TY - JOUR
AU - TATE REGAN, C.
AB - THE fins of fishes are formed of a membrane supported by rays, which are generally flexible and jointed. But in one great group of fishes—the perch group—some of the fin-rays, and particularly the front rays of the fin on the back, are converted into strong, sharply pointed spines, weapons of attack and defence. It might be thought that these specialised structures would be end-products of evolution; but that is not so, for in various offshoots of the perch tribe the spines are modified for other purposes. In the flat-fishes, which swim by undulating movements of the body and the long marginal fins, the spines are reconverted into articulated rays—an example of reversible evolution. In the sucker-fishes, which attach themselves to sharks, turtles, and other marine animals, the spinous dorsal fin is transformed into a laminated adhesive disc placed on top of the head. In the angler-fishes the spinous rays of the dorsal fin have become slender and flexible, and the first is placed on the head, and forms a line and bait.
TI - Angler-Fishes*
JF - Nature
DO - 10.1038/125747a0
DA - 1930-05-17
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/springer-journals/angler-fishes-cgY9r8oRmW
SP - 747
EP - 749
VL - 125
IS - 3159
DP - DeepDyve
ER -