The Scorpididæ.—This family has the general appearance of Platax and Ilarches, but the teeth are not brush-like, and the post-temporal is free from the skull as in perch-like fishes. The species inhabit the Pacific. Scorpis georgianus is a food-fish of Australia, with the body oblong. Monodactylus argenteus, the toto of Samoa, is almost orbicular in form, while Psettus sebæ is twice as deep as long, the deepest-bodied of all fishes in proportion to its length.
The Boarfishes: Antigoniidæ.—The boarfishes (Antigoniidæ) are characterized by a very deep body covered with rough scales, the post-temporal, as in the Chætodontidæ and the Zeidæ, being adnate to the skull.
Fig. 336.—Psettus sebæ Cuv. & Val. East Indies.
These fishes bear some resemblance to Zeus, but there is no evidence of close affinity nor is it clear that they are related to the Chætodontidæ. Capros aper, the boarfish, is common in southern Europe, reaching a length of less than a foot, the protractile mouth suggesting that of a pig. The diamond-fishes, Antigonia, are deeper than long and strongly compressed, the body being covered with roughish scales. The color is salmon-red and the species live just below the depths ordinarily explored by fishermen. Antigonia capros is found at Madeira and in the West Indies, Antigonia steindachneri about Hawaii and in Japan, while the smaller Antigonia rubescens is abundant in the Japanese bays at a depth reached by the dredge. An extinct genus, Proantigonia from the Miocene is said to connect Antigonia with Capros.
The Arches: Toxotidæ.—The archers, Toxotidæ, have the body compressed, the snout produced, and the dorsal fin with but five spines. The skeleton differs widely from that of Chætodon and the family should perhaps rather find its place among the percoids. Toxotes jaculatrix is found in the East Indies. The name alludes to its supposed habit of catching insects by shooting drops of water at them through its long mouth.
The Ephippidæ.—With the typical Squamipinnes, the teeth become very slender, crowded in brush-like bands. The least specialized family is that of Ephippidæ, characterized by the presence of four anal spines and a recumbent spine before the dorsal. The principal genus, Ephippus (Scatophagus), is represented by Ephippus argus, a small, bass-like fish, spotted with black, found in the Indian seas, and ranging northward to Formosa. Species referred to Ephippus (Scatophagus) are recorded from the Italian Eocene of Monte Bolca, where a species of Toxotes has been also found.
The Spadefishes: Ilarchidæ.—In the Ilarchidæ the dorsal is divided into two fins, the spinous part being free from scales. In various regards the species are intermediate between ordinary perch-like forms and the chætodonts. In these fishes the body is very deep and, with the soft fins, closely covered with roughish scales. In Ilarches (Ephippus), represented by Ilarches orbis of the Indian seas, these scales are relatively large. This species is a common food-fish from India to Formosa.
In the American genus, Chætodipterus, the scales are quite small. The spadefish (Chætodipterus faber), sometimes called also moonfish or angel-fish, is a large, deep-bodied fish, reaching a length of two feet. It is rather common from Cape Cod to Cuba, and is an excellent pan fish, with finely flavored white flesh. The young are marked by black cross-bands which disappear with age, and in the adult the supraoccipital crest is greatly thickened and the skull otherwise modified. A very similar species, Chætodipterus zonatus, occurs on the west coast of Mexico. Species allied to Chætodipterus are fossil in the Italian Eocene. The Drepanidæ of the East Indies are close to the Ilarchidæ. Drepane punctata is a large, deep-bodied fish resembling the spadefish but with larger scales.
