Fam. 28. Drepanidae.—The genus Drepane, with a single species from the Indian Ocean, is very closely related to the Chaetodontidae, but it lacks the subocular shelf, and it is distinguished externally by the very elongate, falciform pectoral fin.
Fam. 29. Acanthuridae.—A more or less developed subocular shelf; entopterygoid present. Mouth very small, not or but slightly protractile, the maxillary more or less firmly attached or ankylosed to the praemaxillary; teeth conical, bristle-like, or incisor-like. Palate toothless. Vertebrae 22 or 23, the praecaudals with strong transverse processes commencing from the first; ribs and epipleurals inserted on the transverse processes. Post-temporal not distinctly forked, ankylosed to the skull. Two nostrils on each side. Gill-membranes broadly attached to the isthmus; 4 or 5 branchiostegal rays; gills 4, a slit behind the fourth; pseudobranchiae present. Lower pharyngeal bones separate. Body covered with minute, often rough scales. Dorsal and anal fins elongate, with more or less strong spines. Ventrals with 1 spine and 2 to 5 soft rays.
A family of about 80 species, mostly herbivorous, from the tropical seas, referred to 6 genera: Zanclus, Ctenochaetus, Acanthurus, Colocopus, Prionurus, Naseus. They form a connecting link between the Chaetodontidae and the Plectognathi.
Remains from the Eocene of Europe have been referred to Zanclus, Acanthurus, and Naseus, and to the extinct genera Aulorhamphus and Apostasis.
Fam. 30. Teuthididae.—No subocular shelf; entopterygoid present. Mouth very small, beak-like, not protractile, with incisor-like teeth; maxillary ankylosed to the praemaxillary. Palate toothless. Two nostrils on each side. Gill-membranes broadly attached to the isthmus; 5 branchiostegal rays; gills 4, a slit behind the fourth; pseudobranchiae present. Lower pharyngeal bones separate. Supratemporal forked. Vertebrae 23, with sessile ribs and no parapophyses, the epipleurals inserted on the ribs. Body covered with very small scales. Vertical fins elongate, with strong spines, 6 or 7 in the anal. Ventrals with 2 spines and 3 soft rays between them.
A single recent genus, Teuthis, with about 30 species, herbivorous fishes from the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. According to Bottard[[715]] the sting from the spines of these fishes is much dreaded. Archaeoteuthis, from the Oligocene of Switzerland.
Fam. 31. Osphromenidae.—Second suborbital with a more or less developed internal lamina; entopterygoid present; palate toothed. Most of the praecaudal vertebrae with transverse processes, to which the ribs are attached. Two nostrils on each side. Gill-membranes attached to isthmus; 4 to 6 branchiostegal rays; gills 4, a slit behind the fourth; pseudobranchiae absent. Lower pharyngeal bones separate. Vertical fins very variable in extent, the spines sometimes very numerous, sometimes absent. Ventral fins with not more than 5 soft rays, sometimes reduced to a filamentous ray. A superbranchial respiratory organ, situated in a cavity above the gills.
Freshwater fishes having much in common with the Anabantidae, and likewise confined to South-Eastern Asia and Africa. Only 22 species are known, referable to 7 genera: Helostoma, Polyacanthus, Osphromenus, Trichogaster, Luciocephalus, Betta, and Micracanthus. The latter, the only African representative of the family (one species from the Ogowe), hardly differs from the Malay genus Betta. Most of the Osphromenidae are notable as aquarium fishes. The largest species, the Gourami (Osphromenus olfax), growing to a length of 2 feet, from the Malay Archipelago, is one of the best flavoured fishes of the Far East and has been acclimatised in India, the Guianas, and Mauritius. A domesticated variety of the Chinese Polyacanthus opercularis, known as Macropodus viridi-auratus, remarkable for the beauty of its form and colour, readily breeds in our aquariums. Like the Gourami, the male constructs a nest of air-bubbles, strengthened by a buccal secretion, and watches over the eggs and young. The little Betta pugnax, from South-Eastern Asia, derives its name from its excitable nature, which causes specimens to be kept by the Siamese in glass vessels where they engage in fights, special breeds being cultivated for the purpose. According to Cantor, the Siamese in 1840 were as infatuated with the combats of these fishes as the Malays are with their cock-fights, and the licence to exhibit them was farmed, bringing in a considerable annual revenue to the king.
Fam. 32. Embiotocidae.—Second suborbital with an internal lamina supporting the globe of the eye; entopterygoid present; palate toothless. Ribs sessile, above and behind the parapophyses, where these are present. Two nostrils on each side. Gill-membranes free from isthmus; 5 or 6 branchiostegal rays; gills 4, a slit behind the fourth; pseudobranchiae present. Lower pharyngeals united, with conical or pavement-like teeth. Anal fin, with three spines. Ventral fins with 1 spine and 5 soft rays.
