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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 1, p. 282.

282 THE I-DI-LV EJIIPIRE water of another family (Ophidiidae), of which previously only five were known from the seas of India. The Pleuronectidae, or Flat Fishes, are numerous; for in addition to the thirty-nine species enumerated by Day, no less than thirty additional forms have been obtained by the Investi- gator's researches. But although several are eaten, none of the species have the high repute attaching to the sole and turbot of the North Atlantic. Lopho- The Pipe-fishes and Sea-horses are so unlike ordinary fishes branchii. that it is not easy at first to recognize their affinities. They are encased in a dermal skeleton, and their gills are not laminated but composed of rounded tufts, while the gill open- ings are very small. The members of the genus hIippiocavipus have prehensile tails, and attach themselves to seaweed. All are very poor swimmers. Several species are found in Indian seas. Plecto- The 'File-fishes,' 'Globe-fishes,' and their allies are also gnathi. well represented in the seas of India, and one or two species of Te/rodon are found in rivers. _Most of the genera are more or less globose in form; and Telrodon has the power of blowing itself out into a ball when removed from the water, thus erect- ing its dermal spines. The Sea Hedgehog (]Diodon) bears far larger and stronger spines, and adopts the same method of raising them. The flesh of several species, both of file-fishes like Balistes and of Tetrodon, is poisonous; but certain kinds are eaten by the Burmese and Andamanese. In conclusion, it should be mentioned that the Lancelet (Baranchiostozma or Aiiphioxus), the lowest of fishes, without head or brain, and placed by many naturalists in a distinct class, is not uncommon in the seas around India. It is in fact almost cosmopolitan. W. T. BLANFORD.