent use should show on the hydrometer 40 to 60 above proof. Decaying specimens show it by color and smell and the collector should be alive to their condition. One rot- ting fish may endanger many others. With alcohol it is neces- sary to take especial pains to ensure immediate saturation. Deep cuts should be made into the muscles of large fishes as well as into the body cavity. Sometimes a small distilling apparatus is useful to redistil impure or dilute alcohol. The use of formalin avoids this necessity. Small fishes should not be packed with large ones; small bottles are very desirable for their preservation. All spinous or scaly fishes should be so wrapped in cotton muslin as to prevent all friction. Eternal Vigilance.—The methods of treating individual groups of fishes and of handling them under different climatic and other conditions are matters to be learned by experience. Eternal vigilance is the price of a good collection, as it is said to be of some other good things. Mechanical collecting—pick- ing up the thing got without effort and putting it in alcohol without further thought—rarely serves any useful end in science. The best collectors are usually the best naturalists. The col- lections made by the men who are to study them and who are competent to do so are the ones which most help the progress of ichthyology. The student of a group of fishes misses half the collection teaches if he has made no part of it himself. CHAPTER XII THE LEPTOCARDII, OR LANCELETS AIHE Lancelet.—The lancelet is a vertebrate reduced to Sead Peers: : 4 2 i its very lowest terms. The essential organs of ver- Te? tebrate life are there, but each one in its simplest form unspecialized and with structure and function feebly differen- tiated. The skeleton consists of a cartilaginous notochord in- closed in a membranous sheath. There is no skull. No limbs, no conspicuous processes, and no vertebre are present. The heart is simply a long contractile tube, hence the name Leptocardit (from Aewros, slender; «apdia, heart). The blood is colorless. There is a hepatic portal circulation. There is no brain, the spinal cord tapering in front as behind. The water for respira- tion passes through very many gill-slits from the pharynx into the atrium, from which it is excluded through the atripore in front of the vent. A large chamber, called the atrium, extends almost the length of the body along the ventral and lateral regions. It communicates with the pharynx through the gill- slits and with the exterior through a small opening in front of the vent, the atripore. The atrium is not found in forms above the lancelets. The reproductive organs consist of a series of pairs of seg- mentally arranged gonads. The excretory organs consist of a series of tubules in the region of the pharynx, connecting the body-cavity with the atrium. The mouth is a lengthwise slit without jaws, and on either side is a row of fringes. From this feature comes the name Cirrostomi, from cirrus, a fringe of hair, and oroua, mouth. The body is lanceolate in form, sharp at either end. From this fact arises a third name, Amphioxus, from api, both; ogvs, sharp. Dorsal and anal fins are de- veloped as folds of the skin supported by very slender rays. 163 164 The Leptocardii, or Lancelets There are no other fins. The alimentary canal is straight, and is differentiated into pharynx and intestine; the liver is a blind sac arising from the anterior end of the intestine. A pigment spot in the wall of the spinal cord has been interpreted as an eye. Above the snout is a supposed olfactory pit which some have thought to be connected with the pineal structure. The muscular impressions along the sides are very distinct and it is chiefly by means of the variation in numbers of these that the species can be distinguished. Thus in the common lance- let of Europe, Branchiostoma lanceolatum, the muscular bands are 38 +14+12=61. In the common species of the Eastern coasts of America, Branchiostoma caribeum, these are 35 +14 +9=58, while in the California lancelet, Branchiostoma calt- forntense, these are 44+16+9=69. Habits of Lancelets.—Lancelets are slender translucent worm- like creatures, varying from half an inch (Asymmetron lucaya- num) to four inches (Branchiostoma californiense) in length. They live buried in sand in shallow waters along the coasts of warm seas. One species, Amphioxides pelagicus, has been taken at the depth of 1000 fathoms, but whether at the bottom or floating near the surface is not known. The species are very tenacious of life and will endure considerable mutilation. Some of them are found on almost every coast in semi-tropical and tropical regions. Species of Lancelets.—The Mediterranean species ranges north- ward to the south of England. Others are found as far north as Chesapeake Bay, San Diego, and Misaki in Japan, where is found a species called Branchiostoma belcheri. The sands at » the mouth of San Diego Bay are noted as producing the largest of the species of lancelets, Branchiostoma californiense. From the Bahamas comes the smallest, the type of a distinct genus, Asymmetron lucayanum, distinguished among other things by a projecting tail. Other supposed genera are Amphioxides (pelagicus), dredged in the deep sea off Hawaii and supposed to be pelagic, the mouth without cirri; Epigonichthys (cultellus), from the East Indies, and Heteropleuron (bassanum), from Bass Straits, Australia. These little animals are of great interest to anatomists as giving the clue to the primitive structure of vertebrates. While possibly these have diverged widely from The Leptocardii, or Lancelets 165 their actual common ancestry with the fishes, they must ap- proach near to these in many ways. ‘Their simplicity is largely primitive, not, as in the Tunicates, the result of subsequent degradation. The lancelets, less than a dozen species in all, constitute a single family, Branchiostomide. The principal genus, Branchi- ostoma, is usually called Amphioxus by anatomists. But while Fig. 115.—California Lancelet, Branchiostoma californiense Gill. (From San Diego.) the name Amphioxus, like lancelet, is convenient in vernacular use, it has no standing in systematic nomenclature. The name Branchiostoma was given to lancelets from Naples in 1834, by Costa, while that of Amphioxus, given to specimens from Corn- wall, dates from Yarrell’s work on the British fishes in 1836. The name Amphioxus may be pleasanter or shorter or more familiar or more correctly descriptive than Branchiostoma, but if so the fact cannot be considered in science as affecting the duty of priority. The name Acraniata (without skull) is often used for the lower Chordates taken collectively, and it is sometimes applied to the lancelets alone. It refers to those chordate forms which have no skull nor brain, as distinguished from the Cramzota, or forms with a distinct brain having a bony or cartilaginous capsule for its protection. Origin of Lancelets.—It is doubtless true, as Dr. Willey sug- gests, that the Vertebrates became separated from their worm- like ancestry through “the concentration of the central nervous system along the dorsal side of the body and its conversion 166 The Leptocardii, or Lancelets into a hollow tube.” Besides this trait two others are common to all of them, the presence of the gill-slits and that of the noto- chord. The gill-slits may have served primarily to relieve the stomach of water, as in the lowest forms they enter directly into the body-cavity. The primitive function of the notochord is still far from clear, but its ultimate use of its structures in affording protection and in furnishing a fulcrum for the muscles and limbs is of the greatest importance in the processes of life. Fic. 116.—Gill-basket of Lamprey. CHAPTER XIII THE CYCLOSTOMES, OR LAMPREYS Loe pew HE Lampreys.—Passing upward from the lancelets and 4 5 a setting aside the descending series of Tunicates, we Niew-}} have a long step indeed to the next class of fish-like vertebrates. During the period this great gap represents in time we have the development of brain, skull, heart, and other differentiated organs replacing the simple structures found in the lancelet. The presence of brain without limbs and without coat-of- mail distinguishes the class of Cyclostomes, or lampreys («u«dos, round; oroya, mouth). This group is also known as Marsipo- brancht (uapoiniov, pouch; Bpayyos, gill); Dermopteri (déppa, skin; zrepov, fin); and Myzontes (uvCac, to suck). It includes the forms known as lampreys, slime-eels, and hagfishes. Structure of the Lamprey.—Comparing a Cyclostome with a lancelet we may see many evidences of specialization in struc- ture. The Cyclostome has a distinct head with a cranium formed of a continuous body of cartilage modified to contain a fish-like brain, a cartilaginous skeleton of which the cranium is evidently a differentiated part. The vertebre are undeveloped, the notochord being surrounded by its membranes, without bony or cartilaginous segments. The gills have the form of fixed sacs, six to fourteen in number, on each side, arranged in a cartilaginous structure known as ‘branchial basket’’ (fig. 116), the elements «f which are not clearly homologous with the gill-arches‘of the true fishes. Fish-like eyes are developed on the sides of the head. There is a median nostril associated with a pituitary pouch, which pierces the skull floor. An ear-capsule is developed. The brain ‘s composed of paired ganglia in general appearance resembling the brain of the true fish, but 167: 168 The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys the detailed homology of its different parts offers considerable uncertainty. The heart is modified to form two pulsating cavities, auricle and ventricle. The folds of the dorsal and anal fins are distinct, supported by slender rays. The mouth is a roundish disk, wth rasping teeth over its surface and with sharper and stronger teeth on the tongue. The intestine is straight and simple. The kidney is represented by a highly primitive pronephros and no trace exists of an air-bladder or lung. The skin is smooth and naked, some- times secreting an excessive quantity of slime. From the true fishes the Cyclostomes differ in the total absence cf limbs and of shoulder and pelvic girdles, as well as of jaws. It has been thought by some writers that the limbs were ancestrally present and lost through degeneration, as in the eels. Dr. Ayers, following Huxley, finds evidence of the ancestral existence of a lower jaw. The majority of observers, however, regard the absence of limbs and jaws in Cyclo- stomes as a primitive character, although numerous other features of the modern hagfish and lamprey may have resulted from degeneration. There is no clear evidence that the class of Cyclostomes, as now known to us, has any great antiquity, and its members may be all degenerate offshoots from types of greater complexity of structure. Supposed Extinct Cyclostomes.— No fossil Cyclostomes are. known. The strange forms called Conodontes, thought for a time to be teeth of lampreys, are probably teeth of worms, or perhaps appendages of Trilobites. The singular fossil, Palgo- spondylus, once supposed to be a lamprey, it is certain belongs to some higher order. Orders of Cyclostomes.—The known Cyclostomes are natu- rally divided into two orders, the Hyperotreta, or hagfishes, and the Hyperoartia, or lampreys. These two orders are very dis- tinct from each other. While the two groups agree in the general form of the body, they differ in almost every detail, and there is much pertinence in Lankester’s suggestions that each should stand as a separate class. The ancestral forms of each, as well as the intervening types if such ever existed, are left unrecorded in the rocks. The Hyperotreta, or Hagfishes.—The Hyperotreta (ix€poa, pal- The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys 169 ate; rperos, perforate), or hagfishes, have the nostril highly developed, a tube-like cylinder with cartilaginous rings pene- trating the palate. In these the eyes are little developed and the species are parasitic on other fishes. In Poltstotrema stoutt, the hagfish of the coast of California, is parasitic on large fishes, rockfishes, or flounders. It usually fastens itself at the throat or isthmus of its host and sometimes at the eyes. Thence it works very rapidly to the inside of the body. It there devours all the muscular part of the fish without breaking the skin or the peritoneum, leaving the fish a living hulk of head, skin, and bones. It is especially destructive to fishes taken in gill-nets. The voracity of the Chilean species Polistotrema dombeyt is equally remarkable. Dr. Federico T. Delfin finds that in seven hours a hagfish of this species will devour eighteen times its own weight of fish-flesh. The intestinal canal is a simple tube, through which most of the food passes undigested. The eggs are large, each in a yellowish horny case, at one end of which are barbed threads by which they cling together and to kelp or other objects. In the California hagfish, Polistotrema stoutt, great numbers of these eggs have been found in the stomachs of the males. Similar habits are possessed by all the species in the two families, Myxinide and Eptatretide. In the Myxinide@ the Fic. 117. California Hagfish, Polistotrema stout: Lockington. gil'-openings are apparently single on each side, the six gills being internal and leading by six separate ducts to each of the six branchial sacs. The skin is excessively slimy, the ex- tensible tongue is armed with two cone-like series of strong teeth. About the mouth are eight barbels. 170 The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys Of Myxine, numerous species are known—Myxine glutinosa, in the north of Europe; Myxine limosa, of the West Atlantic; Myxine australis, and several others about Cape Horn, and Myxine garmani in Japan. All live in deep waters and none have been fully studied. It has been claimed that the hagfish is male when young, many individuals gradually changing to female, but this conclusion lacks verification and is doubtless without foundation. In the Eptatretide the gill-openings, six to fourteen in number, are externally separate, each with its own branchial sac as in the lampreys. The species of the genus E’ptatretus (Bdellostoma, Heptatrema, and Homea, all later names for the same group) are found only in the Pacific, in California, Chile, Patagonia, South Africa, and Japan. In general appearance and habits these agree with the species of Myxine. The species with ten to fourteen gill-openings (dombeyt: stoutz) are sometimes set off as a distinct genus (Polis- totrema), but in other regards the species differ little, and fre- quent individual variations occur. Eptatretus burgeri is found in Japan and Eptatretus forsterit in Australia. The Hyperoartia, or Lampreys.—In the order Hyperoartia, or lampreys, the single nostril is a blind sac which does not pene- trate the palate. The seven gill-openings lead each to a sepa- rate sac, the skin is not especially covered with mucus, the eyes are well developed in the adult, and the mouth is a round disk armed with rasp-like teeth, the comb-like teeth on the tongue being less developed than in the hagfishes. The intestine in the lampreys has a spiral valve. The eggs are small and are usually laid in brooks away from the sea, and in most cases the adult lamprey dies after spawning. According to Thoreau, “it is thought by fishermen that they never return, but waste away and die, clinging to rocks and stumps of trees for an in- definite period, a tragic feature in the scenery of the river-bottoms worthy to be remembered with Shakespeare’s description of the sea-floor.” This account is not far from the truth, as re- cent studies have shown. The lampreys of the northern regions constitute the family of Petromyzonide. The larger species (Petromyzon, Entosphenus) live in the sea, ascending rivers to spawn, and often becoming The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys 171 land-locked and reduced in size by living in rivers only. Such land-locked marine lampreys (Petromyzon marinus untco'or) breed in Cayuga Lake and other lakes in New York. The marine forms reach a length of three feet. Smalle- lampreys of other genera six inches to eighteen inches in length remain all their lives in the rivers, ascending the little brooks in the spring, clinging to stones and clods of earth till their eggs are deposited. These are found throughout northern Europe, northern Asia, and the colder parts of North America, belonging to the genera Lampeira and Ichthyomyzon. Other and more aberrant genera from Chile and Australia are Geotria and Mordacia, the latter forming a distinct family, Mordaciide. In Geotria, a large and peculiar gular pouch is developed at the throat. In Macroph- thalmia chilensis from Chile the eyes are large and conspicuous. Food of Lampreys.—The lampreys feed on the blood and flesh of fishes. They attach themselves to the sides of the various species, rasp off the flesh with their teeth, sucking the blood till the fish weakens and dies. Preparations made by students of Professor Jacob Reighard in the University of Michigan show clearly that the lamprey stomach contains muscular tissue as well as the blood of fishes. The river species do a great deal of mis- ae e eS Saari h Fic. 118.—Lamprey, Petromyzon marinus L. Wood’s Hole, Mass. chief, a fact which has been the subject of a valuable investiga- tion by Professor H. A. Surface, who has also considered the methods available for their destruction. The flesh of the lam- prey is wholesome, and the larger species, especially the great sea lamprey of the Atlantic, Petromyzon marinus, are valued as food. The small species, according to Prof. Gage, never feed on fishes. Metamorphosis of Lampreys.—All lampreys, so far as known, pass through a distinct metamorphosis. The young, known as the Ammocetes form, are slender, eyeless, and with the mouth [72 The Cyclostomes, or Lampreys narrow and toothless. From Professor Surface’s paper on ‘The Removal of Lampreys from the Interior Waters of New York a we have -the following extracts (slightly condensed) : “Tn the latter part of the fall the young lampreys, Petro- myzon marinus unicolor, the variety land-locked in the lakes of Central New York, metamorphose and assume the form of the adult. They are now about six or eight inches long. The externally segmented condition of the body disappears. The Fie. 119. Fig. 120. Fig. 121. Fic. 119.—Petromyzon marinus unicolor (De Kay). Mouth of Lake Lamprey, Cayuga Lake. (After Gage.) Fic. 120.—Lampetra wildert Jordan & Evermann. Larval brook lamprey in its burrow in a glass filled with sand. (After Gage.) Fie, 121.—Lampetra wilderi Jordan & Evermann. Mouth of Brook Lamprey. Cayuga Lake. (After Gage.) eyes appear to grow out through the skin and become plainly visible and functional. The mouth is no longer filled with verti- cal membranous sheets to act as a sieve, but it contains nearly one hundred and fifty sharp and chitinous teeth, arranged in rows that are more or less concentric and at the same time presenting the appearance of circular radiation. These teeth are very strong, with sharp points, and in structure each has the appearance of a hollow cone of chitin placed over another cone or papilla. os SS 3 oS Toes oF <3 at res <3 0, Fig. 204.—Milkfish, Chanos chanos (L.). Mazatlan. California, Polynesia, and India. The single living species is the Awa, or milkfish, Chanos chanos, largely used as food in Hawaii. Species of Prochanos and Chanos occur in the Cretaceous, Eocene, and Miocene. Allied to Chanos is the Cretaceous genus Ancylostylos (gibbus), probably the type of a distinct family, toothless and with many-rayed dorsal. The Hiodontide.—The Hiodontide, or mooneyes, inhabit the rivers of the central portion of the United States and Canada. Fig. 205.—Mooneye, Hiodon tergisus Le Sueur. Ecorse, Mich. They are shad-like fishes with brilliantly silvery scales and very strong sharp teeth, those on the tongue especially long. They are very handsome fishes and take the hook with spirit, but the flesh is rather tasteless and full of small bones, much like that Isospondyli 273 of the milkfish. The commonest species is Hiodon tergisus. No fossil Htodontide are known. The Pterothrisside.—The Piterothrisside are sea-fishes like Albula, but more slender and with a long dorsal fin. They live Fic. 206.—Istieus grandis Agassiz. Family Pterothrisside. (After Zittel.) in deep or cold waters along the coasts of Japan, where they are known as gisu. The single species is Pterothrissus gissu. The fossil genus Istteus, from the Upper Cretaceous, probably be- longs near the Pterothrisside. Istieus grandis is the best-known Fig. 207.—Chirothriz libanicus Pictet & Humbert. Cretaceous of Mt. Lebanon. (After Woodward.) species. Another ancient family, now represented by a single species, is that of the Chirocentride, of which the living type is Clirocentrus dorab, a long, slender, much compressed herring- like fish, with a saw-edge on the belly, found in the East Indies, 274 Isospondyli in which region Chirocentrus polyodon occurs as a fossil. Numer- ous fossil genera related to Chirocentrus are enumerated by Woodward, most of them to be referred to the related family of Ichthyodectide (Saurodontide). Of these, Portheus, Ichthyodec- tes, Saurocephalus (Saurodon), and Guillicus are represented by numerous species, some of them fishes of immense size and great voracity. Portheus molossus, found in the Cretaceous of Nebraska, is remarkable for its very strong teeth. Species of other genera are represented by numerous species in the Cretaceous of both the Rocky Mountain region and of Europe. The Ctenothrisside—A related family, Ctenothrisside, is represented solely by extinct Cretaceous species. In this group AN Fic. 208.—Ctenothrissa vexillifera Pictet, restored. Mt. Lebanon Cretaceous. (After Woodward.) the body is robust with large scales, ctenoid in Ctenothrtssa, cycloid in Aulolepis. The fins are large, the belly not serrated, and the teeth feeble. Ctenothrissa vexillifera is from Mount Lebanon. Other species occur in the European chalk. In the small family of Phractolemide the interopercle, according to Boulenger, is enormously developed. The Notopteride.—The Notopteride is another small family in the rivers of Africa and the East Indies. The body ends in a long and tapering fin, and, as usual in fishes which swim by Isospondyli 275 body undulations, the ventral fins are lost. The belly is doubly serrate. The air-bladder is highly complex in structure, being divided into several compartments and terminating in two horns anteriorly and posteriorly, the anterior horns being in direct communication with the auditory organ. A fossil Notop- terus, N. primevus, is found in the same region. The Clupeida.—The great herring family, or Clupeide, com- prises fishes with oblong or herring-shaped body, cycloid scales, and feeble dentition. From related families it is separated by the absence of lateral line and the division of the maxillary into three pieces. In most of the genera the belly ends in a serrated edge, though in the true herring this is not very evident, RNY) NYA BNE oe i ) Ne = K x \ \y K) SPOS SON AK RX Fic. 209 —Herring, Clupea harengus L. New York. and in some the belly has a blunt edge. Some of the species live in rivers, some ascend from the sea for the purpose of spawn- ing. The majority are confined to the ocean. Among all the genera, the one most abundant in individuals is that of Clupea, the herring. Throughout the North Atlantic are im- mense schools of Clupea harengus. In the North Pacific on both shores another herring, Clupea pallast, is equally abundant, and with the same market it would be equally valuable. As salted, dried, or smoked fish the herring is found throughout the civilized world, and its spawning and feeding-grounds have determined the location of cities. The genus Clupea, of northern distribution, has the vertebre in increased number (56), and there are weak teeth on the vomer. Several other genera are very closely related, but ranging farther south they have, with other characters, fewer (46 to 50) vertebre. The alewife, or branch-herring (Pomolobus pseudoharengus), ascends the rivers to spawn and has become land-locked in 276 Isospondyli the lakes of New York. The skipjack of the Gulf of Mexico, Pomolobus chrysochloris, becomes very fat in the sea. The species becomes land-locked in the Ohio River, where it thrives as to numbers, but remains lean and almost useless as food. The glut-herring, Pomolobus estivalis, and the sprat, Pomolobus sprattus, of Europe are related forms. Very near also to the herring is the shad (Alosa sapidissima) of the eastern coasts of America, and its inferior relatives, the shad of the Gulf of Mexico (Alosa alabame), the Ohio River shad (Alosa ohiensis), very lately discovered, the Allice shad (Alosa alosa) of Europe, and the Thwaite shad (Alosa finta). In the genus Alosa the cheek region is very deep, giving the head a form different from that seen in the herring. The American shad is the best food-fish in the family, pecu- liarly delicate in flavor when broiled, but, to a greater degree than occurs in any other good food-fish, its flesh is crowded with small bones. The shad has been successfully introduced into the waters of California, where it abounds from Puget Sound to Point Concepcion, ascending the rivers to spawn in May as in its native region, the Atlantic coast. The genus Sardinella includes species of rich flesh and feeble skeleton, excellent when broiled, when they may be eaten bones and all. This condition favors their preservation in oil as “‘sardines.”” All the species are alike excellent for this pur- pose. The sardine of Europe is the Sardinella pilchardus, known in England as the pilchard. The ‘“Sardina de Espafia” of Isospondyli 2779 Cuba is Sardinella pseudohispanica, the sardine of California, Sardinella cerulea. Sardinella sagax abounds in Chile, and Sar- dinella melanosticta is the valued sardine of Japan. In the tropical Pacific occur other valued species, largely belonging to the genus Kowala. The genus Harengula contains small species with very large, firm scales which do not fall when touched, as is generally the case with the sardines. Most common of these is Harengula sardina of the West Indies. Similar species occur in southern Europe and in Japan. In Opzsthonema, the thread-herring, the last dorsal ray is much produced, as in the gizzard-shad and the tarpon. The two species known are abundant, but of little commercial im- portance. Of greater value are the menhaden, or the moss- bunker, Brevoortia tyrannus, inhabiting the sandy coasts from New England southward. It is a coarse and bony fish, rarely Fig. 211 —Menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus (Latrobe). Wood’s. Hole, Mass, eaten when adult, although the young in oil makes acceptable sardines. It is used chiefly for oil, the annual yield exceeding in value that of whale-oil. The refuse is used as manure, a purpose for which the fishes are often taken without prepara- tion, being carried directly to the cornfields. From its abun- dance this species of inferior flesh exceeds in commercial value almost all other American: fishes excepting the cod, the herring, and the quinnat salmon. One of the most complete of fish biographies is that of Dr. G. Brown Goode on the ‘‘ Natural and Economic History of Men- haden.”’ Numerous other herring-like forms, usually with compressed bodies, dry and bony flesh, and serrated bellies, abound in the 278 Isospondyli tropics and are largely salted and dried by the Chinese. Among these are Ilisha elongata of the Chinese coast. Related forms occur in Mexico and Brazil. The round herrings, small herrings which have no serrations on the belly, are referred by Dr. Gill to the family of Dussu- miertide. These are mostly small tropical fishes used as food or bait. One of these, the Kobini-Iwashi of Japan (Stolephorus japonicus), with a very bright silver band on the side, has con- siderable commercial importance. Very small herrings of this type in the West Indies constitute the genus Jenkinsia, named for Dr. Oliver P. Jenkins, the first to study seriously the fishes of Hawaii. Other species constitute the widely distributed genera Etrumeus and Dussumieria. Etrumeus sardina is the round herring of the Virginia coast. Etrumeus micropus is the Etrumei-Iwashi of Japan and Hawaii. Fossil herring are plentiful and exist in considerable variety, even among the Clupeide as at present restricted. Histiothrissa Fig. 212.—A fossil Herring, Diplomystus humilis Leidy. (From a specimen obtained at Green River, Wyo.) The scutes along the back lost in the specimen. Family Clupeide. of the Cretaceous seems to be allied to Dussumieria and Stolephorus. Another genus, from the Cretaceous of Palestine, Pseudoberyx (syriacus, etc.), having pectinated scales, should perhaps constitute a distinct subfamily, but the general struc- ture is like that of the herring. More evidently herring-like is Scombroclupea (macrophthalma). The genus Diplomystus, with enlarged scales along the back, is abundantly represented in the Eocene shales of Green River, Wyoming. Species of similar appearance, usually but wrongly referred to the same genus, occur on the coasts of Peru, Chile, and New South Wales. A specimen of Diplomystus humilis from Green River is here Isospondyli 279 figured. Numerous herring, referred to Clupea, but belonging rather to Pomolobus, or other non-Arctic genera, have been described from the Eocene and later rocks. Several American fossil herring-like fishes, of the genus Leptosomus, as Leptosomus percrassus, are found in the Cretaceous of South Dakota Fossil species doubtfully referred to Dorosoma, but perhaps allied rather to the thread-herring (Opisthonema), being herrings with a prolonged dorsal ray, are recorded from the early Ter- tiary of Europe. Among these is Opisthonema doljeanum from Austria. The Dorosomatide.— The gizzard-shad, Dorosomatide, are closely related to the Clupeidea, differing in the small contracted toothless mouth and reduced maxillary. The species are deep- bodied, shad-like fishes of the rivers and estuaries of eastern America and eastern Asia. They feed on mud, and the stomach is thickened and muscular like that of a fowl. As the stomach has the size and form of a hickory-nut, the common American Fic. 218.—Hickory-shad, Dorosoma cepedianum (Le Sueur). Potomac River. species is often called hickory-shad. The gizzard-shad are all very poor food-fish, bony and little valued, the flesh full of small bones. The belly is always serrated. In three of the four genera of Dorosomatide the last dorsal ray is much produced and whip-like. The long and slender gill-rakers serve as strainers for the mud in which these fishes find their vegetable and ani- mal food. Dorosoma cepedianum, the common hickory-shad or 280 Isospondyli gizzard-shad, is found in brackish river-mouths and ponds from Long Island to Texas, and throughout the Mississippi Valley in all the large rivers. Through the canals it has entered Lake Michigan. The Konoshiro, Clupanodon thrissa, is equally com- mon in China and Japan. The Engraulidide.—The anchovies (Engraulidide) are dwarf herrings with the snout projecting beyond the very wide mouth. They are small in size and weak in muscle, found in all warm seas, and making a large part of the food of the larger fish. The genus Engraulis includes the anchovy of Europe, Engraults encrasicholus, with similar species in California, Chile, Japan, and Australia. In this genus the vertebrae are numerous, the bones feeble, and the flesh tender and oily. The species of Engraulis are preserved in oil, often with spices, or are made into fish-paste, which is valued as a relish. The genus Anchovia replaces Engraulis in the tropics. The vertebre are fewer, the Fic, 214.—A Silver Anchovy, Anchovia perthecata. (Goode & Bean). Tampa. bones firm and stiff, and the flesh generally dry. Except as food for larger fish, these have little value, although existing in immense schools. Most of the species have a bright silvery band along the side. The most familiar of the very numerous species is the silver anchovy, Auchovia browni, which abounds in sandy bays from Cape Cod to Brazil. Several other genera occur farther southward, as well as in Asia, but Engraulis only is found in Europe. Fossil anchovies called Engraulis are recorded from the Tertiary of Europe. Gonorhynchide.—To the Isospondyli belongs the small primi- tive family of Gonorhynchide, elongate fishes with small mouth, feeble teeth, no air-bladder, small scales of peculiar structure covering the head, weak dentition, the dorsal fin small, and youhysouoy Aue yt ‘aued0"q Jaary uaern ‘ad aso snauo0bojo N—‘eTg ‘DIA i 282 Isospondyli posterior without spines. The mesocoracoid is present as in ordinary Isospondyli. Gonorhynchus abbreviatus occurs in Japan, and Gonorhynchus gonorhynchus is found in Australia and about the Cape of Good Hope. Numerous fossil species occur. Charitosomus lineolatus and other species are found in the Cre- taceous of Mount Lebanon and elsewhere. Species without teeth from the Oligocene of Europe and America are referred to the genus Notogoneus. Notogoneus osculus occurs in the Eocene fresh-water deposits at Green River, Wyoming. It bears a very strong resemblance in form to an ordinary sucker (Catostomus), for which reason it was once described by the name of Protocatostomus. The living Gonorhynchide are all strictly marine. In the small family of Cromeriide the head and body are naked. The Osteoglosside.—Still less closely related to the herring is the family of Osteoglosside, huge pike-like fishes of the tropical rivers, armed with hard bony scales formed of pieces like mosaic. The largest of all fresh-water fishes is Arapaima gigas of the Amazon region, which reaches a length of fifteen feet and a weight of 4oo pounds. It has naturally considerable commer- cial importance, as have species of Osteoglossum, coarse river- fishes which occur in Brazil, Egypt, and the East Indies. Heterotis nilotica is a large fish of the Nile. In some or all of these the air-bladder is cellular or lung-like, like that of a Ganoid. Allied to the Osteoglosside is Phareodus (Dapedoglossus), a group of large shad-like fossil fishes, with large scales of peculiar mosaic texture and with a bony casque on the head, found in fresh-water deposits of the Green River Eocene. In the perfect specimens of Phareodus (or Dapedoglossus) testis the first ray of the pectoral is much enlarged and serrated on its inner edge, a character which may separate these fishes as a family from the true Osteoglosside. It does not, however, appear in Cope’s figures, none of his specimens having the pectorals perfect. In these fishes the teeth are very strong and sharp, the scales are very large and thin, looking like the scales of a parrot-fish, the long dorsal is opposite to the anal and similar to it, and the caudal is truncate. The end of the vertebral column is turned upward. Isospondyli 283 Other species are Phareodus acutus, known from the jaws; P. cncaustus is known from a mass of thick scales with retic- ulate or mosaic-like surface, much as in Osteoglossum, and P. @quipennis from a small example, perhaps immature. Fic. 216.—Phareodus testis (Cope). From a specimen 20 inches long collected at Fossil, Wyo., in the Museum of the Univ. of Wyoming. (Photograph by Prof. Wilbur C Knight.) Phareodus testis is frequently found well preserved in the shales at Fossil Station, to the northwestward of Green River. Whether all these species possess the peculiar structure of the scales, and whether all belong to one genus, is uncertain. In Eocene shales of England occurs Brychetus muelleri, a species closely related to Phareodus, but the scales smaller and without the characteristic reticulate or mosaic structure seen in Phareodus encaustus. The Pantodontide.—The bony casque of Osteoglossum is found again in the Pantodontide, consisting of one species, Pantodon buchholzt, a small fish of the brooks of West Africa. 284 Isospondyli As in the Osteoglosside and in the Siluride, the subopercle is wanting in Pantodon, The Alepocephalide are deep-sea herring-like fishes very soft in texture and black in color, taken in the oceanic abysses. Some species may be found in almost all seas below the depth SORT Te ye oe Oy) Bh i Pry ae ae We i yy i i if i He ss Fig. 217.—Alepocephalus agassizii Goode & Bean. Gulf Stream. of half a mile. Alepocephalus rostratus of the Mediterranean has been long known, but most of the other genera, Talis- mania, Mitchillina, Conocara, etc., are of very recent discovery, having been brought to the surface by the deep-sea dredging of the Challenger, the Albatross, the Blake, the Travailleur, the Talisman, the Investigator, the Hirondelle, and the Vio- lante. CHAPTER XX SALMONIDA HE Salmon Family.—The series or suborder Salmonoidea, or allies of the salmon and trout, are characterized as a |) whole by the presence of the adipose fin, a struc- ture Paleo retained in Characins and catfishes, which have no evident affinity with the trout, and in the lantern-fishes, lizard- fishes, and trout-perches, in which the affinity is very remote. Probably these groups all have a common descent from some primitive fish having an adipose fin, or at least a fleshy fold on the back. Of all the families of fishes, the one most interesting from almost every point of view is that of the Salmonide, the salmon family. As now restricted, it is not one of the largest families, as it comprises less than a hundred species; but in beauty, activity, gaminess, quality as food, and even in size of indi- viduals, different members of the group stand easily with the first among fishes. The following are the chief external charac- teristics which are common to the members of the family: Body oblong or moderately elongate, covered with cycloid, in scales of varying size. Head naked. Mouth terminal or some- what inferior, varying considerably among the different species, those having the mouth largest usually having also the strongest teeth. Maxillary provided with a supplemental bone, and forming the lateral margin of the upper jaw. Pseudobranchiz present. Gill-rakers varying with the species. Opercula com- plete. No barbels. Dorsal fin of moderate length, placed near the middle of the length of the body. Adipose fin well developed. Caudal fin forked. Anal fin moderate or rather long. Ventral fins nearly median in position. Pectoral fins inserted low. Lateral line present. Outline of belly rounded. Vertebre in large number, usually about sixty. 285 286 Salmonidz The stomach in all the Salmonide@ is siphonal, and at the pylorus are many (15 to 200) comparatively large pyloric cceca, The air-bladder is large. The eggs are usually much larger than in fishes generally, and the ovaries are without special duct, the ova falling into the cavity of the abdomen before exclusion. The large size of the eggs, their lack of adhesive- ness, and the readiness with which they may be impregnated, render the Salmonide peculiarly adapted for artificial culture. The Salmonide are peculiar to the north temperate and Arctic regions, and within this range they are almost equally abundant wherever suitable waters occur. Some of the species, especially the larger ones, are marine and anadromous, living and growing in the sea, and ascending fresh waters to spawn. Still others live in running brooks, entering lakes or the sea when occasion serves, but not habitually doing so. Still others are lake fishes, approaching the shore or entering brooks in the spawning season, at other times retiring to waters of con- siderable depth. Some of them are active, voracious, and gamy, while others are comparatively defenseless and will not take the hook. They are divisible into ten easily recognized genera: Coregonus, Argyrosomus, Brachymystax, Stenodus, On- corhynchus, Salmo, Hucho, Cristivomer, Salvelinus, and Pleco- glossus, Fragments of fossil trout, very imperfectly known, are re- corded chiefly from Pleistocene deposits of Idaho, under the name of KRhabdofario lacustris. We have also received from Dr. John C. Merriam, from ferruginous sands of the same region, several fragments of jaws of salmon, in the hook-nosed condition, with enlarged teeth, showing that the present salmon-runs have been in operation for many thousands of years. Most other fragments hitherto referred to Salmonide belong to some other kind of fish. Coregonus, the Whitefish—The genus Coregonus, which in- cludes the various species known in America as lake whitefish, is distinguishable in general by the small size of its mouth, the weakness of its teeth, and the large size of its scales. The teeth, especially, are either reduced to slight asperities, or else are altogether wanting. The species reach a length of one to three feet. With scarcely an exception they inhabit clear lakes, Salmonidz 287 and rarely enter streams except to spawn. In far northern regions they often descend to the sea; but in the latitude of the United States this is never possible for them, as they are unable to endure warm or impure water. They seldom take the hook, ‘and rarely feed on other fishes. Numerous local varieties char- acterize the lakes of Scandinavia, Scotland, and Arctic Asia and America. Largest and most desirable of all these as a food-fish is the common whitefish of the Great Lakes (Coregonus clupeiformis), with its allies or variants in the Mackenzie and Yukon. The species of Coregonus differ from each other in the form and size of the mouth, in the form of the body, and in the de- velopment of the gill-rakers. Coregonus oxyrhynchus—the Schnabel of Holland, Germany, and Scandinavia—has the mouth very small, the sharp snout projecting far beyond it. No species similar to this is found in America. The Rocky Mountain whitefish (Coregonus williamsont) has also a small mouth and projecting snout, but the latter is blunter Fig. 218 —Rocky Mountain Whitefish, Coregonus williamsoni Girard. and much shorter than in C. oxyrhynchus. This is a small species abounding everywhere in the clear lakes and streams of the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, from Colorado to Vancouver Island. It is a handsome fish and excellent as food. Closely allied to Coregonus williamsoni is the pilot-fish, shad-waiter, roundfish, or Menomonee whitefish (Coregonus quadrilateralis). This species is found in the Great Lakes, the Adirondack region, the lakes of New Hampshire, and thence 288 Salmonide northwestward to the Yukon, abounding in cold deep waters, its range apparently nowhere coinciding with that of Coregonus williamsont. The common whitefish (Coregonus clupeiformis) is the largest in size of the species of Coregonus, and is unquestionably the finest as an article of food. It varies considerably in appear- ance with age and condition, but in general it is proportionately much deeper than any of the other small-mouthed Coregonti. The adult fishes develop a considerable fleshy hump at the ee es : | oe Fig. 219.—Whitefish, Coregonus clupeiformis Mitchill. Ecorse, Mich. shoulders, which causes the head, which is very small, to appear disproportionately so. The whitefish spawns in November and December, on rocky shoals in the Great Lakes. Its food was ascertained by Dr. P. R. Hoy to consist chiefly of deep- water crustaceans, with a few mollusks, and larve of water insects. “The whitefish,” writes Mr. James W. Milner, “has been known since the time of the earliest explorers as pre- eminently a fine-flavored fish. In fact there are few table- fishes its equal. To be appreciated in its fullest excellence it should be taken fresh from the lake and broiled. Father Mar- quette, Charlevoix, Sir John Richardson—explorers who for months at a time had to depend upon the whitefish for their staple article of food—bore testimony to the fact that they never lost their relish for it, and deemed it a special excellence that the appetite never became cloyed with it.’”’ The range of the whitefish extends from the lakes of New York and New England northward to the Arctic Circle. The ‘‘Otsego bass’’ of Otsego Salmonide 289 Lake in New York, celebrated by De Witt Clinton, is a local form of the ordinary whitefish. Allied to the American whitefish, but smaller in size, is the Lavaret, Weissfisch, Adelfisch, or Weissfelchen (Coregonus lavaretus), of the mountain lakes of Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden. Coregonus kennicotti, the muksun, and Coregonus nelsoni, the humpback whitefish, are found in northern Alaska and in the Yukon. Several other related species occur in northern Europe and Siberia. Another American species is the Sault whitefish, Lake Whiting or Musquaw River whitefish (Coregonus labradoricus). Its teeth are stronger, especially on the tongue, than in any of our other species, and its body is slenderer than that of the whitefish. It is found in the upper Great Lakes, in the Adirondack region, in Lake Winnipeseogee, and in the lakes of Maine and New Brunswick. It is said to rise to the fly in the Canadian lakes. This species runs up the St. Mary’s River, from Lake Huron to Lake Superior, in July and August. Great numbers are snared or speared by the Indians at this season at the Sault Ste. Marie. In the breeding season the scales are sometimes thickened or covered with small warts, as in the male Cyprinidae. Argyrosomus, the Lake Herring.—In the genus Argyrosomus the mouth is larger, the premaxillary not set vertical, but ex- tending forward on its lower edge, and the body is more elongate and more evenly elliptical. The species are more active and predaceous than those of Coregonus and are, on the whole, in- ferior as food. The smallest and handsomest of the American whitefish is the cisco of Lake Michigan (Argyrosomus hoyt). It is a slender fish, rarely exceeding ten inches in length, and its scales have the brilliant silvery luster of the mooneye and the lady- fish. The lake herring, or cisco (Argyrosomus artedi), is, next to the whitefish, the most important of the American species. It is more elongate than the others, and has a comparatively large mouth, with projecting under-jaw. It is correspondingly more voracious, and often takes the hook. During the spawning season of the whitefish the lake herring feeds on the ova of the latter, thereby doing a great amount of mischief. As food 290 Salmonide this species is fair, but much inferior to the whitefish. Its geographical distribution is essentially the same, but to a greater degree it frequents shoal waters. In the small lakes around Lake Michigan, in Indiana and Wisconsin (Tippecanoe, Geneva, Oconomowoc, etc.), the cisco has long been established; and in these waters its habits have undergone some change, as has also its external appearance. It has been recorded as a distinct species, Argyrosomus sisco, and its excellence as a game-fish has been long appreciated by the angler. These lake ciscoes remain for most of the year in the depths of the lake, coming to the surface only in search of certain insects, and to shallow water only in the spawning season. This periodical disappearance of the cisco has led to much foolish discussion as to the proba- bility of their returning by an underground passage to Lake Fig. 220 —Bluefin Cisco, Argyrosomus nigripinnis Gill. Sheboygan. Michigan during the periods of their absence. One author, con- founding ‘‘cisco”’ with “siscowet,” has assumed that this under- ground passage leads to Lake Superior, and that the cisco is identical with the fat lake trout which bears the latter name. The name “lake herring” alludes to the superficial resemblance which this species possesses to the marine herring, a fish of quite a different family. Closely allied to the lake herring is the bluefin of Lake Michi- gan and of certain lakes in New York (Argyrosomus nigripinnts), a fine large species inhabiting deep waters, and recognizable by the blue-black color of its lower fins. In the lakes of central New York are found two other species, the so-called lake smelt (Argyrosomus osmeriformis) and the long-jaw (Argyrosomus Salmonide 291 prognathus). Argyrosomus lucidus is abundant in Great Bear Lake. In Alaska and Siberia are still other species of the cisco type (Argyrosomus laurette, A. pusillus, A. alascanus); and in Europe very similar species are the Scotch vendace (Argyrosomus vandesius) and the Scandinavian Lok-Sild (lake herring), as well as others less perfectly known. The Tullibee, or “mongrel whitefish” (Argyrosomus tullibee), has a deep body, like the shad, with the large mouth of the ciscoes. It is found in the Great Lake region and northward, and very little is known of its habits. A similar species (Argy- rosomus cyprinoides) is recorded from Siberia—a region which is peculiarly suited for the growth of the Coregoni, but in which the species have never received much study. Brachymystax and Stenodus, the Inconnus.—Another little- known form, intermediate between the whitefish and the salmon, Fig. 221.—Inconnu, Stenodus mackenziei (Richardson). Nulato, Alaska. is Brachymystax lenock, a large fish of the mountain streams of Siberia. Only the skins brought home by Pallas a century ago are yet known. According to Pallas, it sometimes reaches a weight of eighty pounds. Still another genus, intermediate between the whitefish and the salmon, is Stenodus, distinguished by its elongate body, feeble teeth, and projecting lower jaw. The Inconnu, or Mac- kenzie River salmon, known on the Yukon as ‘“‘charr’’ (Stenodus mackenziet), belongs to this genus. It reaches a weight of twenty pounds or more, and in the far north is a food-fish of good quality. It runs in the Yukon as far as White Horse Rapids. Not much is recorded of its habits, and few specimens exist in 292 Salmonidz museums. A species of Stenodus called Stenodus leucichthys inhabits the Volga, Obi, Lena, and other northern rivers; but as yet little is definitely known of the species. Oncorhynchus, the Quinnat Salmon.—The genus Oncorhyn- chus contains the salmon of the Pacific. They are in fact, as well as in name, the king salmon. The genus is closely related to Salmo, with which it agrees in general as to the structure of its vomer, and from which it differs in the increased number of anal rays, branchiostegals, pyloric cceca, and gill- rakers. The character most convenient for distinguishing Oncorhynchus, young or old, from all the species of Salmo, is the number of developed rays in the anal fin. These in Onco- rhynchus are thirteen to twenty, in Salmo nine to twelve. The species of Oncorhynchus have long been known as anad- romous salmon, confined to the North Pacific. The species were first made known nearly one hundred and fifty years ago by that most exact of early observers, Steller, who, almost simultaneously with Krascheninnikov, another early investigator, described and distinguished them with perfect accuracy under their Russian vernacular names. These Russian names were, in 1792, adopted by Walbaum as specific names in giving to these animals a scientific nomenclature. Five species of Oncorhynchus are well known on both shores of the North Pacific, besides one other in Japan. These have been greatly misunderstood by early observers on account of the extraordinary changes due to differ- ences in surroundings, in sex, and in age, and in conditions con- nected with the process of reproduction. There are five species of salmon (Oncorhynchus) in the waters of the North Pacific, all found on both sides, besides one other which is known only from the waters of Japan. These species may be called: (1) the quinnat, or king-salmon, (2) the blue- back salmon, or redfish, (3) the silver salmon, (4) the dog- salmon, (5) the humpback salmon, and (6) the masu; or (r) Oncorhynchus tschawytscha, (2) Oncorhynchus nerka, (3) Onco- rhynchus milktschitsch, (4) Oncorhynchus keta, (5) Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, (6) Oncorhynchus masou. All these species save the last are now known to occur in the waters of Kamchatka, as well as in those of Alaska and Oregon. These species, in all their varied conditions, may usually be distinguished by the Salmonidz | BG characters given below. Other differences of form, color, and appearance are absolutely valueless for distinction, unless speci- mens of the same age, sex, and condition are compared. The quinnat salmon (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha),* called quinnat, tyee, chinook, or king-salmon, has an average weight of 22 pounds, but individuals weighing 70 to roo pounds are occasionally taken. It has about 16 anal rays, 15 to 19 branchi- ostegals, 23 (9+14) gill-rakers on the anterior gill-arch, and 140 to 185 pyloric ccoeca. The scales are comparatively large, there being from 130 to 155 in a longitudinal series. In the spring the body is silvery, the back, dorsal fin, and caudal fin having more or less of round black spots, and the sides of the head having a peculiar tin-colored metallic luster. In the fall Fic. 222,—Quinnat Salmon (female), Oncorhynchus tschawytscha (Walbaum). Columbia River. the color is often black or dirty red, and the species can then be distinguished from the dog-salmon by its larger size and by its technical characters. The flesh is rich and _ salmon-red, becoming suddenly pale as the spawning season draws near. The blue-back salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka),f also called ted salmon, sukkegh, or sockeye, usually weighs from 5 to 8 pounds. It has about 14 developed anal rays, 14 branchioste- * For valuable accounts of the habits of this species the reader is referred to papers by the late Cloudsley Rutter, ichthyologist of the Albatross, in the publications of the United States Fish Commission, the Popular Science Monthly, and the Overland Monthly. {+ For valuable records of the natural history of this species the reader is referred to various papers by Dr. Barton Warren Evermann in the Bulletins of the United States Fish Commission and elsewhere. 294 Salmonidz gals, and 75 to 95 pyloric ceca. The gill-rakers are more numer- ous than in any other salmon, the number being usually about Fig. 223.—King-salmon grilse, Oncorhynchus tschawytscha (Walbaum). (Photograph by Cloudsley Rutter.) 39 (16+23). The scales are larger, there being 130 to 140 in the lateral line. In the spring the form is plumply rounded, and the color is a clear bright blue above, silvery below, and everywhere immaculate. Young fishes often show a few round black spots, which disappear when they enter the sea. Fall specimens in the lakes are bright crimson in color, the head clear olive-green, and they become in a high degree hook-nosed and slab-sided, and bear little resemblance to the spring run. Young spawning male grilse follow the changes which take place in the adult, although often not more than half a pound in weight. : Fic. 224.—Male Red Salmon in September, Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum). Payette Lake, Idaho. These little fishes often appear in mountain lakes, but whether they are landlocked or have come up from the sea is still un- Salmonidz 295 settled. These dwarf forms, called kokos by the Indians and benimasu in Japan, form the subspecies Oncorhynchus nerka kennerlyt. The flesh in this species is firmer than that of any other and very red, of good flavor, though drier and less rich than the king-salmon. The silver salmon, or coho (Oncorhynchus milktschitsch, or kisutch), reaches a weight of 5 to 8 pounds. It has 13 devel- oped rays in the anal, 13 branchiostegals, 23 (10 +13) gill-rakers, and 45 to 80 pyloric coeca. There are about 127 scales in the lateral line. The scales are thin and all except those of the lateral line readily fall off. This feature distinguishes the species readily from the red salmon. In color it is silvery in spring, greenish above, and with a few faint black spots on the upper parts only. In the fall the males are mostly of a dirty red. The flesh in this species is of excellent flavor, but pale in color, and hence less valued than that of the quinnat and the red salmon. The dog-salmon, calico salmon, or chum, called saké in Japan (Oncorhynchus keta), reaches an average weight of about 7 to 10 pounds. It has about 14 anal rays, 14 branchiostegals, 24 (9+15) gill-rakers, and 140 to 185 pyloric coeca. There are about 150 scales in the lateral line. In spring it is dirty silvery, immaculate, or sprinkled with small black specks, the fins dusky, the sides with faint traces of gridiron-like bars. In the fall the male is brick-red or blackish, and its jaws are greatly distorted. The pale flesh is well flavored when fresh, but pale and mushy in texture and muddy in taste when canned. It is said to take salt well, and great numbers of salt dog-salmon are consumed in Japan. The humpback salmon, or pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gor- buscha), is the smallest of the American species, weighing from 3 to 5 pounds. It has usually 15 anal rays, 12 branchiostegals, 28 (134-15) gill-rakers, and about 180 pyloric cceca. Its scales are much smaller than in any other salmon, there being 180 to 240 in the lateral line. In color it is bluish above, silvery below, the posterior and upper parts with many round black spots, the caudal fin always having a few large black spots oblong in form. The males in fall are dirty red, and are more extravagantly distorted than in any other of the Salmonide. 296 Salmonide The flesh is softer than in the other species; it is pale in color, and, while of fair flavor when fresh, is distinctly inferior when canned. The masu, or yezomasu (Oncorhynchus masou), is very similar to the humpback, the scales a little larger, the caudal without Fic. 225—Humpback Salmon (female), Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Walbaum). Cook’s Inlet. black spots, the back usually immaculate. It is one of the smaller salmon, and is fairly abundant in the streams of Hokkaido, the island formerly known as Yezo. Of these species the blue-back or red salmon predominates in Frazer River and in most of the small rivers of Alaska, includ- ty as 2 Fic. 226 —Masu (female), Oncorhynchus masou (Brevoort). Aomori, Japan. ing all those which flow from lakes. The greatest salmon rivers of the world are the Nushegak and Karluk in Alaska, with the Columbia River, Frazer River, and Sacramento River farther south. The red and the silver salmon predominate in Puget Sound, the quinnat in the Columbia and the Sacramento, and the silver salmon in most of the smaller streams along the coast. All the species occur, however, from the Columbia northward; Salmonide 297 but the blue-back is not found in the Sacramento. Only the quinnat and the dog-salmon have been noticed south of San Francisco. In Japan keta is by far the most abundant species of salmon. It is known as saké, and largely salted and sold in the markets. Nerka is known in Japan only as landlocked in Lake Akan in northern Hokkaido. Mulktschitsch is generally common, and with masou is known as masu, or small salmon, as distinguished from the large salmon, or saké. Tschawytscha and gorbuscha are unknown in Japan. Masou has not been found elsewhere. The quinnat and blue-back salmon, the “noble salmon,” habitually ‘“‘run’’ in the spring, the others in the fall. The usual order of running in the rivers is as follows: tschawytscha, nerka, muilktschitsch, gorbuscha, keta. Those which run first go farthest. In the Yukon the quinnat runs as far as Caribou Crossing and Lake Bennett, 2250 miles. The red salmon runs to ‘“Forty-Mile,” which is nearly 1800 miles. Both ascend to the head of the Columbia, Fraser, Nass, Skeena, Stikeen, and Taku rivers. The quinnat runs practically only in the streams of large size, fed with melting snows; the red salmon only in’ streams which pass through lakes. It spawns only in small streams at the head of a lake. The other species spawn in almost any fresh water and only close to the sea. The economic value of the spring-running salmon is far greater than that of the other species, because they can be cap- tured in numbers when at their best, while the others are usually taken only after deterioration. The habits of the salmon in the ocean are not easily studied. Quinnat and silver salmon of all sizes are taken with the seine at almost any season in Puget Sound and among the islands of Alaska. This would indicate that these species do not go far from the shore. The silver salmon certainly does not. The quinnat pursues the schools of herring. It takes the hook freely in Monterey Bay, both near the shore and at a distance of six to eight miles out. We have reason to believe that these two species do not necessarily seek great depths, but probably remain not very far from the mouth of the rivers in which they were spawned. The blue-back or red salmon cer- tainly seeks deeper water, as it is seldom or never taken with the seine along shore, and it is known to enter the Strait of Fuca in 298 Salmonidz July, just before the running season, therefore coming in from the open sea. The great majority of the quinnat salmon, and probaby all the blue-back salmon, enter the rivers in the spring. The run of the quinnat begins generally at the last of March; it lasts, with various modifications and interruptions, until the actual spawning season in November, the greatest run being in early June in Alaska, in July in the Columbia, The run begins earliest in the northernmost rivers, and in the longest streams, the time of running and the proportionate amount in each of the subordinate runs varying with each different river. In general the runs are slack in the summer and increase with the first high water of autumn. By the last of August only straggling blue-backs can be found in the lower course of any stream; but both in the Columbia and in the Sacramento the quinnat runs in considerable numbers at least till October. In the Sacramento the run is greatest in the fall, and more run in the summer than in spring. In the Sacramento and the smaller rivers southward there is a winter run, beginning in December. The spring quinnat salmon ascends only those rivers which are fed by the melting snows from the mountains and which have sufficient volume to send their waters well out to sea. Those salmon which run in the spring are chiefly adults (supposed to be at least three years old). Their milt and spawn are no more developed than at the same time in others of the same species which have not yet entered the rivers. It would appear that the contact with cold fresh water, when in the ocean, in some way causes them to run towards it, and to run before there is any special influence to that end exerted by the development of the organs of generation. High water on any of these rivers in the spring is always followed by an increased run of salmon. The salmon-canners think—and this is probably true—that salmon which would not have run till later are brought up by the contact with the cold water. The cause of this effect of cold fresh water is not understood. We may call it an instinct of the salmon, which is another way of expressing our ignorance. In general it seems to be true that in those rivers and during those years when the spring run is greatest the fall run is least to be depended on. The blue-back salmon runs chiefly in July and early August, Salmonidz 299 beginning in late June in Chilcoot River, where some were found actually spawning July 15; beginning after the middle of July in Frazer River. As the season advances, smaller and younger salmon of these species (quinnat and blue-back) enter the rivers to spawn, and in the fall these young specimens are very numerous. We have thus far failed to notice any gradations in size or appearance of these young fish by which their ages could be ascertained. It is, however, probable that some of both sexes reproduce at the age of one year. In Frazer River, in the fall, quinnat male grilse of every size, from eight inches upwards, were running, the milt fully developed, but usually not showing the hooked jaws and dark colors of the older males. Females less than eighteen inches in length were not seen. All of either sex, large and small, then in the river had the ovaries or milt developed. Little blue-backs of every size, down to six inches, are also found in the upper Columbia in the fall, with their organs of generation fully developed. Nineteen-twentieths of these young fish are males, and some of them have the hooked jaws and red color of the old males. Apparently all these young fishes, like the old ones, die after spawning. The average weight of the adult canna in the Columbia, in the spring, is twenty-two pounds; in the Sacramento, about sixteen. Individuals weighing from forty to sixty pounds are frequently found in both rivers, and some as high as eighty or even one hundred pounds are recorded, especially in Alaska, where the species tends torun larger. It is questionable whether these large fishes are those which, of the same age, have grown more rapidly; those which are older, but have for some reason failed to spawn; or those which have survived one or more spawing seasons. All these origins may be possible in individual cases. There is, however, no positive evidence that any salmon of the Pacific survives the spawning season. Those fish which enter the rivers in the spring continue their ascent till death or the spawning season overtakes them. Doubt- less not one of them ever returns to the ocean, and a large pro- portion fail to spawn. They are known to ascend the Sacra- mento to its extreme head-waters, about four hundred miles. In the Columbia they ascend as far as the Bitter Root and Saw- 300 Salmonidz tooth mountains of Idaho, and their extreme limit is not known. This is a distance of nearly a thousand miles. In the Yukon a few ascend to Caribou Crossing and Lake Bennett, 2250 miles. At these great distances, when the fish have reached the spawn- ing grounds, besides the usual changes of the breeding season their bodies are covered with bruises, on which patches of white fungus (Saprolegnia) develop. The fins become mutilated, their eyes are often injured or destroyed, parasitic worms gather in their gills, they become extremely emaciated, their flesh becomes white from the loss of oil; and as soon as the spawning act is accomplished, and sometimes before, all of them die. The ascent of the Cascades and the Dalles of the Columbia causes the injury or death of a great many salmon. When the salmon enter the river they refuse to take bait, and their stomachs are always found empty and contracted. Fic. 227.