CHAPTER XXV

PAREIOPLITÆ, OR MAILED-CHEEK FISHES

=THE Mailed-cheek Fishes.=—The vast group of _Pareioplitæ_ (_Loricati_) or mailed-cheek fishes is characterized by the presence of a "bony stay" or backward-directed process from the third suborbital. This extends backward across the cheek toward the preopercle. In the most generalized forms this bony stay is small and hidden under the skin. In more specialized forms it grows larger, articulates with the preopercle, and becomes rough or spinous at its surface. Finally, it joins the other bones to form a coat of mail which covers the whole head. In degenerate forms it is again reduced in size, finally becoming insignificant.

The more primitive _Pareioplitæ_ (παρεία, cheek; ὁπλιτής, armed) closely resemble the _Percomorphi_, having the same fins, the same type of shoulder-girdle, and the same insertion of the ventral fins. In the more specialized forms the ventral fins remain thoracic, but almost all other parts of the anatomy are greatly distorted. In all cases, so far as known to the writer, the hypercoracoid is perforate as in the _Percomorphi_. There are numerous points of resemblance between the _Cirrhitidæ_ and the _Scorpænidæ_, and it is probable that the _Scorpænidæ_ with all the other _Pareioplitæ_ sprang from some perciform stock allied to _Cirrhitidæ_ and _Latrididæ_.

Fossil mailed-cheek fishes are extremely few and throw little light on the origin of the group. Those belong chiefly to the _Cottidæ_. _Lepidocottus_, recorded from the Miocene and Oligocene, seems to be the earliest genus.

=The Scorpion-fishes: Scorpænidæ.=—The vast family of _Scorpænidæ_, or scorpion-fishes, comprises such a variety of forms as almost to defy diagnosis. The more primitive types are percoid in almost all respects, save in the presence of the subocular stay. Their scales are ctenoid and well developed. The dorsal spines are numerous and strong. The ventral fins are complete and normally attached; the anal has three strong spines. The cranium shows only a trace of spiny ridges, and the five spines on the preoperculum are not very different from those seen in some species of bass. The gill-arches are, however, different, there being but 3½ gills and no slit behind the last. Otherwise the mouth and pharanx show no unusual characters. In the extremes of the group, however, great changes take place, the head becomes greatly distorted with ridges and grooves, the anal spines are lost, and the dorsal spines variously modified. The scales may be lost or replaced by warts or prickles and the ventral fins may be greatly reduced. Still the changes are very gradual, and it is not easy to divide the group into smaller families.

The most primitive existing genus is doubtless _Sebastes_. The familiar rosefish, _Sebastes marinus_, is found on both shores of the north Atlantic. It is bright red in color and is valued as food. As befits a northern fish, it has an increased number of vertebræ (31) and the dorsal spines number 15. From its large haddock-like eye it has been called the Norway haddock. It is an important food-fish in New England as well as in northern Europe.

In the north Pacific _Sebastes_ gives place to _Sebastolobus_, with three species (_macrochir_, _altivelis_, and _alascanus_), all bright-red fishes of soft substance and living in rather deep water. _Sebastolobus_ is characterized by its two-lobed pectoral fin, the lower rays being enlarged.

The genus _Sebastodes_, with its rougher-headed ally _Sebastichthys_, with 13 dorsal spines and the vertebræ 27, ranges farther south than _Sebastes_ and forms one of the most characteristic features of the fauna of California and Japan, 50 species occurring about California and 25 being already known from Japan. One species (_Sebastichthys capensis_) is recorded from the Cape of Good Hope, and two, _Sebastichthys oculatus_ and _S. darwini_, from the coast of Chile.

Within the limits of _Sebastodes_ and _Sebastichthys_ is a very large range of form and color, far more than should exist within the range of a natural genus. On the other hand, all attempts at generic subdivision have failed because the species form a number of almost perfectly continuous series. At one extreme are species with large mouths, small scales, relatively smooth cranium, and long gill-rakers. At the other extreme are robust species, with the head very rough, the mouth moderate, the scales larger, and the gill-rakers short and thick. Still other species have slender cranial spines and spots of bright pink in certain specialized localities. These approach the genus _Helicolenus_ as other species approach _Scorpæna_.

