An introduction to the study of fishesGünther, Albert C. L. G. (Albert Carl Ludwig Gotthilf)
Science
An introduction to the study of fishes
Günther, Albert C. L. G. (Albert Carl Ludwig Gotthilf)
Fishes; Ichthyology
_Glaucosoma_ from Japan and Australia is allied to _Mesoprion_.
DULES.--Body oblong, compressed, with scales of moderate size,
and very indistinctly ctenoid. All the teeth are villiform;
teeth on the vomer and palatine bones. One dorsal with ten
spines; anal fin with three. Præoperculum serrated. Six
branchiostegals only.
About ten species are known, inhabiting fresh waters of the coasts of
the Indo-Pacific, and being especially common in the islands of this
region, and also in Tropical Australia. Some live also in brackish
water. Though of small size they are esteemed as food.
THERAPON.--Body oblong, compressed, with scales of moderate
size. All the teeth are villiform, those of the vomer and
palatine bones being rudimentary, and frequently absent. One
dorsal, with a depression in its upper margin, and twelve or
thirteen spines; anal fin with three. Præoperculum serrated.
Air-bladder with two divisions, an anterior and posterior. Six
branchiostegals.
About twenty species are known, the distribution of which nearly
coincides with _Dules_, but as some of the species are more or less
marine, the genus is spread over the whole area of the tropical
Indo-Pacific. Other species, especially those of Australian rivers,
are entirely limited to fresh water. _Th. theraps_, _Th. servus_, and
_Th. cuvieri_ belong to the most common fishes of that area, extending
from the east coast of Africa to Polynesia. They are readily recognised
by the blackish longitudinal bands with which the body is ornamented.
All the species are of small size. _Helotes_ is closely allied to this
genus.
PRISTIPOMA.--Body oblong, compressed, with ctenoid scales of
moderate size. Cleft of the mouth horizontal, not very wide,
with the jaws nearly equal in length anteriorly; a central pit
below the chin; villiform teeth in the jaws without canines;
palate toothless. One dorsal, with eleven to fourteen spines;
anal with three. Vertical fins not scaly, or with scales along
the base only. Præoperculum serrated. Branchiostegals, seven.
[Illustration: Fig. 155.--Lower view of mandible of Pristipoma
manadense.]
About forty species are known, all from the sea. They are extremely
common between the tropics, some of the species extending into the
neighbouring sub-tropical parts. They do not attain a large size, and
generally have a plain coloration. _Conodon_ is an allied genus.
[Illustration: Fig. 156.--Hæmulon brevirostrum.]
HÆMULON.--Body oblong, compressed, with ctenoid scales of
moderate size. Cleft of the mouth horizontal, generally wide,
with the jaws equal in length anteriorly; a central pit below
the chin; villiform teeth in the jaws, without canines; palate
toothless. One dorsal, with twelve or thirteen spines; anal with
three; the soft portions of the vertical fins scaly to their
margins. Præoperculum serrated. Branchiostegals, seven.
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