—Red Salmon (mutilated dwarf male, after spawning), Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum). Alturas Lake, Idaho In the rivers they do not feed; and when they reach the spawn- ing grounds their stomachs, pyloric cceca and all, are said to be no larger than one’s finger. They will sometimes take the fly, or a hook baited with salmon-roe, in the clear waters of the upper tributaries, but this is apparently solely out of annoyance, snapping at the meddling line. Only the quinnat and blue-back (there called redfish) have been found at any great distance from the sea, and these (as adult fishes) only in late summer and fall. The spawning season is probably about the same for all the species. It varies for each of the different rivers, and for different parts of the same river. It doubtless extends from July to 10€ (aaqyny Aapspnopg Aq ydeaSoj}0yg) ‘Doary OJuoWIvIoNg = “Buruaveds Joa Suldp ‘wyospimvyos) snyouliysoougc ‘UoWUTRg yeuUINg ory Sunox—'geg “DIY 302 Salmonide December, and takes place usually as soon as the temperature of the water falls to 54°. The manner of spawning is probably similar for all the species. In the quinnat the fishes pair off; the male, with tail and snout, excavates a broad, shallow “nest”’ in the gravelly bed of the stream, in rapid water, at a depth of one to four feet and the female deposits her eggs in it. They then float down the stream tail foremost, the only fashion in which salmon descend to the sea. As already stated, in the head-waters of the large streams, unquestionably, all die; it is the belief of the writer that none ever survive. The young hatch in sixty days, and most of them return to the ocean during the high water of the spring. They enter the river as adults at the age of about four years. The salmon of all kinds in the spring are silvery, spotted or not according to the species, and with the mouth about equally symmetrical in both sexes. As the spawning season approaches the female loses her silvery color, becomes more slimy, the scales on the back partly sink into the skin, and the flesh changes from salmon-red and becomes variously paler, from the loss of oil; the degree of paleness varying much with individuals and with inhabitants of different rivers. In the Sacramento the flesh of the quinnat, in either spring or fall, is rarely pale. In the Columbia a few with pale flesh are sometimes taken in spring, and an increasing number from July on. In Frazer River the fall run of the quinnat is nearly worthless for canning purposes, because so many are “‘white-meated.’”’ In the spring very few are “ white-meated’’; but the number increases towards fall, when there is every variation, some having red streaks running through them, others being red toward the head and pale toward the tail. The red and pale ones cannot be dis- tinguished externally, and the color is dependent on neither age nor sex. There is said to be no difference in the taste, but there is little market for canned salmon not of the conventional orange-color. As the season advances the difference between the males ard females becomes more and more marked, and keeps pace with the development of the milt, as is shown by dissection. The males have (1) the premaxillaries and the tip of the lower jaw more and more prolonged, both of the jaws becoming finally Salmonidz 703 strongly and often extravagantly hooked, so that either they shut by the side of each other like shears, or else the mouth cannot be closed. (2) The front teeth become very long and canine-like, their growth proceeding very rapidly, until they are often half an inch long. (3) The teeth on the vomer and tongue often disappear. (4) The body grows more compressed and deeper at the shoulders, so that a very distinct hump is formed; this is more developed in the humpback salmon, but is found in all. (5) The scales disappear, especially on the back, by the growth of spongy skin. (6) The color changes from silvery to various shades of black and red, or blotchy, according to the species. The blue-back turns rosy-red, the head bright olive; the dog-salmon a dull red with blackish bars, and the quinnat generally blackish. The distorted males are Fig. 229.—Quinnat Salmon, Oncorhynchus tschawytscha (Walbaum). Monterey Bay. (Photograph by C. Rutter.) commonly considered worthless, rejected by the canners and salmon-salters, but preserved by the Indians. These changes are due solely to influences connected with the growth of the reproductive organs. They are not in any way due to the action of fresh water. They take place at about the same time in the adult males of all species, whether in the ocean or in the rivers. At the time of the spring runs all are symmetrical. In the fall all males, of whatever species, are more or less dis- torted. Among the dog-salmon, which run only in the fall, the males are hook-jawed and red-blotched when they first enter the Strait of Fuca from the outside. The humpback, taken in salt water about Seattle, have the same peculiarities. The male is slab-sided, hook-billed, and distorted, and is re- 304 Salmonide jected by the canners. No hook-jawed females of any species have been seen. On first entering a stream the salmon swim about as if play- ing. They always head towards the current, and this appear- ance of playing may be simply due to facing the moving tide. Afterwards they enter the deepest parts of the stream and swim straight up, with few interruptions. Their rate of travel at Sacramento is estimated by Stone at about two miles per day; on the Columbia at about three miles per day. Those which enter the Columbia in the spring and ascend to the moun- tain rivers of Idaho must go at a more rapid rate than this, as they must make an average of nearly four miles per day. As already stated, the economic value of any species depends in great part on its being a ‘‘spring salmon.” It is not gen- erally possible to capture salmon of any species in large num- bers until they have entered the estuaries or rivers, and the spring salmon enter the large rivers long before the growth of the organs of reproduction has reduced the richness of the flesh. The fall salmon cannot be taken in quantity until their flesh has deteriorated; hence the dog-salmon is practically almost worthless except to the Indians, and the humpback salmon was regarded as little better until comparatively re-_ cently, when it has been placed on the market in cans as ‘“ Pink Salmon.” It sells for about half the price of the red salmon and one-third that of the quinnat. The red salmon is smaller than the quinnat but, outside the Sacramento and the Columbia, far more abundant, and at present it exceeds the quinnat in economic value. The pack of red salmon in Alaska amounted in 1902 to over two million cases (48 pounds each), worth whole- sale about $4.00 per case, or about $8,000,000. The other species in Alaska yield about one million cases, the total wholesale value of the pack for 1902 being $8,667,673. The aggregate value of the quinnat is considerably less, but either species far exceed in value all other fishes of the Pacific taken together. The silver salmon is found in the inland waters of Puget Sound for a considerable time before the fall rains cause the fall runs, and it may be taken in large numbers with seines before the season for entering the rivers. The fall salmon of all species, but especially of the dog- Salmonide 305 salmon, ascend streams but a short distance before spawning. They seem to be in great anxiety to find fresh water, and many of them work their way up little brooks only a few inches deep, where they perish miserably, floundering about on the stones. Every stream of whatever kind, from San Francisco to Bering Sea, has more or less of these fall salmon. The absence of the fine spring salmon in the streams of Japan is the cause of the relative unimportance of the river fisheries of the northern island of Japan, Hokkaido. It is not likely that either the quinnat or the red salmon can be introduced into these rivers, as they have no snow-fed streams, and few of them pass through lakes which are not shut off by waterfalls. For the same reason neither of these species is likely to become naturalized in the waters of our Eastern States, though it is worth while to bring the red salmon to the St. Lawrence. The silver salmon, already abundant in Japan, should thrive in the rivers and bays of New England. The Parent-stream Theory.—It has been generally accepted as unquestioned by packers and fishermen that salmon return to spawn to the very stream in which they were hatched. As early as 1880 the present writer placed on record his opinion that this theory was unsound. In a general way most salmon return to the parent stream, because when in the sea the parent stream is the one most easily reached. The channels and run- ways which directed their course to the sea may influence their return trip in the same fashion. When the salmon is mature it seeks fresh water. Other things being equal, about the same number will run each year in the same channel. With all this, we find some curious facts. Certain streams will have a run of exceptionally large or exceptionally small red salmon. The time of the run bears some relation to the length of the stream: those who have farthest to go start earliest. The time of running bears also a relation to the temperature of the spawning grounds: where the waters cool off earliest the fish run soonest. The supposed evidence in favor of the parent-stream theory may be considered under three heads: * (1) Distinctive runs in * See an excellent article by H. S. Davis in the Pacific Fisherman for July, 1903. . 306 Salmonide various streams. (2) Return of marked salmon. (3) Intro- duction of salmon into new streams followed by their return. Under the first head it is often asserted of fishermen that they can distinguish the salmon of different streams. Thus the Lynn Canal red salmon are larger than those in most waters, and it is claimed that those of Chilcoot Inlet are larger than those of the sister stream at Chilcat. The red salmon of Red Fish Bay on Baranof Island are said to be much smaller than usual, and those of the neighboring Necker Bay are not more than one- third the ordinary size. Those of a small rapid stream near Nass River are more wiry than those of the neighboring large stream. The same claim is made for the different streams of Puget Sound, each one having its characteristic run. In all this there is some truth and perhaps some exaggeration. I have noticed that the Chilcoot fish seem deeper in body than those at Chilcat. The red salmon becomes compressed before spawn- ing, and the Chilcoot fishes having a short run spawn earlier than the Chilcat fishes, which have many miles to go, the water being perhaps warmer at the mouth of the river. Perhaps some localities may meet the nervous reactions of small fishes, while not attracting the large ones. Mr. H. S. Davis well observes that “until a constant difference has been demon- strated by a careful examination of large numbers of fish from each stream taken at the same time, but little weight can be attached to arguments of this nature.”’ It is doubtless true as a general proposition that nearly all salmon return to the region in which they were spawned. Most of them apparently never go far away from the mouth of the stream or the bay into which it flows. It is true that salmon are occasionally taken well out at sea, and it is certain that the red-salmon runs of Puget Sound come from outside the Straits of Fuca. There is, however, evidence that they rarely go so far as that. When seeking shore they do not reach the original channels. In 1880 the writer, studying the salmon of the Columbia, used the following words, which he has not had occasion to change: “It is the prevailing impression that the salmon have some special instinct which leads them to return to spawn in the Salmonidz 307 same spawning grounds where they were originally hatched. We fail to find any evidence of this in the case of the Pacific- coast salmon, and we do not believe it to be true. It seems more probable that the young salmon hatched in any river mostly remain in the ocean within a radius of twenty, thirty, or forty miles of its mouth. These, in their movements about in the ocean, may come into contact with the cold waters of their parent rivers, or perhaps of any other river, at a consider- able distance from the shore. In the case of the quinnat and the blue-back their ‘instinct’ seems to lead them to ascend these fresh waters, and in a majority of cases these waters will be those in which the fishes in question were originally spawned. Later in the season the growth of the reproductive organs leads them to approach the shore and search for fresh waters, and still the chances are that they may find the original stream. But undoubtedly many fall salmon ascend, or try to ascend, streams in which no salmon was ever hatched. In little brooks about Puget Sound, where the water is not three inches deep, are often found dead or dying salmon which have entered them for the purpose of spawning. It is said of the Russian River and other California rivers that their mouths, in the time of low water in summer, generally become entirely closed by sand- bars, and that the salmon, in their eagerness to ascend them, frequently fling themselves entirely out of water on the beach. But this does not prove that the salmon are guided by a mar- velous geographical instinct which leads them to their parent river in spite of the fact that the river cannot be found. The waters of Russian River soak through these sand-bars, and the salmon instinct, we think, leads them merely to search for fresh waters. This matter is much in need of further investi- gation; at present, however, we find no reason to believe that the salmon enter the Rogue River simply because they were spawned there, or that a salmon hatched in the Clackamas River is more likely, on that account, to return to the Clacka- mas than to go up the Cowlitz or the Des Chutes.” Attempts have been made to settle this question by marking the fry. But this is a very difficult matter indeed. Almost the only structure which can be safely mutilated is the adipose fin, and this is often nipped off by sticklebacks and other med- 308 Salmonide dling fish. The following experiments have been tried, accord- ing to Mr. Davis: In March, 1896, 5000 king-salmon fry were marked by cutting off the adipose fin, then set free in the Clackamas River. Nearly 400 of these marked fish are said to have been taken in the Columbia in 1898, and a few more in 1899. In addition a few were taken in 1898, 1899, and 1900 in the Sacramento River, but in much less numbers than in the Columbia. In the Columbia most were taken at the mouth of the river, where nearly all of the fishing was done, but a few were in the original stream, the Clackamas. It is stated that the fry thus set free in the Clackamas came from eggs obtained in the Sacramento— a matter which has, however, no bearing on the present case. In the Kalama hatchery on the Columbia River, Washing- ton, 2000 fry of the quinnat or king-salmon were marked in 1899 by a V-shaped notch in the caudal fin. Numerous fishes thus marked were taken in the lower Columbia in 1go1 and 1902. A few were taken at the Kalama hatchery, but some also at the hatcheries on Wind River and Clackamas River. At the hatchery on Chehalis River six or seven were taken, the stream not being a tributary of the Columbia, but flowing into Shoal- water Bay. None were noticed in the Sacramento. The evi- dence shows that the most who are hatched in a large stream tend. to return to it, and that in general most salmon return to the parent region. There is no evidence that a salmon hatched in one branch of a river tends to return there rather than to any other. Experiments of Messrs. Rutter and Spaulding in marking adult fish at Karluk would indicate that they roam rather widely about the island before spawning. An adult spawning fish, marked and set free at Karluk, was taken soon after on the opposite side of the island of Kadiak. The introduction of salmon into new streams may throw some light on this question. In 1897 and 1898 3,000,000 young quinnat-salmon fry were set free in Papermill Creek near Olema, California. This is a small stream flowing into the head of Tomales Bay, and it had never previously had a run of salmon. In 1900, and especially in rgo1, large quinnat salmon appeared in considerable numbers in this stream. One specimen weigh- ing about sixteen pounds was sent to the present writer for Salmonide — 309 identification. These fishes certainly returned to the parent stream, although this stream was one not at all fitted for their purpose. But this may be accounted for by the topography of the bay. Tomales Bay is a long and narrow channel, about twenty miles long and from one to five in width, isolated from other tivers and with but one tributary stream. Probably the salmon had not wandered far from it; some may not have left it at all. In any event, a large number certainly came back to the same place. That the salmon rarely go far away is fairly attested. Schools of king-salmon play in Monterey Bay, and chase the herring about in the channels of southeastern Alaska. A few years since Captain J. F. Moser, in charge of the Albatross, set gill- nets for salmon at various places in the sea off the Oregon and Washington coast, catching none except in the bays. Mr. Davis gives an account of the liberation of salmon in Chinook River, which flows into the Columbia at Baker’s Bay: “Tt is a small, sluggish stream and has never -been fre- quented by Chinook salmon, although considerable numbers of silver and dog salmon enter it late in the fall. A few years ago the State established a hatchery on this stream, and since 1898 between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 Chinook fry have been turned out here annually. The fish are taken from the pound- nets in Baker’s Bay, towed into the river in crates and then liberated above the dike, which prevents their return to the Columbia. When ripe the salmon ascend to the hatchery, some two or three miles farther up the river, where they are spawned. “The superintendent of the hatchery, Mr. Hansen, informs me that in 1902, during November and December, quite a number of Chinook salmon ascended the Chinook River. About 150 salmon of both sexes were taken in a trap located in the river about four miles from its mouth. At first thought it would appear that these were probably fish which, when fry, had been liberated in the river, but unfortunately there is no proof that this was the case. According to Mr. Hansen, the season of 1902 was remarkable in that the salmon ran inshore in large schools, a thing which they had not done before for years. It 310 Salmonide is possible that the fish, being forced in close to the shore, came in contact with the current from the Chinook River, which, since the stream is small and sluggish, would not be felt far from shore. Once brought under the influence of the current from the river, the salmon would naturally ascend that stream, whether they had been hatched there or not.” The general conclusion, apparently warranted by the facts at hand, is that salmon, for the most part, do not go to a great distance from the stream in which they are hatched, that most of them return to the streams of the same region, a majority to the parent stream, but that there is no evidence that they choose the parental spawning grounds in preference to any other, and none that they will prefer an undesirable stream to a favorable one for the reason that they happen to have been hatched in the former. The Jadgeska Hatchery.—Mr. John C. Callbreath of Wrangel, Alaska, has long conducted a very interesting but very costly experiment in this line. About 1890 he established himself in a small stream called Jadgeska on the west coast of Etolin Island, tributary to McHenry Inlet, Clarence Straits. This stream led from a lake, and in it a few thousand red salmon spawned, besides multitudes of silver salmon, dog-salmon, and humpback salmon, Making a dam across the stream, he helped the red salmon over it, destroying all of the inferior kinds which entered the stream. He also established a hatchery for the red salmon, turning loose many fry yearly for ten or twelve years. This was done in the expectation that all the salmon hatched would return to Jadgeska in about four years. By destroying all individuals of other species attempting to run, it was expected that they would become extinct so far as the stream is concerned. The result of this experiment has been disappointment. After twelve years or more there has been no increase of red salmon in the stream, and no decrease of humpbacks and other humbler forms of salmon. Mr. Callbreath draws the con- clusion that salmon run at a much greater age than has been supposed—at the age of sixteen years, perhaps, instead of four. A far more probable conclusion is that his salmon have joined other bands bound for more suitable streams. It is indeed Salmonide ert claimed that since the establishment of Callbreath’s hatchery on Etolin Island there has been a notable increase of the salmon run in the various streams of Prince of Wales Island on the opposite side of Clarence Straits. But this statement, while largely current among the cannerymen, and not improbable, needs verification. We shall await with much interest the return of the thou- sands of salmon hatched in 1902 in Naha stream. We may venture the prophecy that while a large percentage will return to Loring, many others will enter Yes Bay, Karta Bay, Moira Sound, and other red-salmon waters along the line of their return from Dixon Entrance or the open sea. Salmon-packing.—The canning of salmon, that is, the packing of the flesh in tin cases, hermetically sealed after boiling, was begun on the Columbia River by the Hume Brothers in 1866. - In 1874 canneries were established on the Sacramento River, in 1876 on Puget Sound and on Frazer River, and in 1878 in Alaska. At first only the quinnat salmon was packed; after- wards the red salmon and the silver salmon, and finally the humpback, known commercially as pink salmon. In most cases the flesh is packed in one-pound tins, forty-eight of which constitute a case. The wholesale price in 1903 was for quinnat salmon $5.60 per case, red salmon $4.00, silver salmon $2.60, humpback salmon $2.00, and dog-salmon $1.50. It costs in round numbers $2.00 to pack a case of salmon. The very low price of the inferior brands is due to overproduction. The output of the salmon fishery of the Pacific coast amounts to about fifteen millions per year, that of Alaska constituting seven to nine millions of thisamount. Of this amount the red salmon constitutes somewhat more than half, the quinnat about four-fifths of the rest. In almost all salmon streams there is evidence of considerable diminution in numbers, although the evidence is sometimes conflicting. In Alaska this has been due to the vicious custom, now done away with, of barricading the streams so that the fish could not reach the spawning grounds, but might be all taken with the net. In the Columbia River the reduction in numbers is mainly due to stationary traps and salmon- wheels, which leave the fish relatively little chance to reach the at? Salmonidz spawning grounds. In years of high water doubtless many salmon run in the spring which might otherwise have waited until fall. The key to the situation lies in the artificial propagation of salmon by means of well-ordered hatcheries. By this means the fisheries of the Sacramento have been fully restored, those of the Columbia approximately maintained, and a hopeful beginning has been made in hatching red salmon in Alaska. The preservation of salmon and trout depends rather on artificial hatching than on protection. Salmo, the Trout and Atlantic Salmon.— The genus Salmo comprises those forms of salmon which have been longest known. As in related genera, the mouth is large, and the jaws, palatines, and tongue are armed with strong teeth. The vomer is flat, its shaft not depressed below the level of the head or chevron (the anterior end). There are a few teeth on the chevron; and behind it, on the shaft, there is either a double series of teeth or an irregular single series. These teeth in the true salmon disappear with age, but in the others (the black-spotted trout) they are persistent. The scales are silvery and moderate or small in size. There are 9 to 11 developed rays in the anal fin. The caudal fin is truncate, or variously concave or forked. There are usually 40 to 70 pyloric cceca, Ii or 12 branchiostegals, and about 20 (8+12) gill-rakers. The sexual peculiarities are in general less marked than in Oncorhynchus; they are also greater in the anadromous species than in those which inhabit fresh waters. In general the male in the breeding season is redder, its jaws are prolonged, the front teeth enlarged, the lower jaw turned upwards at the end, and the upper jaw notched, or sometimes even perforated, by the tip of the lower. All the species of Salmo (like those of Oncorhynchus) are more or less spotted with black. Unlike the species of Oncorhynchus, the species of Salmo feed more or less while in fresh water, and the individuals for the most part do not die after spawning, although many old males do thus perish. The Atlantic Salmon._-The large species of Salmo, called salmon by English-speaking people (Salmo salar, Salmo trutta), are marine and anadromous, taking the place in the North Atlantic occupied in the North Pacific by the species of Onco- Salmonidz as rhynchus. Two others more or less similar in character occur in Japan and Kamchatka. The others (trout), forming the subgenus Salar, are non-migratory, or at least irregularly or imperfectly anadromous. The true or black-spotted trout abound in all streams of northern Europe, northern Asia, and in that part of North America which lies west of the Mississippi Valley. The black-spotted trout are entirely wanting in eastern America—a remarkable fact in geographical distribution, perhaps explained only on the hypothesis of the comparatively recent and Eurasiatic origin of the group, which, we may suppose, has not yet had opportunity to extend its range across the plains, unsuitable for salmon life, which separate the upper Missouri from the Great Lakes. The salmon (Salmo salar) is the only black-spotted sal- monoid found in American waters tributary to the Atlantic. In Europe, where other species similarly colored occur, the species may be best distinguished by the fact that the teeth on the shaft of the vomer mostly disappear with age. From the only other species positively known, the salmon trout (Salmo trutta), which shares this character, the true salmon may be distinguished by the presence of but eleven scales between the adipose fin and the lateral line, while Salmo trutta has about fourteen. The scales are comparatively large in the salmon, there being about one hundred and twenty-five in the lateral line. The caudal fin, which is forked in the young, becomes, as in other species of salmon, more or less truncate with age. The pyloric cceca are fifty to sixty in number. The color in adults, according to Dr. Day, is “superiorly of a steel-blue, becoming lighter on the sides and beneath. Mostly a few rounded or X-shaped spots scattered above the lateral line and upper half of the head, being more numerous in the female than in the male. Dorsal, caudal, and pectoral fins dusky; ventrals and anal white, the former grayish internally. Prior to entering fresh waters these fish are of a brilliant steel- blue along the back, which becomes changed to a muddy tinge when they enter rivers. After these fish have passed into the fresh waters for the purpose of breeding, numerous orange streaks appear in the cheeks of the male, and also spots or even marks of the same, and likewise of a red color, on the body, 314 Salmonide It is now termed a ‘redfish.’ The female, however, is dark in color and known as ‘blackfish.’ ‘Smolts’ (young river fish) are bluish along the upper half of the body, silvery along the sides, due to a layer of silvery scales being formed over the trout-like colors, while they have darker fins than the yearling ‘ping,’ but similar bands and spots, which can be seen (as in the parr) if the example be held in certain positions of light. ‘Parr’ (fishes of the year) have two or three black spots only on the opercle, and black spots and also orange ones along the upper half of the body, and no dark ones below the lateral line, although there may be orange ones which can be seen in its course. Along the side of the body are a series (12 to 15) of transverse bluish bands, wider than the ground color and crossing the lateral line, while in the upper half of the body the darker color of the back forms an arch over each of these bands, a row of spots along the middle of the rayed dorsal fin, and the adipose orange-tipped.”’ The dusky cross-shades found in the young salmon or parr are characteristic of the young of salmon, trout, grayling, and nearly all the other Salmonide. The salmon of the Atlantic is, as already stated, an anadro- mous fish, spending most of its life in the sea, and entering the streams in the fall for the purpose of reproduction. The time of running varies much in different streams and also in different countries. As with the Pacific species, these salmon are not easily discouraged in their progress, leaping cascades and other obstructions, or, if these prove impassable, dying after repeated fruitless attempts. The young salmon, known as the “parr,” is hatched in the spring. It usually remains about two years in the rivers, de- scending at about the third spring to the sea, when it is known as ‘“‘smolt.”” In the sea it grows much more rapidly, and becomes more silvery in color, and is known as ‘“‘grilse.’’ The grilse rapidly develop into the adult salmon; and some of them, as in the case with the grilse of the Pacific salmon, are capable of reproduction. After spawning the salmon are very lean and unwholesome in appearance, as in fact. They are then known as “kelts.”’ The Atlantic salmon does not ascend rivers to any such dis- Salmonidz 15 tances as those traversed by the quinnat and the blue-back. Its kelts, therefore, for the most part survive the act of spawn- ing. Dr. Day thinks that they feed upon the young salmon in the rivers, and that, therefore, the destruction of the kelts might increase the supply of salmon. As a food-fish the Atlantic salmon is very similar to the quinnat salmon, neither better nor worse, so far as I can see, when equally fresh. In both the flesh is rich and finely flavored ; but the appetite of man becomes cloyed with salmon-flesh sooner than with that of whitefish, smelt, or charr. In size the Atlan- tic salmon does not fall far short of the quinnat. The average weight of the adult is probably less than fifteen pounds. The largest one of which I find a record was taken on the coast of Ireland in 1881, and weighed 84? pounds. The salmon is found in Europe between the latitude of 45° and 75°, In the United States it is now rarely seen south of Cape Cod, although formerly the Hudson and numerous other rivers were salmon-streams, Overfishing, obstructions in the rivers, and pollution of the water by manufactories and by city sewage are agencies against which the salmon cannot cope. Seven species of salmon (as distinguished from trout) are recognized by Dr. Gunther in Europe, and three in America. The landlocked forms, abundant in Norway, Sweden, and Maine, which cannot, or at least do not, descend to the sea, are regarded by him as distinct species. “The question,’’ observes Dr Giinther, ‘“‘whether any of the migratory species can be retained by artificial means in fresh water, and finally accom- modate themselves to a permanent sojourn therein, must be negatived for the present.” On this point I think that the balance of evidence leads to a different conclusion. These fresh-water forms (Sebago and Ouananiche) are actually salmon which have become landlocked. I have compared numerous specimens of the common landlocked salmon (Salmo salar sebago) of the lakes of Maine and New Brunswick with land- locked salmon (Salmo salar hardini) from the lakes of Sweden, and with numerous migratory salmon, both from America and Europe. I see no reason for regarding them as specifically distinct. The differences are very trivial in kind, and not greater than would be expected on the hypothesis of recent 316 Salmonidze adaptation of the salmon to lake life. We have therefore on our Atlantic coast but one species of salmon, Salmo salar. The landlocked form of the lakes of Maine is Salmo salar sebago. The Ouananiche of Lake St. John and the Saguenay, beloved of anglers, is Salmo salar ouananiche. The Ouananiche.—Dr. Henry Van Dyke writes thus of the Ouanantche: “But the prince of the pool was the fighting Ouananiche, the little salmon of St. John. Here let me chant thy praise, thou noblest and most high-minded fish, the cleanest feeder, the merriest liver, the loftiest leaper, and the bravest warrior of all creatures that swim! Thy cousin, the trout, in his purple and gold with crimson spots, wears a more splendid armor than thy russet and silver mottled with black, but thine is the kinglier nature. “The old salmon of the sea who begat thee long ago in these inland waters became a backslider, descending again to the ocean, and grew gross and heavy with coarse feeding. But thou, unsalted salmon of the foaming floods, not landlocked as men call thee, but choosing of thine own free will to dwell on a loftier level in the pure, swift current of a living stream, hath grown in grace and risen to a better life. “Thou art not to be measured by quantity but by quality, and thy five pounds of pure vigor will outweigh a score of pounds of flesh less vitalized by spirit. Thou feedest on the flies of the air, and thy food is transformed into an aerial passion for flight, as thou springest across the pool, vaulting toward the sky. Thine eyes have grown large and keen by piercing through the foam, and the feathered hook that can deceive thee must be deftly tied and delicately cast. Thy tail and fins, by cease- less conflict with the rapids, have broadened and strengthened, so that they can flash thy slender body like a living arrow up the fall. As Launcelot among the knights, so art thou among the fish, the plain-armored hero, the sunburnt champion of all the water-folk.” Dr. Francis Day, who has very thoroughly studied these fishes, takes, in his memoir on ‘‘The Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland,” and in other papers, a similar view in regard to the European species. Omitting the species with permanent teeth on the shaft of the vomer (subgenus Salar), he finds Salmonide 317 among the salmon proper only two species, Salmo salar and Salmo trutta. The latter species, the sea-trout or salmon-trout of England and the estuaries of northern Europe, is similar to the salmon in many respects, but has rather smaller scales, there being fourteen in an oblique series between the adipose fin and the lateral line. It is not so strong a fish as the salmon, nor does it reach so large a size. Although naturally anadro- mous, like the true salmon, landlocked forms of the salmon- trout are not uncommon. These have been usually regarded as different species, while aberrant or intermediate individuals are usually regarded as hybrids. The salmon-trout of Europe have many analogies with the steelhead of the Pacific. The present writer has examined many thousands of Ameri- can Salmonide, both of Oncorhynchus and Salmo. While many variations have come to his attention, and he has been com- pelled more than once to modify his views as to specific dis- tinctions, he has never yet seen an individual which he had the slightest reason to regard as a “hybrid.” It is certainly illogical to conclude that every specimen which does not corre- spond to our closet-formed definition of its species must therefore be a “hybrid”’ with some other. There is no evidence worth mentioning, known to me, of extensive hybridization in a state of nature in any group of fishes. This matter is much in need of further study; for what is true of the species in one region, in this regard, may not be true of others. Dr. Gunther observes: ‘Johnson, a correspondent of Willughby, had already ex- pressed his belief that the different salmonoids interbreed; and this view has since been shared by many who have ob- served these fishes in nature. Hybrids between the sewin (Salmo trutta cambricus) and the river-trout (Salmo fario) were numerous in the Rhymney and other rivers of South Wales before salmonoids were almost exterminated by the pollutions allowed to pass into these streams, and so variable in their characters that the passage from one species to the other could be demonstrated in an almost unbroken series, which might induce some naturalists to regard both species as identical. Abundant evidence of a similar character has accumulated, showing the frequent occurrence of hybrids between Salmo fario and S. trutta. . . . In some rivers the conditions appear 318 Salmonidz to be more favorable to hybridism than in others in which hybrids are of comparatively rare occurrence. Hybrids be- tween the salmon and other species are very scarce everywhere.” Very similar to the European Salmo trutta is the trout of Japan (Salmo perryt), the young called yamabe, the adult kawamasu, or river-salmon. This species abounds everywhere in Japan, the young being the common trout of the brooks, black-spotted and crossed by parr-marks, the adult reaching a weight of ten or twelve pounds in the larger rivers and descending to the sea. In Kamchatka is another large, black-spotted, salmon-like species properly to be called a salmon-trout. This is Salmo mykiss, a name very wrongly applied to the cutthroat trout of the Columbia. The black-spotted trout, forming the subgenus Salar, difter from Salmo salar and Salmo trutta in the greater develop- ment of the vomerine teeth, which are persistent throughout life, in a long double series on. the shaft of the vomer. About seven species are laboriously distinguished by Dr. Gunther in the waters of western Europe. Most of these are regarded by Dr. Day as varieties of Salmo fario. The latter species, the common river-trout or lake-trout of Europe, is found through- out northern and central Europe, wherever suitable waters occur. It is abundant, gamy, takes the hook readily, and is excellent as food. It is more hardy than the different species of charr, although from an esthetic point of view it must be regarded as inferior to all of the Salvelini. The largest river- trout recorded by Dr. Day weighed twenty-one pounds. Such large individuals are usually found in lakes in the north, well stocked with smaller fishes on which trout may feed. Far- ther south, where the surroundings are less favorable to trout- life, they become mature at a length of less than a foot, and a weight of a few ounces. These excessive variations in the size of individuals have received too little notice from students of Salmonide. Similar variations occur in all the non-migratory species of Salmo and of Salvelinus. Numerous river-trout have been recorded from northern Asia, but as yet nothing can be definitely stated as to the number of species actually existing, The Black-spotted Trout.—In North America only the re- gion west of the Mississippi Valley, the streams of southeastern Salmonidz 319 Alaska, and the valley of Mackenzie River have species of black-spotted trout. There are few of these north of Sitka in Alaska, although black-spotted trout are occasionally taken on Kadiak and about Bristol Bay, and none east of the Rocky Mountain region. If we are to follow the usage of the names “salmon” and “trout”? which prevails in England, we should say that, in America, it is only these western regions which have any trout at all. Of the number of species (about twenty- five in all) which have been indicated by authors, certainly not more than about 8 to 10 can possibly be regarded as distinct species. The other names are either useless synonyms, or else they have been applied to local varieties which pass by degrees into the ordinary types. The Trout of Western America.—In the western part of America are found more than a score of forms of trout of the genus Salmo, all closely related and difficult to distinguish.. There are represen- tatives in the headwaters of the Rio Grande, Arkansas, South Platte, Missouri, and Colorado rivers; also in the Great Salt Lake basin, throughout the Columbia basin, in all suitable waters from southern California and Chihuahua to Sitka, and even to Bristol Bay, similar forms again appearing in Kamchatka and Japan. Among the various more or less tangible species that may be recognized, three distinct series appear. These have been termed the cutthroat-trout series (allies of Salmo clarkit), the rainbow-trout series (allies of Salmo irideus), and the steel- head series (allies of Salmo rivularis, a species more usually but wrongly called Salmo gatrdnert). The steelhead, or rivularis series, is found in the coastwise streams of California and in the streams of Oregon and Washing- ton, below the great Shoshone Falls of Snake River, and north- ward in Alaska along the mainland as far as Skaguay. The steelhead-trout reach a large size (10 to 20 pounds). They spend a large part of their life in the sea. In all the true steel- heads the head is relatively very short, its length being contained about five times in the distance from tip of snout to base of caudal fin. The scales in the steelhead are always rather small, about 150 in a linear series, and there is no red under the throat. The spots on the dorsal fin are fewer in the steelhead (4 to 6 rows) than in the other American trout. 320 Salmonidze The rainbow forms are chiefly confined to the streams of California and Oregon. In these the scales are large (about 135 in a lengthwise series) and the head is relatively large, forming nearly one-fourth of the length to base of caudal. These enter the sea only when in the small coastwise streams. Usually they have no red under the throat. The cutthroat forms are found from Humboldt Bay northward as far as Sitka, in the coastwise streams of northern California, Oregon, Wash- ington, and Alaska, and all the clear streams on both sides of the Rocky Mountains, and in the Great Basin and the headwaters of the Colorado. The cutthroat-trout have the scales small, about 180, and there is always a bright dash of orange-red on each side concealed beneath the branches of the lower jaw. Along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada there are also forms of trout with the general appearance of rainbow- trout and evidently belonging to that species, but with scales intermediate in number (in McCloud River), var. shasta, or with scales as small as in the typical cutthroat (Kern River), var. gilberti. In these small-scaled forms more or less red appears below the lower jaw, and they are doubtless what they appear to be, really intermediate between clarkii and irideus, although certainly nearest the latter. A similar series of forms occurs in the Columbia basin, the upper Snake being inhabited by clarkii and the lower Snake by clarkit and rivularis, together with a medley of forms apparently intermediate. It seems probable that the American trout originated in Asia, extended its range to southeast Alaska, thence southward to the Fraser and Columbia, thence to the Yellowstone and the Missouri via Two-Ocean Pass; from the Snake River to the Great Basins of Utah and Nevada; from the Missouri south- ward to the Platte and the Arkansas, thence from the Platte to the Rio Grande and the Colorado, and then from Oregon southward coastwise and along the Sierras to northern Mexico, thence northward and coastwise, the sea-running forms passing from stream to stream. Of the American species the rainbow trout of California (Salmo irideus) most nearly approaches the European Salmo fario, It has the scales comparatively large, although rather smaller than in Salmo fario, the usual number in a longitudinal Salmonidz 321 series being about 13s. The mouth is smaller than in other American trout; the maxillary, except in old males, rarely extending beyond the eye. The caudal fin is well forked, becoming in very old fishes more nearly truncate. The head is relatively large, about four times in the total length. The size of the head forms the best distinctive character. The color, as in all the other species, is bluish, the sides silvery in the males, with a red lateral band, and reddish and dusky blotches. The head, back, and upper fins are sprinkled with round black spots, which are very variable in number, those on the dorsal usually in about nine rows. In specimens taken @ Fig. 230.—Rainbow Trout (male), Salmo irideus shasta Jordan. (Photograph by Cloudsley Rutter.) in the sea this species, like most other trout in similar con- ditions, is bright silvery, and sometimes immaculate. This species is especially characteristic of the waters of California. It abounds in every clear brook, from the Mexican line north- ward to Mount Shasta, or beyond, the species passing in the Columbia region by degrees into the species or form known as Salmo masont, the Oregon rainbow trout, a small rainbow trout common in the forest streams of Oregon, with smaller mouth and fewer spots on the dorsal. No true rainbow trout have been anywhere obtained to the eastward of the Cascade Range or of the Sierra Nevada, except as artificially planted in the Tru- ckee River. The species varies much in size; specimens from northern California often reach a weight of six pounds, while in the streams above Tia Juana in Lower California the south- 322 Salmonide ernmost locality from which I have obtained trout, they seldom exceed a length of six inches. Although not usually an ana- dromous species, the rainbow trout frequently moves about in the rivers, and it often enters the sea, large sea-run specimens being often taken for steelheads. Several attempts have been made to introduce it in Eastern streams, but it appears to seek the sea when it is lost. It is apparently more hardy and less greedy than the American charr, or brook-trout (Salvelinus Fia. 231.—Rainbow Trout (female), Salmo irideus shasta Jordan. (Photograph by Cloudsley Rutter.) fontinalis). On the other hand, it is distinctly inferior to the latter in beauty and in gaminess. In the Kings and Kern rivers of California occurs a beautiful trout, Salmo gilberti, a variant of Salmo irideus, but with smaller scales. In isolated streams with a bottom of red granite at the head-waters of the Kern are three species called ‘‘ golden trout,”’ all small and all brilliantly colored, each of the species being independently derived from Salmo gilberti, the special traits fixed through isolation. These species are Salmo aguabomita Jordan, of the South Fork of the Kern, Salmo roosevelti Ever- mann of Volcano Creek, and Salmo whitet Evermann of Soda Creek. These rank with the most beautiful of all the many forms of trout, in which group their coloration is quite unique. In beauty of color, gracefulness of form and movement KERN RIVER TROUT SALMO GILBERTI (JORDAN) (DRAWN FROM LIFE BY CHARLES B, HUDSON FROM A SPECIMEN 18% INCHES LONG) Salmonidz 423 sprightliness when in the water, reckless dash with which it springs from the water to meet the descending fly ere it strikes the surface, and the mad and repeated leaps from the water when hooked, the rainbow trout must ever hold a very high rank. “The gamest fish we have ever seen,” writes Dr. Evermann, ‘“‘ was a 16-inch rainbow taken on a fly in a small spring branch tribu- tary of Williamson River in southern Oregon. It was in a broad and deep pool of exceedingly clear water. As the angler from behind a clump of willows made the cast the trout bounded from the water and met the fly in the air a foot or more above the surface; missing it, he dropped upon the water, only to turn about and strike viciously a second time at the fly just as it touched the surface; though he again missed the fly, the hook caught him in the lower jaw from the outside, and then began a fight which would delight the heart of any angler. His first effort was to reach the bottom of the pool, then, doubling upon the line, he made three jumps from the water in quick succession, clearing the surface in each instance from one to four feet, and every time doing his utmost to free himself from the hook by shaking his head as vigorously as a dog shakes a rat. Then he would rush wildly about in the large pool, now attempting to go down over the riffle below the pool, now trying the opposite direction, and often striving to hide under one or the other of the banks. It was easy to handle the fish when the dash was made up or down stream or for the opposite side, but when he turned about and made a rush for the protec- tion of the overhanging bank upon which the angler stood it was not easy to keep the line taut. Movements such as these were frequently repeated, and two more leaps were made. But finally he was worn out after as honest a fight as trout ever made.” “The rainbow takes the fly so readily that there is no reason for resorting to grasshoppers, salmon-eggs, or other bait. It is a fish whose gaminess will satisfy the most exacting of expert anglers and whose readiness to take any proper line will please the most impatient of inexperienced amateurs.”’ The steelhead (Salmo rivularis) is a large trout, reaching twelve to twenty pounds in weight, found abundantly in river estuaries and sometimes in lakes from Lynn Canal to Santa 324 Salmonide Barbara. The spent fish abound in the rivers in spring at the time of the salmon-run. The species is rarely canned, but is valued for shipment in cold storage. Its bones are much more firm than those of the salmon—a trait unfavorable for canning purposes. The flesh when not spent after spawning is excellent. The steelhead does not die after spawning, as all the Pacific salmon do. It is thought by some anglers that the young fish hatched in the brooks from eggs of the steelhead remain in mountain streams from six to thirty-six months, going down to the sea with the high waters of spring, after which they return to spawn as typical steelhead trout. I now regard this view as un- founded. In my experience the rainbow and the steelhead are always distinguishable: the steelhead abounds where the rain- SS Fig. 232.—Steelhead Trout, Salmo rivularis Ayres. Columbia River. bow trout is unknown; the scales in the steelhead are always smaller (about 155) than in typical rainbow trout; finally, the small size of the head in the steelhead is always distinctive. The Kamloops trout, described by the writer from the upper Columbia, seems to be a typical steelhead as found well up the rivers away from the sea. Derived from the steelhead, but apparently quite distinct from it, are three very noble trout, all confined so far as yet known to Lake Crescent in northwestern Washington. These are the crescent trout, Salmo crescentis, the Beardslee trout, Salmo beardsleei, and the long-headed trout, Salmo bathecetor. The first two, discovered by Admiral L. A. Beardslee, are trout of peculiar attractiveness and excellence. The third is a deep-water form, never rising to the surface, and caught only on set lines. Its origin is still uncertain, and it may be derived from some type other than the steelhead. (ONOT SHHONI Il NEWIDAdS V ‘GdAL AHL WOUd NOSGOH ‘Ad SATUVHS Ad AMIT WOU NMVAC) NNVAWYAAA ILTIHARSOOU ONW’IVS MHHUD ONVO'IOA AO LAOUL NAAGTOD Salmonide 925 Cutthroat or Red-throated Trout.— This species has much smaller scales than the rainbow trout or steelhead, the usual number in a longitudinal series being 160 to 170. Its head is longer (about four times in length to base of caudal). Its mouth is proportionately larger, and there is always a narrow band of small teeth on the hyoid bone at the base of the tongue. These teeth are always wanting in Salmo irideus and rivularis in which species the rim of the tongue only has teeth. The color in Salmo clarki is, as in other species, exceedingly variable. In life there is always a deep-red blotch on the throat, between the branches of the lower jaw and the membrane connecting them. This is not found in other species, or is reduced to a narrow strip or‘pinkish shade. It seems to be constant in all varieties of Salmo clarki, at all ages, thus furnishing a good distinctive character. It is the sign manual of the Sioux Indians, and the anglers have already accepted from this mark the name of cutthroat-trout. The cutthroat-trout of some species is found in every suitable river and lake in the great basin of Utah, in the streams of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, on both sides of the Rocky Mountains. It is also found throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia, the coastwise islands of southeastern Alaska (Baranof, etc.), to Kadiak and Bristol Bay, probably no stream or lake suitable for trout-life being without it. In California the species seems to be com- paratively rare, and its range rarely extending south of Cape Mendocino. Large sea-run individuals analogous to the steelheads are sometimes found in the mouth of the Sacramento. In Wash- ington and Alaska this species regularly enters the sea. In Puget Sound it is a common fish. These sea-run individuals are more silvery and less spotted than those found in the mountain streams and lakes. The size of Salmo clarkit is subject to much variation. Ordinarily four to six pounds is a large size; but in certain favored waters, as Lake Tahoe, and the fjords of southeastern Alaska, specimens from twenty to thirty pounds are occasionally ‘taken. Those species or individuals dwelling in lakes of considerable size, where the water is of such temperature and depth as in- sures an ample food-supply, will reach a large size, while those in a restricted environment, where both the water and food are 326 Salmonide limited, will be small directly in proportion to these environing restrictions. The trout of the Klamath Lakes, for example, reach a weight of at least 17 pounds, while in Fish Lake in Idaho mature trout do not exceed 8 to g} inches in total length or one-fourth pound in weight. In small creeks in the Sawtooth Mountains and elsewhere they reach maturity at a length of 5 or 6 inches, and are often spoken of as brook-trout and with the impression that they are a species different from the larger ones found in the lakes and larger streams. But as all sorts and gradations between these extreme forms may be found in the intervening and connecting waters, the differences are not even of sub- specific significance. Dr. Evermann observes: ‘‘The various forms of cutthroat- trout vary greatly in game qualities; even the same subspecies in different waters, in different parts of its habitat, or at different Fia, 233 Fig 234 Fig. 233.—Head of adult Trout-worm, Dib thrium ¢ rdicens Leidy, a parasite of pe clarkit, From. intestine of white pelican, Yellowstone Lake. (After Fia. 384 Median segments of Dib thrium c rdiceps. seasons, will vary greatly in this regard. In general, however, it is perhaps a fair statement to say that the cutthroat-trout are regarded by anglers as being inferior in gaminess to the Eastern brook-trout. But while this is true, it must not by any means be inferred that it is without game qualities, for it is really a fish which possesses those qualities in a very high degree. Its vigor and voraciousness are determined largely, of course, by the character of the stream or lake in which it lives. The individuals which dwell in cold streams about cascades and seething rapids will show marvelous strength and will make a fight which is rarely equaled by its Eastern cousin; while in warmer and larger streams and lakes they may be very sluggish and show but little fight. Yet this is by no means always true. In the Klamath Lakes, where the trout grow very large and (ONOT SHHONI %{, NAWINSIS-V ‘AUAL AHL WOT NOSGOH ‘A SATUVHO AM BAIT WOU NMVUC) NNVWAAAA IBLIHM OW’IVS MHHaO VGOS AO LANOUL NAGIOD Salmonidz 929 where they are often very logy, one is occasionally hooked which tries to the utmost the skill of the angler to prevent his tackle from being smashed and at the same time save the fish.’’ Of the various forms derived from Salmo clarkiit some mere varieties, some distinct species, une following are among the most marked: Salmo henshawi, the trout of Lake Tahoe and its tributaries and outlet, Truckee River, found in fact also in the Humboldt Fia. 235.—Tahoe Trout, Salmo henshawi Gill & Jordan. Lake Tahoe, California. and the Carson and throughout the basin of the former glacial lake called Lake Lahontan. This is a distinct species from Salmo clarkiz and must be regarded as the finest of all the cut- throat-trout. It is readily known by its spotted belly, the black spots being evenly scattered over the whole surface of the body, above and below. This is an excellent game-fish, and from Lake Tahoe and Pyramid Lake it is brought in large num- bers to the markets of San Francisco. In the depths of Lake Tahoe, which is the finest mountain lake of the Sierra Nevada, occurs a very large variety which spawns in the lake, Salmo henshawt tahoensis. This reaches a weight of twenty-eight pounds. In the Great Basin of Utah is found a fine trout, very close to the ordinary cutthroat of the Columbia, from which it is derived. This is known as Salmo clarkit virginalis. In Utah Lake it reaches a large size. In Waha Lake in Washington, a lake without outlet, is found a small trout with peculiar markings called Salmo clarkit bou- uiert. In the head-waters of the Platte and Arkansas rivers is the small green-back trout, green or brown, with red throat-patch 328 Salmonidze and large black spots. This is Salmo clarkit stomias, and it is especially fine in St. Vrain’s River and the streams of Estes Park. Fic. 236.—Green-back Trout, Salmo stomiasCope. Arkansas River, Leadville, Colo. In Twin Lakes, a pair of glacial lakes tributary of the Arkansas near Leadville,'is found Salmo clarkit macdonaldi, the yellow- finned trout, a large and very handsome species living in deep water, and with the fins golden yellow. This approaches the Colorado trout, Salmo clarkii pleuriticus, and it may be derived Fic. 237. —Yellow-fin Trout of Twin Lakes, Salmo macdonaldi Jordan & Evermann. Twin Lakes, Colo. from the latter, although it occurs in the same waters as the very different green-back trout, or Salmo clarkit stomias. Two fine trout derived from Salmo clarkit have been lately discovered by Dr. Daniel G. Elliot in Lake Southerland, a moun- tain lake near Lake Crescent, but not connected with it, the two separated from the sea by high waterfalls. These have been described by Dr. Seth E. Meek as Salmo jordani, the “spotted trout’? of Lake Southerland, and Salmo declivifrons, - the ‘‘salmon-trout.’’ These seem to be distinct forms or sub- species produced through isolation. Salmonidz 329 The Rio Grande trout (Salmo clarkii spilurus) is a large and profusely spotted trout, found in the head-waters of the Rio Fig. 2388.—Rio Grande Trout, Salmo clarkii spilurus Cope. Del Norte, Colo. Grande, the mountain streams of the Great Basin of Utah, and as far south as the northern part of Chihuahua. Its scales are still smaller than those of the ordinary cutthroat-trout, and the black spots are chiefly confined to the tail. Closely related to Fic. 239.—Colorado River Trout, Salmo clarkit pleuriticus Cope. Trapper’s Lake, Colo. it is the trout of the Colorado Basin, Salmo clarkit pleurtticus, a large and handsome trout with very small scales, much sought by anglers in western Colorado, and abounding in all suitable streams throughout the Colorado Basin. Hucho, the Huchen.— The genus Hucho has been framed for the Huchen or Rothfisch (Hucho hucho) of the Danube, a very large trout, differing from the genus Salmo in having no teeth on the shaft of the vomer, and from the Salvelinz at least in form and coloration. The huchen is a long and slender, somewhat pike-like fish, with depressed snout and strong teeth. 330 Salmonidz The color is silvery, sprinkled with small black dots. It reaches a size little inferior to that of the salmon, and it is said to be an excellent food-fish. In northern Japan is a similar species, S Fic. 240.—Ito, Hucho blackistoni (Hilgendorf). Hokkaido, Japan Hucho blackistoni, locally known as Ito, a large and handsome trout with very slender body, reaching a length of 2} feet. It is well worthy of introduction into American and European, waters. Salvelinus, the Charr—The genus Salvelinus comprises the finest of the Salmonide, from the point of view of the angler or the artist. In England the species are known as charr or char, in contradistinction to the black-spotted species of Salmo, which are called trout. The former name has unfortunately been lost in America, where the name “trout” is given indiscrimi- nately to both groups, and, still worse, to numerous other fishes (Mucropterus, Hexagrammos, Cynoscion, Agonostomus) wholly unlike the Salmonide in all respects. It is sometimes said that ‘‘the American brook-trout is no trout, nothing but a charr,” almost as though “charr”’ were a word of reproach. Nothing higher, however, can be said of a salmonoid than that it is a ‘“‘charr.’”’ The technical character of the genus Salve- linus lies in the form of its vomer. This is deeper than in Salmo; and when the flesh is removed the bone is found to be somewhat boat-shaped above, and with the shaft depressed and out of the line of the head of the vomer. Only the head or chevron is armed with teeth, and the shaft is covered by skin. In color all the charrs differ from the salmon and trout. The body in all is covered with round spots which are paler than the ground color, and crimson or gray. The lower fins are Salmonidz 231 usually edged with bright colors. The sexual differences are not great. The scales, in general, are smaller than in other Salmonide, and they are imbedded in the skin to such a degree as to escape the notice of casual observers and even of most anglers. “One trout scale in the scales I’d lay (If trout had scales), and ’twill outweigh The wrong side of the balances.’’—LowELt. The charrs inhabit, in general, only the clearest and coldest of mountain streams and lakes, or bays of similar temperature. They are not migratory, or only to a limited extent. In northern regions they descend to the sea, where they grow much more rapidly and assume a nearly uniform silvery-gray color. The different species are found in all suitable waters throughout the northern parts of both continents, except in the Rocky Moun- tains and Great Basin, where only the black-spotted trout occur. The number of species of charr is very uncertain, as, both in America and Europe, trivial variations and individual peculiarities have been raised to the rank of species. More types, however, seem to be represented in America than in Europe. The only really well-authenticated species of charr in Euro- pean waters is the red charr, salbling, or ombre chevalier (Salve- Fig. 241.—Rangeley Trout, Salvelinus oquassa (Girard). Lake Oquassa, Maine. linus alpinus). This species is found in cold, clear streams in Switzerland, Germany, and throughout Scandinavia and the British Islands. Compared with the American charr or brook- trout, it is a slenderer fish, with smaller mouth, longer fins, and smaller red spots, which are confined to the sides of the Foo Salmonidz body. It is a “gregarious and deep-swimming fish, shy of taking the bait and feeding largely at night-time. It appears to require very pure and mostly deep water for its residence.” It is less tenacious of life than the trout. It reaches a weight of from one to five pounds, probably rarely exceeding the latter in size. The various charr described from Siberia are far too little known to be enumerated here. Of the American charr the one most resembling the European species is the Rangeley Lake trout (Salvelinus oquassa). The exquisite little fish is known in the United States only from the Rangeley chain of lakes in western Maine. This is very close to the Greenland charr, Salvelinus stagnalis, a beautiful * species of the far north. The Rangeley trout is much slenderer than the common brook-trout, with much smaller head and smaller mouth. In life it is dark blue above, and the deep-red spots are confined to the sides of the body. The species rarely exceeds the length of a foot in the Rangeley Lakes, but in some other waters it reaches a much larger size. So far as is known it keeps itself in the depths of the lake until its spawning season approaches, in October, when it ascends the stream to spawn. Still other species of this type are the Sunapee trout, Salvelinus aureolus, a beautiful charr almost identical with the Fie. 242.—Sunapee Trout, Salvelinus aureolus Bean. Sunapee Lake, N. H. European species, found in numerous ponds and lakes of eastern New Hampshire and neighboring parts of Maine. Mr. Garman regards this trout as the offspring of an importation of the ombre chevalier and not as a native species, and in this view he may be correct. Salvelinus alipes of the far north may be the same species. Another remarkable form is the Lac de Marbre trout of Canada, Salvelinus marstont of Garman. Salmonidz eee: In Arctic regions another species, called Salvelinus narest, is very close to Salvelinus oquassa and may be the same. Another beautiful little charr, allied to Salvelinus stagnalis, is the Floeberg charr (Salvelinus arcturus). This species has been brought from Victoria Lake and Floeberg Beach, in the Fic. 248.—Speckled Trout (male), Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill). New York. extreme northern part of Arctic America, the northernmost point whence any salmonoid has been obtained. The American charr, or, as it is usually called, the brook- trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), although one of the most beautiful of fishes, is perhaps the least graceful of all the genuine charrs. It is technically distinguished by the somewhat heavy head and large mouth, the maxillary bone reaching more or less beyond the eye. There are no teeth on the hyoid bone, traces at least of such teeth being found in nearly all other species. Its color is somewhat different from that of the others, the red spots being large and the black more or less mottled and barred with darker olive. The dorsal and caudal fins are likewise barred or mottled, while in the other species they are generally uniform in color. The brook-trout is found only in streams east of the Mississippi and Saskatchewan. It occurs in all suitable streams of the Alleghany region and the Great Lake system, from the Chattahoochee River in northern Georgia northward at least to Labrador and Hudson Bay, the northern limits of its range being as yet not well ascertained. It varies greatly in size, according to its surroundings, those found in lakes being larger than those resident in small brooks. Those found Pee CIPIMYS “Ay WwW Iq Aq opty wos) ‘azts peanqeu ‘(Mp H_) sywurquoel snuyaayog ‘ynory, Yooid— PFS SIA Salmonidz 255 farthest south, in the head-waters of the Chattahoochee, Savannah, Catawba, and French Broad, rarely pass the dimen- sions of fingerlings. The largest specimens are recorded from the sea along the Canadian coast. These frequently reach a weight of ten pounds; and from their marine and migratory habits, they have been regarded as forming a distinct variety (Salvelinus fontinalis immaculatus), but this form is merely a sea-run brook-trout. The largest fresh-water specimens rarely exceed seven pounds in weight. Some unusually large brook- trout have been taken in the Rangeley Lakes, the largest known to me having a reputed weight of eleven pounds. The brook- trout is the favorite game-fish of American waters, preéminent in wariness, in beauty, and in delicacy of flesh. It inhabits all clear and cold waters within its range, the large lakes and the smallest ponds, the tiniest brooks and the largest rivers; and when it can do so without soiling its aristocratic gills on the way, it descends to the sea and grows large and fat on the animals of the ocean. Although a bold biter it is a wary fish, and it often requires much skill to capture it. It can be caught, too, with artificial or natural flies, minnows, crickets, worms, grasshoppers, grubs, the spawn of other fish, or even the eyes or cut pieces of other trout. It spawns in the fall, from September to late in November. It begins to reproduce at the age of two years, then having a length of about six inches. In spring-time the trout delight in rapids and swiftly running water; and in the hot months of midsummer they resort to deep, cool, and shaded pools. Later, at the approach of the spawning season, they gather around the mouths of cool, gravelly brooks, whither they resort to make their beds.