The various species are known in California as rockfish, or rock-cod, in Japan as Soi and Mebaru. In both regions they form a large part of the bulk of food-fishes, the flesh being rather coarse and of moderate flavor. All the species so far as known are ovoviviparous, the young being brought forth in summer in very great number, born at the length of about ¼ of an inch. The species living close to shore are brown, black, or green. Those living in deeper waters are bright red, and in still deeper waters often creamy or gray, with the lining of the mouth and the peritoneum black. The largest species reach a length of two or three feet, the smallest eight or ten inches. None are found between Lower California and Peru and none south of Nagasaki in Japan. Of the California species the following are of most note: _Sebastodes paucispinis_, the Bocaccio of the fishermen, from its large mouth, is an elongate fish, dull red in color, and reaching a very large size. In deeper waters are _Sebastodes jordani_ and _Sebastodes goodei_, the former elongate and red, the latter more robust and of a very bright crimson color. _Sebastodes ovalis_, the viuva, and _Sebastodes entomelas_ are grayish in hue, and the related _Sebastodes proriger_ is red. The green rockfish _Sebastodes flavidus_ is common along the shore, as also the black rockfish, known as pêche prêtre or priestfish, _Sebastodes mystinus_. Less common is _Sebastodes melanops_. Similar to this but more orange in color is the large _Sebastodes miniatus_. Somewhat rougher-headed is the small grass rockfish, _Sebastodes atrovirens_. On the large red rockfish, _Sebastichthys ruberrimus_, the spinous ridges are all large and rough serrate. On the equally large _Sebastichthys levis_ these ridges are smooth. Both these species are bright red in color. _Sebastichthys rubrovinctus_, called the Spanish-flag, is covered with broad alternating bands of deep crimson and creamy pink. It is the most handsomely colored of our marine fishes and is often taken in southern California. _Sebastichthys elongatus_ is a red species with very large mouth. Several other species small in size are red, with three or four spots of bright pink. The commonest of these is the corsair, _Sebastichthys rosaceus_, plain red and golden. Another species is the green and red flyfish, _Sebastichthys rhodochloris_. _Sebastichthys constellatus_ is spotted with pink and _Sebastichthys chlorostictus_ with green. To this group with pink spots the South American and African species belong, but none of the Japanese. _Sebastodes aleutianus_ is a large red species common in Alaska and _Sebastodes ciliatus_ a green one. About the wharves in California and northward the brown species called _Sebastichthys auriculatus_ is abundant. In the remaining species the spinous ridges are progressively higher, though not so sharp as in some of those already named. _Sebastichthys maliger_ has very high dorsal spines and a golden blotch on the back. In _Sebastichthys caurinus_ and especially _Sebastichthys vexillaris_ the spines are very high, but the coloration is different, being reddish brown. _Sebastichthys nebulosus_ is blue-black with golden spots. _Sebastichthys chrysomelas_ is mottled black and yellow. _Sebastichthys carnatus_ is flesh-color and green. _Sebastichthys rastrelliger_ is a small, blackish-green species looking like _Sebastodes atrovirens_, but with short gill-rakers. _Sebastichthys hopkinsi_ and _Sebastichthys gilberti_ are small species allied to it. The treefish, _Sebastichthys serriceps_, has very high spines on the head, and the olive body is crowned by broad black bands. Still more striking is the black-banded rockfish, _Sebastichthys nigrofasciatus_, with very rough head and bright red body with broad cross-bands of black.

Of the Japanese species the commonest, _Sebastodes inermis_, the Mebaru, much resembles _Sebastodes flavidus_. _Sebastodes fuscescens_ looks like _Sebastodes melanops_, as does also _Sebastodes taczanowskii_. _Sebastodes matsubaræ_ and _S. flammeus_ and _S. iracundus_, bright-red off-shore species, run close to _Sebastodes aleutianus_. _Sebastichthys pachycephalus_ suggests _Sebastichthys chrysomelas_. _Sebastodes steindachneri_ and _S. itinus_ are brighter-colored allies of _Sebastodes ovalis_ and _Sebastodes scythropus_ and _Sebastodes joyneri_ represent _Sebastodes proriger_. _Sebastichthys trivittatus_, green, striped with bright golden, bears some resemblance to _Sebastichthys maliger_. _Sebastichthys elegans_, _Sebastichthys oblongus_, and _Sebastichthys mitsukurii_, dwarf species, profusely spotted, have no analogues among the American forms. _Sebastodes glaucus_ of the Kurile Islands has 14 dorsal spines and is not closely related to any other. Fourteen dorsal spines are occasionally present in _Sebastichthys elegans_. All the other species show constantly 13.

