by the death of the author); E. W. L. Holt, “Recherches sur la
reproduction des poissons osseux, principalement dans le golfe de
Marseille,” Ann. Mus. Mars. v. (Marseilles, 1899); (I) Western
and Central Asia: L. Lortet, “Poissons et reptiles du lac de
Tibériade,” Arch. Mus. d’Hist. Nat. Lyon, iii. (1883); S. Herzenstein,
Wissenschaftliche Resultate der von N. M. Przewalski nach
Central Asien unternommenen Reisen: Fische (St Petersburg,
1888–1891); L. Berg, Fishes of Turkestan (Russian text, St Petersburg,
1905); G. Radde, S. Kamensky and F. F. Kawraisky have
worked out the Cyprinids and Salmonids of the Caucasus (Tiflis,
1896–1899). (J) Japan: F. Steindachner and L. Döderlein,
“Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Fische Japans,” Denkschr. Ak. Wien,
(vols. 67 and 68, 1883); K. Otaki, T. Fujita and T. Higurashi,
Fishes of Japan (in Japanese) (Tokyo, 1903, in progress). Numerous
papers by D. S. Jordan, in collaboration with J. O. Snyder, E. C.
Starks, H. W. Fowler and N. Sindo. (K) East Indies: F. Day,
The Fauna of British India: Fishes (2 vols., London, 1889) (chiefly
an abridgment of the author’s Fishes of India); M. Weber, “Die
Süsswasserfische des Indischen Archipels,” Zool. Ergebnisse e. Reise
in Niederl. Ostind. iii. (Leiden, 1894). Numerous contributions
to the fauna of the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago by G. A.
Boulenger, L. Vaillant, F. Steindachner, G. Duncker, W. Volz
and C. L. Popta. (L) Africa: G. A. Boulenger, Matériaux pour
la faune du Congo: poissons nouveaux (Brussels, 1898–1902, in
progress); and Poissons du bassin du Congo (Brussels, 1901); G.
Pfeffer, Die Thierwelt Ostafrikas: Fische (Berlin, 1896); A. Günther,
G. A. Boulenger, G. Pfeffer, F. Steindachner, D. Vinciguerra, J.
Pellegrin and E. Lönnberg have published numerous contributions
to the fish-fauna of tropical Africa in various periodicals. The
marine fishes of South Africa have received special attention on the
part of J. D. F. Gilchrist, Marine Investigations in South Africa,
i. and ii. (1898–1904), and new species have been described by G. A.
Boulenger and C. T. Regan. (M) North America: D. S. Jordan
and B. W. Evermann, The Fishes of North and Middle America (4 vols.,
Washington, 1896–1900); D. S. Jordan and B. W. Evermann,
American Food and Game Fishes (New York, 1902); D. S. Jordan
and C. H. Gilbert “The Fishes of Bering Sea,” in Fur-Seals and
Fur-Seal Islands (Washington, 1899); The U.S. Bureau of Fisheries
(since 1903) has published annually a Report and a Bulletin, containing
a vast amount of information on North American fishes and
every subject having a bearing on the fisheries of the United States;
S. E. Meek, “Fresh-water Fishes of Mexico,” Field Columb. Mus.
Zool. v. (1904). (N) South America: C. H. and R. S. Eigenmann,
“A Catalogue of the Fresh-water Fishes of South America,” Proc.
U.S. Nat. Mus. 14 (Washington, 1891); the same authors, F.
Steindachner, G. A. Boulenger, C. Berg and C. T. Regan have
published contributions in periodicals on this fauna. (O) Australia:
J. E. Tenison-Woods, Fish and Fisheries of New South
Wales (Sydney, 1882); J. Douglas Ogilby, Edible Fishes and Crustaceans
of New South Wales (Sydney, 1893); J. Douglas Ogilby and
E. R. Waite are authors of numerous papers on Australian fishes
in Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales and Rec. Austral. Mus. (P) South
Pacific: D. S. Jordan and B. W. Evermann, “Shore Fishes of
the Hawaiian Islands,” Bull. U.S. Fish. Comm. 23 (1905). (Q)
Madagascar: H. E. Sauvage, Histoire physique, naturelle et politique
de Madagascar, par A. Grandidier. xvi.; Poissons (Paris, 1891).
(R) Oceanic Fishes: G. B. Goode and T. H. Bean, Oceanic Ichthyology
(Washington, 1895); A. Günther, Deep-sea Fishes of the
“Challenger” Expedition (London, 1887); C. H. Gilbert, “Deep-sea
Fishes of the Hawaiian Islands,” Bull. U.S. Fish. Comm. 23 (1905);
R. Collett, Norske Nordhavs Expedition: Fiske (Christiania, 1880);
C. F. Lütken, Dijmphna-Togtets Zoologisk-botaniske Udbytte: Kara-Havets
Fiske (Copenhagen, 1886); L. Vaillant, Expéditions scientifiques
du “Travailleur” et du “Talisman”: Poissons (Paris, 1888); A.