* The trout are rapidly disappearing from our streams through the agency of the manufacturer and the summer boarder. In the words of an excellent angler, the late Myron W. Reed of Denver: ‘‘This is the last generation of trout-fishers. The children will not be able to find any. Already there are well- trodden paths by every stream in Maine, in New York, and in Michigan. I know of but one river in North America by the side of which you will find no paper collar or other evidence of civilization. It is the Nameless River. Not that trout will * Hallock. 336 Salmonidze cease to be. They will be hatched by machinery and raised in ponds, and fattened on chopped liver, and grow flabby and lose their spots. The trout of the restaurant will not cease to be. He is no more like the trout of the wild river than the fat and songless reedbird is like the bobolink. Gross feeding and easy pond-life enervate and deprave him. The trout that the children will know only by legend is the gold-sprinkled, living arrow of the white water; able to zigzag up the cataract, able to loiter in the rapids; whose dainty meat is the glancing butterfly.” The brook-trout adapts itself readily to cultivation in arti- ficial ponds. It has been successfully transported to Europe, and it is already abundant in certain streams in England, in Cali- fornia, and elsewhere. In Dublin Pond, New Hampshire, is a gray variety without red spots, called Salvelinus agassizt. The “Dolly Varden” trout, or malma (Salvelinus malma), is very similar to the brook-trout, closely resembling it in size, form, color, and habits. It is found always to the westward of the Rocky Mountains, in the streams of northern California, Oregon, Fig. 245 —Malma Trout, or ‘‘ Dolly Varden,” Salvelinus malma (Walbaum). Cook Inlet, Alaska. Washington, and British Columbia, Alaska, and Kamtchatka, as far as the Kurile Islands. It abounds in the sea in the north- ward, and specimens of ten to twelve pounds weight are not uncommon in Puget Sound and especially in Alaska. The Dolly Varden trout is, in general, slenderer and less compressed than the Eastern brook-trout. The red spots are found on the back of the fish as well as on the sides, and the back and upper fins are without the blackish marblings and blotches seen in Salmonidz 237 Salvelinus fontinalis. In value as food, in beauty, and in gami- ness Salvelinus malma is very similar to its Eastern cousin. In Alaska the Dolly Varden, locally known as salmon-trout, is very destructive to the eggs of the salmon, and countless numbers are taken in the salmon-nets of Alaska and thrown away as useless by the canners. In every coastwise stream of Alaska Fie. 246.—The Dolly Varden Trout, Salvelinus malma (Walbaum). Lake Pend d’Oreille, Idaho. (After Evermann.) the water fairly ‘‘boils”’ with these trout. They are, however, not found in the Yukon. In northern Japan occurs Salvelinus pluvius, the iwana, a species very similar to the Dolly Varden, but not so large or so brightly colored. In the Kurile region and Kamtchatka is another large charr, Salvelinus kundscha, with the spots large and cream-color instead of crimson. Cristivomer, the Great Lake Trout.—Allied to the true charrs, but now placed by us in a different genus, Cristivomer, is the Fig. 247. —Great Lake Trout, Cristivomer namaycush (Walbaum). Lake Michigan. Great Lake trout, otherwise known as Mackinaw trout, longe, or togue (Cristivomer namaycush). Technically this fish differs from the true charrs in having on its vomer a raised crest behind } 338 Salmonide the chevron and free from the shaft. This crest is armed with strong teeth. There are also large hooked teeth on the hyoid bone, and the teeth generally are proportionately stronger than in most of the other species. The Great Lake trout is grayish in color, light or dark according to its surroundings; and the body is covered with round paler spots, which are gray instead of red. The dorsal and caudal fins are marked with darker reticula- tions, somewhat as in the brook-trout. This noble species is found in all the larger lakes from New England and New York to Wisconsin, Montana, the Mackenzie River, and in all the lakes tributary to the Yukon in Alaska. We have taken examples from Lake Bennett, Lake Tagish, Summit Lake (White Pass), and have seen specimens from Lake La Hache in British Columbia. It reaches a much larger size than any Salvelinus, specimens of from fifteen to twenty pounds weight being not uncommon, while it occasionally attains a weight of fifty to eighty pounds. As a food-fish it ranks high, although it may be regarded as somewhat inferior to the brook-trout or the whitefish. Compared with other salmonoids, the Great Lake trout is a slug- gish, heavy, and ravenous fish. It has been known to eat raw po- tato, liver, and corn-cobs,—refuse thrown from passing steamers. According to Herbert, ‘‘a coarse, heavy, stiff rod, and a powerful oiled hempen or flaxen line, on a winch, with a heavy sinker; a cod-hook, baited with any kind of flesh, fish, or fowl,—is the most successful, if not the most orthodox or scientific, mode of cap- turing him. His great size and immense strength alone give him value as a fish of game; but when hooked he pulls strongly and fights hard, though he is a boring, deep fighter, and seldom if ever leaps out of the water, like the true salmon or brook-trout.” In the depths of Lake Superior is a variety of the Great Lake trout known as the Siscowet (Cristivomer namaycush siskawitz), remarkable for its extraordinary fatness of flesh. The cause of this difference lies probably in some peculiarity of food as yet unascertained. : The Ayu, or Sweetfish.— The ayu, or sweetfish, of Japan, Plecoglossus altivelis, resembles a small trout in form, habits, and scaling. Its teeth are, however, totally different, being arranged on serrated plates on the sides of the jaws, and the tongue marked with similar folds. The ayu abounds in all Salmonidz 339 clear streams of Japan and Formosa. It runs up from the sea like a salmon. It reaches the length of about a foot. The Fig. 248 —Ayu, or Japanese Samlet, Plecoglossus altivelis Schlegel. Tamagawa, Tokyo, Japan. ; flesh is very fine and delicate, scarcely surpassed by that of any other fish whatsoever. It should be introduced into clear short streams throughout the temperate zones. In the river at Gifu in Japan and in some other streams the ayu is fished for on a large scale by means of tamed cor- morants. This is usually done from boats in the night by the light of torches. Cormorant-fishing—The following account of cormorant- fishing is taken, by the kind permission of Mr. Caspar W. Whit- ney, from an article contributed by the writer to Outeng, April, 1902: Tamagawa means Jewel River, and no water could be clearer. It rises somewhere up in the delectable mountains to the eastward of Musashi, among the mysterious pines and green-brown fir-trees, and it flows across the plains bordered by rice-fields and mul- berry orchards to the misty bay of Tokyo. It is, therefore, a river of Japan, and along its shores are quaint old temples, each guarding its section of primitive forest, picturesque bridges, huddling villages, and torii, or gates through which the gods may pass. ; The stream itself is none too large—a boy may wade it—but it runs on a wide bed, which it will need in flood-time, when the snow melts in the mountains. And this broad flood-bed is 340 Salmonide filled with gravel, with straggling willows, showy day-lilies, orange amaryllis, and the little sky-blue spider-flower, which the Japanese call chocho, or butterfly-weed. In the Tamagawa are many fishes: shining minnows in the white ripples, dark catfishes in the pools and eddies, and little sculpins and gobies lurking under the stones. Trout dart through its upper waters, and at times salmon run up from the sea. But the one fish of all its fishes is the ayu. This is a sort of dwarf salmon, running in the spring and spawning in the rivers just as asalmon does. But it is smaller than any salmon, not larger than a smelt, and its flesh is white and tender, and so very delicate in its taste and odor that one who tastes it crisply fried or broiled feels that he has never tasted real fish before. In all its anatomy the ayu is a salmon, a dwarf of its kind, one which our ancestors in England would have called a ‘‘samlet.’’ Its scientific name is Plecoglossus altivelis. Ple- coglossus means plaited tongue, and alicvelis, having a high sail; for the skin of the tongue is plaited or folded in a curious way, and the dorsal fin is higher than that of the salmon, and one poeti- cally inclined might, if he likes, call it a sail. The teeth of the ayu are very peculiar, for they constitute a series of saw-edged folds or plaits along the sides of the jaws, quite different from those of any other fish whatsoever. In size the ayu is not more than a foot to fifteen inches long. It is like a trout in build, and its scales are just as small. It is light yellowish or olive in color, growing silvery below. Behind its gills is a bar of bright shining yellow, and its adipose fin is edged with scarlet. The fins are yellow, and the dorsal fin shaded with black, while the anal fin is dashed with pale red. So much for the river and the ayu. It is time for us to go afishing. It is easy enough to find the place, for it is not more than ten miles out of Tokyo, on a fine old farm just by the ancient Temple of Tachikawa, with its famous inscribed stone, given by the emperor of China. At the farmhouse, commodious and hospitable, likewise clean and charming after the fashion of Japan, we send for the boy who brings our fishing-tackle. Salmonidz 341 They come waddling into the yard, the three birds with which we are to do our fishing. Black cormorants they are, each with a white spot behind its eye, and a hoarse voice, come of standing in the water, with which it says y-eugh whenever a stranger makes a friendly overture. The cormorants answer to the name of Ou, which in Japanese is something like the only word the cormorants can say. The boy puts them in a box together and we set off across the drifted gravel to the Tamagawa. Ar- rived at the stream, the boy takes the three cormorants out of the box and adjusts their fishing-harness. This consists of a tight ring about the bottom of the neck, of a loop under each wing, and a directing line. Two other boys take a low net. They drag it down the stream, driving the little fishes—ayu, zakko, haé, and all the rest—before it. The boy with the cormorants goes in advance. The three birds are eager as pointer dogs, and apparently full of perfect enjoyment. To the right and left they plunge with lightning strokes, each dip bringing up a shining fish. When the bird’s neck is full of fishes down to the level of the shoulders, the boy draws him in, grabs him by the leg, and shakes him unceremoniously over a basket until all the fishes have flopped out. The cormorants watch the sorting of the fish with eager eyes and much repeating of y-eugh, the only word they know. The ayu are not for them, and some of the kajikas and hazés were prizes of science. But zakko (the dace) and hae (the minnow) were made for the cormorant. The boy picks out the chubs and minnows and throws them to one bird and then another. Each catches his share on the fly, swallows it at one gulp, for the ring is off his neck by this time, and then says y-eugh, which means that he likes the fun, and when we are ready will be glad to try again. And no doubt they have tried it many times since, for there are plenty of fishes in the Jewel River, zakko and haé as well as ayu. Fossil Salmonide.—Fossil salmonide are rare and known chiefly from detached scales, the bones in this family being very brittle and easily destroyed. Nothing is added to our knowledge of the origin of these fishes from such fossils. A large fossil trout or salmon, called Rhabdojario lacustris, 342 Salmonide has been brought from the Pliocene at Catherine’s Creek, Idaho. It is known from the skull only. Thaumaturus luxatus, from the Miocene of Bohemia, shows the print of the adipose fin. As already stated, some fragments of the hooked jaws of salmon, from pleistocene deposits in Idaho, are in the museum of the University of California. CHAPTER XXI THE GRAYLING AND THE SMELT HE Grayling, or Thymallide.— The small family of Thymallide, or grayling, is composed of finely organized fishes allied to the trout, but differing in having the onal bones meeting on the middle line of the skull, thus excluding the frontals from contact with the supraoccipital. The anterior half of the very high dorsal is made up of un- branched simple rays. There is but one genus, Thymallus, comprising very noble game-fishes characteristic of sub-arctic streams. The grayling, Thymallus, of Europe, is termed by Saint Ambrose ‘“‘the flower of fishes.” The teeth on the tongue, Fig. 249 —Alaska Grayling, Thymallus signifer Richardson. Nulato, Alaska. found in all the trout and salmon, are obsolete in the grayling. The chief distinctive peculiarity of the genus Thymallus is the great development of the dorsal fin, which has more rays (20 to 24) than are found im any of the Salmonide, and the fin is also higher. All the species are gaily colored, the dorsal fin especially being marked with purplish or greenish bands 343 344 The Grayling and the Smelt and bright rose-colored spots; while the body is mostly purplish gray, often with spots of black. Most of the species rarely exceed a foot in length, but northward they grow larger. Gray- ling weighing five pounds have been taken in England; and according to Dr. Day they are said in Lapland to reach a weight of eight or nine pounds. The grayling in all countries frequent clear, cold brooks, and rarely, if ever, enter the sea, or even the larger lakes. They congregate in small shoals in the streams, and prefer those which have a succession of pools and shal- lows, with a sandy or gravelly rather than rocky bottom. The grayling spawns on the shallows in April or May (in England). It is non-migratory in its habits, depositing its ova in the neighborhood of its usual haunts. The ova are far more delicate and easily killed than those of the trout or charr. The grayling and the trout often inhabit the same waters, but not alto- gether in harmony. It is said that the grayling devours the eggs of the trout. It is certain that the trout feed on the young grayling. As a food-fish, the grayling of course ranks high; and it is beloved by the sportsman. They are considered gamy fishes, although less strong than the brook-trout, and perhaps less wary. The five or six known species of grayling are very closely related, and are doubtless comparatively recent offshoots from a common stock, which has now spread itself widely through the northern regions. The common grayling of Europe (Thymallus thymallus) is found throughout northern Europe, and as far south as the mountains of Hungary and northern Italy. The name Thymallys was given by the ancients, because the fish, when fresh, was said to have the odor of water-thyme. Grayling belonging to this or other species are found in the waters of Russia and Siberia. The American grayling (Thymallus signifer) is widely dis- tributed in British America and Alaska. In the Yukon it is very abundant, rising readily to the fly. In several streams in northern Michigan, Au Sable River, and Jordan River in the southern peninsula, and Otter Creek near Keweenaw in the northern peninsula, occurs a dwarfish variety or species with shorter and lower dorsal fins, known to anglers as the Michigan grayling (Thymallus tricolor). This form has a longer head, rather smaller scales, and the dorsal fin rather lower than in The Grayling and the Smelt 345 the northern form (signifer); but the constancy of these charac- ters in specimens from intermediate localities is yet to be proved. Another very similar form, called Thymallus montanus, occurs in the Gallatin, Madison, and other rivers of Western Montana tributary to the Missouri. It is locally still abundant and one of the finest of game-fishes. It is probable that the grayling once had a wider range to the southward than now, and that so far as the waters of the United States are concerned it is tending toward extinction. This tendency is, of course, being Fic. 250 — Michigan Grayling, Thymails tricolor Cope. Au Sable River, Mich. accelerated in Michigan by lumbermen and anglers. The colonies of grayling in Michigan and Montana are probably remains of a post-glacial fauna. ; The Argentinide.—The family of Argentinide, or smelt, is very closely related to the Salmonide, representing a dwarf series of similar type. The chief essential difference lies in the form of the stomach, which is a blind sac, the two openings near together, and about the second or pyloric opening there are few if any pyloric ceca. In all the Salmonid@ the stomach has the form of a siphon, and about the pylorus there are very many pyloric ceca. The smelt have the adipose fin and the gen- eral structure of the salmon. All the species are small in size, and most of them are strictly marine, though some of them ascend the rivers to spawn, just as salmon do, but not going very far. A few kinds become land-locked in ponds. Most of the species are confined to the north temperate zone, and a few sink into the deep seas. All that are sufficiently abundant furnish excellent food, the flesh being extremely delicate and often charged with a fragrant oil easy of digestion. 346 The Grayling and the Smelt The best-known genus, Osmerus, includes the smelt, or spirling (éperlan), of Europe, and its relatives, all excellent food- fishes, although quickly spoiling in warm weather. Osmerus eperlanus is the European species; Osmerus mordax of our eastern coast is very much like it, as is also the rainbow-smelt, Osmerus dentex of Japan and Alaska. A larger smelt, Osmerus alba- trossis, occurs on the coast of Alaska, and a small and feeble one, Osmerus thaletchthys, mixed with other small or delicate fishes, is the whitebait of the San Francisco restaurants. The whitebait of the London epicure is made up of the young of herrings and sprats of different species. The still more delicate whitebait of the Hong Kong hotels is the icefish, Salanx chinensis. Fig, 251.—Smelt, Osmerus mordax (Mitchill). Wood’s Hole, Mass. Retropinna retropinna, so called from the backward insertion of its dorsal, is the excellent smelt of the rivers of New Zealand. All the other species belong to northern waters. Mesopus, the surf-smelt, has a smaller mouth than Osmerus and inhabits the North Pacific. The California species, Mesopus pretiosus, of Neah Bay has, according to James G. Swan, “the belly covered with a coating of yellow fat which imparts an oily appearance to the water where the fish has been cleansed or washed and makes them the very perfection of pan-fish.”” This species spawns in late summer along the surf-line. According to Mr. Swan the water seems to be filled with them. “ They come in with the flood-tide, and when a wave breaks upon the beach they crowd up into the very foam, and as the surf re- cedes many will be seen flapping on the sand and shingle, but invariably returning with the undertow to deeper water.” The Quilliute Indians of Washington believe that “the first The Grayling and the Smelt 347 surf-smelts that appdar must not be sold or given away to be taken to another place, nor must they be cut transversely, but split open with a mussel-shell.”’ The surf-smelt is marine, as is also a similar species, Mesopus japonicus, in Japan. Mesopus olidus, the pond-smelt of Alaska, Kamchatka, and Northern Japan, spawns in fresh-water ponds. Still more excellent as a food-fish than even these exquisite species is the famous eulachon, or candle-fish (Thaleichthys pacificus). The Chinook name, usually written eulachon, is perhaps more accurately represented as ulchen. This little fish has the form of a smelt and reaches the length of nearly a foot. In the spring it ascends in enormous numbers all the Fig. 252.—Eulachon, or Ulehen. Thaleichthys pretiosus Girard. Columbia River. Family Argentinide. rivers north of the Columbia, as far as Skaguay, for a short distance for the purpose of spawning. These runs take ,place usually in advance of the salmon-runs. Various predatory fishes and sea-birds persecute the eulachon during its runs, and even the stomachs of the sturgeons are often found full of the little fishes, which they have taken in by their sucker- like mouths. At the time of the runs the eulachon are ex- tremely fat, so much so that it is said that when dried and a wick drawn through the body they may be used as candles. On Nass River, in British Columbia, a stream in which their run is greatest, there is a factory for the manufacture of eula- chon-oil from them. This delicate oil is proposed asa substitute for cod-liver oil in medicine. Whatever may be its merits in this regard, it has the disadvantage in respect to salability of being semi-solid or lard-like at ordinary temperatures, re- quiring melting to make it flow as oil. The eulachon is a favorite 7: ante aif spots Baap Le: See on? Hae cerd ar Jars breed! ee Fi einen ge : ae | Ora k 209 bn! Wiig bag cstras ta BLP a SHEA Mise Aafharecr tec Carol, Lvew Pree Riki c kk ands Fora JH One Pg of Mi Lettles Sowsticay flercldfor>, fone tte Atey lind ent Lateline Amun, Pe festhay nw Hoos pk Dinothey lovey mmeachh extati bb och. Usha Eats po Cedtabte (ei gti wtp Fo2. we bi io com fin Hae. one ater brasilian) | ee eae Fig. 258 —Page of William Clark’s handwriting with sketch of the Eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus), the first notice of the species. ( ‘olubia River, 1805. (Expedition of Lewis & Clark, ) _ (Reproduced from the original in the posses- sion of his granddaughter Mrs. Julia Clark Voorhis, through the courtesy of Messrs. Dodd, Mead & Company, publishers of the ‘Original Journais of tha Lewis and Clark Ex pedition.”’) A a. 4 348 The Grayling and the Smelt 349 pan-fish in British Columbia. The writer has had considerable experience with it, broiled and fried, in its native region, and has no hesitation in declaring it to be the best-flavored food- fish in American waters. It is fat, tender, juicy, and richly flavored, with comparatively few troublesome bones. It does not, however, bear transportation well. The Indians in Alaska bury the eulachon in the ground in great masses. After the fish are well decayed they are taken out and the oil pressed from them. The odor of the fish and the oil is then very offensive, less so, however, than that of some forms of cheese eaten by civilized people. The capelin (Mallotus villosus) closely resembles the eula- chon, differing mainly in its broader pectorals and in the peculiar scales of the males. In the male fish a band of scales above cS Fie. 254 —Capelin, Mallotus villosus L. Crosswater Bay. the lateral line and along each side of the belly become elongate, closely imbricated, with the free points projecting, giving the body a villous appearance. It is very abundant on the coasts of Arctic America, both in the Atlantic and the Pacific, and is an important source of food for the natives of those regions. This species spawns in the surf, and the writer has seen them in August cast on the shores of the Alaskan islands (as at Metlakahtla in 1897), living and dead, in numbers which seem incredible. The males are then distorted, and it seems likely that all of them perish after spawning. The young are abundant in all the northern fiords. Even more inordinate numbers are reported from the shores of Greenland. The capelin seems to be inferior to the eulachon as a food- fish, but to the natives of arctic regions in both hemispheres it is a very important article of food. Fossil capelin are found a5 The Grayling and the Smelt in abundance in recent shales in Greenland enveloped in nodules of clay. In the open waters about the Aleutian Islands a small smelt, Therobromus callorhini, occurs in very great abundance and forms the chief part of the summer food of the fur-seal. Strangely enough, no complete specimen of this fish has yet been seen by man, although thousands of fragments have been taken from seals’ stomachs. From these fragments Mr. Frederick A. Lucas has reconstructed the fish, which must be an ally of the surf-smelt, probably spawning in the open ocean of the north. The silvery species called Argentina live in deeper water and have no commercial importance. Argentina silus, with prickly scales, occurs in the North Sea. Several fossils have been doubtfully referred to Osmerus. The Microstomide.—The small family of Microstomide con- sists of a few degraded smelt, slender in form, with feeble mouth and but three or four branchiostegals, rarely taken in the deep seas. Nansenia grenlandica was found by Reinhardt off the coast of Greenland, and six or eight other species of A/icrostoma and Bathylagus have been brought in by the deep-sea explora- tions. The Salangide, or Icefishes.—Still more feeble and insignifi- cant are the species of Salangide, icefishes, or Chinese whitebait, which may be described as Salmonide reduced to the lowest terms. The body is long and slender, perfectly translucent, almost naked, and with the skeleton scarcely ossified. The fins are like those of the salmon, the head is depressed, the jaws long and broad, somewhat like the bill of a duck, and within there are a few disproportionately strong canine teeth, those of the lower jaw somewhat piercing the upper. The alimentary canal is straight for its whole length, without pyloric ceca. These little fishes, two to five inches long, live in the sea in enormous numbers and ascend the rivers of eastern Asia for the purpose of spawning. It is thought by some that they are annual fishes, all dying in the fall after reproduction, the species living through the winter only within its eggs. But this is only suspected, not proved, and the species will repay the care- ful study which some of the excellent naturalists of Japan are sure before long to give to it. The species of Salanx are known as whitebait, in Japan as Shiro-uwo, which means exactly the The Grayling and the Smelt 451 same thing. They are also sometimes called icefish (Hingio), which, being used for no other fish, may be adopted as a group name for Salanx. The species are Salanx chinensis from Canton, Salanx hyalo cranius from Korea and northern China, Salanx microdon from northern Japan, and Salanx artakensis from the southern island of Kiusiu. The Japanese fishes are species still smaller and feebler than their relatives from the mainland. The Haplochitonide.— The Haplochitonide are trout-like fishes of the south temperate zone, differing from the Salmonide mainly in the extension of the premaxillary until, as in the perch-like fishes, it forms the outer border of the upper jaw. The adipose fin is present as in all the salmon and smelt. Hap- lochiton of Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands is naked, while in Prototroctes of Australia and New Zealand the body, as in all salmon, trout, and smelt, is covered with scales. Proto- troctes marena is the yarra herring of Australia. The closely related family of Galaxtide, also Australian, but lacking the adipose fin, is mentioned in a later chapter. Fic. 255 —Icefish, Salanz hyalocranius Abbott. Family Salangide. Tientsin, China. Stomiatide. — The Stomiatide, with elongate bodies, have the mouth enormous, with fang-like teeth, usually barbed. Of Fic. 256 —Stomias ferox Reinhardt. Banquereau. the several species Stomias ferox is best known. According to Dr. Boulenger, these fishes are true [sospondyli. Astronesthide is another small group of small fishes naked and black, with long canines, found in the deep sea. The Malacosteide is a related group with extremely dis- ano The Grayling and the Smelt tensible mouth, the species capable of swallowing fishes much larger than themselves. The viper-fishes (Chauliodontide) are very feeble and very voracious little fishes occasionally brought up from the depths. Chauliodus sloanei is notable for the length of the fangs. Much smaller and feebler are the species of the closely related family of Gonostomide. Gonostoma and Cyclothone dwell in oceanic abysses. One species, Cyclothone elongata, occurs at the depth of from half a mile to nearly four miles Fie 257.—Chauliodus sloanei Schneider. Grand Banks. almost everywhere throughout the oceans. It is probably the most widely distributed, as well as one of the feeblest and most fragile, of all bassalian or deep-sea fishes. Suborder Iniomi, the Lantern-fishes.— The suborder Iniom7 (iviov, nape; wos, shoulder) comprises soft-rayed fishes, in which the shoulder-girdle has more or less lost its com- pleteness of structure as part of the degradation consequent on life in the abysses of the sea. These features distinguish these forms from the true [sospondyli, but only in a very few of the species have these characters been verified by actual examination of the skeleton. The mesocoracoid arch is wanting or atrophied in all of the species examined, and the orbito- sphenoid is lacking, so faras known. The group thus agrees in most technical characters with the Haplomz, in which group they are placed by Dr. Boulenger. On the other hand the relation- ships to the Isospondyl: arc very close, and the Iniomi have many traits suggesting degenerate Isospondyli. The post-temporal has lost its usual hold on the skull and may touch the occiput on the sides of the cranium. Nearly all the species are soft in body, black or silvery over black in color, and all that live The Grayling and the Smelt 353 in the deep sea are provided with luminous spots or glands giving light in the abysmal depths. These spots are wanting in the few shore species, as also in those which approach most nearly to the Salmonide, these being presumably the most primitive of the group. In these also the post-temporal touches the back of the cranium near the side. In the majority of the Iniomi the adipose fin of the Salmonide is retained. From the phos- phorescent spots is derived the general name of lantern-fishes applied of late years to many of the species. Most of these are of recent discovery, results of the remarkable work in deep- sea dredging begun by the Albatross and the Challenger. All of the species are carnivorous, and some, in spite of their feeble muscles, are exceedingly voracious, the mouth being armed with veritable daggers and spears. Aulopide.—Most primitive of the Iniomz is the family of Aulopide, having an adipose fin, a normal maxillary, and no luminous spots. The rough firm scales suggest those of the berycoid fishes. The few species of Aulopus and Chlorophthalmus are found in moderate depths. Aulopus purpurissatus is the “Sergeant Baker” of the Australian fishermen. The Lizard-fishes—The Synodontide, or lizard-fishes, have lizard-like heads with very large mouth. The head is scaly, a character rare among the soft-rayed fishes. The slender maxil- Fic 258 —Lizard-fish, Synodus fetens L. Charleston, 8. C. lary is grown fast to the premaxillary, and the color is not black. Most of the species are shore-fishes and some are brightly colored. Synodus fetens is the common lizard-fish, or galliwasp, of our Atlantic coast. Synodus varius of the Pacific is brightly colored, olive-green and orange-red types of coloration exist- ing at different depths. Most of the species lie close to the bottom and are mottled gray like coral sand. A few occur in 354 The Grayling and the Smelt oceanic depths. The “Bombay duck” of the fishermen of India is a species of Harpodon, H. nehereus, with large mouth and arrow-shaped teeth. The dried fish is used as a relish. The Benthosauride are deep-sea fishes of similar type, but with distinct maxillaries. The Bathypteroide, of the deep seas, resemble Aulopus, but have the upper and lower pectoral rays filiform, developed as organs of touch in the depths in which the small eyes become practically useless. Ipnopida.—In the Ipnopide the head is depressed above and the two eyes are flattened and widened so as to occupy most of its upper surface. These structures were at first sup- posed to be luminous organs, but Professor Moseley has thought them to be eyes. ‘‘They show a flattened cornea extending along the median line of the snout, with a large retina com- posed of peculiar rods which form a complicated apparatus Fig. 259.—Ipnops murrayi Ginther. destined undoubtedly to produce an image and to receive especial luminous rays.’’ The single species, [puops murrayt, is black in color and found at the depth of 2} miles in various seas. The existence of well-developed eyes among fishes des- tined to live in the dark abysses of the ocean seems at first con- tradictory, but we must remember that these singular forms are descendants of immigrants from the shore and from the surface. ‘“‘In some cases the eyes have not been specially modified, but in others there have been modifications of a lumi- nous mucous membrane leading on the one hand to phosphor- escent organs more or less specialized, or on the other to such remarkable structures as the eyes of Ipnops, intermediate between true eyes and phosphorescent plates. In fishes which cannot see, and which retain for their guidance only the general sensibility of the integuments and the lateral line, these parts soon acquire a very great delicacy. The same is the case with The Grayling and the Smelt 355 tactile organs (as in Bathypterois and Benthosaurus), and experi- ments show that barbels may become organs of touch adapted to aquatic life, sensitive to the faintest movements or the slightest displacement, with power to give the blinded fishes full cognizance of the medium in which they live.”’ Rondeletiide.—The Rondeletiide are naked black fishes with small eyes, without adipose fin and without luminous spots, Fic. 260 —Cetomimus gillii Goode & Bean. Gulf Stream. taken at great depths in the Atlantic. The relationship of these fishes is wholly uncertain. The Cetomimide are near allies of the Rondeletiide, having the mouth excessively large, with the peculiar form seen in the right whales, which these little fishes curiously resemble. Myctophide.— The large family of Myctophide, or lantern- fishes, is made up of small fishes allied to the Aulopide, but Fic. 261.—Headlight Fish, Diaphus lucidus Goode and Bean. Gulf Stream. with the body covered with luminous dots, highly specialized and symmetrically arranged. Most of them belong to the deep sea, but others come to the surface in the night or during storms when the sunlight is absent. Through this habit they are often thrown by the waves on the decks of small vessels. 356 The Grayling and the Smelt Largely from Danish merchant-vessels, Dr. Lutken has obtained the unrivaled collection of these sea-waifs preserved in the Museum of the University of Copenhagen. The species are all small in size and feeble in structure, the prey of the larger Fic. 262.—Lantern-fish, Myctophum opalinum Goode & Bean. Gulf Stream. fishes of the depths, from which their lantern-like spots and large eyes help them to escape. The numerous species are now ranged in about fifteen genera, although earlier writers placed them all in a single genus Myctophum (Scopelus). In the genus Diaphus (4ithoprora) there is a large luminous gland on the end of the short snout, like the headlight of an Fie. 263 —Lantern-fish, Ceratoscopelus madeirensis (Lowe). Gulf Stream. engine. In Dasyscopelius the scales are spinescent, but in most of the genera, as in Myctophum, the scales are cycloid and caducous, falling at the touch. In Diaphus the luminous spots are crossed by a septum giving them the form of the Greek letter 6 (theta). One of the commonest species is Myctophum humboldtt. Chirothricide.—The remarkable extinct family of Chiro- thricide may be related to the Synodontide, or Myctophide. In this group the teeth are feeble, the paired fins much The Grayling and the Smelt 357 enlarged, and the ventrals are well forward. The dorsal fin, inserted well forward, has stout basal bones. Chirothrix libani- cus of the Cretaceous of Mt. Lebanon is remarkable for its exces- sively large ventral fins. Telepholis is a related genus. Exo- cetordes with rounded caudal fin is probably the type of a distinct family, Exocetoidide, the caudal fin being strongly forked in Chirothrix. The small extinct group of Rhinellide is usually placed near the Myctophide. They are distinguished by the very long gar-like jaws; whether they possessed adipose fins or luminous spots cannot be determined. Rhinellus fur- catus and other species occur in the Cretaceous of Europe and Asia. Fossil forms more or less distinctly related to the Mycto- Fie 264 —Rhinellus furcatus Agassiz. Upper Cretaceous of Mt. Lebanon. (After Woodward.) phide are numerous. Osmeroides monasterit (wrongly called Sardinioides), from the German Cretaceous, seems allied to Myctophum, although, of course, luminous spots leave no trace among fossils. Acrognathus boops is remarkable for the large size of the eyes. Maurolicide.— The Maurolicide are similar in form and habit, but scaleless, and with luminous spots more highly specialized. Maurolicus pennanti, the “Sleppy Argentine,’’ is occasionally taken on either side of the Atlantic. Other genera are Zalarges, Vinciguerria, and Valenciennellus. The Lancet-fishes——The Plagyodontide (Alepisauride) con- tains the lancet-fishes, large, swift, scaleless fishes of the ocean depths with very high dorsal fin, and the mouth filled with knife-like teeth. These large fish are occasionally cast up by storms or are driven to the shores by the torments of a parasite, Tetrarhynchus, found imbedded in the flesh. It is probable that they are sometimes killed by being forced above their level by fishes which they have swallowed. In such cases they are destroyed through the reduction of pressure. Every part of the body is so fragile that perfect specimens are rare. The dorsal fin is readily torn, the bones are very 358 The Grayling and the Smelt feebly ossified, and the ligaments connecting the vertebre are very loose and extensible, so that the body can be considerably stretched. ‘‘This loose connection of the parts of the body is found in numerous deep-sea fishes, and is merely the conse- quence of their withdrawal from the pressure of the water to which they are exposed in the depths inhabited by them. When within the limits of their natural haunts, the osseous, muscular, and fibrous parts of the body will have that solidity which is required for the rapid and powerful movements of a predatory fish. That the fishes of this genus (Plagyodus) belong to the most ferocious of the class is proved by their dentition and the contents of their stomach.’ (Gtinther.) Dr. Gtinther else- Fie, 265.—Lancet-fish, Plagyodus ferox (Lowe). New York. where observes: “From the stomach of one example have been taken several octopods, crustaceans, ascidians, a young Brama, twelve young boarfishes (Capros), a horse-mackerel, and one young of its own species.” The lancet-fish, Plagyodus ferox, is occasionally taken on either side of the Atlantic and in Japan. The handsaw-fish, called Plagyodus e@sculapius, has been taken at Unalaska, off San Luis Obispo, and in Humboldt Bay. It does not seem to differ at all from Plagyodus ferox. The original type from Una- laska had in its stomach twenty-one lumpfishes (Eumicrotremus spinosus). This is the species described from Steller’s manu- scripts by Pallas under the name of Plagyodus. Another species, Plagyodus borcalis, is occasionally taken in the North Pacific. ; The Evermannellide is a small family of small deep-sea fishes The Grayling and the Smelt 359 with large teeth, distensible muscles, and an extraordinary power of swallowing other fishes, scarcely surpassed by Chzas- modon or Saccopharynx. Evermannella (Odontostomus, the latter name preoccupied) and Omosudts are the principal genera. The Paralepide are reduced allies of Plagyodus, slender, silvery, with small fins and fang-like jaws. As in Plagyodus, the adipose fin is developed and there are small luminous dots. The species are few and mostly northern; one of them, Sudzs ringens, is known only from a single specimen taken by the present writer from the stomach of a hake (Merluccius produc- tus), the hake in turn swallowed whole by an albacore in the Santa Barbara Channel. The Sudis had been devoured by the hake, the hake by the albacore, and the albacore taken on the hook before the feeble Sudzs had been digested. Perhaps allied to the Plagyodontide is also the large family of Enchodontide, widely represented in the Cretaceous rocks of \ 5 WS PERE” eS att as ae Fic, 266.—Eurypholis sulcidens Pictet, restored. Family Enchodontide. Upper Cretaceous of Mt. Lebanon. (After Woodward, as E. boissiert.) Syria, Europe, and Kansas. The body in this group is elongate, the teeth very strong, and the dorsal fin short. Enchodus lewesiensis is found in Mount Lebanon, Halec sternbergi in the German Cretaceous, and many species of Enchodus in Kansas; Cimolichthys dirus in North Dakota. Remotely allied to these groups is the extinct family of Dercetide from the Cretaceous of Germany and Syria. These are elongate fishes, the scales small or wanting, but with two or more series of bony scutes along the flanks. In Dercetis scutatus the scutes are large and the dorsal fin is verylong. Other genera are Leptotrachelus and Pelargorhynchus. Dr. Boulenger places the Dercetid@ in the order Heterom:. This is an expression of the fact that their relations are still unknown. Probably 360 The Grayling and the Smelt related to the Dercetide is the American family of Stratodontide with its two genera, Stradodus and Empo from the Cretaceous Fia, 267 —Eurypholis freyeri Heckel. Family Enchodontide, Cretaceous. (After Heckel; the restoration of the jaws incorrect.) (Niobrara) deposits of Kansas. Empo nepaholica is one of the best-known species. The Sternoptychide.— The Sternoptychide differ materi- ally from all these forms in the short, compressed, deep body and distorted form. The teeth are small, the body bright silvery, with luminous spots. The species live in the deep seas, rising in dark or stormy weather. Sternoptyx diaphana. is found in almost all seas, and species of Argyropelecus are almost Fic. 268.—Monstrous Goldfish (bred in Japan), Carassius auraius (Linnzus). (After Ginther.) as widely distributed. After the earthquakes in 1896, which engulfed the fishing villages of Rikuzen, in northern Japan, The Grayling and the Smelt 361 numerous specimens of this species were found dead, floating on the water, by the steamer Albatross. The Idiacanthide are small deep-sea fishes, eel-shaped and without pectorals, related to the Iniomt. Order Lyopomi.—Other deep-sea fishes constitute the order or suborder Lyopomi (Avos, loose; zdpa, opercle). These are elongate fishes having no mesocoracoid, and the preopercle rudimentary and connected only with the lower jaw, the large a Fie, 269.—Aldrovandia gracilis (Goode & Bean). Guadaloupe Island, West dies. Family Halosauride. subopercle usurping its place. The group, which is perhaps to be regarded as a degenerate type of Isospondyli, contains the single family of Halosauride, with several species, black in color, soft in substance, with small teeth and long tapering tail, found in all seas. The principal genera are Halosaurus and Aldrovandia (Halosauropsis). Aldrovandia macrochira is the commonest species on our Atlantic coast. Several fossil Halosauride are described from the Creta- ceous of Europe and Syria, referred to the genera Echiduocephalus and Enchelurus. Boulenger refers the Lyopomz to the suborder Heteromi, CHAPTER XXII THE APODES, OR EEL-LIKE FISHES HE Eels.—We may here break the sequence from the Isospondyli to the other soft-rayed fishes, to inter- Ew} polate a large group of uncertain: origin, the series or subclass of eels. The mass of apodal or eel-like fishes has been usually regarded as constituting a single order, the Apodes (a, without; zods, foot). The group as a whole is characterized by the almost universal separation of the shoulder-girdle from the skull, by the absence of the mesocoracoid arch on the shoulder-girdle, by the presence of more than five pectoral actinosts, as in the Ganoid fishes, by the presence of great numbers of undifferen- tiated vertebra, giving the body a snake-like form, by the absence in all living forms of the ventral fins, and, in all living forms, by the absence of a separate caudal fin. These structures indicate a low organization. Some of them are certainly results of degeneration, and others are perhaps indications of primitive simplicity. Within the limits of the group are seen other features of degeneration, notably shown in the progressive loss of the bones of the upper jaw and the membrane-bones of the head and the degradation of the various fins. The symplectic bone is wanting, the notochord is more or less persistent, the vertebral centra always complete constricted cylinders, none coalesced. But, notwithstanding great differences in these regards, the forms have been usually left in a single order, the more degraded forms being regarded as descended from the types which approach nearest to the ordinary fishes. From this view Professor Cope dissents. He recognizes several orders of eels, claiming that we should not unite all these various fishes into a single order on account of the eel-like form. If we do so, we should place in another order those with the fish-like form. 362 The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 363 It is probable, though not absolutely certain, that the Apodes are related to each other. The loss among them, first, of the con- nection of the post-temporal with the skull; second, of the separate caudal fin and its hypural support; third, of the distinct maxillary and premaxillary; and fourth, of the pectoral fins, must be regarded as successive phases of a general line of degradation. The large number of actinosts, the persistence of the notochord, the absence of spines, and the large numbers of vertebrae seem to be traits of primitive simplicity. Special lines of degenera- tion are further shown by deep-sea forms. What the origin of the Apodes may have been is not known with any certainty. They are soft-rayed fishes, with the air-bladder connected by a tube with the cesophagus, and with the anterior vertebre not modified. In so far they agree with the Isospondyli. In some other respects they resemble the lower Ostariophysi, especially the electric eel and the eel-like catfishes. But these resem- blances, mainly superficial, may be wholly deceptive; we have no links which certainly connect the most fish-like Apodes with any of the other orders. Probably Woodward’s sugges- tion that they may form a series parallel with the Iso- pondyli and independently descended from Tertiary Ganoids deserves serious consideration. Perhaps the most satisfactory arrangement of these fishes will be to regard them as constitut- ing four distinct orders for which we may use the names Sym- branchia (including Ichthyocephali and Holostomt), Apodes (in- cluding Enchelycephali and Colocephali), Carenchelt, and Lyo- mer. Order Symbranchia.—The Symbranchia are distinguished by the development of the ordinary fish mouth, the maxillary and premaxillary being well developed. The gill-openings are very small, and usually confluent below. These fresh-water forms of the tropics, however eel-like in form, may have no real affinity with the true eels. In any event, they should not be placed in the same order with the latter. The eels of the suborder Ichthyocephali (iyOus, fish; xepadn, head) have the head distinctly fish-like. The maxillary, pre- maxillary, and palatines are well developed, and the shoulder- girdle is joined by a post-temporal to the skull. The body is distinctly eel-like, the tail being very short and the fins incon- 364 The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes spicuous. The number of vertebre is unusually large. The order contains the single family Monopteride, the rice-field eels, one species, Monopterus albus, being excessively common in pools and ditches from China and southern Japan to India. The eels of the suborder Holostomi (oAds, complete; oropa, mouth) differ from these mainly in the separation of the shoulder- girdle from the skull, a step in the direction of the true eels. The Symbranchide are very close to the Monopteride in external appearance, small, dusky, eel-like inhabitants of sluggish ponds and rivers of tropical America and the East Indies. The gill- openings are confluent under the throat. Symbranchus mar- moratus ranges northward as far as Vera Cruz, having much the habit of the rice-field eel of Japan and China The Amphip- noide, with peculiar respiratory structures, abound in India. Amphipnous cuchia, according to Gunther, has but three gill- arches, with rudimentary lamina and very narrow slits. To supplement this insufficient branchial apparatus, a lung-like sac is developed on each side of the body behind the head, open- ing between the hyoid and the first branchial arch. The inte- rior of the sac is abundantly provided with blood-vessels, the arterial coming from the branchial arch, whilst those issuing from it unite to form the aorta. Amphipnous has rudimentary scales. The other Holostomt and Ichthyocephali are naked and all lack the pectoral fin. The Chilobranchide are small sea-fishes from Australia, with the tail longer than the rest of the body, instead of much shorter as in the others. No forms allied to Symbranchus or Monopterus are recorded as fossils. Order Apodes, or True Eels. — In this group the shoulder- girdle is free from the skull, and the bones of the jaws are reduced in number, through coalescence of the parts. Three well-marked suborders may be recognized, groups per- haps worthy of still higher rank: Archenchelt, Enchelycephali, and Colocephali. Suborder Archencheli.—The Archencheli, now entirely extinct, are apparently the parents of the eels, having, however, certain traits characteristic of the Isospondylt. They retain the sepa- rate caudal fin, with the ordinary hypural plate, and Professor The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes ' 365 Hay has recently found, in an example from the Cretaceous of Mount Lebanon, remains of distinct ventral fins. These traits seem to indicate an almost perfect transition from the Isospondyla to the Archenchelt. One family may be recognized at present, Urenchelyide. The earliest known eel, Urenchelys avus, occurs in the upper Cretaceous at Mount Lebanon. It represents the family Uren- chelyide, apparently allied to the Anguillide,, but having a separate caudal fin. Its teeth are small, conical, blunt, in many series. There are more than i100 vertebre, the last expanded in a hypural. Pectorals present. Scales rudiment- ary; dorsal arising at the occiput. Branchiostegals slender, not curved around the opercle. Uvenchelys anglicus is another species, found in the chalk of England. Suborder Enchelycephali. — The suborder Euchelycephalt (éy- yedus, eel; kegdadn, head) contains the typical eels, in which the shoulder-girdle is free from the skull, the palatopterygoid arch relatively complete, the premaxillaries wanting or rudi- mentary, the ethmoid and vomer coalesced, forming the front of the upper jaw, the maxillaries lateral, and the cranium with a single condyle. In most of the species pectoral fins are present, and the cranium lacks the combined degradation and speciali- zation shown by the morays (Colocephalt). Family Anguillide.—The most primitive existing family is that of the typical eels, Anguzllide, which have rudimentary scales oblong in form, and set separately in groups at right angles with one another. These fishes are found in the fresh and brackish waters of all parts of the world, excepting the Pacific coast of North America and the islands of the Pacific. In the upper Great Lakes and the upper Mississippi they are also absent unless intro- duced. The species usually spawn in the sea and ascend the rivers to feed. But some individuals certainly spawn in fresh water, and none go far into the sea, or where the water is entirely salt. The young eels sometimes ascend the brooks near the sea in incredible numbers, constituting what is known in England as “eel-fairs.’’ They will pass through wet grass to surmount ordinary obstacles. Niagara Falls they cannot pass, and according to Professor Baird “‘in the spring and summer the visitor who enters under the sheet of water at the foot of the 366 The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes falls will be astonished at the enormous numbers of young eels crawling over the slippery rocks and squirming in the seething whirlpools. An estimate of hundreds of wagon-loads, as seen in the course of the perilous journey referred to, would hardly be considered excessive by those who have visited the spot at a suitable season of the year.’’ “At other times large eels may be seen on their way down-stream, although natu- rally they are not as conspicuous then as are the hosts of the young on their way up-stream. Nevertheless it is now a well- assured fact that the eels are catadromous, that is, that the Fic. 270.—Common Eel, Anguilla chrisypa Rafinesque. Holyoke, Mass. old descend the watercourses to the salt water to spawn, and the young, at least of the female sex, ascend them to enjoy life in the fresh water.’’ The Food of the Eel.—Eels are among the most voracious of all fishes. They devour dead flesh and they will attack any fish small enough for them to bite. They are among the swiftest of fishes. They work largely at night, and devour spawn as weil as grown fishes. ‘On their hunting excursions they overturn huge and small stones alike, working for hours if necessary, beneath which they find species of shrimp and crayfish, of which they are exceed- ingly fond. Of shrimps they devour vast numbe:s. Their noses are poked into every imaginable hole in their search for food, to the terror of innumerable small fishes. Larva of the Eel.—-The translucent band-shaped larva of the common eel has been very recently identified and described by Dr. Eigenmann. It is probable that all true eels, Enchely- The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 367 cephalt, pass through a band-shaped or leptocephalous stage, as is the case with Albula and other Isospondyli. In the con- tinued growth the body becomes firmer, and at the same time Fig. 271.—Larva of Common Eel, Anguilla chrisypa (Rafinesque), called Lepto- cephalus grassti. (After Eigenmann.) much shorter and thicker, gradually assuming the normal form of the species in question. In a’ recent paper Dr. Carl H. Eigenmann has very fully reviewed the life-history of the eel. The common species live in fresh waters, migrating to the sea in the winter. They deposit in deep water minute eggs that float at the surface. The next year they develop into the band-shaped larva. The young eels enter the streams two years after their parents drop down to the sea. It is doubtful whether eels breed in fresh water. The male eel is much smaller than the female. The eel is an excellent food-fish, the flesh being tender and oily, of agreeable flavor, better than that of any of its rela- tives. Eels often reach a large size, old individuals of five or six feet in length being sometimes taken. Species of Eels.—The different species are very closely related. Not imore than four or five of them are sharply defined, and these mostly in the South Seas and in the East Indies. The three abundant species of the north temperate zone, Anguilla anguilla of Europe, Anguilla chrisypa of the eastern United States, and Anguilla japonica of Japan, are scarcely distinguishable. In color, size, form, and value as food they are all alike. Fossil species referred to the Anguillide are known from the early Tertiary. Anguilla leptoptera occurs in the Eocene of Monte Bolea, and Anguilla elegans in the Miocene of (Eningen in Baden. Other fossil eels seem to belong to the Nettasto- mide and Myride. Pug-nosed Eels.—Allied to the true eel is the pug-nosed eel, Simenchelys parasiticus, constituting the family of Szmen- chelytde. This species is scaled like a true eel, has a short, 368 The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes blunt nose, and burrows its way into the bodies of halibut and other large fishes. It has been found in Newfoundland and Fiq. 272.—Pug-nosed Eel, Simenchelys parasiticus Gill. Sable Island Bank. Madeira. Another family possessing rudimentary scales is that of the Synaphobranchide, slender eels of the ocean depths, widely distributed. In these forms the gill-openings are confluent. Synaphobranchus pinnatus is the best-known species. Fic. 273.—Synaphobranchus pinnatus (Gronow). Le Have Bank. Conger-eels. — The Leptocephalide, or conger-eels, are very similar to the fresh-water eels, but are without scales and with a somewhat different mouth, the dorsal beginning nearer to the head. The principal genus is Leptocephalus, including the common conger-eel (Leptocephalus conger) of eastern America and Europe and numerous very similar species in the tropics of both con- tinents. These fishes are strictly marine and, reaching the length of five or six feet, are much valued as food. The eggs are much larger than those of the eel and are produced in great numbers, so that the female almost bursts with their numbers. Dr. Hermes calculated that 3,300,0co0 were laid by one female in an aquarium. ; These eggs hatch out into transparent band-like larva, with very small heads formerly known as Leptocephalus, an ancient name which is now taken for the genus of congers, having The Apodes or Eel-like Fishes 369 been first used for the larva of the common conger-eel. The loose watery tissues of these “ ghost-fishes’’ grow more and more compact and they are finally transformed into young congers. Fig. 274.—Conger-eel, Leptocephalus conger (L.). Noank, Conn. The Murenesocide are large eels remarkable for their strong knife-like teeth. Murenesox savanna occurs in the West Indies and in the Mediterranean, Murenesox cinereus in Japan, and Murenesox coniceps on the west coast of Mexico, all large Fig. 275.—Larva of Conger-eel Cee halus conger), called Leptocephalus morrisst, (After Higenmann.) and fierce, with teeth like shears. The Afyride are small and worm-like eels closely allied to the congers, having the tail surrounded by a fin, but the nostrils labial. Myrus myrus is found in the Mediterranean. Species of Eomyrus, Rhyncho- rhinus, and Parangutlla apparently allied to M/yrus occur in the Eocene. Other related families, mostly rare or living in the deep seas, are the Ilyophide, Heterocongride, and Dysommide. The Snake-eels.—Most varied of the families of eels is the Ophichthyide, snake-like eels recognizable by the form of the tail, which protrudes beyond the fins. Of the many genera found in tropical waters several are remarkable for the sharply defined coloration, suggesting that of the snake. Characteristic species are Chlevastes colubrinus and Leiuranus semicinctus, two beauti- fully banded species of Polynesia, living in the same holes in the reefs and colored in the same fashion. Another is Calle- 370 The Apodes or Eel-like Fishes chelys melanotenia. The commonest species on the Atlantic coast is the plainly colored Ophichthus gomest. Fic. 276.—Xyrias revulsus Jordan & Snyder. Family Ophichthyide. Misaki, Japan. In the genus Sphagebranchus, very slender eels of the reefs, the fins are almost wanting. LY, Fie. 277.—Myrichthys pantostigmius Jordan & McGregor. Clarion Island. Allied to the Congers is the small family of duck-billed eels (Nettastomide) inhabiting moderate depths of the sea. WNet- tastoma bolcense occurs in the Eocene of Monte Bolca. The pro- duced snout forms a transition to the really extraordinary type of thread-eels or snipe-eels (Nemuichthyide), of which numerous genera and species live in the oceanic depths. In Nemuchthys ELLE: Fic. 278.—Ophichthus ocellatus (Le Sueur). Pensacola. the long, very slender, needle-like jaws are each curved back- ward so that the mouth cannot by any possibility be shut. The body is excessively slender and the fish swims with swift undulations, often near the surface, and when seen is usually The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 371 taken for a snake. The best-known species is Nemichthys scolo- paceus of the Atlantic and Pacific. Nemuichthys avocetta, very much like it, has been twice taken in Puget Sound. Suborder Colocephali, or Morays.—In the suborder Colocephali (xolos, deficient; cepaan, head) the palatopterygoid arch and the mem- brane-bones generally are very rudimentary. The skull is thus very narrow, the gill-struc- tures are not well developed, and in the chief family there are no pectoral fins. This group is very closely related to the Enchelycephali, from which it is probably derived. In the great family of morays (Murenide) the teeth are often very highly developed. The muscles are always very strong and the spines bite savagely, a live moray, four to six feet long, being often able to drive men out of a boat. The skin is thick and leathery, and the colora- tion is highly specialized, the pattern of color Fig. 279. Fic. 280. Fig. 279.—Thread-eel, Nemichthys avocetta Jordan & Gilbert. Vancouver Island. Fig. 280.—Jaws of Nemichthys avocetta Jordan & Gilbert. being often elaborate and brilliant. In Echidna zebra for ex- ample the body is wine-brown, with cross-stripes of golden yellow. In Murena each nostril has a barbel. Murena helena, the oldest moray known, is found in Europe. In Gymnothorax, the largest genus, only the anterior nostrils are thus provided. Gymnothorax mordax of California is a large food-fish, as are also the brown Gymnothorax funebris and the spotted Gymno- thorax moringa in the West Indies. These and many other species may coil themselves in crevices in the reefs, whence they strike out at their prey like snakes, taking perhaps the head of a duck or the finger of a man. 272 The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes In many of the morays the jaws are so curved and the mouth so filled with knife-like teeth that the jaws cannot be closed. This fact, however, renders no assistance to their prey, as the teeth are adapted for holding as well as for cutting. In Enchelynassa bleekeri, a huge wine-colored eel of the South Seas, the teeth are larger than in any other species. Evenchelys Fig. 281.—Murwna retifera Garman. Charleston, 8. C. (macrurus) is remarkable for its extraordinary length of tail, Echidna for its blunt teeth, and Scuticaria, Uropterygius, and Channomurena for the almost complete absence of fins. In Anarchias (allardicei; knighti), the anal fin is absent. The flesh of the morays is rather agreeable in taste, but usually oily and not readily digestible, less wholesome than that of the true eels. The Myrocongride are small morays with developed pectoral fins. The species are few and little known. Family Moringuide.—Structurally one of the most peculiar of the groups of eels is the small family of Moringuide of the East and West Indies. In these very slender, almost worm- like fishes the heart is placed very far behind the gills and the tail is very short. The fins are very little developed, and some forms, as Gordtichthys irretitus of the Gulf of Mexico, the body as slender as a whiplash, possess a very great number of vertebre. Moringua hawaziensis occurs in Hawaii, M. edwardst in the Bahamas. This family probably belongs with the morays to the group of Colocephalt, although its real relationships are not wholly certain. Order Carencheli, the Long-necked Eels.—Certain offshoots from the Apodes so widely diverging in structure that they must apparently be considered as distinct orders occur sparingly in the deep seas. One of these, Dertchthys serpentinus, the RARE, ‘aapAug Ypussqg xoLoypouwhy— BBs “DI ‘apluminypy ATT on 374 The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes long-necked eel, constitutes the sole known species of the sub- order Curenchelt (capa, head; ‘eyyedus, eel). In this group the premaxillaries and maxillaries are present as in ordinary Fie. 283.—Gymnothorax jordani (Evermann & Marsh). Family J/urenide. Puerto Rico. fishes, but united by suture and soldered to the cranium. «\s in true eels, the shoulder-girdle is remote from the skull. The Fig. 284.—Moray, Gymnothorax moringa Bloch. Family Murenide. Tortugas. head is set on a snake-like neck. The single species representing the family Derichthyide was found in the abysmal depths of the Gulf Stream. Order Lyomeri, or Gulpers.—Still more aberrent and in many respects extraordinary are the eels of the order or suborder Lyomert (Avos, loose; pépos, part), known as “Gulpers.” These are degenerate forms, possibly degraded from some con- ger-like type, but characterized by an extreme looseness of structure unique among fishes. The gill-arches are reduced to five small bars of bone, not attached to the skull, the pala- topterygoid arch is wholly wanting, the premaxillaries are The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 375 wanting, as in all true eels, and the maxillaries loosely joined to the skull. The symplectic bone is wanting, and the lower jaw is so hinged to the skull that it swings freely in various direc- tions. In place of the-lateral line are singular appendages. —_—_——_— Fig. 285.—Derichinys serpentinus Gill. Gulf Stream. Dr. Gill says of these fishes: ‘‘ The entire organization is peculiar to the extent of anomaly, and our old conceptions of the char- acteristics of a fish require to be modified in the light of our knowledge of such strange beings.” Special features are the extraordinary size of the mouth, which has a cavity larger than that of the rest of the body, the insertion of the very small eye at the tip of the snout, and the relative length of the tail. The whole substance is excessively fragile as usual with animals living in great depths and the color is jet black. Three species Fic. 286.—Gulper-eel, Gastrostomus bairdi Gill & Ryder. Gulf Stream. have been described, and these have been placed in two families, Saccopharyngide, with the trunk (gill-opening to the vent) much longer than the head, and Eurypharyngide, with the trunk very © short, much shorter than the head. The best-known species is the pelican eel (Eurypharynx pelacanoides), of the coast of Morocco, described by Vaillant in 1882. Gastrostomus batrdt, very much like it, occurs in the great depths under the Gulf Stream. So fragile and so easily distorted are these fishes that 376 The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes it is possible that all three are really the same species, for which the oldest name would be Saccopharynx ampullaceus. Of this form four specimens have been taken in the Atlantic, one of them six feet long, carried to the-surface through having swallowed fishes too large to be controlled. To be carried above its depth in a struggle with its prey is ore of the greatest dangers to which the abysmal fishes are subject. Order Heteromi.