The genus _Sebastiscus_ has the general appearance of _Sebastodes_, and like the latter possesses a large air-bladder. It however agrees with _Scorpæna_ in the possession of but 12 dorsal spines and 24 vertebræ. The two known species are common in Japan. _Sebastiscus marmoratus_, mottled brown, is everywhere abundant along the coast, and the pretty _Sebastiscus albofasciatus_, pink, violet, and golden, represents it in equal abundance in deeper water.

The genus _Sebastopsis_ differs from _Sebastodes_ only in having no teeth on the palatines. The species, all of small size and red or varied coloration, are confined to the Pacific. _Sebastopsis xyris_ occurs in lower California and _Sebastopsis guamensis_ and _S. scaber_ in Polynesia. Species of this genus are often found dried in Chinese insect boxes.

_Helicolenus_ differs from _Sebastiscus_ only in the total absence of air-bladder. The species are all bright crimson in color, very handsome, and live in deep water. _Helicolenus dactylopterus_ is rather common in the Mediterranean, and is sometimes taken in the Gulf Stream, and also in Japan, where two or three other species occur.

_Neosebastes_ is much like _Sebastodes_, but the suborbital stay bears strong spines and the dorsal is very high. _Neosebastes panda_ is found in Australia, and _N. entaxis_ in Japan. _Setarches_ is distinguished by the cavernous bones of its head. Species are found in both the Atlantic and Pacific in deep water. Several other peculiar or transitional genera are found in different parts of the Pacific.

In _Scorpæna_ the head is more uneven in outline than in _Sebastodes_ and _Sebastichthys_, skinny flaps are often present on head and body, the air-bladder is wanting, there are 12 dorsal spines and 24 vertebræ, and on each dorsal spine is a small venom-secreting gland. The species are very numerous, highly varied in color, and found in all warm seas, being known as scorpion-fishes or _Rascacios_. Two species, _Scorpæna scrofa_ and _Scorpæna porcus_, are common in the Mediterranean, being regarded as good food-fishes, though disliked by the fishermen.

Of the numerous West Indian species, _Scorpæna plumieri_, _Scorpæna grandicornis_, and _Scorpæna brasiliensis_ are best known. _Scorpæna guttata_ is common in southern California and is an excellent food-fish. _Scorpæna mystes_ is found on the west coast of Mexico. _Scorpæna onaria_ and _S. izensis_ are found in Japan. Fossil remains referred to _Scorpæna_ are recorded from the Tertiary rocks.

In the islands of the Pacific are numerous dwarf species less than three inches long, which have been set apart as a separate genus, _Sebastapistes_. The longest known of these is _Sebastapistes strongensis_, named from Strong Island, abundant in crevices in the corals throughout Polynesia, and much disliked by fishermen.

The genus _Scorpænopsis_ differs from _Scorpæna_ in the absence of palatine teeth. It is still more fantastic in form and color. _Scorpænopsis cirrhosa_, _Scorpænopsis fimbriata_, and other species are widely distributed through the East Indies and Polynesia.

The lion-fishes (_Pterois_) of the tropical Pacific are remarkable for their long pectoral fins, elongate dorsal spines, and zebra-like coloration. The numerous species are fantastic and handsomely colored, but their poisoned, needle-like spines are dreaded by fishermen. They lurk in crevices in the coral reefs, some of them reaching a foot in length.

_Inimicus japonicus_, common in Japan, has a depressed and monstrous head and a generally bizarre appearance. It is usually black in color but is largely bright red when found among red algæ. A related species, _Inimicus aurantiacus_, is blackish when near shore, but lemon-yellow in deep water. (See frontispiece.) A related species in the East Indies is _Pelor filamentosum_, called _Nohu_ or _Gofu_ in Polynesia.

Still more monstrous are the species of _Synanceia_, short, thick-set, irregularly formed fishes, in which the poisoned spines reach a high degree of venom. The flesh in all these species is wholesome, and when the dorsal spines are cut off the fishes sell readily in the markets. These fishes lie hidden in cavities of the reefs, being scarcely distinguishable from the rock itself. (See Fig. 168, Vol. I.)

