=Suborder Holconoti, the Surf-fishes.=—Another offshoot from the perch-like forms is the small suborder of _Holconoti_ (ὅλκος, furrow; νῶτος, back). It contains fishes percoid in appearance, with much in common with the _Gerridæ_ and _Sparidæ_, but with certain 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 _Labridæ_, 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 suggested to Agassiz the name of _Holconoti_, is also found among various perch-like forms. [Illustration: FIG. 306.—White Surf-fish, viviparous, with young, _Cymatogaster aggregatus_ Gibbons. San Francisco. ] [Illustration: FIG. 307.—Fresh-water Viviparous Perch, _Hysterocarpus traski_ Gibbons. Sacramento River. ] [Illustration: FIG. 308.—_Hypsurus caryi_ (Agassiz). Monterey. ] =The Embiotocidæ.=—The group contains a single family, the _Embiotocidæ_, or surf-fishes. All but two of the species are confined to California, these two living in Japan. The species are relatively 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 the shallow waters on sandy beaches, where they bring forth their young. They can be readily taken in nets in the surf. As food-fishes they are rather inferior, the flesh being somewhat watery and with little flavor. Many are dried by the Chinese. The two exceptions in distribution are _Hysterocarpus traski_, which lives exclusively in fresh waters, being confined 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, seventeen stout spines being present, the others having but eight to eleven and these very slender. [Illustration: FIG. 309.—White Surf-fish, _Damalichthys argyrosomus_ (Girard). British Columbia. ] [Illustration: FIG. 310.—Thick-lipped Surf-fish, _Rhacochilus toxotes_ Agassiz. Monterey, Cal. ] [Illustration: FIG. 311.—Silver Surf-fish (viviparous), _Hypocritichthys analis_ (Agassiz). Monterey. ]