—The order of Heteromi (érepos, different; @pos, shoulder), or spiny eels, may be here noticed for want of a better place, as its affinities are very uncertain. Some writers have regarded it as allied to the eels; some have placed it among the Ganoids. Others have found affinities with the stickle- backs, and still others with the singular fresh-water fishes called Mastacembelus. The Heterumt agree with the eels, as well as with Mastacembelus, in having the scapular arch separate from the cranium. Unlike all the true eels, most of the species have true dorsal and anal spines, as in the Percesoces and Hemu- branchit. The ventral fins, when present, are abdominal and each with several spines in front, a character not found among the Acanthoptert. There is no mesocoracoid. The air-bladder has a duct, and the coracoids, much as in the Xenomz, are reduced to a single lamellar imperforate plate. The two groups have little else in common, however, and this trait is possibly primitive in both cases, more likely to have arisen through independent degeneration. The separation of the shoulder-girdle doubtless indicates no affinity with the eels, as the bones of the jaws are quite normal. Two families are known, both from the deep sea, besides an extinct family in which spines are not developed. The Notacanthide are elongate, compressed, ending in a band- shaped, tapering tail; the back has numerous free spines and few or no soft rays, and the mouth is normal, provided with teeth. The species of Notacanthus are few and scantily pre- served. Those of Macdonaldia are more abundant. Mac- donaldia challengert is from the North Pacific, being once taken off Tokio. The extinct family of Protonotacanthide differs in the total absence of dorsal spines and fin-rays; the single species, Pronotocanthus sahel-alme, originally described as a primitive eel, occurs in the Cretaceous of Mount Lebanon. The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 77 The Lipogenyide have a round, sucker-like mouth, with imperfect lower jaw, but are otherwise similar. Lipogenys gill1 was dredged in the Gulf Stream. Fic. 287.—Notacanthus phasganorus Goode & Bean. Grand Banks. Dr. Boulenger has recently extended the group of Heteromi by the addition of the Dercetide, Halosauride (Lyopomi), and the Fierasferide. We can hardly suppose that all these forms are really allied to Notacanthus. CHAPTER XXIII SERIES OSTARIOPHYSI STARIOPHYSI.—A large group of orders, certainly of common descent, may be brought together under the general name of Ostariophyst (¢crapiov, a small bone; 6uoéds, inflated). These are in many ways allied to the Jso- spondyli, but they have undergone great changes of structure, some of the species being highly specialized, others variously degenerate. A chief character is shared by all the species. The anterior vertebre are enlarged, interlocked, considerably modi- fied, and through them a series of small bones connect the air- bladder with the ear. The air-bladder thus becomes apparently an organ-of hearing through a form of connection which is lost in all the higher fishes. In all the members of this group excepting perhaps the degraded eel-like forms called Gymnonott, the mesocoracoid arch persists, a trait found in all the living types of Ganoids, as well as in the Teleost order of Isospondylt. Other traits of the Ostariophysan fishes are shared by the Isospondyli (herring, salmon) and other soft-rayed fishes. The air-bladder is large, but not cellular. It leads through life by an open duct to the cesophagus. The ven- tral fins are abdominal in position. The pectorals are inserted low. A mesocoracoid arch is developed on the inner side of the shoulder-girdle. (See Fig. 288.) There are no spines on the fins, except in many cases a single one, a modified soft ray at front of dorsal or pectoral. The scales, if present, are cycloid or replaced by bony plates. , Many of the species have an armature much like that of the sturgeon, but here the resemblance ends, the bony plates in the two cases being without doubt independently evolved. According to Cope, the affinities of the catfishes to the sturgeon are ‘‘seen in the absence of symplectic, the rudimentary maxillary 378 bone, and, as observed by Parker, in the interclavicles. also a superficial resemblance in the dermal bones.” Fe = 6 Fic. 288.— Inner view of shoulder-girdle of the Butfalo-fish. Ictiobus bu- balus Rafinesque, show- ing the mesocoracoid (59). (After Starks.) Series Ostariophysi 379 There is But it is not likely that any real affinity exists. The sturgeons lack the characteristic auditory ossicles, or ‘‘Weberian ap- paratus,’’ which the catfishes possess in common with the carp family, the Cha- racins,and the Gymnonott. These orders must at least have a common origin, although this origin is obscure, and fossil remains give little help to the solution of the problem. Probably the ancestors of the Ostariophysi are to be found among the allies of the Osteoglosside. Gill has called attention to the resemblance of Erythrinusto Amia. In any event, all the Ostariophyst must be considered together, as it is not conceivable that so complex a structure as the Weberian apparatus should have been more than once independently evolved. The branchiostegals, numerous among the Isospondyli, are mostly few among the Ostariophysz. To the Ostariophyst belong the vast majority of the fresh- water fishes of the world. Their primitive structure is shown in Fic. 289 —Weberian apparatus and air-bladder of Carp. many ways; (From Giinther, after Weber.) among others by the large number of vertebre instead of the usual twenty-four among the more highly special- ized families of fishes. We may group the Ostariophyst under 380 Series Ostariophysi four orders: Heterognatht, Eventognatht (Plectospondylt), Nema- tognatht, and Gymnonott, The Heterognathi—Of these the order of Heterognathit seems to be the most primitive, but in some ways the most highly de- veloped, showing fewer traits of degeneration than any of the others. The presence of the adipose fin in this group and in the catfishes seems to indicate some sort of real affinity with the salmon-like forms, although there has been great change in other regards. The order Heterognatht, or Characini (érepos, different; yva- fos, jaw), contains those Ostariophyst which retain the meso- coracoid and are not eel-like, and which have the lower pharyn- geals developed as in ordinary fishes. In most cases an adipose fin is present and there are strong teeth in the jaws. There are no pseudobranchiz, and, as in the Cyprinide, usually but three branchiostegals. The Characide constitute the majority of the fresh-water fishes in those regions which have neither Cyprinide nor Salmonide. Nearly four hundred species are known from the rivers of South America and Africa. A single species, Tetragonopterus argentatus, extends its range northward to the Rio Grande in Texas. None are found in Asia, Europe, or, with this single exception, in the United States. Most of them are small fishes with deep bodies and very sharp, serrated, incisor- like teeth. Some are as innocuous as minnows, which they very much resemble, but others are extremely voracious and destruc- tive in the highest degree. Of the caribe, belonging to the genus Serrasalmo, known by its serrated belly, Dr. Gunther observes: “Their voracity, fearlessness and number render them a perfect pest in many rivers of tropical America. In all the teeth are strong, short, sharp, sometimes lobed incisors, arranged in one or more series; by means of them they cut off a mouth- ful of flesh as with a pair of scissors; and any animal falling into the water where these fish abound is immediately attacked and cut to pieces in an incredibly short time. They assail persons entering the water, inflicting dangerous wounds before the victims are able to make their escape. In some localities it is scarcely possible to catch fishes with the hook and line, as the fish hooked is immediately attacked by the ‘caribe’ (as Series Ostariophysi 381 these fish are called), and torn to pieces before it can be with- drawn from the water. The caribes themselves are rarely hooked, as they snap the hook or cut the line. The smell of blood is said to attract at once thousands of these fishes to the spot.”’ Two families of Heterognatht are recognized: the Frythri- nid@, which lack the adipose fin, and the Characide, in which this fin is developed. The Erythrinide are large pike-like fishes of the South American, rivers, robust and tenacious of life, with large mouths armed with strong unequal teeth. The best-known species is the Trahira (Huplias malabaricus). Among the Characide, Serrasalmo has been already noticed. Citharinus in Africa has very few teeth, and Curimatus in South America none at all. Nannocharax in Africa is composed of ay CSS SSS eS COS OST as STS RSSSO SSeS Ss SS SORTS OSS SSS So SSS oss SS KX S > es CSS SOs fA ee be oe cS Fic. 290.—Brycon dentex Giinther. Family Characide. Nicaragua. very diminutive fishes, Hydrocyon exceedingly voracious ones, reaching a length of four feet, with savage teeth. Many of the species are allies of Tetragonopterus, small, silvery, bream-like fishes with flat bodies and serrated incisor teeth. Most of these are American. A related genus is Brycon, found in the streams about the Isthmus of Panama. Extinct Characins are very rare. Two species from the Ter- tiary lignite of Sdo Paulo, Brazil, have been referred to Tetra- gonopterus—T. avus and T. ligntticus. The Eventognathi—The Eventognathi (ed, well; ev, within; yvagos, jaw) are characterized by the absence of teeth in the jaws and by the high degree of specialization of the lower phar- 382 Series Ostariophysi yngeals, which are scythe-shaped and in typical forms are armed with a relatively small number of highly specialized teeth of peculiar shape and arranged in one, two, or three rows. In all the species the gill-openings are restricted to the sides; there is no adipose fin, and the broad, flat branchiostegals are but three in number. In all the species the scales, if present, are cycloid, and the ventral fins, of course, abdominal. The modification of the four anterior vertebrae and their connection with the air bladder are essentially as seen in the catfishes. The name Plectospondyli is often used for this group (zAexros, interwoven; ozovédvios, vertebra), but that term originally in- cluded the Characins as well. The Cyprinidz.—The chief family of the Eventognatht and the largest of all the families of fishes is that of Cyprinide, comprising Fig. 291.—Pharyngeal bones and teeth of European Chub, Leuciscus cephalus (Linneeus). (After Seelye.) 200 genera and over 2000 species, found throughout the north tem- perate zone but not extending to the Arctic Circle on the north, nor much beyond the Tropic of Cancer on the south. In this family belong all the fishes known as carp, dace, chub, roach, bleak, minnow, bream, and shiner. The essential character of the family lies in the presence of one, two, or three rows of highly specialized teeth on the lower pharyngeals, the main row con- taining 4, 5, 6, or 7 teeth, the others 1 to 3. The teeth of the main row differ in form according to the food of the fish. They may be coarse and blunt, molar-like in those which feed on shells; Series Ostariophysi 383 they may be hooked at tip in those which eat smaller fishes; they may be serrated or not; they may have an excavated “grinding surface,’ which is most developed in the species which feed on mud and have long intestines. In the Cyprimde, or carp family, the barbels are small or wanting, the head is naked, the caudal fin forked, the mouth is toothless and without suck- ing lips, and the premaxillaries form its entire margin. With a few exceptions the Cyprintde are small and feeble fishes. They form most of the food of the predatory river fishes, and their great abundance in competition with these is due to their fecundity and their insignificance. They spawn profusely and find everywhere an abundance of food. Often they check the increase of predatory fish by the destruction of their eggs. In many of the genera the breeding color of the males is very brilliant, rendering these little creatures for a time the most beautifully colored of fishes. In spring and early summer the fins, sides, and head in the males are often charged with pig- ment, the prevailing color of which is rosy, though often satin- white, orange, crimson, yellow, greenish, or jet black. Among American genera Chrosomus, Notropis, and Rhinichthys are most highly colored. Rhodeus, Rutilus, and Zacco in the Old World are also often very brilliant. In very many species, especially in America, the male in the breeding season is often more or less covered with small, Na ie } ee ae 9354 HDMI HY DY ay yy) SD) HHH >! mp ry ee Fic. 292.—Black-nosed Dace, Rhinichthys dulcis Girard. Yellowstone River. grayish tubercles or pearly: bodies, outgrowths of the epidermis. These are most numerous’ on the head and fall off after the breeding season. They are most developed in Campostoma. The Cyprinide are little valued as food-fishes. The carp, largely domesticated in small ponds for food, is coarse and 384 Series Ostariophysi tasteless. Most of the others are flavorless and full of small bones. One species, Opsariichthys uncirostris, of Japan is an exception in this regard, being a fish of very delicate flavor. In America 225 species of Cyprinide are known. One hun- dred of these are now usually held to form the single genus HEE) aoa gees Pye AO) ZOE a OER ORE: SNS) SD Saa ye ’ Fig. 2983 —White Chub, Notropis hudsonius (Clinton). Kilpatrick Lake, Minn. Notropis.. This includes the smaller and weaker species, from two to seven inches in length, characterized by the loss, mostly through degeneration, of special peculiarities of mouth, fins, and teeth. These have no barbels and never more than four teeth Fic. 294.—Silver-jaw Minnow, Ericymba buccata Cope. Defiance, Ohio. in the main row. Few, if any, Asiatic species have so small a number, and in most of these the maxillary still retains its rudimentary barbel. But one American genus (Orthoden) has more than five teeth in the main row and none have more than two rows or more than two teeth in the lower row. By these and other peculiarities it would seem that the American species are at once less primitive and less complex than the Old World Series Ostariophysi 385 forms. There is some evidence that the group is derived from Asia through western America, the Pacific Coast forms being much nearer the Old World types than the forms inhabiting the Mississippi Valley. Not many Cyprinide are found in Mexico, none in Cuba, South America, Australia, Africa, or the islands to the eastward of Borneo. Many species are very widely distributed, many others extremely local. In the genus Notro- pts, each river basin in the Southern States has its series of different and mostly highly colored species. The presence of Notropis niveus in the Neuse, Notropis pyrrhomelas in the Santee, Notro- pis zonisttus in the Chattahoochee, Notropis callistius, tri- chroistius, and stigmaturus in the Alabama, Notropis whippled in Fig. 295.—Silverfin, Notropis whippler (Girard). White River, Indiana. Family Cyprinide. the Mississippi, Notropis galacturus in the Tennessee, and Notro- pts cercostigma in the Sabine forms an instructive series in this regard. These fishes and the darters (Etheostomine) are, among American fishes, the groups best suited for the study of local problems in distribution. Species of Dace and Shiner.—Noteworthy species in other genera are the following: Largest and best known of the species of Notroprs is the familiar shiner or redfin, Notropts cornutus, found in almost every brook throughout the region east of the Missouri River. Campostoma anomalum, the stone-roller, has the very long intestines six times the length of its body, arranged in fifteen coils around’ the air-bladder. This species feeds on mud and spawns in little brooks, swarming in early spring throughout 386 Series Ostariophysi the Mississippi Valley, and is notable for its nuptial tubercles and the black and orange fins. ; In the negro-chub, Exoglossum maxtllingua of the Pennsyl- Fig. 296 —Stone-roller, Campostoma anomalum (Rafinesque). Family Cyprinide. Showing nuptial tubercles and intestines coiled about the air-bladder. vanian district, the rami of the lower jaw are united for their -whole length, looking like a projecting tongue. The fallfish, Semotilus corporalis, is the largest chub of the Eastern rivers, 18 inches long, living in swift, clear rivers. It is a soft fish, and according to Thoreau ‘‘it tastes like brown paper salted’’ when itis cooked. Close to this isthe horned dace, Semotilus atromaculatus, and the horny head, Hybopsis kentuckt- ensis, both among the most widely distributed of our river fishes. These are all allied to the gudgeon (Gobio gobio), a common boys’ fish ey of the rivers of Europe, and much Fic. 297—Head of Day-chub, Ezo- glossum maxillingua (Le Sueur). sought by anglers who can get Shenandoah River. nothing better. The bream, Abramis, represented by numerous species in Europe, has a deep compressed body and a very long anal fin. It is also well repre- sented in America, the golden shiner, common in Eastern and Southern streams, being Abramis chrysoleucus. The bleak of Europe (Alburnus alburnus) is a ‘“‘shiner’’ close to some of our species of Notropis, while the minnow of Europe, Phoxinus phoxinus, resembles our gorgeously colored Chrosomus erythro- Series Ostariophysi 387 gaster. Other European forms are the roach (Rutilus rutilus), the chub (Leuciscus cephalus), the dace (Leuciscus leuciscus), Fic. 298.—Horned Dace, Semotilus atromaculatus (Mitchill), Aux Plaines River, Ills. Family Cyprinide. the ide (Idus tidus), the red-eye (Scardinius erythropthalmus), and the tench (Tinca tinca). The tench is the largest of the European species, and its virtues with those of its more or less Fic. 299.—Shiner, Abramis chrysoleucus (Mitchill). Hackensack River, N. J. insignificant allies are set forth in the pages of Izaak Walton. All of these receive more attention from anglers in England than their relatives receive in America. All the American Cyprinide are ranked as “‘boys’ fish,’’ and those who seek the trout or black bass or even the perch or crappie will not notice them. Thoreau speaks of the boy who treasures the yellow 388 Series Ostariophysi perch as a real fish: ‘‘So many unquestionable fish he counts, then so many chubs which he counts, then throws away.” Chubs of the Pacific Slope.—In the Western waters are numer- ous genera, some of the species reaching a large size. The species Fie. 800.—The Squawfish, Ptychocheilus grandis Agassiz. (Photograph by Cloudsley Rutter.) of squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius in the Colorado, Ptychocheilus grandis in the Sacramento, and Ptychocheilus oregonensts in the Columbia) reach a length of 4 or 5 feet or even more. These fishes are long and slender, with large toothless mouths and the aspect of a pike. Allied to these are the ‘“‘hard tails”’ (Gila elegans and Gila robusta) of the Colorado Basin, strange-looking fishes scarcely eatable, with lean bodies, flat heads, and expanded tails. The split-tail, Pogonichthys macrolepidotus, is found in the Sacramento. In the chisel-mouth, Acrocheilus alutaceus, of the Columbia the lips have a hard cutting edge. In Meda, very small fishes i) ition ay)! Fia 301—Chub of the Great Basin, Leuciscus lineatus (Girard). Heart Lake, Yellowstone Park. Family Cyprinide. of the Colorado Basin, the dorsal has a compound spine of peculiar structure. Many of the species of Western waters belong to the genus Leuciscus, which includes also many species Series Ostariophysi 389 of Asia and Europe. The common Japanese dace (Leuciscus hakuensis) is often found out in the sea, but, in general, Cyprinide are only found in fresh waters. The genus of barbels (Barbus) contains many large species in Europe and Asia. In these the barbel is better developed than in most other genera, a character which seems to indicate a primitive organization. Barbus mosal of the mountains of India is said to reach a length of more than six feet and to have “scales as large as the palm of the hand.”’ The Carp and Goldfish.—In the American and European Cy- prinide the dorsal fin is few-rayed, but in many Asiatic species it is longer, having 15 to 20 rays and is often preceded by a ser- rated spine like that of a catfish. Of the species with long dorsal the one most celebrated is the carp (Cyprinus carpio). This fish is a native of the rivers of China, where it has been domesticated for centuries. Nearly three hundred years ago it was brought to northern Europe, where it has multiplied in domestication and become naturalized in many streams and ponds. Of late years the cultivation of the carp has attracted much attention in America. It has been generally satisfactory where the nature of the fish is understood and where expecta- tions have not been too high. The carp is a dull and sluggish fish, preferring shaded, tran- quil, and weedy waters with muddy bottoms. Its food con- sists of water insects and other small animals, and vegetable matter, such as the leaves of aquatic plants. They can be fed on much the same things as pigs and chickens, and they bear much the same relation to trout and bass that pigs and chickens do to wild game and game-birds. The carp is a very hardy fish, grows rapidly, and has immense fecundity, 700,000 eggs having been found in the ovaries of a single individual. It reaches sometimes a weight of 30 to 40 pounds. As a food- fish the carp cannot be said to hold a high place. It is tolerated in the absence of better fish. The carp, either native or in domestication, has many ene- mies. In America, catfish, sunfish, and pike prey upon its eggs or its young, as well as water-snakes, turtles, kingfishes, cray- fishes, and many other creatures which live about our ponds and in sluggish streams. In domestication numerous varieties 390 Series Ostariophysi of carp have been formed, the “leather-carp’’ (Lederkarpfen) being scaleless, others, ‘‘mirror-carp’’ (Spiegelkarpfen), having rows of large scales only along the lateral line or the bases of the fins. Closely allied to the carp is the goldfish (Carassius auratus). This is also a common Chinese fish introduced in domestication into Europe and America. The golden-yellow color is found only in domesticated specimens, and is retained by artificial selection. The native goldfish is olivaceous in color, and where the species has become naturalized (as in the Potomac River, where it has escaped from fountains in Washington) it reverts to its natural greenish hue. The same change occurs in the rivers of Japan. The goldfish is valued solely for its bright colors as an ornamental fish. It has no beauty of form nor any interesting habits, and many of our native fishes (Percide, Cyprinide) far excel it in attractiveness as aquarium fishes. - Unfortunately they are less hardy. Many varieties and mon- strosities of the goldfish have been produced by domestication. The Catostomide.—The suckers, or Catostomide, are an off- shoot from the Cyprinide, differing chiefly in the structure of the mouth and of the lower pharyngeal bones. The border of the mouth above is formed mesially by the small premaxillaries and laterally by the maxillaries. The teeth of the lower pharyngeals are small and very numerous, arranged in one series like the teeth of acomb. The lips are usually thick and fleshy, and the dorsal fin is more or less elongate (its rays eleven to fifty in number), characters which distinguish the suckers from the American Cyprinide generally, but not from those of the Old World. About sixty species of suckers are known, all of them found in the rivers of North America except two, which have been re- pq 309—Lower Bia corded on rather uncertain authority from ryngeal of Placopha- Siberia and China. Only two or three of eens “ the species extend their range south of the Tropic of Cancer into Mexico or Central America, and none Series Ostariophysi 391 occurs in Cuba nor in any of the neighboring islands. The majority of the genera are restricted to the region east of the Rocky Mountains, although species of Catostomus, Chasmistes, Deltistes, Xyrauchen, and Pantosteus are {ound in abundance in the Great Basin and the Pacific slope. In size the suckers range from six inches in length to about three feet. As food-fishes they are held in low esteem, the flesh of all being flavorless and excessively full of small bones. Most of them are sluggish fishes; they inhabit all sorts of streams, lakes, and ponds, but even when in mountain brooks they gather in the eddies and places of greatest depth and least current. They feed on insects and small aquatic animals, and also on mud, taking in their food by suction. They are not very tenacious of life. Most of the species swarm in the spring in shallow waters. In the spawning season they migrate up smaller streams than those otherwise inhabited by them. The Fic. 303.—Creekfish or Chub-sucker, Erimyzon sucetta (Lacép4de). Nipisink : Lake, Illinois. Family Catostomide. large species move from the large rivers into smaller ones; the small brook species go into smaller brooks. In some cases the males in spring develop black or red pigment on the body or fins, and in many cases tubercles similar to those found in the Cyprinide appear on the head, body, and anal and caudal fins. The buffalo-fishes and carp-suckers, constituting the genera Ictiobus and Carpiodes, are the largest of the Catostomide, and 392 Series Ostariophysi bear a considerable resemblance to the carp. They have the dorsal fin many-rayed and the scales large and coarse. They Fig. 304.—Buffalo-fish, Ictiobus cyprinella (Cuv. & Val.). Normal, Ill. abound in the large rivers and lakes between the Rocky Mountains and the Alleghanies, one species being found in Central America and a species of a closely related genus (Myxocyprinus asiaticus) Fic. 805.—Carp-sucker, Carpiodes cyprinus (Le Sueur). Havre de Grace. being reported from eastern Asia. They rarely ascend the smaller rivers except for the purpose of spawning. Although so abundant in the Mississippi Valley as to be of importance commerically, they are very inferior as food-fishes, being coarse and bony. The genus Cycleptus contains the black-horse, or Missouri sucker, a peculiar species with a small head, elongate Series Ostariophysi 393 body, and jet-black coloration, which comes up the smaller tivers tributary to the Mississippi and Ohio in large numbers Fic. 806—Common Sucker, Catostomus commersoni (Le Sueur). Ecorse, Mich. in the spring. Most of the other suckers belong to the genera Catostomus and Moxostoma, the latter with the large-toothed Placopharynx being known, from the red color of the fins, as Fig. 307.—California Sucker, Catostomus occidentalis Agassiz. (Photograph by Cloudsley Rutter.) red-horse, the former as sucker. Some of the species are very widely distributed, two of them (Catostomus commersom, Eri- myzon sucetta) being found in almost every stream east of the Rocky Mountains and Catostomus catostomus throughout Canada to the Arctic Sea. The most peculiar of the suckers in appear- ance is the harelip sucker (Quassilabia lacera) of the Western rivers. Very singular in form is the hump-back or razor-back sucker of the Colorado, Xyrauchen cypho. Fossil Cyprinide.—Fossil Cyprinide@, closely related to exist- ing forms, are found in abundance in fresh-water deposits of the Tertiary, but rarely if ever earlier than the Miocene. Cyprinus 394 Series Ostariophysi priscus occurs in the Miocene of Germany, perhaps showing that Germany was the original home of the so-called “German carp,” afterwards actually imported to Germany from China. Some specimens referred to Barbus, Tinca, Rhodeus, Aspius, and Gobio are found in regions now inhabited by these genera, and many species are referred to the great genus Leuciscus, Leu- ciscus eningensis from the Miocene of Germany being perhaps the best known. Several species of Leuciscus or related genera are found in the Rocky Mountain region. Among these is the recently de- scribed Leuciscus turnert. Fossil Catostomide are very few and chiefly referred to the genus Amyzon, supposed to be allied to Erimyzon, but Be Ga ene with a longer dorsal. Amyzon commune er, Catostomus macro- and other species are found in the Rocky “ts. Mountains, especially in the Miocene of the South Park in Colo- rado and the Eocene of Wyoming. Two or three species of Fie. 309. —Razor-back Sucker, X’ meee cypho (Lockington). Green River, tah. Catostomus, known by their skulls, are found in the Pliocene of Idaho. The Loaches.—The Cobitide, or loaches, are small fishes, all less than a foot in length, inhabiting streams and ponds of Europe and Asia. In structure they are not very different from minnows, but they are rather eel-like in form, and the numerous Series Ostariophysi 395 long barbels about the mouth strongly suggest affinity with the catfishes. The scales are small, the pharyngeal teeth few, and the air-bladder, as in most small catfishes, enclosed in a capsule. The loaches are all bottom fishes of dark colors, tenacious of life, feeding on insects and worms. ‘The species often bury themselves in mud and sand. They lie quiet on the bottom and move very quickly when disturbed much after the manner of darters and gobies. Species of Cobitis and Mis- gurnus are widely distributed from England to Japan. Nema- chilus barbatulus is the commonest European species. Cobitis tenia is found, almost unchanged, from England to the streams of Japan. Remains of fossil loaches, mostly indistinguishable from Cobitis, occur in the Miocene and more recent rocks. From ancestors of loaches or other degraded Cyprinide we may trace the descent of the catfishes. The Homalopteride are small loaches in the mountain streams of the East Indies. They have no air-bladder and the number of pharyngeal teeth (10 to 16) is greater than in the loaches, carp, or minnows. CHAPTER XXIV THE NEMATOGNATHI, OR CATFISHES PIHE Nematognathi—The Nematognathi (vijua, thread; | vvados, jaw), known collectively as catfishes, are ‘ recognized at once by the fact that the rudimentary and Gavalty toothless maxillary is developed as the bony base of a long barbel or feeler. Usually other feelers are found around the head, suggesting the “smellers” of a cat. The body is never scaly, being either naked and smooth or else more or less completely mailed with bony plates which often resemble superficially those of a sturgeon. Other distinctive characters are found in the skeleton, notably the absence of the subopercle, but the peculiar development of the maxillary and its barbel with the absence of scales is always distinctive. The symplectic is usually absent, and in some the air-bladder is reduced to a rudiment inclosed in a bony capsule. In almost all cases a stout spine exists in the front of the dorsal fin and in the front of each pectoral fin. This spine, made of modified or coalescent soft rays, is often a strong weapon with serrated edges and capable of inflicting a severe wound. When the fish is alarmed, it sets this spine by a rotary motion in its socket joint. It can then be depressed only by breaking it. By a rotary motion upward and toward the body the spine is again lowered. The wounds made by this spine are often painful, but this fact is due not to a specific poison but to the irregular cut and to the slime of the spine. In two genera, Noturus and Schilbeodes, a poison-gland exists at the base of the pectoral spine, and the wound gives a sharp pain like the sting of a hornet and almost exactly like the sting of a scorpion-fish. Most of the Nematognathi possess a fleshy or adipose fin behind the dorsal, exactly as in the salmon. In Ii—I12 396 The Nematognathi, or Catfishes 397 a few cases the adipose fin develops an anterior spine and occasionally supporting rays. All the Nematognathi are carnivorous bottom feeders, de- vouring any prey they can swallow. Only a few enter the sea, and they occur in the greatest abundance in the Amazon region. Upward of 1200 species, arranged in 150 genera, are recorded. They vary greatly in size, from two inches to six feet in length. All are regarded as food-fishes, but the species in the sea have very tough and flavorless flesh. Some of the others are extremely delicate, with finely flavored flesh and a grateful absence of small bones. Families of Nematognathi—According to Dr. Eigenmann’s scheme of classification,* the most primitive family of Nema- tognathi is that of Diplomystide, characterized by the pres- ence of a well-developed maxillary, as in other soft-rayed fishes. The single species, Diplomystes papillosus, is found in the waters of Chile. Similar to the Diplomystide in all other respects is the great central family of Siluride, by far the most numerous and im- portant of all the divisions of Nematognatht. The Siluride.—This group has the skin naked or imperfectly mailed, the barbels on the head well developed, the dorsal short, inserted forward, the adipose fin without spine, and the lower pharyngeals separate. All the marine catfishes and most of the fresh-water species belong to this group, and its members, some 700 species, abound in all parts of the world where cat- fishes are known—‘‘a bloodthirsty and bullying race of rangers inhabiting the river bottoms with ever a lance at rest and ready to do battle with their nearest neighbor.” The Sea Catfish.—In the tropical seas are numerous species of catfishes belonging to Tachysurus, Arius, Galeichthys, Felich- thys, and other related genera. These are sleek, silvery fishes covered with smooth skin, the head usually with a coat of mail, pierced by a central fontanelle. Some of them reach a con- siderable size, swarming in sandy bays. None are valued as food, being always tough and coarsely flavored. Sea birds, as the pelican, which devour these catfishes are often destroyed by * A Revision of the South American Nematognathi, 1890, p. 7. 398 The Nematognathi, or Catfishes the sudden erection of the pectoral spines. None of these are found in Europe or in Japan. Of the very many American species the gaff-topsail catfish (Felichthys felts), noted for its Fic. 310. —Gaff-topsail Cat, Felichthys felis (L.). Woods Hole. very high spines, extends farthest north and is one of the very largest species. This genus has two barbels at the chin. Most others have four. The commonest sea catfish of the Carolina coast is Galeichthys milbertt. In Tachysurus the teeth Fic. 811.—Sea Catfish, Galeichthys milberti (Cuv. & Val.). Pensacola. on the palate are rounded, in most of the others they are in villiform bands. In most or all of the sea catfish the eggs, as large as small peas, are taken into the mouth of the male and there cared for until hatched. The Channel Cats.—In all the rivers of North America east of the Rocky Mountains are found catfishes in great variety. The channel cats, [ctalurus, known most readily by the forked tails, are the largest in size and most valued as food. The tech- The Nematognathi, or Catfishes 399 nical character of the genus is the backward continuation of the supraoccipital, forming a bony bridge to the base of the dorsal. The great blue cat, Ictalurus jurcatus, abounds throughout the large rivers of the Southern States and reaches a weight of 150 pounds or more. It is an excellent food and its firm flesh is read- ily cut into steaks. In the Great Lakes and northward is a very similar species, also of large size, which has been called Ictalurus Fie. 312.—Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque). Illinois River. Family Siluride. lacustris, Another similar species is the willow cat, Ictalurus anguilla. The white channel-cat, Ictalurus punctatus, reaches a much smaller size and abounds on the ripples in clear swift streams of the Southwest, such as the Cumberland, the Alabama, and the Gasconade. It is a very delicate food-fish, with tender white flesh of excellent flavor. Horned Pout.—The genus Amezurus includes the smaller brown catfish, horned pout, or bullhead. The body is more plump and the caudal fin is usually but not always rounded. The many species are widely diffused, abounding in brooks, lakes, and ponds. Ameturus nebulosus is the best-known species, ranging from New England to Texas, known in the East as horned pout. It has been successfully introduced into the Sacramento, where it abounds, as well as its congener, Amezurus catus, the white bullhead, brought with it from the Potomac. The latter species has a broader head and concave or notched tail. All the species are good food-fishes. All are extremely tenacious of life, and all are alike valued by the urchin, for they will bite vigorously at any sort of bait. All must be handled with care, for the sharp pectoral spines make an ugly cut, a species of wound 400 The Nematognathi, or Cattishes from which few boys’ hands in the catfish region are often free. In the caves about Conestoga River in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a partly blind catfish, evidently derived from (From life by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt.) Fig. 313.—Horned Pout, Ameiurus nebulosus (Le Sueur). local species outside the cave. It has been named Gronias nigrilabris. A few species are found in Mexico, one of them, Ictalurus The Nematognathi, or Catfishes 401 mertdionalis, as far south as Rio Usamacinta on the boundary of Guatemala. Besides these, a large channel-cat of peculiar dentition, known as Istlarius balsanus, abounds in the basin of Rio Balsas. In Mexico all catfishes are known as Bagre, this species as Bagre de Rio. The genus Leptops includes the great yellow catfish, or goujon, known at once by the projecting lower jaw. It is a mottled olive and yellow fish of repulsive exterior, and it reaches a very great size. It is, however, a good food-fish. The Mad-toms.— The genera Noturus and Schilbeodes are composed of diminutive catfishes, having the pectoral spine armed at base, with a poison sac which renders its sting ex- Fie, 814 —Mad-tom, Schilbeodes furiosus Jordan & Meek. Showing the poisoned pectoral spine. Family Stluride. Neuse River. tremely painful though not dangerous. The numerous species of this genus, known as ‘“‘mad-toms”’ and ‘‘stone cats,’ live among weeds in brooks and sluggish streams. Most of them rarely exceed three inches in length, and their varied colors make them attractive in the aquarium. The Old World Catfishes—In the catfishes of the Old World and their relatives, the adipose fin is rudimentary or wanting. The chief species found in Europe is the huge sheatfish, or wels, Silurus glanis. This, next to the sturgeon, is the largest river fish in Europe, weighing 300 to 4oo pounds. It is not found in Eng- land, France, or Italy, but abounds in the Danube. It isa lazy fish, hiding in the mud and thus escaping from nets. It is very voracious, and many stories are told of the contents of its stomach. A small child swallowed whole is recorded from Thorn, and there are still more remarkable stories, but not 402 The Nematognathi, or Catfishes properly vouched for. The sheatfish is brown in color, naked, sleek, and much like an American Ameiurus save that its tail is much longer and more eel-like. Another large catfish, known to the ancients, but only recently rediscovered by Agassiz and Garman, is Parastlurus artstotelis of the rivers of Greece. In China and Japan is the very similar Namazu, or Japanese catfish, Parastlurus asotus, often found in ponds and used as food. Numerous smaller related catfishes, Porcus (Bagrus), Pseudo- bagrus, and related genera swarm in the brooks and ponds of the Orient. In the genus Torpedo (Malapterurus) the dorsal fin is wanting. Torpedo electricus, the electric catfish of the Nile, is a species of much interest to anatomists. The shock is like that of a Leyden jar. The structures concerned are noticed on p. 58. Fic. 315.—Electric Catfish, Torpedo electricus (Gmelin). Congo River. (After Boulenger.) The generic name Torpedo was applied to the electric catfish before its use for the electric ray. In South America a multitude of genera and species cluster around the genus Pimelodus. Some of them have the snout very long and spatulate. Most of them possess a very long adipose fin. The species are generally small in size and with smooth skin like the North American catfishes. Still other species in great numbers are grouped around the genus Doras. In this group the snout projects, bearing the small mouth at its end, and the lateral line is armed behind with spinous shields. All but one of the genera belong to the Amazon district, Syno- dontis being found in Africa. ° Concerning Doras, Dr. Giinther observes: ‘These fishes have excited attention by their habit of traveling during the dry season from a piece of water about to dry up in quest of a pond of greater capacity. These journeys are occasionally of such a length that the fish spends whole nights on the way, The Nematognathi, or Catfishes 403 and the bands of scaly travelers are sometimes so large that the Indians who happen to meet them fill many baskets of the prey thus placed in their hands. The Indians suppose that the fish carry a supply of water with them, but they have no special organs and can only do so by closing the gill-openings or by retaining a little water between the plates of their bodies, as Hancock supposes. The same naturalist adds that they make regular nests, in which they cover up their eggs with care and defend them, male and female uniting in this parental duty until the eggs are hatched. The nest is constructed, at the beginning of the rainy season, of leaves and is sometimes placed in a hole scooped out of the beach.” The Sisoride—The Szsoride are small catfishes found in swift mountain streams of northern India. In some of the genera (Pseudecheneis) in swift streams a sucking-disk formed of longitudinal plates of skin is formed on the breast. This enables these fishes to resist the force of the water. In one genus, Exostoma, plates of skin about the mouth serve the same purpose. The Bunocephalide are South American catfishes with the dorsal fin undeveloped and the top of the head rough. In Platystacus (Aspredo), the eggs are carried on the belly of the female, which is provided with spongy tentacles to which the eggs are attached. After the breeding season the ventral sur- face becomes again smooth. The Plotoside.— The Plotoside are naked catfishes, largely marine, found along the coasts of Asia. In these fishes the second dorsal is very long. Plotosus anguillaris, the sea catfish of Japan, is a small species striped with yellow and armed with sharp pectoral spines which render it a very disagreeable object to the fishermen. In sandy bays like that of Nagasaki it is very abundant. Allied to this is the small Asiatic family of Chacide. The Chlariide—The Chlariide are eel-like, with a soft skele- ’ ton and a peculiar accessory gill. These abound in the swamps and muddy streams of India, where some species reach a length of six feet. One species, Chlarias magur, has been brought by the Chinese to Hawaii, where it flourishes in the same 404 The Nematognathi, or Catfishes waters as Ameiturus nebulosus, brought from the Potomac and by Chinese carried from San Francisco. The Hypophthalmide and Pygidiide.— The Hypophthalmide have the minute air-bladder inclosed in a long bony capsule. The eyes are placed very low and the skin is smooth. The statement that this family lacks the auditory apparatus is not correct. The few species belong to northern South America. Allied to this group is the family Pygidizde with a differ- ently formed bony capsule and no adipose fin. The numerous species are all South American, mostly of mountain streams of high altitude. Some are very small. Certain species are said to flee for protection into the gill-cavity of larger cat- Fic. 316.—An African Catfish, Chlarias breviceps Boulenger. Congo River. Family Chlarvide. (After Boulenger.) fishes. Some are reported to enter the urethra of bathers, causing severe injuries. The resemblance of certain species to the loaches, or Cobitide, is very striking. This similarity is due to the results of similar environment and necessarily parallel habits. The Argid@ have the capsule of the air-bladder formed in a still different fashion. The few species are very small, inhabitants of the streams of the high Andes. The Loricariide.—tIn the family of Loricariide the sides and back are armed with rough bony plates. The small air-bladder is still in a bony capsule, and the mouth is small with thick fringed lips. The numerous species are all small fishes of the South American waters, bearing a strong external resemblance to Agonide, but wholly different in anatomy. The Callichthyide.— The Callichthyide are also small fishes armed with a bony interlocking coat of mail. They are closely allied to the Pygidiide. The body is more robust than in the Callichthyide and the coat of mail is differently formed. The species swarm in the rivers of northern South America, where The Nematognathi, or Catfishes 405 with the mailed Loricariide they form a conspicuous part of the fish fauna. Fossil Catfishes——Fossil catfishes are very few in number. Siluride, allied to Chlarias, Bagarius, Hetero- branchus, and other fresh-water forms of India, are foundin the late Tertiary rocks of Sumatra, and catfish spines exist in the Tertiary tocks of the United States. Verte- bre in the Canadian Oligocene have been referred by Cope to species of Ameiurus (A. cancellatus and A. f maconnellt). Rhineastes peltatus and six other species, perhaps allied to Pimelodus, have been described by Cope from Eocene of Wyoming and Colorado. Bucklandium diluvit is found in the Eocene London clays, and several species apparently marine, referred to the neighbor- hood of Tachysurus or Arius, are found in Eocene rocks of England. There is no evidence that the group of catfishes has any great antiquity, or that its members were ever so numerous and varied as at the present time. The group is evidently derived from scaly ances- tors, and its peculiarities are due to specialization of certain parts and degeneration of others. There is not the slightest reason for regarding the catfishes as direct descendants of the sturgeon or other Ganoid type. They should rather be looked upon as a degener- ate and highly modified offshoot Fia. Ri bepeeia wien. Steindach- from the primitive Characins. ner, a mailed Catfish from Rio Meta, Venezuela. Family Loricariide. (After Steindachner. ) Pek tented LS! ej —— = site sot al at datas a = SSIES 3 — 406 The Nematognathi, or Catfishes Order Gymnonoti.—At the end of the series of Ostariophysans we may place the Gymnonoti (yupvos, bare; vGros, back). This group contains about thirty species of fishes from the rivers of South America and Central America. All are eel-like in form, though the skeleton with the shoulder-girdle suspended from the cranium is quite unlike that of a true eel. There is no dorsal fin. The vent is at the throat and the anal is ex- cessively long. The gill-opening is small as in the eel, and as in most elongate fishes, the ventral fins are undeveloped. The body is naked or covered with small scales. Two families are recognized, differing widely in appearance. The Electrophoride constitutes by itself Cope’s order of Glanen- cheli (yAavis, catfish; eyyeAvs, eel). This group he regards as intermediate between the eel-like catfishes (Chlarias) and the true eels. It is naked and eel-shaped, with a _ short head and projecting lower jaw like that of the true eel. The single species, Electrophorus electricus, inhabits the rivers of Brazil, reaching a length of six feet, and is the most powerful of all electric fishes. Its electric organs on the tail are derived from modified muscular tissue. The Gymnotide are much smaller in size, with compressed scaly bodies and the mouth at the end of a long snout. The numerous species are all fishes without electric organs. Ezgen- mannia humboldt1 of the Panama region is a characteristic species. No fossil Gymnonoti are recorded. CHAPTER XXV THE SCYPHOPHORI, HAPLOMI, AND XENOMI @)|RDER Scyphophori.— The Scyphophori (cxvdos, cup: gopew, to bear) constitutes a small order which lies —| apparently between the Gymnonoti and the Isospondyli. Boulenger unites 1t with the Isospondyli. The species, about seventy-five in number, inhabit the rivers of Africa, where they are important as food-fishes. In all there is a deep cavity on each side of the cranium covered by a thin bony plate, the supertemporal bone. There is no symplectic bone, and the subopercle is very small or concealed. The gill-openings are narrow and there are no pharyngeal teeth. The air-bladder connects with the ear, but not apparently in the same way as with the Ostariophysan fishes, to which, however, the Scypho- phort are most nearly related. In all the Scyphophori the body is oblong, covered with cycloid scales, the head is naked, there are no barbels, and the small mouth is at the end of a long snout.. All the species possess a peculiar organ on the tail, _which with reference to a similar structure in Torpedo and Electrophorus is held to be a degenerate electric organ. Accord- ing to Gunther, “it is without electric functions, but evidently representing a transitional condition from muscular substance to an electric organ. It is an oblong capsule divided into numerous compartments by vertical transverse septa and con- taining a gelatinous substance.” The Mormyridez.— There are two families of Scyphophort. The Mormyride have the ordinary fins and tail of fishes and the Gymnarchide are eel-like, with ventrals, anal and caudal wanting. Gymnarchus miloticus of the Nile reaches a length of six feet, and it is remarkable as retaining the cellular structure of the air-bladder as seen in the garpike and bowfin. It doubtless serves as an imperfect lung. 407 408 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi The best-known genus of Scyphophori is Mormyrus. Species of this genus found in the Nile were worshiped as sacred by the ancient Egyptians and pictures of Mormyrus are often seen among the emblematic inscriptions. The Egyptians did not eat the Mormyrus because with two other fishes it was accused of having devoured a limb from the body of Osiris, so that Isis was unable to recover it when she gathered the scattered re- mains of her husband. In Mormyrus the bones of the head are covered by skin, the snout is more or less elongated, and the tail is generally short and insignificant. One of the most characteristically eccentric species is Guathonemus curvtrostris, lately discovered by Dr. Boulenger from the Congo. Fossil Mormyride are un- known. The Haplomi.—In the groups called Imiom: and Lyopomt, the mesocoracoid arch is imperfect or wanting, a condition Fig. 318.—Gnathonemus curvirostris Boulenger. Family Mormyride. Congo River. (After Boulenger.) s which in some cases may be due to the degeneration produced by deep-sea life. In the eels a similar condition obtains. In the group called Haplomi (amhoos, simple; os, shoulder), as in all the groups of fishes yet to be discussed, this arch is wholly wanting at all stages of development. In common with the Isospondyli and with soft-rayed fishes in general the air-bladder has a persistent air-duct, all the fins are without true spines, the ventral fins are abdominal, and the scales are cycloid. The group is a transitional one, lying almost equidistant between the J sospondylt and the Acanthopterygii. Gill unites it with the latter and Woodward with the former. We may regard it for the present The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi 409 as a distinct order, although no character of high importance separates it from either. Hay unites the Haplomi with the Synentognathi to form the order of Mesichthyes, or transitional fishes, but the affinities of either with other groups are quite as well marked as their relation to each other. Boulenger unites the Intomi with the Haplomi, an arrangement which apparently has merit, for the most primitive and non-degenerate Iniomz, as Aulopus and Synodus, lack both mesocoracoid and orbitosphe- noid. These bones are characteristic of the Isospondyli, but are wanting in Haplomz. There is no adipose dorsal in the typical Haplom, the dorsal is inserted far back, and the head is generally scaly. Most but not all of the species are of small size, living in fresh or brackish water, and they are found in almost all warm regions, though scantily represented in California, Japan, and Polynesia. The four families of typical Haplomi differ considerably from one another and are easily distinguished, although obviously re- lated. Several other families are provisionally added to this group on account of agreement in technical characters, but their actual relationships are uncertain. The Pikes—The FEsocide have the body long and slender and the mouth large, its bones armed with very strong, sharp teeth of different sizes, some of them being movable. The upper jaw is not projectile, and its margin, as in the Salmonzde, is formed by the maxillary. The scales are small, and the dorsal fin far back and opposite the anal, and the stomach is without pyloric ceca. There is but a single genus, Esox (Lucius of Rafinesque), with about five or six living species. Four of these are North American, the other one being found in Europe, Asia, and North America. All the pikes are greedy and voracious fishes, very destruc- tive to other species which may happen to be their neighbors; “mere machines for the assimilation of other’ organisms.” Thoreau describes the pike as “the swiftest, wariest, and most ravenous of fishes, which Josselyn calls the river-wolf. It is a solemn, stately, ruminant fish, lurking under the shadow of a lily-pad at noon, with still, circumspect, voracious eye; motion- less as a jewel set in water, or moving slowly along to take up its position; darting from time to time at such unlucky fish Capps “M “WU Aq oft] Wor) “TT snzonj-rosy ‘OXI UL 6S OT The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenom1_ = 411 or frog or insect as comes within its range, and swallowing it at one gulp. Sometimes a striped snake, bound for greener meadows across the stream, ends its undulatory progress in the same receptacle.” As food-fishes, all the Esocide rank high. Their flesh is white, fine-grained, disposed in flakes, and of excellent flavor. The finest of the Esocide, a species to be compared, as a grand game fish, with the salmon, is the muskallunge (Esox masquinongy). Technically this species may be known by the fact that its cheeks and opercles are both naked on the lower half. It may be known also by its great size and by its EE HE Fie. 320 —-Muskallunge, Esox masquinongy Mitchill. Ecorse, Mich. color, young and old being spotted with black on a golden- olive ground. The muskallunge is found only in the Great Lake region, where it inhabits the deeper waters, except for a short time in the spring, when it enters the streams to spawn. It often reaches a length of six feet and a weight of sixty to eighty pounds. It is necessarily somewhat rare, for no small locality would furnish food for more than one such giant. It is, says Hallock, “a long, slim, strong, and swift fish, in every way formed for the life it leads, that of a dauntless marauder.”’ A second species of muskallunge, Esox ohiensis, unspotted but vaguely cross-barred, occurs sparingly in the Ohio River and the upper Mississippi Valley. It is especially abundant in Chautauqua Lake. The pike (Esox lucius) is smaller than the muskallunge, and is technically best distinguished by the fact that the opercles are naked below, while the cheeks are entirely scaly. The spots and cross-bars in the pike are whitish or yellowish, and always paler than the olive-gray ground color. It is the most 412 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi widely distributed of all fresh-water fishes, being found from the upper Mississippi Valley, the Great Lakes, and New England to Alaska and throughout northern Asia and Europe. It reaches a weight of ten to twenty pounds or more, being a large strong fish in its way, inferior only to the muskallunge. In England Esox lucius is known as the pike, while its young are called by the diminutive term pickerel. In America the name pickerel is usually given to the smaller species, and sometimes even to Esox luctus itself, the wcrd being with us a synonym for pike, not a diminutive. Of the small pike or pickerel we have three species in the eastern United States. They are greenish in color and banded or reticulated, rather than spotted, and, in all, the opercles as well as the cheeks are fully covered with scales. One of these (Esox reticulatus) is the common pickerel of the Eastern States, which reaches a respectable size and is excellent as food. The others, Esox americanus along the Atlantic seaboard and Esox vermiculatus in the middle West, seldom exceed a foot in length and are of no economic importance. Numerous fossil species are found in the Tertiary of Europe, Esox lepidotus from the Miocene of Baden being one of the Fig. 821.—Mud-minnow, Umbra pygmwa (De Kay). New Jersey. earliest and the best known; in this species the scales are much larger than in the recent species. The fossil remains would seem to indicate that the origin of the family was in southern Europe, although most of the living species are American. The Mud-minnows.—Close to the pike is the family of Um- bride, or mud-minnows, which technically differ from the pikes only in the short snout, small mouth, and weak dentition. The The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi 413 mud-minnows are small, sluggish, carnivorous fishes living in the mud at the bottom of cold, clear streams and ponds. They are extremely tenacious of life, though soon suffocated in warm waters. The barred mud-minnow of the prairies of the middle West (Umbra limi) often remains in dried sloughs and bog- holes, and has been sometimes plowed up alive. Umbra pygmea, a striped species, is found in the Eastern States and Umbra cramert in bogs and brooks along the Danube. This wide break in distribution seems to indicate a former wide extension of the range of Umbride, perhaps coextensive with Esox. Fossil Umbride are, however, not yet recognized. The Killifishes——Most of the recent Haplomz belong to the family of Pecilide (killifishes, or Cyprinodonts). In this group the small mouth is extremely protractile, its margin formed by the premaxillaries alone much as in the spiny- rayed fishes. The teeth are small and of various forms accord- ing to the food. In most of the herbivorous forms they are incisor-like, serrate, and loosely inserted in the lips. In the species that eat insects or worms they are more firmly fixed. The head is scaly, the stomach without ceca, and the intes- tines are long in the plant-eating species and short in the others. There are nearly 200 species, very abundant from New England and California southward to Argentina, and in Asia and Africa also. In regions where rice is produced, they swarm in the rice swamps and ditches. Some of them enter the sea, but none of them go far from shore. Some are brilliantly colored, and in many species the males are quite unlike the females, being smaller and more showy. The largest species (Fundulus, Anableps) rarely reach the length of a foot, while Heterandria formosa, a diminutive inhabitant of the Florida rivers, scarcely reaches an inch. Some species are oviparous, but in most of the herbivorous forms, and some of the others, the eggs are hatched within the body, and the anal in the male is modified into a long sword-shaped intromittent organ, placed farther forward than the anal in the female. The young when born closely resemble the parent. Most of the insectivorous species swim at the surface, moving slowly with the eyes partly out of water. This habit in the genus Anableps (four-eyed fish, or Cuatro ojos) is associated with an 414 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi extraordinary structure of the eye. This organ is prominent and is divided by a horizontal partition into two parts, the upper, less convex, adopted for sight in the air, the lower in the water. The few species of Amnableps are found in tropical America. The species of some genera swim near the bottom, but always in very shallow waters. Allare very tenacious of life, and none have any commercial value although the flesh is good. Fig. 322 —Four-eyed Fish, Anableps dovit Gill. Tehuantepec, Mexico. The unique structure of the eye of this curious fish has been carefully studied by Mr. M. C. Marsh, pathologist of the U. 5S. Fish Commission, who furnishes the following notes published by Evermann & Goldsborough: “The eye is crossed by a bar, like the diameter of a circle, and parallel with the length of the body. This bar is darker than the other external portions of the eyeball and has its edges darker still. Dividing the external aspect of the eye equally, it has its lower edge on the same level as the back of the fish, which is flat and straight from snout to dorsal, or nearly the whole length of the fish; so that when the body of the fish is just submerged the level of the water reaches to this bar, and the lower half of the eye is in water, the upper half in the air. Upon dissecting the eyeball from the orbit, it appears nearly round. A membranous sheath covers the external part and invests most of the ball. It may be peeled off, when the dark bar on the external portion of the eye is seen to be upon this membrane, which may correspond to the conjunctiva. The back portion of the eyeball being cut off, one lens is found. The lining of the ball consists, in front, of one black layer, evidently choroid. Behind there is a retinal layer. The choroid layer turns up anteriorly, making a free edge comparable to an iris. The free edge is chiefly evident in the lower part of the eye. A large pupil is left, but is divided by two flaps, continuations of the choroid coat, projecting from either side and overlapping. The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi 415 There are properly then two pupils, an upper and lower, sepa- rated by a band consisting of the two flaps, which may probably, by moving upward and downward, increase or diminish the size of either pupil; an upward motion of the flaps increasing the lower pupil at the expense of the other, and vice versa.” This division of the pupil into two parts permits the fish, when swimming at the surface of the water, as is its usual cus- tom, to see in the air with the upper portion and in the water with the lower. It is thus able to see not only such insects as are upon the surface of the water or flying in the air above, but also any that may be swimming beneath the surface. According to Mr. E. W. Nelson, ‘‘the individuals of this species swim always at the surface and in little schools arranged in platoons or abreast. They always swim headed upstream against the current, and feed upon floating matter which the current brings them. A platoon may be seen in regular for- aN Fic. 323.—Round Minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus Lacépéde. St. George Island, Maryland. mation breasting the current, either making slight headway upstream or merely maintaining their station, and on the qui vive for any suitable food the current may bring. Now and then one may be seen to dart forward, seize a floating food particle, and then resume its place in the platoon. And thus 416 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi they may be observed feeding for long periods. They are almost invariably found in running water well out in the stream, or at least where the current is strongest and where floating matter is most abundant, for it is upon floating matter that they seem chiefly to depend. They are not known to jump out of the water to catch insects flying in the air or resting upon vegetation above the water surface, nor do they seem to feed to any extent upon all small crustaceans or other portions of the plankton beneath the surface. “When alarmed—and they are wary and very easily fright- ened—they escape by skipping or jumping over the water, Fic. 324.—Everglade Minnow, Jordanella floride Goode & Bean. Everglades of Florida. 2 or 3 feet ata skip. They rise entirely out of the water, and at a considerable angle, the head pointing upward. In descending the tail strikes the water first and apparently by a sculling motion new impetus is acquired for another leap. This skipping may continue until the school is widely scattered. When a school has become scattered, and after the cause of their fright has disappeared, the individuals soon rejoin each other. First two will join each other and one by one the others will join them until the whole school is together again. Rarely do they at- tempt to dive or get beneath the surface; when they do they have great difficulty in keeping under and soon come to the surface again.” The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi 417 Of the many genera of Peciliide, top-minnows, and kéilli- fishes we may mention the following: Cyprinodon is made WS Fig. 325.—Mayfish, Fundulus majalis (L.) (male). Woods Hole. up of chubby little fishes of eastern America with tricuspid, incisor teeth, oviparous and omnivorous. Very similar to Be Fic. 826 —Mayfish, Fundulus majalis (female). Woods Hole. these but smaller are the species of Lebias in southern Europe. Jordanella floride of the Florida everglades is similar, but with on Co arcovanie i ee ay So) i NY Fig. 327.—Top-minnow, Zygonectes notatus (Rafinesque). Eureka Springs, Ark the dorsal fin long and its first ray enlarged and spine-like. It strongly resembles a young sunfish. Most of the larger forms 418 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi belong to Fundulus, a genus widely distributed from Maine to Guatemala and north to Kansas and southern California. Fundulus majalis, the Mayfish of the Atlantic Coast, is the largest of the genus. Fundulus heteroclitus, the killifish, the most abundant. Fundulus diaphanus inhabits sea and lake al ee Fic. 328.—Death Valley Fish, Empetrichthys merriami Gilbert. Amargosa Desert, Cal. Family Peciliide. (After Gilbert.) indiscriminately. Fundulus stellifer of the Alabama is beauti- fully colored, as is Fundulus zebrinus of the Rio Grande. The genus Zygonectes includes dwarf species similar to Fundulus, and Adina includes those with short, deep body. Goodea atrtpinnis with tricuspid teeth lives in warm springs in Mexico, Fic. 329.—Sword-tail Minnow, male, Xiphophorus helleri Heckel. The anal fin modified as an intromittent organ. Vera Cruz. and several species of Goodea, Gambusia, Pecilia, and other genera inhabit hot springs of Mexico, Central America, and Africa. The genus Gambusia, the top-minnows, includes nu- merous species with dwarf males having the anal modified. Gambusia affinis abounds in all kinds of sluggish water in The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi 419 the southern lowlands, gutters and even sewers included. It brings forth its brood in early spring. Viviparous and her- bivorous with modified anal are the species of Pecilia, abundant throughout: Mexico and southward to Brazil: Mollienesta very similar, with a banner-like dorsal fin, showily marked, occurs from Louisiana southward, and X7phophorus, with a sword- shaped lobe on the caudal, abounds in Mexico; Characodon and Goodea in Mexico have notched teeth, and finally, Heterandria contains some of the least of fishes, the handsomely colored males barely half an inch long. In Lake Titicaca in the high Andes is a peculiar genus (Ores- tias) without ventral fins. Still more peculiar is Empetrichthys merriamt of the desert springs of the hot and rainless Death Valley in California, similar to Orestias, but with enormously enlarged pharyngeals and pharyngeal teeth, an adaptation to some unknown purpose. Fossil Cyprinodonts are not rare from the Miocene in southern Europe. The numerous species are allied to Lebias and Cyprinodon, and are referred to Prolebtas and Pachylebias. None are American, although two American extinct genera, Gephyrura and Proballostomus, are probably allied to this group. Amblyopside.—The cave-fishes, Amblyopside, are the most remarkable of the haplomous fishes. In this family the vent is SS == ls Fig. 330.