The black _Emmydrichthys vulcanus_ of Tahiti lies in crevices of lava, and could scarcely be distinguished from an irregular lump of lava-rock.

A related form, _Erosa erosa_, the daruma-okose of Japan, is monstrous in form but often beautifully colored with crimson and gray.

In _Congiopus_ the very strong dorsal spines begin in the head, and the mouth is very small. Dr. Gill makes this genus the type of a distinct family, _Congiopodidæ_.

Besides these, very many genera and species of small poison-fishes, called okose in Japan, abound in the sandy bays from Tokio to Hindostan and the Red Sea. Some of these are handsomely colored, others are fantastically formed. _Paracentropogon rubripinnis_ and _Minous adamsi_ are the commonest species in Japan. _Trachicephalus uranoscopus_ abounds in the bays of hina. _Snyderina yamanokami_ occurs in Southern Japan.

But few fossil _Scorpænidæ_ are recorded. _Scorpænopterus siluridens_, a mailed fish from the Vienna Miocene, with a warty head, seems to belong to this group, and _Ampheristus toliapicus_, with a broad, depressed head, is found in the London Eocene, and various Miocene species have been referred to _Scorpæna_. _Sebastodes rosæ_ is based on a fragment, probably Pleistocene, from Port Harford, California.

The small family of the _Caracanthidæ_ consists of little fishes of the coral reefs of the Pacific. These are compressed in form, and the skin is rough with small prickles, the head being feebly armed. The species are rare and little known, brown in color with pale spots.

=The Skilfishes: Anoplopomidæ.=—The small family of skilfishes or _Anoplopomidæ_ consists of two species found on the coast of California and northward. These resemble the _Scorpænidæ_, having the usual form of nostrils, and the suborbital stay well developed. The skull is, however, free from spines, the scales are small and close-set, and the sleek, dark-colored body has suggested resemblance to the mackerel or hake. _Anoplopoma fimbria_, known as skilfish, beshow, or coalfish, is rather common from Unalaska to Monterey, reaching a length of two feet or more. In the north it becomes very fat and is much valued as food. About San Francisco it is dry and tasteless.

=The Greenlings: Hexagrammidæ.=—The curious family of greenlings, _Hexagrammidæ_, is confined to the two shores of the North Pacific. The species vary much in form, but agree in the unarmed cranium and in the presence of but a single nostril on each side, the posterior opening being reduced to a minute pore. The vertebræ are numerous, the scales small, and the coloration often brilliant. The species are carnivorous and usually valued as food. They live in the kelp and about rocks in California and Japan and along the shores of Siberia and Alaska. The atka-fish (_Pleurogrammus monopterygius_) is one of the finest of food-fishes. This species reaches a length of eighteen inches. It is yellow in color, banded with black, and the flesh is white and tender, somewhat like that of the Lake whitefish (_Coregonus clupeiformis_), and is especially fine when salted. This fish is found about the Aleutian Islands, especially the island of Atka, from which it takes its name. It is commercially known as Atka mackerel.

In this genus there are numerous lateral lines, and the dorsal fin is continuous. In _Hexagrammos_, the principal genus of the family, the dorsal is divided into two fins, and there are about five lateral lines on each side.

_Hexagrammos decagrammus_ is common on the coast of California, where it is known by the incorrect name of rock-trout. It is a well-known food-fish, reaching a length of eighteen inches. The sexes are quite unlike in color, the males anteriorly with blue spots, the females speckled with red or brown.

_Hexagrammos octogrammus_, the common greenfish of Alaska, and the greenling _Hexagrammos stelleri_, are also well-known species. Close to the latter species is the _Abura ainame_, or fat cod, _Hexagrammos otakii_, common throughout Japan. The red rock-trout, _Hexagrammos superciliosus_, is beautifully variegated with red, the color being extremely variable. Other species are found in Japan and Kamchatka. _Agrammus agrammus_ of Japan differs in the possession of but one lateral line. _Ophiodon elongatus_, the blue cod, cultus cod, or Buffalo cod of California, is a large fish of moderate value as food, much resembling a codfish, but with larger mouth and longer teeth. The flesh and bones are deeply tinged with bluish green. _Cultus_ is the Chinook name for worthless. _Zaniolepis latipinnis_ is a singular-looking fish, very rough, dry, and bony, occasionally taken on the California coast. _Oxylebius pictus_ is a small, handsome, and very active little fish, whitish with black bands, common among rocks and algæ on the California coast. It is, however, rarely brought into the markets, as it shows great skill in escaping the nets.

