“Ned my friend, you’re a slayer of fish, a highly skilled fisherman. You’ve caught a large number of these fascinating animals. But I’ll bet you don’t know how they’re classified.” “Sure I do,” the harpooner replied in all seriousness. “They’re classified into fish we eat and fish we don’t eat!” “Spoken like a true glutton,” Conseil replied. “But tell me, are you familiar with the differences between bony fish and cartilaginous fish?” “Just maybe, Conseil.” “And how about the subdivisions of these two large classes?” “I haven’t the foggiest notion,” the Canadian replied. “All right, listen and learn, Ned my friend! Bony fish are subdivided into six orders. Primo, the acanthopterygians, whose upper jaw is fully formed and free-moving, and whose gills take the shape of a comb. This order consists of fifteen families, in other words, three-quarters of all known fish. Example: the common perch.” “Pretty fair eating,” Ned Land replied. “Secundo,” Conseil went on, “the abdominals, whose pelvic fins hang under the abdomen to the rear of the pectorals but aren’t attached to the shoulder bone, an order that’s divided into five families and makes up the great majority of freshwater fish. Examples: carp, pike.” “Ugh!” the Canadian put in with distinct scorn. “You can keep the freshwater fish!” “Tertio,” Conseil said, “the subbrachians, whose pelvic fins are attached under the pectorals and hang directly from the shoulder bone. This order contains four families. Examples: flatfish such as sole, turbot, dab, plaice, brill, etc.” “Excellent, really excellent!” the harpooner exclaimed, interested in fish only from an edible viewpoint. “Quarto,” Conseil went on, unabashed, “the apods, with long bodies that lack pelvic fins and are covered by a heavy, often glutinous skin, an order consisting of only one family. Examples: common eels and electric eels.” “So-so, just so-so!” Ned Land replied. “Quinto,” Conseil said, “the lophobranchians, which have fully formed, free-moving jaws but whose gills consist of little tufts arranged in pairs along their gill arches. This order includes only one family. Examples: seahorses and dragonfish.” “Bad, very bad!” the harpooner replied. “Sexto and last,” Conseil said, “the plectognaths, whose maxillary bone is firmly attached to the side of the intermaxillary that forms the jaw, and whose palate arch is locked to the skull by sutures that render the jaw immovable, an order lacking true pelvic fins and which consists of two families. Examples: puffers and moonfish.” “They’re an insult to a frying pan!” the Canadian exclaimed. “Are you grasping all this, Ned my friend?” asked the scholarly Conseil. “Not a lick of it, Conseil my friend,” the harpooner replied. “But keep going, because you fill me with fascination.” “As for cartilaginous fish,” Conseil went on unflappably, “they consist of only three orders.” “Good news,” Ned put in.