—Dismal Swamp Fish, Chologaster arrtabs Agassiz. Supposed ancestor of Typhlichthys. Virginia. placed at the throat. The form is that of the Peciliide, but the mouth is larger and not protractile. The species are vivip- arous, the young being born at about the length of a quarter of an inch. In the primitive genus Chologaster, the fish of the Dismal Swamp, the eyes are small but normally developed. Cholo- gaster cornutus abounds in the black waters of the Dismal Swamp 420 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi of Virginia, thence southward through swamps and rice-fields to Okefinokee Swamp in northern Florida. It is a small fish, less than two inches long, striped with black, and with the habit of a top-minnow. Other species of Chologaster, possessing eyes and color, but provided also with tactile papilla, are found in cave springs in Tennessee and southern Illinois. From Chologaster is directly descended the small blindfish Typhlichthys subterraneus of the caves of the Subcarboniferous limestone rocks of southern Indiana and southward to northern Alabama. As in Chologaster, the ventral fins are wanting. The eyes, present in the young, become defective and useless in the adult, when they are almost hidden by other tissues. The different parts of the eye are all more or less incomplete, being without function. The structure of the eye has been described in much detail in several papers by Dr. Carl H. Eigen- Fig. 381.—Blind Cave-fish, Typhlichthys pieces Girard. Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. mann. As to the cause of the loss of eyesight two chief theories exist—the Lamarckian theory of the inheritance in the species of the results of disuse in the individual and the Weissmannian doctrine that the loss of sight is a result of panmixia or cessation of selection. This may be extended to cover reversal of selection, as in the depths of the great caves the fish without eyes would be at some slight advantage. Dr. Eigenmann inclines to the Lamarckian doctrine, but the evidence brought forward fails to convince the present writer that results of individual use or disuse ever become hered- itary or that they are ever incorporated in the characters of a species. In the caves of southern Missouri is an inde- pendent case of similar degradation. Troglichthys rose, the blindfish of this region, has the eye in a different phase of degeneration. It is thought to be separately descended from The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi = 421 some other species of Chologaster. Of this species Mr. Garman and Mr. Eigenmann have given detailed accounts from some- what different points of view. Concerning the habits of the blindfish (Troglichthys rose), Mr. Garman quotes the following from notes of Miss Ruth Hoppin, of Jasper County, Missouri: ‘‘For about two weeks I have been watching a fish taken from a well. I gave him considerable water, changed once a day, and kept him in an uninhabitated place subject to as few changes of temperature as possible. He seems perfectly healthy and as lively as when first taken from the well. If not capable of long fasts, he must live on small organisms my eye cannot discern. He is hardly ever still, but moves about the sides of the vessel constantly, down and up, as if needing the air. He never swims through Mp, fp Fig. 332.—Blindfish of the Mammoth Cave, Amblyopsis speleus (De Kay). Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. the body of the water away from the sides unless disturbed. Passing the finger over the sides of the vessel under water I find it slippery. I am careful not to disturb this slimy coating when the water is changed. ... Numerous tests convince me that it is through the sense of touch, and not through hear- ing, that the fish is disturbed; I may scream or strike metal bodies together over him as near as possible, yet he seems to take no notice whatever. If I strike the vessel so that the water is set in motion, he darts away from that side through the mass of water, instead of around in his usual way. If I stir the water or touch the fish, no matter how lightly, his actions are the same.” The more famous blindfish of the Mammoth Cave, Ambly- opsis speleus, reaches a length of five inches. It possesses ventral fins. From this fact we may infer its descent from 422 The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi some extinct genus which, unlike Chologaster, retains these fins. The translucent body, as in the other blindfishes, is covered with very delicate tactile papilla, which form a very delicate organ of touch. The anomalous position of the vent in Amblyopside occurs again in an equally singular fish, Aphredoderus sayanus, which is found in the same waters throughout the same region in which Chologaster occurs. It would seem as if these lowland fishes of the southern swamps were remains of a once much more extensive fauna. No fossil allies of Chologaster are known. Kneriida, etc.—The members of the order of Haplomz, recorded above, differ widely among themselves in various details of osteology. There are other families, probably belonging here, which are still more aberrant. Among these are the Kueriide, and perhaps the entire series of forms called Iniomz, most of which possess the osteological traits of the Haplomzt. The family of Kueriide includes a few very small fishes of the rivers of Africa. The Galaxiide—The Galaxtide are trout-like fishes of the southern rivers, where they take the place of the trout of the northern zones. The species lack the adipose fins and have the dorsal inserted well backward. According to Boulenger these fishes, having no mesocoraoid, should be placed among the Haplom:. Yet their relation to the Haplochitonide is very close and both families may really belong to the Isospondyli. Galaxias truttaceus is the kokopu, or “trout,” of New Zealand. Galaxias ocellatus is the yarra trout of Australia. Several other species are found in southern Australia, Tasmania, Patagonia, and the Falkland Islands, and even in South Africa. This very wide distribution in the rivers remote from each other has given rise to the suggestion of a former land connection between Australia and Patagonia. Other similar facts have led some geologists to believe in the existence of a former great con- tinent called Antarctica, now submerged except that part which constitutes the present unknown land of the Antarctic. Order Xenomi.— We must place near the Haplomi the singular group of Xenomi (Sevos, strange; aos, shoulder), regarded by Dr. Gill as a distinct order. Externally these fish The Scyphophori, Haplomi, and Xenomi = 423 much resemble the mud-minnows, differing mainly in the very broad pectorals. But the skeleton is thin and papery, the two coracoids forming a single cartilaginous plate imperfectly divided. The pectorals are attached directly to this without the inter- vention of actinosts, but in the distal third, according to Dr. Charles H. Gilbert, the coracoid plate begins to break up Fig. 833.—Alaska Blackfish, Dallia pectoralis (Bean). St. Michaels, Alaska. into a fringe of narrow cartilaginous strips, “In the deep-sea eels of the order Heteromi there is a some- what similar condition of the coracoid elements inasmuch as the hypercoracoid and hypocoracoid though present are merely membranous elements surrounded by cartilage. and the acti- nosts are greatly reduced. It seems probable that we are dealing in the two cases with independent degeneration of the shoulder-girdle and that the two groups (Xenomi and Heteromt) are not really related.”” (Gilbert.) Of the single family Dalliide, one species is known, the Alaska blackfish, Dallia pectoralis. This animal, formed like a mud-minnow, reaches a length of eight inches and swarms in the bogs and sphagnum swamps of northwestern Alaska and westward through Siberia. It is found in countless numbers according to its discoverer, Mr. L. M. Turner, “‘wherever there is water enough to wet the skin of a fish,’’? and wherever it occurs it forms the chief food of the natives. Its vitality is most extraordinary. Blackfishes will remain frozen in baskets for weeks and when thawed out are as lively as ever. Turner gives an account of a frozen individual swallowed by a dog which escaped in safety after being thawed out by the heat of the dog’s stomach. CHAPTER XXVI ACANTHOPTERYGII; SYNENTOGNATHI SiIRDER Acanthopterygii, the Spiny-rayed Fishes. — The most of the remaining bony fishes constitute a natural eH) group for which the name Acanthopterygu (axavia, spine; 2réov&, zrepor, fin or wing) may be used. This name is often written Actinopteri, a form equally correct and more . euphonious and convenient. These fishes are characterized, with numerous exceptions, by the presence of fin spines, by the connection of the ventral fins with the shoulder-girdle, by the presence in general of more than one spine in the an- terior part of dorsal and anal fins, and as a rule of one spine and five rays in the ventral fins, and by the absence in the adult of a duct to the air-bladder. Minor characters are these: the pectoral fins are inserted high on the shoulder-girdle, the scales are often ctenoid, and the edge of the upper jaw is formed by the premaxillary alone, the maxillary being always toothless. But it is impossible to define or limit the group by any single character or group of characters. It is connected with the Malacopterygi through the Haplomi on the one hand by transitional groups of genera which may lack any one of these characters. On the other hand, in the extreme forms, each of these distinctive characters may be lost through degenera- tion. Thus fin spines, ctenoid scales, and the homocercal tail are lost in the codfishes, the connection of ventrals with shoulder- girdle fails in the Percesoces, etc., and the development of the air-duct is subject to all sorts of variations. In one family even the adipose fin remains through all the changes and modifications the species have undergone. The various transitional forms between the Haplom: and the perch-like fishes have been from time to time regarded as : 424 Acanthopterygii; Synentognathi 425 separate orders. Some of them are more related to the perch, others rather to ancestors of salmon or pike, while still others are degenerate offshoots, far enough from either. On the whole, all these forms, medium, extreme and tran- sitional, may well be placed in one order, which would include the primitive flying-fishes and mullets, the degraded globefishes, and the specialized flounders. As for the most part these are spiny-rayed fishes, Cuvier’s name Acanthopterygit, or Acanthoptert, will serve us as well as any. The Physoclysti of Muller, the Thoracices of older authors, and the Ctenoide: of Agassiz in- clude substantially the same series of forms. The order Teleo- cephali of Gill (redeos, perfect; xepadn, head) has been lately so restricted as to cover nearly the same ground. In Gill’s most recent catalogue of families, the order Teleocephali in- cludes the Haplom: and rejects the Hemibranchu, Lophobranchit, Plectognatht, and Pediculatt, all of these being groups charac- terized by sharply defined but comparatively recent characters not of the highest importance. As originally arranged, the order Teleocephalt included the soft-rayed fishes as well. From it the Ostariophysit were first detached, and still later the Isospondyl were regarded by Dr. Gill as a separate order. We may first take up serially as suborders the principal groups which serve to effect the transition from soft-rayed to spiny-rayed fishes. Suborder Synentognathi.— Among the transitional forms be- tween the soft-rayed and the spiny-rayed fishes, one of the most important groups is that known as Synentognathi (cvv, to- gether; év, within; yvados, jaw). These have, in brief, the fins and shoulder-girdle of Haplomt, the ventral fins abdominal, the dorsal and anal without spines. At the same time, as in the spiny-rayed fishes, the air-bladder is without duct and the pectoral fins are inserted high on the side of the body. With these traits are two others which characterize the group as a suborder. The lower pharyngeal bones are solidly united into one bone and the lateral line forms a raised ridge along the lower side of the body. These forms are structurally allied to the pikes (Haplomz), on the one hand, and to the mullets (Percesoces), on the other, and this relationship accords with their general appearance. In this group as in all the remain- 426 Acanthopterygii; Synentognathi ing families of fishes, there is no mesocoracoid, and in very nearly all of these families the duct to the air-bladder disappears at an early stage of development. The Garfishes: Belonide.— There are two principal groups or families among the Synentognatht, the Belonide, with strong jaws and teeth, and the Exocetide, in which these structures are feeble. Much more important characters appear in the anatomy. In the Belonide the third upper pharyngeal is small, with few teeth, and the maxillary is firmly soldered to the premaxillary. The vertebre are provided with zygapophyses. The species of Belonide are known as garfishes, or needle- fishes. ° They resemble the garpike in form, but have nothing else in common. The body is long and slender, covered with small scales. Sharp, unequal teeth fill the long jaws and the Fig. 334.—Needle-fish, Tylosurus acus (Lacépéde). New York. dorsal is opposite the anal, on the hinder part of the body. These fishes are green in color, even the bones being often bright green, while the scales on the sides have a silvery luster. The species are excellent as food, the green color being associated with nothing deleterious. All are very voracious and some of the larger species, 5 or 6 feet long, may be dangerous even to man. Fishermen have been wounded or killed by the thrust of the sharp snout of a fish springing into the air. The garfishes swim near the surface of the water and often move with great swiftness, frequently leaping from the water. The genus Belone is characterized by the presence of gill-rakers. Belone belone is a small garfish common in southern Europe. Belone platura occurs in Polynesia. The American species (Tylosurus) lack gill-rakers. Tylosurus marinus, the common garfish of Acanthopterygii; Synentognathi A27 the eastern United States, often ascends the rivers. Tylosurus raphidoma, Tylosurus fodiator, Tylosurus acus, and other species are very robust, with short strong jaws. Athlennes hians is a very large fish with the body strongly compressed, almost ribbon-like. It is found in the West Indies and across the Isthmus as far as Hawaii. Many other species, mostly belong- ing to Tylosurus, abound in the warm seas of all regions. Tylosurus ferox is the long tom of the Australian markets. Potamorrhaphis with the dorsal fin low is found in Brazilian rivers. A few fossil species are referred to Belone, Belone flava from the lower Eocene being the earliest. The Flying-fishes: Exoceetide.—The family of Exocetide in- cludes the flying-fishes and several related forms more or less intermediate between these and the garfishes. In these fishes the teeth are small and nearly equal and the maxillary is sepa- rate from the premaxillary. The third upper pharyngeal is much enlarged and there are no zygapophyses to the vertebre. The skippers (Scombresox) have slender bodies, pointed jaws, and, like the mackerel, a number of detached finlets behind dorsal and anal, although in other respects they show no affinity to the mackerel. The common skipper, or saury (Scombresox saurus), is found on both shores of the North Atlantic swimming in large schools at the surface of the water, frequently leaping for a little distance like the flying-fish. They are pursued by the mackerel-like fishes, as the tunny or bonito, and sometimes by porpoises. According to Mr. Couch, the skippers, when pursued, ‘‘mount to the surface in multitudes and crowd on each other as they press forward. When still more closely pursued, they spring to the height of several feet, leap over each other in singular confusion, and again sink beneath. Still further urged, they mount again and rush along the surface, by repeated starts, for more than one hundred feet, without once dipping beneath or scarcely seeming to touch the water. At last the pursuer springs after them, usually across their course, and again they all disappear together. Amidst such multi- tudes—for more than twenty thousand have been judged to be out of the water together—some must fall a prey to the enemy; but so many hunting in company, it must be long before the pursuers abandon. From inspection we could scarcely judge 428 Acanthopterygii; Synentognathi the fish to be capable of such flights, for the fins, though numerous, are small, and the pectoral far from large, though the angle of their articulation is well adapted to raise the fish by the direction of their motions to the surface.” A similar species, Cololabis saira, with the snout very much shorter than in the Atlantic skipper, is the Samma of the fisher- men of Japan. The hard-head (Chriodorus atherinoides) has no beak at all and its tricuspid incisor teeth are fitted to feed on plants. In this genus, as in the flying-fishes, there are no finlets. The hard- head is an excellent food-fish abundant about the Florida Keys but not yet seen elsewhere. Another group between the gars and the flying-fishes is that of the halfbeaks, or balaos, Hemirhamphus, etc. These are also Fig. 885.—Saury, Scombresox saurus (L.). Woods Hole. vegetable feeders, but with much smaller teeth, and the lower jaw with a spear-like prolongation to which a bright-red mem- brane is usually attached. Of the halfbeaks there are several genera, all of the species swimming near the surface in schools and sometimes very swiftly. Some of them leap into the air and sail for a short distance like flying-fishes, with which group the halfbeaks are connected by easy gradations. The com- Fic. 336 —Halfbeak, Hyporhamphus unifasciatus (Ranzani), Chesapeake Bay. monest species along our Atlantic coast is Hyporhamphus unt- fasciatus; a larger species, Hemirhamphus brasiliensis, abounds about the Florida Keys. Euleptorhamphus longtrostris, a ribbon- shaped elongate fish, with long jaw and long pectorals, is taken in the open sea, both in the Altantic and Pacific, being common in Hawaii. The Asiatic genus Zenarchopterus is viviparous, ing 5 3 a S-5 AD oo op goo SB fn | ars aS ~ aa ow HH & ad oo aa oS oO Qa mM ae n oO rs a e to which parasitic barnacles are attac Exonautes unicolor (Valenc’ ying-fish, tic lernzan crustaceans, Australian Fl parasi 337. Fic. 429 430 Acanthopterygii; Synentognathi having the anal fin much modified in the male, forming an intromittent organ, as in the Peciliide. One species occurs in the river mouths in Samoa. The flying-fishes have both jaws short, and at least the Fic. 838.—Sharp-nosed Flying-fish, Fodiator acutus (Val.). Panama. pectoral fins much enlarged, so that the fish may sail in the air for a longer or shorter distance. The smaller species have usually shorter fins and approach more nearly to the halfbeaks. Fodiator acutus, with sharp jaws, and Hemiexocetus, with a short beak on the lower jaw, are especially intermediate. The flight of the flying-fishes is described in detail on p. 44. The Catalina flying-fish, Cypselurus californicus, of the shore of southern California is perhaps the largest of the known species, reaching a length of 18 inches. To this genus, Cypselurus, having a long dorsal and short anal, and with ventrals en- larged as well as pectorals, belong all the species strongest in flight, Cypselurus heterurus and furcatus of the Atlantic, Cypse- lurus simus of Hawai and Cypselurus agoo in Japan. ‘The very young of most of these species have a long barbel at the chin which is lost with age. In the genus Exonautes the base of anal fin is long, as long as that of the dorsal. Thé species of this group, also strong in flight, are widely distributed. Most of the European flying- fishes, as Exonautes rondelett, Exonautes rubescens, and Exo- nautes vinciguerre, belong to this group, while those of Cypse- lurus mostly inhabit the Pacific. The large Australian species Exonautes unicolor belongs to this group. In the restricted genus Exocetus the ventral fins are short and not used in flight. Exocetus volitans (evolans) is a small flying-fish, with short Acanthopterygil; Synentognathi 43 ventral fins not used for flight. It is perhaps the most widely distributed of all, ranging through almost all warm seas. Parexocetus brachypterus, still smaller, and with shorter, grass- hopper-like wings, is also very widely distributed. An ex- cellent account of the flying-fishes of the world has been given by Dr. C. F. Littken (1876), the University of Copenhagen, Fia. 339.—Catalina Flying-fish, Cypselurus californicus (Cooper). Santa Barbara. which institution has received a remarkably fine series from trading-ships returning to that port. Later accounts have been given by Jordan and Meek, and by Jordan and Ever- mann. Very few fossil Exocetide are found. Species of Scombresox and Hemirhamphus are found in the Tertiary, the earliest being Hemirhamphus edwardst from the Eocene of Monte Bolca. No fossil flying-fishes are known, and the genera, Exocetus, Exo- nautes, and Cypselurus are doubtless all of very recent origin. CHAPTER XXVII PERCESOCES AND RHEGNOPTERI UBORDER Percesoces.—In the line of direct ascending transition from the Haplomi and Synentognathi, the pike and flying-fish, towards the typical perch-like forms, we find a number of families, perch-like in essential regards but having the ventral fins abdominal. These types, represented by the mullet, the silverside, and the barracuda, have been segregated by Cope as an order called Percesoces (Perca, perch: Esox, pike), a name which correctly describes their real affinities. In these typical forms, mullet, silverside, and barracuda, the affinities are plain, but in other transitional forms, as the threadfin and the stickleback, the relationships are less clear. Cope adds to the series of Percesoces the Oplhiocephalide, which Gill leaves with the Anabantide among the spiny-rayed forms. Boulenger adds also the sand- lances (Ammodytid@) and the threadfins (Polynemide), while Woodward places here the Crossognathide. In the present work we define the Percesoces so as to include all spiny-rayed fishes in which the ventral fins are naturally abdominal, except- ing those having a reduced number of gill-bones, or of actinosts, or other peculiarities of the shoulder-girdle. The Ammodytide have no real affinities with the Percesoces. The Crossognathide and other families with abdominal ventrals and the dorsal spines wholly obsolete may belong with the Haplomi. Boulenger places the Chiasmodontide, the Siromatetde, and the Tetragonuride among the Percesoces, an arrangement of very doubtful validity. In most of the Percesoces the scales are cycloid, the spinous dorsal forms a short separate fin, and in all the air-duct is wanting. The Silversides: Atherinide.—The most primitive of living Percesoces constitute the large family of silversides (Atherinide), 432 Percesoces and Rhegnopteri 433 known as “‘fishes of the King,’’ Pescados del Rey, Pesce Rey, or Peixe Re, wherever the Spanish or Portuguese languages are spoken. The species are, in general, small and slender fishes of dry and delicate flesh, feeding on small animals. The mouth is small, with feeble teeth. There is no lateral line, the color is translucent green, with usually a broad lateral band of silver. Sometimes this is wanting, and sometimes it is replaced by burnished black. Some of the species live in lakes or rivers, others in bays or arms of the sea, but never at a distance from the shore or in water of more than a few feet in depth. The larger species are much valued as food, the smaller ones, equally delicate, are fried in numbers as ‘‘ whitebait,’’ but the bones are firmer and more troublesome than in the smelts and young herring. The species of the genus Atherina, known as “ friars,’ or “brit,” are chiefly European, although some occur in almost all warm or temperate seas. These are small fishes, with the mouth relatively large and oblique and the scales rather large and firm. Atherina hepsetus and A. presbyter are common in Europe, Atherina stipes in the West Indies, Atherina bleekert in Japan, and Atherina insularum and A. lacunosa in Polynesia. The genus Chirostoma contains larger species, with project- ing lower jaw, abounding in the lakes of Mexico. Churo- stoma humboldtianum is very abundant about Mexico City. Like all the other species of this genus it is remarkably excellent as food, the different species constituting the famous ‘ Pescados Blancos” of the great lakes of Chapala and Patzcuaro of the western slope of Mexico. A very unusual circumstance is this: that numerous very closely related species occupy the same waters and are taken in the same nets. In zoology, generally, it is an almost universal rule that very closely related species occupy different geographical areas, their separation being due to barriers which prevent interbreeding. But in the lake of Chapala, near Guadalajara, Prof. John O. Snyder and the present writer, and subsequently Dr. S. E. Meek, found ten distinct species of Chirostoma, all living together, taken in the same nets and scarcely distinguishable except on careful examination. Most of these species are very abundant through- out the lake, and all reach a length of twelve to fifteen inches. These species are Chirostoma estor, Ch. lucius, Ch. sphyrena, 434 . Percesoces and Rhegnopteri Ch. ocotlane, Ch. lerme, Ch. chapale, Ch. grandocule, Ch. labarce, Ch. promelas, and Ch. bartoni. A similar assemblage of species wer Fic. 340.—Pescado blanco, Chirostoma humboldtianum (Val.). Lake Chalco, City of Mexico. nearly all different from these was obtained by Dr. Seth E. Meek in the lake of Patzcuaro, farther south. In this lake were found Ch. attenuatum, Ch. patzcuaro, Ch. humboldtianum, Ch. grandocule, and Ch. estor. The lake of Zirahuen, near Chapala, contains Ch. estor and Ch. ztrahuen. Still another species, Ch. jordani, is found about the city of Mexico, where it is sold baked in corn-husks. Along the coasts of Peru, Chile, and Argentina is found still another assemblage of fishes of the king, with very small scales, constituting the genera Basilichthys and Gastropterus (Pisciregia). Basilichthys microlepidotus is the common Pesca del Rey of Chile. The small silversides, or ‘‘brit,’’ of our Atlantic coast belong to numerous species of Menidia, Menidia notata to the northward and Menidia memdia to the southward being most abundant. = ee = Ay ia os ee pay Fig. 841.—Silverside or Brit, K irtlandia vagrans (Goode & Bean). Pensacola. Kirtlandia laciniata, with ragged scales, is common along the Virginia coast, and K. vagrans farther south. Another small species, very slender and very graceful, is the brook silver- Percesoces and Rhegnopteri 435 side Labidesthes sicculus, which swarms in clear streams from Lake Ontario to Texas. This species, three to four inches long, has the snout produced and a very bright silvery stripe along the side. Large and small species of silversides occur SES SSS SSS SS Fia. 342.—Blue Smelt or Pez del Rey, Atherinopsis californiensis Girard. San Diego. ° in the sea along the California coast, where they are known familiarly as “‘blue smelt”’ or “Peixe Re.’’ The most impor- tant of these and the largest member of the family, reaching a length of eighteen inches, is Atherinopsis califormiensis, an important food-fish throughout California, everywhere wrongly known as smelt. Atherinops affints is much like it, but has ‘Fre. 848.—Flower of the surf. Iso flos-marts, Jordan & Starks. Enoshima, Y-shaped teeth. Iso flos-maris, called Nami-no-hana, or flower of the surf, is a shining little fish with belly sharp like that of a herring. It lives in the surf on the coast of Japan. Melanotenia nigrans of Australia (family Melanotentide) has the lateral band jet-black, as has also Melanirts balsanus of the rivers of southern Mexico. Atherinosoma vorax of Australia has strong teeth like those of a barracuda. Fossil species of Atherina occur in the Italian Eocene, the best known being Atherina macrocephala. Another species, Rhamphognathus paralepoides, allied to Menidia, occurs in the Eocene of Monte Bolca. 436 Percesoces and Rhegnopteri The Mullets: Mugilide.—The mullets (Mugilide) are more clumsy in form than the silversides, robust, with broad heads and stouter fin-spines. The ventral fins are abdominal but well forward, the pelvis barely touching the clavicle, a con- dition to be defined as ‘“‘subabdominal.”’ The small mouth is armed with very feeble teeth, often reduced to mere fringes. The stomach is muscular like the gizzard of a fowl and the species feed largely on the vegetation contained in mud. There are numerous species, mostly living in shallow bays and estuaries, but some of them are confined to fresh waters. All are valued as food and some of them under favorable con- ditions are especially excellent. Most of the species belong to the genera Mugil, the mullet of all English-speaking people, although not at all related to the red mullet or surmullet of the ancient Romans, Mullus barbatus. The mullets are stoutish fish from one to two feet long, with blunt heads, small mouths almost toothless, large scales, and a general bluish-silvery color often varied by faint blue stripes. The most important species is Mugil cephalus, the common striped mullet This is found throughout southern Europe and from Cape Cod to Brazil, from Monterey, California, to Chile, and across the Pacific to Hawaii, Japan, and the Red Sea. Mr. Silas Stearns compares a school of mullets to barnyard fowls feeding together. When a fish finds a rich spot the others flock about it as chickens do. The pharyngeals form a sort of filter, stopping the sand and mud, the coarse parts being ejected through the mouth. The young mullet feed in schools and often swim with the head at the surface of the water. The white or unstriped mullets are generally smaller, but otherwise differ little. AZugil curema is the white mullet of tropical America, ranging occasionally northward, and several other species occur in the West Indies and the Mediterranean. The genus Mugil has the eye covered by thick transparent tissue called the adipose eyelid. In Liza the adipose eyelid is wanting. Liza captito, the big-headed mullet of the Mediterra- nean, is a well-known species. Most of the mullets of the south seas belong to the genus Liza. Liza melinoptera and Liza Percesoces and Rhegnopteri 437 ceruleomaculata are common in Samoa. The genus Querimana includes dwarf-mullets, two or three inches long, known as whirligig-mullets. These little fishes gather in small schools and swim round and round on the surface like the whirligig- beetles, or Gyrinide, their habits being like those of the young mullets; some young mullets having been, in fact, described as species of Querimana. The genus Agonostomus includes fresh- water mullets of the mountain rivers of the East and West Indies and Mexico, locally known as trucha, or trout. Agonostomus nasutus of Mexico is the best-known species. The Joturo, or Bobo, Joturus pichardi, is a very large robust and vigorous mullet which abounds at the foot of waterfalls Fic. 344.—Joturo or Bobo, Joturus pichardi Poey. Rio Bayano, Panama. in the mountain torrents of Cuba, eastern Mexico, and Central America. It is a good food-fish, frequently taken about Jalapa, Havana, and on the Isthmus of Panama. Its lips are very thick and its teeth are broad, serrated, loosely inserted incisors. Fossil mullets are few. Mugil radobojanus is the earliest from the Miocene of Croatia. The Barracudas: Sphyrenide.—The Sphyrenide, or barracu- das, differ from the mullets in the presence of very strong teeth in the bones of the large mouth. The lateral line is also developed, there is no gizzard, and there are numerous minor modifications connected with the food and habits. The species are long, slender swift fishes, powerful in swimming and vora- cious to the last degree. Some of the species reach a length of six feet or more, and these are almost as dangerous to bathers 438 Percesoces and Rhegnopteri as sharks would be. The long, knife-like teeth render them very destructive to nets. The numerous species are placed in the single genus Sphyrena, and some of them are found in all warm seas, where they feed freely on all smaller fishes, their habits in the sea being much like those of the pike in the lakes. The flesh is firm, delicate, and excellent in flavor. In the larger species, especially in the West Indies, it may be difficult of digestion and sometimes causes serious illness, or ‘‘ichthyosism.”’ Fia. 345,—Barracuda, Sphyrena barracuda Walbaum. Florida. Sphyrena sphyrena is the spet, or sennet, a rather small barracuda common in southern Europe. Sphyrena borealis of our eastern coast is a similar but still feebler species rarely exceeding a foot in length. These and other small species are feeble folk as compared with the great barracuda (Sphyrena barracuda) of the West Indies, a robust savage fish, also known as picuda or becuna. Sphyrena commersoni of Polynesia is a similar large species, while numerous lesser ones occur through the tropical seas. On the California coast Sphyrena argentea is an excellent food-fish, slenderer than the great barracuda but reaching a length of five feet. Several species of fossil barracuda occur in the Italian Eocene, Sphyrena bolcensis being the earliest. Stephanoberycida.—We may append to the Percesoces, for want of a better place, a small family of the deep sea, its affinities at present unknown. The Stephanoberycide have the ventrals 1, 5, subabdominal, a single dorsal without spine, and the scales cycloid, scarcely imbricated, each with one or two central spines. The mouth is large, with small teeth, the skull cavernous, as in the berycoids, from which group the normally formed ventrals abdominal in position would seem to exclude it. Stephanoberyx mone and S. gilli are found at the depth of a mile and a half below the Gulf Stream. Boulenger first placed Percesoces and Rhegnopteri 439 them with the Percesoces, but more recently suggests their re- lationship with the Haplomi. Perhaps, as supposed by Gill, they may prove to be degenerate berycoids in which the ven- tral fins have lost their normal connection. Crossognathide.— A peculiar primitive group referred by Woodward to the Percesoces is the family of Crossognathide of the Cretaceous period. As in these fishes there are no fin- spines, they may be perhaps better placed with the Haplomz. The dorsal fin is long, without distinct spines, and the abdom- inal ventrals have six to eight rays. The mouth is small, with feeble teeth, and the body is elongate and compressed. Crossognathus sabandianum occurs in the Cretaceous of Switzer- land and Germany, Syllemus latifrons and other species in the Colorado Cretaceous, and Syllemus anglicus in England. The Crossognathide have probably the lower pharyngeals sep- arate, else they would be placed among the Synentognatht, a group attached by Woodward, not without reason, to the Percesoces. Cobitopside.—Near the Crossoguatlide may be placed the extinct Cobitopside, Cobitopsis acuta being recorded from the y, J Yes by PB ZEEE ABP TES 44444 LLP YY, ; a im t Lili Za WS Y ee KS a ET SS SS S SSSSS = SSS Fic. 346.—Cobitopsis acuta Gervais, restored. Oligocene of Puy-de-Déme. (After Woodward.) Oligocene of Puy-de-Déme in France. In this species there is a short dorsal fin of about seventeen rays, no teeth, and the well-developed ventral fins are not far in front of the anal. This little fish bears a strong resemblance to Ammodytes, but the affinities of the latter genus are certainly with the ophidioid fishes, while the real relationship of Cobztopsis is uncertain. Suborder Rhegnopterii—The threadfins (Polynemide) are al- lied to the mullets, but differ from them and from all other fishes in the structure of the pectoral fin and its basal bones, or actinosts. The pectoral fin is divided into two parts, the lower com- posed of free or separate rays very slender and thread-like, 440 Percesoces and Rhegnopteri sometimes longer than the body. Two of the actinosts of the pectoral support the fin, one is slender and has no rays, while the fourth is plate-like and attached to the coracoids, support- ing the pectoral filaments. The body is rather robust, covered with large scales, formed much as in the mullet. The lateral Fic. 347.—Shoulder-girdle of a Threadfin, Polydactylus approrimans (Lay & Bennett). line extends on the caudal fin as in the Scienide, which group these fishes resemble in many ways. The mouth is large, inferior, with small teeth. The species are carnivorous fishes of excellent flesh, abounding on sandy shores in the warm seas. They are not very active and not at all voracious. The — Fig. 348.—Threadfin, Polydactylus octonemus (Girard). Pensacola. coloration is bluish and silvery, sometimes striped with black. Most of the species belong to the genus Polydactylus. Poly- Percesoces and Rhegnopteri 441 dactylus virginicus, the barbudo, with seven filaments, is common in the West Indies and Florida. Polydactylus octonemus with eight filaments is more rare, but ranges further north. Poly- dactylus approximans, the raton of western Mexico, with six filaments, reaches San Diego. Polydactylus plebejus is common in Japan and other species range through Polynesia. In India isinglass is made from the large air-bladder of species of Poly- dactylus. The rare Polynemus quinquarius of the West Indies have five pectoral filaments, these being greatly elongate, much longer than the body. No extinct Polynemide are recorded. Fig. 348a.—Striped Mullet, Mugil cephalus (L.). Woods Hole, Mass. CHAPTER XXVIII PHTHINOBRANCHII: HEMIBRANCHII, LOPHO- BRANCHII, AND HYPOSTOMIDES UBORDER Hemibranchii.— Still another transitional group, the Hemuibranchti, is composed of spiny- : rayed fishes with abdominal ventrals. In this sub- order there are other points of divergence, though none of high importance. In these fishes the bones of the shoulder-girdle are somewhat distorted, the supraclavicle reduced or wanting, and the gill structures somewhat degenerate. The presence of bones called interclavicles or infraclavicles, below and behind the clavicle, has been supposed to characterize the order of Hemibranchit. But this character has very slight importance. In two families, Macrorhamphoside and Centriscide, the inter- clavicles are absent altogether. In the Fistulartide they are very large. According to the studies of Mr. Edwin C. Starks, Fig. 349. Fic. 350. Fic. 349.—Shoulder-girdle of a Stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnwus. (After Parker.) Fig. 350:—Shoulder-girdle of Fistularia petimba Lacépéde, showing greatly ex- tended interclavicle, the surface ossified. the bone in question is not a true infraclavicle. It is not identical with the infraclavicle of the Ganoids, but it is only a backward extension of the hypocoracoid, there being no suture between 442 Phthinobranchii | 443 the two bones. In those species which have bony plates in- stead of scales, this bone has a deposit of bony substance or ganoid enamel at the surface. This gives it an apparent prominence as compared with other bones of the skeleton, but it has no great taxonomic importance. Dr. Hay unites the suborders Hemibranchti, Lophobranchit, and Hypo- stomides to form the order Phthinobranchii (6.vas, waning; Bpayyos, gill), characterized by the reduction of the gill-arches. These forms are really nearly related, but their affinities with the Percesoces are so close that it may not be necessary to form a distinct order of the combined group. Boulenger unites the Hemibranchtt with Lampris to form a group, Catosteomt, characterized by the development of infraclavicles; but we cannot see that Lampris bears any affinity to the stickle- backs, or that the presence of infraclavicle has any high significance, nor is it the supposed infraclavicle of Lampris homologous with that of the Hemibranchtt. The dorsal fin in the Hemzbranchit has more or less developed spines; spines are also present in the ventral fins. The lower pharyngeals are separated; there is no air-duct. The mouth is small and the bones of the snout are often much produced. The preopercle and symplectic are distinct. The group is doubtless derived from some transitional spiny-rayed type allied to the Percesoces. The Lophobranchs, another supposed order, represent simply a still further phase of degradation of gills and ventral fins. Dr. Gill separates these two groups as distinct orders and places them, as aberrant offshoots, near the end of his series of bony fishes. We prefer to leave them with the other transi- tional forms, not regarding their traits of divergence as of any great importance in the systematic arrangement of families. The Sticklebacks: Gasterosteide. — The sticklebacks (Gaster- osteide) are small, scaleless fishes, closely related to the Fistulartide so far as anatomy is concerned, but with very different appearance and habits. The body often mailed, the dorsal is preceded by free spines and the ventrals are each reduced to a sharp spine with a rudimentary ray. The jaws are short, bristling with sharp teeth, and these little creatures are among the most active, voracious, and persistent of all fishes. They attack the fins of larger fishes, biting off pieces, 444 Phthinobranchii and at the same time they devour the eggs of all species acces- sible to them. In almost all fresh and brackish waters of the north temperate zone these little fishes abound. “It is scarcely to be conceived,’’ Dr. Gunther observes, ‘what damage these little fishes do, and how greatly detrimental they are to the increase of all the fishes among which they live, for it is with the utmost industry, sagacity, and greediness that they seek out and destroy all the young fry that come their way.” The sticklebacks inhabit brackish and fresh waters of the northern hemisphere, species essentially alike being found throughout northern Europe, Asia, and America. The same species is subject to great variation. The degree of develop- ment of spines and bony plates is greatest in individuals living in the sea and least in clear streams of the interior. Each of the mailed species has its series of half-mailed or even naked varieties found in the fresh waters. This is true in Europe, New England, California, and Japan. The farther the indi- viduals are from the sea, the less perfect is their armature. Thus, Gasterosteus cataphractus, which in the sea has a full armature of bony plates on the side, about 30 in number, will have in river mouths from 6 to 20 plates and in strictly fresh water only 2 or 3 or even none at all. The sticklebacks have been noted for their nest-building habits. The male performs this operation, and he is provided with a special gland for secretion of the necessary cement. Dr. Gill quotes from Dr. John A. Ryder an account of this process. The secretory gland is a “large vesicle filled with a clear secretion which coagulates into threads upon contact with water. It appears to open directly in front of the vent. As soon as it is ruptured, it loses its transparency, and what- ever secretion escapes becomes whitish after being in contact with water for a short time. This has the same tough, elastic qualities as when spun by the animal itself, and is also composed of numerous fibers, as when a portion is taken that has been recently spun upon the nest. Thus provided, when the nuptial season has arrived the male stickleback prepares to build his nest, wherein his mate may deposit her eggs. How this nest is built, and the subsequent Proceedings of the stickle- backs, have been told us in a graphic manner by Mr. John K, Phthinobranchii 445 Lord, from observations on Gasterosteus cataphractus on Van- couver Island, although the source of his secretion was mis- understood: “The site is generally amongst the stems of aquatic plants, where the water always flows but not too swiftly. He first begins by carrying small bits of green material which he nips off the stalks and tugs from out the bottom and sides of the bank; these he attaches by some glutinous material, that he clearly has the power of secreting, to the different stems destined as pillars for his building. During this operation he swims against the work already done, splashes about, and seems to test its durability and strength; rubs himself against the tiny kind of platform, scrapes the slimy mucus from his sides to mix with and act as mortar for his vegetable bricks. Then he thrusts his nose into the sand at the bottom, and, bringing a mouthful, scatters it over the foundation; this is repeated until enough has been thrown on to weight the slender fabric down and give it substance and stability. Then more twists, turns, and splashings to test the firm adherence of all the materials that are intended to constitute the foundation of the house that has yet to be erected on it. The nest, or nursery, when completed is a hollow, somewhat rounded, barrel-shaped structure worked together much in the same way as the plat- form fastened to the water-plants; the whole firmly glued together by the viscous secretion scraped from off the body. The inside is made as smooth as possible by a kind of plastering system; the little architect continually goes in, then, turning round and round, works the mucus from his body on to the inner sides of the nest, where it hardens like tough varnish. There are two apertures, smooth and symmetrical as the hole leading into a wren’s nest, and not unlike it. “ All this laborious work is done entirely by the male fish, and when completed he goes a-wooing. Watch him as he swims towards a group of the fair sex enjoying themselves amidst the water-plants arrayed in his best and brightest livery, all smiles and amiability; steadily and in the most approved style of stickleback love-making this young and wealthy bachelor approaches the object of his affections, most likely tells her all about his house and its comforts, hints 446 Phthinobranchii delicately at his readiness and ability to defend her children against every enemy, vows unfailing fidelity, and in lover fashion promises as much in a few minutes as would take a lifetime to fulfill. Of course she listens to his suit; personal beauty, indomitable courage, backed by the substantial recommendations of a house ready built and fitted for immediate occupation, are gifts not to be lightly regarded. “Throwing herself on her side the captive lady shows her appreciation, and by sundry queer contortions declares herself his true and devoted spouse. Then the twain return to the nest, into which the female at once betakes herself and therein deposits her eggs, emerging, when the operation is completed, by the opposite hole. During the time she is in the nest (about six minutes) the male swims round and round, butts and rubs his nose against it, and altogether appears to be in a state of defiant excitement. On the female leaving, he immediately enters, deposits the milt on the eggs, taking his departure through the back door. So far his conduct is strictly pure; but I am afraid morality in stickleback society is of rather a lax order. No sooner has this lady, his first love, taken her depart- ure, than he at once seeks another, introduces her as he did the first, and so on, wife after wife, until the nest is filled with eggs, layer upon layer, milt being carefully deposited betwixt each stratum of ova. As it is necessary there should be two holes, by which ingress and egress can be readily accomplished, so it is equally essential in another point of view. To fertilize fish-eggs, running water is the first necessity; and, as the holes are invariably placed in the direction of the current, a steady stream of water is thus directed over them.” To the genus Gasterosteus the largest species belong, those having three dorsal spines, and the body typically fully covered with bony plates. Gasterosteus aculeatus inhabits both shores of the Atlantic and the scarcely different Gasterosteus cataphractus swarms in the inlets from southern California to Alaska, Siberia, and northern Japan. Half-naked forms have been called by various names and one entirely naked in streams of southern California is named Gasterosteus williamsoni. Its traits are however, clearly related to its life in fresh waters. In Pygosteus pungitins, a type of almost equally wide range, Phthinobranchii 447 there are nine or ten dorsal spines and the body is more slender. All kinds of waters of the north on both continents may yield Fic. 351.—Three-spined Stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L. Woods Hole, Mass. this species or its allies and variations, mailed or naked. The naked, Apeltes quadracus, is found in the sea only, along the New England coast. Eucalia inconstans is the stickleback of the clear brook from New York to Indiana and Minnesota. The male is jet Fig. 352.—Four-spined Stickleback, A peltes quadracus Mitchill. Woods Hole, Mass black in spring with the sheen of burnished copper and he is intensely active in his work of protecting the eggs of his own species and destroying the eggs and fry of others. Sprnachia spinachia is a large sea stickleback of Europe with many dorsal spines. No fossil Gasterosteide are recorded, and the family, while the least specialized in most regards, is certainly not the most primitive of the suborder. The Aulorhynchide.— Closely related to the sticklebacks is the small family of Aulorhynchide, with four soft rays in the 448 Phthinobranchii ventral fins. Aulorhynchus, like Spinachta, has many dorsal spines and an elongate snout approaching that of a trumpet- fish. Aulorhynchus flavidus lives on the coast of California and Aulichthys japonicus in Japan. The extinct family of Pro- tosyngnathide is near Aulorhynchus, with the snout tubular, the ribs free, not anchylosed as in Awlorhynchus, and with the first vertebre fused, forming one large one as in Aulostomus. Proto- syngnathus sumatrensis occursin Sumatra. Protaulopsts bolcensts of the Eocene of Italy has the ventral fins farther back, and is probably more primitive than the sticklebacks. Cornet-fishes: Fistulariidea.— Closely related to the stickle- backs so far as structure is concerned is a family of very dif- ferent habit, the cornet-fishes, or cornetas (Frstulariide). In these fishes the body is very long and slender, like that of a garfish. The snout is produced into a very long tube, which bears the short jaws at the end. The teeth are very small. There are no scales, but bony plates are sunk in the skin. The ventrals are abdominal, each with a spine and four rays. The - four anterior vertebree are very much elongate. There are no spines in the dorsal and the backbone extends through the forked caudal, ending in a long filament. The cornet-fishes are dull red or dull green in color. They reach a length of two or three feet, and the four or five known species are widely distributed through the warm seas, where they swim in shallow water near the surface. fistularia tabaccaria, the tobacco- pipe fish, is common in the West Indies, Fistularia petimba, F. serrata, and others in the Pacific. A fossil cornet-fish of very small size, Fistularia longirostris, is known from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, near Verona. Fistularia kenigi is recorded from the Oligocene of Glarus. The Trumpet-fishes: Aulostomide.—The Aulostomide, or trum- pet-fishes are in structure entirely similar to the Fistu- lartide, but the body is band-shaped, compressed, and scaly, the long snout bearing the feeble jaws at the end. There are numerous dorsal spines and no filament on the tail. Aulostomus chinensis (maculatus) is common in the West Indies Aulostomus valentint abounds in Polynesia and Asia, ae it is a food-fish of moderate importance. A species of Aulosto- mus (bolcensis) is found in the Italian Eocene. Allied to it is Phthinobranchii 449 the extinct family Urosphenidea, scaleless, but otherwise similar. Urosphen dubia occurs in the Eocene at Monte Bolca. Urosphen Fic. 353.—Trumpet-fish, Aulostomus chinensis (L.) Virginia. is perhaps the most primitive genus of the whole suborder of Hemibranchit, The Snipefishes: Macrorhamphosida.—Very remarkable fishes are the snipefishes, or Macrorhamphoside. In these forms Fig. 354.—Japanese Snipetish, Macrorhamphosus sagifue Jordan & Starks. Misaki, Japan. the snout is still tubular, with the short jaws at the end. The body is short and deep, partly covered with bony plates. The dorsal has a very long serrated spine, besides several shorter ones, and the ventral fins have one spine and five rays. The snipefish, or woodcock-fish, Macrorhamphosus scolopax, is rather common on the coasts of Europe, and a very similar species (IM. sagifue) occurs in Japan. The Rhamphoside, re- presented by Rhamphosus, an extinct genus with the ventrals further forward, are found in the Eocene rocks of Monte Bolea. Rhamphosus vastrum has minute scales, short dorsal, and the snout greatly attenuate. The Shrimp-fishes: Centriscide.—One of the most extraor- dinary types of fishes is the small family of Centriscide, found in the East Indies. The back is covered by a transparent bony cuirass which extends far beyond the short tail, on which the two dorsal fins are crowded. Anteriorly this cuirass is 450 Phthinobranchii composed of plates which are soldered to the ribs. The small toothless mouth is at the end of a long snout. Fic. 355,—Shrimp-fish, oliscus strigatus (Ginther). Riu Kiu Islands, Japan. These little fishes with the transparent carapace look very much like shrimps. Centriscus scutatus (Amphisile) with the terminal spine fixed is found in the East Indies, and oliscus strigatus with the terminal spine movable is found in southern Japan and southwards. A fossil species, oliscus heinrichi, is found in the Oligocene Fic. 356.—Aoliscus heinrichi Heckel. Eocene of Carpathia. Family Centriscide. (After Heckel.) of various parts of Europe, and Centriscus longirostris occurs in the Eocene of Monte Bolca. In the Centriscide and Macrorhamphoside the expansions of the hypocoracoid called infraclavicles are not developed. The Lophobranchs.— The suborder Lophobranchii (Ao@os, tuft; Bpayyos, gill) is certainly an offshoot from the Hemi- branchti and belongs likewise among the forms transitional from soft to spiny-rayed fishes. At the same time it is a degenerate group, and in its modifications it turns directly away from the general line of specialization. The chief characters are found in the reduction of the gills to small lobate tufts attached to rudimentary gill-arches. The so-called infraclavicles are present, as in most of the Hemu- branchit. Bony plates united to form rings take the place of scales. The long tubular snout bears the short toothless jaws at the end. The preopercle is absent, and the ventrals are seven- rayed or wanting. The species known as pipefishes and sea-horses ure all very small and none have any economic value. They are Phthinobranchii 451 numerous in all warm seas, mostly living in shallow bays among seaweed and eel-grass. The muscular system is little developed and all the species have the curious habit of carrying the eggs until hatched in a pouch of skin under the belly or tail; this structure is usually found in the male. The Solenostomide.— The Solenostomide of the East Indies are the most primitive of these fishes. They have the body rather short and provided with spinous dorsal, and ventral fins. The pretty species are occasionally swept northward to Japan in the Black Current. Solenostomus cyanopterus is a characteristic species. Solenorhynchus elegans, now extinct (with the trunk more elongate), preceded Solenostomus in the Eocene of Monte Bolca. The Pipefishes: Syngnathide.—The Syngnathide are very long and slender fishes, with neither spinous dorsal, nor ventra] fins, the body covered by bony rings. Of the pipefish, Syngnathus, there are very many species on all northern coasts, Syngnathus acus is common in Europe, Syngnathus fuscum along the New England coast, Syugnathus californiense in California, and Syngnathus schlegeli in Japan. Numerous other species of Syngnathus and other genera are found further south in the same regions. Corythroichthys is characteristic of coral reefs and Microphis of the streams of the islands of Polynesia. In general, the more northerly species have the greater number of vertebre and of bony rings. Tziphle tiphle is a large pipefish of the Mediterranean. This species was preceded by Tiphle albyi (Siphonostoma) in the Miocene of Sicily. Other pipefishes, referred to as Syngnathus and Cala- mostoma, are found as fossils in Tertiary rocks. The Sea-horses: Hippocampus.—Soth fossil and recent forms constitute a direct line of connection from the pipe-fishes to the sea-horses. In the latter the head has the form of the head of a horse. It is bent at right angles to the body like the head of a knight at chess. There is no caudal fin, and the tail in typical species is coiled and can hardly be straightened out. Calamostoma of the Eocene, Gasterotokeus of Polynesia, and Acentronura of Japan are forms which connect the true sea- horses with the pipefish. Gasterotokeus has the long head and slender body of the pipefish, with the prehensile finless Phthinobranchii 452 suedep ‘tyes, «—“TOyseTE sn ajdounha snucojsouazog— "Leg “OIL Phthinobranchii 453 tail of a sea-horse. Most of the living species of the sea-horse belong to the genus Hippocampus. These little creatures have the egg-sac of the male under the abdomen. They range from two inches to a foot in length and some of the many species may be found in abundance in every warm sea. Some cling by the tails to floating seaweed and are swept to great distances; others cling to eel- grass and live very near the shore. The commonest European species is Hippocampus hippocampus. Most abundant on our Atlantic coast is Hippocampus hudsonius. Hippo- campus coronatus is most common in Japan. The largest species, ten inches long, are Hippocampus in- gens of Lower California and kel- loggt in Japan. Many species, es- pecially of the smaller ones, have the spines of the bony plates of the body ending in fleshy flaps. These are sometimes so enlarged as to simulate leaves of seaweed, thus ‘ serving for the efficient protection Hie. 358,—Sea-horse, Hippocampus of the species. These flaps are a a a developed to an extreme degree in Phyllopteryx eques, a pipefish of the East Indies. No fossil sea-horses are known. The following account of the breeding-habits of our smallest sea-horse (Hippocampus zostere) was prepared by the writer for a book of children’s stories: “He was a little bit of a sea~-horse and his name was Hippo- campus. He was not more than an inch long, and he had a red stripe on the fin on his back, and his head was made of bone and it had ashape just like a horse’s head, but he ran out to a point at his tail, and his head and his tail were all covered with bone. He lived in the Grand Lagoon at Pensacola in Florida, 454 Phthinobranchii where the water is shallow and warm and there are lots of seaweeds. So he wound his tail around a stem of seaweed and hung with his head down, waiting to see what would happen next, and then he saw another little sea-horse hanging on another seaweed. And the other sea-horse put out a lot of little eggs, and the little eggs all lay on the bottom -of the sea at the foot of the seaweed. So Hippocampus crawled down from the seaweed where he was and gathered up all those little eggs, and down on the under side of his tail where the skin is soft he made a long slit for a pocket, and then he stuffed all the eggs into this pocket and fastened it together and stuck it with some slime. So he had all the other sea-horse’s eggs in his own pocket. ‘Then he went up on the seawrack again and twisted his tail around it, and hung there with his head down to see what would happen next. The sun shone down on him, and by and by all the little eggs began to hatch out, and each one of the: eggs was a little sea-pony, shaped just like a sea-horse. And when he hung there with his head down he could feel all the little sea-ponies squirming inside his pocket, and by and by they squirmed so much that they pushed the pocket open, and then every one crawled away from him, and he couldn’t get them back, and so he went along with them and watched to see that nothing should hurt them. And by and by they hung themselves all up on the seaweeds, and they are hanging there yet. And so he crawled back to his own piece of seaweed and twisted his tail around it, and waited to see what would happen next. And what happened next was just the same thing over again.” Suborder Hypostomides, the Sea-moths: Pegasidz.—The small suborder of Hypostomides (tao, below; oréua, mouth) con- sists of the family of Pegaside. These ‘‘sea-moths’’ are fantastic little fishes, probably allied to the sticklebacks, but wholly unique in form. The slender body is covered with bony plates, the gill-covers are reduced to a single plate. The small mouth underneath a long snout has no teeth. The pre- opercle and the symplectic are both wanting. The ventrals are abdominal, formed of two rays, and the very large pec- toral fin is placed horizontally like a great wing. Phthinobranchii 455 The species, few in number, known as sea-moths and sea- dragons, rarely exceed four inches in length. They are found Fie. 359 —Sea-moth, Zahses umitengu Jordan & Snyder. Misaki, Japan. (View from below.) in the East Indies and drift with the currents northward to Japan. The genera are Pegasus, Parapegasus, and Zalises. The best-known species are Zalises draconis and Pegasus vola- tans. No fossil species of Pegaside are known. CHAPTER XXIX SALMOPERCA AND OTHER TRANSITIONAL GROUPS UBORDER Salmoperce, the Trout-perches: Percopside. —More ancient than the Hemibranchit, and still more distinctly in the line of transition from soft-rayed to spiny-rayed fishes, is the small suborder of Salmoperce. This is characterized by the presence of the adipose fin of the salmon, Fic. 360.—Sand-roller, Pecropsis guttatus Agassiz. Okoboji Lake, Ia. in connection with the mouth, scales, and fin-spines of a perch. The premaxillary forms the entire edge of the upper jaw, the maxillary being without teeth. The air-bladder retains a rudimentary duct. The bones of the head are full of mucous cavities, as in the European perch called Gymnocephalus and Acerina. There are two spines in the dorsal and one or two in the anal, while the abdominal ventrals have each a spine and eight rays. Two species only are known among living fishes, these emphasizing more perfectly than any other known forms the close relation really existing between spinous and _soft- rayed forms. The single family of Percopside would seem to find its place in Cretaceous rocks rather than in the waters of to-day. 456 Salmoperce and Other Transitional Groups 457 Percopsts guttata, the trout-perch or sand-roller of the Great Lakes, is a pale translucent fish with dark spots, reaching a length of six inches. It abounds in the Great Lakes and their tributaries and is occasionally found in the Delaware, Ohio, RN REDO BNE Fic. 361.—Oregon Trout-perch, Columbia transmontana Eigenmann. Umatilla River, Oregon. Kansas, and other rivers and northwestward as far as Medi- cine Hat on the Saskatchewan. It is easily taken with a hook from the piers at Chicago. Columbia transmontana is another little fish of similar type, but rougher and more distinctly perch-like. It is found in sandy or weedy lagoons throughout the lower basin of the Columbia, where it was first noticed by Dr. Eigenmann in 1892. Fic. 362.—Erismatopterus endlicheri Cope. Green River Eocene. (After Cope.) From the point of view of structure and classification, this lett-over form is one of the most remarkable of American fishes. Erismatopterida.—Here should perhaps be placed the family of Erismatopteride, represented by Erismatopterus levatus and other species of the Green River Eocene shales. In Ertsmatopterus the 458 Salmoperce and Other Transitional Groups short dorsal has two or three spines, there are two or three spines in the anal, and the abdominal ventrals are opposite the dorsal. Allied to Eris- matopterus is Amphiplaga of p the same deposits. gL We cannot, however, feel a sure that these extinct frag- ments, however well preserved, belonged to fishes having an adipose fin. Among spiny- rayed fishes the Percopside alone retain this character, and the real affinities of Erisma- topterus may be with A phredo- deride and _ other percoid forms. The relations of the extinct family of Asineopide are also still uncertain. This group comprises fresh-water fishes said to be allied to the A phre- doderide, but with the pelvic bones not forked. Aszneops pauciradiata, squamifrons and BE ‘ viridensis are described from Ete i) the Green River shales. With dan Erismatopterus all these fishes tet aes es ee may belong to the suborder the enlarged infraclavicle. (After of Salmoperce, but, as above Poulenaeey stated, the possession of the adipose fin, the most characteristic trait of the Salmoperce, cannot be verified in the fossil remains. Suborder Selenichthyes, the Opahs: Lamprididea.—We may bring together as constituting another suborder certain forms of uncer- tain relationship, but which seem to be transitional between deep-bodied extinct Ganoids and the forms allied to Platax, Zeus, and Antigonia. The name of Selenichthyes (anAnvn, moon; iy@us, fish) is suggested by Boulenger for the group of opahs, or moonfishes. These are characterized by the highly com- pressed body, the great development of a large hypocora- Salmoperce and Other Transitional Groups 459 coid, and especially by the structure of the ventral fins, which are composed of about fifteen rays instead of the one spine and five rays characteristic of the specialized perch- like fishes. The living forms of this type are further char- acterized by the partial or total absence of the spinous dorsal, by the small oblique mouth, and the prominence of the ventral curve of the body. A thorough study of the osteology of these forms living and fossil will be necessary before the group can be properly defined. The large bone above mentioned was at first considered by Boulenger as the interclavicle or infraclavicle, the hypocoracoid being re- garded by him as displaced, lyihg with the actinosts. But it is certain, from the studies of Mr. Starks, that this bone is the real hypocoracoid, which in this case is simply exaggerated in size, but placed as in ordinary fishes. The single living family, Lampridide, contains but one species, Lampris guttatus, known as opah, moonfish, mariposa, cravo, Jerusalem haddock, or San Pedro fish. This species reaches a length of six feet and a weight cf 500 to 600 pounds. Fig. 84 is taken from a photograph of an example weighing 3174 pounds taken near Honolulu by Mr. E. L. Berndt. The body is almost as deep as long, plump and smooth, without scales or bony plates. The vertebre are forty-five in number, and the large ventrals contain about fifteen rays. The dorsal is without spines, the small mouth without teeth. The color is a “rich brocade of silver and lilac, rosy on the belly, everywhere with round silvery spots.’ The head and back have ultramarine tints, the jaws and fins are vermilion. On a drawing of this fish made at Sable Island in 1856, Mr. James Farquhar wrote (to Dr. J. Bernard Gilpin): “Just imagine the body, a beau- tiful silver interspersed with spots of a lighter color about the size of sixpence, the eyes very large and brilliant, with a golden ring around them. You will then have some idea of the splen- did appearance of the fish when fresh. If Caligula had seen them I might have realized a fortune.” The skeleton of the opah is very firm and heavy. The flesh is of varying shades of salmon-red, tender, oily, and of a rich, exquisite flavor scarcely surpassed by any other fish whatsoever. 