No fossil _Hexagrammidæ_ are known.

=The Flatheads or Kochi: Platycephalidæ.=—The family of _Platycephalidæ_ consists of spindle-shaped fishes, with flattened, rough heads and the body covered with small, rough scales. About fifty species occur in the East Indian region, where the larger ones are much valued as food. The most abundant species and usually the largest in size is _Platycephalus insidiator_, the kochi of the Japanese. The genus _Insidiator_ contains smaller species with larger scales. In all these the head is very much depressed, a feature which separates them from all the _Scorpænidæ_. _Hoplichthys langsdorfi_, the nezupo or rat-tail of Japan, is the type of a separate family, _Hoplichthyidæ_, characterized by a bony armature of rough plates. _Bembras japonicas_, another little Japanese fish, with the ventrals advanced in position and the skin with rough plates, is the type of the family of _Bembradidæ_.

=The Sculpins: Cottidæ.=—The great family of _Cottidæ_ or sculpins is one especially characteristic of the northern seas, where a great variety of species is found. These differ in general from the _Scorpænidæ_, from which they are perhaps derived, in the greater number of vertebræ and in the relative feebleness or degeneration of the spinous dorsal, the ventrals, and the scales. In all these regards great variation exists. In the most primitive genus, _Jordania_, the body is well scaled, the spinous dorsal well developed, and the ventral rays I, 5. In _Hemitripterus_ a large number of dorsal spines remains, but the structure in other regards is highly modified. In the most degraded types, _Cottunculus_, _Psychrolutes_, _Gilbertidia_, which are also among the most specialized, there is little trace of spinous dorsal, the scales are wholly lost, and the ventral fin is incomplete. Most of the species of _Cottidæ_ live on the bottom in shallow seas. Some are found in deep water and a few swarm in the rivers. All are arctic or subarctic, none being found to the south of Italy, Virginia, California, and Japan. None are valued as food, being coarse and tough. Scarcely any are found fossil.

Of the multitude of genera of _Cottidæ_ we notice a few of the most prominent. _Jordania zonope_, a pretty little fish of Puget Sound, is the most primitive in its characters, being closely allied to the _Hexagrammidæ_.

_Scorpænichthys marmoratus_, the great sculpin, or cabezon, of California reaches a length of 2½ feet. It has the ventral rays I, 5, although almost in all the other sculpins the rays are reduced to I, 3 or I, 4. The flesh has the livid blue color seen in the cultus cod _Ophiodon elongatus_.

To _Icelinus_, _Artedius_, _Hemilepidotus_, _Astrolytes_, and related genera belong many species with the body partly scaled. These are characteristic of the North Pacific, in which they drop to a considerable depth. _Icelus_, _Triglops_, and _Artediellus_ are found also in the North Atlantic, the Arctic fauna of which is derived almost entirely from Pacific sources. The genus _Hemilepidotus_ contains coarse species, with bands of scales. The "Irish lord," _Hemilepidotus jordani_, a familiar and fantastic inhabitant of Bering Sea, is much valued by the Aleuts as a food-fish, although the flesh is rather tough and without much flavor. Almost equally common in Bering Sea is the red sculpin, _Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus_, and the still rougher _Ceratocottus diceraus_. The stone-sculpin, or buffalo-sculpin, _Enophrys bison_, with bony plates on the side and rough horns on the preopercle, is found about Puget Sound and southward. In all these large rough species from the North Pacific the preopercle is armed with long spines which are erected when the fish is disturbed. This makes it almost impossible for any larger fish to swallow them.

The genera _Cottus_ and _Uranidea_ include the miller's thumbs, also called in America, blob and muffle-jaws, of the Northern rivers. These little fishes are found in Europe, Asia, and America wherever trout are found. They lurk under weeds and stones, moving with the greatest swiftness when disturbed. They are found in every cold stream of the region north of Virginia, and they vie with the sticklebacks in their destruction of the eggs and fry of salmon and trout. _Cottus gobio_ is the commonest species of Europe. _Cottus ictalops_ is the most abundant of the several species of the eastern United States, and _Cottus asper_ in streams of the Pacific Coast, though very many other species exist in each of these regions. The genus _Uranidea_ is found in America. It is composed of smaller species with fewer teeth and fin-rays, the ventrals I, 3. _Uranidea gracilis_ is the commonest of these, the miller's thumb of New England. _Rheopresbe fujiyamæ_ is a large river sculpin in Japan.