Agassiz, Three Cruises of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Steamer
“Blake” (Boston and New York, 1888); A. Alcock, Illustrations
of the Zoology of H.M.S. “Investigator”: Fishes (Calcutta, 1892–1899,
in progress); A. Alcock, Descriptive Catalogue of the Indian
Deep-sea Fishes in the Indian Museum (Calcutta, 1899, contains
references to all the previous papers of the author on the subject);
R. Collett, Résultats des campagnes scientifiques accomplies par
Albert I er prince de Monaco: poissons provenant des campagnes du
yacht “l’Hirondelle,” (Monaco, 1896); R. Koehler, Résultats scientifiques
de la campagne du “Caudan,” (Paris, 1896); C. H. Gilbert
and F. Cramer, “Report on the Fishes dredged in Deep Water near
the Hawaiian Islands,” Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. xix. (Washington,
1896); C. Lütken, “Spolia Atlantica,” Vidensk. Selsk. Skr. vii.
and ix. (Copenhagen, 1892–1898); C. Lütken, Danish Ingolf Expedition,
ii.: Ichthyological Results (Copenhagen, 1898); S. Garman,
“Reports on an Exploration off the West Coast of Mexico, Central
and South America, and off the Galapagos Islands in charge of
Alexander Agassiz, by the U.S. Fish Commission Steamer “Albatross,”
during 1891,” Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool. vol. xxiv. (Cambridge, U.S.A.,
1899). (S) Antarctic Fishes: G. A. Boulenger, Report on the
Collections made during the voyage of the “Southern Cross”: Fishes
(London, 1902); L. Dollo, Expédition Antarctique Belge (S.Y. “Belgica”).
Poissons (Antwerp, 1904); E. Lönnberg, Swedish South
Polar Expedition: Fishes (Stockholm, 1905); G. A. Boulenger,
Fishes of the “Discovery” Antarctic Expedition (London, 1906).
(G. A. B.)
III. Definition of the Class Pisces. Its Principal Divisions
Fishes, constituting the class Pisces, may be defined as Craniate Vertebrata, or Chordata, in which the anterior portion of the central nervous system is expanded into a brain surrounded by an unsegmented portion of the axial skeleton; which are provided with a heart, breathing through gills; and in which the limbs, if present, are in the form of fins, as opposed to the pentadactyle, structure common to the other Vertebrata. With the exception of a few forms in which lungs are present in addition to the gills, thus enabling the animal to breathe atmospheric air for more or less considerable periods (Dipneusti), all fishes are aquatic throughout their existence.
In addition to the paired limbs, median fins are usually present, consisting of dermal rays borne by endoskeletal supports, which in the more primitive forms are strikingly similar in structure to the paired fins that are assumed to have arisen from the breaking up of a lateral fold similar to the vertical folds out of which the dorsal, anal and caudal fins have been evolved. The body is naked, or scaly, or covered with bony shields or hard spines.
Leaving aside the Ostracophori, which are dealt with in a separate article, the fishes may be divided into three subclasses—
I. Cyclostomi or Marsipobranchii, with the skull imperfectly developed, without jaws, with a single nasal aperture, without paired fins, and with an unpaired fin without dermal rays. Lampreys and hag-fishes.
II. Selachii or Chondropterygii, with the skull well developed but without membrane bones, with paired nasal apertures, with median and paired fins, the ventrals bearing prehensile organs (claspers) in the males. Sharks, skates and chimaeras.
III. Teleostomi, with the skull well developed and with membrane bones, with paired nasal apertures, primarily with median and paired fins, including all other fishes. (G. A. B.)
IV. Anatomy[1]
The special importance of a study of the anatomy of fishes lies in the fact that fishes are on the whole undoubtedly the most archaic of existing craniates, and it is therefore to them especially that we must look for evidence as to the evolutionary history of morphological features occurring in the higher groups of vertebrates.
In making a general survey of the morphology of fishes it is essential to take into consideration the structure of the young developing individual (embryology) as well as that of the adult (comparative anatomy in the narrow sense). Palaeontology is practically dumb excepting as regards external form and skeletal features, and even of these our knowledge must for long be in a hopelessly imperfect state. While it is of the utmost importance to pay due attention to embryological data it is equally important to consider them critically and in conjunction with broad morphological considerations. Taken by themselves they are apt to be extremely misleading.
External Features.—The external features of a typical fish are intimately associated with its mode of life. Its shape is more or less that of a spindle; its surface is covered with a highly glandular epidermis, which is constantly producing lubricating mucus through the agency of which skin-friction is reduced to an extraordinary degree; and finally it possesses a set of remarkable propelling organs or fins.
The exact shape varies greatly from the typical spindle shape with variations in the mode of life; e.g. bottom-living fishes may be much flattened from above downwards as in the rays, or from side to side in the Pleuronectids such as flounder, plaice or sole, or the shape may be much elongated as in the eels.
Head, Trunk and Tail.—In the body of the fish we may recognize the three main sub-divisions of the body—head, trunk and tail—as in the higher vertebrates, but there is no definite narrowing of the anterior region to form a neck such as occurs in the higher groups, though a suspicion of such a narrowing occurs in the young Lepidosiren.
- ↑ For general anatomy of fishes, see T. W. Bridge, Cambridge Natural History, and R. Wiedersheim, Vergl. Anat. der Wirbeltiere. The latter contains an excellent bibliography.