460 Salmoperce and Other Transitional Groups The opah is a rare fish, swimming slowly near the surface and ranging very widely in all the warm seas. It was first noticed in Norway by Gunner, the good bishop of Throndhjem, about 1780. It was soon after recorded from Elsinore, Torbay, and Madeira, and is occasionally taken in various places in Europe. It is also recorded from Newfoundland, Sable Island, Cuba, Monterey, San Pedro Point (near San Francisco), Santa Cata- lina, Honolulu, and Japan. The specimen studied by the writer came ashore at Mon- terey in an injured condition, having been worsted in a struggle with some better-armed fish. Allied to Lampris is the imposing extinct species known as Semiophorus velifer from the Eocene of Monte Bolca near Ve- rona, the type of the extinct family of Semtophoride. This is a deep compressed fish, with very high spinous dorsal and very long, many-rayed ventrals. Other related species are known also from the Eocene. There is no evidence of any close relation between these fishes with Caranx or Platax, with which Woodward associates Semiophorus. The Seniophoride differ from the Lampridide chiefly in the development of the spinous dorsal fin, which is composed of many slender rays. Suborder Zeoidea.—Not far from the Selenichthyes and the Berycordet we may place the singular group of John Dories, or zeoid fishes. These have the ventral fins thoracic and many-rayed, the dorsal fin provided with spines, and the post-temporal, as in the Chetodontide, fused with the skull. Dr. Boulenger calls attention to the close relation of these fishes to the flounders, and suggests the possible derivation of both from a. synthetic type, the Amphistiide, found in the European Eocene. The Amphistiide, Zeide, and flounders are united by him to form the group or suborder Zeorhombi, characterized by the thoracic ventrals, which have the rays not I, 5 in number, by the progressive degeneration of the fin- spines and the progressive twisting of the cranium, bringing the two eyes to the same side of the head. It is not certain that the flounders are really derived from Zeus-like fishes, but no other guess as to their origin has more elements of proba- bility. Fic. 864.—Semiophorus velifer Volta. Eocene. (After Agassiz, per Zittel.) 461 462 Salmoperce and Other Transitional Groups We may, however, regard the Zeordea on the one hand and the Heterosomata on the other as distinct suborders. This is Fic. 265.—Amphistium paradoxum Agassiz. Upper Eocene, (Supposed ancestor of the flounders). (After Boulenger.) certain, that the flounders are descended from spiny-rayed forms and that they have no affinities with the codfishes. Amphistiide.—The Amphistizde, now extinct, are deep-bodied, compressed fishes, with long, continuous dorsal and anal in which a few of the anterior rays are simple, slender spines scarcely differentiated from the soft rays. The form of body and the structure of the fins are essentially as in the flounders, from which they differ chiefly by the symmetry of the head, the eyes being normally placed. Amphistium paradoxum is described by Agas- siz from the upper Eocene. It occurs in Italy and France. In its dorsal and anal fins there are about twenty-two rays, the first three or four undivided. The teeth are minute or absent and there is a high supraoccipital crest. The John Dories: Zeide.— The singular family of Zeida, or John Dories, agrees with Chaetodonts in the single char- acter of the fusion of the post-temporal with the skull. The species, however, diverge widely in other regards, and their ventral fins are essentially those of the Berycoids. In all the species there are seven to nine soft rays in the ventral fins, as in the Berycoid fishes. Probably the character of the fused fob ‘puepsuyq ‘uoAoq ‘snwuury ‘uaqn{ snaz ‘Aiog wyor ayT— 998 “PI 464 Salmoperce and Other Transitional Groups post temporal has been independently derived. The anterior vertebre in Zeus, as in Chetodon, are closely crowded together. In the Zeide the spinous dorsal is well developed, the body naked or with very thin scales, and provided with bony warts at least around the bases of dorsal and anal fins. The species are mostly of small size, silvery in color, living in moderate depths in warm seas. The best-known genus is Zeus, which is a group of shore-fishes of the waters of Asia and Europe. The common John Dory (called in Germany Harings-Konig, or king of the herrings), Zeus faber, abounds in shallow bays on the coasts of Europe. It reaches a length of nearly a foot, and is a striking feature of the markets of southern Europe. The dorsal spines are high, the mouth large, and on the sides is a black ring, said by some to be the mark of the thumb of St. Peter, who is reported to have taken a coin from the mouth of this species. A black spot on several other species is asso- ciated with the same legend. On the coasts of Japan abounds the Matao, or target-fish (Zeus japonicus), very similar to the European species and like it in form and color. Zenopsis nebulosa and Zen itea also occur on the coasts of Japan. The remaining Zeide (Cyttus, Zenopsis, Zenion, etc.) are all rare species occasionally dredged especially in the Australian region. Zeus priscus is recorded from the Tertiary, and Cyttoides glaronensis from the upper Eocene of Glavus. Grammicolepide.—The Grammicolepide, represented by a single species, Grammicolepis brachiusculus, rarely taken off the coast of Cuba, is related to the Zetde. It has rough, ridged, parchment-like scales deeper than long. The ventrals are thoracic, with the rays in increased number, as in Zeus and Beryx, with each of which it suggests affinity. CHAPTER XXX BERYCOIDEI HE Berycoid Fishes.— We may place in a separate order a group of fishes, mostly spiny-rayed, which ys) appeared earlier in geological time than any other of the spinous forms, and which in several ways represent the transition from the isospondvlous fishes to those of the type of the mackerel and perch. In the berycoid fishes the ventral fins are always thoracic, the number of rays almost always greater than I, 5, and in all cases an orbitosphenoid bone is developed in connection with the septum between the Fic. 367.—Skull of a Berycoid fish, Beryx orbits above. This bone is splendens Cuv. & Val., showing the or- found in the Isospondyli and bitosphenoid (OS), characteristic of all Sh otal Berycoid fishes. other primitive fishes, but ac- cording to the investigations of Mr. E. C. Starks it is wanting in all percoid and scombroid forms, as well as in the Haplomi and in all the higher fishes. This trait may therefore, among thoracic fishes, be held to define the section or suborder of Berycordez. These fishes, most primitive of the thoracic types, were more abundant in Cretaceous and Eocene times than now. ‘The possession of an increased number of soft rays in the ventral fins is archaic, although in one family, the Monocentride, the number is reduced to three. Most of the living Berycoider retain through life the archaic duct to the air-bladder char- acteristic of most abdominal or soft-rayed fishes. In some however, the duct is lost. For the first time in the fish series the number of twenty-four vertebre appears. In most spiny- 465 466 Berycoidei rayed fishes of the tropics, of whatever family, this number is retained. In every case spines are present in the dorsal fin, and in certain cases the development of the spinous dorsal surpasses that of the most extreme perch-like forms. In geological times the Berycoids preceded all other perch-like fishes. They are probably ancestral to all the latter. All the recent species, in spite of high specialization, retain some archaic characters. The Alfonsinos: Berycide.—The typical family, Berycide, is composed of fishes of rather deep water, bright scarlet or black in color, with the body short and compressed, the scales varying in the different genera. The single dorsal fin has a few spines in front, and there are no barbels. The suborbi- tals are not greatly developed. The species of Beryx, called in Spanish Alfonsino, Beryx elegans and Beryx decadactylus, are widely distributed at mod- Fic. 368,.—Beryx splendens Lowe. Gulf Stream. erate depths, the same species being recorded from Portugal, Madeira, Cuba, the Gulf Stream, and Japan. The colors are very handsome, being scarlet with streaks of white or golden. These fishes reach the length of a foot or more and are valued as food where sufficiently common. Numerous species of Beryx and closely allied genera are found in all rocks since Cretaceous times; Beryx dalmaticus, from the Cretaceous of Dalmatia, is perhaps the earliest. Beryx insculptus is found in New Jersey, but no other Berycoids Berycoidei 467 are yet known as fossils from North America. Sphenocephalus, with four anal spines, is found in the chalk, as are also species of Acrogaster and Pycnosterinx, these being the earliest of fishes with distinctly spiny fins. The Trachichthyide are deep-sea fishes with short bodies, cavernous skulls, and rough scales. The dorsal is short, with a few spines in front. The suborbitals are very broad, often covering the cheeks, and the anal fin is shorter than the dorsal, a character which separates these fishes from the Berycide, in Fie. 369.—Hoplopteryx lewesiensis (Mantell), restored. English Cretaceous Family Berycide. (After Woodward.) : which group the anal fin is very long. The belly has often a serrated edge, and the coloration is red or black, the black species being softer in body and living in deeper water. Species of Hoplostethus, notably Hoplostethus mediterraneus, are found in most seas at a considerable depth. Trachichthys, a genus scarcely distinguishable from Hoplostethus, is found in various seas. The genus Paratrachichthys is remarkable for the anterior position of the vent, much as in Aphredoderus. Species occur in Japan and Australia. Gephyroberyx, with the dorsal fin notched, is known from Japan (G. japonicus) and Madeira (G. darwint). We may also refer to the Trachichthyide certain species of still deeper waters, black in color and still softer in texture, with smaller scales which are often peculiar in form. These constitute the genera Caulolepis, Anoplogaster, Melamphaés, 468 Berycoidei and Plectromus. In Caulolepis the jaws are armed with very strong canines. Allied to the Trachichthyide are also the fossil genera Hop- lopteryx and Homonotus. Hoplopteryx lewesiensis, from the English chalk, is one of the earliest of the spiny-rayed fishes. The Soldier-fishes: Holocentridez.— The soldier-fishes (Holo- centridg), also known as squirrel-fishes, Welshmen, soldados, matajuelos, malau, alehi, etc., are shore fishes very characteristic Fig. 370.—Paratrachichthys prosthemius Jordan & Fowler, Misaki, Japan. Family Trachichthyide. of rocky banks in the tropical seas. In this family the flesh is firm and the large scales very hard and with very rough edges. There are eleven spines in the dorsal and four in the anal, the third being usually very long. The ventral fins have one spine and seven soft rays. The whole head and body are rough with prickles. The coloration is always brilliant, the ground hue being scarlet or crimson, often with lines or stripes of white, black, or golden. The fishes are valued as food, and they furnish a large part of the beauty of coloration so charac- teristic of the fishes of the coral reefs. The species are active, pugnacious, carnivorous, but not especially voracious, the mouth being usually small. : The genus Holocentrus is characterized by the presence of a large spine on the angle of the preopercle. Its species are Berycoidei 469 especially numerous, Holocentrus ascenscionis, abundant in Cuba, ranges northward in the Gulf Stream. Holocentrus eae tg Oe) Ce aS AP Le fiz rl 2 Ss eS ne a sso Fig. 371.—Soldier-fish, Holocentrus ascenscionis (Osbeck). suborbitalis, the mojarra cardenal, is a small, relatively dull species swarming about the rocks of western Mexico. Holo- Fig. 372.—Soldier-fish, Holocentrus ittodat Jordan & Fowler. Riu Kiu Islands, Japan. centrus spinosissimus is a characteristic fish of Japan. Many other species abound throughout Polynesia and the East Indies, as well as in tropical America. Holocentrus ruber and Holo- 470 Berycoidei centrus diadema are common species of Polynesia and the East Indies. Other abundant species are H. spinijer, H. microstomus, and H. violascens. Holocentrus marianus is the marian of the French West Indies, Holocentrus sammara, and related large-mouthed species occur in Polynesia. In Myripristis the preopercular spine is wanting and the air-bladder is divided into two parts, the anterior extending to the ear. Myripristis jacobus is the brilliantly colored candil, —_——. Fie. 373.—Ostichthys japonicus (Cuv. & Val.). Giran, Formosa. or ‘‘Frére Jacques,” of the West Indies. Species of Myripris- tis are known in Hawaii as u-u. A curious method of catching AMlyripristts murdjan is pursued on the Island of Hawaii. A living fish is suspended by a cord in front of a reef inhabited by this species. Jt remains with scarlet fins spread and glisten- ing red scales. Its presence is a challenge to other individuals, who rush out to attack it. These are then drawn out by a concealed scoop-net, and a fresh specimen is taken as a decoy. Myrtpristts pralinius, M. multiradiatus, and other species occur in Polynesia. Ostichthys is allied to Myripristis but with very large rough scales. Ostichthys japonicus is a large and showy fish of the waters of Japan. Ostichthys pillwaxi Berycoidei 471 occurs at Honolulu. Holotrachys ima is a small, brick-red fish with small very rough scales found throughout Polynesia. Fossil species of Holocentrus, Myripristis, and related extinct genera occur in the Eocene and Miocene. Holocentrus macro- cephalus, from Monte Bolca Eocene, is one of the best known. Myricanthus leptacanthus from the same region, has very slender spines in the fins. The Polymixiide.—The family of Polymixiide, or barbudos, is one of the most interesting in Ichthyology from its bewilder- ing combination of characters belonging to different groups. With the general aspect of a Berycoid, the ventral rays I, 7, Fic. 374.—Pine-cone Fish, Monocentris japonicus (Houttuyn). Waka, Japan. and the single dorsal fin with a few spines, Polymixia has the scales rather smooth and at the chin are two long barbels which look remarkably like those of the family of Mullide or Sur- mullets. As in the Mullide, there are but four branchiostegals. In other regards the two groups seem to have little in common. According to Starks, the specialized feelers at the chin are different in structure and must have been independently developed in the two groups. In Polymixia, each barbel is suspended from the hypohyal; three rudimentary branchioste- gals forming its thickened base. In Mullus, each barbel is sus- pended from the trip of a slender projection of the ceratohyal, having no connection with the branchiostegals. Polymixia pos- 472 Berycoidei sesses the orbitosphenoid bone and is a true berycoid, while the Mullide are genuine percoid fishes. Four species of Polymixia are recorded from rather deep water: Polymixia nobilis from Madeira, Polymixia lowet from the West Indies, Polymixia berndti from Hawaii, and Poly- mixta japonica from Japan. All are plainly colored, without red. The Pine-cone Fishes: Monocentride.—Among the most ex- traordinary of all fishes is the little family of Monocentride, or pine-cone fishes. Monocentris japonicus, the best-known species, is common on the coasts of Japan. It reaches the length of five inches. The body is covered with a coat of mail, made of rough plates which look as though carelessly put together. The dorsal spines are very strong, and each ventral fin is replaced by a very strong rough spine. The animal fully justifies the remark of its discoverer, Houttuyn (1782), that it is ‘the most remarkable fish which exists.” It is dull golden brown in color, and in movement as sluggish as a trunkfish. A similar species, called knightfish, Monocentris glorie-maris, is found in Australia. No fossils allied to Monocentris are known. CHAPTER XXXI PERCOMORPHI UBORDER Percomorphi, the Mackerels and Perches. — We may place in a single suborder the various groups of fishes which cluster about the perches, and the mackerels. The group is not easily definable and may con- tain heterogeneous elements. We may, however, arrange in it, for our present purposes, those spiny-rayed fishes having the ventral fins thoracic, of one spine and five rays (the ventral fin occasionally wanting or defective, having a reduced number of rays), the lower pharyngeal bones separate, the suborbital chain without backward extension or bony stay, the post-temporal normally developed and separate from the cranium, the premaxillary and maxillary distinct, the cranium itself without orbitosphenoid bone, having a structure not greatly unlike that of perch or mackerel, and the back- bone primitively of twenty-four vertebre, the number increased in arctic, pelagic, or fresh-water offshoots. The species, comprising the great body of the spiny-rayed forms, group themselves chiefly about two central families, the Scombride, or mackerels, and the Serranide, the sea-bass, with their fresh-water allies, the Percide, or perch. The Mackerel Tribe: Scombroidea.—The two groups of Per- comorphi, the mackerel-like and the perch-like, admit of no exact definition, as the one fully grades into the other. The mackerel-like forms, or Scombroidea, as a whole are defined by their adaptation for swift movement. The profile is sharp an- teriorly, the tail slender, with widely forked caudal; the scales are usually small, thin, and smooth, of such a character as not to produce friction in the water. In general the external surface is smooth, the skeleton light and strong, the muscles firm, and the species are carniv- : 473 474 Percomorphi orous and predaceous. But among the multitude of forms are many variations, and some of these will seem to be exceptions to any definition of mackerel-like fishes which could possibly be framed. The mackerels, or Scombroidea, have usually the tail very slender, composed of very strong bones, with widely forked fin. In the perch and bass the tail is stout, composed largely of flesh, the supporting vertebre relatively small and spread out fan-fashion behind. Neither mackerels nor perch nor any of their near allies ever have more than five soft rays in the ventral fins, and the persistence of this number throughout the Per- comorphi, Squamipinnes, Pharyngognatht, and spiny fishes generally must be attributed to inheritance from the primitive perch-like or mackerel-like forms. In almost all the groups to be considered in this work, after the Berycoitdea the ventral rays are I, 5, or else fewer through degeneration, never more. In the central or primitive members of most of these groups there are twenty-four vertebre, the number increased in cer- tain forms, probably through repetitive degeneration. The True Mackerels: Scombride.— We may first consider the great central family of Scombride, or true mackerels, distinguished among related families by their swift forms, smooth scales, metallic coloration, and technically by the presence of a number of detached finlets behind the dorsal and anal fins. The cut of the mouth is peculiar, the spines in the fins are feeble, the muscular system is extremely strong, the flesh oily, and the air-bladder reduced in size or altogether wanting. As in most swift-swimming fishes and fishes of pelagic habit, the vertebree are numerous and relatively small, an arrangement which promotes flexibility of body. It is not likely that this group is the most primitive of the scombroid fishes. In some respects the Stromateide stand nearer the primitive stock. The true mackerels, however, furnish the most convenient point of departure in reviewing the great group. In the genus of true mackerels, Scomber, the dorsal fins are well separated, the first being rather short, and the scales of the shoulders are not modified to form a corselet. There are numerous species, two of them of general interest. The Percomorphi 475 common mackerel, Scomber scombrus, is one of the best known of food-fishes. It is probably confined to the Atlantic, where on both shores it runs in vast schools, the movements varying greatly from season to season, the preference being for cool waters. The female mackerel produces about 500,000 eggs each year, according to Professor Goode. These are very minute and each is provided with an oil-globule, which causes it to float on the surface. About 400,000 barrels of mackerel are salted yearly by the mackerel fleet of Massachusetts. Single schools of mackerel, estimated to contain a million barrels, have been recorded. Captain Harding describes such a school Fig. 875.—Mackerel, Scomber scombrus L. New York. as “‘a windrow of fish half a mile wide and twenty miles long.” Professor Goode writes: “Upon the abundance of mackerel depends the welfare of many thousands of the citizens of Massachusetts and Maine. The success of the mackerel-fishery is much more uncertain than that of the cod-fishery, for instance, for the supply of cod is quite uniform from year to year. The prospects of - each season are eagerly discussed from week to week in thousands of little circles along the coast, and are chronicled by the local press. The story of each successful trip is passed from mouth to mouth, and is a matter of general congratulation in each fishing community. A review of the results of the American mackerel-fishery, and of the movements of the fish _in each part of the season, would be an important contribution to the literature of the American fisheries. “The mackerel-fishery is peculiarly American, and its history is full of romance. There are no finer vessels afloat than the 476 Percomorphi American mackerel-schooners—yachts of great speed and unsurpassed for seaworthiness. The modern instruments of capture are marvels of inventive skill, and require the highest degree of energy and intelligence on the part of the fisher- men. The crews of the mackerel-schooners are still for the most part Americans of the old colonial stock, although the cod and halibut fisheries.are to a great extent given up to foreigners. “When the mackerel is caught, trout, bass, and sheeps- head cannot vanquish him in a gastronomic tournament. In Holland, to be sure, the mackerel is not prized, and is accused of tasting like rancid fish-oil, and in England, even, they are usually lean and dry, like the wretched skeletons which are brought to market in April and May by the southern fleet, which goes forth in the early spring from Massachusetts to intercept the schools as they approach the coasts of Carolina and Virginia. They are not worthy of the name of mackerel. Scomber Scombrus is not properly in season until the spawning time is over, when the schools begin to feed at the surface in the Gulf of Maine and the ‘North Bay.’ “Just from the water, fat enough to broil in its own drip- pings, or slightly corned in strong brine, caught at night and eaten in the morning, a mackerel or a bluefish is unsurpass- able. A well-cured autumn mackerel is perhaps the finest of all salted fish, but in these days of wholesale capture by the purse-seine, hasty dressing and careless handling, it is very dif- ficult to obtain a sweet and sound salt mackerel. Salt mack- erel may be boiled as well as broiled, and a fresh mackerel may be cooked in the same manner. Americans will usually prefer to do without the sauce of fennel and gooseberry which transatlantic cooks recommend. Fresh and salt, fat and lean, new or stale, mackerel are consumed by Americans in immense quantities, as the statistics show, and whatever their state, always find ready sale.’’ Smaller, less important, less useful, but far more widely distributed is the chub-mackerel, or thimble-eyed mackerel, Scomber japonicus (Houttuyn, 1782), usually known by the later name of Scomber colias (Gmelin, 1788). In this species the air-bladder (absent in the common mackerel) is moder- Percomorphi 477 ately developed. It very much resembles the true mackerel, but is of smaller size, less excellence as a food-fish, and keeps nearer to the shore. It may be usually distinguished by the presence of vague, dull-gray spots on the sides, where the true mackerel is lustrous silvery. ~ This fish is common in the Mediterranean, along our Atlantic coast, on the coast of California, and everywhere in Japan. Scomber antarcticus is the familiar mackerel of Australia. Scomber loo, silvery, with round black spots, is the common mackerel of the South Seas, locally known as Ga. Scomber priscus is a fossil mackerel from the Eocene. Auxis thazard, the frigate mackerel, has the scales of the shoulders enlarged and somewhat coalescent, forming what is called a corselet. The species ranges widely through the seas of the world in great numbers, but very erratic, sometimes myriads reaching our Eastern coast, then none seen for years. It is more constant in its visits to Japan and Hawaii. Fossil species of Auxis are found in the Miocene. The genus Gymnosarda has the corselet as in Auxis, but the first dorsal fin is long, extending backward to the base of the second. Its two species, Gymnosarda pelamis, the Oceanic bonito, and Gymnosarda alleterata, the little tunny, are found in all warm seas, being especially abundant in the Mediterra- nean, about Hawaii and Japan. These are plump fish of mod- erate size, with very red and very oily flesh. Closely related to these is the great tunny, or Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) found in all warm seas and reaching at times a weight of 1500 pounds. These enormous fishes are much valued by anglers, a popular ‘‘Tuna Club” devoted to the sport of catch- ing them with a hook having its headquarters at Avalon, on Santa Catalina Island in California. They are good food, although the flesh of the large ones is very oily. The name horse-mackerel is often given to. these monsters on the New England coast. In California, the Spanish name of tuna has become current among fisherman. Very similar to the tuna, but much smaller, is the Albacore (Germo alalonga). This reaches a weight of fifteen to thirty pounds, and is known by its very long, almost. ribbon-like pec- toral fins. This species is common in the Mediterranean, and 478 Percomorphi about the Santa Barbara Islands, where it runs in great schools in March. The flesh of the albacore is of little value, unless, as in Japan, it is eaten raw. The Japanese (Germo macropterus) is another large albacore, having the finlets bright yellow. It is found also at Hawaii and in Southern California. The bonito (Sarda sarda) wanders far throughout the Atlan- tic, abounding on our Atlantic coast as in the Mediterranean, coming inshore in summer to spawn or feed. Its flesh is red and not very delicate, though it may be reckoned as a fair food- Fic. 876.—The Long-fin Albacore, Germo alalunga (Gmelin). Gulf Stream. fish. It is often served under the name of ‘‘Spanish mackerel’’ to the injury of the reputation of the better fish. Professor Goode writes: “One of these fishes is a marvel of beauty and strength. Every line in its contour is suggestive of swift motion. The head is shaped like a minie bullet, the jaws fit together so tightly that a knife-edge could scarcely pass between, the eyes are hard, smooth, their surfaces on a perfect level with the adjoining surfaces. The shoulders are heavy and strong, the contours of the powerful masses of muscle gently and evenly merging into the straighter lines in which the contour of the body slopes back to the tail. The dorsal fin is placed in a groove into which it is received, like the blade of a clasp-knife in its handle. The pectoral and ventral fins also fit into depres- sions in the sides of the fish. Above and below, on the pos- terior third of the body, are placed the little finlets, each a little rudder with independent motions of its own, by which the course of the fish may be readily steered. The tail itself is a Percomorphi 479 crescent-shaped oar, without flesh, almost without scales, com- posed of bundles of rays flexible, yet almost as hard as ivory. A single sweep of this powerful oar doubtless suffices to propel the bonito a hundred yards, for the polished surfaces of its body can offer little resistance to the water. I have seen a common dolphin swimming round and round a steamship, advancing at the rate of twelve knots an hour, the effort being hardly perceptible. The wild duck is said to fly seventy miles in an hour. Who can calculate the speed of the bonito? It might be done by the aid of the electrical contrivances by which is calculated the initial velocity of a projectile. The bonitoes in our sounds to-day may have been passing Cape Colony or the Land of Fire day before yesterday.” Another bonito, Sarda chilensis, is common in California ; in Chile, and in Japan. This species has fewer dorsal spines than the bonito of the Atlantic, but the same size, coloration, and flesh. Both are blue, with undulating black stripes along the side of the back. The genus Scomberomorus includes mackerels slenderer in form, with larger teeth, no corselet, and the flesh comparatively pale and free from oil. Scomberomorus maculatus, the Spanish mackerel of the West Indies, is one of the noblest of food-fishes. Its biography Fic. 377,—The Spanish Mackerel, Scomberomorus maculatus (Mitchill). New York. was written by Mitchill almost a century ago in these words: ‘““A fine and beautiful fish; comes in July.” Goode thus writes of it: “The Spanish mackerel is surely one of the most graceful 480 Percomorphi of fishes. It appeals as scarcely any other can to our love of beauty, when we look upon it, as shown in Kilbourn’s well- known painting, darting like an arrow just shot from the bow, its burnished sides, silver flecked with gold, thrown into bold relief by the cool green background of the rippled sea; the transparent grays, opalescent whites, and glossy blacks of its trembling fins enhance the metallic splendor of its body, until it seems to rival the most brilliant of tropical birds. Kilbourn made copies of his large painting on the pearly linings of sea- shells and produced some wonderful effects by allowing the natural luster of the mother-of-pearl to show through his trans- parent pigments and simulate the brilliancy of the life-inspired hues of the quivering, darting sea-sprite, whose charms even his potent brush could not properly depict. “It is a lover of the sun, a fish of tropical nature, which comes to us only in midsummer, and which disappears with the approach of cold, to some region not yet explored by ich- thyologists. It is doubtless very familiar in winter to the inhabitants of some region adjacent to the waters of the Carib- bean or the tropical Atlantic, but until this place shall have been discovered it is more satisfactory to suppose that with the bluefish and the mackerel it inhabits that hypothetical winter resort to which we send the migratory fishes whose habits we do not understand—the middle strata of the ocean, the floating beds of Sargassum, which drift hither and thither under the alternate promptings of the Gulf-stream currents and the winter winds.” The Spanish mackerel swims at the surface in moderate schools and is caught in abundance from Cape May south- ward. Its white flesh is most delicious, when properly grilled, and Spanish mackerel, like pampano, should be cooked in no other way. A very similar species, Scomberomorus sierra, occurs on the west coast of Mexico. For some reason it is little valued as food by the Mexicans. In California, the. Monterey Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus concolor) is equally excellent as a food-fish. This fish lacks the spots characteristic of most of its relatives. It was first found in the Bay of Monterey, especially at Santa Cruz and Soquel, in abundance in the autumn Percomorphi 481 of 1879 and 1880. It has not, so far as is known, been seen since, nor is the species recorded from any other coast. The true Spanish mackerel has round, bronze-black spots upon its sides. Almost exactly like it in appearance is the pintado, or sierra (Scomberomorus regalis), but in this species the spots are oblong in form. The pintado abounds in the West Indies. Its flesh is less delicate than that of the more true Spanish mackerel. The name serra, saw, commonly applied to these fishes by Spanish-speaking people, has been corrupted into cero in some books on angling. Still other Spanish mackerel of several species occur on the coasts of India, Chile, and Japan. The great kingfish, or cavalla (Scomberomorus cavalla), is a huge Spanish mackerel of Cuba and the West Indies, reaching a weight of too pounds. It is dark iron-gray in color, one of the best of food-fishes, and is unspotted, and its firm, rich flesh resembles that of the barracuda. still larger is the great guahu, or peto, an immense sharp- nosed, swift-swimming mackerel found in the East and West Indies, as well as in Polynesia, reaching a length of six feet and a weight of more than a hundred pounds. Its large knife-like teeth are serrated on the edge and the color is almost black. Acanthocybium solandrt is the species found in , Hawaii and Japan. The American Acanthocybium petus, occasionally also taken in the Mediterranean, may be the same species. Fossil Spanish mackerels, tunnies, and albacores, as well as representatives of related genera now extinct, abound in the Eocene and Miocene, especially in northern Italy. Among them are Scomber antiquus from the Miocene, Scombrinus macropomus from the Eocene London clays, much like Scomber, but with stronger teeth, Sphyrenodus priscus from the same deposits, the teeth still larger, Scombramphodon crossidens, from the same deposits, also with strong teeth, like those of Scomberomorus. Scomberomorus is the best represented of all the genera as fossil, Scomberomorus speciosus and numerous other species occurring in the Eocene. A fossil species of Germo, G. lanceolatus, occurs at Monte Bolca in Eocene rocks. Another tunny, with very small teeth is Eothynnus salmonens, 482 Percomorphi from the lower Eocene near London. Several other tunny- like fishes occur in the lower Tertiary. The Escolars: Gempylida.—More predaceous than the mack- erels and tunnies are the pelagic mackerels, Gempylide, known as escolars (‘‘scholars’’), with the body almost band-shaped and the teeth very large and sharp. Some of these, from the ocean depths, are violet-black in color, those near the surface being silvery. Escolar violaceus lives in the abysses of the Gulf Stream. Ruvettus pretiosus, the black escolar, lives in more moderate depths and is often taken in Cuba, Madeira, Hawaii, and Japan. It is a very large fish, black, with very rough scales. The flesh is white, soft, and full of oil; sometimes rated very high, and at other times too rank to be edible. The name escolar means scholar in Spanish, but its root meaning, as applied to this fish, comes from a word meaning to scour, in allusion to the very rough scales. Promethichthys prometheus, the rabbit-fish, or conejo, so- called from its wariness, is caught in the same regions, being especially common about Madeira and Hawaii. Gempylus serpens, the snake-mackerel, is a still slenderer and more voracious fish of the open seas. Thyrsites atun is the Australian ‘‘barra- cuda,’’ a valued food-fish, voracious and predaceous. Scabbard- and Cutlass-fishes: Lepidopide and Trichiuride. — The family of Lepidopide, or scabbard-fishes, includes degen- erate mackerels, band-shaped, with continuous dorsal fin, and the long jaws armed with very small teeth. These are found in the open sea, Lepidopus candutus being the most common. This species reaches a length of five or six feet and comes to different coasts occasionally to deposit its spawn. It lives in warm water and is at once chilled by the least cold; hence the name of frostfish occasionally applied to it. Several species of Lepidopus are fossil in the later Tertiary. Lepido- pus glarisianus occurs in the Swiss Oligocene, and with it Thyrsitocephalus alpinus, which approaches more nearly to the Gempylide. Still more degenerate are the Trichiuride, or cutlass-fishes, in which the caudal fin is wanting, the tail ending in a hair-like filament. The species are bright silvery in color, very slender, and very voracious, reaching a length of three to five feet. Percomorphi 483 Trichiurus lepturus is rather common on our Atlantic coast. The names hairfish and silver-eel, among others, are often given to it. Trichiurus japonicus, a very similar species, is common Fic. 378,—Cutlass-fish, Trichiurus lepturus Linneus. St. Augustine, Fla. in Japan, and other species inhabit the tropical seas. Tri- chiurichthys, a fossil genus with well-developed scales, precedes Trichiurus in the Miocene. The Palzorhynchide.—The extinct family of Palcorhynchide is found from the Eocene to the Oligocene. It contains very Fig. 379.—Paleworhynchus glarisianus Blainville. Oligocene. (After Woodward.) long and slender fishes, with long jaws and small teeth, the dorsal fin long and continuous. The species resembles the Escolar on the one hand and the sailfishes on the other, and they may prove to be ancestral to the Istiophoride. Hemi- rhynchus deshayest with the upper jaw twice as long as the lower, sword-like, occurs in the Eocene at Paris; Paleorhynchum glarisianum, with the jaws both elongate, the lower longest, is in the Oligocene of Glarus. Several other species of both genera are recorded. The Sailfishes: Istiophoride.—Remotely allied to the cutlass- fishes and still nearer to the Paleorhynchide is the family of sailfishes, Istiophoride, having the upper jaw prolonged into 484 Percomorphi a sword made of consolidated bones. The teeth are very feeble and the ventral fins reduced to two or three rays. The species are few in number, of large size, and very brilliant metallic coloration, inhabiting the warm seas, moving northward in summer. They are excellent as food, similar to the swordfish in this as in many other respects. The species are not well known, being too large for museum purposes, and no one having critically studied them in the field. Jstzophorus has the dorsal fin very high, like a great sail, and undivided; Istiophorus nt- gricans is rather common about the Florida Keys, where it reaches a length of six feet. Its great sail, blue with black spots, is a very striking object. Closely related to this is Istiophorus orientalis of Japan and other less known species of the East Indies. Tetrapturus, the spearfish, has the dorsal fin low and divided into two parts. Its species are taken in most warm seas, Teirapturus imperator throughout the Atlantic, Tetrapturus am-~- plus in Cuba, Tetrapturus mitsukurit in Japan and in Southern California. These much resemble swordfish in form and habits, and they have been known to strike boats in the same way. Fossil I[stiophoride are known only from fragments of the snout, in Europe and America, referred provisionally to Istio- phorus. The genus Xiphiorhynchus, fossil swordfishes from the Eocene, known from the skull only, may be referred to this family, as minute teeth are present in the jaws. Xiphtorhyn- chus priscus is found in the London Eocene. The Swordfishes: Xiphiide.— The family of swordfishes, Xiphiide, consists of a single species, Xiphias gladius, of world- Fic. 380.—Young Swordfish, Xiphias gladius (Linneus). (After Lutken.) wide distribution in the warm seas. The snout in the sword- fish is still longer, more perfectly consolidated, and a still more effective weapon of attack. The teeth are wholly wanting, and there are no ventral fins, while the second of the two fins on the back is reduced to a slight finlet. Percomorphi 485 The swordfish follows the schools of mackerel to the New England coasts. ‘‘Where you see swordfish, you may know that mackerel are about,’’ Goode quotes from an old fisherman. The swordfish swims near the surface, allowing its dorsal fin to appear, as also the upper lobe of the caudal. It often leaps out of the water, and none of all the fishes of the sea can swim more swiftly. “The pointed head,’’ says Goode, “the fins of the back and abdomen snugly fitting into grooves, the absence of ventrals, the long, lithe, muscular body, sloping slowly to the tail, fit Fic. 381.—Swordfish, Xiphias gladius (Linneus). (After Day.) it for the most rapid and forcible movement through the water. Prof. Richard Owen, testifying in an England court in regard to its power, said: “Tt strikes with the accumulated force of fifteen double- handed hammers. Its velocity is equal to that of a swivel-shot, and is as dangerous in its effects as a heavy artillery projectile.’ “Many very curious instances are on record of the encoun- ters of this fish with other fishes, or of their attacks upon ships. What can be the inducement for it to attack objects so much larger than itself it is hard to surmise. “It surely seems as if a temporary insanity sometimes takes possession of the fish. It is not strange that, when harpooned, it should retaliate by attacking its assailant. An old sword- fish fisherman told Mr. Blackford that his vessel had been struck twenty times. There are, however, many instances of entirely unprovoked assault on vessels at sea. Many of these are recounted in a later portion of this memoir. Their move- ments when feeding are discussed below, as well as their alleged peculiarities of movement during the breeding season. 486 Percomorphi “Tt is the universal testimony of our fishermen that two are never seen swimming close together. Capt. Ashby says that they are always distant from each other at least thirty or forty feet. “The pugnacity of the swordfish has become a byword. Without any special effort on my part numerous instances of their attacks upon vessels have in the last ten years found their way into the pigeon-hole labeled ‘Swordfish.’”’ Swordfishes are common on both shores of the Atlantic wherever mackerel run. They do not breed on our shores, but probably do so in the Mediterranean and other warm seas. They are rare off the California coast, but five records existing (Anacapa, Santa Barbara, Santa Catalina, San Diego, off Cerros Island). The writer has seen two large individuals in the market of Yokohama, but it is scarcely known in Japan. As a food-fish, the swordfish is one of the best, its dark-colored oily flesh, though a little coarse, making most excellent steaks. Its average weight on our coast is about 300 pounds, the maximum 625. The swordfish undergoes great change in the process of de- velopment, the very young having the head armed with rough spines and in nowise resembling the adult. Fossil swordfishes are unknown, or perhaps cannot be dis- tinguished from remains of Istiophoride. CHAPTER XXXII CAVALLAS AND PAMPANOS JHE Pampanos: Carangide.—We next take up the great ah family of Pampanos, Carangide, distinguished from ew -+| the Scombride as a whole by the shorter, deeper body, the fewer and larger vertebra, and by the loss of the pro- vision for swift movement in the open sea characteristic of the mackerels and their immediate allies. A simple mark of the Carangide is the presence of two separate spines in front of the anal fin. These spines are joined to the fin in the young. All of the species undergo considerable changes with age, and almost all are silvery in color with metallic blue on the back. Most like the true mackerel are the ‘“‘leather-jackets,” or “runners,” forming the genera Scomberoides and Oligoplites. Scomberoides of the Old World has-the body scaly, long, slender, and fitted for swift motion; Scomberoides sancti-petri is a widely diffused species, and others are found in Polynesia. In the New World genus Oligoplites the scales are reduced to linear ridges imbedded in the skin at different angles. Oligoplites saurus is a common dry and bony fish abounding in the West Indies and ranging north in summer to Cape Cod. Naucrates ductor, the pilotfish, or romero, inhabits the open sea, being taken—everywhere rarely—in Europe, the West Indies, Hawaii, and Japan. It is marked by six black cross-bands. Its tail has a keel, and it reaches a length of about two feet. In its development it undergoes considerable change, its first dorsal fin being finally reduced to disconnected spines. The amber-fishes, forming the genus Seriola, are rather robust fishes, with the anal fin much shorter than the soft dor- sal. The sides of the tail have a low, smooth keel. From a yellow streak obliquely across the head in some species they receive their Spanish name of coronado. The species are 487 488 Cavallas and Pampanos numerous, found in all warm seas, of fair quality as food, and range in length from two to six feet. Fic. 382.—Pilot-fish, Naucrates ductor (Linneus). New Bedford, Mass. Seriola dorsalis is the noted yellow-tail of California, valued by anglers for its game qualities. It comes to the Santa Bar- Fig. 383.—Amber-fish, “eriola lalandi (Cuv. & Val.). Family Carangide. Wood’s Hole. bara Islands in early summer. Sertola zonata is the rudder- fish, or shark’s pilot, common on our New England coast. The banded young, abundant off Cape Cod, lose their marks with age. Seriola hippos is the “‘samson-fish”’ of Australia. Seri- ola lalandi is the great amber-fish of the West Indies, occa- sionally venturing farther northward, and Seriola dumertli the amber-jack, or coronado, of the Mediterranean. The deep- bodied medregal (Seriola fasciata) is also taken in the West Indies, as is also the high-finned Seriola rivoliana. Species very similar to these occur in Hawaii and Japan, where they Cavallas and Pampanos 489 are known as Ao, or bluefishes. Seriola lata is fossil in the mountains of Tuscany. The runner, Elegatis bipinnulatus, differs from Seriola in having a finlet behind dorsal and anal. It is found in almost all warm seas, ranging north once in a while to Long Island. The mackerel scads (Decapterus) have also a finlet, and on the posterior part of the body the lateral line is shielded with bony plates. In size and form these little fishes much resemble small mackerel, and they are much valued as food wherever abundant. Decapterus punclatus, known also as cigar-fish and round-robin, frequently visits our Atlantic coasts from the West Indies, where it is abundant. Decapterus russelli is the Maru- ajt, highly valued in Japan for its abundance, while Decapterus muroadsi is the Japanese muroaji. Megalaspis cordyla abounds in the East Indies and Poly- Fic. 384.—The Saurel, Trachurus:trachurus (Linneus). Newport, R. I. nesia. It has many finlets, and the bony plates on the lateral line are developed to an extraordinary degree. In Trachurus the finlets are lost and the bony plates extend the whole length of the lateral line. The species known as saurel and wrongly called horse-mackerel are closely related and some of them very widely distributed. Trachurus trachurus common in Europe, extends to Japan where it is the abundant maaji. Trachurus mediterraneus is common in southern Europe and Trachurus symmetricus in California. Trachurus picturatus of Madeira is much the same 490 Cavallas and Pampanos as the last named, and there is much question as to the right names and proper limits of all these species. In Trachurops the bony plates are lacking on the anterior half of the body, and there is a peculiar nick and projection on the lower part of the anterior edge of the shoulder-girdle. Trachurops crumenophthalma, the goggler, or big-eyed scad, ranges widely in the open sea and at Hawaii, as the Akule, is the most highly valued because most abundant of the migra- tory fishes. At Samoa it is equally abundant, the name being here Atule. Trachurops torva is the meaji, or big-eyed scad, of the Japanese, always abundant. To Caranx, Carangus, and a number of related genera, charac- terized by the bony armature on the narrow caudal peduncle, a host of species may be referred. These fishes, known as cavallas, Fie. 385.—Yellow Mackerel, Carangus chrysos (Mitchill). Wood’s Hole. hard-tails, jacks, etc., are broad-bodied, silvery or metallic black in color, and are found in all warm seas. They usually move from the tropics northward in the fall in search of food and are espe- cially abundant on our Atlantic coast, in Polynesia, and in Japan. About the Oceanic Islands they are resident, these being their chosen spawning-grounds. In Hawaii and Samoa they form a large part of the food-supply, the ulua (Carangus forsteri) and the malauli (Carangus melampygus) being among the most valuable food-fishes, large in size and excellent in flesh, unsurpassed in fish chowders. Of the American species Carangus chrysos, called yellow mackerel, is the most abundant, ranging from Cape Cavallas and Pampanos 491 Cod southward. This is an elongate species of moderate size. The cavalla, or jiguagua, Carangus hippos, known by the black spot on the opercle, with another on the pectoral fin, is a widely distributed species and one of the largest of the tribe. Another important food-fish is the horse-eye-jack, or jurel, Carangus latus, which is very similar to the species called ulua in the Pacific. The black jack, or tifiosa, of Cuba, Carangus funebris, is said to be often poisonous. This is a very large species, black in color, the sale of which has been long forbidden in the markets of Havana. The young of different species of Carangus are often found taking refuge under the disk of jelly-fishes protected by the stinging feelers. The species of the genus Carangus have well- developed teeth. In the restricted genus of Caranx proper, the jaws are toothless. Caranx speciosus, golden with dark cross- bands, is a large food-fish of the Pacific. Cztula armata is another widely distributed species, with some of the dorsal rays produced in long filaments. In Alectis ciliaris, the cobbler-fish, or threadfish, the arma- ture of the tail is very slight and each fin has some of its rays drawn out into long threads. In the young these are very — much longer than the body, but with age they wear off and grow shorter, while the body becomes more elongate. In Vomer, Selene, and Chloroscombrus the bony armature of the tail, feeble in Alectis, by degrees entirely disappears. Vomer setipinnis, the so-called moonfish, or jorobado, has the body greatly elevated, compressed, and distorted, while the fins, growing shorter with age, become finally very low. Selene vomer, the horse-head-fish, or look-down, is similarly but even more distorted. The fins, filamentous in the young, grow shorter with age, as in Vomer and Alectis. The skeleton in these fishes is essentially like that of Carangus, the only difference lying in the compression and distortion of the bones. Chloro- scombrus contains the casabes, or bumpers, thin, dry, com- pressed fish, of little value as food, the bony armature of the tail being wholly lost. To the genus Trachinotus belong the pampanos, broad- bodied, silvery fishes, toothless when adult, the bodies covered with small scales and with no bony plates. The true pampano, Trachinotus carolinus, 13 one of the 492 Cavallas and Pampanos finest vf all food-fishes, ranking with the Spanish mackerel and to be cooked in the same way, only by broiling. The flesh is white, firm, and flaky, with a moderate amount of delicate oil. It has no especial interest to the angler and it is not abundant enough to be of great commercial importance, yet few fish bring or deserve to bring higher prices in the markets of the Fic. 386.—The Pampano, Trachinotus carolinus (Linnezus). Wood’s Hole. epicures. The species is most common along our Gulf coast, ranging northward along the Carolinas as far as Cape Cod. Pampano in Spanish means the leaf of the grape, from the broad body of the fish. The spelling ‘‘pompano”’ should there- fore be discouraged. The other pampanos, of which there are several in tropical America and Asia, are little esteemed, the flesh being dry and relatively flavorless. Trachinotus palometa, the gafftopsail pam- pano, has very high fins and its sides have four black bands like the marks of a grill. The round pampano, Trachinotus falcatus, is common southward, as is also the great pampano, Trachinotus goodet, which reaches a length of three feet. Trach- inotus ovatus, a large deep-bodied pampano, is common in Polynesia and the East Indies. No pampanos are found in Europe, but a related genus, Lichia, contains species which much resemble them, but in which the body is more elongate and the mouth larger. Numerous fossils are referred to the Carangide with more Cavallas and Pampanos 493 or less certainty. Azpichthys pretiosus and other species occur in the Cretaceous. These are deep-bodied fishes resembling Seriola, having the falcate dorsal twice as long as the anal and the ventral ridge with thickened scales. Vomeropsis (longispina elongata, etc.), also from the Eocene, with rounded caudal, the anterior dorsal rays greatly elongate, and the supraoccipital crest highly developed, probably constitutes with it a distinct family, Vomeropside. Several species referable to Carangus are found in the Miocene. Archeus glarisianus, resembling Carangus, but without scales so far as known, is found in the Oligocene of Glarus; Seriola prisca and other species of Seriola occur in the Eocene; Carangopsis brevis, etc., allied to Caranx, but with the lateral line unarmed, is recorded from the Eocene of France and Italy. Ductor leptosomus from the Eocene of Monte Bolca resembles Naucrates; Trachinotus tenuiceps is recorded from Monte Bolca, and a species of uncertain relationship, called Pseudovomer minutus, with sixteen caudal vertebre is taken from the Miocene of Licata. The Papagallos: Nematistiide.—Very close to the Carangide, and especially to the genus Seriola, is the small family of Nematistiide, containing the papagallo, Nematistius pectoralis of the west coast of Mexico. This large and beautiful fish has the general appearance of an amber-fish, but the dorsal spines are produced in long filaments. The chief character of the family is found in the excessive division of the rays of the pectoral fins. The Bluefishes: Cheilodipteride.—Allied to the Carangide is the family of bluefishes (Chetlodipteride, or Pomatomtde). The single species Chetlodtpterus saltatrix, or Pomatomus saltatrix, known as the bluefish, is a large, swift, extremely voracious fish, common throughout most of the warmer parts of the Atlantic, but very irregularly distributed on the various coasts. Its distribution is doubtless related to its food. It is more abun- dant on our Eastern coast than anywhere else, and its chief food here is the menhaden. The bluefish differs from the Carangide mainly in its larger scales, and in a slight serration of the bones of the head. Its flesh is tender and easily torn. As a food-fish, rich, juicy, and delicate, it has few superiors. 494 Cavallas and Pampanos Its maximum weight is from twelve to twenty pounds, but most of those taken are much smaller. It is one of the most voracious of all fish. Concerning this, Professor Baird observes: ‘There is no parallel in point of destructiveness to the bluefish among the marine species on our coast, whatever may be the case among some of the carnivorous fish of the South American waters. The bluefish has been well likened to an animated chopping-machine the business of which is to cut to pieces and otherwise destroy as many fish as possible in a Fic. 387.—Bluefish, Cheilodipterus saltatriz (L.). New York. given space of time. All writers are unanimous in regard to the destructiveness of the bluefish. Going in large schools in pursuit of fish not much inferior to themselves in size, they move along like a pack of hungry wolves, destroying every- thing before them. Their trail is marked by fragments of fish and by the stain of blood in the sea, as, where the fish is too large to be swallowed entire, the hinder portion will be bitten off and the anterior part allowed to float away or sink. It is even maintained with great earnestness that such is the glut- tony of the fish, that when the stomach becomes full the con- tents are disgorged and then again filled. It is certain that it kills many more fish than it requires for its own support. “The youngest fish, equally with the older, perform this function of destruction, and although they occasionally devour crabs, worms, etc., the bulk of their sustenance throughout the greater part of the year is derived from other fish. Noth- ing is more common than to find a small bluefish of six or eight inches in length under a school of minnows making continual dashes and captures among them. The stomachs of the blue- Cavallas and Pampanos 495 fish of all sizes, with rare exceptions, are found loaded with the other fish, sometimes to the number of thirty or forty, either entire or in fragments. ‘As already referred to, it must also be borne in mind that it is not merely the small fry that are thus devoured, and which it is expected will fall a prey to other animals, but that the focd of the bluefish consists very largely of individuals which have already passed a large percentage of the chances against their reaching maturity, many of them, indeed, having arrived at the period of spawning. To make the case more clear, let us realize for a moment the number of bluefish that exist on our coast in the summer season. As far as I can ascertain by the statistics obtained at the fishing-stations on the New England coast, as also from the records of the New York markets, kindly furnished by Middleton & Carman, of the Fulton Market, the capture of bluefish from New Jersey to Monomoy during the season amounts to no less than one million individuals, aver- aging five or six pounds each. Those, however, who have seen the bluefish in his native waters and realized the immense numbers there existing will be quite willing to admit that probably not one fish in a thousand is ever taken by man. If, therefore, we have an actual capture of one million, we may allow one thousand millions as occurring in the extent of our coasts referred to, even neglecting the smaller ones, which, perhaps, should also be taken into account. “An allowance of ten fish per day to each bluefish is not excessive, according to the testimony elicited from the fisher- men and substantiated by the stomachs of those examined; this gives ten thousand millions of fish destroyed per day. And as the period of the stay of the bluefish on the New England coast is at least one hundred and twenty days, we have in round numbers twelve hundred million millions of fish devoured in the course of a season. Again, if each bluefish, averaging five pounds, devours or destroys even half its own weight of other fish per day (and I am not sure that the estimate of some witnesses of twice this weight is not more nearly correct), we will have, during the same period, a daily loss of twenty-five hundred million pounds, equal to three hundred thousand millions for the season. 496 Cavallas and Pampanos “This estimate applies to three or four year old fish of at least three to five pounds in weight. We must, however, allow for those of smaller size, and a hundred-fold or more in number, all engaged simultaneously in the butchery referred to. ““We can scarcely conceive of a number so vast; and how- ever much we may diminish, within reason, the estimate of the number of bluefish and the average of their capture, there still remains an appalling aggregate of destruction. While the smallest bluefish feed upon the diminutive fry, those of which we have taken account capture fish of large size, many of them, if not capable of reproduction, being within at least one or two years of that period. “Tt is estimated by very good authority that of the spawn deposited by any fish at a given time not more than 30 per cent. are hatched, and that less than 10 per cent. attain an age when they are able to take care of themselves. As their age increases the chances of reaching maturity become greater and greater. It is among the small residuum of this class that the agency of the bluefish is exercised and whatever reasonable reduction may be made in our estimate, we cannot doubt that they exert a material influence. “The rate of growth of the bluefish is also an evidence of the immense amount of food they must consume. The young fish which first appear along the shores of Vineyard Sound, about the middle of August, are about five inches in length. By the beginning of September, however, they have reached six or seven inches, and on their reappearance in the second year they measure about twelve or fifteen inches. After this they increase in a still more rapid ratio. A fish which passes eastward from Vineyard Sound in the spring weighing five pounds is represented, according to the general impression, by the ten- to fifteen-pound fish of the autumn. If this be the fact, the fish of three or four pounds which pass along the coast of North Carolina in March return to it in October weigh- ing ten to fifteen pounds. “As already explained, the relationship of these fish to the other inhabitants of the sea is that of an unmitigated butcher: and it is able to contend successfully with any other species not superior to itself in size. It is not known whether an Cavallas and Pampanos 497 entire school ever unite in an attack upon a particular object of prey, as is said to be the case with the ferocious fishes of the South American rivers; should they do so, no animal, however large, could withstand their onslaught. “They appear to eat anything that swims of suitable size— fish of all kinds, but perhaps more especially the menhaden, which they seem to follow along the coast, and which they atack with such ferocity as to drive them on the shore, where Fig. 388.—Sergeant-fish, Rachycentron canadum (Linneus). Virginia. they are sometimes piled up in windrows to the depth of a foot or more.” The Sergeant-fishes: Rachycentride.— The Rachycentride, or sergeant-fishes, are large, strong, swift, voracious shore fishes, with large mouths and small teeth, ranging northward from the warm seas. The dorsal spines are short and stout, separate from the fin, and the body is almost cylindrical, somewhat like that of the pike. Rachycentron canadum, called cobia, crab-eater, snooks, or sergeant-fish, reaches a length of about five feet. The last name is supposed to allude to the black stripe along its side, like the stripe on a sergeant’s trousers. It is rather common in summer along our Atlantic coast as far as Cape Cod, espe- cially in Chesapeake Bay. Rachycentron pondicerrianum, equally voracious, extends its summer depredations as far as Japan. The more familiar name for these fishes, Elacate, is of later date than Rachycentron. Mr. Prime thus speaks of the crab-eater as a game-fish: “Tn shape he may be roughly likened to the great northern pike, with a similar head, flattened on the forehead. He is dark green on the back, growing ‘ighter on the sides, but the 498 Cavailas and Pampanos distinguishing characteristic is a broad, dark collar over the neck, from which two black stripes or straps, parting on the shoulders, extend, one on each side, to the tail. He looks as if harnessed with a pair of traces, and his behavior on a fly-rod is that of a wild horse. The first one that I struck, in the brackish water of Hillsborough River at Tampa, gave me a hitherto unknown sensation. The tremendous rush was not unfamiliar, but when the fierce fellow took the top of the water and went along lashing it with his tail, swift as a bullet, then descended, and with a short, sharp, electric shock left the line to come home free, I was for an instant confounded. It was all over in ten seconds. Nearly every fish that I struck after this behaved in the same way, and after I had got ‘the hang of them’ I took a great many.” The Butter-fishes: Stromateide.— The butter-fishes (Stroma- teidg) form a large group of small fishes with short, compressed bodies, smooth scales, feeble spines, the vertebrz in increased number and especially characterized by the presence of a series of tooth-like processes in the cesophagus behind the pharyn- geals. The ventral fins present in the young are often lost in the process of development. According to Mr. Regan, the pelvic bones are very loosely attached to the shoulder-girdle as in the extinct genera Platy- cormus and Homosoma. This is perhaps a primitive feature, indicating the line of descent of these fishes from berycoid forms. We unite with the Stromateide the groups or families of Centrolophide and Nomeide, knowing no characters by which to separate them. Stromateus fiatola, the fiatola of the Italian fishermen, is an excellent food-fish of the Mediterranean. Poronotus triacan- thus, the harvest-fish, or dollar-fish, of our Atlantic coast, is a common little silvery fish six to ten inches, as bright and almost as round as a dollar. Its tender oily flesh has an excellent flavor. Very similar to it is the poppy-fish (Palometa simillima) of the sandy shores of California, miscalled the “California pampano,” valued by the San Francisco epicure, who pays large prices for it supposing it to be pampano, although admit- ting that the pampano in New Orleans has firmer flesh and Cavallas and Pampanos 499 better flavor. The harvest-fish, Peprilus paru, frequently taken on our Atlantic coast, is known by its very high fins. Stromateoides argenteus, a much larger fish than any of these, is a very important species on the coasts of China. Psenopsis anomala takes the place of our butter-fishes in Japan, and much resembles them in appearance as in flavor. To the Stromateide we also refer the black ruff of Europe, Centrolophus niger, an interesting deep-sea fish rarely straying to our coast. Allied to it is the black rudder-fish, Palinurich- thys perciformis, common on the Massachusetts coast, where it is of some value as a food-fish. A specimen in a live-box once drifted to the coast of Cornwall, where it was taken unin- jured, though doubtless hungry. Other species of ruff- and rudder-fish are recorded from various coasts. Allied to the Stromateide are numerous fossil forms. Omo- soma sachelalme and other species occur in the Cretaceous at Mount Lebanon. Platycormus germanus, with ctenoid scales 500 Cavallas and Pampanos resembling a berycoid, but with the ventral rays I, 5, occurs in the Upper Cretaceous. Closely related to this is Berycopsis elegans, with smoother sca'es, from the English Chalk. Gobiomorus gronovit (usually called Nomeus gronovit), the Portuguese man-of-war-fish, is a neat little fish about three inches long, common in the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Stream, where it hides from its enemies among the poisoned tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war. Under the Portuguese man-of- war and also in or under large jelly-fishes several other species are found, notably Carangus medusicola and Peprilus paru. Many small species of Psenes, a related genus, also abound in the warm currents from tropical seas. The Rag-fishes: Icosteidae. — Allied to the butter-fishes are the deep-water Icosterde, fishes of soft, limp bodies as unre- sistent as a wet rag, Icosteus enigmaticus of the California coast being known as ragfish. Schedophilus medusophagus feeds on meduse and salpa, living on the surface in the deep seas, Pig. 00., Portuguew Man-of-we Mr. Ogilby thus speaks of a Stromateide. specimen taken in Ireland: “Tt was the most delicate adult fish I ever handled; within twenty-four hours after its capture the skin of the belly and the intestines fell off when it was lifted, and it felt in the hand quite soft and boneless.” A related species (S. heathi) has been lately taken by Dr. Charles H. Gilbert at Monterey in California. The family of Acrotide contains a single species of large size. Acrotus willoughbyi, allied to Icosteus, but without ventral fins and with the vertebre very numerous. The type, five and one- Cavallas and Pampanos 501 quarter feet long, was thrown by a storm on the coast of Wash- ington, near the Quinnault agency. The family of Zaproride contains also a single large species, Zaprora silenus, without ventrals, but scaly and firm in sub- stance. One specimen 24 feet long was taken at Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and a smaller one at Victoria. The Pomfrets: Bramide.