_Trachidermus ansatus_ is another river species, the "mountain-witch" (yamanokami) of Japan, remarkable for a scarlet brand on its cheek, conspicuous in life.

The chief genus of Atlantic sculpins is _Myoxocephalus_, containing large marine species, in structure much like the species of _Cottus_. _Myoxocephalus bubalis_ is the European fatherlasher, or proach; the European sculpin is _Myoxocephalus scorpius_. The very similar daddy sculpin of New England is _Myoxocephalus grœnlandicus_. This species swarms everywhere from Cape Cod northward.

According to Fabricius, _Myoxocephalus grœnlandicus_ is "abundant in all the bays and inlets of Greenland, but prefers a stony coast clothed with seaweed. It approaches the shore in spring and departs in winter. It is very voracious, preying on everything that comes in its way and pursuing incessantly the smaller fish, not sparing the young of its own species, and devouring crustacea and worms. It is very active and bold, but does not come to the surface unless it be led thither in pursuit of other fish. It spawns in December and January and deposits its red-colored roe on the seaweed. It is easily taken with a bait, and constitutes the daily food of the Greenlanders, who are very fond of it. They eat the roe raw."

The little sculpin, or grubby, of the New England coast is _Myoxocephalus æneus_, and the larger eighteen-spined sculpin is _Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus_. Still more numerous and varied are the sculpins of the North Pacific, _Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus_ being the best known and most widely diffused. _Oncocottus quadricornis_ is the long-horned sculpin of the Arctic Europe, entering the lakes of Russia and British America. _Triglopsis thompsoni_ of the depths in our own Great Lakes seems to be a dwarfed and degenerate descendant of _Oncocottus_.

The genus _Zesticelus_ contains small soft-bodied sculpins from the depths of the North Pacific. _Zesticelus profundorum_ was taken in 664 fathoms off Bogoslof Island and _Zesticelus bathybius_ off Japan. In this genus the body is very soft and the skeleton feeble, the result of deep-sea life. Another deep-water genus less degraded is _Cottunculus_, from which by gradual loss of fins the still more degraded _Psychrolutes_ (_paradoxus_) and _Gilbertidia_ (_sigolutes_) are perhaps descended. In sculpins of this type the liparids, or sea-snails, may have had their origin. Among the remaining genera _Gymnocanthus_ (_tricuspis_, etc.) has no vomerine teeth. _Leptocottus_ (_armatus_) and _Clinocottus_ (_analis_) abound on the coast of California, and _Pseudoblennius_ (_percoides_) is found everywhere along the shores of Japan. _Vellitor centropomus_ of Japan is remarkable among sculpins for its compressed body and long snout. _Dialarchus snyderi_ of the California rock-pools is perhaps the smallest species of sculpin, _Blepsias_ (_cirrhosus_), _Nautichthys_ (_oculofasciatus_), and _Hemitripterus_ (_americanus_), the sea-raven, among the most fantastic. In the last-named genus the spinous dorsal is many-rayed, as in _Scorpænidæ_, a fact which has led to its separation by Dr. Gill as a distinct family. But the dorsal spines are equally numerous in _Jordania_, which stands at the opposite extreme of the cottoid series.

In _Ascelichthys_ (_rhodorus_), a pretty sculpin of the rock-pools of the Oregon region, the ventral fins are wholly lost. _Ereunias grallator_, a deep-water sculpin from Japan, without ventrals and with free rays below its pectorals, should perhaps represent a distinct family, _Ereuniidæ_.

The degeneration of the spinous dorsal in _Psychrolutes_ and _Gilbertidia_ of the North Pacific has been already noticed. These genera seem to lead directly from _Cottunculus_ to _Liparis_.

Fossil _Cottidæ_ are few. _Eocottus veronensis_, from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, is completely scaled, with the ventral rays I, 5. It is apparently related to _Jordania_, but is still more primitive. _Lepidocottus_ (_aries_ and numerous other species, mostly from the Miocene) is covered with scales, but apparently has less than five soft rays in the ventrals. Remains of _Oncocottus_, _Icelus_, and _Cottus_ are found in Arctic Pleistocene rocks. The family as a whole is evidently of recent date.

