Body low, sub-cylindrical or compressed, elongate. Dorsal fin very long; the spinous portion of the dorsal, if distinct, is very long, as well developed, as the soft, or much more; sometimes the entire fin is composed of spines only; anal more or less long; caudal fin subtruncated or rounded, if present. Ventral fins thoracic or jugular, if present.
First Family—Cepolidæ.
Body very elongate, compressed, covered with very small cycloid scales; eyes rather large, lateral. Teeth of moderate size. No bony stay for the angle of the præoperculum. One very long dorsal fin, which, like the anal, is composed of soft rays. Ventrals thoracic, composed of one spine and five rays. Gill-opening wide. Caudal vertebræ exceedingly numerous.
The “Band-fishes” (Cepola) are small marine fishes, belonging principally to the fauna of the northern temperate zone; in the Indian Ocean the genus extends southwards to Pinang. The European species (C. rubescens) is found in isolated examples on the British coast, but is less scarce in some years than in others. These fishes are of a nearly uniform red colour.
Second Family—Trichonotidæ.
Body elongate, sub-cylindrical, covered with cycloid scales of moderate size. Eyes directed upwards. Teeth in villiform bands. No bony stay for the angle of the præoperculum. One long dorsal fin, with simple articulated rays, and without a spinous portion; anal long. Ventrals jugular, with one spine and five rays. Gill-opening very wide. The number of caudal vertebræ much exceeding that of the abdominal.
Small marine fishes, belonging to two genera only, Trichonotus (setigerus) from Indian Seas, with some of the anterior dorsal rays prolonged into filaments; and Hemerocoetes (acanthorhynchus) from New Zealand, and sometimes found far out at sea on the surface.
Third Family—Heterolepidotidæ.
Body oblong, compressed, scaly; eyes lateral; cleft of the mouth lateral; dentition feeble. The angle of the præoperculum connected by a bony stay with the infraorbital ring. Dorsal long, with the spinous and soft portions equally developed; anal elongate. Ventrals thoracic, with one spine and five rays.