— The Bramide are broad-bodied fishes of the open seas, covered with firm adherent scales. The flesh is firm and the skeleton heavy, the hypercoracoid espe- cially much dilated. Of the various species the pomfret, or black bream (Brama rait), is the best known and most widely diffused. Itreachesa length of two to four feet and is sooty black in color. It is not rare in Europe and has been occasionally taken at Grand Bank off Newfoundland, at the Bermudas, off the coast of Washington, on Santa Catalina Island, and in Japan. It is an excellent food-fish, but is seldom seen unless driven ashore by storms. Steinegeria rubescens of the Gulf of Mexico is a little-known deep-sea fish allied to Brama, but placed by Jordan and Ever- mann in a distinct family, Steznegerude. Closely related to the Bramide is the small family of Ptera- clide, silvery fishes with large firm scales, living near the sur- face in the ocean currents. In these fishes the ventral fins are placed well forward, fairly to be called jugular, and the rays of the dorsal and anal, all inarticulate or spine-like, are excessively prolonged. The species, none of them well known, are referred to four genera—Pteraclis, Bentenia, Centropholts, and Velifer. They are occasionally taken in ocean currents, chiefly about Japan and Madeira. Fossil forms more or less remotely allied to the Bramide are recorded from the Eocene and Miocene. Among these are Acan- thonemus, and perhaps Pseudovomer. The Dolphins: -Coryphenide.—The dolphins, or dorados (Coryphenide), are large, swift sea-fishes, with elongate, com- pressed bodies, elevated heads, sharp like the cut-water of a boat, and with the caudal fin very strong. The long dorsal fin, elevated like a crest on the head, is without spines. The high forehead characteristic of the dolphin is developed only in the adult male. The flesh of the dolphin is valued as food. 7o2 Cavallas and Pampanos Its colors, golden-blue with deep-blue spots, fade rapidly at death, though the extent of this change has been much exag- gerated. Similar changes of color occur at death in most bright- colored fishes, especially in those with thin scales. The common dolphin, or dorado (Coryphena hippurus), is found in all warm Fig. 391.—Dolphin or Dorado, Coryphena hippurus Linneus. New York. seas swimming near the surface, as usual in predatory fishes, and reaches a length of about six feet. The small dolphin, Coryphena equisetis, rarely exceeds 24 feet, and is much more rare than the preceding, from which the smaller number of dorsal rays (53 instead of 60) best distinguishes it. Young dolphins of both species are elongate in form, the crest of the head not elevated, the physiognomy thus appearing very differ- ent from that of the adult. Goniognathus coryphenoides is an extinct dolphin of the Eocene. The name dolphin, belonging properly to a group of small whales or porpoises, the genus Delphinus, has been unfortu- nately used in connection with this very different animal, which bears no resemblance to the mammal of the same name. Other mackerel-like families not closely related to these occur in the warm seas. The Letognathide are small, silvery fishes of the East Indies. Leiognathus argentatus (Equula) is very common in the bays of Japan, a small silvery fish of mod- erate value as food. Gazza minuta, similar, with strong teeth, abounds farther south. Letognathus fasciatum is common in Polynesia. A fossil species called Parequula albyit occurs in the Miocene of Licata. The Kurtide are small, short-bodied fishes of the Indian seas, with some of the ribs immovably fixed between rings Cavallas and Pampanos 503 formed by the ossified cover of the air-bladder and with the hypocoracoid obsolete. Kurtus indicus is the principal species. The Menide.—Near the Kurtide we may perhaps place the family of Menide, of one species, Mene maculata, the moon-fish of the open seas of the East Indies and Japan. This is a small fish, about a foot long, with the body very closely compressed, the fins low and the belly, through the extension of the pelvic bone, a good deal more prominent than the back. The ventral Fic. 892 —Mene maculata (Bloch & Schneider). Family Menide. Japan. fins have the usual number of one spine and five soft rays, a character which separates Mene widely from Lampris, which in some ways seems allied to it. Another species of Menide is the extinct Gasteronemus rhombeus of the Eocene of Monte Bolca. It has much the same form, with long pubic bones. The very long ventral fins are, however, made of one spine and one or two rays. A second species, Gasteronemus oblongus, is recorded from the same rocks. The Pempheride.—The Pemplieride, ‘deep-water catalufas,” or ‘‘magifi,’’ are rather small deep-bodied fishes, reddish in color, with very short dorsal, containing a few graduated spines, 504 Cavallas and Pampanos and with a very long anal fin. These inhabit tropical seas at moderate depths. Pempheris bears a superficial resemblance ta Fic. 893 —Gasteronemus rhombeus Agassiz. (After Woodward.) Menide. Beryx, but, according to Starks, this resemblance is not borne out by the anatomy. Pempheris mullert and P. poeyi are found mI 4 Abs ») 3 eae ory DS a PaO 5 Pee )) ae Dy : oy Ph 3 Rawee SS Ls (SS Fic. 394.—Catalufa de lo Alto, Pempheris mulleri Poey. Havana. in the West Indies. Pempheris otaitensis and P. mangula range through Polynesia. 525 Very close to the Pempheride is the small family of Bathy- clupeide. These are herring-like fishes, much compressed and Cavallas and Pampanos Giran, Formosa. Fie. 395 —Pempheris nyctereutes.Jordan & Evermann. There are but one or two dorsal with a duct to the air-bladder. The ventrals are of one spine and five rays as in perch, like fishes, but placed behind the pectoral fins. due to the shortening of the belly, spines. This feature- is regarded by Alcock, the and the family was discoverer, as a result of degeneration, Fic. 396.—The Louvar, Luvarus imperialis Rafinesque. Family Luvaride. The persistent air-duct excludes it from the Percesoces, the normally formed ventrals (After Day.) If we trust the indications of the skeleton, placed by him among the herrings. from the Berycoidet. 506 Cavallas and Pampanos we must place the family with Pempherts, near the scombroid fishes. Luvaride.—Another singular family is the group of Louvars, Luvaride. Luvaris impertalis. The single known species is a large, plump, voracious fish, with the dorsal and anal rays all un- branched, and the scales scurf-life over the smooth skin. It is frequently taken in the Mediterranean, and was found on the island of Santa Catalina, California, by Mr. C. F. Holden. The Square-tails: Tetragonuridea.—The Tetragonuride are long- bodied fishes of a plump or almost squarish form, covered with hard, firm, very adherent scales. Tetragonurus cuvieri, the single species, called square-tail, or escolar de natura, is a curious fish, looking as if whittled out of wood, covered with a compact armor of bony scales, and swimming very slowly in deep water. It is known from the open Atlantic and Medi- terranean and has been once taken at Woods Hole in Massa- chusetts. According to Mr. C. T. Regan the relations of this eccentric fish are with the Stromatetde and Bramide, the skele- ton being essentially that of Stromateus, and Boulenger places both Tetragonurus and Stromateus among the Percesoces. The Crested Band-fishes: Lophotide.—The family of Lopho- tide consists of a few species of deep-sea fishes, band-shaped, naked, with the dorsal of flexible spines beginning as a high crest on the elevated occiput. The first spine is very strong. The ventrals are thoracic with the normal number, I, 5, of fin- rays. Lophotes cepedianus, the crested bandfish, is occasionally taken in the Mediterranean in rather deep water. Lophotes capellet is rarely taken in the deep waters of Japan. It is thought that the Lophotide may be related to the ribbon-fishes, Teniosomi, but on the whole they seem nearer to the highly modified Scombroidet, the Pteraclide for example. In a natural arrangement, we should turn from the Bramzt- de to the Antigonttde and the Ilarchide, then passing over the series which leads through Chetodontide and Teuthide to the Plectognaths. It is, however, necessary to include here, alongside the mackerels, though not closely related to them, the parallel series of perch-like fishes, which at the end become also hopelessly entangled, through aberrant forms, with other Cavallas and Pampanos 507 series of which the origin and relations are imperfectly under- stood. As the relations of forms cannot be expressed in a linear series, many pages must intervene before we can take up the supposed line of development from the Scombroid fishes to those called Squamipinnes, CHAPTER XXXIII PERCOIDEA, OR PERCH-LIKE FISHES WIERCOID Fishes—We may now take up the long series of the Percoidea, the fishes built on the type REE! Of the perch. or bass. This is a group of fishes of diverse habits and forms, but on the whole representing better than any other the typical Acanthopterygian fish. The group is incapable of concise definition, or, in general, of any defin1- tion at all; still, most of its members are definitely related to each other and bear in one way or another a resemblance to the typical form, the perch, or more strictly to its marine relatives, the sea-bass, or Serranide. The following analysis gives most of the common characters of the group: Body usually oblong, covered with scales, which are typically ctenoid, not smooth nor spinous, and of moderate size. Lateral line typically present and concurrent with the back. Head usually compressed laterally and with the cheeks and opercles scaly. Mouth various, usually terminal and with lateral cleft; the teeth various, but typically pointed, arranged in bands on the jaws, and in several families on the vomer and palatine bones also, as well as on the pharyngeals; gill-rakers usually sharp, stoutish, armed with teeth, but some- times short or feeble; lower pharyngeals almost always separate, usually armed with cardiform teeth; third upper pharyngeal moderately enlarged, elongate, not articulated to the cranium, the fourth typically present; gills four, a slit behind the fourth; gill membranes free from the isthmus, and usually not con- nected with each other; pseudobranchie typically well developed. Branchiostegals few, usually six or seven. No bony stay connecting the suborbital chain to the preopercle. Opercular bones all well developed, normal in position; the preopercle typically serrate. No cranial spines. Dorsal fin 508 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes 509 variously developed, but always with some spines in front, these typically stiff and pungent; anal fin typically short, usually with three spines, sometimes with a larger number, rarely with none; caudal fin various, usually lunate; pectoral fins well developed, inserted high; ventral fins always present, thoracic, separate, almost always with one spine and five rays, the Aphredoderide having more, a few Serranide having fewer. Air-bladder usually present, without air-duct in adult; simple and generally adherent to the walls of the abdomen. Stomach cecal, with pyloric appendages, the intestines short in most species, long in the herbivorous forms. Vertebral column well developed, none of the vertebrze especially modified, the number 10o+14=24, except in certain extratropical and fresh-water forms, which retain primitive higher numbers. Shoulder-girdle normally developed, the post-temporal bifurcate attached to the skull, but not coossified with it; none of the epipleural bones attached to the center of the vertebre; coracoids normal, the hypercoracoid always with a median foramen, the basal bones of the pectoral (actinosts or pterygials) normally developed, three or four in number, hour-glass-shaped, longer than broad; premaxil- lary forming the border of the mouth usually protractile; bones of the mandible distinct. Orbitosphenoid wanting. The most archaic of the perch-like types are apparently some of those of the fresh waters. Among these the process of evolution has been less rapid. In some groups, as the Percide, the great variability of species is doubtless due to the recent origin, the characters not being well fixed. The Pirate-perches: Aphredoderide.— Among the most re- markable of the living percoid fishes and probably the most primitive of all, showing affinities with the Salmoperce, is the pirate-perch, Aphredoderus sayanus, a little fish of the low- land streams of the Mississippi Valley. The family of A phre- doderide agrees with the berycoid fishes in scales and structure of the fins, and Boulenger places it with the Berycide. Starks has shown, however, that it lacks the orbitosphenoid, and the general osteology is that of the perch-like fishes. The dorsal and anal have a few spines. The thoracic ventrals have one spine and eight rays. There is no adipose fin and probably no duct to the air-bladder. A singular trait is found in the posi- 510 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes tion of the vent. In the adult this is in front of the ventral fins, at the throat. In the young it is behind the ventral fins ARS Fic. 397.—Pirate Perch, Aphredoderus sayanus (Gilliams). Illinois River. as in ordinary fishes. With age it moves forward by the pro- longation of the horizontal part of the intestine or rectum’ The same peculiar position of the vent is found in the berycoid genus Paratrachichthys. In the family Aphredoderide but one species is known, Aphredoderus sayanus, the pirate-perch. It reaches a length Fig. 398.—Everglade Pigmy Perch, Elassoma evergladei Jordan. Everglades of Florida of five inches and lives in sluggish lowland streams with muddy bottom from New Jersey and Minnesota to Louisiana. It is Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes Sit dull green in color and feeds on insects and worms. It has no economic value, although extremely interesting in its anatomy and relationship. Whether the Asineopide, fresh-water fishes of the American Eocene, and the Erismatopteride, of the same deposits (see page 450) are related to A phredoderus or to Percopsis is still uncertain. The Pigmy Sunfishes: Elassomide.—One of the most primitive groups is that of Elassomide, or pigmy sunfi~hes. These are Fie. 399.—Skull of the Rock Bass, Ambloplites rupestris. very small fishes, less than two inches long, living in the swamps of the South, resembling the sunfishes, but with the number of dorsal spines reduced to from three to five. LElassoma zonatum occurs from southern Illinois to Louisiana. Elassoma ever- gladet abounds in the Everglades of Florida. In both the body g12 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes is oblong and compressed, the color is dull green crossed by black bars or blotches. The Sunfishes: Centrarchide.—The large family of Centrar- chide, or sunfishes, is especially characteristic of the rivers of the eastern United States, where the various species are inordinately abundant. The body is relatively short and deep, and the axis passes through the middle so that the back has much the same outline as the belly. The pseudobranchiz are imperfect, as in many fresh-water fishes, and the head is feebly armed, the bones being usually without spines or serra- tures. The colors are often brilliant, the sexes alike, and all are carnivorous, voracious, and gamy, being ‘excellent as food. The origin of the group is probably Asiatic, the fresh-water serranoid of Japan, Bryttosus, resembling in many ways an American sunfish, and the genus Kullia cf the Pacific showing many homologies with the black bass, Micropterus. Fic. 400 —Crappie, Pomozis annularis Rafinesque. Ohio River. Crappies and Rock Bass. — Pomoxis annularis, the crappie, and Pomoxis sparoides, the calico-bass, are handsome fishes, valued by the angler. These are perhaps the most prim- itive of the family, and in these species the anal fin is larger than the dorsal. The flier, or round bass, Centrarchus macropterus, with eight anal spines, is abundant in swamps and lowland ponds of the Southern States. It is a pretty fish, attractive in the aquarium. Acantharchus pomotis is the mud-bass of the Delaware, and Archoplites interruptus, the ers CIppPmMYS “MA “Wag Aq est] w041,7) ‘CJey) suuyjnuun sizowog ‘aiddvig— jop ‘PIT 514 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes “perch” of the Sacramento. The latter is a large and gamy fish, valued as food and interesting as being the only fresh- Fie. 402.—Rock Bass, Ambloplites rupestris (Rafinesque.) Ecorse, Mich. water fish of the nature of perch or bass native to the west of the Rocky Mountains. The numbers of this species, according Fic. 408.—Banded Sunfish, Mesogonistius chatodon (Baird). Delaware River. to Mr. Will S. Green of Colusa, California, have been greatly reduced by the introduction of the catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes gis into the Sacramento. The perch eats the young catfish, and its stomach is torn by their sharp pectoral spines. Another Fic. 404.—Blue-Gill, Lepomis pallidus (Mitchill). Potomac River. species of this type is the warmouth (Chenobryttus gulosus) of the ponds of the South, and still more familiar rock-bass Fic. 405,—Long-eared Sunfish, Lepomis megalotis (Rafinesque). From Clear Creek, Bloomington, Indiana. Family Centrarchide. or redeye (Ambloplites rupestris) of the more northern lakes and rivers valued as a game- and food-fish. A very pretty 516 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes aquarium fish is the black-banded sunfish, Mesogonistius cheto- don, of the Delaware, as also the nine-spined sunfish, Enneacan- thus gloriosus, of the coast streams southward. Apomotis cyanel- lus, the blue-green sunfish or little redeye, is very widely dis- tributed from Ohio westward, living in every brook. The dis- section of this species is given on page 26. To Lepomis belong numerous species having the opercle prolonged in a long flap which is always black in color, often with a border of scarlet or blue. The yellowbelly of the South (Lepomis auritus), ear-like the showily colored long-eared sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) of the Fic. 406.—Common Sunfish, Eupomotis gibbosus (Linneus). Root River, Wis. southwest, figured on page 2, the bluegill (Lepomis pallidus), abundant everywhere south and west of New York, are mem- bers of this genus. The genus Fupomotis differs in its larger pharyngeals, which are armed with blunt teeth. The common sunfish, or pumpkinseed, Eupomotis gibbosus, is the most familiar representative of the family, abounding everywhere from Min- nesota to New England, then south to Carolina on the east slope of the Alleghanies, breeding everywhere in ponds and in the eddies of the clear brooks. The Black Bass.—The black bass (Micropterus) belong to the same family as the sunfish, differing in the larger size, more elongate form, and more voracious habit. The two species are Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes o07 among the most important of American game-fishes, abounding in all clear waters east of the Alleghanies and resisting the evils of civilization far better than the trout. The small-mouthed black bass, Micropterus dolontieu, is the most valuable of the species. Its mouth, although large, is relatively small, the cleft not extending beyond the eye. The green coloration is broken in the young by bronze cross-bands, The species frequents only running streams, preferring clear and cold waters, and it extends its range from Canada as far to the southward as such streams can be found. Dr. James A. Henshall, an accomplished angler, author of the “Book of the Black Bass,” says: ‘‘The black bass is eminently an American fish; he has the faculty of asserting himself and of making himself completely at home wherever placed. He is plucky, game, brave, unyielding to the last when hooked. He has the arrowy rush and vigor of a trout, the untiring strength and bold leap of a salmon, while he has a system of fighting tactics peculiarly his own. I consider him inch for inch and pound for pound the gamest fish that swims.” In the same vein Charles Hallock writes: ‘‘No doubt the bass is the appointed successor of the trout; not through heri- tage, nor selection, nor by interloping, but by foreordination. Truly, it is sad to contemplate, in the not distant future, the extinction of a beautiful race of creatures, whose attributes have been sung by all the poets; but we regard the inevitable with the same calm philosophy with which the astronomer watches the burning out of a world, knowing that it will be succeeded by a new creation. As we mark the soft varitinted flush of the trout disappear in the eventide, behold the sparkle of the coming bass, as he leaps in the morning of his glory! We hardly know which to admire the most—the velvet livery and the charming graces of the departing courtier, or the flash of the armor-plates of the advancing warrior. The bass will unques- tionably prove himself a worthy substitute for his predecessor and a candidate for a full legacy of honors. “No doubt, when every one of the older states shall become as densely settled as Great Britain itself, and all the rural aspects of the crowded domain resemble the suburban surroundings of our Boston; when every feature of the pastoral landscape 518 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes shall wear the finished appearance of European lands, and every verdant field be closely cropped by lawn-mowers and guarded by hedges, and every purling stream which meanders through it has its water-bailiff, we shall still have speckled trout from which the radiant spots have faded, and tasteless fish, to catch at a dollar a pound (as we already have on Long Island), and all the appurtenances and appointments of a genuine English trouting privilege and a genuine English ‘outing.’ “In those future days, not long hence to come, some ven- erable piscator, in whose memory still lingers the joy of fishing, the brawling stream which tumbled over the rocks in the tangled wildwood, and moistened the arbutus and the bunchberries Fie. 407.—Small Mouth Black Bass Micropterus dolomieu Lacépéde, which garnished its banks, will totter forth to the velvet edge of some peacefully flowing stream, and having seated himself on a convenient point in a revolving easy-chair, placed there by his careful attendant, cast right and left for the semblance of sport long dead. “Hosts of liver-fed fish rush to the signal for their early morning meal, and from the center of the boil which follows the fall of the handfuls thrown in my piscator of the ancient days will hook a two-pound trout, and play him hither and yon, from surface to bottom, without disturbing the pampered gour- mands which are gorging themselves upon the disgusting viands; and when he has leisurely brought him to land at last, and the gillie has scooped him with his landing-net, he will feel in his capacious pocket for his last trade dollar, and giving his friend the tip, shuffle back to his house, and lay aside his rod forever.”’ Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes 519 The black bass is now introduced into the streams of Europe and California. There is little danger that it will work injury to the trout, for the black bass prefers limestone streams, and the trout rarely does well in waters which do not flow over granite rock or else glacial gravel. The large-mouth black bass (Mucropterus salmoides) is very much like the other in appearance. The mouth is larger, in the adult cleft beyond the eye; the scales are larger, and in the young there is always a broad black stripe along the sides and no cross-bands. The two are found in the same region, but almost never in the same waters, for the large-mouth bass is a fish of the lakes, ponds, and bayous, always avoiding the swift currents. The young like to hide among weeds or beneath lily-pads. From its preference for sluggish waters, its range extends farther to the southward, as far as the Mexican State of Tamaulipas. Plhioplarchus is a genus of fossil sunfishes from the Eocene of South Dakota and Oregon. Plioplarchus sexspinosus, sep- temspinosus, and whitet are imperfectly known species. The Saleles: Kuhliidz.—Much like the sunfishes in anatomy, though more like the white perch in appearance and habit, are the members of the little family of Kuhlide. These are active silvery perches of the tropical seas, ponds, and river- mouths, especially abundant in Polynesia. Kuhlia malo is the aholehole of the Hawaiians, a silvery fish living in great numbers in brackish waters. Auslia rupestris, the salele of the Samoan rivers, is a large swift fish of the rock pools, in form, color, and habits remarkably like the black bass. It is silvery bronze in hue, everywhere mottled with olive-green. The sesele, Kuslia marginata, lives with it in the rivers, but is less abundant. The saboti, Kuhlia teniura, a large silvery fish with cross-bands on the caudal fin, lives about lava-rocks in Polynesia from the Galapagos to Samoa and the East Indies, never entering rivers. Still other species are found in the rock pools and streams of Japan and southward. The skeleton in AKuhlia is essentially like that of the black bass, and Dr. Boulenger places the genus with the Centrarchide. The True Perches: Percide.—The great family of Percide includes fresh-water fishes of the northern hemisphere, elon- ozs CIPPMYS “MW ad 4q opt Wor) *(oeT) saprowpps sniaidosrpy ‘sseq Youlg, poyynow-os1e'J— gop ‘OA Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes 521 gate in body, with the vertebrz in increased number and with only two spines in the anal fin. About ninety species are recorded, the vast majority being American. The dwarf perches, called darters (Etheostomine), are especially characteristic of the clear streams to the eastward of the plains of the Missouri. These constitute one of the greatest attractions of our American river fauna. They differ from the perch and its European allies in their small size, bright colors, and large fins, and more technic- ally in the rudimentary condition of the pseudobranchie and the air-bladder, both of which organs are almost inappreciable. The preopercle is unarmed, and the number of the branchioste- gals is six. The anal papilla is likewise developed, as in the Gobude, to which group the darters bear a considerable super- ficial resemblance, which, however, indicates no real affinity. Relations of Darters to Perches.— The colors of the Ethe- ostomine, or darters, are usually very brilliant, species of Etheostoma especially being among the most brilliantly colored fishes known; the sexual differences are often great, the females being, as a rule, dull in color and more speckled or barred than the males. Most of them prefer clear running water, where they lie on the bottom concealed under stones, darting, when frightened or hungry, with great velocity for a short distance, by a powerful movement of the fan-shaped pectorals, then stopping as suddenly. They rarely use the caudal fin in swim- ming, and they are seldom seen floating or moving freely in the water like most fishes. When at rest they support them- selves on their expanded ventrals and anal fin. All of them can turn the head from side to side, and they frequently lie with the head in a curved position or partly on one side of the body. The species of Ammocrypta, and perhaps some of the others, prefer a sandy bottom, where, by a sudden plunge, the fish buries itself in the sand, and remains quiescent for hours at a time with only its eyes and snout visible. The others lurk in stony places, under rocks and weeds. Although more than usually tenacious of vitality, the darters, from their bottom life, are the first to be disturbed by impurities in the water. All the darters are carnivorous, feeding chiefly on the larve of Diptera, and in their way voracious. All are of small size; the largest (Percina rex) reaches a length of six inches, G22 Percoidea, or Perce-like Fishes while the smallest (Microperca punctulata) is one of the small- est. spiny-rayed fishes known, barely attaining the length of an inch and a half. In Europe no Etheostomine are found, their place being filled by the genera Zingel and Aspro, which bear a strong resemblance to the American forms, a resemblance which may be a clew to the origin of the latter. The Perches.—The European perch, Perca fluviatilis, is placed by Cuvier at the head of the fish series, as representing in a high degree the traits of a fish without sign of incornplete development on the one hand or of degradation on the other. Doubtless the increased number of the vertebre is the chief character which would lead us to call in question this time- honored arrangement. Because, however, the perch has a relatively degenerate vertebral column, we have used an allied form, the striped bass, as a fairer type of the perfected spiny- rayed fish. Certainly the bass represents this type better than the perch. But though we may regard the perch as nearest the typically perfect fish, it is far from being one of the most highly specialized, for, as we have seen in several cases, a high degree of speciali- zation of a particular structure is a first step toward its degra- dation. The perch of Europe is a common game-fish of the rivers. The yellow perch of America (Perca flavescens) is very much like it, a little brighter in color, olive and golden with dusky cross-bands. It frequents quiet streams and ponds from Min- nesota eastward, then southward east of the Alleghanies. ‘As a still-pond fish,” says Dr. Charles Conrad Abbott, “if there is a fair supply of spring-water, they thrive excellently; but the largest specimens come either from the river or from the inflow- ing creeks. Deep water of the temperature of ordinary spring- water, with some current and the bed of the stream at least partly covered with vegetation, best suits this fish.’ The perch is a food-fish of moderate quality. In spite of its beauty and gaminess, it is little sought for by our anglers, and is much less valued with us than is the European perch in England. . But Dr. Goode ventures to prophesy that “before many years the perch will have as many followers as the black bass among those who fish for pleasure” in the region it inhabits. “A Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes 523 fish for the people it is, we will grant, and it is the anglers from among the people who have neither time nor patience for long trips nor complicated tackle who will prove its steadfast friends.”’ The boy values it, according to Thoreau. When he returns from the ‘mill-pond, he numbers his perch as “‘real fishes.” “So many unquestionable fish he counts, and so many chubs, which he counts, then throws away.” In the perch, the oral valves, characteristic of all bony fishes, are well developed. These structures recently investigated by Fic. 409.— Yellow Perch, Perca flavescens Mitchill. Potomac River. Evelyn G. Mitchill, form a fold of connective tissue just behind the premaxillary and before the vomer. They are used in respi- ration, preventing the forward flow of water as the mouth closes. Several perch-like fishes are recorded as fossils from the Miocene. Allied to the perch, but long, slender, big-mouthed, and voracious, is the group of pike perches, found in eastern America and Europe. The wall-eye, or glass-eye (Sizzostedion vitreum), is the largest of this tribe, reaching a weight of ten to twenty pounds. It is found throughout the region east of the Mis- souri in the large streams and ponds, an excellent food-fish, with white, flaky flesh and in the north a game fish of high rank. The common names refer to the large glassy eye, con- cerning which Dr. Goode quotes from some “ardent admirer” these words: “Look at this beautiful fish, as symmetrical in form as the salmon. Not a fault in his make-up, not a scale 524 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes disturbed, every fin perfect, tail clean-cut, and his great, big wall-eyes stand out with that life-like glare so characteristic of the fish.” Similar to the wall-eye, but much smaller and more trans- lucent in color, is the sauger, or sand-pike, of the Great Lakes and Fic. 410.—Sauger, Stizostedion canadense (Smith). Ecorse, Mich Northern rivers, Stizostedion canadense. This fish rarely exceeds fifteen inches in length, and as a food-fish it is of correspond- ingly less importance. The pike-perch, or zander, of central Europe, Centropomus (or Sandrus) lucioperca, is an excellent game-fish, similar to Fie. 411.—The Aspron, Aspro asper (Linneus). Rhone River. Family Percide. (After Seelye.) the sauger, but larger, characterized technically by having the ventral fins closer together. Another species, Centropomus vol- gensis, in Russia, looks more like a perch than the other species do. Sandroserrus, a fossil pike-perch, occurs in the Pliocene. Another European fish related to the perch is the river ruff, or pope, Acerina cernua, which is a small fish with the form of a perch and with conspicuous mucous cavities in the skull. It is common throughout the north of Europe Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes 525 and especially abundant at the confluence of rivers. Gymno- cephalus schretzer of the Danube has the head still more cav- ernous. Percarina demidoffi of southern Russia is another dainty little fish of the general type of the perch. A fossil genus of this type called Smerdis is numerously represented in the Miocene and later rocks. The aspron, Aspro asper, is a species like a darter found lying on the bottoms of swift rivers, especially the Rhone. The body is elongate, with the paired fins highly developed. Zzngel zingel is found in the Danube, as is also a third species called Aspro streber. In form and coloration these species greatly resemble the American darters, and the genus Zingel is, perhaps, the ancestor of the entire group. Zingel differs from Perctna mainly in having seven instead of six branchiostegals and the pseudobranchie better ize Vj - Bde ry rn Fig. 412,.—The Zingel, Zingel zingel (Linneus). Danube River. (After Seelye.) developed. The differences in these and other regards which distinguish the darters are features of degradation, and they are also no doubt of relatively recent acquisition. To this fact we may ascribe the difficulty in finding good generic char- acters within the group. Sharply defined genera occur where the intervening types are lost. The darter is one of the very latest products in the evolution of fishes. The Darters: Etheostomine.— Of the darters, or etheosto- mine perches, over fifty species are known, all confined to the streams of the region bounded by Quebec, Assiniboia, Colo- rado, and Nuevo Leon. All are small fishes and some of them minute, and some are the most brilliantly colored of all fresh- water fishes of any region, the most ornate belonging to the large genus called Etheostoma. The largest species, the most primitive because most like the perch, belong to the genus Perctina, 526 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes First among the darters because largest in size, most perch- like in structure, and least degenerate, we place the king darter, Percina rex of the Roanoke River in Virginia. This species reaches a length of six inches, is handsomely colored, and looks like a young wall-eye. The log-perch, Percina caprodes, is near to this, but a little smaller, with the body surrounded by black rings alternately Fia. 418.—Log-perch, Percina caprodes (Rafinesque). Ticking Co., Ohio. large and small. In this widely distributed species, large enough to take the hook, the air-bladder is present although small. In the smaller species it vanishes by degrees, and in proportion as in their habits they cling to the bottom of the stream. The genus Hadropterus includes many handsome species, most of them with a black lateral band widened at intervals. AS Fic. 414.—Black-sided Darter, Hadropterus aspro (Cope & Jordan). Chickamauga River. The black-sided darter, Hadropterus aspro, is the best-known species and one of the most elegant of all fishes, abounding in the clear gravelly streams of the Ohio basin and northwestward. Hadropterus evides of the Ohio region is still more brilliant, Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes $27 with alternate bands of dark blue-green and orange-red, most exquisite in their arrangement. In the South, Hadropterus nigrofasctatus, the crawl-a-bottom of the Georgia rivers, is a heavily built darter, which Vaillant has considered the ances- tral species of the group. Still more swift in movement and bright in color are the species of Hypohomus, which flash their showy hues in the sparkling brooks of the Ozark and the Great Smoky Mountains. Hypohomus aurantiacus is the best-known species. Diplesion blenniotdes, the green-sided darter, is the type of numerous species with short heads, large fins, and coloration Fic. 415 —Green-sided Darter Diplesion blennioides Rafinesque Clinch River. Family Percide. of speckled green and golden. It abounds in the streams of the Ohio Valley. The tessellated darters, Boleosoma, are the most plainly colored of the group and among the smallest; yet in the eae me Fic. 416 —Tessellated Darter, Boleosoma olmstedi (Storer). Potomac River. delicacy, wariness, and quaintness of motion they are among the most interesting, especially in the aquarium. Boleosoma 528 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes nigrum, the Johnny darter in the West, and Boleosoma olmstedt in the East are among the commonest species, found half hid- den in the weeds of small brooks, and showing no bright colors, although the male in the spring has the head, and often the whole body, jet black. Crystallaria asprella, a large species almost transparent, is occasionally taken in swift currents along the limestone Fic. 417.—Crystal Darter, Crystallaria asprella (Jordan). Wabash River. banks of the Mississippi. Still more transparent is the small sand-darter, Ammocrypta pellucida, which lives in the clearest of waters, concealing itself by plunging into the sand. Its scales are scantily developed, as befits a fish that chooses this BLYY HH PPA? Fie. 418.—Sand-darter, Ammocrypta clara (Jordan & Meek). Des Moines River. method of protection, and in the related Ammocrypta beani of the streams of the Louisiana pine-woods, the body is almost naked, as also in Joa vitrea, the glassy darter of the pine-woods of North Carolina. In the other darters the body is more compressed, the move- ments less active, the coloration even more brilliant in the males, which are far more showy than their dull olivaceous mates. To Etheostoma nearly half of the species belong, and they Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes 529 form indeed a royal series of little fishes. Only a few can be noticed here, but all of them are described in detail and many Fic. 419.—Etheostoma jordani Gilbert. Chestnut Creek, Verbena, Ala. are figured by Jordan and Evermann (‘Fishes of North and Middle America,” Vol. I). Most beautiful of all fresh-water fishes is the blue-breasted darter, Etheostoma camurum, red-blue and olive, with red spots, Fie. 420.—Blue-breasted Darter, Etheostoma camurum (Cope),the most brilliantly colored of American river fishes. Cumberland Gap, Tenn. like a trout. This species lives in clear streams of the Ohio valley, a region perhaps to be regarded as the center of abun- dance of these fishes. Very similar is the trout-spotted darter, Etheostoma macu- latum, dusky and red, with round crimson spots. Etheostoma rufilineatum of the French Broad is one of the most gaudy of fishes. Etheostoma australe of Chihuahua ranges farthest south of all the darters, and Etheostoma boreale of Quebec perhaps farthest north, though Etheostoma towe, found from Iowa to the Saskatchewan, may dispute this honor. LEtheostoma ceruleum, 530 Percoidea, or Perch-like Fishes the rainbow darter or soldier-fish, with alternate oblique bands of blue and scarlet, is doubtless the most familiar of the bril- liantly colored species, as it is the most abundant throughout the Ohio valley. Etheostoma flabellare, the fan-tailed darter, discovered by Rafinesque in Kentucky in 1817, was the first species of the series made known to science. It has no bright colors, but its move- ments in water are more active than any of the others, and it is the most hardy in the aquarium. Psychromaster tuscumbia abounds in the great limestone springs of northern Alabama, while Copelandellus quiescens swarms in the black-water brooks which flow into the Dismal Swamp and thence southward to the Suwanee. It is a little fish not very active, its range going farther into the southern lowlands than any other. Finally, Microperca punctulata, the least darter, is the smallest of all, with fewest spines and dullest coiurs, must specialized in the sense of being least primitive, but at the same time the most degraded of all the darters. No fossil forms nearly allied to the darters are on record. The nearest is perhaps Mioplosus labracoides from the Eocene at Green River, Wyoming. This elongate fish, a foot long, has the dorsal rays IX~1, 13, and the anal rays II, 13, its scales finely serrated, and the preopercle coarsely serrated on the lower limb only. This species, with its numerous congeners from the Rocky Mountain Eocene, is nearer the true perch than the darters. Several species related to Perca are also recorded from the Eocene of England and Germany. A species called Luctoperca skorpili, allied to Centropomus, is described from the Oligocene of Bulgaria, besides several other forms imper- fectly preserved, of still more doubtful affinities. CHAPTER XXXIV THE BASS AND THEIR RELATIVES HE Cardinal-fishes. Apogonide.—The A pogonitde or car- dinal-fishes are perch-like fishes, mostly of small size, ws) with two distinct short dorsal fins. They are found in the ¥ warm seas, and many of them enter rivers, some even in- habiting hot springs. Many of the shore species are bright red in color, usually with black stripes, bands, or spots. Still others, however, are olive or silvery, and a few in deeper water are violet-black. The species of Apogon are especially numerous, and in regions where they are abundant, as in Japan, they are much Fic. 421.—Cardinal-fish, Apogon retrosella Gill. Mazatlan. valued as food. Apogon imberbis, the “king of the mullet,” is a common red species of southern Europe. Apogon maculatus is found in the West Indies. Apogon retrosella is the pretty “cardenal” of the west coast of Mexico. Apogon Itneatus, 531 §32 The Bass and their Relatives semilineatus and other species abound in Japan, and many species occur about the islands of Polynesia. Epigonus tele- scopium is a deep-sea fish of the Mediterranean and Telescopias and Synagrops are genera of the depths of the Pacific. Pa- ramia with strong canines is allied to Apogon, and similar in color and habit. Allied to Apogon are several small groups often taken as distinct families. The species of Ambassis (Ambasside) are little fishes of the rivers and bays of India and Polynesia, resembling small silvery perch or bass. All these have three anal spines instead of two as in Apogon. Some of these enter rivers and several are recorded from hot springs. Scombrops boops, the mutsu of Japan, is a valued food-fish found in rather deep water. It is remarkable for its very strong teeth, although its flesh is feeble and easily torn. A still larger species in Cuba, Scombrops oculata, known as Escolar chino, resembles a barra- cuda. These fishes with fragile bodies and very strong teeth are placed by Gill in a separate family (Scombropide). Acro- poma japonicum is a neat little fish of the Japanese coast, with the vent placed farther forward than in Apogon. It is the type of the Acropomide, a small family of the Pacific. Eno- plosus armatus is an Australian fish with high back and fins, with a rather stately appearance, type of the Enoploside. In his last catalogue of families of fishes Dr. Gill recognizes Scom- bropide and Acropomide as distinct families, but their relation- ships with Apogon are certainly very close. Many genera allied to Apogon and Ambassis occur in Australian rivers. Several fossils referred to Apogon (A pogon spinosus, etc.) occur in the Eocene of Italy and Germany. The Anomalopide.—The family of Anomalopide is a small group of deep-sea fishes of uncertain relationship, but per- haps remotely related to Apogon. Anomalops palpebrata is found in Polynesia and has beneath the eye a large luminous organ unlike anything seen elsewhere among fishes. The Asineopide.— Another family of doubtful relationship is that of Asineopide, elsewhere noticed. It is composed of extinct fresh-water fishes found in the Green River shales. In Asineops squamifrons the opercles are unarmed, the teeth villiform, and the dorsal fin undivided, composed of eight or The Bass and their Relatives ee: nine spines and twelve to fourteen soft rays. The anal spines, as in Apogon, are two only, and the scales are cycloid. Fic. 422.—A pogen semilineatus Schlegel. Misaki, Japan. The Robalos:* Oxylabracide.— The family of Robalos (Oxy- labracide or Centropomide) is closely related to the Serranide, differing among other things in having the conspicuous lateral line extended on the caudal fin. These are silvery fishes with Fic. 423.—Robalo, Oxylabrax undecimalis (Bloch). Florida. elongate bodies, large scales, a pike-like appearance, the first dorsal composed of strong spines and the second spine of the * The European zander is the type of Lacépéde’s genus Centropomus. The name Centropomus has been wrongly transferred to the robalo by most authors. : 534 The Bass and their Relatives anal especially large. They are found in tropical America only, where they are highly valued as food, the flesh being like that of the striped bass, white, flaky, and of fine flavor. The common robalo, or snook, Oxylabrax (or Centropomus) un- decimalts, reaches a weight of fifteen to twenty pounds. It ranges north as far as Texas. In this species the lateral line is black. The smaller species, of which several are described, are known as Robalito or Constantino. The Sea-bass: Serranide.—The central family of the percoid fishes is that of the Serranid@, or sea-bass. Of these about 400 species are recorded, carnivorous fishes found in all warm seas, a few ascending the fresh waters. In general, the species are characterized by the presence of twenty-four vertebre and three anal spines, never more than three. The fresh-water species are all more or less archaic and show traits suggesting the Oxylabracide, Percide, or Centrarchide, all of which are doubtless derived from ancestors of Serranide. Among the connecting forms are the perch-like genera Percichthys and Percilia of the rivers of Chile. These species look much like perch, but have three anal spines, the number of vertebre being thirty-five. Percichthys trucha is the common trucha, or trout, of Chilean waters. Lateolabrax japonicus, the susuki, or bass, of Japan, is one of the most valued food-fishes of the Orient, similar in quality to the robalo, which it much resembles. This genus and the East Indian Centrogenys waigiensis approach Oxylabrax in appearance and structure. Nzphon spinosus, the ara of Japan, is a very large sea-bass, also of this type. Close to these bass, marine and fresh water, are the Chinese genus Siniperca and the Korean genus Coreoperca, several species of which abound in Oriental rivers. In southern Japan is the rare Bryttosus kawamebari, a bass in structure, but very closely resembling the American sunfish, even to the presence of the bright-edged black ear-spot. There is reason to believe that from some such form the Centrarchide were derived. Other bass-like fishes occur in Egypt (Lates), Australia (Percalates, etc.), and southern Africa. Oligorus macquartensts is the great cod of the Australian rivers and Ctenolates ambiguus is the yellow belly, while Percalates colonorum is everywhere The Bass and their Relatives Eee the “perch” in Australian rivers. The most important mem- ber of these transitional types between perch and sea-bass is the striped bass, or rockfish (Roccus lineatus), of the Atlantic coast of the United States. This large fish, reaching in extreme cases a weight of 112 pounds, lives in shallow waters in the sea and ascends the rivers in spring to spawn. It is olivaceous in color, the sides golden silvery, with narrow black stripes. About 1880 it was introduced by the United States Fish Commission into the Sacramento, where it is now very abundant and a fish of large commercial importance. To the angler the striped bass is always ‘‘a gallant fish and a bold biter,” and Genio Scott places it first among the game-fishes of America. The white bass (RKoccus chrysops) is very similar to it, but shorter and more compressed, reaching a smaller size. This fish is abundant in the Great Lakes and the upper Mississippi as far south as Arkansas. The yellow bass (Morone tnterrupta), a coarser and more brassy fish, replaces it farther south. It is seldom seen above Cincinnati and St. Louis. The white perch (Morone amert- cana) is a little fish of the Atlantic seaboard, entering the sea, but running up all the rivers, remaining contentedly land- locked in ponds. It is one of the most characteristic fishes of the coast from Nova Scotia to Virginia. It is a good pan fish, takes the hook vigorously, and in a modest way deserves the good-will of the angler who cannot stray far into the moun- tains. Very close to these American bass is the bass, bars, or robalo, of southern Europe, Dicentrarchus labrax, a large olive- colored fish, excellent as food, living in the sea about the mouths of rivers. The Jewfishes.—In the warm seas are certain bass of immense size, reaching a length of six feet or more, and being robust in form, a weight of 500 or 600 pounds. These are dusky green in color, thick-headed, rough-scaled, with low fins, vora- cious disposition, and sluggish movements. In almost all parts of the world these great bass are called jewfish, but no reason for this name has ever been suggested. In habit and value the species are much alike, and the jewfish of California, Stereolepis gigas, the prize of the Santa Catalina anglers, may be taken as the type of them all. Closely related ges FEY otto yppaInys “MM Cazis Temyen ‘UIPUIN) DUDIWIaWD JUOLOTY ‘“YoIIT aI M— FTF “OLA “YM id Aq ayy wor) The Bass and their Relatives 527 to this is the Japanese ishinagi, Megaperca ischinagi, the jew- fish, or stone-bass, of Japan. Another Japanese jewfish is the Abura bodzu, or “fat priest,’ Ebisus sagamius. In the West Indies, as also on the west coast of Mexico, the jewfish, or guasa, is Promicrops itaiara. The black grouper, Garrupa nigrita, is the jewfish of Florida. The European jewfish, more often called wreckfish, or stone-bass, is Polyprion americanus, and the equally large Polyprion oxygeneios is found in Australia, as is also another jewfish, Glaucosoma hebraicum, the last belonging to the Lutianide. Largest of all these jewfishes is Promicrops lanceolata of the South Pacific. This huge bass, Fic. 425.—Florida Jewfish, Promicrops itaiara (Lichtenstein). St. John’s River, Fla. according to Dr. Boulenger, sometimes reaches a length of twelve feet. Related to the jewfishes are numerous smaller fishes. One of these, the Spanish-flag of Cuba, Gondoplectrus hispanus, is rose-colored, with golden bands like the flag of Spain itself. Other species referred to Acanthistius and Plectropoma have, like this, hooked spines on the lower border of the preopercle. The Groupers.—In all warm seas abound species of Epruephelus and related genera, known as sea-bass, groupers, or merous. They are mostly large voracious fishes with small scales, pale flesh of fair quality, and from their abundance they are of large commercial importance. To English-speaking people these fishes are usually known as grouper, a corruption of the Portuguese name garrupa. In the West Indies and about Panama there are very many species, and still others abound in the Mediter- 538 The Bass and their Relatives ranean, in southern Japan, and throughout Polynesia and the West Indies. They have very much in common, but differ in size and color, some being bright red, some gaudily spotted with red or blue, but most of them are merely mottled green or brown. In many cases individuals living near shore are olivaceous, and those of the same species in the depths are bright crimson or scarlet. We name below a few of the most prominent species. Even a bare list of all of them would take Fic. 426.—Epinephelus striatus (Bloch), Nassau Grouper: Cherna criolla. Family Serranide. many pages. Cephalopholis cruentatus, the red hind of the Florida Keys, is one of the smallest and brightest of all of them. Cephalopholis fuluvus, the blue-spotted guativere of the Cubans, is called negro-fish, butter-fish, yellow-fish, or redfish, accord- ing to its color, which varies with the depth. It is red, yellow, or olive, with many round blue spots. Epinephelus adscen- sctonis, the rock-hind, is spotted everywhere with orange. Epinephelus guazsa is the merou, or giant-bass, of Europe, a large food-fish of value, rather dullin color. Epinephelus striatus is the Nassau grouper, or Cherna criolla, common in the West Indies. Epinephelus maculosus is the cabrilla of Cuba. Epi- nephelus drummond-hayt, the speckled hind, umber brown, spotted with lavender, is one of the handsomest of all the groupers. Epinephelus morio, the red grouper, is the commonest of all these fishes in the American markets. In Asia the species are equally numerous, Epinephelus quernus of Hawaii and the red Epinephelus fasciatus of Japan and southward being food- The Bass and their Relatives 539 fishes of importance. Epinephelus merra, Epinephelus gilbert, and Epinephelus tauvina are among the more common spe- cies of Polynesia. Epinephelus corallicola, a species profusely Fig. 427.—John Paw or Speckled Hind, Epinephelus drummond-hayt Goode Pensacola. spotted, abounds in the crevices of corai reefs, while Ceph- olopholis argus and C. leopardus are showy fishes of the deeper channels. Mvycteroperca venenosa, the yellow-finned grouper, is a large and handsome fish of the coast of Cuba, the flesh sometimes poisonous; when red in deep water it is known as Fic. 428.—Epinephelus morio (Cuvier & Valenciennes), Red Grouper, or Mero. Family Serranide the bonaci cardenal. Mycteroperca bonact; the bonaci arara sells in our markets as black grouper. Mycteroperca muicrolepis ots (uUeUeAT Jayy) “oor opleng ‘(JoeqsQ) sruorsuaospy snjaydaud q ‘pul PeY— bsF “OUT The Bass and their Relatives 541 is commonest along our South Atlantic coast, not reaching the West Indies, and Mycteroperca rubra, which is never red, enters the Mediterranean. Mycteroperca falcata is known in the markets as scamp, and Mycteroperca venadorum is a giant species from the Venados Islands, near Mazatlan. Diploprion btfasciatus is a handsome grouper-like fish with two black cross-bands, found in Japan and India. Variola loutt, red, with crimson spots and a forked caudal fin, is one of the most showy fishes of the equatorial Pacific. Fic. 480.—Yellow-fin Grouper, Mycteroperca venenosa (Linneus). Havana. The small fishes called Vaca in Cuba belong to the genus Hypoplectrus. Their extraordinary and unexplained variations in color have been noticed on page 88. The common species— blue, orange, green, plain, striated, checkered, or striped— bears the name of Hypoplectrus unicolor (Fig. 431). The Serranos.—In all the species known as jewfish and grouper, as also in the Oxylabracide and most Centrarchide, the maxillary bone is divided by a lengthwise suture which sets off a distinct supplemental maxillary. This bone is want- ing in the remaining species of Serranide, as it is also in those forms already noticed which are familiarly known as bass. The species without the supplemental maxillary are in general smaller in size, the canines are on the sides of the jaws instead of in front, and there is none of the hinged depressible teeth which are conspicuous in the groupers. The species are abundant in the Atlantic, but scarcely any are found in Polynesia, and few in Japan or India. 542 The Bass and their Relatives Serranus cabrilla is the Cabrilla of the Mediterranean, a well-known and excellent food-fish, the original type of the family of Serranide. Serranellus scriba is the serran, a very pretty shore-fish of southern Europe, longer known than any other of the tribe. On the coast of southern California are also species called Cabrillas, fine, large, food-fish, bass-like in form, Paralabrax clathratus, and other less common species. The Cabrillas and their relatives are almost all American, a few straying across to Europe. One of the most important in the number is the black sea-bass, or black will, of our Atlantic SS Fie. 481 —Hypoplectrus unicolor nigricans (Poey). Tortugas, Fla. coast, Centropristes striatus. This is a common food- and game-fish, dusky in color, gamy, and of fine flesh. The squirrel- fishes (Dtplectrum) and the many serranos (Prionodes) of the tropics, small bright-colored fishes of the rocks and reefs, must be passed with a word, as also the small Paracentropristis of the Mediterranean and the fine red creole-fish of the West Indies, Paranthias furcifer. In one species, Anyperodon leuco- grammicus of Polynesia, there are no teeth on the palatines. The barber-fish (Anthtas anthias) of southern Europe, bright red and with the lateral line running very high, is the type of a numerous group found at the lowest fishing level in all warm seas. All the species of this group are bright red, very hand- ers “4PPEMYS “AM “AW Iq 4q ydeiBojoyg) ee ‘SunoA :azis yeanyen oo aa snyoaatu snjaydauid q ‘rodnoiy AMOUQ— OP “DI a 544 The Bass and their Relatives some, and excellent as food. Hemzunthtas vivanus, known only from the spewings of the red snapper (Lutianus aya) at Pensacola, is one of the most brilliant species, red, with golden streaks. The genus Plesiops consists of small fishes almost black in color, with blue spots and other markings, abounding about the coral reefs. In this genus the lateral line is inter- rupted and there is some indication of affinity with the Opzs- thognathtde. In the soapfishes (Rypticus) the supplemental maxillary appears again, but in these forms the dorsal fin is reduced to two or three spines and there is none in the anal. Kyptzcus saponaceus, so called from the smooth or soapy scales, is the Fic. 433,—Soapfish, Rypticus bistrispinus (Mitchill). Virginia. best known of the numerous species, which all belong to trop- ical America. Grammtstes, with eight dorsal spines, is a related form in Polynesia, bright yellow, with numerous black stripes. Numerous species referred to the Serrantde occur in the Eocene and Miocene rocks. Some are related to Epinephelus, others to Roccus and Lates. In the Tertiary lignite of Brazil is a species of Percichthys, Perctchthys antiquus, with Properca beaumont, which seem to be a primitive form of the bass, allied to Dicentrarchus, Prolates hebertt of the Cretaceous, one of the earliest of the series, has the caudal rounded and is apparently allied to Lates, as is also the heavily armed Acanus regley- stanus of the Oligocene. Smerdis minutus, a small fish from the Oligocene, is also related to Lates, which genus with Roccus and Dicentrarchus must represent the most primitive of existing members of this family. Of both Smerdis and Dicentrarchus (Labrax) numerous species are recorded, mostly from the Mio- cene of Europe. 1 ARCHAMIA LINEOLATA (EHRENBERG) 2 GRAMMISTES SEXLINEATUS (THUNBERG) 3 PHAROPTERYX MELAS (BLEEKER) PERCH-LIKE FISHES OF THE CORAL REEFS, SAMOA The Bass and their Relatives Gas The Flashers: Lobotidz.—The small family of Lobotide, flash- ers, or triple-tails, closely resembles the Serranide, but there Fie. 434_—Flasher, Lobotes surinamensis (Bloch). Virginia. are no teeth on vomer or palatines. The three species are robust fishes, of a large size, of a dark-green color, the front part of the head very short. They reach a length of about cf ni ya AGRE i a bi Bi iy RDN a Ni ne Fie. 485 —Catalufa, Priacanthus arenatus Cuv. & Val. Woods Hole, Mass. three feet and are good food-fishes. Lobotes surinamensts comes northward from the West Indies as far as Cape Cod. obs CaPPINUS “MW aq Aq opt Worg) ‘uoutwads Sunox [IH snyo snymuvoviidopnasg ‘akasigq— 98h “Ol The Bass and their Relatives 547 Lobotes pacificus is found about Panama. Lobotes erate, com- mon in India, was taken by the writer at Misaki, Japan. The Bigeyes: Priacanthide.—The Catalufas or bigeyes (Pria- canthide) are handsome fishes of the tropics, with short, flattened bodies, rough scales, large eyes, and bright-red color- ation. The mouth is very oblique, and the anal fin about as large as the dorsal. The commonest species is Priacanthus cruentatus, widely diffused through the Pacific and also in the West Indies. This is the noted Aweoweo of the Hawaiians, which used to come into the bays in myriads at the period of death of royalty. It is still abundant, even after Hawaiian royalty has passed away. Pseudopriacanthus altus is a short, very deep-bodied, and very rough fish, scarlet in color, occasionally taken along our coast, driven northward by the Gulf Stream. The young fishes are quite unlike the adult in appearance. Numerous other species of Priacanthus occur in the Indies and Polynesia. The H'st:opteride.—Another family with strong spines and rough scales is the group of Histiopteride. Hustiopterus typus, the Matodai, is found in Japan, and is remarkable for its: very deep body and very high spines. Equally remarkable is the Tengudai, Histiopterus acutirostris, also Japanese, remarkable for the long snout and high fins. Both are rare in Japanese markets. All these are eccentric variations from the perch- like type. The Snappers: Lutianide.—Scarcely less numerous and varied than the sea-bass is the great family of Luteantde, known in America as snappers or pargos. In these fishes the maxillary slips along its edge into a sheath formed by the broad preor- bital. In the Serranide there is no such sheath. In the Lutt- antde there is no supplemental maxillary, teeth are present on the vomer and palatines, and in the jaws there are distinct canines. These fishes of the warm seas are all carnivorous, voracious, gamy, excellent as food though seldom of fine grain, the flesh being white and not flaky. About 250 species are known, and in all warm seas they are abundant. To the great genus Lutianus most of the species belong. These are the snappers of our markets and the pargos of the Spanish- speaking fishermen. The shore species are green in color, mostly grs (uURUAAT Jai) ‘OOTY OWeng ~"T snaswb snuvynT ‘seddeug Avin— yep “PM The Bass and their Relatives 549 banded, spotted, or streaked. In deeper water bright-red spe- cies are found. One of these, Lutianus aya, the red snapper or pargo guachinango of the Gulf of Mexico, is, economically speaking, the most important of all these fishes in the United States. It is a large, rather coarse fish, bright red in color, and it is taken on long lines on rocky reefs chiefly about Pen- sacola and Tampa in Florida, although similar fisheries exist on the shores of Yucatan and Brazil. A related species is the Lutianus analis, the mutton snapper or pargo criollo of the West Indies. This is one of the staple Fig. 488.—Lutianus apodus (Walbaum), Schoolmaster or Caji. Family Lutianide. fishes of the Havana market, always in demand for banquets and festivals, because its flesh is never unwholesome. The mangrove snapper, or gray-snapper, Lutianus griseus, called in Cuba, Caballerote, is the commonest species on our coasts. The common name arises from the fact that the young hide in the mangrove bushes of Florida and Cuba, whence they sally out in pursuit of sardines and other small fishes. It is a very wary fish, to be sought with care, hence the name “lawyer,” sometimes heard in Florida. The cubero (Lutianus cyanop- terus) is a very large snapper, often rejected as unwholesome, being said to cause the disease known as ciguatera. Certain snappers in Polynesia have a similar reputation. The large red mumea, Luttanus bohar, is regarded as always poisonous in Samoa—the most dangerous fish of the islands. L. letoglossus is 550 The Bass and their Relatives also held under suspicion on Tutuila, though other fishes of this type are regarded as always safe. Other common snappers y ie AVyny 3 i eaA DERE y YU esa Lov a es Fia. 439.—Hoplopagrus guntheri Gill. Mazatlan. of Florida and Cuba are the dog snapper or jocu (Luitanus jocu), the schoolmaster or caji (Lutianus apodus), the black-fin snapper or sese de lo alto (Lutianus buccanella), the silk snapper or Fic. 440.—Lane Snapper or Biajaiba, Lutianus synagris (Linneus). Key West. pargo de lo alto (Lutianus vivanus), the abundant lane snapper or biajaiba (Lutianus synagris), and the mahogany snapper The Bass and their Relatives $53 or ojanco (Lutianus mahogant). Numerous other species occur on both coasts of tropical America, and a vastly larger assem- blage is found in the East Indies, some of them ranging north- ward to Japan. Hoplopagrus génthert is a large snapper of the west coast of Mexico, having very large molar teeth in its jaws besides slit- Fic. 441.—Yellow-tail Snapper, Ocyurus chrysurus (Linneus). Key West. like nostrils and other notable peculiarities. From the stand- point of structure this species, with its eccentric characters— is especially interesting. The yellow-tail snapper or rabirubia (Ocyurus chrysurus) is a handsome and common fish of the os SRS A RY 6) vA Fig. 442.—Cachucho, Eftelis oculatus (Linneus). Havana. West Indies, with long, deeply forked tail, which makes it a swifter fish than the others. Another red species is the dia- mond snapper or cagon de lo alto, Rhomboplites aurorubens. All these true snappers have the soft fins more or less scaly. 552 The Bass and their Relatives In certain species that swim more freely in deep waters, these fins are naked. Among them is the Arnillo, Apsilus dentatus, a pretty brown fish of the West Indies, and its analogue in Hawaii, Apsilus brighamt, red, with golden cross-bands. Aprion virescens, the Uku of Hawaii, is a large fish of a greenish color and elongate body, widely diffused throughout Polynesia and one of the best of food-fishes. A related species is the red voraz (Aprion macrophthalmus) of the West Indies. Most beautiful of all the group are the species of Etelis, with the dorsal fin deeply divided and the head flattened above. These live in rather deep water about rocky reefs and are fiery red in color. Best known is the Cuban species, Ftelzs oculatus, the cachucho of the markets. Equally abundant and equally Fig. 443 —Xenocys jessie Jordan & Bollman. Family Lutianide. Galapagos Islands. beautiful are Etelis carbunculus of Polynesia, Etelis evurus of Hawaii, and other species of the Pacific islands. Verilus sordidus, the black escolar of Cuba, has the form of Etelis, but the flesh is very soft and the color violet-black, indicating its life in very deep water. Numerous small silvery snappers living near the shore along the coast of western Mexico belong to the genera called Nenichthys, Xenistius, and Xenocys. Xemstius californensis is the commonest of these species, Xenocys jessi@, the largest in size, with black lines like a striped bass. To the genus Dentex belongs a large snapper-like fish of oe XX Wane. pee 2, yh %, », Ke ees os ay my » MY \) \ yy y, Ky ) Ny KA Ky N yy » ) ) . » \) ’) K iy; i Ky Ne Wi iS x \) \) \\ YD ) Y) ‘ , y x, Y y Y Ry XX , \) \Y y os RES x \ yy i) wy KY xy \) \ Se NY » ‘ \) ,) \) ) ) , \ Y \) \ \Y R WN i " \) iN N N \ X Dy Ma . » x \} , A N XY a x i y YN yy x \ NY Wy N \) Kr ‘ , i , Wi » Wi xh \) y YY) hy} » y XX o K} Y ) yyy N NANAK) ) »y y A i » i, \Y \ y S Y n KY \} y x Hs \ ) ne Ny y KK) ‘ NY . X XY h) K x \) Hy i , A » » N yy 4 S Xy \Y OB ANS: (x) XXX) . 