The _Rhamphocottidæ_ consist of a single little sculpin with a large bony and singularly formed head, found on the Pacific Coast from Sitka to Monterey. The species is called _Rhamphocottus richardsoni_.

=The Sea-poachers: Agonidæ.=—The sea-poachers or alligator-fishes, _Agonidæ_, are sculpins inclosed in a coat of mail made by a series of overlying plates, much like those of the sea-horses or the catfishes of the family _Loricariidæ_. So far as structure goes, these singular fishes are essentially like the _Cottidæ_, but with a different and more perfect armature. The many species belong chiefly to the North Pacific, a few in the Atlantic and on the coast of Patagonia. Some are found in considerable depth of water. All are too small to have value as food and some have most fantastic forms. Only a few of the most prominent need be noticed. The largest and most peculiar species is _Percis japonicus_ of the Kurile Islands. Still more fantastic is the Japanese _Draciscus sachi_ with sail-like dorsal and anal. _Agonus cataphractus_, the sea-poacher, is the only European species. _Podothecus acipenserinus_, the alligator-fish, is the commonest species of the North Pacific. _Pallasina barbata_ is as slender as a pipefish, with a short beard at the chin. _Aspidophoroides monopterygius_ of the Atlantic and other similar species of the Pacific lack the spinous dorsal fin.

No fossil _Agonidæ_ are known.

=The Lump-suckers: Cyclopteridæ.=—The lump-suckers, _Cyclopteridæ_, are structurally very similar to the _Cottidæ_, but of very different habit, the body being clumsy and the movements very slow. The ventral fins are united to form a sucking disk by which these sluggish fishes hold fast to rocks. The skeleton is feebly ossified, the spinous dorsal fin wholly or partly lost, the skin smooth or covered with bony warts. The slender suborbital stay indicates the relation of these fishes with the _Cottidæ_. The species are chiefly Arctic, the common lumpfish or "cock and hen paddle," _Cyclopterus lumpus_, abounding on both shores of the North Atlantic. It reaches a length of twenty inches, spawning in eel-grass where the male is left to watch the eggs. _Cyclopterichthys ventricosus_ is a large species with smooth skin from the North Pacific.

=The Sea-snails: Liparididæ.=—The sea-snails, _Liparididæ_ are closely related to the lumpfishes, but the body is more elongate, tadpole shaped, covered with very lax skin, like the "wrinkled skin on scalded milk." In structure the liparids are still more degenerate than the lumpfishes. Even the characteristic ventral disk is lost in some species (_Paraliparis_; _Amitra_) and in numerous others the tail is drawn out into a point (leptocercal), a character almost always a result of degradation. The dorsal spines are wanting or imbedded in the loose skin, and all trace of spines on the head is lost, but the characteristic suborbital stay is well developed. The numerous species are all small, three to twelve inches in length. They live in Arctic waters, often descending to great depths, in which case the body is very soft. One genus, _Enantioliparis_, is found in the Antarctic. In the principal genus, _Liparis_, the ventral disk is well developed, and the spinous dorsal obsolete. _Liparis liparis_ is found on both shores of the North Atlantic, and is subject to large variations in color. _Liparis agassizi_ is abundant in Japan and northward, and _Liparis pulchellus_ in California. In the most primitive genus, _Neoliparis_, a notch in the fin indicates the separation of the spinous dorsal. _Neoliparis montagui_ is common in Europe, replaced in New England by _Neoliparis atlanticus_. _Careproctus_, with numerous elongate species, inhabits depths of the North Pacific. In _Paraliparis_ (or _Hilgendorfia_) _ulochir_, the ventral disk is gone and the lowest stage of degradation of the Loricate or _Scorpæna-Cottus_ type of fishes is reached. No fossil lump-suckers or liparids are recorded, although remains of _Cyclopterus lumpus_ are found in nodules of glacial clay in Canada.