2 . % N My » XXX) ) NY) \) y 2 N \) iy N ) \ so oa OY AY) RY S y y K) NNN x y . K) AY \} \y mR x) \ n n /\ 0 X) x y\ . » OO y R ) xn) \ y Ny ios \Y ) ») KX (\ ) ) XY K N \) hy ‘ N y Ny y b ‘ Ns s) “ ) mh My) By N ) Ni NM } i ) 3 £5 SA + N ” \) yp Fie. 444—Aphareus furcatus (Lacépéde). Odawara, Japan. Family Lutianide. 553 554 The Bass and their Relatives the Mediterranean, Dentex dentex. Very many related species occur in the old world, the prettily colored Nemipterus virgatus, the Itoyori of Japan being one of the best known. Another interesting fish is Aphareus furcatus, a handsome, swift fish of the open seas occasionally taken in Japan and the East Indies. Glaucosoma burgeri is a large snapper of Japan, and a related species, Glaucosoma hebraicum, is one of the “jewfishes Sek Australia. Numerous fossil forms referred to Dentex occur in the Eocene of Monte Bolca, as also a fish called Ctenodentex lackeniensis from the Eocene of Belgium. The Grunts: Hemulide.— The large family of Hemulide, known in America as grunters or roncos, is represented with the Fic. 445.—Grunt, Haemulon plumieri (Bloch). Charleston, 8. C. snappers in all tropical seas. The common names (Spanish, roncar, to grunt or snore) refer to the noise made either with their large pharyngeal teeth or with the complex air-bladder. These fishes differ from the Lutianine mainly in the feebler detention, there being no canines and no teeth on the vomer. Most of the American species belong to the genus Hemulon or red-mouth grunts, so called from the dash of scarlet at the corner of the mouth. Hemulon plumieri, the common grunt, or ronco araraé, is the most abundant species, known by the narrow blue stripes across the head. In the yellow grunt, ronco amarillo (He@emulon scturus), these stripes cross the whole The Bass and their Relatives eee body. In the margate-fish, or Jallao (Hemulon album), the larg- est of the grunts, there are no stripes at all. Another common grunt is the black spotted sailor’s choice, Ronco prieto (Hemulon parra), very abundant from Florida southward. Numerous other grunts and “Tom Tates’’ are found on both shores of Mexico, all the species of Hemulon being confined to America. Antiso- tremus includes numerous deep-bodied species with smaller mouth, also all American. Anisotremus surinamensis, the pompon, abundant from Louisiana southward is the commonest species. Amssotremus virginicus, the porkfish or Catalineta, Fic. 446.—Porkfish, Anisotremus virginicus (Linneus). Key West. beautifully striped with black and golden, is very common in the West Indies. Plectorhynchus of Polynesia and the coasts of Asia contains numerous large species closely resembling Amtsotremus, but lacking the groove at the chin character- istic of Antsotremus and Hemulon. Some of these are striped or spotted with black in very gaudy fashion. Pomadasts, a genus equally abundant in Asia and America, contains silvery species of the sandy shores, with the body more elongate and the spines generally stronger. Pomadasis crocro is the com- monest West Indian species, Pomadasis hasta the best known of the Asiatic forms. Gunathodentex aurolineatus with golden stripes is common in Polynesia. 556 The Bass and their Relatives The pigfishes, Orthopristis, have the spines feebler and the anal fin more elongate. Of the many species, American and Mediterranean, Orthopristis chrysopterus is most familiar, ranging northward to Long Island, and excellent as a pan fish. Para- pristipoma trilineatum, the Isaki of Japan, is equally abundant and very similar to it. Many related species belong to the Asiatic genera, Terapon, Scolopsts, C@sio, etc., sometimes placed in a distinct family as Terapomide. Terapon servus enters the streams of Polynesia, and is a very common fish of the river mouths, taken in Samoa by the boys. Terapon theraps is found throughout the East Indies. Terapon richard- som is the Australian silver perch. Cesio contains numerous small species, elongate and brightly colored, largely blue and golden. Scolopsis, having a spine on the preorbital, contains numerous species in the East Indies and Polynesia. These are often handsomely colored. Among them is the taiva, Scolopsis trilineatus of Samoa, gray with white streaks and markings of delicate pattern. A fossil species in the Italian Eocene related to Pomadasis is Pomadasis furcatus. Another, perhaps allied to Terapon, is called Pelates quindecimalis. Fic. 447—The Red Tai of Japan, Pagrus major Schlegel. Family Sparide. (After Kishinouye.) The Porgies: Sparide.— The great family of Sparide or porgies is also closely related to the Hemulide. The most tangible difference rests in the teeth, which are stronger, and The Bass and their Relatives oF some of those along the side of the jaw are transformed into large blunt molars, fitted for grinding small crabs and shells. The name porgy, in Spanish pargo, comes from the Latin Pagrus and Greek zaypos, the name from time immemorial of the red porgy of the Mediterranean, Pagrus pagrus. In this Fig. 448.—Ebisu, the Fish-god of Japan, bearing a Red Tai (Sketch by Kako Morita.) species the front teeth are canine-like, the side teeth molar. It is a fine food-fish, very handsome, being crimson with blue spots, and in the Mediterranean it is much esteemed. It also breeds sparingly on our south Atlantic and Gulf coasts. 558 The Bass and their Relatives Very similar to the porgy is the famous red tai or akadai of Japan (Pagrus major), a fish so highly esteemed as to be, with the rising sun and the chrysanthemum, a sort of national emblem. In all prints and images the fish-god Ebisu (Fig. 448), ‘beloved of the Japanese people, appears with a red tai under his arm. This species, everywhere abundant, is crimson in color, and the flesh is always tender and excellent. A similar species is Fic. 449.—Scup, Stenotomus chrysops (Linneus). Woods Hole, Mass. the well-known and abundant “‘schnapper’”’ of Australia, Pagrus unicolor. Another but smaller tai or porgy, crimson, sprinkled with blue spots, Pagrus cardinalis, occurs in Japan in great abundance, as also two species similar in character but without red, known as Kurodat or black tai. These are Sparus latus and Sparus berda. The gilt-head of the Mediterranean, Sparus aurata, is very similar to these Japanese species. Sparus sarba in Australia is the tarwhine, and Sparus australis the black bream. The numerous species of Pagellus abound in the Medi- terranean. These are smaller in size than the species of Pagrus, red in color and with feebler teeth. Monotaxis grandoculis, known as the “mu,” is a widely diffused and valuable food-fish of the Pacific islands, greenish in color, with pale cross-bands. Very closely related is also the American scup or fair maid (Stenotomus chrysops), one of our commonest pan fishes. In The Bass and their Relatives 559 this genus and in Calamus the second interhemal spine is very greatly enlarged, its concave end formed like a quill-pen and Fie. 450.—Calamus bajonado (Bloch & Schneider), Jolt-head Porgy. Pez de Pluma. s Family Sparide. including the posterior end of the large air-bladder. This arrangement presumably assists in hearing. Of the penfishes, Ne. Fic. 451.—Little-head Porgy, Calamus proridens Jordan & Gilbert. Key West. or pez de pluma, numerous species abound in tropical America, where they are valued as food. Of these the bajonado or jolt-head porgy (Calamus bajonado) is largest, most common 560 The Bass and their Relatives and dullest in color. Calamus calamus is the saucer-eye porgy, and Calamus proridens, the little-head porgy. Calamus leucosteus is called white-bone porgy, and the small Calamus arctifrons the grass-porgy. The Chopa spina, or pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides, is a little porgy with notched incisors, exceedingly common on our South Atlantic coast. In some of the porgies the front teeth instead of being canine- like are compressed and truncate, almost exactly like human incisors. These species are known as sheepshead, or sargos. Diplodus sargus and Diplodus annularis are common sargos of the Mediterranean, silvery, with a black blotch on the back of Fia. 452.—Diplodus holbrooki Bean. Pensacola. the tail. Drplodus argenteus of the West Indies and Diplodus holbrookt of the Carolina coast are very close to these. The sheepshead, Archosargus probatocephalus, is much the most valuable fish of this group. The broad body is crossed by about seven black cross-bands. It is common from Cape Cod to Texas in sandy bays, reaching rarely a weight of fifteen pounds. Its flesh is most excellent, rich and tender. The sheepshead is a quiet bottom-fish, but takes the hook readily and with some spirit. Close to the sheepshead is a smaller species known as Salema (Archosargus unimaculatus), with blue The Bass and their Relatives 561 and golden stripes and a black spot at the shoulder. It abounds in the West Indies. On the coast of Japan and throughout Polynesia are nu- merous species of Lethrinus and related genera, formed and Fie. 453.—Archosargus unimaculatus (Bloch), Salema, Striped Sheepshead. Family Sparide. colored like snappers, but with molar teeth and the cheek with- out scales. A common species in Japan is Lethrinus richardsont. Fossil species of Dziplodus, Sparus, Pagrus, and Pagellus occur in the Italian Eocene, as also certain extinct genera, Sparnodus and Trigonodon, of similar type. Sparnodus macro- phthalmus is abundant in the Eocene of Monte Bolca. The Picarels: Menide.—The Mcnide, or Ptcarels, are elongate, gracefully formed fishes, remarkable for the extreme protrac- tility of the upper jaw. Sptcara smarts and several other small species are found in the Mediterranean. Emmeltchthys contains species of larger size occurring in the West Indies and various parts of the Pacific, chiefly red and very graceful in form and color. Emmelichthys vtttatus, the boga, is occasionally taken in Cuba, Erythrichthys schlegeli is found in Japan and Hawaii. The Mojarras: Gerride.— The Gerride, or Moyjarras, have the mouth equally protractile, but the form of the body is different, being broad, compressed, and covered with large 562 The Bass and their Relatives silvery scales. In some species the dorsal spines and the third anal spine are very strong, and in some the second interhemal is quill-shaped, including the end of the air-bladder, as in Calamus. Most of the species, including all the peculiar ones, are American. The smallest, Eucinostomus, have the quill-shaped interhemal Fig. 454.—Mojarra, Xystema cinereum (Walbaum). Key West. and the dorsal and anal spines are very weak. The commonest species is the silver jenny, or mojarra de Ley, Eucinostomus gula, which ranges from Cape Cod to Rio Janeiro, in the surf along sandy shores. Equally common is Euctnostomus cali- forniensis of the Pacific Coast of Mexico, while Eucinostomus harengulus of the West Indies is also very abundant. Ulema lefroyt has but two anal spines and the interhemal very small. It is common through the West Indies. Xystema, with the interhaemal spear-shaped and normally formed, is found in Asia and Polynesia more abundantly than in America, although one species, AXystema cinereum, the broad shad, or Mojarra blanca, is common on both shores of tropical America. Xystema gigas is found in Polynesia, X. oyena in Japan, and X. filamentosum in Formosa and India. Xystema massalongot is also fossil in the Miocene of Austria. The species of Gerres have very strong dorsal and anal spines and the back much elevated. Gerres plumtert, the striped mojarra, Gerres bra- siltensts, the patao, Gerres olisthostomus, the Irish pampano, and Gerres rhombeus are some of the numerous species found The Bass and their Relatives 563 _on the Florida coast and in the West Indies. The family of Letognathide, already noticed (page 502), should stand next to the Gerride. Fic. 455 —Irish Pampano, Gerres olisthostomus Goode & Bean. Indian River, Fla. The Rudder-fishes: Kyphoside—The Kyphoside, called rud- der-fishes, have no molars, the front of the jaws being oc- cupied by incisors, which are often serrated, loosely attached, ny ase YY YY LL AY g = Wie Lie Way, YURI AL A AAA Fig. 456.—Chopa or Rudder-fish, Kyphosus sectatrix (Linnzus). Woods Hole, Mass. and movable. The numerous species are found in the warm seas and are chiefly herbivorous. : Boops boops and Boops salpa, known as boga and salpa, 564 The Bass and their Relatives are elongate fishes common in the Mediterranean. Other Med- iterranean forms are Spondyliosoma cantharus, Oblata melanura, etc. Guirella nigricans is the greenfish of California, every- where abundant about rocks to the south of San Francisco, and of considerable value as food. Almost exactly like it is the Mejinadai (Girella punctata) of Japan. The best-known members of this group belong to the genus Kyphosus. Kyphosus sectatrix is the rudder-fish, or Chopa blanca, common in the West Indies and following ships to the northward even as far as Cape Cod, once even taken at Palermo. It is supposed that it is enticed by the waste thrown overboard. Kyphosus elegans is found on the west coast of Mexico, Kyphosus tahmel in the East Indies and Polynesia, and numerous other species occur in tropical America and along the coasts of southern Asia. Sectator ocyurus is a more elongate form of rudder-fish, striped with bright blue and yellow, found in the Pacific. Medialuna californiensis is the half-moon fish, or medialuna, of southern California, an excellent food-fish frequently taken on rocky shores. Numerous related species occur in the Indian seas. Fossil fragments in Europe have been referred to Boops, Spondyliosoma, and other genera. Fie. 457.—Blue-green Sunfish, Apomotis cyanellus .Rafinesque). Kansas River, (After Kellogg.) CHAPTER XXXV THE SURMULLETS, THE CROAKERS AND THEIR RELATIVES mJj|HE Surmullets, or Goatfishes: Mullide.—The Mullide (Surmullets) are shore-fishes of the warm seas, of mod- ww -*) erate size, with small mouth, large scales, and possess- ing tie notable character of two long, unbranched barbels of firm substance at the chin. The dorsal fins are short, well separated, the first of six to eight firm spines. There are two anal spines and the ventral fins, thoracic, are formed of one spine and five rays. The flesh is white and tender, often of very superior flavor. The species are carnivorous, Fic. 458.—Red Goatfish, or Salmonete, Pseudupeneus maculatus Bloch. Family Mullide (Surmullets.) feeding chiefly on small animals. They are not voracious, - and predaceous fishes feed freely on them. The coloration is generally bright, largely red or golden, in nearly all cases with an under layer, below the scales, of red, which appears when the fish is scaled or placed in alcohol. The barbels are often bright yellow, and when the fish swims along the bottom these are carried in advance, feeling the way. Testing the bottom 565 566 Surmullets, Croakers, etc. with their feelers, these fishes creep over the floor of shallow waters, seeking their food. The numerous species are all very much alike in form, and the current genera are separated by details of the arrangement of the teeth. But few are found outside the tropics. The surmullet or red mullet of Europe, Mullus barbatus, is the most famous species, placed by the Romans above all other fishes unless it be the scarus, Spartsoma cretense. From the satirical poets we learn that “enormous prices were paid for a fine fish, and it was the fashion to bring the fish into the dining-room and exhibit it alive before the assembled guests, so that they might gloat over the brilliant and changing colors during the death-agonies.”’ It is red in life, and when the scales are removed, the color is much brighter. It is an excellent fish, tender and rich, but nowhere so extrav- agantly valued to-day as was formerly the case in Rome. eR ra . ; A AY RR REAR a is Maes SX KEYED ROIS NSS Fic. 459—Golden Surmullet, Mullus auratus Jordan & Gilbert. Wood’s Hole, Mass. Mullus surmuletus is a second European species, scarcely differ- ent from Mullus barbatus. Equally excellent as food and larger in size are two Polyne- sian species known as kumu and munu (Pseudupeneus porphyreus and Pseudupeneus bifasciatus), Mullus auratus is a small sur-— mullet occasionally taken off our Atlantic coast, but in deeper water than that frequented by the European species. Pseu- dupeneus maculatus is the red goatfish or salmonete, common from Florida to Brazil, as is also the yellow goatfish, Pseudu- (SIIVOHU NOIOSONAO) HSIAMVHM !HOOVALHOOS Surmullets, Croakers, etc. 567 peneus martinicus, equally valued. Many other species are found in tropical America, Polynesia, and the Indies and Japan. Perhaps the most notable are Upeneus vittatus, striped with yellow and with the caudal fin cross-barred and the belly sul- phur-yellow, and Upeneus arge, similar, the belly white. The common red arid black-banded ‘“‘moana”’ or goatfish of Hawaii is Pseudupeneus multifasciatus, No fossil Mullid@ are recorded, so far as known to us. The Croakers: Scienide.— The family of Sczenide (croak- ers, roncadors) is another of the great groups of food-fishes. The species are found on every sandy shore in warm regions and all of them are large enough to have value as food, while many have flesh of superior quality. None is brightly colored, most of the species being nearly plain silvery. Special characters are the cavernous structure of the bones of the head, which are full of mucous tracts, the specialization W BY Fic. 460.—Spotted Weakfish, Cynoscion nebulosus. Virginia. (and occasional absence) of the air-bladder, and the presence of never more than two anal spines, one of these being some- times very large. Most of the species are marine, all are car- nivorous; none inhabits rocky places and none descends to depths in the sea. At the least specialized extreme of the family, the mouth is large with strong canines and the species ate slender, swift, and predaceous. The weakfish or squeteague (Cynoscion regalis) is a type of a multitude of species, large, swift, voracious, but with ten- der flesh, which is easily torn. The common weakfish, abun- dant on our Atlantic coast, suffers much at the hands of its 568 Surmullets, Croakers, etc. enemy and associate, the bluefish. It is one of the best of all our food-fishes. Farther south the spotted weakfish (Cyno- scion nebulosus), very incorrectly known as sea-trout, takes its place, and about New Orleans is especially and justly prized. The California ‘“bluefish,”’ Cynoscion parvipinnis, is very similar to these Atlantic species, and there are many other species of Cynoscion on both coasts of tropical America, form- ing a large part of the best fish-supply of the various markets of the mainland. On the rocky islands, as Cuba, and about coral reefs, Scienide are practically unknown. In the Gulf of California, the totuava, Cynoscion macdonaldt, reaches a weight of 172 pounds, and the stateliest of all, the great “white sea-bass” of California, Cynoscion nobilis, reaches 100 pounds. In these large species the flesh is much more firm than in the weakfish and thus bears shipment better. Cynoscion has canines in the upper jaw only and its species are all Ameri- can. In the East Indies the genus Ofolithes has strong canines in both jaws. Its numerous species are very similar in form, habits, and value to those of Cynoscion. The queenfisn, Seri- phus politus, of the California coast, is much like the others of this series, but smaller and with no canines at all. It is a very choice fish, as are also the species of Macrodon (Ancylodon) known as pescadillo del red, voracious fishes of both shores of South America. Plagioscion squamosissimus and numerous species of Pla- gloscion and other genera live in the rivers of South America. A single species, the river-drum, gaspergou, river sheepshead, or thunder-pumper (A plodinotus grunniens), is found in streams in North America. This is a large fish reaching a length of nearly three feet. It is very widely distributed, from the Great Lakes to Rio Usumacinta in Guatemala, whence it has been lately recetved by Dr. Evermann. This species abounds in lakes and sluggish rivers. The flesh 1s coarse, and in the Great Lakes it is rarely eaten, having a rank odor. In Louisiana and Texas it is, however, regarded as a good food-fish. In this species the lower pharyngeals are very large and firmly united, while, as in all other Scienide@, except the genus Pogonias, these bones are separated. In all members of the family the ear- bones or otoliths are largely developed, often finely sculptured. Surmullets, Croakers, etc. 569 The otoliths of the river-drum are known to Wisconsin boys as “lucky-stones,”’ each having a rude impress of the letter L. The names roncador, drum, thunder-pumper, croaker, and the like refer to the grunting noise made by most Scienide in the water, a noise at least connected with the large and divided air-bladder. Numerous silvery species belong to Larimus, Corvula, Odon- toscion, and especially to Bairdiella, a genus in which the second anal spine is unusually strong. The mademoiselle, Bairdiella Bees ae BN oD oS TERE Fic. 461.—Mademoiselle, Bairdiella chrysura (Linneus). Virginia. chrysura is a pretty fish of our Atlantic coast, excellent as a pan fish. In Bazrdiella ensifera of Panama the second anal spine is enormously large, much as in a robalo (Oxylabrax). In Stellifer and Nebris, the head is soft and spongy. Stells- jer lanceolatus is occasionally taken off South Carolina, and numerous other species of this and related genera are found farther South. Scienops ocellata is the red-drum or channel bass of our South Atlantic coast, a most important food-fish reaching a weight of seventy-five pounds. It is well marked by a black ocellus on the base of the tail. On the coast of Texas, this species, locally called redfish, exceeds in economic value all other species found in that State. Pseudosciena aquila, the maigre of southern Europe, is 570 Surmullets, Croakers, etc. another large fish, similar in value to the red drum. Pseudo- sci@na antarctica is the kingfish of Australia. To Sctena belong many species, largely Asiatic, with the mouth inferior, without barbels, the teeth small, and the convex snout marked with mucous pores. Scienu umbra, the ombre, is the common European species, Sczena saturna, the black roncador of Cali- fornia, is much likeit. Sci@na delictosa is one of the most valued Fic. 462.—Red Drum, Scienops ocellata Linnzeus. Texas. food-fishes of Peru, and Sciena argentata is valued in Japan. Species of Sciena are especially numerous on the coasts of India. Roncador stearnst, the California roncador, is a large fish with a black ocellus at the base of the pectoral. It has some importance in the Los Angeles market. The goody, spot, or lafayette (Leio- stomus xanthurus) is a small, finely flavored species abundant from Cape Cod to Texas. Similar to it but inferior is the little roncador (Genyonemus lineatus) of California. The common croaker, Micropogon undulatus, is very abundant on our Eastern coast, and other species known as verrugatos or white-mouthed drummers replace it farther South. In, Umbrina the chin has a short thick barbel. The species abound in the tropics, Umbrina cirrosa in the Mediterranean; Umbrina coroides in California, and the handsome Umbrina roncador, the yellow-tailed roncador, in southern California. The kingfish, Mentzcirrhus, differs in lacking the air-bladder, and lying on the bottom in shallow water the lower fins are enlarged much as in the darters or gobies. All the species are American. All are dull-colored and all excellent as food. Men- ticirrhus saxatilis is the common kingfish or sea-mink, abundant Surmullets, Croakers, etc. 571 from Cape Ann southward, Menticirrhus americanus is the equally common sand-whiting of Carolina, and Menticirrhus Li's’ 5 Bee ay yp) AE eer Soe ® BY Dip Lf) 2. PAN SN YS) SOV. littoralis the surf-whiting. The California whiting or sand- sucker is Menticirrhus undulatus. Pogontas chromts, the sea-drum, has barbels on the chin and the lower pharyngeals are enlarged and united as in the river- Fic. 464—Kingfish, Menticirrhus americanus (Linnzus). Pensacola. drum, Aplodinotus. It is a coarse fish common on our Atlantic coasts, a large specimen taken at St. Augustine weighing 146 pounds. Other species of this family, belonging to the genus Eques, are marked with ribbon-like stripes of black. Eques lanceolatus, known in Cuba as serrana, is the most ornate of these species, looking like a butterfly-fish or Chetodon. Several fossil fragments have been doubtfully referred to Sciena, Umbrina, Pogonias, and other genera. Otoliths or 572 Surmullets, Croakers, etc. ear-bones not clearly identifiable are found from the Miocene on. These structures are more highly specialized in this group than in any other. Fic. 465—Drum, Pogonias chromis (Linneus). Matanzas, Fla. The Sillaginidz, etc.—Allied to the Sctenide is the small family of Kisugos, Sillaginide, of the coasts of Asia. These are slender, cylindrical fishes, silvery in color, with a general resemblance to small Sctenas. Sillago japonicus, the kisugo of Japan, is a very abundant species, valued as food. Svzllago sthama ranges from Japan to Abyssinia. A number of small families, mostly Asiatic, may be appended to the percoid series, with which they agree in general characters, especially in the normal structure of the shoulder-girdle and in the insertion of the pectoral and ventral fins. The Lactartide constitute a small family of the East Indies, allied to the Scienide, but with three anal spines. The mouth is armed with strong teeth. Lactarius lactarius is a food-fish of India. The Nandide@ are small spiny-rayed fishes of the East Indian streams, without pseudobranchiz. The Polycentride are small fresh-water perch-like fishes of the streams of South America, without lateral line and with many anal spines. Surmullets, Croakers, etc. 573 The Jawfishes: Opisthognathide, etc.— The Pseudochromi- pide are marine-fishes of the tropics with the lateral line inter- rupted, and with a single dorsal. They bear some resemblance to Plestops and other aberrant Serranide. Ths Seth Fic. 466.—Gnathypops evermanni Jordan & Snyder. Misaki, Japan. Very close to these are the Optstognathide or jawfishes with a single lateral line and the mouth very large. In certain species of Optsthognathus, the maxillary, long and curved, extends far behind the head. The few species are found in warm Fic. 467.—Jawfish, Opisthognathus macrognathus Poey. Tortugas, Fla. seas, but always very sparingly. Some of them are handsomely colored. The Stone-wall Perch: Oplegnathide.—A singular group evi- dently allied to the Hemulide is the family of Oplegnathide. In these fishes the teeth are grown together to form a bony beak like the jaw of a turtle. Except for this character, the species are very similar to ordinary grunts. While the mouth resembles 574 Surmullets, Croakers, etc. that of the parrot-fish, it is structurally different and must have been independently developed. Oplegnathus punctatus, the “stonewall perch”’ (ishigakidai), is common in Japan, as is also Fic. 468.—Opisthognathus nigromarginatus. India. (After Day.) the banded Oplegnathus fasciatus. Other species are found in Australia and Chile. The Swallowers: Chiasmodontide.—The family of swallowers Chiasmodontide, is made up of a few deep-sea fishes of soft flesh and feeble spines, the opercular apparatus much reduced. Fia. 469.—Black Swallower, Chiasmodon niger Johnson, containing a fish larger than itself. Le Have Bank. The ventrals are post-thoracic, the rays 1, 5, facts which point to some affinity with the Opisthognathide, although Boulenger places these fishes among the Percesoces. Chtasmodon niger, the black swallower of the mid-Atlantic, has exceedingly long teeth and the whole body so distensible that it can swallow fishes of many times its own size. According to Gill: “Tt espies a fish many times larger than itself, but which, nevertheless, may be managed; it darts upon it, seizes it by x - OCEANOPS LATOVITTATA (IL,ACEPEDE) Surmullets, Croakers, etc. 575 the tail and gradually climbs over it with its jaws, first using one and then the other; as the captive is taken in the stomach and integuments stretch out, and at last the entire fish is passed through the mouth and into the stomach, and the distended belly appears as a great bag, projecting out far backwards and forwards, over which is the swallower with the ventrals dislo- cated and far away from their normal place. The walls of the stomach and belly have been so stretched that they are trans- parent, and the species of the fish can be discerned within. But such rapacity is more than the captor itself can stand. At length decomposition sets in, the swallower is forced belly up. wards, and the imprisoned gas, as in a balloon, takes it upwards from the depths to the surface of the ocean, and there, perchance, it may be found and picked up, to be taken home for a wonder, as it is really. Thus have at least three specimens found their way into museums—one being in the United States National Museum—and in each the fish in the stomach has been about twice as long, and stouter in proportion, than the swallower— six to twelve times bulkier! Its true habitat seems to be at a depth of about 1,500 fathoms.” Allied to this family is the little group of Champsodontide of Japan and the East Indies. Champsodon vorax looks like a young Uranoscopus. The body is covered with numerous lateral lines and cross-lines. The Malacanthide.— The Malacanthide are elongate fishes, rather handsomely colored, with a strong canine on the premaxil- lary behind. Malacanthus plumieri, the matajuelo blanco, a slender fish of a creamy-brown color, is common in the West Indies. Other species are found in Polynesia, the most notable being Malacanthus (or Oceanops) lativittatus, a large fish of a brilliant sky-blue, with a jet-black lateral band. In Samoa this species is called gatasami, the ‘‘eye of the sea.” The Blanquillos: Latilide.—The Latilide, or blanquillos, have also an enlarged posterior canine, but the body is deeper and the flesh more firm. The species reach a considerable size and are valued as food. Lopholotilus chameleonticeps is the famous tilefish dredged in the depths under the Gulf Stream. It isa fish of remarkable beauty, red and golden. This species, Pro- fessor Gill writes, ‘was unknown until 1879, when specimens 576 Surmullets, Croakers, etc. were brought by fishermen to Boston from a previously unex- plored bank about eighty miles southeast of No Man’s Land, Mass. In the fall of 1880 it was found to be extremely abun- dant everywhere off the coast of southern New England at a depth of from seventy-five to two hundred and fifty fathoms. The form of the species is more compressed, and higher, than in most of the family, and what especially distinguishes it is the development of a compressed, ‘fleshy, fin-like appendage over the back part of the head and nape, reminding one of the adipose fin of the salmonids and catfishes.’ It is especially notable, too, for the brilliancy of its colors, as well as for its size, being by far larger than any other member of its family. A weight of fifty pounds or more is, or rather, one might say, was frequently attained by it, although such was very far above the average, that being little over ten pounds. In the reach of water referred to, it could once be found abundantly at any time, and caught by hook and line. After a severe gale in March, 1882, millions of tilefish could be seen, or calculated for, on the surface of the water for a distance of about three hundred miles from north to south, and fifty miles from east to west. It has been calculated by Capt. Collins that as many as one thou- sand four hundred and thirty-eight millions were scattered over the surface. This would have allowed about two hundred and twenty-eight pounds to every man, woman and child of the fifty million inhabitants of the United States! On trying at their former habitat the next fall, as well as all successive years to the present time, not a single specimen could be found where formerly it was so numerous. We have thus a case of a catastrophe which, as far as has been observed, caused com- plete annihilation of an abundant animal in a very limited period. Whether the grounds it formerly held will be reoccupied subsequently by the progeny of a protected colony remains to be seen, but it is scarcely probable that the entire species has been exterminated.” It is now certain that the species is not extinct. Caulolatilus princeps is the blanquillo or “whitefish” of southern California, a large handsome fish formed like a dol- phin, of purplish, olivaceous color and excellent flesh. Other species of Caulolatilus are found in the West Indies. Latzlus Surmullets, Croakers, etc. SF japonicus is the amadai or sweet perch of Japan, an excellent food-fish of a bright crimson color. The Pingutpedide of Chile resemble the Latilide, having also the enlarged premaxillary tooth. The ventrals are, how- ever, thickened and placed farther forward. The Bandfishes: Cepolide.—The small family of Cepolide, or bandfishes, resemble the Latilide somewhat and are probably related to them. The head is normally formed, the ventral fins are thoracic, with a spine and five rays, but the body is drawn out into a long eel-like form, the many-rayed dorsal and anal fins meeting around thetail. The few species are crimson in color with small scales. They are used as food, but the flesh is dry and the bones are stiff and numerous. Cepola tenta is common in the Mediterranean, and Acanthocepola krusensterni abounds in the bays of southern Japan. The Cirrhitide.—The species of the family C7rrhitide strongly resemble the smaller Serranid@ and even Serranus itself, but the lower rays of the pectoral fins are enlarged and are undi- vided, as in the sea-scorpions and some sculpins. In these fishes, however, the bony stay, which characterizes Scorpenide and Cottide, is wholly absent. It is, however, considered possible that this interesting family represents the point of separation at which the mail-cheeked fishes become differentiated from the typical perch-like forms. Gonztistius zonatus, the takanohadai, is a valuable food-fish of Japan, marked by black cross-bands. Paracirrhites forstert and other species of Cirrhitus and Paracir- rhites are very pretty fishes of the coral reefs, abundant in the markets of Honolulu, the spotted Cirrhitus marmoratus being the most widely diffused of these. Only one species of this family, Cirrhitus rivulatus, a large fish, green, with blue mark- ings, is found in American waters. It frequents the rocky shores of the west coast of Mexico. Allied to the Cirrhitide is the small family of Latridide, with a long dorsal fin deeply divided, and the lower rays of the pectoral similarly modified. Latris hecateia is called the “trumpeter ’’ in Australian waters. It is one of the best food- fishes of Australia, reaching a weight of sixty to eighty pounds. Another small family showing the same peculiar structure of the pectoral fin is that of the Aplodactylide. The species 578 Surmullets, Croakers, etc. of Aplodactylus live on the coasts of Chile and Australia. They are herbivorous fishes, with flat, tricuspid teeth, and except for their pectoral fins are very similar to the Kyphoside. Fic. 470—Cirrhitus rivulatus Valenciennes. Mazatlan. The Sandfishes: Trichodontide.—In the neighborhood of the Latridide, Dr. Boulenger places the Trichodontide or sandfishes, small, scaleless, silvery fishes of the northern Pacific, These Fie. 471.—Sandfish, Trichodon trichodon (Tilesius), Shumagin Islands, Alaska. are much compressed in body, with very oblique mouths, with fringed lips and, as befits their northern habitat, with a much increased number of vertebre. They bury themselves in sand under the surf, and the two species, Trichodon trichodon and Arctoscopus japonicus, range very widely in the regions washed by the Japan current. These species bear a strong resemblance to the star-gazers (Uranoscopus), but this likeness seems to be superficial only. CHAPTER XXXVI LABYRINTHICI AND HOLCONOTI. #|HE Labyrinthine Fishes.—An offshoot of the Percomorphi | is the group of Labyrinthici, composed of perch-like | fishes which have a very peculiar structure to the pharyngeal bones and respiratory apparatus. This feature is thus described by Dr. Gill: “The upper elements of one of the pairs of gill-bearing arches are peculiarly modified. The elements in question (called branchihyal) of each side, instead of being straight and solid, as in most fishes, are excessively developed and pro- vided with several thin plates or folds, erect from the surface of the bones and the roof of the skull, to which the bones are attached. These plates, by their intersection, form chambers, and are lined with a vascular membrane, which is supplied with large blood-vessels. It was formerly supposed that the chambers referred to had the office of receiving and retaining supplies of water which should trickle down and keep the gills moist; such was supposed to be an adaptation for the sus- tentation of life out of the water. The experiments of Surgeon Day, however, throw doubt upon this alleged function, and tend to show: (1) that these fishes died when deprived of access to atmospheric air, not from any deleterious properties either in the water or in the apparatus used, but from being unable to subsist on air obtained solely from the water, aerial respira- tion being indispensable; (2) that they can live in moisture out of the water for lengthened periods, and for a short, but variable period in water only; and (3) that the cavity or recep- tacle does not contain water, but has a moist secreting surface, in which air is retained for the purpose of respiration. It seems probable that the air, after having been supplied for aerial respiration, is ejected by the mouth, and not swallowed to be 579 580 Labyrinthici and Holconti discharged per anum. In fine, the two respiratory factors of the branchial apparatus have independent functions: (1) the labyrinthiform, or branchihyal portion, being a special modi- fication for the respiration of atmospheric air, and (2) the gill filaments discharging their normal function. If, however, the fish is kept in water and prevented from coming to the surface to swallow the atmospheric air, the labyrinthiform apparatus becomes filled with water which cannot be dis- charged, owing to its almost non-contractile powers. There is thus no means of emptying it, and the water probably becomes carbonized and unfit for oxygenizing the blood, so that the whole of the respiration is thus thrown on the branchiz. This will account for the fact that when the fish is in a state of quiescence, it lives much longer than when excited, whilst the sluggishness sometimes evinced may be due to poisoned or carbonized blood.” Four families of labyrinth-gilled fishes are recognized by Professor Gill; and to these we may append a fifth, which, how- ever, lacks the elaborate structures mentioned above and which shows other evidences of degeneration. The Climbing-perches: Anabantide.—The family of Anaban- tide, according to Gill, ‘includes those species which have the Fia. 472 —The Climbing Perch, Anabas scandens Linneus. Opercle cut away to show the gill-labyrinth. mouth of moderate size and teeth on the palate (either on the vomer alone, or on both the vomer and palatine bones). To the family belongs the celebrated climbing-fish. “The climbing-fish (Anabas scandens) is especially note- worthy for the movability of the sub-operculum. The oper- Labyrinthici and Holconoti 581 culum is serrated. The color is reddish olive, with a blackish spot at the base of the caudal fin; the head, below the level of the eye, grayish, but relieved by an olive band running from the angle of the mouth to the angle of the pre-operculum, and with a black spot on the membrane behind the hindermost spines of the operculum. “The climbing-fish was first made known in a memoir, printed in 1797, by Daldorf, a lieutenant in the service of the Danish East India Company at Tranquebar. Daldorf called it Perca scandens, and affirmed that he himself had taken one of these fishes, clinging by the spine of its operculum in a slit in the bark of a palm (Borassus flabelliformis) which grew near a pond. He also described its mode of progression; and his observations were substantially repeated by the Rev. Mr. John, a missionary resident in the same country. His positive evi- dence was, however, called into question by those who doubted on account of hypothetical considerations. Even in popular works not generally prone to even a judicious skepticism, the accounts were stigmatized as unworthy of belief. We have, however, in answer to such doubts, too specific informa- tion to longer distrust the reliability of the previous reports. “Mr. Rungasawmy Moodeliar, a native assistant of Capt. Jesse Mitchell of the Madras Government Central Museum, communicated to his superior the statement that ‘this fish inhabits tanks or pools of water, and is called Panazt fert, i.e, the fish that climbs palmyra-trees. When there are palmyra- trees growing by the side of a tank or pool, when heavy rain falls and the water runs profusely down their trunks, this fish, by means of its opercula, which move unlike those of other fishes, crawls up the tree sideways (i.e., inclining to the sides considerably from the vertical) to a height of from five to seven feet, and then drops down. Should this fish be thrown upon the ground, it runs or proceeds rapidly along in the same manner (sideways) as long as the mucus on it remains.’ “These movements are effected by the opercula, which, it will be remembered, are unusually mobile in this species; they can, according to Captain Mitchell (and I have verified the statement), be raised or turned outwards to nearly a right angle with the body, and when in that position, the suboper- 582 Labyrinthici and Holconoti culum distends a little, and it appears that it is chiefly by the spines of this latter piece that the fish takes a purchase on the tree or ground. ‘I have,’ says Captain Mitchell, ‘ascer- tained by experiment that the mere closing of the operculum, when the spines are in contact with any surface, even common glass, pulls an ordinary-sized fish forwards about half an inch,’ but it is probable that additional force is supplied by the cau- dal and anal fins, both of which, it is said, are put in use when climbing or advancing on the ground; the motion, in fact, is described as a wriggling one. “The climbing-fish seems to manifest an inclination to ascend streams against the current, and we can now understand how, during rain, the water will flow down the trunk of a tree, and the climbing-fish, taking advantage of this, will ascend against the down-flow by means of the mechanism already described, and by which it is enabled to reach a considerable distance up the trunk.” (Gill) The Gouramis: Osphromenida.—‘‘ The Osphromenide are fishes with a mouth of small size, and destitute of teeth on the palate. To this family belongs the gourami, whose praises have been so often sung, and which has been the subject of many efforts for acclimatization in France and elsewhere by the French. “The gourami (Osphromenus goramy) has an oblong, oval form, and, when mature, the color is nearly uniform, but in the young there are black bands across the body, and also a blackish spot at the base of the pectoral fin. The gourami, if we can credit reports, occasionally reaches a gigantic size, for it is claimed that it sometimes attains a length of 6 feet, and weighs 1s0 pounds, but if this is true, the size is at least exceptional, and one of 20 pounds is a very large fish; indeed, they are considered very large if they weigh as much as 12 or 14 pounds, in which case they measure about 2 feet in length. “The countries in which the gourami is most at home lie in the intertropical belt. The fish is assiduous in the care of its young, and prepares a nest for the reception of eggs. The bottom selected is muddy, the depth variable within a narrow area, that is, in one place about a yard, and near by several yards deep. “They prefer to use, for the nests, tufts of a peculiar grass Labyrinthici and Holconoti 583 (Panicum jumentorum) which grows on the surface of the water, and whose floating roots, rising and falling with the movements of the water, form natural galleries, under which the fish can conceal themselves. In one of the corners of the pond, among the plants which grow there, the gouramis attach their nest, which is of a nearly spherical form, and composed of plants and mud, and considerably resembles in form those of some birds. “The gourami is omnivorous, taking at times flesh, fish, frogs, insects, worms, and many kinds of vegetables; and on account of its omnivorous habit, it has been called by the French colo- nists of Mauritius porc des riviéres, or ‘river-pig.’ It is, how- ever, essentially a vegetarian, and its adaptation for this diet is indicated by the extremely elongated intestinal canal, which is many times folded upon itself. It is said to be especially fond of the leaves of several araceous plants. Its flesh is, according to several authors, of a light-yellow straw-color, firm and easy of digestion. They vary in quality with the nature of the waters inhabited, those taken from a rocky river being much superior to those from muddy ponds; but those dwelling at the mouth of rivers, where the water is to some extent brack- ish, are the best of all. Again, they vary with age; and the large, overgrown fishes are much less esteemed than the small ones. They are in their prime when three years old. Dr. Vin- son says the flavor is somewhat like that of carp; and, if this is so, we may entertain some skepticism as to its superiority; but the unanimous testimony in favor of its excellence natu- rally leads to the belief that the comparison is unfair to the gourami. ‘‘Numerous attempts have been made by the French to introduce the gourami into their country, as well as into several of their provinces; and for a number of years consignments of the eggs, or the young, or adult fish, were made. Although at least partially successful, the fish has never been domiciliated in the Republic, and, indeed, it could not be reasonably expected that it would be, knowing, as we do, its sensitiveness to cold and the climates under which it thrives. “The fish of paradise (Macropodus viridi-auratus) is a species remarkable for its beauty and the extension of its fins, and 584 Labyrinthici and Holconoti especially of the ventrals, which has obtained for it the generic name Macropodus. To some extent this species has also been made the subject of fish-culture, but with reference to its beauty and exhibition in aquaria and ponds, like the goldfish, rather than for its food qualities. ‘The only other fish of the family that needs mention is the fighting-fish (Betta pugnax). It is cultivated by the natives of Siam, and a special race seems to have been the result of such cultivation. The fishes are kept in glasses of water and fed, among other things, with the larva of mosquitoes or other aquatic insects. ‘The Siamese are as infatuated with the com- bats of these fishes as the Malays are with their cock-fights, and stake on the issue considerable sums, and sometimes their own persons and families. The license to exhibit fish-fights is farmed, and brings a considerable annual revenue to the king of Siam. The species abounds in the rivulets at the foot of the hills of Penang. The inhabitants name it ‘pla-kat,’ or the ‘fighting- fish.’ The Helostomide are herbivorous, with movable teeth on the lips and with long intestines. Helostoma temmanckt lives in the rivers of Java, Borneo, and Sumatra. The Luciocephalide of East Indian rivers have the supra- branchial organ small, formed of two gill-arches dilated by a membrane. In these species there are no spines in the dorsal and anal, while in the Anabantide and Osphromenideé numerous spines are developed both in the dorsal and anal. Luctocephalus pulcher indicates a transition toward the Ophicephalide. The Snake-head Mullets: Ophicephalide.—The family of Opht- cephalide, snake-head mullets, or China-fishes, placed among the Percesoces by Cope and Boulenger, seems to us nearer the Labyrinthine fishes, of which it is perhaps a degenerate descendant. The body is long, cylindrical, covered with firm scales which on the head are often larger and shield-like. The mouth is large, the head pike-like, and the habit carnivorous and voracious. There are no spines in any of the fins, but the tho- racic position of the ventrals indicates affinity with perch-like forms and the absence of ventral spines seems rather a feature of degradation, the more so as in one genus (Channa) the ventrals are wanting altogether. The numerous species are found in Labyrinthici and Holconoti £55 the rivers of southern China and India, crossing to Formosa and to Africa. They are extremely tenacious of life, and are carried alive by the Chinese to San Francisco and to Hawaii, where they are now naturalized, being known as ‘“China-fishes.”’ Fie. 473 —Channa formosana Jordan & Evermann. Streams of Formosa. These fishes have no special organ for holding water on the gills, but the gill space may be partly closed by a membrane. According to Dr. Gunther, these fishes are “able to survive drought living in semi-fluid mud or lying in a torpid state below the hard-baked crusts of the bottom of a tank from which every drop of water has disappeared. Respiration is Pie Fie. 474.—Snake-headed China-fish, Ophicephalus barca. India. (After Day.) probably entirely suspended during the state of torpidity, but whilst the mud is still soft enough to allow them to come to the surface, they rise at intervals to take in a quantity of air, by means of which their blood is oxygenized. This habit has been observed in some species to continue also to the period of the year in which the fish lives in normal water, and individuals which are kept in a basin and prevented from coming to the surface and renewing the air for respiratory purposes are suffo- cated. The particular manner in which the accessory branchial cavity participates in respiratory functions is not known. It 1s a simple cavity, without an accessory branchial organ, the 586 Labyrinthici and Holconoti opening of which is partly closed by a fold of the mucous mem- brane.” Ophicephalus striatus is the most widely diffused species in China, India, and the Philippines, living in grassy swamps and biting at any bait from a live frog to an artificial salmon-fly. It has been introduced into Hawaii. Ophicephalus marultus is another very common species, as is also Channa ortentalts, known by the absence of ventral fins. Suborder Holconoti, the Surf-fishes.—Another offshoot from the perch-like forms is the small suborder of Holconots (6Axos, furrow; v@ros, back). It contains fishes percoid in appearance, with much in common with the Gerride and Sparide, but with certain Fic. 475.—White Surf-fish, viviparous, with young, Cymatogaster aggregatus Gibbons. San Francisco. striking characteristics not possessed by any perch or bass. All the species are viviparous, bringing forth their young alive, these being in small number and born at an advanced stage of development. The lower pharyngeals are solidly united, as in the Labride, a group which these fishes resemble in scarcely any other respects. The soft dorsal and anal are formed of many fine rays, the anal being peculiarly modified in the male sex. The nostrils, ventral fins, and shoulder-girdle have the structure normal among perch-like fishes, and the dorsal furrow, which sug- gested to Agassiz the name of Holconott, is also found among various perch-like forms. Labyrinthici and Holconoti 587 The Embiotocide.—The group contains a single family, the Embvotocide, or surf-fishes. All but two of the species are confined Fie. 476.—Fresh-water Viviparous Perch, Hysterocarpus traski Gibbons. Sacramento River. to California, these two living in Japan. The species are rela- tively small fishes, from five inches to eighteen inches in length, with rather large, usually silvery scales, small mouths and small teeth. They feed mainly on crustaceans, two or three species being herbivorous. With two exceptions, they inhabit Fic. 477.—Hypsurus caryi (Agassiz). Monterey. the shallow waters on sandy beaches, where they bring forth their young. They can be readily taken in nets in the surf. 588 Labyrinthici and Holconoti As food-fishes they are rather inferior, the flesh being some- what watery and with little flavor. Many are dried by the Fic. 478.—White Surf-fish, Damalichthys argyrosomus (Girard). British Columbia Chinese. The two exceptions in distribution are Hysterocar- pus traski, which lives exclusively in fresh waters, being con- fined to the lowlands of the Sacramento Basin, and Zalembius rosaceus, which descends to considerable depths in the sea. In Hysterocarpus the spinous dorsal is very greatly developed, ees one ee Fia. 479.—Thick-lipped Surf-fish, Rhacochilus torotes Agassiz. Monterey, Cal. seventeen stout spines being present, the others having but eight to eleven and these very slender. The details of structure vary greatly among the different Labyrinthici and Holconoti 589 species, for which reason almost every species has been prop- erly made the type of a distinct genus. The two species found in Japan are Ditrema temminckt and Neoditrema ran- sonnett. In the latter species the female is always toothless. Close to Ditrema is the blue surf-fish of California, Embiotoca jacksont, the first discovered and perhaps the commonest species. Tcemntotoca lateralis is remarkable for its bright colora- tion, greenish, with orange stripes. Hypsurus caryz, still brighter in color, orange, green and black, has the abdominal region very long. Phanerodon furcatus and P. atripes are dull silvery in color, as in Damalichthys argyrosomus, the white surf-fish, which ranges northward to Alaska, and is remarkable for the extraordinary size of its lower pharyngeals. Holconotus rhodo- terus is a large, rosy species, and Amphistichus argenteus a large ey Iya yaad Te Fie. 480.—Silver Surf-fish (viviparous), Hypocritichthus analis (Agassiz). Monterey. species with dull yellowish cross-bands. Rhachochilus toxote s is the largest species in the family and the one most valued as food. It is notable for its thick, drooping, ragged lips. Hyperprosopon arcuatus, the wall-eye surt-fish, is brilhantly silvery, with very large eyes. H. agassizt closely resembles it, as does also the dwarf species, Hypocritichthys analis, to which the Japanese Neoditrema ransonneti is very nearly re- lated. The other species are all small. Abeona minima and A. aurora feed on seaweed. Brachyistius frenatus is the smallest of all, orange-red in color, while its relative, Zalembius rosaceus, 590 Labyrinthici and Holconoti is handsomest of all, rose-red with a black lateral spot. Cyma- togaster aggregatus, the surf-shiner, is a little fish, excessively common along the California coast, and from its abundance it has been selected by Dr. Eigenmann as the basis of his studies Fig. 481.—Viviparous Perch (male), Hysterocarpus traski Gibbons. Battle Creek, Sacramento River. (Photograph by Cloudsley Rutter.) of these fishes. In this species the male shows golden and black markings, which are wanting in the silvery female, and the anterior rays of the anal are thickened or otherwise modified. No fossil embiotocoids are recorded. oY ND CHAPTER XAXVII CHROMIDES AND PHARYNGOGNATHI UBORDER Chromides.—The suborder Chromides con- tains spiny-rayed fishes similar to the perch-like forms in most regards, but strikingly distinguished by the complete union of the lower pharyngeal bones, as in the Holconott and Pharyngognatht, and still more remarkably by the presence of but one nasal opening on each side. In all the perch-like fishes and in nearly all others there are two nasal openings or nostrils on each side, these two entering into the same nasal sac. In all the Chromides the lateral line is incom- plete or interrupted, and the scales are usually large and ctenoid. The Cichlide.—The suborder Chromides includes two fami- lies, Cichlide, and Pomacentride. The Cichlide are fresh-water fishes of the tropics, characterized by the presence of three to ten spines in the anal fin. In size, color, appearance, habits, and food value they bear a striking resemblance to the fresh- water sunfishes, or Centrarchtde, of the eastern United States. This resemblance is one of analogy only, for in structure the Cichlide have no more in common with the Centrarchtde than with other families of perch or bass. The numerous species of Cichltide are confined to tropical America and to correspond- ing districts in Africa and western Asia. Tvtlapia ntlotica abounds in the Nile. TJzlapta galilea is found in the river Jordan and the Lake of Galilee. This species is supposed to form part of the great draught of fishes recorded in the Gospels, and a black spot on the side is held to commemorate the touch of Simon Peter. Numerous other species of Cichlide, large and small, abound in central Africa, even in the salt ditches of the Sahara. The species of Cichla, especially Czchla ocellarts, of the rivers of South America, elongate and large-mouthed, bear a strong 591 592 Chromides and Pharyngognathi analogy to the black bass of farther north. A vast number of species belonging to Heros, Acara, Cichlasoma, Geophagus, Chetobranchus, and related genera swarm in the Amazon region. Each of the large rivers of Mexico has one or more species; one of these, Heros cyanoguttatus, occurs in the Rio Grande and the rivers of southern Texas, its range corresponding with that of Tetragonopterus argentatis, just as the range of the whole family of Cichlide corresponds with that of the Characinide. No other species of either family enters the United States. A similar species, Heros tetracanthus, abounds in the rivers of Cuba, and another, Heros beant, called the mojarra verde, in the streams of Sinaloa. In the lakes and swamps of Central America Cich- lide and Characinide are very abundant. One fossil genus is known, called Priscacara by Cope. Priscacara clivosa and other species occur in the Eocene of Green River and the Great Basin of Utah. In this genus vomerine teeth are said to be present, and there are three anal spines. None of the living Cichlid@ has vomerine teeth. The Damsel-fishes: Pomacentride.—The Pomacentride, called rock-pilots or damsel-fishes, are exclusively marine and have in all cases but two anal spines. The species are often very bril- liantly colored, lustrous metallic blue and orange or scarlet being the prevailing shades among the bright-colored species. Their habits in the reef pools correspond very closely with those of the Chetodontide. With the rock-pilots, as with the butterfly- fishes, the exceeding alertness and quickness of movement make up for lack of protective colors. With both groups the choice of rocky basins, crevices in the coral, and holes in coral reefs preserves them from attacks of enemies large enough to destroy them. In Samoa the interstices in masses of living coral are often filled with these gorgeous little fishes. The Pomacentride are chiefly confined to the coral reefs, few ranging to the north: ward of the Tropic of Cancer. Sometimes the young are colored differently from the adult, having sky-blue spots and often ocelli on the fins, which disappear with age. But one species Chromis chromts, is found in the Mediterranean. Chromis puncttpinnts, the blacksmith, is found in southern California, and Chromis notatus is the common dogoro of Japan. One of the largest species, reaching the length of a foot, is the Gari- Chromides and Pharyngognathi 593 baldi, Hypsypops rubicundus, of the rocky shores of southern California. This fish, when full grown, is of a pure bright Fic. 482.—Garibaldi (scarlet in color), Hypsypops rubicunda (Girard). La Jolla, San Diego, Cal. Fic. 483.—Pomacentrus leucostictus (Miller & Troschel), Damsel-fish. Family Pomacentride. scarlet. The young are greenish, marked with blue spots. Species of Pomacentrus, locally known as pescado azul, abound 594 Chromides and Pharyngognathi in the West Indies and on the west coast of Mexico. Pomacen- trus fuscus is the commonest West Indian species, and Pomacen- trus rectifrenum the most abundant on the west coast of Mexico, the young, of an exquisite sky-blue, crowding the rock pools. Pomacentrus of many species, blue, scarlet, black, and golden, abound in Polynesia, and no rock pool in the East Indies is without several forms of thistype. The type reaches its greatest development in the south seas. About forty different species of Pomacentrus and Glyphisodon occur in the corals of the harbor of Apia in Samoa. Almost equally abundant are the species of Glyphisodon. The “cockeye pilot,” or jaqueta, Glyphisodon marginatus, green with Fie. 484.—Cockeye Pilot, Glyphisodon marginatus (Bloch). Cuba. black bands, swarms in the West Indies, occasionally ranging northward, and is equally common on the west coast of Mexico. Glyphisodon abdominalis replaces it in Hawaii, and the Asiatic Glyphtsodon saxatilis is perhaps the parent of both. Glyphisodon sordidus banded with pale and with a black ocellus below the soft dorsal is very common from Hawaii to the Red Sea, and is a food-fish of some importance. Glyphisodon celestinus btue, with black bands, abounds in the south seas. Chromides and Pharyngognathi 595 The many species of Amphiprion are always brilliant, red or orange, usually marked by one or two cross-bands of creamy blue. Amphiprion melanopus abounds in the south seas. Azurtna hirundo is a slender species of lower California of a brilliant metallic blue. All these species are carnivorous, feed- ing on shrimps, worms, and the like. Microspathodon is herbivorous, the serrated incisors being loosely implanted in the jaws. Mucrospathodon dorsalis, of the west coast of Mexico, is of a deep indigo-blue color, with streamer- like fins. Muzcrospathodon chrysurus, of the West Indian coral reefs, black with round blue spots and the tail yellow. This Fic. 485.—Indigo Damsel fish, Microspathodon dorsalis (Gill). Mazatlan, Mex. family is probably of recent origin, as few fossils are referred to it. Odonteus pygmaeus of the Eocene perhaps belongs to it. Suborder Pharyngognathi.—The wrasses and parrot-fishes, con- stituting the group called Pharyngognathi (papvyé, gullet; yrados, jaw), by Johannes Miller, have the lower pharyngeal bones much enlarged and solidly united, their teeth being either rounded or else flat and paved. The nostrils, ventral fins, pectoral fins and shoulder-girdle are of the ordinary perch- like type. The teeth are, however, highly specialized, usually large and canine-like, developed in the jaws only, and the gills are reduced in number, 34 instead of 4, with no slit behind the last half gill, The scales are always cycloid and are usually large. In the tropical forms the vertebrae are always twenty-four in 590 Chromides and Pharyngognathi number (10+14), but in northern forms the number is largely increased with a proportionate increase in the number. and strength of the dorsal spines. All the species are strictly marine, and the coloration is often the most highly specialized and brilliant known among fishes, the predominant shade being blue. All are carnivorous, feeding mainly on crustaceans and snails, which they crush with their strong teeth, there being often a strong canine at the posterior end of the premaxillary, which holds the snail while the lower jaw acts upon it. The species are very numerous and form the most conspicuous feature in the fish markets of every tropical port. They abound Fic. 486 —Tautog, Tautoga onitis (L.). Wood’s Hole, Mass. especially in the pools and openings in the coral reefs. All are good for food, though all are relatively flavorless, the flesh being rather soft and not oily. The Wrasse Fishes: Labridez.—The principal family is that of the Labride, characterized by the presence of separate teeth in the front of the jaws. Numerous fossil species are known from the Eocene and Miocene. Most of these are known only from the lower pharyngeal bones. Labrodon is the most widely diffused genus, probably allied to Labrus, but with a pile of successional teeth beneath each functional tooth. The species are mostly from the Miocene. The northern forms of Labride are known as wrasse on the CIPIEMTS “A “HAC Aq os] Hor) —*(-T) sayW0 vBonnyy ‘Sov — pL EF ‘OLY 598 Chromides and Pharyngognathi coasts of England. Among these are Labrus bergylta, the ballan wrasse; Labrus viridis, the green wrasse; Labrus osstphagus, the red wrasse; and Labrus merula, the black wrasse. Acan- tholabrus pallont and Centrolabrus exoletus have more than three anal spines. The latter species, known as rock cook, is abundant in western Norway, as far north as Throndhjem, its range extending to the northward beyond that of any other Labroid. Allied to these, on the American coast, is the tautog or blackfish, Tautoga onitis, a common food-fish, dusky in color with excellent white flesh, especially abundant on the coast of New England. With this, and still more abundant, is the cunner or chogset, Tautogolabrus adspersus, greenish-blue Fig. 483.—Capitaine or Hogfish, Lachnolaimus falcatus. Florida. in color, the flesh being also more or less blue. This fish is too small to have much value as food, but it readily takes the hook set for better fishes. In the Mediterranean are found many species of Crenilabrus, gaily colored, each species having its own peculiar pattern and its own arrangement of inky spots. Among these are Crenila- brus mediterraneus, Crenilabrus pavo, and Crenilabrus griseus. With these are the small species called Ctenolabrus rupestris, the goldsinny, much like the American cunner, and the long- nosed Symphodus scina. Of the many West Indian species we may notice the Capi- Chromides and Pharyngognathi 599 taine or hogfish, Lachnolaimus maximus, a great fish, crimson in color, with its fin spines ending in long streamers; Bodianus rufus, the Spanish lady-fish or pudiano, half crimson, half golden. Halicheres radiatus, the pudding-wife (a mysterious word derived from “oldwife’’ and the Portuguese name, pudi- ano), a blue fish handsomely mottled and streaked. Of the smaller species, Clepticus parre, the janissary, with very small teeth, Halichwres bivittatus, the slippery-dick, ranging north- ward to Cape Hatteras, and Doratonotus megalepis, of an intense grass-green color, are among the most notable. The razor- fish, Xyrichthys psittacus, red, with the forehead compressed to a sharp edge, is found in the Mediterranean as well as through- out the West Indies, where several other species of razor-fish also occur. Scarcely less numerous are the species of the Pacific Coast of America. Pimelometopon pulcher, the redfish or fathead of Fia. 489.—Razor-fish, Xyrichthys psittacus (Linneus). Tortugas, Fla. southern California, reaches a length of two feet or more. It abounds in the broad band of giant kelp which lines the Cali- fornia coast and is a food-fish of much importance The female is dull crimson. In the male the head and tail are black and on the top of the head is developed with age a great adipose hump.