=The Baikal Cods: Comephoridæ.=—The family of _Comephoridæ_ includes _Comephorus baikalensis_, a large fresh-water fish of Lake Baikal in Siberia, having no near affinities with any other existing fish, but now known to be a mail-cheek fish related to the _Cottidæ_. The body is elongate, naked, with soft flesh and feeble skeleton. The mouth is large, with small teeth, and the skull has a cavernous structure. There are no ventral fins. The spinous dorsal is short and low, the second dorsal and anal many-rayed, and the pectoral fins are excessively long, almost wing-like; the vertebræ number 8 + 35 = 43, and unlike most fresh-water fishes, the species has no air-bladder. Little is known of the habits of this singular fish. Another genus is recently described under the name of _Cottocomephorus_.

=Suborder Craniomi: the Gurnards, Triglidæ.=—A remarkable offshoot from the _Pareioplitæ_ is the suborder of gurnards, known as _Craniomi_ (κράνιον, skull; ὤμος, shoulder). In these fishes the suborbital stay is highly developed, much as in the _Agonidæ_, bony externally and covering the cheeks. The shoulder-girdle is distorted, the post-temporal being solidly united to the cranium, while the postero-temporal is crowded out of place by the side of the proscapula. In other regards these fishes resemble the other mail-cheek forms, their affinities being perhaps closest with the _Agonidæ_ or certain aberrant _Cottidæ_ as _Ereunias_.

In the true gurnards or _Triglidæ_ the head is rough and bony, the body covered with rough scales and below the pectoral fin are three free rays used as feelers by the fish as it creeps along the bottom. These free rays are used in turning over stones, exploring shells and otherwise searching for food. The numerous species are found in the warm seas. In Europe, the genus _Trigla_, without palatine teeth and with the lateral line armed, is represented by numerous well-known species. _Trigla cuculus_ is a common form of the Mediterranean. _Chelidonichthys_, similar to _Trigla_ but larger and less fully armed, is found in Asia as well as in Europe. Several species occur in the Mediterranean. _Chelidonichthys kumu_ is a common species in Japan, a large fish with pectorals of a very brilliant variegated blue, like the wings of certain butterflies.

_Lepidotrigla_, with larger scales, has many species on the coasts of Europe as well as in China and Japan. _Lepidotrigla alata_, a red fish with a peculiar bony, forked snout, is common in Japan. The American species of gurnards, having teeth on the palatine, belong to the genus _Prionotus_. Northward these fishes, known as sea-robins, live along the shores in shallow water. In the tropics they descend to deeper water, assuming a red color. _Prionotus carolinus_ is the commonest species in New England. _Prionotus strigatus_, the striped sea-robin, and _Prionotus tribulus_, the rough-headed sea-robin, are common species along the Carolina coast. None have much value as food, being dry and bony. Numerous fossil species referred to Trigla are found in the Miocene. _Podopteryx_, from the Italian Miocene, with small pectorals and very large ventrals, perhaps belongs also to this family, but its real affinities are unknown.

=The Peristediidæ.=—The _Peristediidæ_ are deep-water sea-robins, much depressed, with flat heads, a bony coat of mail, and two free feelers on the pectoral fin instead of three. The species of _Peristedion_ are occasionally taken with the dredge. _Peristedion cataphractum_ is rather common in Europe. The extinct _Peristedion urcianense_ is described from the Pliocene of Orciano, Tuscany.

=The Flying Gurnards: Cephalacanthidæ.=—The flying gurnards, _Cephalacanthidæ_, differ in numerous respects and are among the most fantastic inhabitants of the sea. The head is short and bony, the body covered with firm scales, and the very long, wing-like pectoral fin is divided into two parts, the posterior and larger almost as long as the rest of the body. This fin is beautifully colored with blue and brownish red. The first spine of the dorsal fin is free from the others and more or less prolonged. The few species of flying gurnard are much alike, ranging widely in the tropical seas, and having a slight power of flight. The flying robin, or batfish, called in Spanish volador or murcielago, _Cephalacanthus volitans_, is common on both coasts of the Atlantic, reaching a length of eighteen inches. _Cephalacanthus peterseni_ is found in Japan and _Cephalacanthus orientalis_ in the East Indies, Japan, and Hawaii. The immature fishes have the pectoral fins much shorter than in the adult, and differ in other regards. _Cephalacanthus pliocenicus_ occurs in the Lower Pliocene of Orciano, Tuscany.

_Petalopteryx syriacus_, an extinct flying gurnard found in the Cretaceous of Mount Lebanon, is an ally of _Cephalacanthus_. The body is covered with four-angled bony plates, and the first (free) spine of the dorsal is enlarged.